Trascender : The Fourth Gust

Chapter 33 : X

The universe screamed. The convergence of their attacks – Kagaya's world-breaking haymaker, Netsudo's supernova swarm, Miryoku's harmonic resonance, Shirou's emerald tsunami, Kuro's amplified HeartDeath shard, Merus's wave of creation, and X's spatial sinkholes – had struck Amado's position like the fist of an angry god. Reality itself buckled, shattering the asteroid they stood on and carving a scar of pure non-existence through the heart of Universe 3404. Stars vanished, nebulae dissolved into quantum static, the very laws of physics whimpered under the strain. The shockwave, a tidal wave of annihilated matter and energy, washed over them, forcing Merus's barrier to its absolute limit, its cerulean light flickering precariously.

"NOW! RETRIEVE THE TRASCENDER!!!" Merus's voice, amplified by divine desperation, cut through the fading echoes of cosmic destruction.

As the blinding light and deafening roar subsided, revealing the gaping wound they'd torn in the universe, the scene that greeted them froze their blood. Floating serenely in the center of the devastation, untouched, unruffled, stood Amado. Not a scorch mark marred his drowned-moonlight blue skin. His void-black silk robe didn't flutter. Those eyes, frozen event horizons, regarded them with detached, almost academic interest. A low, rumbling sound vibrated in their bones – laughter.

"Ohoho," Amado's lipless mouth curved, the sound chillingly pleasant. "How nice! A combined attack! Synchronized, diverse... truly fascinating orchestration of futility." He tilted his head, observing them like specimens under a microscope. "The harmonic resonance attempting to bolster physical laws... the amplified negation artifact... the focused stellar plasma... the brute kinetic force... the spatial distortions... the emerald annihilation... the divine potential... and the mortal ingenuity linking it all. A commendable effort. Truly."

His gaze, devoid of malice but radiating absolute, terrifying superiority, lingered for a fraction of a second on Netsudo. The small, perpetually terrified Pyrasian was still trembling, wisps of superheated magma dissipating around his clenched fists.

Then, Amado moved.

It wasn't speed. It was displacement. One instant he floated amidst the cosmic wreckage; the next, his bare blue foot was inches from Netsudo's chest. There was no wind-up, no telegraph – just an impossible shift of reality. The kick didn't connect with force; it simply occurred.

THOOMPH.

Netsudo vanished. Not flung, not sent flying – erased from his position. A sonic boom cracked through the void milliseconds later, trailing the path of his instantaneous transit. He became a streak of terrified amber light punching through the heart of a distant spiral galaxy millions of light-years away, leaving a trail of disrupted stars and panicked stellar nurseries in his wake. The sheer, casual brutality of it left the others momentarily stunned, the realization hitting them like a physical blow: Amado hadn't even tried against their combined assault.

"NETSUDO!" Kagaya roared, emerald energy flaring in panic and rage.

Kuro was already a blur of motion, his tech-gauntlet projecting a gravitic tether. "Retrieval vector locked! Engaging!" His voice was clipped, clinical, but the underlying fury was palpable. He shot after the fading amber streak, moving faster than any mortal ship could dream.

X didn't hesitate. While the others reeled, he became a streak of grey lightning, warping space to appear directly before Amado. His fist, encased in shimmering spatial distortion, lashed out – a blow designed to shatter planets.

Amado flowed. Not dodging, but allowing the distorted space to pass through him, his form momentarily insubstantial. He reappeared a meter away, amusement deepening in those cosmic eyes. "Persistent anomaly."