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The discovery of the move [Grudge] left Kael both surprised and intrigued.
He had already been impressed that his Machop body could use [Confuse Ray], but now another Ghost-type move?
Did this mean that beyond his natural Fighting-type skills, he might be able to keep learning Ghost-type abilities as well?
A Machop who fights with both fists and phantoms…
Kael let out a small laugh and shook his head.
It was too early to get carried away. What mattered right now was survival finding a way out of this nightmare.
His eyes fell on the cold silver collar clamped tight around his neck. His expression darkened.
---
Elsewhere, in a stark office lit only by a desk lamp, Dr. Darr sat at a simple desk. The room contained little more than two chairs and a bookcase. The faint aroma of coffee mixed with the quiet scratch of a black fountain pen across paper.
Knock, knock.
"Come in," Dr. Darr said softly, not looking up.
The wooden door creaked open. Eck stepped inside, clutching a yellow plastic-wrapped folder.
"Doctor, today's experimental data."
"Leave it there," Darr said, extending his left hand.
Eck placed the file carefully on the desk and turned to leave, but Darr's voice stopped him.
"Eck."
"Yes?" Eck turned back, startled.
"Don't be in such a rush. Sit down."
"…Alright."
Awkwardly, the young man sat across from him. Darr capped his pen and smiled faintly.
"How long have you been my assistant now?"
"Since the Sinnoh branch days… almost six years."
"Six years already…" Darr exhaled. "Time moves quickly."
Then his tone shifted.
"Do you know why we're returning to headquarters?"
"…Isn't it to present your results?" Eck asked, puzzled.
"That's part of it, yes. But it's not the real reason." Darr tapped the pen against the desk, the sound sharp in the quiet room.
"The operation is about to begin."
The wooden chair screeched as Eck jumped to his feet. " I-I can join, can't I?"
"Of course. You're my most important assistant."
Eck's eyes blazed with excitement. "Th-thank you, Doctor!"
"Save your thanks." Darr leaned back into his chair. "In a week, we move. Make sure nothing useful remains for the League to seize. Use up everything you can."
"I understand."
Watching the eager young man nearly trembling with enthusiasm, Darr allowed himself a nod of approval.
---
In the white-walled operating room, Eck stood before a group of impatient researchers, holding a clipboard.
"Let's begin the experiment."
On the table, Kael lay strapped down, staring blankly at the ceiling. This was to be his third surgery.
The first had killed this body's original host.
The second had nearly killed Kael himself if not for Ralts, he wouldn't be here at all.
And the third… the third would surely be no kinder.
But strangely, Kael did not panic.
After absorbing two powerful surges of Ghost-type energy, his senses toward that element had sharpened dramatically.
Even now, lying motionless, he could feel something inside the cabinet. A cold, eerie presence radiating from within.
Another relic. Another Ghost-type essence.
Yet unlike before, this one didn't feel threatening.
Instead, it was called seductive, enticing. Like a feast waiting to be devoured.
Kael swallowed hard. His body reacted instinctively.
Eck frowned, watching him. "That's odd… the last two times it fought the restraints, but now it's lying still. Could the Blood-Eye's aftereffects have dulled its mind?"
He chuckled and shook his head. "Doesn't matter. As long as it's alive, the experiment continues."
He returned to his clipboard.
---
Item: Dusclops' Spectral Essence
Source: Core gem essence of a shiny Dusclops alpha, recovered from Lanno Caverns
Containment: Stored in a sealed, lightproof vial. Must not be exposed to sunlight or touched directly.
---
The container was jet-black, opaque, capped with a simple steel knob.
Compared to the elaborate process of the Blood-Eye procedure, this experiment seemed almost absurdly simple.
One of the researchers made a small incision across Kael's chest. Then, holding the vial carefully, he turned the knob.
Crrk.
Blue-silver particles spilled out, drifting weightlessly through the air, glowing with an eerie light.
Drawn by the scent of fresh blood, the essence surged straight into Kael's wound, sinking into his bloodstream.
At once, the dormant forces inside him roared awake. The three intertwined energies, once at uneasy truce, reacted violently to the invader.
Like lions defending their territory, they lashed out with claws bared.
The Dusclops' energy, formidable on its own, was utterly outmatched here. Both in quality and in quantity, Kael's fused inner power was on a different level.
Within moments, the spectral essence curled up and submitted, cowed into silence.
On the table, Kael's body only gave a faint twitch. Then, to the surprise of all watching, he settled back into stillness.
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