"Human… what are you planning to do?"
Even in her weakened state, Lunala instantly noticed Lucas's gaze upon her. A shiver ran down her spine—the huge bat suddenly felt that something was terribly wrong.
No matter how she looked at it, that human's expression screamed bad intentions.
Necrozma's recovery required a tremendous amount of light and Ultra energy. Yet in this entire Ultra Space, there weren't that many Ultra Beasts with strong Ultra energy to begin with—let alone a sufficient source of light.
So then… how did Lucas plan to help Necrozma recover?
"Don't worry," Lucas said with a calm, reassuring smile. "Even if I wanted to, your light alone wouldn't be enough to satisfy Necrozma anyway."
His tone was gentle and cultured, his expression perfectly composed. Yet to Lunala, it somehow made him look even more suspicious.
What an unnervingly perceptive bat—he hadn't even said anything out loud, and she already looked ready to bolt.
"Necroo!
Necrozma let out a low rumbling sound, its body trembling faintly as it spoke once again in that distorted voice.
"It says," Reshiram translated calmly, "that if you can help it regain its light, it is willing to follow you."
"That's only natural," Lucas nodded without hesitation. "I need its strength—and right now, it's nowhere near the state I'm satisfied with."
He spoke as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. Clearly, after a good beating, Necrozma had become a lot more sensible.
"Necroo..."
"It says it needs to replenish its light immediately—it can barely hold on anymore. If possible, it wishes to…"
Reshiram's beautiful blue eyes flickered with a strange gleam. The white dragon turned its head slightly, glancing toward the furious Lunala who was glaring daggers at Necrozma.
"…it wants to 'eat' Lunala first—to recover its strength."
Reshiram's telepathic voice echoed clearly in everyone's minds. The white dragon hadn't bothered to restrict the communication to Lucas alone, so both Marnie and Green heard it as well.
Lucas: "…"
Ah… well then.
An eye for an eye, huh?
Just a few moments ago, Lunala had been telling him to seal Necrozma away again—and now Necrozma wanted to "eat" her.
Was this some kind of karmic retribution?
Green and Marnie both turned to look at Necrozma with awkward expressions.
"This… is that revenge?" Marnie muttered dryly.
"It sure feels like it," Green replied under her breath, lips twitching.
"No way!"
Lunala didn't know where the sudden burst of strength came from, but she immediately flared her wings and pushed herself backward in terror, scrambling away from Necrozma. Her voice rang out sharply through telepathy—hoarse, panicked, and furious.
That damned black crystal lump! Even now it still hadn't given up its filthy thoughts!
You ungrateful wretch!
"Human! You're not seriously believing its words, are you?"
Lunala's crimson eyes locked onto Lucas, her voice trembling between outrage and fear.
If that thing fused with her again, she was certain she would never wake up this time!
"I think…" Lucas began slowly.
But before he could finish, Lunala cut him off in a rush of frantic speech.
"That thing is insane! Completely mad! And besides—besides, even if I wanted to help it, my energy wouldn't be enough to replenish it anyway!"
Her telepathic voice was so fast and desperate that Lucas didn't even get the chance to interrupt.
She was terrified that he might actually hand her over as some sort of offering.
"If you really want me to provide it with light or Ultra energy, then at least let me recover first!" she pleaded indignantly.
Her tone carried genuine grievance—after all, you can't shear a sheep that's already bald!
She was half-dead already, barely able to move, and this accursed lump of darkness still wanted to devour her?
Was there no justice for bats in this world? Did bats not have rights?!
"When will the bats ever rise up?!" she thought bitterly.
"…That actually makes sense," Lucas admitted after a pause, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
Truthfully, he had been about to say that he wouldn't let Necrozma consume Lunala—though admittedly, that had crossed his mind for a brief moment earlier.
But in her current condition, if he really allowed that to happen, Lunala might actually die outright.
And he didn't want that.
However… her words reminded him of something else—Lunala could serve as an excellent power bank.
"Necro…"
Seeing Lucas seriously considering Lunala's argument, Necrozma let out another weak hum.
"It says it truly can't hold on much longer. If it doesn't get light soon, it's going to…"
Reshiram, still faithfully playing the role of interpreter, trailed off mid-sentence. The dragon blinked, looked at Necrozma again, and its telepathic voice wavered slightly.
"…faint?"
"Wait, seriously? It passed out from hunger?!"
Lucas's expression changed. He hurried to Necrozma's side, only to find that the colored crystal on its head had dimmed to near darkness.
It was almost completely out of power.
After all, Necrozma had only recently been released from its seal. Though it had absorbed some of Lunala's light and Ultra energy, the subsequent battle had drained it severely. Combined with its heavy injuries, it was no wonder it finally collapsed.
Seeing this, Lucas's heart tightened. He lifted his gaze toward the Mega Rayquaza hovering above.
"Human, why are you looking at me like that?" Rayquaza's deep voice rumbled nervously. "I just followed your commands! That black thing's already on death's door—you can't blame me for that!"
"Enough excuses. Use Sunny Day," Lucas ordered, his eyelids twitching.
"Reshiram, you too. Use your full strength to make it brighter. And Gardevoir come here and heal Necrozma please!"
He spoke briskly, suppressing his exasperation. Necrozma's body wasn't that fragile, it just desperately needed light to restore itself.
Though worried, Lucas firmly believed it wouldn't die that easily… probably.
"Alright, alright…"
Mega Rayquaza let out a resigned sigh before unleashing a powerful roar.
"Roooooar!!"
At the same time, Reshiram raised its head high, and two blazing spheres of light shot into the dark sky.
Within seconds, the once-gloomy heavens were flooded with radiance. The perpetual night of the Ultra Space broke apart as dazzling sunlight blazed down, turning darkness into day.
Meanwhile, Gardevoir floated gracefully to Necrozma's side and began alternating Heal Pulse and Life Dew, her hands shimmering with warm, restorative energy.
"Lunala," Lucas said, glancing sideways, "you should rest properly. In your state, you're not in any condition to attack anyone."
He spoke helplessly—because right then, Lunala was stubbornly raising one trembling wing, painstakingly trying to form a small orb of dark energy. The pitifully slow pace betrayed her exhaustion.
The big bat's grudge clearly hadn't cooled down yet—she was still trying to "ambush" Necrozma.
But given how much light and Ultra energy had been drained from her, she could barely even stay upright.
"Human… are you really planning to help Necrozma?"
Seeing her weak Shadow Ball dissipate before completion, Lunala sighed in frustration and collapsed onto the ground.
Never before had she felt so humiliated!
She was one of the rulers of Ultra Space, for Arceus's sake—and now she couldn't even form a Shadow Ball!
"I came here for it," Lucas replied with a faint smile. "You should know what it's capable of at its peak. No one can refuse that kind of power."
His words were honest—there was no reason to lie now.
"I won't deny its strength," Lunala said, her eyes narrowing. "But it won't submit to anyone. You might not understand it—it bears deep resentment toward humans."
She glanced sideways at Necrozma. As much as she despised that creature, she couldn't deny its terrifying might.
"Once, people just like you coveted its power," she continued coldly. "And you've seen what became of them."
Her gaze shifted toward the ruins of the Ultra Megalopolis.
She had lived there once—she knew that history well.
"I know," Lucas said lightly. "But I'm not one of those fools."
He turned his head toward the distance, where the four members of the Ultra Recon Squad were staring in stunned disbelief at the newly brightened sky.
For the first time in their lives, they were seeing sunlight.
"They desired Necrozma's power," Lucas continued, his voice carrying quiet mockery, "yet never considered whether they were capable of controlling it."
"Their ancestors' stupidity is beyond words. Light was a gift that Necrozma bestowed upon them—and they, in turn, robbed Necrozma of that very light, condemning their descendants to live in endless darkness."
"That's nothing short of killing the golden goose," he sneered softly. "What exquisite foolishness."
"I also seek Necrozma's power," he said after a pause, "but I won't imprison it. I'll treat it as an equal, as a friend."
Lucas's smile was calm and genuine. Though he often placed profit above all else, he always treated his own Pokémon with sincerity.
And besides…
Necrozma was not a creature that could be bound by force. To truly earn the trust of a being like that, one could only cooperate with it—or meet its desires.
"You're too naïve," Lunala murmured bitterly. "Necrozma became what it is because of humans. Do you really think it will ever forgive your kind?"
Her voice carried obvious bias—how could she not resent the creature that had drained her nearly to death?
But she wasn't wrong either. Necrozma's suffering had indeed been caused by humanity.
Lucas only shrugged. "Those humans aren't me. Nor do they belong to my world."
He spread his hands, as if to say that whatever happened back then had nothing to do with him.
In fact, he was practically Necrozma's savior—had he not freed it from its seal, it would still be trapped in eternal darkness even now.
"…I hope you don't regret today's decision," Lunala finally said, unable to argue further.
"Thank you for your concern," Lucas replied lightly. "But I think it's time we talked about our business."
"…Our business?"
Lunala blinked, momentarily dazed, her ruby-red eyes filled with confusion—then quickly hardened in wariness.
"There's nothing to discuss between us!" she snapped.
"Oh, but there is," Lucas said cheerfully, waving a finger. "You've caused me quite a lot of trouble. If you hadn't recharged Necrozma back there, I wouldn't have had to go through all this effort just to communicate with it."
"???"
Lunala stared at him in utter disbelief.
Was this man serious?
How shameless can a human possibly be?!
I caused you trouble?
Did you think I WANTED to recharge that thing?!
I'm the victim here, you jerk!
If she had the strength, she would've slapped him with her wings.
Just look at me! Look at these injuries! Do you have any idea who's responsible for this mess?!
Bitterness welled up in her heart—she felt like crying without tears.
She had been beaten senseless, forcibly fused with Necrozma, drained nearly dry, and now this human dared to blame her for causing him inconvenience?!
"What a poor thing…" Green whispered, watching Lunala's utterly deflated posture.
Marnie nodded gravely in agreement.
"So, what do you want, human?" Lunala finally said with resignation. She might as well stop pretending—arguing was pointless.
After all, she really had fought alongside Necrozma against him.
And truthfully, she doubted this man would actually let her go free.
"I won't ask for much," Lucas said seriously, his tone formal and composed. "Lunala, your lifespan is practically endless. Just follow me for fifty years, and we'll call it even."
Not excessive at all—just fifty years of service.
"???"
Lunala was completely dumbfounded.
She stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.
Fifty years?
Human lifespans barely reached a hundred, and he dared to demand half of that?!
Why not just say "until I die," while he was at it?!
"Absolutely not! Never!" she snapped, her voice trembling with outrage. "Human, every wound on my body was caused by your Pokémon! And you have the nerve to ask me to serve you?!"
The majestic Moone Pokémon had finally reached her breaking point.
This human… was truly too cruel.
(End of Chapter)