Despite the gag order issued by the Empire, news and speculation pertaining to Vahn were among the hottest topics of the Tower. Every faction was keeping a close eye on his every move, and, as a result of his actions on the lower floors, there were even a number of groups forming beneath the banner of the Aldrnari Empire. Many had been waiting for someone with the power to oppose the Empire to appear, so, even if it was another Emperor, a growing number of people within the Tower were beginning to speak of 'revolution' and 'justice'.
Unfortunately, for each rumor pertaining to Vahn's inevitable conquest of the Tower, there were ten related to his 'cooperation' with the Empire and the Ten Great Families. The Great Families hadn't exactly been secretive about their efforts to win Vahn's favor, so, even if his figure never appeared in any of the recordings, there was a substantial amount of evidence to suggest he had been won over by the beauties imposed upon him by various factions. There was even a rumor claiming that Princess Maschenny was among the women sent to seduce Vahn, seemingly on the orders of Jahad himself. Few people actually believed this, but, as was often the case, the more contentious a topic, the faster it spread among the general populace…
Reading the latest news related to Vahn, an article explaining how he had freed the Heroes sealed within the Walls of Peaceful Coexistence, an amused smile spread across Yuri's face as she scrolled through the text. This greatly amplified her beauty, but, due to everyone in her surroundings having been beaten unconscious, the only person able to appreciate it was the wryly smiling Evan.
Since it would cause a number of problems if someone were to capture the current scene on their Lighthouse, Evan did his best to suppress his exasperation as he said, "Though conflict among the Princesses is perfectly normal, I don't think Vahn would approve of such 'extreme' measures…"
Furrowing her brows in response to Evan's remark, Yuri sent a sidelong glower towards the petite silver-haired man as she huffily replied, "You're too uptight. It's not like I killed any of them. I just gave this arrogant brat a light punishment. We both know she deserved it."
Punctuating her words, Yuri lightly smacked the exposed and noticeably bruised backside of the unconscious woman she had been sitting on. This further exacerbated the feeling of exasperation that was plaguing Evan, as, rather than groaning in pain, a discernibly pleasurable moan emanated from the unconscious woman's throat in response to being hit.
Shaking her head in spite of the amused smile dominating her face, Yuri resisted the urge to tug at the woman's rather skimpy black panties as she said, "This is why people feel uncomfortable around the Hendo Lok Family. Everyone in their family is either a psychopath, a berserker, or a self-harming masochist…"
Exhaling a sigh, Evan was preparing to make another attempt to persuade Yuri, but, ever since her drastic increase in power, convincing her had become a lot harder. She was now strong enough to one-sidedly thrash a Princess infamous for her Shinsu Resistance and durability. This was in spite of the fact that the latter had her entire team fighting alongside her, each ranking within the top 500 of their respective Positions.
Unfortunately, just as Evan was about to speak, the woman serving as Yuri's seat cushion promptly opened her eyes, seemingly stirred awake by the previous strike. This was quickly noticed by Yuri, who, with a somewhat predatory smile on her face, gave the woman's bottom another light smack as she asked, "Learned your lesson?"
With a heated sigh forced from her throat, the hazel-eyed woman seemed to consider her options for a few moments before 'indignantly' asserting, "I'll never admit defeat…e-even if you tie me up and t-t-torture me…I'll never take back my words…!"
Noticing the expectant look in the woman's eyes, combined with the ruddy blush covering her face, Yuri couldn't help but sigh before rising to her feet and saying, "Whatever. I've already gotten my revenge. See you later, Lotte."
With a panicked look on her face, Lotte, better known as Princess Hendo Lok Lotte Jahad, promptly sprang to her feet, obstructing Yuri's passage as she exclaimed, "Where do you think you're going!? You're the one who picked a fight! Did you think you could just leave before we've settled this…!?"
Seeing Lotte's massive chest bounce in response to her sudden movement, a subtle glow emanated from Yuri's ruby eyes as she crossed her arms in a passive effort to emphasize her own. Then, with a grim look on her face, she stated, "I'm sure you have plenty of people more than willing to help you get off. We're done here. Move."
Despite a visible bead of sweat forming on her face and rolling down her cheek, Lotte maintained her position, arms spread wide to block Yuri's departure. Had Vahn been present, he wouldn't have been able to avoid admiring this particular pose, as, due to the innate resistance of her body, Lotte wore 'very' little in the way of clothing. The twin-tailed girl's entire outfit consisted of a black, long-sleeved halter top, bottoms reminiscent of a black bikini, and thigh-high beige leggings that left her heel and toes exposed. This put her remarkably overdeveloped body on full display, and, due to her heritage as a member of the Hendo Lok Family, she towered over the respectably tall Yuri by nearly twenty centimeters. She was a 'mountain' of a woman, yet, despite her size, the only noticeable fat on her body seemed to be consolidated in her breasts, thighs, and bottom.
Though she was ultimately playing into the masochistic woman's hand, Yuri was too annoyed by Lotte's behavior to simply ignore her. As a result, a bloody-red aura began to surge from her body as she extended her hand in an instant, middle-finger looped with her thumb as the prelude to a cataclysmic flick. In response, an excited smile spread across Lotte's face as her thick bangs were forced aside from the wind-pressure. This revealed a wine-red blemish covering her left eye, and, though she had already seen it previously, Yuri couldn't help thinking about what Vahn would do even as her finger made contact with Lotte's forehead…
In a manner remarkably reminiscent of Mash's Innate, a visible ripple passed through Lotte's body in response to Yuri's attack. Immediately thereafter, her body began to vibrate noticeably as hazy white steam began to rise from her exposed flesh. This was the true reason she forsook armor, as, without being able to 'breathe', her body would rapidly overheat without the aid of Shinsu from the surroundings.
Though others would have been sent flying from such an attack, Lotte was only forced back a few meters before exhaling a large cloud of steam from her throat. When she raised her face again, an intoxicated look had replaced her former anxiety, unnerving even Yuri as she heatedly inquired, "Is that the best you can do?" before charging forward with the momentum of a freight train fired from a railgun.
Resisting the urge to uppercut the charging beauty, Yuri took advantage of the drastic difference in their respective speeds to snort through her nose and produce a number of springy, vibrant-green, bubbles. A few of these formed directly between her and Lotte, forcibly teleporting the woman the moment she came into contact with them. This left the latter more than a little confused, as, for the most part, Yuri had never revealed her Shinsu Quality. She was the type that liked to resolve things with her fists, so, despite the remarkable utility provided by her inordinately rare Quality, she rarely made use of it.
Unfortunately for Lotte, Yuri had decided to make an exception this time around. She wasn't in the mood to be used as a masturbation aide by a masochistic giantess, so, having already achieved her original objective, retreat seemed like the most sensible option. This resulted in Lotte being trapped in a veritable asteroid field of vibrant green bubbles, each capable of randomly teleporting whoever touched them to the location of another bubble. Due to their close proximity, touching one meant being caught in a teleportation loop, one of the most disorienting experiences imaginable…
—
Using the same bubbles to teleport far away from the site of her battle with Lotte, Yuri couldn't help exhaling an exasperated sigh before grumbling, "I don't know how Vahn does it. All the girls I know are nutjobs, psychos, or closet perverts. Just dealing with a single can be unbelievably troublesome. How does he manage more than a hundred?"
Deadpanning in response to Yuri's remark, Evan resisted the urge to point out that her name would be near the top if someone were to compile a list of troublesome women. Instead, he straightened out his oversized backpack, asking, "So? What now? Don't tell me you're actually intending to fight all of the other Princesses? At this rate, you're bound to irreversibly offend someone…"
As tempting as the idea was, Yuri promptly shook her head, smiling as she replied, "Who has that kind of time? I'm just settling some past grievances while testing out my new power. I'll probably stop after defeating Adori, Hagipherione, Heice, An, Maschenny, and maybe Garam."
Hearing Yuri casually mention defeating six of the most powerful Princesses of Jahad, Evan couldn't suppress a wry smile as he advised, "Confidence isn't a bad thing. Too much confidence, however, is poison for the mind. Please don't do anything too drastic, Princess. At the very least, please consult with your mother before antagonizing anyone directly affiliated with the Imperial Army…"
Surprising the diminutive dwarf quite a bit, Yuri actually nodded her head in response to his words, saying, "Well, duh. Even I'm not dumb enough to attack the army. Despite your height, you seem to enjoy looking down on me, don't you?"
Punctuating her statement by roughly ruffling Evan's hair, Yuri nearly forced the former to his knees with her extraordinary strength before retracting her hand and adding, "Let's get out of here. Just the thought of that perverted giantess catching up to us makes my skin crawl. We should head to the next Floor before she sends someone to block the Gateport."
Without waiting for a response, a red aura suddenly erupted from Yuri's body as she took to the sky like a meteor traveling in reverse. This left Evan feeling more than a little helpless, not because he couldn't keep up with her neutral pace, but because Yuri's aura was so extreme that even Regulars would be able to sense her from thousands of kilometers away. She had never been good at hiding her strength, so, now that her power had increased exponentially, even something a simple as flying through the sky had become unnecessarily high-profile…
Shaking his head, Evan released the sigh he had been restraining before grabbing the straps of his backpack and leaping into the air and doing his best to catch up with the distant red dot streaking across the sky. Fortunately, Yuri's navigational capabilities were notoriously defective, so, after flying the wrong way for several minutes, she eventually doubled back to ask which direction the Gateport was located…
—
Sensing Yuri's aura, Lotte, who had previously been helping her team receive medical aid, promptly directed her gaze towards the horizon. Rather than giving chase, however, she ultimately just shook her head before picking up a warhammer that was even larger than she was. Then, with the muscles of her right arm flexing enough to tear the fabric of her top, she threw it with as much might as she could muster before turning around to continue providing first aid to her unconscious companions. Several minutes later, thousands of kilometers away, an area the size of a small island ended being devastated when said hammer ended up embedding itself in the side of the installation responsible for facilitating transfers to the 61st and 63rd Floors…
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Fake News','Darkness, is that you?','High Rankers are scary…')
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