Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 2237 Currying Favor

Chapter 2237 Currying Favor

With the Model Omega's long-range sensors, Tomoe was able to sense that the largest collection of participants was on the planet belonging to the Akuma Community. It was also one of their primary targets due to its relatively low Gate Number, so, after familiarizing herself with the Model Omega's near-instantaneous movement, she repositioned a few hundred thousand kilometers away in order to prepare the Executioner's Judgement.

While it was possible for Players to leave their planets and confront the Model Omega, the rules prohibited it from returning the favor. Tomoe would first need to destroy the barrier surrounding her target. It was only once the planet's defenses had been overcome that she be allowed to run rampant.

Spreading the upper arms of the Model Omega wide, a tremendous amount of energy began to flow into the massive crystals embedded into its wings. Each crystal had been attuned to a specific element, and, as a result, the Model Omega had a scary amount of influence over the fundamental forces of the Universe. Were it not for the restriction preventing it from tapping into its only energy reserves, Tomoe would have been able to obliterate something as small as a solar system using a single pulse of energy.

Though its capabilities had been severely restricted, the Model Omega was still an unbelievably powerful marvel of magical engineering. It took less than six seconds for Tomoe to draw enough energy from the surrounding space to vaporize an entire planet. For a brief moment, she became even more luminous than the nearby star as she unleashed a beam of pure elemental energy in the form of a 300m wide pillar of rainbow-hued destruction.

When the Executioner's Judgment impacted the planetary barrier, everyone above the surface of the planet immediately ceased what they were doing. The scene of the entire sky heating up and fracturing was enough to shake even the hearts of Gods. Thus, even before the energy had begun to dissipate, everyone ceased fighting and began running toward the nearest Teleportation Nexus. The planet-wide barrier may be able to hold up against multiple strikes but no one wanted to be around when it finally shattered...

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Failing to escape Wu's assault, Nav suffered the same fate as the vast majority of the Monkey King's opponents. Her head was pressed to the ground, and, even though Wu was the one that sought her out to do battle, Nav was forced to apologize for daring to offend her.

Though she nodded in approval of Nav's behavior, Wu still flicked a booger towards the kowtowing girl before giving her permission to flee. It landed right on top of Nav's head, but, due to having her face to the ground, she didn't notice it as she thanked Wu for her clemency. Immediately thereafter, she bolted towards the nearest Teleportation Nexus, moisture building in the corners of her eyes as she swore to report Wu's bullying to Shion. Each member of the Akuma Community had a supreme degree of faith in Shion's [Abysswalker] transformation, as, even if they worked together to try and defeat her, she was simply untouchable.

What Nav didn't know was that the booger clinging to her hair wasn't the only gift Wu had left for her. More than a dozen golden hairs had invaded the interior of her cloak or adhered to its surface. Wu had done this with the intention of simply tracking Nav back to her planet. Unfortunately, each of the hairs shared her senses. Thus, the moment Nav badmouthed, insulted, or tattled on her, Wu would know...

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With the promotional Gift Game clearly entering its final stages, tensions in the Little Garden were at an all-time high. At this point, everyone understood, without a shadow of a doubt, that Vahn and his Aldrnari Empire were about to become major players in the happenings of the Little Garden. His power was far beyond their expectations, but, rather than being terrified of him, people were eager to see him deposing and slapping some of the more tyrannical Gods in the face.

While the vast majority of the Little Garden's residents were looking forward to their suffering, the Gods in question were split into three distinct categories. There were those who had accepted there was no longer anything they could do to prevent Vahn's rise, those that were willing to work with him to make the Little Garden a better place, and those that were determined to do everything in their power to stop him.

Taking advantage of the fact that Vahn was currently embroiled in a Gift Game, several of the forces that had previously set their sights on the Sage Dragon's Hearth decided to make their move. They believed that the majority of Vahn's war potential was gathered to participate in the Gift Game, so, before it ended, they intended to infiltrate the Sage Dragon's Hearth, apprehend the people inside, and completely destroy it.

What none of these people expected was for a force to be lying in wait for them even before they entered the Sage Dragon's Hearth. Even stranger was the fact that said force belonged to one of the most powerful Factions, not from the East, but the South.

After missing the timing to join and infiltrate the Sage Dragon's Hearth, Vor had returned to the South to coordinate with her sisters. Shortly after that, Odin had ordered Vor and several of her sisters to relocate to the East.

Though Odin was unable to see Vahn's future, he was able to see the changes brought about as a result of his actions. If the Sage Dragon's Hearth was allowed to be attacked, tens of thousands of Communities would be brought to ruin. While this was none of Odin's concern, one of the futures he peered into showed his Valkyries protecting the Sage Dragon's Hearth, and, shortly after, there was a vision showing the World Tree restored to its former glory.

Odin didn't know how Vahn would accomplish it but he believed the World Tree's restoration was a direct result of currying favor with the Sage Dragon's Hearth. Thus, in the months leading up to the promotional Gift Game, he met with Shiroyasha and obtained permission to have one of the White Raven Community's branches relocated to the East. They had to give up a lower-digit Gate in order to arrange the trade but it was a small price to pay compared to the restoration of their single most precious treasure. The World Tree, Yggdrasil, was the heart and soul of the Nine Realms Community. If it died, it wouldn't be long before the Norse Faction followed.

With a single high-ranking Valkyrie being enough to match some 4-Digit Communities, defending the Sage Dragon's Hearth was a relatively simple task. The Laws of the Little Garden restricted the groups targetting it from doing so in an overtly brazen manner. Thus, by merely posting up along the outside, the members of the White Raven Community were able to deter most of the would-be attackers. The only exception was a group from the Argonaut Community, a Greecian Community famous for being one of the largest and most famous groups of Heroes in the entire Divine Realm.

After the utter defeat of Laius and the Perseus Community, Athena, Laius's Aunt, practically begged the Olympus Faction to take action. She even entreated Zeus and Hera directly, but, as the status of the Olympians had fallen greatly ever since their battle with the Avalon Community, Zeus was in no hurry to antagonize a Community under the protection of Shiroyasha. He was one of the Gods that had stood in her way during her Problem Child days, so, while he would never admit to being afraid of her, he had absolutely no intention of offending her.

With Zeus practically forbidding her from getting involved, Athena could only rely on the Argonauts to avenge her nephew's defeat. Jason wasn't particularly reliable but his charisma had allowed him to recruit legendary figures such as Heracles, Achilles, Castor, Pollux, Atalanta, Odysseus, and, most importantly, at least for Athena's purposes, Perseus. He also had the support of the Great Witch of Colchis, Medea. She was mentally unstable, but, so long as Jason was the one asking, she would set the entire Little Garden ablaze if it meant earning his attention and love.

Though she was forced to humiliate herself in order to garner Jason's support, Athena was willing to forgo getting revenge so long as he was able to complete her objective. Jason was well aware of this, so, in the months leading up to the Gift Game, he buttered up the members of the Argonauts in order to ensure their participation. His Community wasn't nearly as unified as most other groups, so, while they would rally to his call in the event of an emergency, it took a significant amount of effort to convince them to join in his 'antics'.

Fortunately, at least for Jason, he had Perseus there to support him. The latter was good friends with the vast majority of the Argonauts. This made it a lot easier to convince the rather obstinate group that their cause was just. After all, avenging the crippled son of a dear friend was something even normal people would consider a worthy cause.

While Jason was wholly incapable of defeating a high-ranking Valkyrie, most other Greecian Heroes were more than a match for anyone outside the Top 3. The only Argonauts that could pull that off were Heracles and Achilles, but, even then, it would be a pretty close match.

The difficulty Jason and the Argonauts faced was that the Valkyries outnumbered them quite a bit. They also couldn't outright attack them, so, while most people were focused on the promotional Gift Game marking Vahn's inevitable rise, a rather sizeable crowd had formed to watch Jason and his Argonauts compete against the members of the White Raven Community...

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Finding a Teleportation Nexus unguarded, Kenshin and Tamamo loitered around on the surface for a short while before mustering the resolve to head directly to the core/control room. Kenshin went in first, and, as could be expected, an army affiliated with the Kotoamatsukami was there waiting for her. What surprised her was the fact that it was a relatively small force, and, while there were quite a number of people that gave her dangerous vibes, none gave her the impression she couldn't defeat them.

Though she lacked a Fragment of Origin related to breaking through enemy lines, Kenshin was still Kenshin. The moment she realized there were no significant threats, she immediately charged into the group of samurai, shinobi, and shrine maidens. They did their best to impede her but the most they were able to accomplish was slowing her down as she smashed through their defensive line in a single push. Around the same time, Tamamo appeared atop one of the teleportation platforms, so, while most people were focused on Kenshin, the opportunistic fox girl decided to teach them the importance of watching their backs...

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Seeing the members of her Community being defeated with relative ease, Hanzo, lurking in the depths of Tamamo's shadow, weighed the pros and cons of helping them out. She would normally only accept commissions at the behest of Amaterasu. As the latter had already been defeated, the only reason Hanzo could think to act was to curry favor with her Patron Goddess.

Unfortunately, at least for the people being incinerated by Tamamo's flames, Amaterasu wasn't known as a particularly generous Goddess. If Hanzo took it upon herself to help out, Amaterasu was more likely to argue she was fulfilling her duty than performing a commission. Honor didn't exactly put food on the table or replenish her stockpile of ninja tools, so, having already spent eight of her lives, Hanzo made the executive decision to preserve the one she had remaining...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Even when nerfed, the Model Omega is ridiculously OP...','Athena be giving off some mad Karen vibes xD...','Hanzo be like, "Work smart, not hard."')