Shadows

Immediately following Vahn's taunt, the masked man, Reflejo, erupted like a shadowy volcano. This caused a tremendous amount of highly corrosive Shinsu to spread through the area, but, before it was able to reach anyone, it began to roll upwards as if it had hit the interior of an invisible bubble.

Noticing the strange phenomenon, Reflejo began to increase the output of his shadowy Shinsu as he exclaimed, "You think you can keep me contained!? This is the power my Lord, Master Poken has granted me! In this form, even a B-Rank Regular wouldn't be able to defend themselves against my attacks...!"

Following the outburst, Reflejo charged forward with a double-bladed crimson scythe, slicing at the invisible membrane with enough force to generate blades of intense crimson light. To his surprise, however, there was absolutely no resistance in the area in which his scythe struck. Only the Shinsu that was being discharged from his body seemed to be contained, both confounding and terrifying the masked man.

Alleviating some of the man's confusion, Vahn casually remarked, "There is a functionally unlimited amount of Shinsu in the environment. Only a fool with terrible control would consume their internal Shinsu in order to release an external attack. You have become too reliant on a power that has been bestowed upon you. Tell me, have you ever even fought against a B-Rank Regular? Even if you have, does that automatically make you strong? There are plenty of actual Rankers who aren't even that powerful, yet you believe it is some kind of accomplishment to use someone else's power to rival a B-Rank Regular...?"

Unable to control his emotions, Reflejo continued producing shadow Shinsu from his body, quickly filling the confines of his bubble prison. He had tried to move beyond the unseen threshold, but, as his body had long since been consumed by the power his Master had granted him, doing so caused him extreme pain. He required a special metallic armor just to prevent his body from dispersing, so, unless he could figure out how Vahn was keeping him contained, it was impossible for him to move beyond the invisible boundary.

Seeing his self-created 'Reverse Flow Control Barrier' become filled to the brim with Reflejo's inky black Shinsu, Vahn couldn't help but cock his head to the side as he asked, "Can you seriously not break free? All you have to do is stop arbitrarily burning your internal reserves. I know that armor of yours has the function of sealing the power that has been granted to you. Are you so far gone that you can't even think about using your own power to fight...?"

Though he was currently sealed within a black bubble of Shinsu, Reflejo was still able to hear Vahn's words without any issues. As a result, his expression darkened beneath his mask as he attempted to reabsorb his expelled Shinsu back into his body. This process took several minutes, and, by the time it had completed, all of the Regulars he had prepared for the Workshop Battle were nowhere to be seen.

Answering the man's unasked question, Vahn explained, "Though I don't mind showing off every now and again, I'm not particularly fond of audiences. Now, let's try this again. Just know that, if you try to use that borrowed power of yours, things won't end well for you. I know all your tricks, including that little self-destruction tactic you keep in reserve. If you genuinely consider suicide a viable tactic, what is the point of having persisted these six-hundred years? I mean, really...you are so consumed by revenge that you would willingly walk the path of evil, yet, even after all this time, you continue to idle around in the lower floors just because someone told you to..."

With his internal Shinsu no longer leaking out, Reflejo was able to charge forward unabated, his voice trembling with fury as he shouted, "Stop speaking as if you know everything! You are just an outsider! You have no right to speak down to us, the people who have suffered at the hands of the Ten Great Families...!"

Adopting what could best be described as an incredulous deadpan, Vahn stepped inward just as Reflejo attempted to sweep with his scythe. This allowed him to easily disrupt the man's attack, his left hand arresting the momentum of the malicious-looking weapon as his right palm impacted the armored plating covering the man's chest.

As if he had been impacted by a freight train, Reflejo's weapon was ripped from his hands as his body impacted the far wall of the facility, crashing through it. This caused a large amount of rubble to cover his body, but, thanks to his armor, he was largely unaffected. As for Vahn, he was currently eyeing up the peculiar scythe, curious how anyone could justify using such a weapon when swords and other flat-bladed weapons were considered impractical.

Deciding that it didn't really matter, Vahn shook his head before shouldering the peculiar scythe and saying, "That strike was about the level of a B-Rank Regular. Without that armor of yours, you would have suffered severe injuries from such an attack. Do you still believe you're as strong as a B-Rank Regular...?"

Crawling from the rubble without any discernible difficulty, Reflejo stared back at Vahn with a fierce glower hidden behind his mask. He now understood why Irregulars were considered such monsters, as, even with the power conferred to him by his Master, an incomprehensibly powerful High Ranker, he was still being played with. This only served to enrage him even further, as, from his perspective, someone like Vahn didn't deserve to possess such power...

With his anger reaching levels beyond his control, wispy black shadows began to, once again, leak from Reflejo's body. This earned him a disapproving head shake from Vahn, who, noticing that the number of qualified Regulars was quickly approaching 248, decided to wrap things up. He actually wanted to offer the man a chance at redemption, but, with the Law of Identity revealing the man's innermost thoughts, Vahn knew he was far too gone for that.

Having made up his mind, Vahn brandished the scythe with a finesse that could rival a master, but, before he was able to use it to attack, brackish flames erupted from his body, thoroughly devouring the peculiar weapon as Laev-tan forcibly manifested herself. This elicited a light chuckle from Vahn, who, understanding how temperamental his Zanpakuto could be, grabbed her hilt and mused, "You are, and always will be, my favorite weapon..."

Though she emanated a discontented hum in response, Vahn could sense that his words had been effective in pacifying Laev-tan's fury. Her flames always became a richer crimson hue whenever she was in a good mood, so, even though she seemed to be pouting, he knew she had already forgiven him...

Seeing the weapon that had seemingly emerged from within Vahn's body, Reflejo felt a sudden chill run through his own. He had a distinct impression that Vahn's power had suddenly skyrocketed, his aura becoming comparable to the terrifying presence of his own Master, a High Ranker. This wasn't an exaggeration either, as, the moment Laev-tan released herself from his body, Vahn's power had increased by a factor of ten. This placed him at the same level as weaker High Rankers, his reserves temporarily increasing to nearly fifty million at the expense of a heavy strain on his mind, body, and spirit.

Though he felt it was more than a little overkill, Vahn pointed Laev-tan towards the stunned Reflejo, his expression turning serious as he said, "I pray that you'll find peace in the next world..."

Breaking free from his stupor at the sound of Vahn's words, Reflejo was about to say something in response. Long before this intention could be actualized, however, a sphere of flames, seemingly appearing from the void, enveloped his entire body. To his surprise, he felt neither heat nor pain, as, the moment the flames appeared, everything, including his Ego and the armor protecting his body, were instantaneously vaporized...

Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Vahn stared down at Laev-tan with a wry smile on his face as he remarked, "As always, you are simply amazing..."

Pleased by Vahn's words, Laev-tan released a cheerful hum, blade vibrating contentedly even as she returned to his body. This caused Vahn to feel a ticklish sensation at the core of his being, forcing a chuckle from his throat in spite of the fact that his Pocket had just informed him that he had been disqualified from the Workshop Battle.

Since killing your opponent was a violation of the rules, Vahn wasn't particularly surprised. Rather, he had already expected something like this to happen, so, before the battle even began, he sent Arusha ahead of him using one of the many Light Bullets he had pilfered. If he wanted to, he could easily sneak onboard the Archimedes or simply teleport to her location once she had reached the tournament island. This would place her in unnecessary danger, however, so, under the direction of the Law of Identity, he quickly made his way to a location near the outskirts of Sepia Island.

Generally speaking, the only way for a disqualified contestant to advance to the next round was to be shot with a Light Bullet by one of the teammates. Were he a 'normal' contestant, Vahn would be in quite the pickle now that he had sent his only teammate ahead. Fortunately, he was anything but normal, so, while it would be exceptionally difficult for others, it didn't take him long to track down the tiny pink fairy-like object known as 'Bong Bong'. Then, with a single well-placed shot, he earned himself both the item and VIP passage onto the Archimedes...

---

Sensing his connection with Reflejo severed, an inordinately tall man that seemed to be comprised entirely of shadows squinted his ghostly eyes in dissatisfaction as he remarked, "Useless till the very end...even with everything set up for you to succeed, you still managed to fail....haaaaa..."

Feeling a tremendous amount of exasperation, the shadowy man rubbed his head for several seconds before pulling out a Pocket covered in red runes. This allowed him to communicate with similar Pockets virtually anywhere in the Tower, so, after collecting himself, the man sent a call to his own Master. Then, once the call had connected, he promptly lowered himself to the ground, his voice gaining a highly reverential undertone as he said, "Reflejo has been killed..."

Though it was very subtle, the sound of a sigh could be heard from the other end of the call before a very deep yet ghostly voice asked, "Am I to assume that your scheme to secure all the positions in the Workshop Battle also ended in failure...?"

Without trying to lay the blame on others, the shadowy figure pressed his head to the ground as he said, "I underestimated the Irregular known as Vahn Aldrnari Mason. It seems that the report of that traitorous Guide was not false. Though I am unwilling to believe it is some form of omnipotence, he clearly possesses the ability to peer into the minds of others. He also seems to possess an unknown ignition weapon, one with the ability to incinerate souls..."

This time around, there was a full three minutes of silence from the other end of the call before the voice asked, "Was it the Thorn...?"

Since he had only gotten a brief glimpse of Laev-tan's form, the shadowy figure didn't have enough information to answer his Master's question with surety. As a result, he continued pressing his head to the ground as he answered, "I cannot say. All I know for certain is that it isn't an ordinary ignition weapon. It might even be stronger than the Thirteen Month Series..."

With the Thirteen Month Series being among the most powerful weapons in the Tower, capable of 'ignoring' the restrictions placed upon other items, any weapon even remotely comparable to them was remarkably powerful. This made the man on the opposite end of the call believe that Vahn had, somehow, found a way to infuse the power of the Thorn into another weapon. If that was the case, they needed to do everything in their power to obtain that weapon as it might very well be the key to defeating Jahad. With this in mind, he commanded his servant to rise, his voice becoming even deeper as he said, "Hear my order..."

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Oh no! Not a B-Rank Regular...!','Laev-tan won't tolerate cheating...!','I kind of feel bad for Vahn's enemies xD...')

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