Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With even her most casual attacks generating a wave of frost that impacted the arena like a ten-thousand-car freight train, Fenrir was more than a little surprised by her power. It felt like there was an infinite well of energy where the pit in her stomach used to be. The sometimes-dull, sometimes-agonizing hunger that had accompanied her throughout her entire life was completely absent. In its place, a feeling of satiety she had never known before caused an uncontainable giddiness to slowly swell within her chest.Seeing the 'battle-hungry' expression on Fenrir's face, a wry smile developed across Nuuba's as she circulated her Heavenly Qi in an effort to dispel the frigid energy gradually pooling within her veins. She had never fought an opponent with such an extreme affinity with Yin before, and, after this, she resolved herself never to fight another."You're really something, you know that...?"After evading a blast of energy more than ten meters in diameter, Nuuba attempted to buy a bit of time by making conversation. Fortunately, Fenrir wasn't in a particular hurry to deal with her, so, the moment she heard the white-haired dragoness's remark, her tempestuous assault gradually ceased as she replied, "Thanks. You're pretty strong yourself."Adopting an even wrier smile in response to Fenrir's remark, the dragon heart within Nuuba's chest began to pump with ever-increasing vigor as frigid energy in the form of pure white vapor expelled from her pores."It pains me to admit but there's no way I can defeat you in my current form. I normally wouldn't do this during a friendly competition but I'd rather not lose my first match in sixty years..."Punctuating her words, Nuuba's body pulsed as a tremendous volume of steam erupted from her body. The temperature in her surroundings began to increase at a phenomenal rate as a reddish-pink luminescence manifested in the center of her chest. Those with sharper eyesight would have been able to make out that this was Nuuba's heart beating within her chest, the energy contained within so dense and potent that it resembled the surface of a star.Under normal circumstances, Fenrir would have interrupted Nuuba's very obvious transformation sequences. Instead, the smile on her face grew into a 'too large' grin as the snowy white fur on her forearms and legs began to spread up her arms and thighs. The wild and untamed hair that flowed from her head also began to elongate as two hazel-brown horns emerged a few centimeters above her brows. Then, as if a dam had broken in the back of her mind, Fenrir's body suddenly exploded into motes of bluish-white light that resembled snow.Staring wide-eyed at the veritable avalanche of ice elemental energy sweeping towards her, Nuuba crossed her arms as the heart in her chest began to pulsate even faster. She ended up being swept up and slammed against the barrier surrounding the arena, but, instead of losing hope, an excited smile developed across her face as the light from her chest slowly climbed up her neck...Just as it seemed like the entire arena was going to be buried in tens of meters of snow, a roar that shook the banquet hall sounded in the hearts and minds of everyone present. Nuuba's body, similar to Fenrir's, suddenly erupted, but, instead of producing ice and snow, her half of the arena began to fill with a hazy smoke that billowed outward like the pyroclastic flow of an erupting volcano.From within the surging tide of smoke, a massive oriental dragon covered in dark green scales and fiery pink runes attempted to bite at something unseen within the center of the arena. Its maw was more than seven meters wide while the ivory white, extremely fierce-looking teeth lining its interior resembled the rock formations of a limestone cave. The canines, in particular, were larger than most adults, yet, in spite of this, Nuuba's head ended up reeling backward as a pristine white appendage smacked her in the lower jaw.Though she managed to recover in an instant, her serpentine body coiling like a cobra preparing to strike, Nuuba ended up getting knocked even further back as a bluish-white meteor slammed into her chest. Immediately thereafter, a soul-shaking roar resonated throughout the banquet hall as the snowy-white figure revealed itself to be an inordinately large wolf with a majestic mane of fur, large horns, and features reminiscent of a western dragon. This included a pair of fur-covered wings, and, most prominently, a long, incredibly soft-looking tail.........Seeing Fenrir transform into a dragon, the look on Vahn's face could best be described as ecstatic. There was a massive grin on his face, and, though he did his best to restrain it, his heart was beating fast enough to create small ripples in the surrounding space.Though Vahn had once lamented the possibility of Fenrir transforming into a True Dragon, such sentiments were nowhere to be seen at the present moment. All he felt was happiness, excitement, and, most notably, infatuation with the fluffy white dragon currently sinking its teeth into Nuuba's neck. Fenrir's dragon form was everything he had expected it to be, and, were it not for the fact she was currently engaged in a brawl evocative of the end of the world, he would have buried himself into her veritable mountain of fur without hesitation.........Sensing her Master's excitement, Fenrir's own was increasing at an exponential rate as she persisted in the face of Nuuba's struggles. It said quite a lot that the fiery Long's body was durable enough to resist her teeth and claws. There was also a potent Yang Elemental Energy contained within Nuuba's blood, so, despite the aura shrouding Fenrir's body decreasing her surroundings to a point nearing absolute zero, the serpentine dragon refused to go down...In an effort to dislodge Fenrir from her body, Nuuba basically embraced the former with her four-taloned claws before ascending towards the barrier overhead with momentum reminiscent of an extinction-level event. The impact caused a cataclysmic pulse of energy, and, for a brief moment, the nearly indestructible barrier resembled shatterproof glass.To Nuuba's surprise, Fenrir's much smaller body actually gave beneath the force of the blow. This would have been a cause for celebration in most other circumstances, but, as if she had no bones in her body, Fenrir's figure began to stretch and deform to surround Nuuba's torso. At the same time, several other heads protruded from her body before sinking their icy white teeth into her arms and neck.Issuing a roar that caused the cracks in the barrier's surface to exacerbate, Nuuba attempted to pry Fenrir away only for her claws to pass through the latter's body as if it were a ferrofluid clinging to a magnetic surface. Panic quickly began to set in moments later as the frigid energy gathering within Nuuba's body caused the border between the affected and unaffected areas to scream out in pain. She was doing her best to expel the frigid energy, but, the longer Fenrir clung to her, the quicker it compounded.Speaking out for the first time since her transformation, Nuuba bellowed, "GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME...!" as the fiery light between her ventral scales began to build in intensity. A similar light rose in the back of her throat before she released a veritable beam of fiery, reddish-pink energy against her own body. She didn't care if she ended up damaging herself in the process. She wanted Fenrir off of her.Unable to react in time, Fenrir felt a dull sensation in the back of her mind as she lost feeling in a large part of her body. It was only when Nuuba's catastrophically powerful breath began to fade away that she realized the reason. Every part of her body affected by the blazing beam of energy had effectively been melted down and reduced to ash. The reason she felt a dull sensation in the back of her mind was because five of the seven heads she had grown were reduced to ashes along with the majority of her body...Realizing the dangers of staying put, Fenrir's remaining mass took the form of puppy-sized versions of her previous self. One, borrowing from her experience in the Dungeon of Danmachi, snaked her way up Nuuba's body in an attempt to find a blind spot. This was a common tactic she had used to deal with large monsters, as, the moment you moved outside the scope of their range and abilities, they were powerless to protect themselves. As for her other self, she became a sacrificial pawn that leaped away from Nuuba's body before unleashing an abyssal-black beam of energy that radiated a bluish-white light along its edges. This was her own version of a dragon's breath, and, thanks to her mastery over Devouring Laws, it was capable of cutting through almost anything.With Fenrir's breath leaving a shallow trail across her body, Nuuba writhed in rage and indignation as she attempted to swat the bear-sized pup out of the air. At the same time, she tried to scratch at the version of Fenrir attempting to bore into the back of her head, but, much like before, her claws simply phased through the seemingly immaterial form of the unreasonably determined wolf...Seeing the skyscraper-sized tail descending towards her, Fenrir spontaneously relaxed her entire body. As a result, she ended up being splattered into innumerable tiny pieces, pieces that quickly coalesced into a locus-like cloud of insect-sized wolf-dragons. This caused a remarkably human expression of disbelief to appear across Nuuba's draconic visage as memories of a certain golden-haired monkey surfaced in the back of her mind...Deciding she would rather avoid having to experience someone boring into her skull, Nuuba surprised the swarm of mini-fens by declaring, "I surrender...!" in an audibly stressed tone. Bluish-white light immediately enveloped her body before her human form promptly manifested outside the arena.Not expecting her opponent to suddenly surrender, the swarm of Fenrir's found themselves at a momentary loss. The battle had been much closer than she expected so she couldn't help feeling an inkling of disappointment now that things had ended in such an anticlimactic way...Pulling herself together, quite literally, Fenrir returned to her human form only to deadpan when she realized how unusually close the ground was. Everything in her surroundings also appeared a lot bigger than usual, so, when she finally got a good look at herself, Fenrir was unsurprised to find out she had become a chibi. Far more troubling was the fact that she was completely naked.Though her expression remained a deadpan, Fenrir covered her chest with her paws while curling up her tail between her legs. Her stupefaction caused her to completely forgot about her ability to transform, and, more notably, her ability to create clothes using magic. She had become a little too reliant on her [REquip] system, so, now that it had been destroyed, she ended up freezing in place as hundreds of gods eyed her with covetous gazes.Baring her teeth, a blood-curdling aura began to exude from Fenrir's body until a thick and heavy fur coat spontaneously covered her body. At the same time, Vahn appeared right in front of her, his figure towering to the point she barely reached past his hips. Then, in a casual motion, he scooped her up in his arms, an affectionate smile on his face as he leaned in close to her and said, "You're so unbelievably amazing..."Feeling her anger and bloodlust fade in an instant, an uncharacteristically bashful smile developed across Fenrir's face as she shrank in her Master's embrace. This elicited an amused laugh from Vahn, who, ignoring the resent-filled gazes of more than half the banquet hall, made his way down from the arena before turning to the stunned Nuuba and saying, "Thank you. Fenrir hasn't been able to cut loose like that in a long time. Once this is over with, I'll make sure to prepare a gift for you and your father."Blinking in surprise, Nuuba opened her mouth, but, before she could find the words to speak, Vahn had already teleported back to his table. Shortly thereafter, Fenrir transformed into her puppy form, so, from the perspective of others, he was now surrounded by three inordinately adorable animals, each nestling close together as Vahn gently caressed their sleeping figures with a smile.........(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Plus Ultra','Never underestimate a Dragon's Breath Attack','I'm not jealous...I just have a habit of grinding my teeth...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Seeing Vahn ignore her, Nuuba's eyes squinted in displeasure. The former might not be a member of the Jade Palace, but, as the Imperial Princess of a 4-Digit Community, Nuuba felt he should show her at least a little respect."Nuuba..."Tearing her eyes away from where Vahn was seated, Nuuba was slightly surprised to see her father materializing next to her. Any desire she had to make a scene promptly faded away, as, despite his grandfatherly temperament, Nuuba understood just how fierce her father could be.Adding to Nuuba's incredulity, Huangdi borrowed a page out of Vahn's book, gently caressing the befuddled dragoness's hair as he said, "You did well. It's time for you to return to your seat."With an uncharacteristically bashful expression developing across her face, Nuuba lowered her head before replying, "Okay..." in a soft, timid tone. It had been centuries since she last received any kind of affection from her father, so, with hundreds of other gods present, Nuuba was as embarrassed as she was happy...Making a mental note to spend more time with his children, Huangdi observed Nuuba's departure with a smile before rising into the air and asking, "Would anyone else like to issue a challenge? As I have stated previously, you have three minutes to make a decision. If no one comes forth, this-"Before Huangdi could finish speaking, an earth-shattering force impacted the center of the arena. The resultant shockwave was so intense that it caused the nearly indestructible arena to split into four equal parts as the barrier surrounding it fractured like glass. Then, in a thunderous yet girlish tone, a voice cried out, "You dare to hold a banquet without inviting me!? Looks like this Great Me is gonna have to teach you old bastards another hard lesson...!"Hearing the voice, nearly half the assembly immediately rose to their feet in an effort to be the first to exit the banquet hall. This caused a secondary explosion as the person nearest the exit was sent flying back into the hall by an extendable pole. Their body ended up smashing into the ceiling as a petite figure with rice-gold hair and emerald green eyes stepped through the door, asking, "Where the hell do you think you're going!?"As those closest to the little girl were about to protest, several other versions of the petite figure appeared to block the other exits. The cloud of debris near the center of the arena also vanished as the person responsible for its destruction emerged from within the crater caused by their impact."I came all the way from Mount Huaguo to see how everyone was doing. Why are you trying to run away? Talk about rude..."A stark contrast to her chiding tone, the golden-haired girl was currently in the process of picking her nose using the tip of her pinky finger. When she was finished, she removed it to reveal a rather sizeable booger. Then, with a mischievous smile on her face, she looked towards Huangdi and said, "Hey, old man. This Great Me has brought you a gift. Make sure you receive it properly~!"Punctuating her words, the golden-haired girl blew on the tip of her finger. As a result, the booger was promptly dislodged like a bullet, but, instead of staying its original size, it promptly enlarged to the size of a rather disgusting-looking meteor. In spite of this, Huangdi maintained a relaxed smile as he playfully remarked, "While I appreciate the gesture, I'm afraid this old man will have to refuse the Great Sage's gift..."With a twist of his hand, Huangdi displaced the hill-sized booger before it could create a mess in the hall. This earned him a snicker from the golden-haired girl, who, after giving him a thumbs up, looked around the room, asking, "Where's that old bastard, Laozi? It's been a while since I took a piss on his bald head."Caressing his beard, Huangdi promptly replied, "Laozi hasn't appeared within the Jade Palace since the last time you decided to wreak havoc. In fact, he isn't even in the East at the moment. He went on a pilgrimage to the South in search of materials and medicinal recipes."Clicking her tongue, the golden-haired girl shouldered her staff before looking around a second time. It had been three years since the last time she crashed a party, so, now that she had made an appearance, she wasn't going to hold back."Xiao Wu...didn't you promise me you wouldn't cause a scene in the Jade Palace for the next five-hundred years...?"Hearing the familiar voice, the golden-haired girl's shoulders shrank ever so slightly as she looked over her shoulder to find the Jade Empress, Xiwangmu, staring at her with a moderately disproving expression on her face. This caused the girl, the legendary Sun Wu Kong, to scratch the back of her head as she answered, "Ayi...it's not what you think..."(A/N: Ayi means Auntie.)Cupping her cheek, Xiwangmu adopted a hurt expression as she repeated, "Ayi...? I thought I told you to call me Muqin..."(A/N: Muqin means Mother.)With the corner of her mouth twitching, Wu decided that the best course of action was to pretend she hadn't heard Xiwangmu's remark. She could always apologize later, so, for the time being, she ignored the white-haired Goddess, shouting, "Okay, you lot! You know the drill! Form an orderly queue! If this is your first time, move to the front of the line! When your turn arrives, your options are to kowtow ten times and call me Grandfather or have your shit kicked in. Your choice...!"Punctuating her words, Wu manifested a dark purple Geass Roll that glowed with fiery golden runes in place of ink. This was a type of Geass Roll limited to the various Demon Lords that dominated the Little Garden, and, as could be expected, it didn't leave room for refusal.------------------------------------------------&lt;I, Your Grandfather, Carry a Big Stick&gt;[Win Condition]1: Follow the Rules.[Hidden Conditions]1: ???2: ???3: ???[Rules]1: Every Player within the Host's perception at the start of the Gift Game is considered a participant.2: Kowtow ten times and refer to the Host as Grandfather.3: Failure to fulfill the aforementioned condition will result in a beating.[Restrictions]1: Leaving the area after the beginning of the Gift Game is prohibited.2: Surrendering in the midst of your beating is strictly prohibited.3: No pervy stuff unless you want to have an extendable pole shoved up your ass.[Rewards]1: You get to avoid a beating.2: Variable[Penalty]1: You will be marked by the Curse of the Monkey King. Monkies will randomly appear in your surroundings to destroy your property and pull pranks on you.[Time Limit]Until everyone designated by the Host has either paid their respects or received a beating.------------------------------------------------Reading the ginormous scroll, everyone unfamiliar with Wu Kong's diabolical Gift Game adopted expressions of rage and indignation. They had never heard of such an unreasonable Gift Game, but, seeing their fellow Gods reluctantly forming an orderly queue, they had little choice but to grit their teeth and get in line. After all, there were more than sixty versions of the golden-haired girl present, and, according to the rumors, each and every one of them was just as strong as the original.........While everyone else was forming into a queue, Vahn was observing the events with a glazed look and a wry smile on his face. Though he really should have, especially after encountering Shiroyasha and Algol, Vahn had never considered that the Wukong upon which all others were based might be female.("I'm starting to regret not using Loi-chan to investigate my opponents in advance...")In response to Vahn's musings, a soft chuckle echoed in the back of his mind before Sis remarked, (*It wouldn't really change anything. I'm not sure why, but you seem to have a strange connection with the fates of overpowered little girls. Even if you avoided the banquet, it was only a matter of time until your paths crossed. I mean, just look how cute she is...*)Unable to refute Sis's words, an exhausted sigh escaped from Vahn's throat as he placed Fenrir, Mikoto, and even the Jade Rabbit inside his personalized Little Garden. The Geass Rolls didn't say anything about others transporting you outside the play area, so, even if Wu realized something was amiss, she couldn't really do anything about it.Rising to his feet, Vahn was unsurprised to find three versions of Wu appearing around him, asking, "Where did those three furballs go? I don't recall giving them permission to leave."Looking down at the nearest monkey-girl, Vahn's expression morphed into a relaxed smile as he answered, "None of your business."Instead of taking offense to his words, the trio of Wu(s) adopted impish smiles on their faces as they sonorously stated, "I knew you would say something like that. Tell me, are you a member of the Jade Palace?"Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "No. I received an offer but ultimately turned it down. I'm here as a guest of the Jade Emperor."Placing their index fingers on their pursed lips, the trio of Wu(s) adopted expressions similar to people in deep thought. They, or, more specifically, their original had been observing the banquet since the beginning. If Vahn hadn't intervened, they would have appeared to prevent Nezha from accepting Vor's challenge, so, in a way, they kind of owed him a favor. After all, Nezha was one of their underlings.Waving their hands in a dismissive manner, the trio of Wu(s) said, "You can go. Once we're finished here, we'll come by to share a gourd of monkey wine. Make sure you prepare snacks."Without waiting for Vahn's response, the trio of Wu(s) promptly departed to help corral the queue of Gods. This left Vahn at a momentary loss as he hadn't expected such a legendary troublemaker to just send him on his way...(*It's probably because you rescued Nezha. If you'll recall, the latter had previously threatened her father by stating she would tattle on him to her 'Sister Wu'. With Xiwangmu referred to Wukong as Xiao Wu, who else could she be referring to? Li Jing isn't exactly weak.*)"Right..."Shifting his attention to the location of Nezha, Vahn was unsurprised to find them conversing with one of Wu's clones with a massive, toothy grin on their face. As for Li Jing, he had joined his fellow Gods in the queue, a grim and defeated expression marring his countenance. He almost looked like a death row prisoner being marched to the electric chair."Wow...I almost feel sorry for him..."Though Li Jing was a terrible father, Vahn knew the man wasn't singularly responsible for Nezha's bad behavior. He had been dealt a pretty terrible hand by fate, and, when it ultimately came down to it, Nezha was the person causing trouble. The influence of people like Wu clearly didn't help, so, while he had no intention of bailing the man out of his present predicament, Vahn made a mental note to meet with the man and hear his side of the story. After all, he couldn't blame Li Jing for his lack of patience and understanding if he wasn't willing to demonstrate similar characteristics...On that note, Vahn waved towards the Jade Emperor and Lady Xiwangmu before promptly phasing out of the banquet hall. A part of him was interested to see how things would play out between Wu and Vor, but, after seeing how the ashen-haired beauty dealt with Nezha, Vahn was seventy percent sure she would simply kowtow. She didn't give off the impression of someone who was particularly concerned with appearances. If she was, she wouldn't have stared impassively when Nezha turned over her table or when Mikoto caused her to pee herself.........(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I imagine Wu having a similar personality to Laharl...','The Loli Curse is still going strong...','RIP Li Jing...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Surprising nearly everyone present, Mikoto extended a hand to the downed Vor, asking, "Can you stand?" with an awkward smile on her face. She hadn't expected Vor to pee herself, so, seeing the puddle of faintly golden liquid beneath the woman's body, the notion she had taken things a little too far briefly crossed her mind.Staring at the hand proferred by Mikoto, a look of confusion flashed across Vor's face. Mercy wasn't exactly commonplace in the South. Compassion was even rarer. Thus, for a brief moment, Vor found herself sincerely confused by Mikoto's behavior.With Vor staring at her hand, the awkwardness Mikoto was experiencing increased by several orders of magnitude. Fortunately, just as the tension increased to the point it could be cut with a knife, Vor reached out to grab her hand, stating, "It is the privilege of the strong to show mercy to the weak..." in a manner that sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than others.Smiling awkwardly in response to Vor's remark, Mikoto pulled the much taller woman to her feet before shifting her attention to the ground. The previously steamy puddle was now nowhere to be seen. This caused Mikoto to feel considerably relieved while Vor, confused by the absence of liquid, briefly tensed as a tingling sensation spread across her body. In its wake, every trace of her accident had vanished.Understanding what must have happened, Mikoto's smile became markedly more genuine as she said, "It looks like Vahn decided to spare you from additional embarrassment. Remember this if or when you decide to try and hunt him in the future."Feeling much less awkward now that Vor was cleaned up, Mikoto gave the 185cm tall woman a pat on the shoulder before placing her hands into the pockets of her hoodie and returning to her seat. This left the ashen-haired Valkyrie staring at her back, an inordinately rare glimmer of appreciation contained in her amber eyes. She had no intentions of abandoning her mission but Mikoto's power and words had given her ample reason to reconsider her approach.With that in mind, Vor elected to return to her seat. Her legs were still a little shaky, but, in spite of this, she managed to appear stoic and graceful as she slowly meandered past table after table of greedy, licentious-eyed Gods. Her beauty and power had left a deep impression on each of them, so, after seeing her defeated by Mikoto, they couldn't help harboring intentions toward her. After all, in the Divine Realm, it wasn't even remotely difficult to force someone's obedience.........Returning to Vahn's side, Mikoto immediately returned to her Pikachu form as the former extended his hands to catch her. He understood, better than even Mikoto, how taxing her transformation was. It literally used the energy contained within her Ego as fuel. From the perspective of others, she was weaponizing her Soul to achieve feats that were otherwise impossible. As a result, decreasing in size was the least of her concerns. If she pushed herself, amnesia and other, far more serious side effects were possible.Under normal circumstances, performing such a feat would take years, if not several millennia to fully recover. Fortunately, Mikoto was one of Vahn's Templates, so, with a steady supply of Source Energy, she was bound to recover in a few hours. She just needed a bit of rest, and, as strange as it sounded, an ample amount of headpats."You did well...I'll be sure to reward you plentily once we return..."Though she was perfectly capable of speaking, Mikoto replied with a lazy, "Pikaaaa..." as she curled up in the spot previously occupied by the Jade Rabbit. Vahn had entrusted the pure white bunny to Fenrir when he intervened in Vor's attempt to bait Nezha into a deathmatch. As a result, both Jade and her master were currently trembling as Fenrir ran her soft yet exceptionally deadly paws across its head, back, and butt.........In the wake of Mikoto's one-sided assault on Vor, the tensions within the banquet hall had become palpable. Many of the Gods couldn't even begin to understand what happened. They just knew that the power unleashed by Mikoto was something bordering the taboo.Fortunately, before things could become too awkward, Huangdi spoke out to encourage the next set of combatants to proceed into the arena. His words were initially met with silence until a young woman with white hair and a matching qipao rose to her feet and said, "Well then, if everyone else is too afraid to step up, I'll gladly steal the spotlight."At 165cm tall, the white-haired woman was somewhat tall for a female in the East Side. The traits that caused her to stand out, however, were the crimson streaks in her loosely ponytailed hair, her vibrant amethyst eyes, and elf-like ears. Of course, compared to the jagged crimson horns framing her head, the flame-tipped white tail protruding from her backside, and the crimson scales covering her forearms, they were relatively plain.While the Gods and Goddesses around her were more than a little surprised, Huangdi adopted one of his grandfatherly smiles as he caressed his chin and remarked, "Nuuba...It's good to see that not every member of the younger generation has forgotten their filial responsibility..."Giggling in response to Huangdi's words, the tail of the white-haired woman gently swayed back and forward as she covered the lower half of her face with a fan and said, "It's only natural that the children take care of their parents after retirement. Now then, who should I challenge~?"Though she wasn't particularly famous outside of the Heavenly Domain, the white-haired woman, Nuuba, was actually the daughter of Huangdi. In other words, she was a direct descendant of the Yellow Dragon Emperor and the Imperial Princess of the Heavenly Dragon Clan.As if she hadn't already decided on her opponent, Nuuba proceeded to pass her gaze over each of the Gods and Goddesses in her surroundings. She had never been given an official rank due to her responsibilities as Imperial Princess. Thus, if she felt so inclined, she could challenge anyone in the banquet hall. In the end, however, her glowing amethyst eyes settled on Vahn as she mused, "Oh~? This could be interesting. I've always wanted to see how I compare against a Pure-Blooded Dragon. I wonder if this Big Brother will do me the courtesy of accepting my challenge~?"While he normally wouldn't mind accepting such an offer, it had only been a few minutes since Vahn refused a match against Vor. Since Nuuba was unranked, their match wouldn't really serve any purpose. Rather, due to her draconic heritage, he would basically be shooting himself in the foot by accepting her challenge."I'm afraid I must refuse. I promised my companions they would be given the chance to cut loose before I personally enter the arena. If you're serious about challenging me, you'll have to convince them you're worthy of my time."Though Vahn's words may have sounded like an insult, none of the Gods or Goddesses present, Nuuba included, expressed anger or amazement. It was perfectly normal, at least in the Heavenly Domain, for powerful and high-ranking members of the court to send forth subordinates to deal with would-be challengers. After all, if a challenger couldn't even beat one of their subordinates, what meaning was there in fighting them directly?Shifting her attention from Vahn to Fenrir, the corners of Nuuba's smile curled upward as she said, "Very well, then. Might I have the pleasure of hearing this Little Sister's name...?"After returning the Jade Rabbit to Vahn, Fenrir rose to her feet before answering, "Fenrir Mason." in a curt, no-nonsense tone of voice. This was immediately noted by the majority of the Gods present, as, during Mikoto's introduction, she had also given the name Mason.Nodding her head in approval, Nuuba snapped her fan shut before casually tossing it to one of her servants as she said, "Very well, Fenrir Mason. My name is Nuuba, Goddess of Droughts, Daughter of the Yellow Emperor, and Vice-Leader of the Heavenly Dragon Clan. I look forward to facing you on the field of battle."With that said, Nuuba stepped out of her traditional Chinese silk slippers before turning into a blur that promptly appeared near the center of the arena. It wasn't the most extreme example of speed, but, considering she hadn't empowered her body in the slightest, it was pretty impressive.While others might have struggled to follow Nuuba's movements, Fenrir was easily able to track the white-haired Goddess with her icy blue eyes. Her eyesight was currently sharper than ever, so, for a moment, Nuuba appeared to be moving in slow motion near the beginning and end of her feat.Shifting her gaze to her Master, Fenrir telepathically asked, ("What do you want me to do, Master? She gives off an aura of arrogance but I don't think she's a bad person. Should I go easy on her?")As if he was simply giving Fenrir permission to go, Vahn responded with a curt nod while internally answering, ("Let her control the pace and see how she chooses to escalate things. Even I'm not too sure about your current limits so it's best to play it safe. If anything happens, I'll step in.")Returning a nod, Fenrir flexed her razor-sharp claws, which, after her ascension, resembled bluish-white, slightly transparent crystals. A similar translucence could be observed in her fur, which, due to the energy contained within, appeared icy near the tips and blacker than the night sky near the roots.Following Nuuba's example, Fenrir ran forward before pouncing into the arena using raw speed. This earned her a marginally surprised look from the white-haired dragoness, who, understanding Fenrir's intentions, remarked, "Oh~?" before following it up with a smile and adding, "This is going to be fun."Punctuating her words, Nuuba adopted a stance reminiscent of the Southern Dragon Style of Kung Fu. She brought her left foot forward, angled inward, while both of her hands came up in a relaxed stance that emphasized the sharp, shimmering red and green scales covering her forearms, hands, and fingers. At the same time, the flame on the tip of her tail began burning even more vibrantly, almost as if she were a Charizard preparing to use Blaze. The temperature around her body began to skyrocket, and, true to her name, the surrounding tiles began to dry up as if an extreme drought had spread through the area.A stark contrast to the scene on Nuuba's side of the arena, a layer of pure white frost spread from the base of Fenrir's feet as she adopted a low, quadrupedal stance. This would have created quite a tantalizing sight under normal circumstances, but, thanks to the fur-covered waistcoat she donned prior to entering the arena, the spectating Gods could only glower as the fur across Fenrir's body shifted from a pale blue to a stark, snowy white.Though she was tempted to comment on Fenrir's ridiculous stance, Nuuba never had the chance, as, the moment she opened her mouth to speak, the former lunged toward her with a speed that sent shivers up her spine. Her instincts were also screaming at her to avoid a direct confrontation, so, despite being supremely confident in her physical strength, Nuuba sidestepped Fenrir's charge like a matador, saying, "Dragon Plucks the Peaches of Immortality."Empowered by her words, fiery runes manifested on the scales of Nuuba's right hand as she reached forward to try and grab Fenrir's leg as the latter zipped past her. To her surprise, a layer of ice immediately spread across the surface of her skin as icy cold energy invaded the inner channels of her arm.Retracting her hand in an instant, Nuuba relied on her instincts to evade a remarkably swift kick from Fenrir's paw before using the same hand to send out a wave of red-ocher flames. When she saw even her flames get cover in ice, the pupils of her eyes contracted to thin slits as she promptly bounded away and muttered, "I may have spoken too soon..."......(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Mikoto is a big softie...','Chang'e is experiencing a lot of firsts today...','When the drugs wear off and you have to face reality...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 2162: Through the Frost and the Flames