The entrance to the Sunken Factory was hidden beneath a jagged cliff, accessible only when the tide was at its lowest. Following Silas's directions, Kaito dove into the freezing water, his blue veins glowing as he commanded the ocean to form a small pocket of air around his face.
As he swam deeper, the natural cave walls transitioned into cold, rusted steel. Huge, moss-covered gears and massive underwater pipes stretched across the seabed like the ribcage of a dead giant. This was the 'Sunken Factory'—a relic from an era when men tried to build machines that could rival the gods.
"There it is," Kaito whispered, his voice echoing in the air pocket.
In the center of a vast, flooded hall, a pulsing blue light flickered. It was the Heart of the Iron-Whale, a glowing orb of pure kinetic energy encased in a glass and brass cage. But between Kaito and the Heart stood a row of silent, metallic statues.
Suddenly, a red light flickered in the eyes of the largest statue. With a screech of grinding metal, the 'Guardian' came to life. It was a mechanical crab-like soldier, its claws made of sharpened obsidian and its body reinforced with reinforced iron.
CLANG!
The Guardian struck the stone floor, narrowly missing Kaito's feet. Kaito didn't have a weapon that could pierce steel, but he had something better—the ocean.
"You're fast," Kaito gritted his teeth, "but let's see how you handle the pressure!"
He slammed his palms against the water. Instead of a direct strike, he created a high-pressure vortex around the Guardian's joints. The salt water, combined with Kaito's magic, began to corrode the rusted gears of the machine in seconds. The Guardian struggled, its movements becoming sluggish as the water forced its way into its internal circuits.
With a final burst of energy, Kaito propelled himself forward like a torpedo, grabbing the Heart of the Iron-Whale just as the ceiling of the factory began to groan under the weight of the sea.
"Got it!"
But as he pulled the orb from its pedestal, a low, rumbling sound vibrated through the floor. The factory wasn't just a building—it was a trap. And he had just triggered the self-destruct.