Akira took a deep breath, steadying his excitement.
Today's surprises had indeed exceeded his expectations—far beyond what he had originally anticipated.
Not only had he obtained the long-desired Mythical Pokémon Meloetta, but it also came with the abilities of the Dark Sonata and more.
This made it even more formidable, capable of unleashing even greater power.
Shifting his focus to the battlefield, Akira realized he needed to "stoke the fire" for the Hellbell Snake.
Though the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile] horde was being gradually whittled down by his team, it was clear that their abilities had limits.
At best, they were locked in a stalemate.
Among them, Ging and Beyond, the strongest in the group, were each facing off against two noticeably larger [Soul-Devouring Crocodiles].
These two were clearly tougher than the rest, boasting strength in the S-tier range.
As the saying goes, soldiers fight soldiers, generals fight generals.
The others were dealing with the more common A-tier [Soul-Devouring Crocodiles], which made up the bulk of the swarm.
Faced with the relentless tide of [Soul-Devouring Crocodiles], the team was holding up decently.
Pekotero was the quickest to act, immediately setting up a "field" that placed everyone in a game-like mode.
This effectively prevented them from suffering fatal injuries.
Unbeknownst to them, it also provided some resistance against the [Soul-Devouring Crocodiles'] soul-based attacks.
Because the attack effect of the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile] primarily targets the souls of living beings, while the people in game mode are, strictly speaking, just a cluster of data.
There is no such thing as a "soul" in this context.
Thus, Pekotero's Nen Ability inadvertently became the best counter to the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile].
This was also one of the reasons why even if someone got bitten, it didn't have much impact.
If the [Soul-Devouring Crocodiles] still retained their own intelligence, they would probably be baffled as to why their bites had so little effect despite clearly landing on these beings.
With just a rough glance, Akira analyzed the likely progression of the entire battlefield.
Without outside interference, Ging and Beyond would finish their fights first, then assist the other members.
The battle would likely be completely resolved within about half an hour.
At first glance, it seemed the Twin-Tailed Snake's abilities weren't all that impressive, and even its hidden trump cards could be easily dealt with.
For Hunters, resolving a problem within an hour or so was considered a quick and easy job.
Not to mention, given that these were bizarre creatures from the Dark Continent, it only highlighted the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile]'s weakness.
But in reality, Akira felt the Twin-Tailed Snake's abilities far exceeded his initial expectations.
So far, the Twin-Tailed Snake had revealed two abilities—or rather, two trump cards.
The first was its signature survival technique—Hell's Chime!
Using the chime-like sounds produced by the fleshy bulbs on its tails, it could turn living beings into bloodthirsty puppets.
Breaking this technique was extremely difficult.
The vast majority of creatures that set foot on this grassland would inevitably become killing puppets.
Simply blocking one's hearing or lacking hearing altogether was useless.
Even with reinforced earplugs, the group had been controlled within an extremely short time.
Only beings without emotions or souls might have a slim chance of resisting.
The former was unlikely, while the latter was practically nonexistent.
If something didn't even have a soul, it couldn't be called a living being—it would be an inanimate object.
And inanimate objects naturally couldn't be infected by bloodlust.
If not for the fact that the Twin-Tailed Snake's ability, like post-mortem Nen, was caused by some kind of dark substance that Gengar could directly absorb, dealing with it would have been quite troublesome.
Otherwise, they would have had to rely on Pokémon like Lapras using sound-based moves, or have the Pokémon use protective abilities.
Alternatively, they could try to take down the Twin-Tailed Snake as quickly as possible with long-range attacks, hoping to defeat them swiftly.
From this alone, it was clear that just this one ability was enough to overwhelm most creatures.
The second trump card was these currently rampaging [Soul-Devouring Crocodiles].
Although Akira believed they could be wiped out within half an hour, that didn't mean they were weak.
The main reason was that the [Soul-Devouring Crocodiles] were facing extraordinary opponents.
The team he led was the best the Six Continents had to offer—truly the cream of the crop.
The rapid resolution of the battle was largely thanks to the two powerhouses, Ging and Beyond.
On top of that, Pekotero's Nen Ability happened to counter the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile]'s soul-based attacks.
This allowed the rest of the team to fight relatively smoothly.
Otherwise, given the intensity of the battle, several members would likely have collapsed in agony from soul damage before the fight even got properly underway.
Soul damage is no laughing matter—it can range from mental disorders, dementia, and insanity to outright soul dissipation and instant death.
So the fact that they could gain these advantages also involved a certain degree of luck.
Therefore, it would still take them some time to completely deal with their enemies.
But Akira was growing impatient.
If possible, he wanted to quickly witness the hidden abilities of the Twin-Tailed Snake!
Even now, Akira still felt that the Twin-Tailed Snake hadn't revealed its true power.
In fact, the more he interacted with and understood it, the more certain he became that his guess was correct.
...
A gentle breeze swept by.
Ging crouched slightly, his expression unusually grave as he stared intently at the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile] before him.
This [Soul-Devouring Crocodile] was quite peculiar—its size was at least twice that of the others.
As a result, the [Ink Muck] covering its body was also much thicker, almost as if it had grown into its flesh.
At the same time, the crimson glow in its eye sockets was deeper, leaning toward a dark red.
Having fought so many [Soul-Devouring Crocodiles], encountering one that was clearly different made Ging act with extra caution.
However, the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile] on the other side knew nothing of "caution." With a flick of its tail against the ground, it lunged forward.
Its massive skeletal frame, layered with [Ink Muck], made its body appear enormous.
Yet despite its seemingly cumbersome build, it moved with surprising agility.
"Whoosh!"
A sharp gust of wind cut through the air.
In the blink of an eye, the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile] appeared right in front of Ging, as if it had always been there.
He could even see the blades of grass tangled in the muck.
If not for the [Safety Suit] blocking the smell, Ging was sure he would have caught the stench of the [Ink Muck] clinging to the beast.
His expression remained unchanged, however, as his [En] had been enveloping the area all along.
Thus, every movement of the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile] was within his sight.
With a swift shift, Ging's figure appeared to the left of the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile], his body gliding smoothly to the other side.
At the same time, he held a spherical mass of [Aura] in his hand, the energy inside swirling chaotically.
An astonishing amount of [Aura] had been compressed into a single point, forming a radiant orb of light.
The spinning orb effortlessly stirred the surrounding air, abruptly whipping up a whirlwind.
At this moment, the technique bore an uncanny resemblance to the [Spiral Sphere] from Naruto.
And this was a move Ging had learned from someone else.
The main method involved gathering [Aura] in the palm and continuously circulating it until a massive amount was compressed into a single point.
If one could master the advanced application technique—[Flow]—it could be executed with ease, even forming an enormous [Aura] sphere.
However, there was a limitation: the sphere had to be delivered via direct palm contact.
Strictly speaking, it was a [Nen Ability] that required physical touch.
If not for that, Ging wouldn't have had the chance to learn it.
Without a moment's hesitation, Ging drove the [Aura] sphere straight toward the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile]'s head.
After experimenting on several [Soul-Devouring Crocodiles], he had confirmed that their weakness lay in their heads—
Or more precisely, their eye sockets.
A dense glow of [Aura] erupted from Ging's hand as the sphere struck the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile]'s skull.
Only the sound of cracking could be heard, clearly indicating the skull was being shattered.
Just as Ging thought things would proceed extremely smoothly, a fierce red light suddenly erupted from the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile]'s body.
This red light was identical to the one in its eye sockets, but now it covered its entire form, as if submerged in a sea of blood.
In the next instant, Ging felt an inexplicable resistance, as though something was trying to push him away from the crocodile.
Before he could react, the force surged violently, and in a flash, his entire body was sent flying backward!
Though still somewhat confused about the situation, Ging made a decision immediately.
Mid-air, Ging twisted his body forcefully, executing a "carp flip" maneuver.
He landed steadily on the grass with a movement resembling a dive.
Once steady, Ging's first action was to look at the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile], his eyes narrowing involuntarily.
After a few moments of silence, Ging muttered grimly, "Knocked back, huh..."
As the one who experienced it firsthand, Ging was acutely aware of what had just happened.
To describe it, it was as if he had been blasted away by a sudden, overwhelming force.
This effect was most likely caused by that eerie red light.
What Ging didn't know was that if he hadn't been under Pekotero's game mode enhancement at that moment,
that red light could have affected his soul, leaving him vulnerable.
He might not have died, but injuries would have been inevitable.
After assessing the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile]'s current state, Ging's lips twisted wryly, as if witnessing something exasperating.
The injuries he had just inflicted on its skull were now being covered by flowing muck.
The faint traces visible indicated that the wounds were healing at a visible rate.
Ging frowned. "This fast?"
"Is it its regeneration ability... or..."
Ging initially thought this must be the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile]'s innate ability, but upon seeing the gradually spreading [Ink Muck],
he began to suspect there might be more to it.
However, he didn't have much time to ponder.
In a daze, the shadow beneath the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile] suddenly trembled.
Almost instantly, a massive figure burst forth from the shadow beneath, the sheer impact sending the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile] soaring into the air!
A gigantic golden creature suddenly appeared on the battlefield, its gleaming body undeniably majestic.
Its form was adorned with black stripes, which rapidly faded until they disappeared entirely.
"ROAR!!"
The Shiny Steelix let out an earth-shaking bellow, as if announcing its arrival to all living beings.
Then, without hesitation, it opened its gaping maw, revealing rows of gleaming, formidable teeth.
Its jaw, a fusion of metal and rock, possessed crushing bite force—capable of devouring even the hardest minerals.
Let alone the bony [Soul-Devouring Crocodile].
In no time, the [Soul-Devouring Crocodile] vanished into Steelix's mouth, thoroughly crushed after a few chews.
Ging stared at the scene, momentarily stunned.
He had just been contemplating how to deal with it...
And in the blink of an eye, the enemy was completely gone?
Glancing at the remnants of [Ink Muck] on the ground, Ging figured at least something remained.
Steelix's appearance was only the beginning—soon after, another flash of white light emerged on the battlefield.
Gardevoir lifted the hem of her dress with the grace of a noble lady, raising her hands elegantly.
She gently closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, those ruby-like orbs were tinged with a deep pink glow.
Instantly, her entire demeanor transformed—from gentle and pleasant to sharp and intimidating.
The next moment, an overwhelming surge of Aura erupted from Gardevoir, violently expanding outward.
One after another, Psychic-type attacks rained down upon the Soul-Devouring Crocodiles like they were free, throwing the battlefield into chaos.
At Akira's signal, Steelix and Gardevoir cleared out the Soul-Devouring Crocodiles in just half a minute.
Gardevoir caused the most commotion—to maximize speed, it employed saturation bombardment.
The result was the surrounding grassland vanishing entirely, leaving only uneven, churned-up earth as if plowed multiple times.
After a moment of recovery, the group belatedly lowered their weapons and stood down from combat readiness.
They all knew what it meant when Captain Akira took the field personally.
Whenever Captain Akira acted, battles were resolved with extreme speed.
This only deepened the thought weighing on their minds.
As things stood, they hadn't contributed much to Captain Akira—it felt like they were just there to make up the numbers.
He was too versatile; a single one of him could rival any team!
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