Trascender : The Fourth Gust

Chapter 36 : On the Edge

The seamless black stone corridor of the Labyrinth swallowed the lingering stench of blood and ozone from Chamber Six. Raimei walked with measured steps, the violet lightning around his spiky hair subdued, almost contemplative. The effortless dismantling of Shirou, Kagaya, and Miryoku hadn't brought satisfaction, only a cold confirmation of the vast gulf between them and Raimei, The UnboundDown Monarch. He approached the immense, featureless door leading to Saganbo's sanctum – a portal radiating palpable dread.

It slid open silently, revealing not a room, but a pocket of compressed cosmic horror. Saganbo sat upon the Throne of Weeping Neutrons, bathed in its baleful purple-black radiance. Before him, suspended in shimmering stasis fields, lay Shinji Kazuhiko, his form inert, bathed in the eerie light of Saganbo's scrutiny. The air hummed with the God of Destruction's focused intent, a pressure that made even Raimei's spiritual energy feel sluggish.

Raimei knelt, head bowed, the image of perfect deference. "Lord Saganbo. Chamber Six is clear. The intruders have been neutralized."

Saganbo didn't turn his gaze from the suspended form. His voice, when it came, was a low rumble like continents grinding. "Efficiency, Raimei. As expected. Their defiance was... statistically insignificant noise."

A flicker of something akin to approval touched Raimei's mind. "Sir, the remaining intruders in Chambers One, Two, and Three... Should I expedite their removal?" He kept his tone neutral, but the feeling of Sasaki's energy dissolving into grey motes flashed unbidden – a wasted tool, a slight miscalculation in the Royale's aftermath.

Saganbo finally turned his galactic eyes towards Raimei. They held no warmth, only the cold assessment of a master evaluating a useful instrument. "Unnecessary. Allow the others to fulfill their designated functions. Interference breeds... inefficiency. Observe. Ensure the Labyrinth's integrity holds."

Raimei's jaw tightened imperceptibly. Observe. While Daganu brutalized, while Kokuto likely waited with lethal patience, while the God of Creation potentially rallied. And while his own carefully curated mortals faced oblivion. "Very well... Sir!" He forced the words out, the deference flawless, the worry a tightly coiled spring in his gut. He rose, bowed again, and retreated. The sanctum door sealed behind him with a sound like a tomb closing.

Alone in the corridor, Raimei let out a slow, controlled breath he hadn't realized he was holding. The violet lightning crackled faintly. He turned, not towards the unfolding battles, but towards the Monarch Joint Training sector – a pocket dimension woven into the Labyrinth's structure. He would wait. He would observe the Labyrinth's sensory feeds. And he would hope, with a cold, pragmatic fury, that his remaining Special Force mortals wouldn't join Sasaki in the void. Losing tools was acceptable. Losing valuable tools was... irritating.

Chamber Two:

The air in Chamber Two reeked of ozone, scorched flesh, and desperation. Merus staggered, cerulean blood welling from a deep gash across his temple, staining his pearlescent suit. His breathing was ragged. Opposite him, Raigan leaned heavily against a jagged obsidian spire, his silver hair matted with sweat and dust, intricate tattoos flickering weakly. His breath came in labored gasps, his staff clutched like a lifeline. Ubiginu, however, danced amidst the debris field left by their clash. His patchwork jacket was torn, revealing bandaged skin beneath, but his luminous green eyes burned with manic energy. He  moved with preternatural agility, dodging residual energy discharges.

"Taking... a breather... old man?" Ubiginu taunted, voice high-pitched and strained. "Divinity not all it's cracked up to be?" He gestured, and a drone, one of three still operational, zipped from their shoulder, firing a concussive pulse that Merus barely sidestepped, the blast cratering the stone where he'd stood.