Night had fallen, and darkness enveloped the entire fortress.
In the distance, clusters of eerie ghostly flames flickered within the blackness, drifting closer and closer to the fortress.
Woooooo~
The loud, solemn call of the war horns echoed continuously across the battlements, reverberating throughout the entire stronghold.
"They're coming—the Abyssal Beast Tide!"
On the walls, the knights immediately gripped their weapons tightly.
Tonight's atmosphere was entirely different from that of two nights ago. The sheer number of corrupted beasts emerging from the darkness made even the most seasoned soldiers realize that the true Abyssal Beast Tide might finally have arrived.
Even so, their gazes instinctively turned toward the figure clad in white standing at the very front of the wall. The sight of that calm, steady silhouette made their hearts settle somewhat.
Last year, it had been Lord Aven who single-handedly repelled the previous Beast Tide. And now, with him here once again, surely he could do it a second time!
"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!"
Down below, hordes of Pokémon gathered beneath the walls, their low growls rumbling like distant thunder.
Those that were stationed to defend the fortress looked toward the approaching wave of ghostly Pokémon. Unease flashed in their eyes—after all, these corrupted Pokémon were no ordinary foes.
But they could not retreat. No matter how frightening these ghost-type Pokémon were, they had to meet them head-on for ordinary stone walls could do nothing against them.
Ghost-type Pokémon, able to fly and phase through solid matter, could easily float over the fortress walls or even pass directly through them into the city!
"Hehehehehe…!"
In the distance, the ghostly figures had already sensed the dense concentration of life energy within the fortress.
Corrupted by the gray mist, their hunger for life and souls had reached an extreme. Their scarlet eyes gleamed with a feral, bloodthirsty light!
"They're entering firing range!"
"Catapults—fire! Don't let them get any closer!"
The commander atop the wall shouted, keeping a constant eye on the enemy's movements. Once the ghostly silhouettes floated near, his order was immediately carried out.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The war drums of battle thundered across the ramparts—the signal that the fighting had begun.
Within the fortress, soldiers who had been waiting for this very moment swiftly loaded heavy stones onto the catapults.
As the restraining ropes were released, the catapults sprang upward, hurling massive stones into the sky.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The stones tore through the air with sharp, whistling sounds, drawing long arcs before crashing violently into the swarming ghost-types.
In the air, one Gastly was struck directly by a falling boulder, its body bursting apart into a plume of black mist.
But before long, that same mist reformed, its shape coalescing back into Gastly's floating form. The attack had barely harmed it at all.
This, however, had only been the first probing volley. The catapult crews quickly adjusted their aim while other soldiers dragged over new projectiles.
This time, though, the stones were smeared with thick animal fat. As the catapults were drawn back once again, nearby soldiers lit their torches and touched them to the stones—igniting them into blazing fireballs.
With a deafening twang, the catapults released, and the fireballs streaked across the night sky, trailing long comet-like tails before smashing into the Abyssal Beast Tide. The flames spread instantly, burning those creatures that had been engulfed.
"Archers! Loose! Fire! Fire!"
Rows of archers drew their flaming longbows, and a storm of arrows shot forth—an entire rain of fire cascading toward the enemy.
The burning arrows struck their marks. Ghost-types screamed as their gaseous bodies were ignited, some collapsing from the air like deflated balloons.
After several volleys of fire, the number of ghostly entities decreased noticeably, yet countless more ghostly flames continued to flicker in the distance.
This time, the number of ghost-types appearing was immense—well over a thousand at a glance. It was clear that nearly every ghost that had emerged from the Ghost World's rift had gathered here, drawn by the living aura within the fortress like moths to a flame.
"Rhyhorns—charge forward!" shouted the commander.
"Rhy! Rhy! Rhy!"
The Rhyhorns before the gate bellowed in response and charged out.
When they closed in within range, their horns glowed, summoning volleys of boulders that rained down upon the ghostly enemies.
The sheer impact of the attack sent many of the corrupted Pokémon tumbling backward, halting the advance of the Abyssal Tide.
"Well done, Rhyhorns! Keep using Rock Slide!"
Atop one of the Rhyhorns, the field commander clenched his fist, satisfied. He glanced back at the white figure on the wall, his faith strengthening.
Fortunately, their Rhyhorns had mastered the move Rock Slide—otherwise, their usual charges would have been useless against incorporeal ghosts.
Now that the Rock Slide training method had been fully disseminated through the Knights of Aspiration City, nearly every Rhyhorn had learned it.
This gave them long-range offensive capability—allowing dozens of Rhyhorns attacking in unison to create devastating rockstorms that could stop enemy advances cold.
The falling stones also created natural barriers, disrupting the enemy's formations.
But for ghost-types, those obstacles were meaningless—they simply floated right over them.
From their shadowy forms, waves of gray mist surged, and rays of spectral energy burst forth, shattering the falling rocks in midair!
Explosions of power rippled across the battlefield as Rhyhorns and corrupted ghosts clashed violently, their roars and energy surges mingling in chaotic thunder.
"Earl Aven, the rest is up to you now," said Earl Ruize, turning toward the man beside him.
Aven nodded calmly. "Mm. Keep them restrained—I'll handle purifying the gray mist from their bodies."
While his Froslass could absorb the corrupted miasma, it could only do so once the enemy had lost their fighting capability.
Hearing this, the Petilil in Aven's arms inhaled deeply. It knew its Aromatherapy would soon play a crucial role in the coming battle.
And since they couldn't allow the Beast Tide to reach the walls, Aven would have to move personally.
"Moth!"
High above, the figure of a Mothim appeared, its wings shimmering faintly in the dark.
It nodded at Petilil, then floated behind it, gently lifting the small Pokémon with its legs.
Now, with Mothim's wings beating behind it, Petilil seemed to sprout wings of its own. The two Pokémon rose swiftly into the sky, their natural energies intertwining.
Once airborne, Petilil began to release Aromatherapy—a soft, refreshing fragrance spreading through the air.
"Moth~!"
Mothim flapped harder, conjuring a gentle breeze that carried the scent far and wide across the battlefield, sweeping toward the ghost-types.
The soothing fragrance enveloped the vanguard of the corrupted Pokémon, agitating the gray mist that shrouded them.
But even Aromatherapy couldn't instantly break through their corruption. The most aggressive ghosts broke through the scent's range and continued their relentless advance toward the fortress.
Then—suddenly—dozens of Gastly materialized in the sky.
Their mouths opened in unison, gathering dark ghostly energy before unleashing a barrage of Night Shade that rained down in black waves!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions of energy burst across the battlefield as Pokémon clashed in a maelstrom of light and shadow.
Moments later, several of the corrupted ghosts froze midair, their eyes flickering with confusion as clarity returned.
"Lass!"
At that instant, Froslass appeared silently among them.
The odd keystone hanging at its neck floated up, glowing with blue light.
Immediately, the gray mist covering the battlefield began to churn violently—streams of it being sucked toward Froslass as if drawn by an invisible vortex.
The air hummed as the miasma was torn away from the ghosts' bodies, like smoke being drawn into a vacuum.
"It's begun," Earl Ruize said from atop the wall, clenching his fist tightly.
Aven's expression was calm. Once the ghosts were restrained, the purification was as good as done.
Sure enough, before long, the gray mist had been completely stripped away from the spectral Pokémon. Their gazes cleared as they regained their senses, freed from the Abyss's corruption.
Those newly freed ghosts quickly realized what had happened and looked toward their still-corrupted comrades with determination.
"Gast! Gast!"
A shrill chorus echoed through the air as a Gastly floated forward, explaining the situation to its now newly cleanse kin.
When they heard that it was Froslass who had saved them, gratitude flashed across their faces, and they too joined the effort to free the rest.
"The ghosts… they're helping us?" the commander murmured in disbelief.
Earlier, when Lord Aven had arrived with a host of ghost Pokémon, many of them had nearly panicked, thinking it was another attack.
They'd almost fired before Aven stopped them in time.
And now, those very same ghostly creatures they once feared were fighting at their side—shielding the fortress from the Beast Tide!
Seeing this, the knights' expressions softened. The prejudice in their hearts slowly faded away.
"It's working," Aven said quietly.
"For warriors, there's nothing that builds trust faster than fighting shoulder to shoulder on the same battlefield."
His gaze swept across the knights beside him, then toward the dawn-tinged battlefield ahead. The outcome of this fight was already decided.
What came next would be the aftermath. Still, integrating another thousand ghost-type Pokémon into their ranks would be no small task—their sustenance was entirely different from normal Pokémon.
(End of Chapter)