Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

As much as he would like to simply deal with the Holy Church personally, Vahn's recent 'reminder' from Scáthach ultimately delayed his progress. He had originally come with the intention to clarify matters with the organization so, now that negotiations had broken down, venturing any further was ill-advised. Though there wasn't much danger, especially with Alaya at his side, there was no way of knowing the full breadth of the Holy Church's capabilities. There was also the fact that, after the last fiasco, Artoria, Luvia, and Rin had all lectured him for a considerably long period of time...

Believing this was a good opportunity for the others to get some training in, Vahn focused his mind, messaging Scáthach his intent so that she could teleport everyone over. He could use Alaya and the Unit Management function to achieve the same effect but, with a free alternative, Vahn wasn't going to expend resources unnecessarily. Fortunately, as he had made his intentions known prior to leaving Avalon, everyone was already gathered together as they fully expected 'something' to go wrong. It was very rare that Vahn went anywhere without causing trouble so they would have been surprised if this was the exception.

After setting an anchor point, Vahn waited for a few minutes as Scáthach, Okita, Jeanne, Kenshin, and Karna transferred over. At the same time, a mass teleportation occurred within the Vatican City itself as Gawain, heading a small army of three-hundred Homunculi, appeared alongside Galahad, Gareth, Sol, Boudica, Lakshmibai, and, refusing to stay behind this time around, Nobunaga. Her blood had been 'boiling' ever since the chaos began so, while the chance of anything happening was slim, she wasn't going to just stay home babysitting...

With the outside secured by Gawain's forces, Vahn looked over what could be considered his most powerful forces, explaining, "Scáthach and Kenshin will focus on recovering documents and artifacts. Jeanne, you will accompany Karna to identify whether or not the opponent is someone worth saving. Unless the situation calls for it, try to hold back as I'd rather avoid destroying this place. Okita, you'll be following me to the inner sanctum. Any questions...?"

Having missed out on both the tournament and the start of conflict against the Mage's Association, Karna was admittedly a little eager for the chance to test his skills. He had tried finding capable foes in his travels but, compared to when he was alive, the world had degraded to the extent that even the most influential families within the regions he visited were extremely weak. The Holy Chuch was one of the most powerful forces in the entire world so, when Vahn asked if there were any questions, Karna immediately responded by asking, "Are there any strong foes remaining? If so, I would like to battle against them."

Understanding Karna's desire for a worthy opponent, Vahn smiled wryly in response before saying, "They should have something called the Burial Agency. This woman here seems to be one of their primary members but I can sense that there are at least three people stronger than her. Here, this will help guide you toward them..."

Without him even needing to communicate his intentions, Alaya already knew what Vahn was going to ask from her so she immediately activated the Strings of Fate, tying together Karna and his rather unfortunate opponents. This caused the man's sun-like eyes to blaze with fervor but, before parting, he kneeled low alongside Jeanne before they both ventured into the underground sub-structure.

Not wanting to dally too much himself, Vahn called Gareth over to retrieve the silver-haired woman before he and Okita ventured forth, their destination the lowest levels of the labyrinthine structure. As for Scáthach and Kenshin, they had already vanished shortly after Karna and Jeanne set out, their destination a series of vaults hidden away inside of a massive library. Scáthach's [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground] would allow her to identify what was worth keeping while Kenshin was there as a mercy to anyone they encountered along the way...

As he had already teleported everyone with a diminutive amount of Od using his authority as the Bounded Field's owner, the only people remaining inside were relatively powerful members of the Holy Church. Even then, there was little they could do to even slow Vahn's progress as their attempts to collapse the tunnels with explosives meant very little when he could just reshape them using earth elemental manipulation. As for those that appeared directly, Okita moved faster than even he could perceive, cutting down anyone with hostile intentions in an instant.

Though he didn't pity them in the slightest, Vahn always felt an incongruous emotion whenever he went through this phase of his plans. Nearly every time he invaded a stronghold directly, there was such a massive power disparity that it felt extremely anticlimactic. This was undoubtedly beneficial to his interests but, compared to how exciting his past battles were, he couldn't help but feel 'parched'. Part of him wished there was more of a challenge, even though he knew any real challenge would be a major threat to his Empire and the people he cared about...

With Okita making short work of every enemy that appeared, it wasn't long before she and Vahn stepped into a large chamber. It was structured like a circular altar with a diameter of fifty meters while, at the very center, a massive humanoid figure could be seen. Though it was undoubtedly genderless, it had an appearance similar to a female yet, instead of flesh, muscles, and bone, it was comprised of metal, stone, and mechanisms that gave it a distinctly 'clockwork' kind of feel.

Seeing the ten-meter tall figure, complete with rail guns and some kind of anti-gravity boosters on its feet, Vahn was briefly reminded of Ina and Sophia. He could imagine them building something similar on a complete whim, a thought that made him wonder what kind of person its creator was.

Unfortunately, with its lens-like eyes glowing with a malicious red light, combined with the fact it aimed its railguns toward him, Vahn didn't have the luxury of admiring its craftsmanship. Okita had moved like a phantom, her 220cm long katana flickering with a crimson hue that inspired fear in any who bore witness to it. Using it, she could literally kill even concepts so, before the automaton could fire off a single shot, it was split into roughly twenty distinct pieces. Even the bomb in its chest was completely obliterated, the destructive force contained within simply erased from existence due to Okita's inability to hold back...

Without even flinching, despite having defeated a giant robot, Okita resheathed her katana before turning back and waiting patiently for her Master to catch up. Vahn had his usual smile on his face and, knowing she expected it, he gave her head a light pat, saying, "Good job..." for what felt like the hundredth time in the last few minutes. This caused the ahoge on Okita's head to waggle slightly, despite her facial expression never changing in the slightest. As for Vahn, he was doing his best not to allow a wry smile to spread across his face as part of him regretted choosing Okita as his escort.

Unlike Vahn, Karna was enjoying himself more than a little as his destination was the heart of the Burial Agency. This was the birthplace of the Eighth Holy Sacrament, the best-kept secret of the Roman Catholic Church who publically only made the first Seven Sacraments known. These were Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick. As for the Eighth Sacrament, it was known as the Necessary Evil and, unlike the rest of the church, its members were indoctrinated in Exorcism and Magecraft. They were a group that used any means available to them, oftentimes committing unspeakably heinous acts in order to ensure that the church never lost power.

Now, Karna was dancing through a tempest of gunfire as he used his spear to easily deflect bullets. He would normally be able to dodge them with ease but, due to the enchantments placed on them, combined with their anti-divine properties, he was forced to deal with them directly as they seemed to ignore causality if overlooked. It was as if they carried the concept of a 'miracle' so, rather than look down on them, he opted to meet the bullets head-on as it didn't take much effort to deflect them. As for Jeanne, she was largely immune to their effects so she just followed behind while using a large kite shield to periodically intercept any stray rounds that came her way.

In this manner, Karna had cut down more than a hundred Executors of the Burial Agency until he finally encountered his second worthwhile foe, this time in the form of a woman with short blue hair and a toned body covered in various tattoos and scars. She had an eyepatch over her left eye but, despite what this would indicate, Karna could sense 'something' underneath staring back at him. It was enough to make the hair on the back of his neck stand on end so, while his expression remained stoic and unflustered, his heart began pumping as he brandished his spear and stated, "I am Karna, Son of the Sun God, Spear of the Aldnrari Empire! State your name, worthy one...!"

With a serious expression on her face, the blue-haired woman glared between Karna and Jeanne as she stated in a cold tone, "I have no name to give to a group of terrorists. Come, let's get this over with..."

As she spoke, the woman lifted up what appeared to be a massive pile-bunker in the shape of a modified bayonet. It was nearly as long as she was tall and, despite seeming almost completely solid, she was able to lift it with considerable ease. This caused Karna to squint his eyes, not because the feat itself was impressive but due to the fact that, much like her eyepatch, the weapon in the woman's hands gave him a dangerous feeling. His instincts told him that a direct hit from it would spell disaster but, with his A-Rank speed, it shouldn't pose much of a threat.

Despite this, Karna wasn't the type to take unnecessary risks so, rather than charge the woman head-on, the pauldrons on his shoulders flared as his wispy red mantle ignited in scarlet flames. The same flames appeared on his spear and, in an instant, the surrounding temperature shot up to more than 15,000 degrees, air displaced and stone melting immediately thereafter. This caused a backdraft to occur, kicking up tempestuous winds that would turn a normal person to ashes in an instant.

Proving that she was anything but a normal woman, the blue-haired member of the Burial Agency clenched her teeth as she lunged into the wall of flames without any hesitation. Most of her robes burnt to ashes in an instant but, apparently accustomed to such attacks, she had undergarments not all that dissimilar to the [Aegis] underneath. They looked like simple underwear at a glance but, to those with the ability to discern their true nature, hundreds of minute runes could be seen glowing on the surface.

As even more evidence of her abnormality, the woman's flesh began to burn and char black as her hair, which had already been short, burnt away in an instant. Despite this, it was growing back and healing at nearly the exact same rate so, while it would have been more than enough to kill others, she was able to reach Karna in an instant, the piledriver in her hands causing a shockwave that easily dispersed the flames as its black stake drove towards the invulnerable Demigod's chest.

Always trusting his instincts, Karna evaded the attack without much difficulty as his spear cut from the woman's left thigh to her shoulder in a single swift strike. Even this wasn't enough to take her out, however, she she just released a loud battle cry before angling the pile bunker in his direction, this time pulling a secondary trigger on the right side.

Understanding the woman's intentions, Karna didn't completely evade the second strike. Rather, he was aware of the fact that Jeanne was in the line of fire and, while she may be able to evade it on her own, Karna wasn't the type to let others get caught up in his battles. Thus, to keep the momentum in his favor, he attempted to deflect the black rod that, upon contact with his spear, radiated a golden light. At the same time, several layers of what appeared to be pages exploded outward but, due to his flames, they burned away almost immediately.

Without understanding the purpose of the pages, Karna shifted his focus back to the blue-haired woman, noticing the surprise visible on her face. Due to his previous strike, however, the band on her chest had been cleaved through so, while not completely naked, she only had panties and some kind of stocking-type boots. This made Karna feel a little awkward but, as he wasn't the type to look down on his opponent in the middle of a battle, he kept his composure as he brandished his spear, this time attempting to cut the woman's left arm off to see if she could regenerate complete limbs...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn fears Shishou's 'lecture'...','In before Vahn starts wearing bells in his hair and sealing away his power to give other people a chance...','The Invulnerable vs The Immortal')