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Twice.
This was the second time a human had passed out right in front of him.
If the first time could be explained by the fact that Earl had been a child, then this time—
The silver-haired girl collapsed the moment she locked eyes with him—
Made Kael seriously question his appearance.
…Was he really that terrifying?
He paused, genuinely considering it.
That should not be the case.
Dark-violet skin with a sleek, powerful sheen.
Solid muscle that radiated reliability.
Rare crimson eyes.
And to top it off, he had even tried to soften his expression with what he believed was a warm, reassuring smile.
Perfectly fine.
Absolutely fine.
Yes.
Clearly, the problem was her.
She must have been under too much stress.
A young woman with a fragile mind, suddenly facing an entire swarm of Nightmare Pokémon anyone could break under that pressure.
Fainting was understandable.
With that conclusion firmly accepted, Kael nodded to himself, completely satisfied.
It had been fifteen days since he defeated Guzzlord.
For half a month, he had followed the subtle pull echoing deep within his consciousness the guidance of the world itself moving steadily in a single direction.
Sleeping in ruins.
Eating whenever he could.
Killing Nightmare Pokémon whenever they crossed his path.
Avoiding humans whenever possible.
He disliked complications.
Meaningless interaction wasted time.
And time was the one thing the world no longer had.
Through constant combat, his level had risen again.
Level 51.
More importantly, his control over his abilities had sharpened considerably. His fighting style was becoming more defined more his own.
By studying the residual bodily memory left behind from the "Shield King" state of Zamazenta's Heart, Kael had even managed to extract fragments of high-level combat techniques that could be used without transforming.
The rhythmic footsteps that had shaken everyone's nerves moments earlier—
That was one such result.
For now, it only worked on humans.
But Kael was confident that with further refinement, it could become a technique viable even in high-level battles.
His gaze drifted away from the unconscious girl and toward the countless Pidgey corpses carpeting the ground.
A hint of surprise flickered through his eyes.
Originally, he had simply been passing through this forest.
But the sheer size of this flock had caught his attention it was the largest concentration of Nightmare Pokémon he had seen since beginning his journey.
If eliminating them could slow the world's collapse, even slightly, then there was no reason not to act.
And besides—
He had learned a great deal at the Fighting-type Gym in Ignis City.
Even if he no longer stayed there, they were all part of the League.
Letting them die would have left a bad taste in his mouth.
The solution had been simple.
He extracted fragments of negative status energy from moves like Leer and Scary Face, refined them, and amplified their range using Aura.
The individual effect weakened.
But the area of influence expanded enormously.
Against enemies that relied on numbers rather than individual strength—
It was devastating.
Which made Pidgey the perfect target.
The only thing he had misjudged was the collateral effect.
Even though he had deliberately avoided targeting the humans, some residual negative energy had still brushed against them.
Now they all stood stiff and vacant, eyes unfocused, bodies trembling.
That was why Kael had stepped forward in the first place.
He had planned to ease the pressure a little.
Maybe ask for directions.
Instead, one of them fainted immediately.
"…Sigh."
He turned his attention to the buzz-cut young man standing rigidly in front of the fallen girl.
Despite shaking violently, the man still placed himself between her and Kael.
Aura rippled outward.
A mental connection formed.
"I mean no harm."
The deep, steady voice echoed directly inside Quark's mind.
The man flinched so hard he nearly jumped out of his skin.
It took him a moment to realize that the voice had not come from the air.
Slowly, disbelief giving way to cautious clarity, he looked up at Kael.
Yes, the figure before him was monstrous.
Yes, its presence was overwhelming.
But—
It was not attacking.
He raised a hand, calming the Fire-type Rapidash beside him, then swallowed hard.
Words stuck in his throat.
After a long pause, he managed to force out a single sentence.
"…Thank you."
Kael nodded once.
"Has anything unusual been happening nearby?"
He paused.
"Other than this."
As he spoke, he casually checked the Pidgey corpses for any survivors.
He had no intention of lingering.
The pull of Gaia told him clearly that an Ultra Beast was close.
Very close.
Such creatures never acted quietly.
The League would have noticed something.
If he could obtain even a fragment of information from this squad, it would save him a great deal of time.
Quark did not answer immediately.
His thoughts raced.
The question was dangerously relevant to their mission.
Should he say anything?
He had grown up in Falyn City.
A core League operative.
Loyal to the point of being willing to die for it.
If this were an interrogation—
If the being before him were an enemy demanding classified information—
He would rather be torn apart.
But that was not the situation.
This creature had just saved them.
The question involved no confidential data.
And—
Quark glanced back.
At the pale, unconscious girl lying on the ground.
His jaw tightened.
Resolve settled in his eyes.
He made his decision.
He would answer.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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