Raiden
Raiden is the veteran Black Serpent assigned to evaluate and then command Leo Skyshard during the expedition into Moltherak's Time-Stilled World.
Biography
Command under a collapsing mission
Raiden initially receives Leo with the practiced warmth of an older professional, but the expedition makes him responsible for keeping several strong-willed Grandmasters coordinated while the forest attacks their memories and corrupts their mana. He directs the group's formations and participates in its first successful kill, then struggles to preserve discipline as fear and contamination divide the team. Karl's revealed Transcendent strength finally overwhelms that command structure: he kicks Raiden from a floating island into the abyss, and no recovery or confirmed survival follows. (Chapters 251, 266–293, 310)
Appearance and personality
Raiden is bald and visibly older than Leo, with deep laugh lines, a warm smile, and sunglasses during the mission. His easy laugh and approachable manner contrast with his authority as team leader. Under supernatural pressure he continues giving orders and seeking a workable plan, although the corrupted environment progressively compromises both his judgment and the group's cohesion. (Chapters 251, 271, 280–293)
Abilities and power progression
Raiden is explicitly one of the expedition's Grandmasters and fights as a coordinated assassin rather than a solitary duelist. His named technique, Phase Cut, sends a green arc of mana from his weapon; its representative hit wounds a tainted human while the team closes around the target. The corpus does not establish its range, repeated-use cost, or a special counter. His leadership and battle experience cannot bridge a full tier disparity: Karl's Transcendent speed and force remove him before he can mount an answer. No later progression is shown. (Chapters 266–277, 310)
Power progression
| Stage / Realm / Ability | Chapter(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Grandmaster Realm | By 266 | Raiden enters the Time-Stilled World expedition as an established Grandmaster; no earlier transition is narrated. |
| Presumed fatal loss of access | 310 | Karl kicks him from a floating island into the abyss; no survival, recovery, or later power use is confirmed. |
Relationships
- Leo Skyshard: Raiden interviews Leo and later commands him in the field. Leo last remembers Raiden as alive, but that belief predates Raiden's fall. (Chapters 250–251, 266, 310, 336)
- Bob: Bob serves under Raiden in the same Grandmaster team; both are ultimately lost during Karl's attack. (Chapters 266–311)
- Karl: Karl's betrayal and Transcendent power destroy Raiden's expedition command, and Karl personally kicks him into the abyss. (Chapters 284–310)
Items
Raiden carries an assassin's weapon used to project Phase Cut, but the corpus does not provide a distinctive name or later custody history for it. (Chapter 277)