Surprise

Though they did their best to hold her off, it wasn't long before the lesser members of the Rakshasa Tribe were 'wiped out' as a result of Wu's onslaught. None of them had been eliminated, but, unless they received medical attention and care, the odds of them waking within the next day or two were slim.

Seeing wave after wave of her children sent flying, Ahirani could do little more than glare at the rampaging monkey girl. She had tried to support them, but, no matter what anyone threw at her, Wu would just shake her head and shrug it off. Thus, less than forty minutes after Wu's assault had begun, the only members of the Rakshasa Tribe left standing were Ahirani, her two guardians, and Attutyaptish. There were a few others, but, as far as the spectators were concerned, only these four had any chance of standing against Wu's 'tyranny'.

Brandishing her Ruyi Jingu Bang, Wu stared up at the trio of massive women glaring at her with grim expressions on their faces. She also noticed Attutyaptish, but, sensing he wasn't a threat, she largely ignored him as she directed her gaze at Ahirani and said, "You're the leader of this motley group of ghosts, right? Why didn't you order their retreat...?"

Inhaling a deep breath through her nose, Ahirani did her best to remain calm as she answered, "We, the Rakshasa, are forever indebted to Lord Indra. If he tasks us with an objective, we will...attempt to see it through without fail..."

Though she had initially wanted to say they always complete the tasks assigned them, the present situation would have contradicted such a claim. At this point, the success or failure of their mission depended entirely on Wu's whims...

"Hmm..."

Scratching the back of her head, Wu took a moment to consider Ahirani's words before ultimately shaking her head and saying, "It doesn't matter. As I mentioned previously, the only person allowed to defeat Vahn is the Great Me, Sun Wu Kong. Brats like you simply aren't qualified. Now, get out of my sight before I decide to pay your so-called Lord a visit."

Furrowing her brows, Ahirani was prepared to unleash her most powerful attack when the familiar voice of her Lord entered her ears, saying, "Just fall back. Even if you had managed to complete the ritual magic formation, I doubt it would have had any effect. Order those that can still move to help those that can't. Dhanvantari is on standby and waiting to treat them."

Lowering her arms, Ahirani continued to stare at Wu for several seconds before nodding her head and saying, "Very well. We shall withdraw..." in a reluctant tone. This earned her a brow raise from Wu, but, having already given the group the option to withdraw, she ultimately just shrugged her shoulders, replying, "Good for you." before vaulting towards the nearest teleportation nexus.

Following Wu's departure with her eyes, Ahirani was half-tempted to send a grudge-based attack at the retreating monkey's back. Instead, she dutifully transmitted her Lord's message before directing her guardians to retrieve those in critical condition. They were capable of storing and sealing things within their bodies, so, while they darted around like phantoms devouring 'corpses' on a battlefield, Ahirani turned to Attutyaptish, asking, "What do you make of this development, Atty...?"

Shaking his head, a conflicted expression marred Attutyaptish's feline visage as he answered, "There is clearly a connection between the Sage Dragon's Hearth and the Jade Palace. Whether or not they have conspired against the other Communities remains to be seen. One thing we can be absolutely certain of is that the Sage Dragon, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, possesses incredible power. This is merely speculation, but, even if we had completed the ritual, I doubt it would have had any effect..."

Exhaling a sigh, Ahirani's body rapidly contracted until she was around 220cm tall. Then, with a look of considerable weariness on her face, she directed her scarlet eyes to the cloudy sky as she uttered, "I can't keep doing this..."

Due to their proximity to one another, Attutyaptish's sensitive, feline ears were able to pick up his mother's hushed musings. Extreme guilt briefly marred his expression, but, soon thereafter, it was replaced by grim resolution as he balled his paw-like hands into tiny fists and said, "Mother...there is something I failed to mention in my previous report..."

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Following the sound of an explosion, the metallic doors separating Vahn's throne/control room from the adjacent antechamber were sent careening into the far wall with enough force to embed them into the surrounding stone walls. Shortly thereafter, Wu meandered into the room, a cheeky smile on her face as she briefly passed her honey-colored gaze over Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita.

Before a fight could break out, Vahn sat up straight atop his throne, a faint smile on his face as he mused, "You really know how to make an entrance..."

Half-covering her mouth, Wu snickered in response to Vahn's words before embedding her Ruyi Jingu Bang into the floor and stating, "There is something else I wanted to discuss but my main reason for coming here is to accept your challenge. Now, are you going to get up or do I have to drag you off that throne by force?"

Shrugging his shoulders, the corners of Vahn's smile curled up as he replied, "You're free to try..." in a teasing, untroubled tone. This caused the smile on Wu's face to turn notably more ferocious, but, instead of trying to attack him, she surprised everyone spectating by simply walking over, climbing onto his lap, and sitting with her back against his chest. Then, after making herself comfortable, she turned her head to stare up at him, a provoking smile developing across her face as she teased, "My throne is better than yours..."

Though this was a little outside his expectations, Vahn wasn't particularly surprised by Wu's words and behavior. Instead, he sat a little straighter before raising his arms, palms turned upward in a manner that resembled armrests. Seemingly understanding his intentions, Wu immediately rested her arms atop his, palms turned downward as she linked their fingers and said, "Good boy..." in the same teasing tone as before.

Rolling his eyes, another pair of arms sprouted from behind Vahn's back before promptly linking around Wu's abdomen. This briefly caught her by surprise, but, as it wasn't the first time he had sprouted additional limbs against her, the tensions in her body gradually relaxed as she secretly snaked her tail into his tunic and asked, "Did you create an illusion...?"

Shaking his head, Vahn surprised Wu quite a bit by answering, "Nope. You're the one that decided on this course of action. Now you reap what you sow..."

Inhaling a deep yet inaudible breath, the expression Wu's face froze as the realization that billions, if not trillions of people would be observing and reviewing this particular moment in time. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that history was being rewritten, as, depending on her next course of action, the way in which every person in the Little Garden viewed her was bound to change. It was kind of exciting...

Closing her legs for fear that the cameras might catch a glimpse of something they shouldn't, Wu stared up at Vahn for several tense moments before dropping a veritable bombshell as she said, "I love you..." in an uncharacteristically serious tone of voice.

Surprised by the very public confession, the look of stupefaction on Vahn's face was so extreme that it would soon become a 'meme' amongst the people of the Little Garden.

While it was remarkably easy to imagine Wu proposing to him as a sort of prank, Vahn had never suspected, not even for a single moment, that she would sincerely confess her feelings for him. The former would have made sense. After all, Wu had an overbearing, ostensibly tyrannical character. By confessing to him in this manner, she was exposing her vulnerable side, an aspect of her character that even he had only seen glimpses of, to the entire Divine Realm...

Satisfied by Vahn's reaction, a cheeky smile developed across Wu's face as she leaned the back of her head against his chest and closed her eyes. To the people observing the scene, she appeared to be resting comfortably. In reality, her heart currently felt as though it was doing sommersaults in her chest. For the first time in her life, she was genuinely at a loss for words, so, instead of saying something that could potentially ruin the moment, she allowed her confession to linger in the vast and silent hall...

Noticing the rather prominent palpitations of Wu's heart, the look of stupefaction on Vahn's face gradually eased into an affectionate smile. He was still surprised, but, as Wu had clearly made her decision, he had no reason to hesitate. Instead, he held her lovingly in his embrace before kissing the top of her head and answering, "I love you too..."

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Seeing the scene play out overhead, Katana and Dagger, the two sisters Shoutcasting on behalf of the Sage Dragon's Hearth, found themselves at a complete loss for words. Fortunately, they were far from the only ones. In fact, with the exception of a few people who clearly had no idea who Wu was, everyone as far as the eye could see had fallen silent.

Recovering a bit quicker than most, Katana promptly muted both her and her sister's microphones before turning to the latter and shout-whispering, "Holy shit! Did this really just happen!? If so, this is the scoop of the fucking century...!"

Though she hadn't recovered completely, the blue and black-haired Dagger gradually came back to her senses when she heard her sister's words. Then, despite the latter not asking, she extended her hand to give the fleshier bits of Katana's waist a not-so-gentle pinch.

Swatting her sister's hand away, Katana shouted, "Wh-what the fuck...!?" before glaring at the still-dazed Dagger. In response, the latter offered an insincere smile as she explained, "I wanted to make sure this wasn't a dream."

Rubbing the spot where Dagger had pinched her, a vengeful look marred Katana's face as she said, "If that was the case, you should have pinched yourself..."

Waving her hand in a dismissive manner, Dagger shamelessly rebutted, "Are you an idiot? You know I bruise easily. There's no way in hell I'm going to pinch myself when I'm wearing a string top and a thong."

Glowering in response to her sister's words, Katana had to summon willpower she didn't even know she possessed in order to resist pouncing on the blunette and giving her a series of pinches...

"Fine...be that way...I was originally going to introduce you to Vahn after the post-match interviews. Now you can go and eat a dick for all I care..."

Furrowing her brows, Dagger seemed to consider her sister's words before ultimately shrugging her shoulders and asking, "Does it even matter at this point? If someone like Wu is laying a claim, there is no way people like us can compete. I don't know about you, but I'd rather avoid having the Ruyi Jing Bang shoved up my ass..."

Though she was originally looking forward to meeting and potentially have a one-night stand with Vahn, Dagger wasn't nearly as 'resolute' as her younger sister. She also had aspirations to be a Poet, but, unlike Katana, she was content publishing the stories of people in the 6 and 7-Digit Gates. Not every Poet aspired to write and influence the legends of Gods...

Clicking her tongue, Katana had to take several deep breaths to suppress her growing desire to smack Dagger's head. As she was unaware of her 'tangential encounters' with Vahn, she had been planning to use the bustier blunette to try and entice her quarry into a threesome. Her chances of success were slim when Dagger was still on board. Now that she had all but given up, the odds of Vahn tending her garden or turning her soil had diminished considerably...

"Damn traitor..."

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Wu be like, "Git..."','Wu used Charm. It's super effective...!','Katana is a very 'ambitious' young woman xD...')

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