Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 2035: Spirit of Cooperation

Just as Maschenny was preparing to eliminate her counterpart, Vahn appeared right behind her, his hand smacking her pert backside with enough force to ripple through her butt and body, dispersing her Shinsu as he said, "No. That's enough."

Feeling more than just pain radiate through her body, Maschenny looked back at Vahn with a vexed expression on her face, rubbing her now tender butt as she asked, "What are you doing? We agreed to settle things between us. Are you-"

Flicking the bluenette in the forehead before she could finish, Vahn plainly stated, "Don't even think about trying to shill that type of excuse to me. There is no genuine enmity between the two of you, yet you expect me to let you kill each other? No. I don't think so."

Though a head flick shouldn't hurt all that much, Maschenny had tears in her eyes as she held her forehead with both hands. There was something about Vahn's 'attacks' that made them ridiculously effective. Her pain tolerance was among the best in the Tower, yet, with just a casual flick, Vahn was able to make her feel as though the center of her forehead was on fire.

With Maschenny making no further attempts to argue, Vahn extended his hand to caress her head, instantaneously easing the pain as he said, "I'm not going to tell you that killing is wrong. I mean, it is, but there are always situations where it is either necessary or justified. This isn't one of them. My hope is that one day, you will realize that true power isn't obtained through suppressing or erasing threats before they can rise against you. It comes from protecting the people you love."

Removing his hand from the unconvinced beauty's head, Vahn moved over to the broken body of Data Maschenny before bending down and placing his palm against her abdomen. A vibrant white pulse immediately erupted from the palm of his hand, rapidly spreading through her body like the jolt of a defibrillator. Immediately thereafter, a gasp escaped her body as she shot up into a seated position, eyes blazing with blue electricity until she saw Vahn kneeling at her side.

Blinking several times in stupefaction, Data Maschenny shifted her gaze from Vahn to her real-world counterpart before adopting a deep frown and muttering, "I lost..." in a defeated tone.

Nodding in affirmation, Vahn extended his hand to gently ruffle the girl's electric blue hair as he said, "There's no shame in losing. Things like pride only have meaning if you can hold onto them in the face of failure. If you beat yourself up over every minor setback you experience, what you have isn't pride. It's arrogance."

As this was far from the first time Vahn had pat her head, Data Maschenny just hugged her knees to her chest with a teary-eyed expression on her face. She had worked hard to increase her strength as much as possible for this day, yet, in the end, she ended up doing more damage to herself than her opponent. She felt like she had let herself down, and, though she hated Scathach with every fiber of her being, Maschenny couldn't help feeling as though she somehow failed her...

Seeing her Data Self being comforted by Vahn as she fought back tears, a resentful look appeared on the face of Maschenny as she resisted the urge to lambast the 'little girl' for her weakness. The only thing preventing her from doing so was the presence of Vahn, and, to an extent, the words he had previously imparted. She didn't really agree with him, but, having witnessed the power of the Little Garden's residents, outright refuting them would only make her appear to be a pretentious fool...

As that thought crossed her mind, Maschenny silently observed Vahn consoling her equally aged yet perceptively younger self. Various other thoughts were crossing her mind, but, at the forefront of most was the notion that the 'fake' in front of her would invariably receive greater benefits than her. She could easily imagine trying her best to become stronger only to come back from a foreign world to find her more youthful counterpart shaking her ass atop Vahn's lap, a cunning smile on her face as she wielded an incomprehensible amount of power...

Though Vahn had already explained how time would flow differently within the Little Garden, it was difficult for Maschenny to think rationally when she was watching the former treat her counterpart with such care. She could vividly recall all their previous encounters, and, while he had afforded her quite a number of benefits, there had never been a time when he displayed any 'sincerity' towards her. Now that she knew he had been keeping a pocket version of herself in his private realm, it was all starting to make sense...at least within her mind...

Balling her hands into fists, sparks of electricity dancing across them, Maschenny adopted a severe glower as she silently uttered, "This promiscuous little slut..." despite the fact she and her Data Self were the same age.

Sensing the negative energies radiating from Maschenny's body, Vahn looked back with a frown on his face, saying, "You know I can see through your thoughts. You're also aware of the fact that I hate people with unnecessarily sadistic and cruel personalities. I've already given you more chances than you deserve. Are you really going to keep testing the limits of my patience...?" in a grim tone.

Though she couldn't prevent a pout from developing across her face, Maschenny did her best to remain calm as she sincerely replied, "I'm trying my best. It's not easy changing after behaving the same way for thousands of years. It's even more difficult when I see you treating my other self with such consideration. I feel like, the moment I turn my back, the two of you are going to start fucking like rabbits while I'm supposed to be grateful for the occasional massage..."

Taken aback by Maschenny's words, Vahn was about to explain that he and her Data Self had hardly even interacted with each other. Before he could, however, Data Maschenny, with a remarkably red face, exclaimed, "Don't go putting strange ideas into people's heads...!" in a surprisingly girly tone.

Though she had been okay with just about anything when she and Vahn first met, Data Maschenny had mellowed out quite a bit thanks to Scathach's training. She had also started to get along with a few of the other girls during the periods when she was allowed to rest, so, while she was still willing to do anything to obtain power, she was no longer as 'eager' as she used to be.

With the two girls glaring daggers at each other, Vahn decided to nip the problem in the bud, even if only temporarily, by saying, "This is ridiculous. I understand your desire to compete against each other, but, let me ask you this...what's so special about being the 'real' Khun Maschenny Jahad? The King you borrowed your name from is no longer alive, and, even if one of you were to come out on top, you would be far from the strongest being in the Tower, much less the Little Garden. Instead of squabbling over something completely nonsensical, you should be working together to polish each other's skills. You're in a pretty unique situation where you're essentially twins with virtually identical thought processes. Why fight when you can work together to achieve even greater results?"

While he could already anticipate the condense the two girls would reach, Vahn didn't particularly mind. As silly as it might sound, he had already realized, as far back as the Record of Danmachi, that he could solve a substantial number of disputes by having sex. He had even managed to become a literal God of Sex during his stay in the Nasuverse, so, while he still had a fair number of inhibitions, his aversions to sex were virtually nonexistent.

Unsurprisingly, after staring at each other for several tense moments, it was Maschenny who first crossed her arms, emphasizing her breasts as she said, "I believe Vahn might be on to something. Hating you is basically the same as hating myself so I'm willing to call a truce if you are. What do you say...Maschenny...?"

Though she didn't answer immediately, it didn't take long for Data Maschenny to nod her head and answer, "Fine. However, I no longer wish to be called Maschenny. Since you won the fight, you can keep that name. From now on...I'll go by Mash...no...Chenny."

Remembering there was already someone named Mash, strangely enough, Chenny decided to just go with the pet name frequently used by her father. She wouldn't admit it, but she also felt it suited her more youthful appearance since it was also her nickname when she was a child.

Understanding the origins of the name her counterpart had chosen, an amused giggle emanated from the throat of Maschenny as she said, "Very well, then..." before shifting her attention toward Vahn and asking, "I believe you had something in mind when you suggested we worked together, correct? I'm really eager to know what it might be..."

Rolling his eyes, Vahn gestured with his left hand, and, as a result, a palatial structure reminiscent of the Ivory Castle manifested around them. This was more than enough to surprise the duo, but, what really surprised them was the fact they were in some kind of multi-tiered chamber that resembled a bunch of steps leading towards a rather intimidating throne.

With the intent of strengthening the duo's bonds to an unshakeable extent, Vahn decided to make their first time as memorable as possible. Thus, instead of taking them to a bedroom, he explained the significance of the uniquely structured chamber they had found themselves in, an exact replica of his Throne Room.

Learning about the significance of the chamber, literal sparks could be seen in the eyes of the two blue-haired women as their excitement progressively increased. The Throne of an Empire was, quite literally, the seat of power representing a degree of authority that most people couldn't even begin to fathom. It was something coveted by countless people, but, no matter how hard they worked, an Emperor's Throne was something only a select few chosen by fate would ever be able to sit upon.

Resisting the urge to try it out for herself, Maschenny waited until Vahn had taken his rightful place before attempting to sit in his lap. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one with this particular intent. Chenny had very similar thoughts running through her mind, and, though they had agreed to work together, that didn't mean their rivalry had ended. Thus, thanks to Maschenny's attempts to appear sultry and seductive, Chenny managed to beat her to the punch by simply walking over and taking a seat.

("This little bitch...")

Though she did her best to maintain a seductive smile, Maschenny was unable to prevent her brow from twitching ever-so-slightly in response to Chenny's 'shamelessness'. The latter, however, didn't seem to care about this in the slightest as she half-turned her body and asked, "So? What now? You have a lot more experience in things like this. What do you want us to do...?"

After gesturing for Maschenny to come and take a seat on the rather spacious armrest, Vahn earned a slightly annoyed yet bashful look from Chenny as he picked her up by the armpits and positioned her so that she was straddling his hips, her small yet shapely butt nestled against something hard as he answered, "Well, since the two of you enjoy competing so much, why don't we make this into a competition? I can perfectly replicate the amount of stimulus I give to my partners. Let's see which of you can hold out the longest and then progressively ramp things up from there. Don't worry. At times like this, we literally have all the time in the world..."

With that said, Vahn interrupted anything Chenny might have wanted to say by sealing the petite bluenette's lips with his own. This caused her eyes to widen in stark surprise, but, after his tongue invaded her mouth, she quickly entwined her own as his hands stealthily snaked their way under her skirt...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Jealousy...','When life hands you lemons, screw them on to the tip of your-','I kind of want to see the scene of Maschenny pouting at the side while Chenny responds to getting teased. It kind of feels like an Oyakodon...or maybe an elder and younger sister sharing the same man...? Either way, Vahn is a bea-scratch that-a dragon...)