The chamber was deathly still.
That strange standoff—one girl and one Pokémon—dragged on.
Liko seemed to feel the weight in the air. She stopped talking, simply looking at Ceruledge with clear eyes—worry shading into a faint, helpless frustration.
She regretted coming here.
All she could do now was pray this Ceruledge would have a change of heart and let her go.
Ceruledge, for its part, looked caught in some private knot. The purple flames on its body leapt more fiercely than before—surging and guttering—casting the room in flicker-lit chiaroscuro.
Jason could tell: it was tense.
Suddenly, Ceruledge snapped its head around. Its eyes locked straight onto the section of wall where Jason and Gast hid.
The movement was so abrupt it even startled Liko; she flinched back on reflex.
"Kasha!"
"Who's there—show yourself!"
The rasp ripped from its throat, full of hostility. Before the echo died, it slashed; the purple fireblade carved a ruthless arc. A crescent of violet flame tore away from the sword and shrieked toward their hiding spot.
Fast and vicious—meant to flush lurkers out.
"Not good!"
Jason's heart clenched. He hadn't expected sense that sharp. No time to think—ghostly energy burst, he snatched the still-stunned Gast and blinked sideways through the stone.
An instant later—
BOOM!
The crescent slammed into the wall. Stone melted like butter under a hot knife, gouging a half-meter-deep cut. Shards spat; heat washed the room.
So clean. So strong. A cold bead slid down Jason's spine. This one was stronger—and sharper—than he'd guessed.
And with that dodge, they were fully exposed. Jason pulled Gast free of the wall; the two Gastly popped into the open room.
"Eh?"
Liko stared, eyes wide as saucers, mouth slightly parted. Surprise shifted to curiosity and then to wary caution.
What was happening? Two more Ghost-types?
She regretted coming all over again. Kidnapped by a wild… and now two Gastly? They didn't seem allied, but she had the sense a fight was coming. Her mind struggled to keep up with the pivots.
Jason ignored her reaction. Floating, he faced Ceruledge across the room and broke the silence:
"Your clan's fighting out there. Why are you here kidnapping a human girl?"
Ceruledge blinked—then snapped, "How should I know! He told me to watch her—so I watch her!"
Jason seized the keyword. "He? Who—Iron Boulder?"
At the name, Ceruledge's crimson eyes pinched; even its flames stuttered.
"So—you've met him."
"That's right! He promised me—guard this human girl, and this whole region's Ceruledge and Armarouge will be mine to lead!"
At that, it seemed to see itself commanding both clans—a single overlord. A low, twisted chuckle rose from its throat.
"Heh… heh-heh-heh…"
Jason shook his head silently. Strong, but not bright. Letting itself be used without realizing it.
"My advice—come back to your senses." His tone was that of someone who'd seen this play. "Iron Boulder will be beaten, and soon. Your two clans are already halfway to making peace. When that happens, if you're still clinging to delusions of ruling both, there won't be a place for you here."
The response blindsided him.
Ceruledge froze—and then laughed louder, like he'd told the funniest joke.
"Ha-ha-ha! Don't try to fool me!"
It leveled a blade at him, contempt and scorn blazing. "He can't be beaten. He's too strong—beyond anything you ordinary Pokémon can imagine! You're just jealous—jealous I'm about to rule both clans and be the boss here—so you've spun a silly lie!"
Its flames towered, turning the chamber into a purple-tinged inferno.
Great, Jason sighed inside. Brainwashed. In its mind, Iron Boulder was invincible. There was no talking through that.
"Gast," he murmured low—just for them. "Get ready. This one won't listen. We'll have to take the girl and run."
"Okay!"
No hesitation—she'd had enough of this bully. "Go!"
At his word, two violet smears split—left and right—rushing Ceruledge.
"Shadow Ball!"
"Night Shade!"
A spinning orb of shadow and a wave of ominous darkness sealed its paths. The ambush cut its laughter short. Not expecting these "insignificant" Gastly to strike first, it hurried—crossed its burning swords at its chest—
BOOM!
Energy burst across its breastplate. The impact staggered it back three heavy steps—each cracking the rock beneath its feet.
Humiliated, its fury spiked. "Die!"
A purple shockwave of rancorous flame burst out in a ring. Jason and Gast slipped back, letting it wash past. Liko slid a short distance from the gust, eyes wide—bewildered why the two newcomers and Ceruledge had suddenly started fighting. Over me?
"I'll show you the price of angering me!"
Murder glittered naked in Ceruledge's eyes as it sighted Jason and Gast. Jason made the call in an instant. Dragging this out was bad; this one wasn't the boss, but it was no slouch—hence the delusions. Head-on was wrong. End it fast, save Liko, get out.
"Gast!" he barked. "Help the human girl—get that thing off her wrists! I'll hold it!"
"Right!"
She glanced at Liko and the advancing Ceruledge—then streaked to the girl. Jason had noticed earlier: Liko's hands weren't free. A stone manacle cinched her wrists—the work of Iron Boulder, no doubt.
"Going somewhere?"
Ceruledge saw Gast's move, snarled, and slashed Shadow Claw—a purple-black talon lancing for her back—
"Your opponent is me!"
Jason flashed into its path—Payback meeting claw. The collision sent him skidding back; Ceruledge only rocked a step.
A gap in power—obvious. But the goal was met—the time bought.
Gast reached Liko. The girl flinched at the hovering Gastly—fear and curiosity wrestling—but Gast ignored it, focusing blasts of ghostly energy into the rock cuff, trying to disrupt its structure.
Across the room, the duel hit a boil. Ceruledge roared; its blades flared higher—and it lunged, body becoming a streaking violet flame.
"Bitter Blade!"
Jason didn't dare take it head-on; as Gastly he juked and slipped, leaving purple streaks in the air. Sword-light crosshatched the chamber; purple flame and black shadow crashed, and Jason was a skiff in a storm—near misses piling up as he slipped the killing lines.
But hold long enough and you slip. Dodging a straight thrust, he drifted sideways—only to meet the waiting horizontal cut from the other arm—silent, surgical.
No way to avoid it.
"Fff!"
Cold sliced through him; searing pain ripped across his ghostly body. He flew like a punctured balloon, slammed the far wall, and slid down—his purple glow dimming.
"Jason!"
Gast's cry cracked. She'd just finished cracking the stone manacle, and Liko's wrist-cuff crumbled to pebbles. Freed, the girl ignored numbed hands and stared at the fallen Gastly—panic, and a crushing guilt, rising. These two unknowns were in danger because they'd come to save her.
With Jason down and Ceruledge stalking in, Gast snapped. "Don't you touch him!"
She streaked forward—only for Ceruledge to glance at her with disdain and not even move. It lifted its flaming blade, pointing at her, voice a low growl: "Kasha. Step closer—die."
Gast froze mid-flight, trembling. Couldn't move.
Ceruledge snorted, turned, and walked step by step toward Jason. The sword's flame neared. Jason struggled to rise, to morph, to fight—
And then Gast's eyes fixed on him. She saw the dimmed light, the falter, felt his weakness—and something inside her detonated.
She remembered how weak she'd been when she met him. How he'd played with her patiently, found her tasty berries. How, in danger, he always stepped in front.
Jason… was the only one in the world that mattered most to her.
A feeling stronger than fear erupted like a volcano.
She knew one thing: she could not let Jason be hurt.
"Don't you dare hurt Jason!"
Her scream tore the chamber.
A blinding white light burst out of her tiny body.
~~~
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