Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 2158: Stepping Up

While Qingtaun returned to her seat, Lei Gong stayed in the arena to accept additional challenges. It was customary for the higher-ranked Gods to appear first, and, if no one challenged them, they would step down and keep their rank for another year. They also had the option of challenging a higher rank than themselves, but, as the Rank 9 God, Lei Gong's options were pretty limited.

"Well!? Is this the limit of your conviction!? Are none of you brave enough to step forward and challenge this old man!?"

Glaring at a few of the Gods ranked between 10 and 20, Lei Gong's expression made it clear he was looking down on them. Unfortunately, none of the Gods beneath him were foolish enough to step forward. The only person who even considered it was Nezha, but, after their earlier altercation with Vor, they wanted to preserve their strength.

Seeing none of his fellows step forward, a disdainful snort escaped Lei Gong's beak as he prepared to depart the arena. Before he could, however, a feminine voice excitedly declared, "If it's an open invitation, I wouldn't mind having a go."

Like everyone else in the hall, Lei Gong's cerulean eyes promptly shifted to the person that had spoken. When he saw Mikoto rising to her feet, a look of confusion briefly flashed across his face before he ultimately adopted a smile and bellowed, "Very well, Faerie from a Foreign Land! Enter the arena! Let's show these cowardly louts what a bit of backbone looks like...!"

Though a number of Gods expressed their dissatisfaction by glaring at Mikoto, any complaints they might have had were silenced when she flashed into the arena faster than most of them could blink. Even Lei Gong was surprised by this, as, the moment Mikoto flashed into the arena, he could detect a hint of the phenomenal energy contained within her body.

With a far more serious expression on his face, Lei Gong reached for his holstered weapons before bellowing, "You stand before the Venerable God of Thunder, Lei Gong! Reveal your name, fearless one...!"

Since Lei Gong had already drawn his weapons, Mikoto didn't see any reason to hold back. Vibrant bands of electricity began to dance around her body as she stepped forward, an action that caused most of the arena to tremble as she answered, "The name's Mikoto Mason...!"

Punctuating her words, Mikoto's body exuded a brilliant light with the activation of her [REquip] system. In the next moment, the oriental garb she had been wearing was substituted by a black hoodie with accents of electric yellow. Beneath that was a black t-shirt, a pair of form-fitting black shorts, black leggings, and black tennis shoes with the same design as her hoodie. It was a modern yet fashionable look that caused people like Nezha to watch on with stars in their eyes and Mikoto stepped forward to send a veritable tidal wave of pitch-black iron sand towards Lei Gong.

To his credit, Lei Gong wasn't caught off guard by Mikoto's sudden attack. He immediately leaped into the sky, and, thanks to the temperature from his own lightning, he was able to both melt and sweep away the encroaching iron sand with a wave from his mallet.

"Not bad! Not bad at all! I'm guessing you use this ability both offensively and defensively! Let's see how it holds up, shall we!?"

Similar to when he had fought against Qingtaun, Lei Gong ascended high into the air as the mallet and chisel in his hands began to condense a tremendous amount of lightning elemental energy. At the same time, vibrant blue arcs of electricity danced around Mikoto's body as she raised her right hand and condensed the surrounding iron sand into a remarkably compact projectile resembling a coin.

With the feathers on the back of his neck standing on end, Lei Gong's excitement was increasing at a remarkably fast pace as he shouted, "First Heavenly Tribulation - Penance...!"

While others would try to evade or black Lei Gong's attack, Mikoto surprised everyone by standing her ground. Her AIM Diffusion Field, the medium through which her power manifested, was capable of encompassing entire stars, much less a single arena. Within its confines, she was the uncontested master of electromagnetism, so, the moment Lei Gong released his lightning, it arced back to strike him in the chest as she stated, "Mass Acceleration Cannon." in a calm and confident tone.

Stunned by his own lightning, Lei Gong's pupils shrank to the size of pinholes the moment Mikoto unleashed the hyper-dense iron projectile gathered at the tips of her fingers. Its speed was reduced by the inordinately dense spirit energy that existed within the Heavenly Domain, but, even with this, its instantaneous acceleration exceeded Mach 800,000.

Under normal circumstances, Lei Gong could easily evade even lightspeed attacks without any real difficulty. This time, however, the combination of his own lightning and Mikoto's flawless timing left him wholly incapable of responding. As a result, the projectile impacted the plating of his pauldron before passing through his right shoulder and wing in nearly the exact same moment.

Seeing Lei Gong spontaneously lose an arm, many of the lower-ranked Gods gasped in surprise. Lei Gong, however, adopted a massive grin as he promptly grabbed his detached limb before spinning around and hurtling it towards Mikoto. To the latter's surprise, the appendage literally transformed into a golden spear with the chisel in his hand serving as the head.

Choosing not to underestimate her opponent, Mikoto teleported behind Lei Gong long before the spear pierced through her previous position. Before she could unleash an attack, however, the silk hagoromo flowing around Lei Gong's neck and shoulders attempted to bind her. At the same time, Lei Gong spun around fast enough to leave a visible black trail through the void as his mallet aimed at her shoulder.

Realizing that the avian god was trying to get even with her, an amused smile developed across Mikoto's face as her body promptly contracted to the size of an ordinary house cat. As a result, Lei Gong's mallet passed through her previous position as Mikoto, now in her Pikachu form, unleashed a cataclysmic thunderbolt instantaneously filled the arena. From the perspective of the observers, a vibrant blue cube had formed atop the battlefield. Many misunderstood this to be the result of the barrier surrounding the elevated platform, but, in reality, Mikoto had such an absolute mastery over lightning that she could freely shape it to avoid accidents.

With the intensity of the light growing rather than dissipating, many within the banquet hall had to squint their eyes or look away. This continued for a surprisingly long seventeen seconds before the light faded to reveal Lei Gong, now resembling an eagle that had been struck by lightning, kneeling on the ground. His feathers were in disarray and his body was covered in burns, yet, in spite of this, he had a remarkably human smile on his face as he said, "Well done...this battle...is your win..."

Unable to dissipate Mikoto's energy from his body, thick bands of electricity began to emerge from Lei Gong's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Before it could fry him from the inside, however, the energy promptly dissipated thanks to the protections of the Gift Game. Immediately thereafter, a pale blue light enveloped his body before he subsequently appeared outside the arena with his arm attached. This was one of the primary benefits of a well-structured Gift Game, as, unless the rules specifically allowed death, defeated Players would simply be ejected from the Game Board without so much as a hair missing from their head.

Flexing the talons of his right hand, Lei Gong's smile became even more prominent as he looked up at Mikoto and added, "Good luck, Mikoto Mason. I doubt-"

Before Lei Gong could finish saying he doubted anyone would be willing to face her, a thunderclap echoed off the walls of the banquet hall as a woman with lavender hair and the largest breasts Vahn had ever seen promptly appeared at the center of the arena. This wasn't an exaggeration either, as, due to the revealing nature of her garments, her remarkably substantial cleavage was visible for the whole world to see.

"I do not possess a Rank but I hope you'll accept my challenge..."

Though she was going to say she didn't mind, Mikoto found herself at a loss for words as her eyes zeroed in on the woman's chest. It had been years since she suffered from breast envy, but, seeing a pair of breasts large enough to swallow her head twice over, she couldn't help gawking like a fool.

Taking advantage of Mikoto's momentary stupor, the woman unsheathed an inordinately large Jian-style longsword, shouting, "Defend yourself...!" as she charged forward with a speed rivaling spatial movement. At the same time, Lei Gong, having recovered from his stupid, shouted, "Leizi! What are you doing...!?"

Ignoring Lei Gong's shout, Leizi, the Principle Goddess of Lightning within the Heavenly Domain, sliced towards the wide-eyed Mikoto's neck. Her skills were somewhat lacking, at least in Vahn's opinion, but, the moment she cut forward, a blinding light reminiscent of lightning instantly filled the center of the arena. There was also a sound evocative of a thunderclap, but, compared to the thunderous rumble produced by Lei Gong's drums, it sounded distant and muffled, almost like an echo.

To the surprise of nearly everyone present, Leizi's sword passed through Mikoto's neck without the latter reacting. Even Leizi was somewhat surprised, but, after seeing her husband get his arm blown off, she couldn't help smiling at Mikoto's head spun through the air. Unfortunately, just as she was about to raise her sword in triumph, both the head and Mikoto's body disappeared as an unharmed version of the brunette appeared behind her.

Though she could have ended the match then and there, Mikoto manifested a longsword from iron sand before surprising Leizi with a tap on the shoulder. The latter immediately spun around, but, as a result of her inordinately large bosom, her movements were, very noticeably, delayed as the fabric of her gown desperately attempted to preserve her dignity. As a result, Mikoto had nanoseconds to stare at the melon-sized mammaries in slow motion before casually deflecting Leizi's blade with her own.

Clicking her tongue, Leizi retreated backward before running her index and middle fingers along the flat of her blade. Hundreds of electric-blue runes immediately lit up across its surface as pale golden electricity began to dance around its length. This ended up being a grave mistake, as, the moment she was preparing to unleash her attack, Mikoto offered an apologetic smile as the pale golden electricity immediately crawled up Leizi's arm.

Sensing the inverse flow of electrical energy, Leizi's pupils contracted in much the same way as her husband's. Unfortunately, she had been gripping her sword tightly, so, the moment she sensed the change, extremely destructive lightning was already spreading through her body. The energy was so intense that her forearm immediately carbonized as painful golden cracks spread as far as her elbow.

While a lesser Goddess might have dropped her weapon, Leizi managed to earn Mikoto's respect by absorbing the lightning into her body, ignoring the pain as she charged forward with clenched teeth. Her pride as the Goddess of Lightning wouldn't allow her to fall to her own element, so, with the aid of her Qi, she forcibly channeled it back into the blade as she unleashed a series of attacks that left visible scorch marks on the previously invisible barrier surrounding the arena.

Unfortunately, no matter how desperate she was to 'avenge' her husband, Leizi was limited by her status as a Tier 4. Mikoto had gone toe-to-toe with Gods who could destroy universes with a wave of their hand, so, while she appreciated and respected Leizi's fervor, the outcome had been decided long before the match began. Leizi's only hope was for Mikoto to lower her guard, but, with a mind that could humble even the most exceptional supercomputers, the chances of that happening were beyond astronomical...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Lei Gong doesn't know it, but he's courting death...','Mikoto uses Reverse Card...it's super effective...!','All the nutrients intended for Leizi's brain went into her bust xD...')