Mounting Pressure

While chaos spread through the former Little Garden, Azi continued to stare at the sky as if awaiting an answer to his question. At the same time, he couldn't help feeling like he had fallen or was currently being lured into an inescapable trap...

Interrupting the ancient evil's thoughts, or at least attempting to, a beam of luminous gold enveloped Azi, the energy within so pure it dispersed the miasma that had begun to accumulate in the area. In its place, an area of several kilometers became sanctified ground, glowing with a faint golden light as 'god rays' illuminated the area.

Following the light to its origin, a woman with long golden hair and azure blue eyes could be seen wielding a large, silvery-white claymore with a crimson hilt. Her athletic body was garbed in a black one-piece dress with a short, frilly white skirt and leather leggings. Over that, she wore ornate, silvery-white plate mail that covered her breasts, shoulders, arms, waist, and the lower half of her legs, seemingly comprised of the same material as her sword. More notably, her waist bore a piece of red fabric, bearing a once-famous coat of arms that depicted a lion's head...

Seeing the ephemerally beautiful woman appear on numerous displays, the excitement of the people spectating from the Little Garden reached a crescendo. Not everyone immediately recognized her, but those that did excitedly spread the word. The Community the woman belonged to may have fallen out of favor, but she was still one of the most famous figures in the Little Garden: Artorias Pendragon, the King of Knights and the Ruler of Avalon.

Though she initially took part in the Pandemonium Gift Game to restore the honor of her Community, Artorias couldn't ignore an evil right in front of her. Azi exuded an evil unlike anything she had ever sensed, so taking him out took priority over everything else.

Just as it seemed Artorias's attack may have been effective, the beam of light emanating from her Excalibur shattered like glass. At the same time, the left-most head of Azi shouted, "You bitch! That fucking burns...!"

Seeing Azi shatter her energy-based attack with a backhand, the pupils of Artorias's azure eyes contracted. Her expression remained calm and dignified, but a sense of foreboding took root in her heart as the central head turned toward her, staring at her Excalibur as it said, "The power of hope...one of the few weapons capable of killing me. It's a pity you seem to have lost it..."

Before Artorias could respond, Azi streaked across the sky like a black meteor surrounded by pitch black. His movements tore through Space as he traveled, so a trail of destruction followed in his wake as he attempted to grasp Artorias's neck.

Demonstrating that she wasn't known as the King of Knights for nothing, Artorias evaded Azi's attack at the last moment, darting backward as she swept Excalibur at his wrist. Unfortunately, her attack impacted the stake-bound manacles encompassing Azi's wrist, deflecting off the seemingly indestructible material with more force than her actual swing.

"Hoooo...you're not half bad..." remarked the right-most head. The central head agreed with this sentiment, but it was ruined by the left-most head screaming, "This bitch has a whiff of Dragon's blood flowing through her veins! Let's make her into a seedbed...!"

While slapping the left-most head, Azi used his shadowy wings to try and pierce Artorias. The latter was able to evade and even cut through most of his attacks due to Excalibur's properties as a Holy Sword, but she was slowly pushed back as his regeneration drastically exceeded her damage output.

Voicing their combined thoughts, the right-most head explained, "Your mistake was confronting me with the notion your victory was assured. The moment your initial attack failed, doubt was seeded in your heart. From then onward, your victory became an impossibility..."

Gritting her teeth, Artorias sliced through Azi's wings before darting back to create some distance. Then, while holding Excalibur in front of her face, her azure eyes blazed with conviction as she firmly asserted, "Excalibur is the Sword of Promised Victory. I do not know from whence you came, but I will cut you down and rid the world of your evil..."

Staring at Artorias with his red, seemingly dead eyes, the centermost Azi adopted a 'very' disconcerting smile as he mused, "Hope is a weapon of the weak. The strong may inspire it, but it is not something they wield of their own accord. Your convictions are not your own. Therefore, you can never defeat-"

Interrupting Azi's musings, Artorias charged toward him, the blade of her Excalibur exuding a holy glow that dwarfed the radiance of the Sun as she attempted to bifurcate him. Her attack found purchase, but while she was able to cut halfway through Azi's waist, her attack stopped the moment it came into contact with his spine.

Before Artorias could retract her sword and attempt a second strike, Azi grasped her shoulders, all three of his heads staring down at her as the centermost head declared, "Your sin is that you were born too powerful..."

Without extrapolating on the meaning of his words, Azi stunned the entire Little Garden by abruptly pulling her 'into' him. Excalibur granted her one of the most potent forms of immortality in the Little Garden, but he didn't intend to kill her. Hope and despair were ultimately two sides of the same coin, so he planned to subsume her existence to elevate his own.

Just as Artorias was about to give in to despair, her body dispersed into motes of light. Azi attempted to absorb it, but his efforts were thwarted by an invisible force pressing down on him from above, smashing him into the ground without breaking it.

Despite his unfathomable strength, Azi found himself unable to resist the invisible force pressing down on him. Even stranger, he couldn't break the ground beneath him, almost like it had become indestructible. All he could do, at least for the time being, was watch silently as the motes of the light that used to be Artorias faded, marking her return to the Little Garden...

...

..

.

Though her body was destroyed and her Ego sustained several cracks, Madara's internal System Template was able to repair the damage as she gradually reformed several hundred kilometers away from the blue-haired woman.

"What a monster..." remarked Madara, who, even after creating a new body, felt as though each of her cells was on the verge of breaking down. Her opponent's final beam attack had the terrifying property of Existence Erasure, so a powerful Authority was currently doing everything in its power to prevent her from existing.

Snorting through her nose, Madara gradually reinforced her existence as she remarked, "What foolishness. Did you seriously think you could erase me, Uchiha Madara...?"

Activating her Rinnesharingan, Madara's existence stabilized enough that she was no longer feeling pain. At the same time, a sound similar to glass being shattered echoed around her as the Authority attempting to impose her erasure experienced a rebound...

...

..

.

While looking around for traces of Madara, the blue-haired woman's visor abruptly exploded, nearly knocking her out of the sky. She quickly caught herself, but a hint of disbelief marred her usually emotionless face before her visor promptly regenerated, concealing her crimson eyes from view...

...

..

.

Standing high in the sky and overlooking a terrain filled with massive frozen flowers, Yuri remarked, "You're pretty strong. If we were back in the Tower, you could have easily secured one of the Top 20 positions..."

Glaring up at Yuri, Laulau growled, "You speak as if the match has already been decided..."

Scratching the back of her head, Yuri explained, "I didn't come here to eliminate people from the competition. I just wanted to see how strong you were before moving on to my next target. Do you really want to see things through to the end?"

"..."

Though her pride compelled her to respond in the affirmative, Laulau ultimately remained silent. Her standing as Floor Master depended on her ability to make a good showing, so she couldn't afford to be eliminated this early in the competition...

Sparing Laulau the indignity of having the surrender, a crimson spear tore through the air like a bolt of lightning, albeit much faster. Yuri managed to deflect it with the back of her hand, but she was still knocked by several meters, her arm vibrating from the force of the blow.

Shaking her hand, Yuri looked in the direction the spear had come from to find a tall and slender woman with purple hair and green eyes. Her body was garbed in the attire of a butler, but she exuded an aura only the most powerful of warriors could command.

Despite never having met, Yuri immediately recognized the woman, remarking, "You must be the Divine Realm's Scathach..." before adopting a broad smile.

Placing her hand over her heart, Scathach adopted a smile of her own as she answered, "Indeed. And you must be Ha Yuri, one of the Sage Dragon Emperor's many Concubines..."

Snorting through her nose, Yuri unleashed a massive, emerald-green tidal wave as she replied, "I'll have you know we're properly married...!"

Manifesting another crimson spear, Scatach cut through the seemingly unstoppable wave as if she were swatting away a fly. To Yuri's surprise, this casual act severed her control over the water, causing it to disperse into a steamy haze before disappearing entirely.

Narrowing her eyes in amusement, Scathach remarked, "My spear can cut through all lies and deceit. You may believe yourself to be powerful, but is that truly the case~?"

With her left eye twitching, Yuri manifested her Zanpakuto in the form of a pair of red gauntlets. At the same time, a complex magic circle appeared behind her, its core resembling the head of a seahorse with coral antlers.

"You've got a smart mouth on you," remarked Yuri. "Let's see if your bite is as strong as your bark...!"

Completely ignoring Laulau, Yuri charged toward Scathach like a meteor descending from the heavens. The latter couldn't fly without the aid of a Gift, but it didn't matter too much as she preferred to stay on the ground. In response to Yuri's charge, she simply adopted a faint smile, receiving the former's attack with the cylindrical section of her spear without giving so much as a centimeter of ground.

Feeling as though she had punched a void, Yuri's crimson eyes widened as Scathach mused, "That's quite the weapon you possess. I take it the Sage Dragon Emperor forged it~?"

Instead of answering Scathach's question, Yuri activated the ability of her Zanpakuto, causing an explosion comparable to a nuclear bomb to erupt from her fist. Laulau was forced to flee from the shockwave, but Scathach and her immediate surroundings emerged unscathed.

Retracting her fist and creating a bit of distance, Yuri adopted a defensive posture as she asked, "What's going on? Are you shielded by some kind of barrier...?"

Maintaining her smile, Scathach generously revealed, "It's the effect of my unique Gift, [Geass Spear]. It's weaker but functions similarly to the Authority of a Host Master. Unless you wager something, your attacks will not affect me."

Raising her brows, Yuri parroted, "Wager...?" before asking, "So I need to pay some kind of tribute just to damage you? How is that even remotely fair...?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Scathach replied, "Life isn't fair. Some are born with blessings, while others are fated to die young. My status as the most powerful spear-wielder is constantly in jeopardy, so it's only 'fair' that my challengers wager something in return. Depending on what you offer, the potency of your attacks will vary."

Clicking her tongue, Yuri muttered, "What a load of bullshit..." before half-turning to leave. Opponents like Scathach were a bad matchup for her, so she intended to bail before she was baited into wagering something that might cause Vahn trouble. To her surprise, Scathach didn't try to stop her, so she took one last look at the purple-haired 'demon' before teleporting away to find a less irksome opponent...

...

..

.

(A/N: From now on, it's MI in the morning and EPIC in the evening. As for the number of chapters, it depends on my health and mood. At the very least, there will be one of each. Additional chapters can be found on my website(Libraryofakasha), but it'll be a while before there is a substantial difference between here and there.)