A gentle breeze swept across the grassland, dispersing the dust hanging in the air before it settled back onto the ground.
The once-overwhelming army of Soul-Devouring Crocodiles had vanished without a trace, all slain by Gardevoir and Steelix.
Akira didn't even spare the remains of the Soul-Devouring Crocodiles, as they held some research value.
He simply tossed them all into the Network Space.
Now, aside from the devastated landscape, nothing remained—not even a single carcass could be found.
If anything could prove the Soul-Devouring Crocodiles had once been here,
it would only be the faint traces of mud on the ground.
Ging and Beyond shook their heads, stepping forward to stand beside Akira, both naturally falling a step behind him.
This was a reflection of their positions within the team.
As the captain and the strongest member, Akira alone had the right to stand at the forefront.
As the second and third-in-command, the two of them naturally took their places behind him.
The others did the same, returning to their original positions to catch their breath and recover their expended stamina and Aura.
Akira paid little attention to the rest, his gaze fixed intently on the few Hellbell Snakes in the distance.
Due to the "saturation bombardment" that had ravaged the entire terrain like repeated shelling,
the waist-high weeds had all but vanished, reduced to a mix of dust and debris.
As a result, Akira and the others had a much clearer view, allowing them to properly see their true enemies.
Hellbell Snakes.
From the very beginning, their foes had been the Hellbell Snakes, yet they hadn't managed to inflict a single wound on them so far.
Thus, the real challenge was only just beginning.
Had the Hellbell Snakes exhausted all their tricks, leaving them helpless to slaughter?
Or did they still hold a trump card, waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal blow?
The answer was about to be revealed.
Akira stared intently at the Hellbell Snakes, making no move to attack, while the snakes themselves remained still.
An eerie silence fell over the battlefield.
Apart from the lingering wisps of murky dust drifting through the air, nothing else moved.For a moment, the battle seemed to have hit a pause button.
Both sides stared intently at each other, tacitly refraining from action.
Even the extremely common rattling of the twin-tailed snakes had completely vanished, leaving behind utter silence.
After a few breaths, one slightly larger twin-tailed snake among the group trembled faintly, its cold Snakeine eyes tinged with a dark hue.
As if resolving itself, its gaze shifted from indignation to an icy glint.
Its mouth parted slightly, revealing two prominent fangs, accompanied by a faint, rasping sound.
Then, all the twin-tailed snakes began shaking their tails in unison, producing a series of rattles that were starkly different from before.
Previously, the rattles had two distinct styles, but now there was only one unified tone—horrifying!
The sound struck deep into everyone's hearts. With each chime, their expressions grew paler.
Ging and Beyond exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes!
If the earlier rattles had been as gentle as a babbling brook, these new ones were like a raging sea.
The previous sounds had merely been an appetizer—this was the true main course: the Hell's Chime!
This terrifying rattle seemed to have emerged straight from the depths of hell, the kind only a monstrous demon could produce.
It was both a declaration of death and the growl of a demon.
Just hearing it for the first time made their hearts clench, as if gripped by an icy hand.
Even their breathing instinctively quickened.
'They're getting serious now!'
Not just Ging and Beyond—the rest of the team realized it too.
This sudden shift clearly signaled that the twin-tailed snakes were preparing to unleash their trump card, engaging in a desperate, life-or-death struggle.
Akira's expression shifted slightly as he listened to the eerie chimes, surprise flickering across his face.
He hadn't expected that even Gengar couldn't block the twin-tailed snakes' unique rattling.
It seemed this so-called trump card was truly extraordinary.
With this thought, the anticipation in Akira's eyes grew even stronger. He hoped the twin-tailed snakes wouldn't disappoint him.
Under Akira's watchful gaze, the faint black mist clinging to the twin-tailed snakes suddenly expanded several times over!
Originally just clinging to their bodies, it now surged outward, swelling in size within moments.
Like raging flames, it enveloped each twin-tailed snake, towering three to four meters high.
Yet these "flames" were an eerie, ink-black hue, exuding an ominous aura. Just looking at them directly evoked discomfort.
This unease was an instinctive reaction to something sinister and dangerous—a primal urge to flee upon encountering it.
As if even the slightest contact with this presence would bring disaster.
After a few breaths, these black "flames" began separating from the twin-tailed snakes, all converging onto the larger one.
Shrouded by multiple layers of black mist, the larger twin-tailed snake's chimes grew louder, its eerie aura intensifying severalfold.
Some of the weaker team members even felt as though they could barely breathe, their chests tightening unbearably.
Now, even without using 'Focus', they could see the black mist swirling in the air—ethereal yet undeniably perilous.
The once sunlit battlefield now resembled a hellish abyss, shrouded in clusters of black mist.Even the light dimmed several degrees out of nowhere, creating a dark and terrifying atmosphere.
Every cell in their bodies was screaming warnings, their vigilance heightened to the utmost at this moment.
If they could move freely, they would have leaped up instantly and fled this place at top speed.
Because they could already smell the scent of death!
They would truly die!
The calmest one in the entire group was Akira. Even in such a situation, he showed no discomfort whatsoever.
He even had the presence of mind to analyze the changes in the twin-tailed snakes opposite them.
The black mist that had been drawn from those twin-tailed snakes had completely vanished, not a trace left behind.
The luster of their scales had dulled considerably, and their upright bodies had bent slightly, as if exhausted.
Clearly, using this ability took a tremendous toll on them, and it would likely take a long time for them to recover.
Akira then shifted his gaze, finally settling on the most conspicuous twin-tailed snake.
That snake had now undergone a drastic transformation.
The swirling black mist was continuously devouring its body, and within moments, most of its massive form had disappeared.
At the same time, a shadowy figure inexplicably appeared behind it, growing larger as the twin-tailed snake's body vanished.
This was actually a sacrificial-type ability!
The other twin-tailed snakes had gathered their energy into this one.
And now, this snake was offering its own life in exchange for the true killing move—
The unknown shadowy figure!
Akira's eyes narrowed in Focus, feeling a sense of déjà vu.
He had seen this before!
A similar ability!
That ability was rather unique, which was why Akira remembered it so vividly.
He recalled a Nen user under the command of Pride in The Seven Deadly Sins, whose Nen Ability was also sacrificial in nature.
Pride had deliberately assigned that person to deal with him.
The general effect of the Nen Ability was:
By self-harming, the user could inflict a certain amount of damage on the enemy—the more severe the self-inflicted injury, the stronger the effect.
To further enhance the effect, there was also a Restriction and Vow:
If the user committed suicide without any prior injuries, the Nen Ability's effect would be significantly amplified.
The reason Akira remembered that person wasn't just because of the bizarre suicidal Nen Ability, but also because of his origins.
That man came from an extremely rare ethnic group on the Six Continents, numbering only a few dozen in total.
Due to their ancient and eerie beliefs, their Nen Abilities were all similarly bizarre.
Almost all Nen users born from this group possessed similar abilities—self-harm, curses, and the like.
And the object of their worship was none other than the Demon King!
That man's Nen Ability was called—[The Demon King's Devotee]
In an instant, the twin-tailed snake's body completely vanished, replaced by the ever-growing shadowy figure behind it.
Once it reached a height of over ten meters—likely its limit—the figure stopped expanding.
Compared to its initial form, the shadow was not only much larger but also more solid, no longer entirely ethereal.
The figure was strange, appearing as nothing more than a pitch-black, lightless mass—almost featureless, just a shadow.
Except for…
A pair of faintly flickering crimson eyes.
Akira's breath hitched as he stared at the towering figure before him, his mind rapidly piecing together every detail in that instant.
A thought flashed through his mind like lightning!
'Is this... the Demon King?'
In the next moment, a deep yet sinister aura erupted from the phantom figure, violently expanding outward in all directions.
Within mere seconds, this hellish aura enveloped the entire forest, its oppressive force still intensifying.
Chilling winds rose in its wake, howling across the desolate, silent grassland out of nowhere.
Though just gusts of wind, they sliced through the air like flying blades, their whistling audible.
The relatively intact grass in the distance became the target of the gale's fury.
Taller weeds were cleanly severed at their midsections, then sliced into several more pieces by invisible blades midair.
Only then did they finally fall to the ground.
Had the group not been wearing their safety suits, they would have experienced the sensation of "wind cutting like knives."
Despite the ferocity of these icy winds, no one paid them any attention.
All eyes remained fixed on the terrifying phantom before them.
With the phantom's appearance came an aura of utter despair.
It pressed down on them like an insurmountable mountain, rendering them immobile.
It also felt like a bottomless abyss, dragging them into hell with no escape.
Their Aura became utterly useless in that moment—they couldn't muster even a flicker of it.
Their bodies stiffened as if they were corpses long dead, completely frozen.
Only their eyeballs retained any ability to move.
Yet nearly every pair of eyes reflected sheer terror, filled with expressions of hopelessness and powerlessness.
Before this phantom, they had lost all ability to act, reduced to mere puppets on strings.
Helpless to resist.
Except... for Akira!
Sensing the phantom's aura, Akira's pupils contracted slightly, his body instinctively tensing.
Aside from his own Pokémon, this was the first time he had encountered such a terrifying presence!!
This was the strongest enemy he had ever faced!
Without exception!
Neither Zed who had returned from death, the evolved Ant King, nor even Jin using his trump card...
None could compare in strength!
Pokedex Ability activated!
[Phantom of the Demon King]: A wisp of manifestation from the Demon King residing deep within the Dark Continent.
The Hellbell Snake was a creature casually created by the Demon King, possessing the ability to summon his phantom.
This required channeling the energy of multiple Hellbell Snakes into a single one.
Using that snake's body as a sacrifice would then summon a fragment of the Demon King's phantom.
...
At that very moment, some distance away from the marshland.
This was a desolate wilderness, devoid of any signs of life—not even a single blade of grass.
A stark contrast to the surrounding forested areas.
Yet in this lifeless place, an unidentified creature was now moving about.
The creature was of moderate size but walked with a hunched posture, moving at incredible speed.
Though its gait appeared normal, it would suddenly appear far from its previous location in the next instant.
The unidentified creature was pitch black all over, like the static patterns of an old television with no signal.
Staring at it for too long would cause other creatures to feel dizzy and unable to look directly at it.
As if sensing something, the creature suddenly halted its advance and stood still, lost in deep contemplation.
The direction it had intended to move toward was none other than the swamp.
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