Chapter 159: Otherworldly Confrontation
“Are you thinking you just need to buy time until your allies arrive…?” asked the sword-wielding youth, following Iris’s line of sight to where several Rotom drones were concealed.
“Oh, I’m definitely expecting help to arrive,” Iris conceded, setting the Zinopup down, raising her hands like claws, and grinning as she stated, “But you’re mistaken if you think I need it…”
“This one is dangerous…” remarked the youth’s scantily clad, kunoichi-esque companion, narrowing her eyes and tightening her grip on her five-bladed weapons.
“Mmn…she possesses the aura of a veteran Hunter…” acknowledged the youth, his expression and tone lackadaisical as he directed his gaze at the Zinopup and added, “But there are two of us and only one of her. Keep her busy for me, will you?”
“Understood…”
Stepping forward, the kunoichi adopted a sidelong posture with the weapon in her right hand wielded across her body and the one in her left held at an angle next to her head. Her yellow eyes and the silvery edges of her blades gleamed with cold light, giving the impression she was fully prepared to kill.
‘It’s been a while since I fought someone who wielded a weapon…’ Iris thought to herself, hunching her body forward with her hands raised and her smile broadening. The thought of deploying her Pokémon crossed her mind. But since the duo across from her were clearly from another world, she was worried that their weapons would bypass the digitalization effect of Poké Balls, meaning that her Pokémon would be at risk of severe injury or even death.
“Run back to the villa…!” Iris shouted, leaping forward at the same time her opponent made her move, leaping toward her at a steep angle, low to the ground.
Startled by Iris’s shout, the Zinopup broke free of its stupor and turned to flee. It recognized the materials used in the duo’s weapons and armor, so while it felt disgusted with itself, it strained the muscles in its limbs to flee as quickly as it was able.
“Oh…?”
Just as he was preparing to follow the Zinopup, the sword-wielding youth was forced to reconsider as Iris leaped acrobatically over his companion, flipping and spinning through the air. As she landed, she transitioned into a smooth and surprisingly swift roll, her figure appearing to contract into a ball before her flattened, fully extended hand was abruptly stabbing at his face like a blade.
Shifting his head back, the youth transitioned into a quick roll of his own, narrowly evading Iris’s spear hand before raising his sword, edge up, to block her follow-up spinning heel drop.
“Kuh…”
Underestimating the force Iris was capable of exerting, the youth was forced to one knee, his brows rising and his snake-like eyes widening in surprise.
“Tsk…”
Feeling pain and heat permeate her ankle, Iris hastily retracted her leg and dropped low, swinging her upper body like a sloping pendulum and whipping her arms to dodge under the blades that came swinging at her head and waist. In the same fluid motion, she thrust her left palm into the kunoichi’s lower back, forcing her off balance and leaving a five-fingered handprint where she had struck.
“Wow, you weren’t exaggerating your capabilities…” remarked the youth, casually side-stepping his companion’s soaring body before giving Iris a brows-raised, ostensibly impressed look.
“That’s because you’re facing off with Iris Dragernes! Champion of the Unova League, and Master of Dragons…!” Iris shouted, posturing low with her left hand near her ankle, her right extended backward, palm facing up, and her body at a near twenty-five-degree angle. Her right ankle and heel were covered in blood, but her red-brown eyes were clear, and the smile on her face exuded confidence.
“Master of Dragons…?” repeated the youth, his right brow rising and his head tilting to the side. He could sense a powerful draconic aura around Iris’s body. But as far as he could tell, it was emanating from the pouch on her lower back, not Iris directly…
thm thm thm
Just as the youth was about to question Iris’s claim, the ground beneath his feet began to quake with heavy, fast-approaching footsteps. He knew it wouldn’t be long before Iris received backup, but he couldn’t help but feel at least a little surprised as a massive, bipedal monster with dark red and copper-colored scales came bursting forth from the tree line, its five-pronged golden crown and ridged snout filling his vision like the nose of a locomotive.
Reacting quickly, the youth leaped backward while tossing out a device that embedded itself into the ground and produced an abrupt, ground-shuddering tremor. At the same time, its cylindrical-shaped top opened, casting out a large net that resembled natural foliage.
KA-SHNK
Surprising Iris and the white-clad woman riding atop the newly arrived Pokémon—a fearsome Tyrantrum—the ground abruptly collapsed below the latter’s feet. In a split second, it went from charging forward to being trapped up to its chest in loose soil, sending the woman, Megumi, flying forward.
Tucking her body, Megumi deliberately increased the rate at which she was spinning through the air before landing toes first against the trunk of a large tree. For a brief moment, her momentum caused her to stick to the tree in a deep, thighs-bulging squat that tore the fabric enveloping them. Then, kicking off from the trunk with enough force to splinter its bark, she sped toward the retreating black-and-gold-haired youth with the fluid yet precise movements of a machine.
“Megumi! Wait! Don’t chase them on foot!” Iris shouted, causing Megumi to slide to a stop and shield her face just as the youth’s companion used the horned, sling-shot-like device affixed to her left forearm to shoot out a tiny, paper-wrapped yellow sphere that promptly exploded into blinding, yellow-white light.
PSHA
Following the brief but blindingly bright flash, Iris and Megumi looked in the direction the duo had fled. A rapidly thickening smoke had pervaded the area. And since they didn’t know if it was poisonous or just meant to mask the duo’s retreat, Megumi had no choice but to return her Tyrantrum to its Poké Ball before she and Iris retreated to a safe distance…
…
..
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“It sounds like what you encountered were Wyverian Hunters…” Jason remarked, his expression serious and his tone low after listening to Iris’s casual, almost dismissive account of what she had experienced. She was acting as if what she had gone through wasn’t a big deal. But if that were the case, they wouldn’t be listening to her account in a makeshift hospital room as a team of surgeons worked to mend her severed Achilles…
“Oh? You recognize them…?” Lusamine questioned, having been listening to Iris’s account from the position to Jason’s right.
Shaking his head, Jason clarified, “I doubt they’re anyone I know. But, based on their description and the fact they were after the Zinopup, we can assume they’re from the same setting.”
“That is highly likely to be the case. But why go out of their way to track down the Zinopup…?” Lillie questioned, causing all but a few eyes in the room to turn to Jason.
“I have no clue,” Jason confessed, shaking his head before speculating, “The only reason I can think of is the Zinopup’s status as a Stygian Prince. I’m not sure what significance the title holds, but it must mean something if there are individuals who are willing to travel between worlds to hunt or capture it…”
“The fact they were able to come here at all is also significant…” Maeve contributed, her body tensing slightly as everyone shifted their gazes to her, standing cross-armed with her back to a wall.
“Ahem…”
Closing her eyes and separating from the wall, Maeve stood straight as she reasoned, “If they’re willing to expose themselves like this, they must have a method to travel between our world and theirs quickly. It would be too risky otherwise…”
“That does seem likely…” Lusamine muttered, her brows creasing as she cupped her chin. She presently had more than three hundred people and their Pokémon searching for the aforementioned Wyverians. But if Maeve was correct, their search was bound to be fruitless.
“Well, one thing we can be sure of is that the Zinopup can’t remain here,” Iris stated, her expression uncharacteristically serious as she contended, “The weapons and armor of those two possessed the same properties as the Zinopup’s fangs and claws. If the Zinopup were to stay here, the lives of every person and Pokémon present would be at risk…”
“That raises an even more pressing concern…” Lusamine remarked, her expression even more serious than Iris’s as she asserted, “There’s no way that Team Rainbow Rocket isn’t aware of the anti-digitalization properties of the Zinopup and other monsters. If we can’t find a way to counteract it, it’s not just those here that are at risk…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Understanding the implications of Lusamine’s words, a heavy silence fell upon the makeshift operating room.
ting
Just as Jason was wondering what he could do about the situation, his ear tolled with the faint sound of a Constellation requesting to send him a direct message. He wasn’t actively streaming, but there was evidently at least one Constellation keeping tabs on him.
‘Please don’t be someone making a joke…’
Pulling up his chat interface, Jason wasn’t surprised to see that the DM was coming from The Great Sage Who Peers Under Skirts. What the latter had to say, however, caused his brows to rise considerably.
[The Great Sage Who Peers Under Skirts rolls its eyes and points out that if the enemy possessed such capabilities, they would have deployed them from the start.]
‘That…actually makes sense…’ Jason conceded, offering a slight nod that didn’t escape the notice of those present.
“Oh? Do we have an audience right now…?” Lusamine questioned, her eyes narrowing and a naturally alluring smile adorning her face as she raised her gaze and looked around.
“Shall we relocate to another room…?” Lillie proposed, her voice low as not everyone present knew of Jason’s origins, much less the existence of his system.
“Go ahead,” Iris chimed, making a shooing motion with her right hand as she stated, “I’ve said what I needed to say. Now let me relax while these Doctors work on my leg.”
“Then we shall leave you in their capable hands~” Lusamine hummed, compelling Jason to turn before linking her hand through his left bicep and guiding him out of the room, with Lillie doing the same on his right side. Their actions left Jason feeling somewhat taken aback. But since he was getting used to doing things at the mother-and-daughter duo’s pace, he permitted himself to be escorted without resistance—followed closely by Ren and many others…
…
..
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“Well, that could have gone better…” remarked the black-and-gold-haired Wyverian, exhaling a weary sigh as he and his kunoichi-esque companion set aside their weapons and dropped their gear in a makeshift camp they had erected within a cave. They had set up the camp before making their move. And even though several Rotom and other Pokémon had searched the area, none had managed to notice its concealed entrance.
“Champions must be akin to the Hunters of our world…” remarked the kunoichi, dipping into a two-person tent before emerging with a platter of leaf-wrapped meat as she added, “It’s unfortunate that we were unable to catch that woman by surprise. It will be nearly impossible to approach our target now that we’re actively being searched for…”
“Just as planned~” hummed the youth, accepting a piece of dark purple, scale-covered meat from his companion and waiting for her to sit before they enjoyed a meal of braised Seviper and debriefed one another on the progress of their respective missions. They had to quiet down a few times when their lookout, a nearly meter-long beetle, stopped making noise. But while there were a few instances where Pokémon with powerful senses of smell came right up to the entrance of their cave, they consistently turned away when they got a whiff of the Rathalos feces that had been smeared around it…