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The shimmering strands of silver silk glowed with a pale, moonlit sheen as they tightened around Kael's boulder-like arm. The thin threads wrapped him layer by layer, stretching like a web of razor wire over his dark, violet-toned skin.
The silk pulled taut, attempting to slice into the flesh beneath but against Kael's skin, hardened to near-steel through high-gravity training on Blazing Peak and repeated exposure to infused elemental crystals, it produced nothing more than a frustrated screech.
His crimson eyes flickered with amusement, as if he were watching a scared creature struggle in its own trap.
A low, mocking chitter echoed from the Leavanny.
Suddenly—
Six faint, glowing streaks pulsed across Kael's left arm like phantom claw marks. A flash of bright violet surged outward.
Kael barely twitched.
The movement was so subtle Leavanny didn't even register it.
But the effect was catastrophic.
TING! TING! TING!
The threads snapped like over-tightened guitar strings that broke mid-performance.
Brilliant sparks erupted across Kael's arm as the severed silk whipped outward in silver arcs, dissolving into weightless strands that drifted through the air like dying embers.
His arm, moments ago wrapped in unbreakable Bug-type silk, remained completely untouched.
Not a single mark.
Not even a faint line.
Kael's body had undergone a complete defensive metamorphosis:
high-pressure gravity conditioning, elemental empowerment from attribute crystals, and the passive shielding from his system artifact, Zamazenta's Heart (Fragmented), all layered together to create a defense few Pokémon could ever hope to pierce.
Leavanny's silk was impressive, but against Kael's reinforced hide, flexible like rubber yet as durable as armored plating, it was laughably insufficient.
Realizing its "unstoppable" silk had snapped like cheap thread, Leavanny stiffened.
This is bad…
A chill surged through its body like stepping into an ice-cold cavern.
It leapt back instinctively, assassin instincts screaming at it: When a strike fails, retreat.
But Kael wasn't about to let prey slip from his grasp.
His thick arm snapped upward, muscles coiling with explosive power.
The swing tore the air apart with a sharp, sonic crack.
Before Leavanny could blink, Kael's shadow fell over it vast, suffocating, inescapable.
His violet hand closed around Leavanny's head.
THUD.
Leavanny's slender body dangled helplessly in the air, legs kicking, its leafy skirt fluttering uselessly. It slashed wildly with its razor-sharp Leaf Blades.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The strikes sparked against Kael's arm as if hitting solid metal.
Useless.
Kael's towering figure contrasted harshly with the delicate, trembling Bug-type in his grip. His eyes narrowed, a cruel smirk carving across his face.
Light surged again along the six glowing marks on his arm.
Energy gathered.
Something ignited.
A single ember burst from Kael's wrist then bloomed into a violent blaze.
Flames roared upward, swelling and feeding on invisible fuel.
Whoooosh.
A scorching inferno lit up Kael's fist, radiating heat so intense the surrounding grass withered instantly.
"Fire Punch."
His flaming fist transformed into a miniature sun.
And Leavanny Bug/Grass-type to its core was the perfect fuel source.
Fire snaked across its body instantly, devouring the emerald layers of its leafy dress. The elegant green turned charcoal black, crumbling into drifting ash.
"AAAAAAAAH!!"
Its shrill, piercing scream echoed through the clearing.
Its pale body twisted helplessly in Kael's grip as the flames swept up its torso, filling the air with the acrid scent of burning plant matter and sizzling chitin.
Leavanny burned like a living torch.
And Kael's expression remained cold.
Unmoved.
Unforgiving.
From the severed wings of the Starly he saw earlier… to the crushed corpse of the fallen Machoke in the arena… Kael understood exactly what kind of creature he held:
A sadistic predator.
A killer that delighted in torment, turning victims into grotesque "dolls."
To show mercy would be to insult every life it had mutilated.
The inferno consumed it completely.
Kael didn't look away.
He simply tightened his grip.
And the flames roared higher.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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