Disclaimer
This is a pretty long read, so it may be best to read it in bits over multiple sessions.
Introduction
Maschenny's status in the Tower of God world is incredibly rarefied. Of the Regular High Rankers we've been introduced to so far, she occupies perhaps the highest status of them all.
The only Regulars that occupy a higher status than even her (Luslec, Adori, Enne, etc.) are yet to actually show up in the story. I think it's very likely that outside those godlike Regulars, Maschenny Zahard is the next best thing.
Comparisons to the CC tier existences (Lyborick, Yasratcha, Kallavan, Ha Jinsung, Khel Hellam, Evankhell, Yama, White, etc.) are an unimaginable insult. Maschenny's stature is far beyond their ilk.
I'll compile below some examples of Maschenny's superlative standing in the Tower of God world. For convenience sake, I'll restrict myself only to material directly in the Webtoon. Blogpost and extra canon material will not be considered. I'll try to proceed in chronological order.
"Like the Pinnacle of the Tower"
The Name Hunt Station
Maschenny's Bet With Yuri
One of the Most Powerful Princesses
Maschenny's Comparison to Asensio
Dokoko
Season 3 Episode 85
Season 3 Episode 99
Conclusions
I think there has been a consistent trend in depictions of Maschenny's stature as being extremely rarefied, to a level incomparable to the Corps Commander tier characters.
She is one who sits at the highest level obtainable for Regulars. A Princess that is like the Pinnacle of the Tower. This was made clear during her debut and has been consistently reinforced throughout her appearances in the first half of Season 2 (up until the Hidden Floor) and something that SIU really went hard on in Season 3.
When I consider that someone like Evankhell was able to reach Rank 60 merely by acquiring the position of a Floor Ruler while not being from any of the Great Families, I can only imagine that Maschenny Zahard's Ranking must be far higher. Her stature is absolutely incomparable to the likes of Evankhell (who was ultimately still relative to the likes of Kallavan and other Corps Commanders).
Whatever influence you imagine Evankhell to have had as a Floor Ruler, Maschenny absolutely dwarfs it. She is at a level where she doesn't even register people that should be relative to Evankhell as even inconveniences. For Maschenny Zahard, the likes of the Corps Commanders are nothing but pawns.
And as one of the most powerful 13 Month Princesses, her power should be commensurate with that influence.
If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that Maschenny is most likely a High Ranker in the #21 - #40 bracket. I would be surprised if someone with her stature was any lower than #40, and the Top 20 are reserved for the Irregulars and heretical Regulars.
This is a pretty long read, so it may be best to read it in bits over multiple sessions.
Introduction
Maschenny's status in the Tower of God world is incredibly rarefied. Of the Regular High Rankers we've been introduced to so far, she occupies perhaps the highest status of them all.
The only Regulars that occupy a higher status than even her (Luslec, Adori, Enne, etc.) are yet to actually show up in the story. I think it's very likely that outside those godlike Regulars, Maschenny Zahard is the next best thing.
Comparisons to the CC tier existences (Lyborick, Yasratcha, Kallavan, Ha Jinsung, Khel Hellam, Evankhell, Yama, White, etc.) are an unimaginable insult. Maschenny's stature is far beyond their ilk.
I'll compile below some examples of Maschenny's superlative standing in the Tower of God world. For convenience sake, I'll restrict myself only to material directly in the Webtoon. Blogpost and extra canon material will not be considered. I'll try to proceed in chronological order.
"Like the Pinnacle of the Tower"
Maschenny's very debut establishes her superiority in the Tower. She banters with Yuri, and then Yuri retorts in kind. Maschenny replies by stating that Yuri must be out of her mind to speak so disrespectfully to an older sister that was "like the pinnacle of the Tower":
An alternative translation courtesy of Pajaka:
q
The language Maschenny used here to describe the gap between her and Yuri is very similar to the language Jinsung used to describe the gap between himself (and Baam) and Traumerei:
Alternatively, Jinsung was speaking not about Traumerei, but Maschenny herself. However, that seems unlikely for now.
Regardless, in both cases, the metaphor being used was someone that was "too high".
Maschenny was too high for Yuri. Traumerei was too high for Baam and Jinsung. This is not the only time that the same language used to describe how the Great Warriors relate to High Rankers is also used to describe how Maschenny relates to High Rankers.
Alternatively, consider that Yuri did not challenge Maschenny's claim that she was far above Yuri, but Yuri stated to Kallavan that she was on his level:
Regardless of whether you think Yuri's claim here is just bluster or not, the fact is that no other High Ranker has been portrayed as being "too high above" Yuri.
An alternative translation courtesy of Pajaka:
q
The language Maschenny used here to describe the gap between her and Yuri is very similar to the language Jinsung used to describe the gap between himself (and Baam) and Traumerei:
Alternatively, Jinsung was speaking not about Traumerei, but Maschenny herself. However, that seems unlikely for now.
Regardless, in both cases, the metaphor being used was someone that was "too high".
Maschenny was too high for Yuri. Traumerei was too high for Baam and Jinsung. This is not the only time that the same language used to describe how the Great Warriors relate to High Rankers is also used to describe how Maschenny relates to High Rankers.
Alternatively, consider that Yuri did not challenge Maschenny's claim that she was far above Yuri, but Yuri stated to Kallavan that she was on his level:
Regardless of whether you think Yuri's claim here is just bluster or not, the fact is that no other High Ranker has been portrayed as being "too high above" Yuri.
The Name Hunt Station
During the Name Hunt Station, Shibisu speculated that Shilial and Lilial were actually working at the behest of some of their older sisters. Their claims about it being for their Family were just excuses and in reality, they needed a tribute to bring back to their older sisters:
Shilial then confirms that his reasoning was indeed correct, but the Princesses they sided with was not any of those two. They've decided to go with someone completely different:
It's then revealed that they are collaborating with a High Ranker (back when we had yet to see any High Rankers fight, so they were an incredibly big deal):
Shibisu then reveals this information to AA (who also promptly freaks out):
Then Shibisu gets his big epiphany. He had thought the Lo Po Bia Princesses would side with one of the two Regular Princesses waging a factional war against each other, but they were "in cahoots with a completely unexpected big shot:
The sense you get is that even among the Ranker Princesses, Maschenny Zahard is an incredibly big deal. SIU sets up Maschenny's involvement as the "hidden power" that orchestrated the entire Name Hunt Station before she then makes her appearance in the current timeline.
Shilial then confirms that his reasoning was indeed correct, but the Princesses they sided with was not any of those two. They've decided to go with someone completely different:
It's then revealed that they are collaborating with a High Ranker (back when we had yet to see any High Rankers fight, so they were an incredibly big deal):
Shibisu then reveals this information to AA (who also promptly freaks out):
Then Shibisu gets his big epiphany. He had thought the Lo Po Bia Princesses would side with one of the two Regular Princesses waging a factional war against each other, but they were "in cahoots with a completely unexpected big shot:
The sense you get is that even among the Ranker Princesses, Maschenny Zahard is an incredibly big deal. SIU sets up Maschenny's involvement as the "hidden power" that orchestrated the entire Name Hunt Station before she then makes her appearance in the current timeline.
Maschenny's Bet With Yuri
Yuri receives a message from Maschenny telling her to contact her. She and Evan freak out and react with very visible shock and surprise that Maschenny called her ("Princess Maschenny?!"):
Yuri gives her the call and Maschenny offers her a bet:
Exhibit
Maschenny then proceeds to strong arm Yuri into accepting the terms of her bet:
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
After Maschenny ends the call, Yuri and Evan are left incredibly flustered and still can't believe that Maschenny Zahard just called them:
This once again reinforces that despite owning two months, Maschenny Zahard is someone that occupies a status that is far, exceedingly too high for Yuri.
(Honestly, it's amazing that many people in the fandom believe that Maschenny is supposed to be comparable to or stronger than Yuri).
Too understand how impressive this is, consider how nonplussed Yuri was when interacting with Kallavan, Garam and other High Rankers of stature. Maschenny is the only person that has made her freak out so much, let alone to do it with just a call.
After the call ends, Yuri ruminates on Maschenny's motivations behind the whole affair:
Exhibit
And then comes Yuri's big epiphany. She feels as if she's "being carried along in a massive predetermined flow":
I don't know about you, but the language used here (especially "predetermined") is very strongly suggestive to me of Fate and predestination. As if Yuri is nothing but a leaf that is swept along in the massive current that is Maschenny's will.
I guess this is how Khel Hellam felt when he fell into Zahard's pace.
Again, we don't have any other example of a Regular High Ranker making any other High Ranker (let alone Yuri) feel like this. The only other occasions we've seen where High Rankers felt as if they were inevitably coerced by (something akin to) Fate or predestination involved the Great Warriors:
Yuri gives her the call and Maschenny offers her a bet:
Exhibit
Maschenny then proceeds to strong arm Yuri into accepting the terms of her bet:
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
After Maschenny ends the call, Yuri and Evan are left incredibly flustered and still can't believe that Maschenny Zahard just called them:
This once again reinforces that despite owning two months, Maschenny Zahard is someone that occupies a status that is far, exceedingly too high for Yuri.
(Honestly, it's amazing that many people in the fandom believe that Maschenny is supposed to be comparable to or stronger than Yuri).
Too understand how impressive this is, consider how nonplussed Yuri was when interacting with Kallavan, Garam and other High Rankers of stature. Maschenny is the only person that has made her freak out so much, let alone to do it with just a call.
After the call ends, Yuri ruminates on Maschenny's motivations behind the whole affair:
Exhibit
And then comes Yuri's big epiphany. She feels as if she's "being carried along in a massive predetermined flow":
I don't know about you, but the language used here (especially "predetermined") is very strongly suggestive to me of Fate and predestination. As if Yuri is nothing but a leaf that is swept along in the massive current that is Maschenny's will.
I guess this is how Khel Hellam felt when he fell into Zahard's pace.
Again, we don't have any other example of a Regular High Ranker making any other High Ranker (let alone Yuri) feel like this. The only other occasions we've seen where High Rankers felt as if they were inevitably coerced by (something akin to) Fate or predestination involved the Great Warriors:
- Garam told Evan that perhaps his group of them making it to the Floor of Death was all Gustang's will. She advised him not to think about it too much as it would only make him feel powerless.
- Khel Hellam felt powerless in the face of Zahard as Zahard controls the fate that he sees.
- Yasratcha told Yama that he and Wang were nothing but "puny entities" swayed by their instincts and fates.
One of the Most Powerful Princesses
While it was already made abundantly clear from her interactions with Yuri (and from Shibisu and AA's reaction to her involvement in the Namae Hunt Station) that Maschenny is one of the most powerful Princesses, SIU outright states it in unambigous terms through Asensio when her data version makes its debut:
Maschenny is "one of the most powerful Princesses on the outside who was given one of the 13 Month series". I think the most accurate interpretation of this is that she's one of the most powerful 13 Month Princesses.
That said, here are some alternate translations of the panel:
The sense I get from the translations is that Maschenny is one of the strongest 13 Month Princesses. I feel like the claim that the statement is "Maschenny is one of the strongest Princesses and she received a 13 Months weapon" is just copium because people have headcanons of other 13 Month Princesses (Garam, Hagipherione, etc.) being stronger than Maschenny.
Considering Asensio's statement and that there are only eight 13 Month Princesses, it's especially doubtful that someone like Hagipherione is a tier (or more) above Maschenny. At worst they would be peers. You wouldn't call #4 (of 8) "one of the most powerful"/"one of the strongest" if #3 was much stronger than them (4/8 is the median and basically average).
IMO, it's more likely that Maschenny is the #3 Princess. Or at worst, she's a peer to Hagipherione.
Whichever the case may be, as far as Zahard Princesses go, Maschenny is indubitably Top Tier.
Maschenny is "one of the most powerful Princesses on the outside who was given one of the 13 Month series". I think the most accurate interpretation of this is that she's one of the most powerful 13 Month Princesses.
That said, here are some alternate translations of the panel:
The sense I get from the translations is that Maschenny is one of the strongest 13 Month Princesses. I feel like the claim that the statement is "Maschenny is one of the strongest Princesses and she received a 13 Months weapon" is just copium because people have headcanons of other 13 Month Princesses (Garam, Hagipherione, etc.) being stronger than Maschenny.
Considering Asensio's statement and that there are only eight 13 Month Princesses, it's especially doubtful that someone like Hagipherione is a tier (or more) above Maschenny. At worst they would be peers. You wouldn't call #4 (of 8) "one of the most powerful"/"one of the strongest" if #3 was much stronger than them (4/8 is the median and basically average).
IMO, it's more likely that Maschenny is the #3 Princess. Or at worst, she's a peer to Hagipherione.
Whichever the case may be, as far as Zahard Princesses go, Maschenny is indubitably Top Tier.
Maschenny's Comparison to Asensio
Maschenny's superlative status can also be demonstrated from her comparisons to Khun Marco Asensio when they were Regulars on the Hidden Floor. To establish a baseline for how impressive this is, I'd like to establish a baseline for how strong Asensio is.
How Powerful is Asensio Now?
Asensio is one of only three children that were favoured by Eduan:
This is despite "tons" of Khun children passing through the Hidden Floor in its several tens of thousands of years history. It should be noted that the attribute those children that Eduan acknowledged shared in common was "strength". Asensio was pretty clear about this: "they're all strong just like me".
While not all Khun children passed through the Hidden Floor, Asensio's potential should still be of the highest class among the children of Khun. In fact, excluding Asesnsio, the other Khun children that Eduan acknowledged were "special Regulars":
Season 3 Chapter 10 Blog Post
We had:
Asensio was the only "ordinary" Regular to have been acknowledged by Eduan.
Furthermore, Asensio is someone famous enough that upon hearing his name, AA recognised him as "the Spear Master":
We've seen several other powerful Khun High Rankers (AA's patron, Royale Elliot, Lyborick, etc.) but to this day, the only other Khun that has been called a "Spear Master" is Maschenny Zahard herself:
Finally, Kiseia told us that Asensio formed his own faction within the Khun Family:
Based on all of the above, I think that it is very likely that Asensio is in the highest calibre of Khun children. I would be very surprised if there were up to 10 children of Khun that were stronger than him. That does not at all fit with his portrayal so far.
I think it's most likely the case that Asensio is one of the 10 strongest sons of Khun. Whether he is or not, what is clear is that he's an elite High Ranker.
How Did Data Asensio Compare to Maschenny?
How Big is the Gap Between Maschenny and Asensio Now?
It should be pointed out that Maschenny is significantly older than Asensio (he addresses her as "nunim" ["respected older sister"]) and she addresses him as "little brother":
So she would have had more time to realise her potential than him.
Furthermore, Maschenny was a prodigy that was able to complete the Hell Train while she was very young:
As such, she's probably growing even faster than Asensio.
It is most likely the case that the gap that existed between the two of them as Regulars on the Hidden Floor has grown considerably larger now.
How Powerful is Asensio Now?
Asensio is one of only three children that were favoured by Eduan:
This is despite "tons" of Khun children passing through the Hidden Floor in its several tens of thousands of years history. It should be noted that the attribute those children that Eduan acknowledged shared in common was "strength". Asensio was pretty clear about this: "they're all strong just like me".
While not all Khun children passed through the Hidden Floor, Asensio's potential should still be of the highest class among the children of Khun. In fact, excluding Asesnsio, the other Khun children that Eduan acknowledged were "special Regulars":
Season 3 Chapter 10 Blog Post
We had:
- Icardi: a Sorcerer
- Icardi's ability was one that was noticed by Zahard.
- Maschenny: a Princess
- Maschenny became one of the most powerful 13 Month Princesses.
- Maschenny is the only Princess from the Khun Family to ever be awarded a 13 Months weapon.
Asensio was the only "ordinary" Regular to have been acknowledged by Eduan.
Furthermore, Asensio is someone famous enough that upon hearing his name, AA recognised him as "the Spear Master":
We've seen several other powerful Khun High Rankers (AA's patron, Royale Elliot, Lyborick, etc.) but to this day, the only other Khun that has been called a "Spear Master" is Maschenny Zahard herself:
Finally, Kiseia told us that Asensio formed his own faction within the Khun Family:
Based on all of the above, I think that it is very likely that Asensio is in the highest calibre of Khun children. I would be very surprised if there were up to 10 children of Khun that were stronger than him. That does not at all fit with his portrayal so far.
I think it's most likely the case that Asensio is one of the 10 strongest sons of Khun. Whether he is or not, what is clear is that he's an elite High Ranker.
How Did Data Asensio Compare to Maschenny?
Maschenny was vastly stronger than Asensio. This is made clear both in how Jeok (the Big Breeder) spoke of Asensio compared to Maschenny and how Asensio spoke of himself compared to Maschenny.
Jeok said that Asensio was a small fry compared to Maschenny:
"They've replaced her with a small fry?".
This is another example where Maschenny is portrayed to be as far above elite High Rankers as the Great Warriors are.
Evankhell called herself and the rest of the FUG's forces at the Nest "small fry" compared to Traumerei:
After she effortlessly oneshot Jeok, Asensio called himself "a cockroach" that could never keep up with Maschenny's skills:
This too is another example where Maschenny is portrayed to be as far above elite High Rankers as the Great Warriors are.
Gustang called White on the Floor of Death "a bug":
Traumerei called the rest of FUG at the Nest "trifles":
Yasratcha said that he and Wang were nothing but "trifles":
Maschenny is obviously not a peer to any of the Great Warriors, but it is nonetheless true that she was portrayed to be exceedingly beyond the likes of the elite High Rankers using the same language as is used for the Great Warriors.
If I were to hazard a guess as to why, it might be something like: "to an ant, a lake and the sea are both impossibly far to traverse".
Jeok said that Asensio was a small fry compared to Maschenny:
"They've replaced her with a small fry?".
This is another example where Maschenny is portrayed to be as far above elite High Rankers as the Great Warriors are.
Evankhell called herself and the rest of the FUG's forces at the Nest "small fry" compared to Traumerei:
After she effortlessly oneshot Jeok, Asensio called himself "a cockroach" that could never keep up with Maschenny's skills:
This too is another example where Maschenny is portrayed to be as far above elite High Rankers as the Great Warriors are.
Gustang called White on the Floor of Death "a bug":
Traumerei called the rest of FUG at the Nest "trifles":
Yasratcha said that he and Wang were nothing but "trifles":
Maschenny is obviously not a peer to any of the Great Warriors, but it is nonetheless true that she was portrayed to be exceedingly beyond the likes of the elite High Rankers using the same language as is used for the Great Warriors.
If I were to hazard a guess as to why, it might be something like: "to an ant, a lake and the sea are both impossibly far to traverse".
How Big is the Gap Between Maschenny and Asensio Now?
It should be pointed out that Maschenny is significantly older than Asensio (he addresses her as "nunim" ["respected older sister"]) and she addresses him as "little brother":
So she would have had more time to realise her potential than him.
Furthermore, Maschenny was a prodigy that was able to complete the Hell Train while she was very young:
As such, she's probably growing even faster than Asensio.
It is most likely the case that the gap that existed between the two of them as Regulars on the Hidden Floor has grown considerably larger now.
Dokoko
When listing the major threats from the Empire at the Nest, Dokoko appeared to hold Maschenny in much higher regard than the Corps Commanders:
The interesting part is: "not to mention Princess Maschenny Jahad!!".
Adios translated it a bit differently as:
In both translations, Dokoko exclaims Maschenny's presence in the battlefield and seems to consider it to be a momentous affair that Maschenny Zahard herself is present. The sense I get reading this is that Maschenny's status is considerably beyond that of the Corps Commanders.
The interesting part is: "not to mention Princess Maschenny Jahad!!".
Adios translated it a bit differently as:
In both translations, Dokoko exclaims Maschenny's presence in the battlefield and seems to consider it to be a momentous affair that Maschenny Zahard herself is present. The sense I get reading this is that Maschenny's status is considerably beyond that of the Corps Commanders.
Season 3 Episode 85
Maschenny's rarefied status in the Tower of God world was reinforced very heavily during her conversation with Jinsung in Season 3 Episode 85.
Jinsung starts out by asking her what she's up to, mentioning that she made Baam join forces with FUG in order to attack the Nest and speculated as to what the reason might be for that. He then goes on to say that he doesn't understand why Zahard would proceed with such a complicated arrangement. The Army could just kill Baam, they've always been good at that.
Jinsung then lists the factions whose disagreements resulted in the complicated mess that is the Nest:
An alternative translation courtesy of Pajaka:
Regardless of how exactly it's translated, the three factions responsible for the Nest are:
It's very telling that Maschenny Zahard is someone influential enough that she merits inclusion alongside the Great Families and Zahard's Army. Perhaps Maschenny doesn't wield exactly enough influence to compare to a Great Family, but she's still influential enough that she registers on the scale. That she is someone whose interests and opinions matter at a table of discussion between the Zahard Army and the Great Families.
That's incredibly impressive. How many other High Rankers are influential enough that they register on such a scale? The only names that come to mind as being so influential are all in the Top 20 (Adori Zahard, Baek Ryun, etc.). Until that chapter dropped, I wouldn't have imagined that High Rankers outside the Top 20 could wield such influence within the Empire.
Later on in her conversation with Jinsung, Maschenny once again placed herself at a extremely rarefied height. She said that the Family Leaders were people that not even she could stop:
Not only does Maschenny seem to consider herself to be well above Jinsung here (not "people that we cannot stop", not "people that you cannot stop", but people that "not even I" could stop), but she also seems to consider herself to be at the very highest strata. To describe the literal "Gods" of the Tower as people that "not even I could stop if I wanted to", the implication is that there are very, exceedingly few people above her.
If there were an appreciable number of High Rankers above her, then the description wouldn't make sense. It goes without saying that all Regulars are incapable of stopping the Gods. For Maschenny to describe the Gods as people that net even she could stop, she must see herself as someone at the very, very highest level.
Like the Pinnacle of the Tower if you might.
Jinsung starts out by asking her what she's up to, mentioning that she made Baam join forces with FUG in order to attack the Nest and speculated as to what the reason might be for that. He then goes on to say that he doesn't understand why Zahard would proceed with such a complicated arrangement. The Army could just kill Baam, they've always been good at that.
Jinsung then lists the factions whose disagreements resulted in the complicated mess that is the Nest:
An alternative translation courtesy of Pajaka:
Regardless of how exactly it's translated, the three factions responsible for the Nest are:
- The Army of Zahard
- The 10 Great Families
- Maschenny Zahard
It's very telling that Maschenny Zahard is someone influential enough that she merits inclusion alongside the Great Families and Zahard's Army. Perhaps Maschenny doesn't wield exactly enough influence to compare to a Great Family, but she's still influential enough that she registers on the scale. That she is someone whose interests and opinions matter at a table of discussion between the Zahard Army and the Great Families.
That's incredibly impressive. How many other High Rankers are influential enough that they register on such a scale? The only names that come to mind as being so influential are all in the Top 20 (Adori Zahard, Baek Ryun, etc.). Until that chapter dropped, I wouldn't have imagined that High Rankers outside the Top 20 could wield such influence within the Empire.
Later on in her conversation with Jinsung, Maschenny once again placed herself at a extremely rarefied height. She said that the Family Leaders were people that not even she could stop:
Not only does Maschenny seem to consider herself to be well above Jinsung here (not "people that we cannot stop", not "people that you cannot stop", but people that "not even I" could stop), but she also seems to consider herself to be at the very highest strata. To describe the literal "Gods" of the Tower as people that "not even I could stop if I wanted to", the implication is that there are very, exceedingly few people above her.
If there were an appreciable number of High Rankers above her, then the description wouldn't make sense. It goes without saying that all Regulars are incapable of stopping the Gods. For Maschenny to describe the Gods as people that net even she could stop, she must see herself as someone at the very, very highest level.
Like the Pinnacle of the Tower if you might.
Season 3 Episode 99
The last β at least as at the time I began writing this piece β notable instance where Maschenny's superlative status in the Tower was highlighted was her meeting with Baam and his allies during Season 3 Episode 99.
Maschenny introduces herself as a Princess of Zahard and the person in charge of the Nest Operation:
This is yet another direct and very unambigous placement of Maschenny above the Corps Commanders; she is their superior officer.
Afterwards, Baam questions what Maschenny's purpose is, and she reveals that like everyone else that's causing him trouble, she's merely trying to obtain the trump card called "the Irregular":
Rak then proceeds to ask her to state which side she's on, and her reply is well, very telling.
She tells Baam and Co that they are not strong enough or great enough to take someone's side:
And that they are only fit to become pawns, so why not become her pawns:
This is directed at the group that just defeated Prime White. Many people think that Maschenny doesn't know that Baam defeated Prime White, but I consider that very unlikely. Yasratcha and Lyborick were shown to be watching their targets' (Yama and Kallavan respectively) maps, so it stands to reason that Maschenny will also have been watching Baam's map.
Furthermore, Maschenny is shown to be aware when Baam completed his game:
While McCage was not. In fact, McCage couldn't see anything on Baam's field. So Maschenny had other means of observing Baam's field that weren't dependent on McCage's Lighthouses (in fact, she is in all likelihood the very person that sabotaged McCage's Lighthouses).
Separately from all that, Asensio wasn't surprised to see White on Baam's field (just at his change in appearance and diminished strength):
So it's very likely that he learned of White being on Baam's field/gighting him from Maschenny.
And even if you assume that Maschenny somehow had no knowledge about White vs Baam (a pretty implausible assumption IMO) she would have learned of the presumptive outcome from Asensio.
This is all a very long winded way of saying that it is in all likelihood the case that Maschenny talked down to Baam despite knowing that he had defeated Prime White. Even after defeating Prime White, Baam was not strong enough or great enough to side with her. He was only fit to become her pawn.
Considering that she also made Jinsung into a pawn, I don't think it's an inconsistent reading.
Maschenny's stature is simply at a level where she treats the likes of the Corps Commander tier fighters as pawns.
Later on in the chapter, AA shouts at Maschenny after she proposes her deal to Baam. In response, Maschenny orders him to be quiet:
She reminds him not to forget that she can erase him from the Khun Family anytime she wants, leaving no trace behind:
AA is left speechless and unable to respond:
Exhibit
(Perhaps indicating that he recognises the legitimacy of her threat?)
This is very interesting, because AA has a patron that is very influential and powerful in the Khun Family.
Asensio called said patron "a dangerous person":
And AA described his patron as one of the Leaders of the Khun Family. He was not worried about Prime White because of said patron:
(As an aside, AA being nonplussed at White directly threatening him to his face but being left completely speechless as Maschenny's threat over a pocket is once again indicative of the massive chasm in stature between Maschenny and Prime White).
One of the Khun Family's Leaders, someone that AA trusts to defeat Prime White and who Asensio regards as "very dangerous" does not even register as an inconvenience to Maschenny. The likes of AA is someone that she can dispose of anytime she pleases and his backer wouldn't be able to helo him.
This once again reinforces that Maschenny's stature is far, far beyond the likes of Asensio, Prime White and AA's patron.
Finally β and perhaps most tellingly β is Jinsung's epiphany in regards to Maschenny near the end of the chapter. Jinsung realises that he had severely underestimated her, and she was far, exceedingly much bigger than he had ever imagined:
Maschenny introduces herself as a Princess of Zahard and the person in charge of the Nest Operation:
This is yet another direct and very unambigous placement of Maschenny above the Corps Commanders; she is their superior officer.
Afterwards, Baam questions what Maschenny's purpose is, and she reveals that like everyone else that's causing him trouble, she's merely trying to obtain the trump card called "the Irregular":
Rak then proceeds to ask her to state which side she's on, and her reply is well, very telling.
She tells Baam and Co that they are not strong enough or great enough to take someone's side:
And that they are only fit to become pawns, so why not become her pawns:
This is directed at the group that just defeated Prime White. Many people think that Maschenny doesn't know that Baam defeated Prime White, but I consider that very unlikely. Yasratcha and Lyborick were shown to be watching their targets' (Yama and Kallavan respectively) maps, so it stands to reason that Maschenny will also have been watching Baam's map.
Furthermore, Maschenny is shown to be aware when Baam completed his game:
While McCage was not. In fact, McCage couldn't see anything on Baam's field. So Maschenny had other means of observing Baam's field that weren't dependent on McCage's Lighthouses (in fact, she is in all likelihood the very person that sabotaged McCage's Lighthouses).
Separately from all that, Asensio wasn't surprised to see White on Baam's field (just at his change in appearance and diminished strength):
So it's very likely that he learned of White being on Baam's field/gighting him from Maschenny.
And even if you assume that Maschenny somehow had no knowledge about White vs Baam (a pretty implausible assumption IMO) she would have learned of the presumptive outcome from Asensio.
This is all a very long winded way of saying that it is in all likelihood the case that Maschenny talked down to Baam despite knowing that he had defeated Prime White. Even after defeating Prime White, Baam was not strong enough or great enough to side with her. He was only fit to become her pawn.
Considering that she also made Jinsung into a pawn, I don't think it's an inconsistent reading.
Maschenny's stature is simply at a level where she treats the likes of the Corps Commander tier fighters as pawns.
Later on in the chapter, AA shouts at Maschenny after she proposes her deal to Baam. In response, Maschenny orders him to be quiet:
She reminds him not to forget that she can erase him from the Khun Family anytime she wants, leaving no trace behind:
AA is left speechless and unable to respond:
Exhibit
(Perhaps indicating that he recognises the legitimacy of her threat?)
This is very interesting, because AA has a patron that is very influential and powerful in the Khun Family.
Asensio called said patron "a dangerous person":
And AA described his patron as one of the Leaders of the Khun Family. He was not worried about Prime White because of said patron:
(As an aside, AA being nonplussed at White directly threatening him to his face but being left completely speechless as Maschenny's threat over a pocket is once again indicative of the massive chasm in stature between Maschenny and Prime White).
One of the Khun Family's Leaders, someone that AA trusts to defeat Prime White and who Asensio regards as "very dangerous" does not even register as an inconvenience to Maschenny. The likes of AA is someone that she can dispose of anytime she pleases and his backer wouldn't be able to helo him.
This once again reinforces that Maschenny's stature is far, far beyond the likes of Asensio, Prime White and AA's patron.
Finally β and perhaps most tellingly β is Jinsung's epiphany in regards to Maschenny near the end of the chapter. Jinsung realises that he had severely underestimated her, and she was far, exceedingly much bigger than he had ever imagined:
Conclusions
I think there has been a consistent trend in depictions of Maschenny's stature as being extremely rarefied, to a level incomparable to the Corps Commander tier characters.
She is one who sits at the highest level obtainable for Regulars. A Princess that is like the Pinnacle of the Tower. This was made clear during her debut and has been consistently reinforced throughout her appearances in the first half of Season 2 (up until the Hidden Floor) and something that SIU really went hard on in Season 3.
When I consider that someone like Evankhell was able to reach Rank 60 merely by acquiring the position of a Floor Ruler while not being from any of the Great Families, I can only imagine that Maschenny Zahard's Ranking must be far higher. Her stature is absolutely incomparable to the likes of Evankhell (who was ultimately still relative to the likes of Kallavan and other Corps Commanders).
Whatever influence you imagine Evankhell to have had as a Floor Ruler, Maschenny absolutely dwarfs it. She is at a level where she doesn't even register people that should be relative to Evankhell as even inconveniences. For Maschenny Zahard, the likes of the Corps Commanders are nothing but pawns.
And as one of the most powerful 13 Month Princesses, her power should be commensurate with that influence.
If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that Maschenny is most likely a High Ranker in the #21 - #40 bracket. I would be surprised if someone with her stature was any lower than #40, and the Top 20 are reserved for the Irregulars and heretical Regulars.
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