Space rippled silently with rings of deep blue in the clearing before Ryuudou Temple's mountain gate, like water disturbed by a stone.
Then a cross-shaped spatial rift silently tore open, like the abyss opening its eyes.
"You certainly made me search..."
Kirishima Bupai stepped out, still wearing that spotless white trench coat, his short silver-gray hair unmoving in the night wind.
His indifferent gaze swept over the brightly lit temple shrouded in a barrier, as though surveying an inconsequential stretch of ruins.
Behind him, Crocodile held a cigar between his teeth, his eyes beneath his sunglasses cold and bloodthirsty, while Enel carried the Golden Staff over his shoulder, electricity flashing in his eyes.
Their arrival came without warning. They ignored the spatial interference barrier Medea had painstakingly laid out, as casually as if they were coming home.
"So all the insects have gathered?" Enel sneered, pointing the Golden Staff toward the summit. "Perfect. Saves this god the trouble of hunting you down one by one."
"Captain, it looks like they've prepared quite a gift." Crocodile exhaled a smoke ring, his gaze sweeping over the unusually concentrated currents of magical energy around the temple. "Shall I clear the surroundings?"
Kirishima did not answer. He drew Yamato and made a light slash toward Ryuudou Temple's seemingly impregnable mountain gate, enveloped in its powerful barrier.
Humm-!
There was no earth-shaking explosion, no dazzling beam of energy, only a hum so heavy it seemed to stop the heart.
The thick barrier covering the mountain gate, along with the weathered ancient stone doors behind it, vanished as though erased by an invisible eraser.
All that remained was a massive opening with edges as smooth as mirrors.
The first line of defense Medea had painstakingly constructed, along with the physical gateway, was completely erased without raising