"Then when you open the Ultra Wormhole, Mother… will Nebby be in danger?"
Even if there was a Champion‑tier Trainer protecting them and safety shouldn't be an issue, Lillie was still worried about Nebby.
After everything they'd been through together, Nebby had become really important to her.
"No. Opening the Ultra Wormhole just requires the energy inside Cosmog. It can't control that power on its own, so we just need to nudge it a little. It won't get hurt." Lusamine smiled, trying to reassure her.
"I see." Lillie let out a quiet breath of relief. That was good.
Having reconciled with her mother, Lusamine, Lillie felt genuinely happy. To her, this really was the best possible outcome.
She stayed the night with Lusamine at Aether Paradise, and woke up very early the next morning.
Today was the day they'd head to the Ultra Wormhole. Lusamine could barely contain herself—she'd waited far too long for this moment.
By ten in the morning…
"Mother, where's that Trainer?"
Lillie clutched her bag and looked over at Lusamine.
"He'll be here any minute. Ah, he's here." Lusamine glanced at her phone.
"Cosmog～Cosmog!"
All of a sudden, Nebby poked its head out of Lillie's bag and floated excitedly toward the door.
"Eh? Nebby?" Lillie started to say something, then froze—because she saw him.
A boy in a white shirt and black pants pushed the door open, walking in just as Nebby floated over to him.
That was… Mr. Damian!
Lillie suddenly snapped back to herself.
The Champion‑tier Trainer her mother had hired… was actually Mr. Damian?!
"Oh? Little one, what are you doing here?"
The boy pretended to be surprised as he scooped Nebby up, only to blink when he glanced up and saw Lillie.
"Cosmog～Cosmog～" Nebby clearly wasn't happy that Damian was looking at someone else.
"Okay, okay. I'll pet you."
Damian chuckled, scratching gently under Nebby's chin. Nebby's eyes immediately squinted shut in bliss.
"Chairman Lusamine, Miss Lillie—we meet again."
Holding Nebby, Damian walked up to the two of them with a harmless, boyish smile.
"Mr. Damian～"
A soft smile tugged at Lillie's delicate features before she could stop it.
"Damian, you know Lillie?" Lusamine, who'd just been about to introduce them, felt her brows tighten.
She really didn't want her children getting acquainted with Damian. He was far too dangerous.
And yet he'd already met Lillie behind her back? Just what was this guy planning!?
Especially seeing the way her daughter was looking at Damian—that was totally the look of a girl with a crush. Absolutely not!!
"Ah, we ran into each other a few times by coincidence. I just didn't expect Miss Lillie to be your daughter, Chairman Lusamine. Small world."
Damian laughed lightly, sounding genuinely amused.
"But it does make sense. You two share a lot of similar traits—it was my oversight not to notice."
Bullshit.
You were going past my limits every single night—what part of my body are you not familiar with? And you want me to believe you didn't know Lillie was my daughter?
With her back to Lillie, Lusamine's face was utterly expressionless. She didn't believe a single punctuation mark out of Damian's mouth. Pure, uncut nonsense.
No. She had to put some distance between Lillie and this man. She absolutely could not let Lillie get fooled by him.
Just picturing a future where she was lying in bed with Damian riding her into the mattress, while Lillie was at the side helping him "replenish his stamina" with tonics…
No! Absolutely not! That future must never happen!!!
A never‑before‑seen resolve burned in Lusamine's eyes, like a warrior marching to her death.
For Lillie's sake, she would drain every last drop of Damian's semen if she had to—run him completely dry!
"Y‑yes. Thank you, Mr. Damian. If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be confused."
Lillie's eyes were as soft as water, never leaving Damian's face. At this moment, that boy was almost the only thing in her world.
She was so grateful to him.
If Damian hadn't shaken her awake, she probably still wouldn't know what to do—and there was no way she could've made up with Lusamine.
Mr. Damian… had saved her family.
"Haha, you're too polite, Miss Lillie. You're the one who made up your mind and took action."
Damian sounded perfectly humble.
"With such an adorable Miss Lillie, anyone would lend a hand."
Lillie's cheeks flushed a rosy pink. Being called adorable by a guy right in front of her mother left her incredibly embarrassed.
"Since Mr. Damian is here, there's no time to waste. Let's get started."
Sensing things going in a dangerous direction, Lusamine hurriedly cut in.
Damn Damian! Flirting with her baby girl right in front of her—while she was right there!!
She wasn't even sure what she was feeling, exactly. She just knew she was very, very unhappy.
"Got it."
Damian glanced at Lusamine's stiff expression and raised a brow.
The three of them headed to a nearby lab in the manor, where Faba was already waiting.
"Nebby was born with the power to open an Ultra Wormhole, but it can't control that ability yet. So we'll have to use external means to trigger it."
Faba placed Nebby onto a machine and began the activation sequence.
"As long as we give it a slight stimulus, that innate ability will come out."
The machine started to crackle with electrical energy, then channeled it straight into Nebby's body.
Nebby's expression twisted, and it let out a low, pained cry as a strong light flared around it.
"Nebby!"
Lillie looked on in alarm.
"Don't worry, Miss Lillie. This level of energy won't hurt the little one. In fact, it might even be good for it."
Damian spoke soothingly as he watched the energy swirling around Nebby with narrowed eyes.
If you paid attention, you could see the machine's energy being steadily absorbed into Nebby's body.
This experiment was actually all benefit and no harm to Nebby.
For Cosmog to evolve, it needed a massive amount of energy.
And for Cosmoem to evolve into Solgaleo or Lunala, it needed even more.
Hearing that, Lillie managed to suppress her anxiety.
As Nebby instinctively released the power within its body, the space above them began to warp. A white, net‑like Ultra Wormhole slowly took shape.
Seeing this, the light vanished from Lusamine's pupils—yet inside, she was practically shaking with excitement.
Her long‑dreamed‑of Ultra Space!
"Chairman Lusamine, shall we? Let's go in."
Damian stomped lightly on the floor. A Shiny Gengar slid out from the shadows, then used Psychic to lift Damian and Lusamine toward the Ultra Wormhole.
In moments, the two of them—and the Shiny Gengar—vanished into the glowing rift.
"Please come back safe."
Lillie clasped her hands, praying from the bottom of her heart. Ultra Space was a completely unknown world, after all.
But with Mr. Damian there, they should be fine… right?
She quickly ran over to Nebby next, checking on it until she finally relaxed.
Nebby just looked exhausted.
But… why was its body still flickering with light?
Elsewhere.
A vast, endless desert stretched out in every direction. Stone pillars rose from the sands, riddled with caves, and blue crystals jutted from sections of the rock.
From a distance, it all came together into a spectacular, almost mythic scene.
This was one of the many Ultra Spaces—Ultra Desert!
And the creatures that dwelled in this Ultra Desert… were the Ultra Beasts known as Pheromosa!