"Unforgivable!"
Crimson pupils blazing like demons from the depths of hell, Arceus's body erupted with white light as it slammed fiercely into Black Kyurem, sending it flying away. Immediately afterward, it opened its mouth and unleashed a black, destructive beam which exploded violently upon Black Kyurem's body.
BOOM!
Black Kyurem's cry of pain was completely drowned out by the Hyper Beam as its massive draconic body lost control and plummeted toward the ground.
Arceus cast a cold gaze at Black Kyurem, but before it could take another action, scarlet light suddenly lit up the sky.
Eternamax Eternatus's Dynamax Cannon!
"You annoying cosmic insect!"
A chilling gleam flashed through Arceus's red eyes as a platinum-white barrier instantly enveloped its body. Even while firing Hyper Beam, Arceus suffered no so-called recoil or stiffness at all.
The Dynamax Cannon slammed down and detonated violently.
And while the battle on that side raged on fiercely, over here on Lucas's side—
The space within six golden rings twisted incessantly.
"ROAAAAR!"
A thunderous dragon cry rang out as two Mega Rayquaza—one green, one black—burst forth from the space rings.
"KYOOOO—!"
Seawater poured out from another ring, and Primal Kyogre surged forth amid the cascading waves.
Primal Groudon also stepped out, while from the final two rings emerged two small Zygarde Cores, as well as Xerneas, which had yet to transform into a tree.
"Hoopa again? This…???"
Mega Rayquaza immediately turned its gaze toward Hoopa Unbound, instinctively suspecting that Hoopa had gone out of control again.
After all, the only being capable of instantly relocating it like this was Hoopa Unbound.
But in the next moment, Mega Rayquaza froze.
Because it saw it.
"Arceus… Human, what is going on here?!"
Mega Rayquaza stared at the Arceus under siege, utterly dumbfounded.
The chosen of its own offspring was actually fighting Arceus?
And why were Palkia and Giratina also helping to attack Arceus?
The black Rayquaza's draconic eyes flickered rapidly, as if it had already grasped part of the truth.
Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon remained silent, while the Zygarde Cores and Xerneas waited for Lucas's explanation.
"Arceus has encountered a bit of an accident. This time, we may need everyone's help."
Lucas did not beat around the bush and briefly explained Arceus's situation.
"While humanity has its faults, the world itself is innocent, and the truth is not what Arceus believes it to be."
"But Arceus cannot listen to our explanations at all right now, so the best course of action is to calm it down, at least temporarily."
Lucas spoke earnestly to the gathered legends.
"So that's how it is…" Mega Rayquaza fell silent, never imagining such a thing could happen.
"In other words, we need to suppress Arceus?" Zygarde's blue Core asked. Its tone was still as oddly whimsical as ever, though now it was far beyond merely 'odd'—this was pure shock.
Good grief. Zygarde could only think: good grief.
It considered itself the guardian of order for the land, and now it was being asked to confront the creator god?
Did it still want this job as a guardian of order?
"That's right. At present, Arceus is missing five Plates and is not in its flawless, invincible state. There is no need to worry that we have absolutely no chance."
"No… that's not what I meant… never mind."
Zygarde's blue Core sighed helplessly. It wasn't talking about whether they had a chance to defeat Arceus at all.
Arceus was the creator god of this world, the origin of everything. Was it really fine for them to attack the source of the world itself?
But after glancing at Dialga, Zygarde ultimately swallowed its doubts.
Even Arceus's own 'children'—Dialga and the others—had already taken action. What more was there to say?
"We must calm Arceus down as soon as possible. Otherwise, the damage to nature will be far too great."
Lucas reiterated the Plates Arceus was missing and looked around at the assembled legends as he spoke.
The six legends he had summoned had been chosen with careful consideration.
Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon, and Zygarde—all possessed attributes that Arceus currently lacked.
Although Primal Groudon couldn't fly, it could stand on the ground and serve as a stationary artillery platform!
As for the two Rayquaza, there was no need to elaborate. Even if Dragon Ascent was ineffective, Mega Rayquaza's physique and raw power ensured their combat value.
As for Xerneas, Lucas had no intention of sending it into direct combat—its Life energy would be enough as a support healer.
"No problem!"
The black Rayquaza swung its tail and was the first to charge toward Arceus. It had known about this matter for a long time, and now that it faced Arceus directly, its emotions surged.
"Zzzyyy—"
The two Zygarde Cores exchanged a glance, then raised their voices without hesitation to summon their Cells.
Dense green light streamed in from the horizon, pouring into the two Cores.
A massive green vortex shot into the sky as Zygarde's Complete Form appeared!
"KYOOOO—!"
Primal Kyogre let out a resounding cry and flapped its massive fins as it rose into the air.
In an instant, heavy black rainclouds blanketed the sky.
Drip—drip—then a torrential downpour poured down, turning heaven and earth into a curtain of rain.
Primordial Sea!
"With so many legends gathered, even the 'llama' should eventually be overwhelmed."
Lucas gazed toward Arceus, eyes focused. When individual power reached a certain extreme, numbers alone could not overcome it.
Arceus had once been such an absolutely supreme, perfect existence.
But now, it was not.
Now, it had weaknesses—five of them.
And more importantly, the Plates were not merely tools of invincibility; they were also the very source of Arceus's life and power.
Missing five Plates meant Arceus's strength had been weakened.
"Hoopa, be ready to provide support at any time."
Lucas turned to Hoopa Unbound, standing by at the side, with a slight smile.
"Hoopa understands," Hoopa replied through a deep, hoarse telepathic voice filled with seriousness.
Its combat strength was formidable, but both Dark and Psychic types fell within Arceus's resistances. Charging into the front lines would achieve little.
It was far better to stay in the rear and use its space rings for support.
"ROOAAR!"
A dragon's roar approached rapidly. Arceus turned its head, and a black draconic shadow filled its vision.
"Rayquaza!"
A ferocious gleam surfaced in Arceus's blood-red eyes—it naturally recognized this legendary.
Black Rayquaza was astonishingly fast. In the blink of an eye, it reached Arceus and swung its glowing tail downward with tremendous force.
Breaking Swipe!
"Useless attack!"
Arceus roared angrily as a massive tornado erupted instantly.
With no warning whatsoever, the tornado slammed into Black Rayquaza and sent it flying.
But Mega Rayquaza and the smaller Rayquaza had already reached Arceus's rear, firing two streams of pure draconic energy straight at it.
Dragon Pulse!
At the same time, lightning crackled within the black rainclouds above, and a massive bolt of lightning struck downward—its target Arceus.
Primal Groudon's Thunder!
Not only that, a terrifying storm of razor-sharp leaves swept in from the front—Calyrex's Leaf Storm!
Sensing the incoming barrage, Arceus's blood-red eyes flared as vast, surging energy erupted outward, forming a barrier that enveloped its body.
BOOM!
The attacks slammed heavily into the barrier, triggering a violent explosion.
Rain poured down in sheets, and as the smoke from the blast quickly dissipated, Arceus's unscathed form appeared before all the legends.
Arceus's energy barrier—its defensive power was simply terrifying.
"Do you really think such an encirclement will be of any use against me?"
Arceus's cold, ancient telepathy echoed out, the dark crimson world reflected in its blood-red eyes.
These damned traitors!
"Even if more come, the result will be the same! I am the creator of this world—"
Arceus declared coldly, but before it could finish speaking, four enormous columns of water suddenly surged forward.
Primal Kyogre's Origin Pulse!
Primal Groudon lifted its head slightly—Arceus was simply too high for Precipice Blades to reach.
But that was fine.
A bolt of lightning tore through the dark sky as Thunder once again struck down upon Arceus.
"Feeble attacks!"
Arceus's aura grew icily cold—those who defied the god would suffer divine punishment!
A massive black beam of destruction erupted from Arceus's mouth, and Hyper Beam collided violently with Origin Pulse.
But soon, Hyper Beam overpowered the water columns and surged rapidly toward Primal Kyogre.
BOOM!
The Hyper Beam exploded upon Primal Kyogre's body.
Meanwhile, Primal Groudon's Thunder was also completely blocked by Arceus's energy barrier!
"Pitiful beings who oppose a god—do you truly believe you can stop me?"
Within the platinum barrier, Arceus spoke with detached indifference. Even missing Plates, so what?
It was the creator of the world! The architect of the rules!
It was invincible!
The platinum barrier slowly faded away—
And at that exact moment, several space rings appeared soundlessly around Arceus.
Perfectly timed to the instant the barrier vanished!
Arceus's blood-red eyes narrowed sharply, its words abruptly cut off.
Eternatus's Dynamax Cannon! Black Kyurem's Fusion Bolt! Zygarde's Thousand Arrows! Shadow Rider Calyrex's Solar Blade!
They erupted simultaneously from four space rings!
"Hoopa!"
Arceus's enraged shriek pierced the sky.
Those golden space rings belonged to Hoopa Unbound—of course Arceus recognized them!
But in the next instant, the thunderous explosions drowned out Arceus's telepathy.
With no time to raise another barrier, and with the attacks striking from point-blank range, Arceus had no chance to dodge.
Hearing Arceus's furious scream, Hoopa Unbound's massive demonic body shuddered violently, its severed arms controlling the rings nearly losing stability.
"Even an invincible boss has flaws, so long as we seize that moment."
Lucas paid no attention to Hoopa, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at the center of the explosion.
There was no doubt those four attacks had landed, but how much damage they had dealt was impossible to tell.
"But if they can hit, then it proves that defeating it is indeed possible."
Lucas pondered quietly.
And at that moment—
From within the exploding energy, a white figure shot out at blinding speed and slammed heavily into Mega Rayquaza standing guard nearby.
Extreme Speed!
Mega Rayquaza let out a painful roar, its face twisting in agony as its massive body was blasted toward the ground like a cannonball.
"Father!"
The smaller Rayquaza beside it shrank its pupils—it hadn't even reacted before Arceus was already upon them.
"Unforgivable! Unforgivable!!"
A low, hoarse, resentment-filled telepathy sent chills down everyone's spine. Arceus's once-pure white body now bore visible wounds.
Clearly, the four perfectly timed attacks had indeed inflicted damage.
"Breaking Swipe!"
Lucas's voice echoed in the smaller Rayquaza's mind, snapping it back to its senses.
But before it could raise its tail, a howling storm of icy wind and rain engulfed it completely.
Arceus's Blizzard!
Crack—crack—
Rayquaza's body froze rapidly!
Under the Icicle Plate, Arceus's Blizzard was even more terrifying than White Kyurem's!
"Core Enforcer!"
Zygarde Complete rushed forward as a dense green beam blasted toward Arceus.
At the same time, Primal Groudon once again invoked Thunder, lightning crashing down from the sky.
Palkia's roar shook the heavens as a massive pink blade tore through space—Spacial Rend!
"All of you should die!"
Arceus's blood-red eyes glowed with an ominous crimson light that made one's heart tremble.
Ignoring the Thunder above, it swept a black beam of destruction across the battlefield.
Core Enforcer and Spacial Rend were wiped out instantly by Hyper Beam, and Zygarde, being closer, was struck directly.
Primal Groudon's Thunder hit Arceus squarely, golden lightning engulfing its entire body.
And yet—
"You can't even fly—are you just scratching an itch?"
Lucas's eyelid twitched.
Crackle—crackle—the lightning sizzled continuously, but within the golden arcs, Arceus merely turned its head to glance at Primal Groudon on the ground, then calmly looked away again.
That one wasn't worth paying too much attention to.
(End of Chapter)