Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Since the award ceremony wasn't until the final day, Seraphina decided to stay at home while Vahn, Fenrir, Sarina, Usalia, and Black Rabbit attended the second day's opening ceremony.

"I didn't know there were going to be so many people. I'm starting to feel nervous..."

Though she had seen the crowd during the previous day's broadcast, Sarina had underestimated just how massive a crowd of 100,000 could be. It didn't help that most of the crowd was filled with leery-eyed men who looked at her as if she were a piece of juicy steak.

Understanding Sarina's concerns, Vahn's expression softened as he gently caressed her head and said, "You don't have to participate if you don't want to. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to show off in the future."

Shaking her head, much of the apprehension in Sarina's expression faded away as she pumped her fists and said, "No! I'm the Vice-Leader of the Sage Dragon's Hearth! I can't keep sitting around all day while you do all the hard work...!"

Chuckling in response to Sarina's vivacious remark, Vahn earned a fair amount of resentment as he bent down to give the slightly startled young woman a lucky kiss...

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To help get the crowd in the spirit, the first event of the second day was the Long Jump followed by Putting the Stone and ending with the Javelin Toss. As a result, Fenrir had to separate from the rest of the group to join the other contestants in the waiting area.

While girls with animal ears and tails weren't particularly rare, every single contestant took notice of Fenrir the moment she entered the room. She had a certain air around her that reminded people of a winter chill, and, the moment her carmine eyes passed over them, it was like the temperature had dropped tens of degrees in an instant.

"Get a load of this. Is she seriously trying to intimidate us before the match even starts? Are all the people in the Sage Dragon's Hearth this arrogant~?"

Directing her gaze towards the person who spoke, Fenrir found a rather strange-looking girl with horns reminiscent of an Oni. What made her really stand out, however, were the prosthetics that extended from her biceps and nearly touched the ground. She also had strange proportions that made her body appear pillowy and soft at a glance, almost like you could touch anywhere on her body and your hand would sink into her flesh.

Furrowing her brows, Fenrir restrained the urge to call the woman a pillowy bimbo as she shifted her attention to the strange, seemingly young girl standing next to her. She had a complexion that could make a zombie blush, blood-red eyes surrounded by sickly yellow sclera, a mane of unkempt white hair that extended past her waist, and baggy white clothes that resembled a mix between an EMT and a Firefighter. She was also wearing a pair of spats, but, due to the numerous cuts, bruises, and bandages on her legs, they may as well have been a shadow cast by her oversized coat.

"I don't recognize the two of you. Which Community do you belong to...?"

After laughing in a manner that resembled a sensual cackle, the long-armed woman teasingly replied, "Wouldn't you like to know~?" before letting her inordinately long tongue fall from her mouth. As for the predominately white figure next to her, she just pointed to the badge on her chest as if that was the only explanation required.

Though she got the impression the two were demons, Fenrir just snorted through her nose before ultimately choosing to ignore them. They wouldn't be here if her Master didn't allow it, so, even if they were up to something, it wouldn't really matter. After all, her Master was effectively omniscient and omnipotent within his own territory. The moment anyone attempted to break the rules he had established, they would be held accountable.

Seeing Fenrir snub her like a pompous princess, the long-armed Oni promptly retracted her tongue before glaring at the retreating Vanargandr and saying, "Damn. You come in here and release your aura like you're some kind of big shot and then back down the moment someone speaks out? I was just joking around before. Who would have imagined that the Sage Dragon's Hearth was filled with pansies? What a joke. It's no wonder your Leader got disqualified from his own competition."

Stopping the moment she heard the woman speak ill of her Master, the aura around Fenrir's body became visible as she looked over her shoulder and said, "Arrogance is derived from ignorance and yours is beyond comprehension..."

Without waiting for the woman to respond, Fenrir cast a silencing charm on the entire room before walking over to one of the benches lining the walls. This caused a bit of panic among the other girls in the room. As for the demonic duo, the long-armed Oni adopted a fierce expression similar to a vengeful spirit while her white-haired counterpart just stared off into space with glazed, unfocused eyes...

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As Fenrir had suspected, Vahn had immediately taken notice of the various demons that had infiltrated the competition. This was yet another failure on his part, as, not only had he failed to prevent Communities from seeking outside help, he had also failed to include a rule prohibiting substitutions. As a result, a total of thirteen demons had infiltrated the event, and, based on the information provided by Loi-chan, this was only part of a much larger organization.

If it were anyone else, they would have immediately tried to cancel or postpone the event. High-brow Gift Games could be delayed for up to a week with the interference of a Judge Master, so, if he really wanted to, Vahn could call inform Black Rabbit and even fix the rules. Instead, he decided to simply ignore them as most of the demons had elected to join low-risk sporting events. More importantly, Loi-chan had revealed that they were basically just trying to gauge his reaction after ascertaining that Seraphina and Usalia were demons.

Thus far, the Sage Dragon's Hearth had really only cooperated with weaker Communities seeking protection. The rules and provisions of the Burgeoning Communities Accord also made him seem like the type of person who only associated with the 'light' side of things, so, until now, none of the darker Communities had thought to approach him. More specifically, the various Demon Lords that had been active in the East prior to his arrival had effectively gone silent after his Gift Game against Leviathan's Tail.

As a neutral or so-called grey organization, Vahn was willing to ignore the presence of demons so long as they abided by his rules. He didn't share the prejudice most people had against them as he understood, better than most, that there was no such thing as pure evil. There were literally Angels with hearts blacker than pitch and Demons who had dedicated their entire lives to helping people in need. In that same vein, there were religious figureheads who had committed every imaginable sin while witches who used their magic to heal and treat the sick might still be regarded as heretics deserving of a pyre. It was ridiculous.

"Still...I can't just let them openly antagonize the people I care about. Guess I'll need to have a chat with their leader..."

On that note, Vahn waved his hand, and, as a result, a young woman appeared in front of him. She had red hair tied into a loose ponytail, crimson eyes set with fiery orange pupils, and an immodest outfit consisting of a short black and grey dress, and a long black mantle that left very little to the imagination. Since her hair also flickered like flames toward the end, it was pretty easy to tell which element she was affiliated with.

Startled by the sudden teleportation, the young woman immediately raised her hand to produce a gaseous flame but it barely reached the size of a softball before petering out as Vahn mused, "You must be Typh(pronounced Tiff). Or perhaps you would like me to refer to you by your official title, Demon Lord of the Typhoid Fever?"

Realizing she couldn't use her powers, Typh did her best to appear calm as she answered, "Typh is fine..."

Not expecting such a meek reply from such a fiery woman, Vahn raised his brows before quickly shaking his head and saying, "Very well, Typh. You may call me Vahn. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Though the feeling wasn't mutual, Typh surprised Vahn even further by grabbing the hem of her skirt and performing a polite curtsy as she grumbled, "It's an honor..."

Resisting the temptation to ask where such a tomboyish-looking Demon Lord picked up etiquette, Vahn manifested a table and two chairs before gesturing for Typh to take a seat. She reluctantly did so, but, upon tasting the tea and cookies he supplied, her guard immediately lowered as she asked, "How did you teleport me? Even if you're the Game Master, named Demon Lords are supposed to have protections against forced spatial displacement."

Returning a relaxed smile, Vahn answered, "We all have our secrets. Now, tell me...why has a group of Demons affiliated with the Ouroboros Demon Lord Alliance decided to infiltrate my Gift Game? I'm not particularly upset, just curious."

Not expecting Vahn to casually reveal her backer, Typh began to sweat like someone legitimately infected with Typhoid Fever as she softly replied, "My...our mission was to gauge your reaction to the presence of Demons and ascertain whether or not you are willing to cooperate in the future..."

As he was already well aware of this, Vahn just nodded his head before tapping empty space to create a projection of the encounter between Fenrir and two Lesser Demons named Edema and Smokie. Edema, as her name implied, was the oni-like woman with massive arms. As for Smokie, who else could she be if not the little girl covered in wounds and wearing a faded fireman's jacket?

Though she was briefly confused by the sudden projection, Typh's expression darkened as she saw Edema trying to taunt Fenrir into attacking. She knew the lesser demon was a troublemaker but she hadn't expected her to go out of her way to taunt a member of the Community their superiors had warned them not to antagonize.

Rubbing her now-aching forehead, an exasperated sigh escaped Typh's mouth as she stated, "I can explain..." as her mind quickly worked to find a reasonable excuse. Fortunately, she didn't have to as Vahn promptly replied, "Relax. So long as your people don't go out of your way to try and harm the crowd, I don't really mind what they do. A bit of banter between rivals never hurt anyone. Fenrir is a big girl. She can take care of herself."

Nodding her head in understanding, most of Typh's fears faded away as she took the opportunity to ask, "Fenrir? As in the Heaven Devouring Wolf owned by the 9 Realms Alliance? I never expected such a legendary beast to be in the hands of the Sage Dragon's Hearth..."

Unsurprised by the reference to a second Fenrir, Vahn just adopted a smile, musing, "Who knows?" in a lackadaisical tone. This caused Typh to puff out her cheeks. She wanted to burn him, but, with her powers sealed, that was impossible. Rather, unless Vahn let her go, she doubted she would be able to escape his grasp. This caused her to feel nervous, but, at the same time, she also felt a little excited. Every Demon Lord had a quirk and hers just so happened to be being held against her will. After all, she was the manifestation of the hundreds of thousands of men and women that had died during the war between Sparta and Athens. They had tossed the sick and infirm into stone prisons before setting them ablaze so being imprisoned against her will just felt natural...in fact, it made her body feel like it was burning from the inside...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Fenrir be like, "Muted..."','Where is Ebola-chan...?','Demon Lords are scary...')