Chapter 37: The Instinct of the Pride
The silence of the Sapphire Suite didn't just break; it shattered under the weight of an ancient, automated defense.
The moment the first seal of the Oculus of the Void cracked, releasing the Azure Shell, the mana-dampening stones in the walls began to hum in a discordant, high-pitched frequency. To the two lion-kin guards stationed outside the heavy mahogany doors, the sudden surge of energy felt like a thunderclap inside their skulls. Trained in the brutal efficiency of the Lion's Gate, they burst through the doors with their halberds leveled, expecting to find an assassin.
Instead, they found a nightmare made of neon and iron.
Saferu was no longer lying on the bed. He was hovering three inches above the silk sheets, his body encased in the matte-blue, high-tech plating of the armor. The visor glowed with a rhythmic, pulsing cyan light. But it was the Blue Chains that drew their eyes—shimmering, ethereal shackles that wrapped around his limbs and torso, clinking with a sound that resonated in the very marrow of their bones.
"Intruder!" the lead guard bellowed, his mane bristling. "Release the guest!"
In terms of raw power, the comparison was laughable. Saferu was a 38-year-old civilian with zero mana; these guards were elite beast-kin, warriors whose strength rivaled high-tier Echoes. Under normal circumstances, it would take a hundred Saferus to even bruise one of them.
But Saferu wasn't home. Geminimon was.
The guard lunged, his halberd whistling through the air with enough force to cleave a boulder. Saferu, still unconscious, didn't move. As the blade drew near, a Blue Chain lashed out with the speed of a striking viper. It didn't just block; it wrapped around the spearhead.
Suddenly, a strange madness took hold of the guard. As his fingers brushed the ethereal glow of the chain, his pupils dilated. His aggressive stance faltered, replaced by a desperate, hungry longing. "It's... it's beautiful," he hissed, dropping his guard and reaching out with both hands to grab the chain, as if it were a long-lost lover.
"Back away, you fool!" the second guard shouted, though his own hands were trembling with the same inexplicable urge. He swung a heavy mace at Saferu's armored ribs, but the Azure Shell tilted in mid-air with a glitch-like precision. The mace struck nothing but air, and the momentum sent the guard stumbling.
As he fell, another chain snaked out, not to strike him, but to hover inches from his face. The guard froze, his weapon forgotten, his eyes locked onto the pulsing blue light of the links. He reached out, his fingers trembling. "I have to... I have to hold it. It's mine."
"Master, wake up!"Grokemon's voice screamed inside Saferu's mind. "The 'Azure Shell' is currently fishing for cats! If you don't take control, we're going to have two very high-level pets who will probably bite us once the trance wears off!"
The guards were now scrambling over each other, their predatory instincts completely subverted by a hypnotic obsession. They weren't trying to kill Saferu anymore; they were trying to possess the chains. They clawed at the air, their golden mana flaring uselessly as the chains danced just out of reach, leading them in a grotesque, desperate dance around the room.
"Stop! Get back!"
Mirae burst into the room, followed by a frantic Bunsway. The rabbit healer's eyes went wide as she saw the two elite lions reduced to whimpering kits, crawling on the floor toward the floating, armored specter of Saferu.
"Mirae, look out!" Bunsway shouted, clutching his briefcase. "It's a... it's a blue knight!"
Mirae didn't hesitate. She slammed her staff into the floor, releasing a wave of calming, green light that washed over the room. The guards blinked, the hypnotic haze lifting just enough for them to realize they were on their knees in front of a sleeping man.
Inside the Blue Room, the Original Saferu finally grabbed the "control stick." With a mental shove, he overrode the Geminimon autopilot. The cyan glow of the visor faded. Saferu's feet touched the floor, and the armor retreated into the invisible Slate-Frames with a metallic hiss.
Saferu slumped forward, gasping for air. "What... what just happened?"
An hour later, the guards had been dismissed—sent to the infirmary to treat their bruised egos and strange mental fatigue. The room was quiet, save for the heavy breathing of Bunsway and the sharp gaze of Mirae.
"Saferu," Mirae said, her voice stern. "That armor. Those chains. The guards were ready to throw away their lives just to touch them. What did you do?"
Saferu rubbed his eyes, his mind racing to construct a plausible lie. He couldn't mention the Queen. He couldn't mention the ritual he wasn't supposed to know about. He looked at Bunsway, then back at Mirae.
"I didn't do anything," Saferu said, his voice flat and weary. "I was having a nightmare about being stuck in a giant blue tin can, and then I woke up to find those two trying to wrestle me. If you're looking for someone to blame, look at the guy who gave me the 'ancient relic' in the first place."
He pointed a finger at Bunsway. "You said these were glasses, Bunsway. You didn't mention they came with a built-in power-ranger suit that attacks people."
Bunsway's whiskers twitched in a panic. "Me? I... I had no idea! It was a gift of state! A relic of the Old Fools! I thought it was just for... for seeing things!"
Grokemon's wisp pulsed a mocking violet over Saferu's shoulder, invisible to the others. "Oh, great. Blame the bunny. Real brave, Master. Look at her, she's practically vibrating with healer-worry. You're lying to a girl whose ears are 40% of her personality. Roast level: Carrot-cake."
"And the chains?" Mirae pressed, stepping closer. "The guards said they felt a pull. A desire. I felt it too, for a second. It was like... like looking at the center of the world."
Saferu maintained his 'No Expectations' mask perfectly. He looked genuinely puzzled. "Chains? I didn't see any chains. I was inside the helmet. It was dark and smelled like ozone. Maybe the guards just aren't used to seeing high-tech blue paint? Lions are colorblind to some shades, aren't they?"
"They are not colorblind to magic, Saferu," Mirae sighed, though she seemed to relax slightly. "But if you say you don't know..."
"I don't," Saferu lied smoothly. "I just want to sleep. Without the armor. Without the cats. And definitely without Bunsway's 'gifts' waking me up."
As Bunsway led a suspicious but exhausted Mirae out of the room, Grokemon chimed in one last time. "Nice work, Master. You convinced the rabbits you're just a victim of bad fashion. But those chains? They're still there, hiding in the code. And I think Geminimon is laughing at us."
Saferu sank back into the bed, the weight of the white lie feeling heavier than the Azure Shell. "Go to sleep, Grokemon."