The gates of Aspiration City were tightly shut.
On the battlements, the city's guardian knights stood watch, their expressions grave as they stared toward the distant battlefield.
There, the guardian Pokémon of Lake Valor were locked in a desperate struggle against the enemy.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The clash between the water-type Pokémon and the ghost-type Pokémons raged fiercely across the battlefield.
(TN: It refers to the water type living on Lake Valor for those confused like me.)
The cult of sorcerers who had taken the initiative to attack outside Aspiration City were clearly fully prepared for this confrontation.
"The will… the will of the people is weakening more and more," murmured Mira, anxiety flashing in her eyes as she turned to look toward the northeast.
Even without seeing it directly, the trembling of her own spirit told her just how tragic and ferocious the distant battle must be.
The illusory figure of Azelf floated silently at her side. Though it too was restless, it dared not act rashly.
It could feel several faint yet distinct auras of danger hanging over the city behind them — threats powerful enough to unsettle even a being like itself. And for Azelf, that could only mean the presence of entities on its own divine level.
Then suddenly, as if sensing something, Azelf lifted its head and looked far into the distance. The sky was completely dark now, and it could clearly feel the entire world being swallowed by a strange darkness.
Mira's eyes followed upward and in that instant, a wave of dizziness washed over her. An overwhelming drowsiness struck her like a tide, dragging her consciousness down into oblivion!
The next moment, she felt the entire world fall silent — an eerie stillness that devoured everything.
But only for an instant.
A surge of prismatic light flared within the sea of her consciousness, scattering the shadows and banishing the darkness completely!
Mira's eyes flew open.
To her astonishment, the real world too had gone quiet. Every water-type and ghost-type Pokémon that had been locked in furious combat just seconds ago had fallen into a deep slumber.
And far away, one lone figure still stood tall — a man holding a black crystal in his hands. From the depths of that crystal, waves of dark mist rolled outward, swirling together until they formed the outline of a shadowy being.
Its entire body was pitch-black, as if carved from the night itself, with thick, ghostly vapors coiling around it. Wisps of white hair spilled over its face, concealing all but a pair of sharp, luminous blue eyes.
"The Nightmare Divine… Darkrai!" Mira whispered, her voice trembling.
At that same moment, a brilliant rainbow-colored glow burst from her body, twisting the very air around her.
Azelf the Being of Willpower was a being that existed in another dimension. Now, through their spiritual bond, Mira was calling upon it to descend into the real world.
The air rippled violently. Rings of light spread outward through the air as waves of seven-colored brilliance pierced through the dimensional barrier, spiraling together into a vortex.
From within that vortex emerged the familiar, blue-skinned, mushroom-headed silhouette — Azelf had arrived!
"The legendary Azelf, one of the three Lake Guardians created by the Original One, Arceus!" the Grand Sorcerer exclaimed, his face twisting with excitement.
He had traveled from his homeland, Almia, all the way to Sinnoh for this moment to capture Azelf and fulfill the will of the Temple of the Demon God. Now, his target was finally before him!
"Go, Darkrai!"
At his command, the black crystal pulsed with dazzling light.
That radiance poured into Darkrai's body, flooding it with an overwhelming surge of power.
The pitch-black figure raised its head, its blue eyes locking onto Azelf and in an instant, a massive Shadow Ball condensed in its hand and shot forward like a cannon!
"Azelf… I'm counting on you," Mira said softly.
"Leave it to me."
Azelf met the attack head-on. Its eyes flashed with blue light, and a psychic beam pierced through the air, blasting straight into the incoming Shadow Ball.
A translucent shield of energy shimmered into existence around Azelf as it charged forward, slamming directly toward Darkrai!
It could feel the collective will of living beings weakening with every heartbeat — it had to finish this battle before all those lives were extinguished!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The clash of two legendary Pokémon tore the heavens apart.
Even the mere collision of their auras caused the air itself to roar and tremble.
BOOM!
A surge of devastating energy burst forth as Azelf's Psychic blast shattered Darkrai's Shadow Ball into fragments!
The beam continued, piercing straight into Darkrai's chest but instead of falling, Darkrai's shadowy form rippled like water, absorbing the attack head-on.
"Psychic energy really doesn't work…"
Mira frowned. In her mind, she recalled Aven's warning: If Azelf ever faces Darkrai, don't rely on psychic-type attacks.
"Aven was right after all."
Azelf's expression hardened. Water-type energy began to surge around its body.
Though it was primarily a psychic-type Pokémon, as a guardian of the lakes, it was naturally attuned to the power of water.
Massive waves of energy gathered in its hands, compressing into a single pulsing sphere of liquid light — and with a flick, Azelf launched a Water Pulse straight toward its opponent!
BOOM!
The Water Pulse collided midair with another Shadow Ball.
The impact unleashed an ear-splitting detonation as ripples of power tore through space itself, shaking the entire dimension!
"Azelf's power hasn't been weakened to its limit yet?" the Grand Sorcerer muttered, brows furrowed.
His gaze shifted toward the northeast. In time, he thought, its strength will surely fade. We just have to wait.
Meanwhile, the battle at the frontline fortress still raged on.
But as time passed, the situation had clearly turned hopeless.
The knights of the Pokémon Domain had joined forces with those of the fortress, struggling desperately to resist the three King-level Pokémon that loomed before them.
Above them, countless ghost-type Pokémons tainted by the gray mist split their assault — some dove toward the weary knights, while others swarmed toward the fortress itself.
The once-impenetrable walls of the frontline fortress now seemed as fragile as paper. The gray mist swept across the ramparts, and the ghostly Pokémon clambered over the battlements like a tide of darkness.
"Ha! Just in time, you damned monsters!"
One knight threw aside his broken bow and drew his sword, charging fearlessly toward the invaders.
But what strength did these exhausted men have left? Their blades and arrows barely scratched the spectral bodies of the enemy.
"Knights, fall back! Retreat into the fortress!"
Earl Ruize and the other lords shouted commands, rallying their remaining forces to withdraw from the walls.
The entire eastern outer section of the fortress had been overrun, only the last line of defenders remained within the inner citadel.
Yet compared to the powerful Pokémon outside, the ones left to defend here were pitifully weak — dozens of Glooms and Oddishes, standing in trembling rows.
They were never meant for the battlefield, and yet now they formed the final line of defense.
Brilliant green light radiated from their bodies, gathering and firing in volleys at the encroaching ghosts, wave after wave of desperate resistance.
"How goes the evacuation of the civilians within the fortress?" Earl Ruize asked grimly.
"According to your orders, my lord," the scribe replied quickly, "the civilians have already been dispersed and are retreating in groups."
"With the serfs drawing the ghosts' attention, most of the townsfolk should be able to escape safely."
At the mention of the serfs, the scribe's voice trembled slightly, his face full of pity but there was no other way.
To let the majority survive, those serfs had to be sacrificed.
"My lord, you should withdraw as well," the scribe urged desperately. "The fortress can't hold much longer. It's too dangerous for you to stay here."
"No," Earl Ruize said firmly. "I am the lord of the Northeastern Domains of Aspiration City and the commander of its knightly order. I cannot abandon this place."
"We must buy time for our people to escape — and hold out until reinforcements arrive."
"Right now, all of Aspiration City is under attack by the sorcerers' forces, but I know this: if we can endure long enough, Lord Azelf will surely come!"
His eyes turned toward the direction of Aspiration City.
As one of the city's ruling nobles, he already knew the truth — that this battle was but a diversion.
The enemy's real objective had never been the fortress itself.
Their true target… was the Guardian God of Aspiration City — Azelf!
And so, even as darkness swallowed the battlefield, Earl Ruize clenched his sword tighter.
He would hold the line. He would fight until the very end — to buy the time their Guardian needed to descend and save them all.
(End of Chapter)