...Dr. Kaya sighed softly, then pushed herself off the half-broken pillar.
She didn't leap like a soulbound warrior would.
She simply stepped forward—
And fell.
Her coat fluttered once before she landed lightly on the arena floor, heels clicking against cracked stone.
The lollipop shifted lazily in her mouth as if she were walking through a quiet courtyard instead of toward a screaming dome of unstable chaos.
Eyes followed her movements. After all, this was supposed to be an ordinary human being.
No human being should be capable of what she just did.
She approached.
Lieutenant Rocky's voice snapped toward her immediately.
"Dr. Kaya! Please, Stay back!"
But she didn't slow down.
The Red Swords were straining visibly now. The seals beneath them trembled, golden lines scraping against the obvious crimson pressure.
"It isn't safe!" Rocky barked. "The formation is calibrated to suppress everything inside it!
That thing will mold you like Tofu."
