Kaida y sprawled on the ground, breathing raggedly, her once unyielding body trembling beneath the weight of what had been stolen from her.

  She had never felt weakness like this before.

  The divine seal had bound her, held her in pce long enough for the ritual to begin—but it hadn’t killed her. No, that would have been merciful.

  Instead, Mayume had taken her.

  Drained her.

  Piece by piece, Kaida’s strength was siphoned away, flowing into the woman who now stood over her, a vision of twilight and ruin, her violet-gold eyes glowing with boundless hunger.

  Kaida’s muscles twitched, her hands digging into the cracked earth, trying—failing—to push herself up.

  Her body no longer obeyed her.

  Her power—her raw, primal strength—was gone.

  And Mayume stood above her, relishing every second of it.

  The Goddess Ascends

  "Oh, Kaida," Mayume murmured, stretching her arms above her head, her silk sleeves falling away to reveal pale, fwless skin. "You always fought like a beast. But I suppose even beasts can be tamed."

  Kaida gritted her teeth, trying to speak—but her voice failed her.

  It was then that she realized—

  Mayume wasn’t just taking her physical strength.

  She was taking everything.

  Her presence, her essence, the very energy that made her the War Queen.

  Mayume exhaled, a soft, satisfied sigh, tilting her head back as she felt the surge of raw power coursing through her veins.

  Her body shuddered, the sheer intensity of the absorption rippling through her.

  Her muscles tightened, her limbs elongated, her very form expanding, reshaping, ascending.

  The world shrank beneath her feet.

  The buildings, the trees, the bodies littering the battlefield—they all grew smaller, more insignificant, as Mayume’s form soared past the limits of normality, reaching a towering 50 meters (164 feet).

  The moment was euphoric.

  She tilted her head, exhaling slowly, feeling the weight of her new form settling over her like a divine mantle.

  "Mmm… so this is what it feels like," she murmured, running her hands over her own body, relishing the sensation of newfound power coiling beneath her fingertips.

  She lifted her bare foot, slowly curling her toes before bringing it down—

  The ground shook beneath her heel, cracks splintering outward, the remnants of Tenshu’s warriors stumbling as their world trembled.

  Mayume chuckled, a soft, breathless sound of amusement.

  "It almost seems unfair, doesn’t it?"

  A Casual Dispy of Power

  The survivors of Tenshu’s forces watched in horror.

  They had already lost so much to Kaida’s rampage—but now, something far worse had taken her pce.

  And this new queen of destruction was only beginning to stretch her limbs.

  She took a slow step forward, her gigantic form moving with an effortless grace, the fabric of her flowing silk robes swaying around her as she towered over what remained of the stronghold.

  A group of archers, stationed on a watchtower, raised their bows in a final, desperate act of defiance—

  Mayume simply tilted her head, raising a single delicate hand.

  A pulse of purple energy cracked through the air, and the entire watchtower imploded, reduced to nothing but splinters and crushed bodies in an instant.

  She ughed.

  "How fragile you are," she mused, stepping past the wreckage, her massive form barely acknowledging the destruction left in her wake.

  She was not like Kaida.

  Kaida fought with raw brutality, with crushing force and primal hunger.

  But Mayume?

  She destroyed with elegance, with purpose.

  And she did it all so beautifully.

  Her massive foot nudged the remains of a colpsed building, slowly pressing down, the stone and wood crumbling beneath her sole as if it were nothing but dried leaves.

  Beneath her, a Tenshu soldier screamed, his legs pinned beneath the rubble—his body too broken to move, but too alive to die quickly.

  Mayume looked down, her expression almost… bored.

  "Still breathing?" she murmured.

  She knelt down, reaching out a single long, elegant finger—and pressed it lightly against his chest.

  The pressure increased.

  The soldier choked, his ribs buckling under the weight, his hands cwing at her fingertip in a pathetic attempt to resist.

  "Shhh."

  With the slightest twitch of her finger, his entire torso colpsed inward, his body falling still.

  Mayume stood up, brushing an imaginary speck of dust off her sleeve.

  "I wonder how many more of you are hiding in this city," she mused aloud, her enormous violet-gold gaze scanning the ruins below her.

  Her presence alone was crushing.

  The survivors trembled, knowing that if she wished—she could erase the rest of them in seconds.

  And yet—she did not.

  Because, unlike Kaida—Mayume wasn’t here for mindless sughter.

  This was only a demonstration.

  She had already won.

  And now, she had more important things to do.

  She turned her gaze to the horizon—toward Kagetora.

  Toward Jin.

  Her little key to the door she sought to open.

  "You are next."

  With one st step, she departed the ruins, leaving only the echoes of her destruction behind.