Aven's mind immediately conjured up this hypothesis — and judging from the situation before him, the likelihood of it being true was indeed very high.
Perhaps, once he left the Abyssal Cavern, he would need to return to that stone tower and take another look.
And that mysterious yellow crystal that existed within the spatial ruins… what exactly was it?
He pondered silently, yet before he could proceed with the next stage of his examination on Golurk's body and the runes engraved upon it, a sharp crack suddenly echoed through the air once again.
Raising his head swiftly, he saw that above the rift in space, countless new fractures had begun to appear — spreading outward like an expanding web, each fissure stretching further and further into the surrounding void.
"Roooaar—hehehehe!"
From the other side of the space rift came a sinister, ghastly roar — cold, hoarse, and filled with malice.
However, the rift itself was still unstable and incomplete; the chaotic space was distorting violently, preventing the entities on the other side from emerging immediately.
"These sounds…" Aven's eyes narrowed. "Are all of them Ghost-type Pokémon?"
"If that's the case, then it likely means that most of the Ghost-type Pokémon that came through the Ghost World passage… have gathered within the ruins' spatial domain."
As the space fissure before him continued to crumble and distort, Aven's expression grew increasingly grim.
"Kirlia, can you close this spatial rift?" he asked in a low, tense voice.
"Kir…"
Hovering in midair, Kirlia's expression turned solemn. It could clearly feel the space around them growing more and more chaotic by the second.
Extending its psychic power, Kirlia tried desperately to reach out and manipulate the distorted spatial energy. But the force erupting from within the rift was far too immense — overwhelming and unstoppable. The moment its psychic tendrils touched that power, they were crushed instantly, scattered like dust before a storm.
"The spatial rift… it's about to open completely!" Kirlia's telepathic voice suddenly rang in Aven's mind, filled with alarm. "We need to leave—now!"
Aven's pupils shrank sharply. Before he could even respond, Kirlia's entire body burst forth with radiant psychic light that enveloped him in a protective cocoon of telekinetic energy.
The next instant, his vision blurred completely, his surroundings twisting and warping. His consciousness was swallowed by disorienting chaos—
When his senses finally cleared, Aven found himself lying on barren ground. Around him were his Pokémon Petilil, Froslass, Garchomp, and even the massive Golurk, all safe and accounted for.
"Kir… lia…"
Kirlia floated weakly down from the air, her breathing shallow and her expression exhausted.
To perform a Teleport under such unstable and chaotic spatial conditions had clearly pushed her to her very limits. It had taken every ounce of strength she possessed to bring Aven and all of his Pokémon safely out of the Abyssal Cavern.
And this was only possible because of the rigorous training she had undergone after their previous failure inside the Ironblood Fortress' arena — when she had been unable to use Teleport properly under interference.
If this had been the Kirlia from before that training, she would have only been able to teleport Aven alone, leaving the rest of the team behind in the collapsing cavern.
"You've done well, Kirlia," Aven said softly, his eyes glowing faintly as he used his telekinesis to gently catch the exhausted Pokémon before she could fall to the ground.
"Rooaar."
"Lass~ "
"Meowr"
Garchomp, Froslass, and Luxray all reacted at once, lifting their heads to scan the surroundings warily.
They were still a little dazed — one moment they were in the midst of a collapsing ruin, the next they had been whisked away by Kirlia's teleportation.
"The Ghost World passage within the ruins has been fully opened," Aven explained briefly.
Then his gaze turned toward the direction of the Abyssal Cavern, his earlier suspicions flashing once again in his mind.
But before he could say anything else, the distant horizon suddenly darkened. Thick, suffocating gray mist was rising rapidly into the sky, so dense it seemed to swallow the light itself. Within that mist, countless writhing shadows could be faintly seen — moving, twisting, and surging outward like a tide.
"The gray fog from within the Abyssal Cavern … it's spilling out!"
"And along with it—those Ghost-type Pokémon that came through the Ghost World passage and were trapped inside the ruins!"
Aven's expression darkened. No one could tell exactly when the Ghost World passage had first opened, or just how many Ghost-type Pokémon had accumulated within the ruins over that time.
"Luxray," Aven ordered sharply, "we're heading to the ruins—now!"
At this moment, outside the Abyssal Cavern, there were still numerous knights stationed there, serving as bait.
Originally, these knights were meant to lure and contain the ghost Pokémon.
But now that so many of them were emerging all at once, those men were facing the very real risk of being completely overrun.
"Meowr~"
Luxray nodded firmly and crouched low, muscles tensing.
Seeing this, Aven's gaze flicked toward the fallen Golurk lying motionless on the ground.
With a flick of his wrist, he hurled a Poké Ball forward — it struck Golurk's body squarely and sucked it inside in a flash of red light.
The ball fell back into Aven's waiting telekinetic grasp, floating smoothly into his hand wrapped in a faint blue glow.
Then, with a graceful leap, he vaulted onto Luxray's back. The electric Pokémon surged forward, sprinting across the plains toward the direction of the cavern. From afar, Aven could already sense the violent collisions of energy erupting in the distance.
Meanwhile, outside the Abyssal Cavern, the knights were in utter confusion. None of them understood why so many Ghost-type monsters had suddenly begun pouring out.
Fortunately, the cave entrance was narrow, and the cavern's rocky walls were thick and solid — the ghost Pokémon couldn't phase directly through them, which somewhat slowed their emergence.
Even so, the sheer number of ghosts pushing outward was staggering, forcing the knights to continuously retreat.
"Why are there suddenly so many Ghost-type Pokémon?!"
Earl Ruize's expression turned grave as he watched the ever-increasing number of dark silhouettes pouring from the cavern.
In a matter of minutes, the sky above the cavern had grown crowded with Ghost Pokémon, the air thick with swirling gray mist. Their screeches echoed through the forest as their spectral forms surged upward and outward, flooding into the heavens.
Then, as if driven by some unseen force, those countless ghosts all turned skyward — and began flying away in every direction.
"Where… where are all these Ghost-type Pokémon going?"
Earl Ruize's face paled as he watched them disappear into the distance.
They had gathered their forces here precisely to lure and eliminate these ghostly Pokémon — using their own life force and soul aura as bait.
But now, the very targets they were meant to contain were completely ignoring them, scattering in all directions!
"Retreat! Everyone retreat immediately! We're returning to the fortress!" Ruize bellowed.
The knights wasted no time. They mounted their Pokémon and began a rapid withdrawal toward the front-line fortress.
The fortress currently housed the majority of their military and civilian strength in the north. If those Ghost-type Pokémon chose to attack it directly, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"Father, please — you and the others go on ahead," said Berrin, stepping forward. "I'll stay here and wait for Lord Aven!"
"These Ghost-types cannot be left unchecked. Let me hold the line here."
Ruize hesitated briefly, but then nodded gravely. "Very well. I'll leave this place to you."
As the main force of the knights rode away, Berrin turned toward the Haunter and gathered Gastly nearby.
"Don't worry," he said softly. "We'll wait together for Lord Aven's return."
Hearing the human's calm words, the Haunter nodded vigorously, their spectral eyes flickering with faint trust.
Then suddenly, they stiffened. One of them turned sharply toward the distant forest, its gaze alert and focused.
Berrin followed its line of sight and saw, through the haze, the figure of Aven riding swiftly toward them atop his Luxray.
"Gast~"
The Gastly immediately floated forward, surrounding Froslass protectively as Aven drew near.
Berrin finally relaxed, a smile of relief forming on his face.
"Lord Aven — you're safe!"
"I'm fine," Aven replied with a nod, his eyes sweeping over the area before landing on the cavern entrance ahead.
He had seen it from afar — the gray mist that had spilled outward, carrying with it countless corrupted Ghost-type Pokémon. His expression grew solemn.
"Lord Aven," Berrin reported quickly, "the knight corps has already returned to the frontline fortress."
"I know," Aven said quietly. "It must have been the excessive concentration of gray mist and Ghost-type energy that obscured your life and soul auras."
"As a result, the Ghost Pokémon instinctively followed the spreading fog into the surrounding forests instead of attacking you."
He exhaled lightly. Indeed, the Ghost energy lingering around the Abyssal Cavern had become so dense that even Froslass would struggle to distinguish individual auras without being close.
"Lord Aven, what should we do now?" Berrin asked gravely.
The Ghost Pokémon had already scattered in all directions — if they didn't act swiftly, the gray mist would soon engulf the entire region around Aspiration City.
"You take the Gastly and take down as many of the nearby Ghost-types in the Abyssal Forest as you can," Aven instructed decisively.
"I'll head back into the Abyssal Cavern. I must close the Ghost World passage from the source."
Without another word, Aven mounted Luxray again and charged toward the cavern entrance, his team following behind.
(End of Chapter)