When Leviathan swallowed Necrozma, cheers erupted across every region, except for Alola, where reverence for the Lunar Deity turned the moment solemn.
Lucius could feel it: the power flowing through the Collective Will had grown stronger.
This was the critical moment. Lucius channeled all his energy into Leviathan, now containing Necrozma, to keep its massive body from being torn apart by the rampaging Prismatic Laser being unleashed within.
At the same time, he teleported. His true body appeared inside Leviathan itself, facing Necrozma head-on.
Dark Pulse.
Within Leviathan's core, Lucius unleashed the Dark-type move. The dark surge of energy erupted into hundreds of thick black chains that lashed around the Necrozma, sealing away its Psychic- and Ghost-type powers.
Simultaneously, Lucius sent a strand of virus into the creature's core.
Assaulted on three fronts, the bindings of Dark Pulse, Leviathan's internal restraints, and the invasive virus, the Necrozma's power began to destabilize.
Above them, the vast Ultra Wormhole shimmered, rippling like disturbed water.
"Damn it, we underestimated that Pokémon's strength," the black-haired man muttered grimly. "Everyone, attack!"
His Black Rayquaza soared into the sky, transforming into a dark streak of light that shot through the rapidly shrinking Ultra Wormhole.
But neither he nor Rayquaza noticed: every other trainer and Pokémon behind them remained frozen in place, unmoving.
As the man and Rayquaza passed through the Ultra Wormhole, the kaleidoscopic passageway snapped shut and vanished without a trace.
"Shit, did I miss the window?" he growled, glancing back at the empty sky. His entire force had failed to follow.
"Rayquaza, use Hyper Beam," he commanded, turning toward Leviathan in the distance.
Rayquaza began charging its energy, preparing to unleash the devastating blast on the massive crimson-gold behemoth.
Suddenly, the ground split apart. A deafening roar echoed as a colossal figure burst from a gaping cavern beneath the battlefield. With one hand, it seized Rayquaza by the throat and yanked the dragon down, dragging the man with it.
The black-haired man kept his composure. In one fluid motion, he tossed a half-real, half-phantom Poké Ball. A shimmering purple Latios emerged midair and swooped in to catch him in flight.
"Regigigas..." the man muttered, recognizing the giant Pokémon wrestling with Rayquaza below.
In mere seconds, the two mythical Pokémon had reduced the Silver Conference's arena to rubble, shaking the entirety of Silver Town.
All around the world, the last thing viewers saw in the live broadcast was the legendary titan Regigigas slamming the extradimensional Black Rayquaza to the ground.
Riding atop Latios, the black-haired man looked up toward the sky, eyes flickering.
He had to reopen the Ultra Wormhole, without it, his mission would fail.
His system's directive was clear: bring over 80% of the human and Pokémon populations into the alternate world.
To make that happen, he had to free Necrozma.
Refocusing, he urged Latios forward, racing toward Leviathan, now over 500 meters long.
"What kind of Pokémon is this? Something new from Hell since I transmigrated?" he frowned. "Latios, use Steel Wing Slash with momentum from Aerial Ace."
"Latios!" The dragon shot upward like a jet, accelerating until it hit maximum velocity, then flipped downward in a perfect 180-degree turn.
Its gleaming metal claws slashed downward along Leviathan's underside, carving open a massive wound from top to bottom.
Despite the size disparity, Latios's claws were razor-sharp, sharp enough to tear open even this titanic monster.
But Leviathan was no creature of flesh and blood. It was a mass of living virus. Instantly, a writhing network of flesh-like tendrils grew from the torn cavity, sewing itself back together.
Yet, in those brief moments, the black-haired man caught a glimpse of what lay inside Leviathan: Necrozma, bound in dark chains by a human figure.
"Volkner…?" he murmured in disbelief.
Another draconic cry split the sky. A green dragon descended from above.
Mega Rayquaza. A perfect opportunity.
Eyes gleaming, the man urged Latios toward the descending dragon.
"Go! Poké Ball!"
He hurled another one of those semi-real Poké Balls. It struck Mega Rayquaza at an unnatural angle mid-dive.
There was no white light, no typical capture flash, just a sudden disappearance.
In the same moment, a translucent Poké Ball materialized in his hand. Through its clear shell, a shrunken Mega Rayquaza, coiled like a serpent, could be seen, spinning and struggling within.
"Hah! Knew it, my 100% Capture System works in this world too," he chuckled.
"Come out, Mega Rayquaza!" he declared, tossing the strange Poké Ball once more.
In a burst of light, the emerald dragon reappeared in the air, nearly 180 meters long. Its gaze was dazed, clearly confused by what had just happened.
"Mega Rayquaza, use Dragon Ascent, target that leviathan!"
The great dragon turned toward its new target.
But in its mind, two conflicting commands collided, one from its trainer, and another from the virus still embedded in its cells.
Whose command should it obey?
It didn't take long to decide. The dragon's body surged with Draconic energy as it launched itself at Leviathan.
Under the high-level control of the 100% Capture System, even the virus within it had been subjugated. Mega Rayquaza now obeyed the black-haired man without question.
Every cell in its body had chosen for it, as though its very will had been rewritten at its core.
But at that instant, Latios jerked mid-flight and hurled the man off its back.
In the blink of an eye, and before the man's shocked expression could even register, a single Dragon Breath incinerated him into ash.
Where there is righteousness, evil finds a way to rise higher.
While the man was busy capturing Mega Rayquaza, Lucius's virus had already infected his Latios.
And since it hadn't been re-captured after infection, Latios remained under the virus's control.
The moment the man turned to ash, Necrozma within Leviathan abruptly stopped struggling. Its whole body froze, as if paralyzed.
Inside its spiritual core, Lucius sensed a shift, a profound disturbance within the legendary Pokémon's psyche.
Something, deeply embedded in its very will, had vanished.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As Necrozma's mind wavered, the viral fragments Lucius had planted deep within it began to flourish.
Within the silver-lit expanse of its spirit world, the infection erupted, spreading its domain with ferocious speed.
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