"Kir~"
Kirlia greeted enthusiastically, her clear voice ringing crisply in the cold air.
As she extended her tiny hand, Garchomp immediately lowered its massive head toward her.
"ROOAR ROOAR!"
Enjoying the gentle touch on its forehead, Garchomp let out a deep, satisfied rumble, its eyes narrowing slightly in comfort.
Aven: "…"
Awkwardly scratching the bridge of his nose, Aven turned toward Earl Ruize beside him and said with a wry smile, "Let's get moving."
By now, beneath the towering city walls, the knights were already in perfect formation. With the command to march given, the vast army began its advance toward the Abyssal Caverns, banners fluttering and steel glinting under the winter sun.
Aven rode atop his Luxray, Kirlia and Petilil sitting before and behind him, while Garchomp followed close at his side, its powerful tail swaying lightly with each stride.
"ROOAR~"
Garchomp turned its head slightly, glancing at Kirlia perched behind Aven. It scratched its head awkwardly, clearly still not used to having another Pokémon so close to its trainer.
"How have you been lately, Garchomp?" Aven asked with a smile.
The battle hadn't started yet, and he took the opportunity to bond further with Garchomp and learn about its training situation.
Aven understood perfectly — in the coming war, his King-level Garchomp would be his most crucial powerhouse. Only by deeply understanding his partner could a trainer unleash its full potential in combat.
"ROOOAR!"
Garchomp finally turned its sharp eyes toward Aven. As it thought about life back at the Pokémon Breeding Grounds given to his tribe, its gaze softened, and it squinted slightly, showing that it had been living quite well lately.
They soon began discussing moves and battle strategies. Aven could clearly see how eager Garchomp was to grow stronger — just the mention of fighting made it restless with excitement.
The knights moved swiftly, and within just two hours, they arrived at the outer edge of the forest.
Aven gazed at the dense forest ahead. A year ago, the Aspiration City knight order had fought their way to this very spot, relying on Froslass to completely end the last Abyssal Beast Tide.
Even though a year had passed, the forest was still scarred from that devastating battle. The giant trees once flattened by the beast tide hadn't yet regrown — only a thin layer of grass had managed to cover the barren soil.
Now it was winter, and even that grass was gone, leaving behind a desolate, open road stretching straight into the depths of the forest.
"Lass~"
In midair, Froslass drifted silently, her ghostly form gleaming pale in the cold light.
Behind her floated a large host of ghost-type Pokémon — most of them Gastly.
"Hehe~"
Leading the group was a Haunter, its eerie face-like body and detached, clawed hands gleaming faintly in the gray light.
Haunter, the evolved form of Gastly, had a more solid body than its pre-evolution, and its ghost energy pulsed with dangerous vigor.
At this moment, all the ghost-types hovered at the edge of the forest, staring into its dark interior. From deep within, they could sense an incredibly dense ghost energy — the unmistakable pull of the Ghost World.
They knew that the path home lay somewhere ahead — the gateway to their realm. To return, they would have to retake the Ghost World Passage!
"Lass!"
Just then, Froslass gave a sudden call.
A moment later, several Sableye appeared, drifting weakly in the air — their bodies tainted with gray mist.
Seeing this, Froslass immediately floated over, her aura flaring coldly as she reached out with ghost energy and forcibly drew the gray mist out of their bodies.
The Sableye, freed from the corruption, blinked in confusion and quickly hid behind a nearby tree, trembling slightly despite being ghosts themselves.
The extracted gray mist churned for a moment before being absorbed into the Odd Keystone embedded within Froslass's body. As it stabilized, she absorbed the remaining ghost-type energy still clinging to it.
The newly freed Sableye were soon gathered up by Haunter, who led the other ghost-types to welcome them into their ranks.
Watching this brief exchange, Aven gave a silent nod. Without hesitation, he raised a hand, signaling his army forward.
The knights advanced — thud, thud, thud — the heavy steps of their Rhyhorn mounts pounding against the frozen ground.
Overhead, Froslass and her spectral troops glided swiftly forward, their cold blue lights flickering across the battlefield like drifting will-o'-wisps.
As they pushed deeper into the forest, they began to encounter patches of gray mist again. Each time, Froslass would surge ahead, swiftly absorbing the fog into herself.
Once, she had absorbed all the gray mist that filled this entire forest. But this time, wary of losing control, she limited herself — only drawing in the fog nearby.
Along the way, they encountered several more ghost-type Pokémon corrupted by the mist. However, compared to nighttime, their numbers were far fewer under daylight and are less active.
Before the knights could even act, Froslass and her ghost-type minions easily subdued the corrupted ones, purifying them and recruiting them into the spectral legion.
Yet as they ventured deeper, the number of ghosts steadily increased.
The combined presence of hundreds of knights and Pokémon radiated a thick aura of life and soul energy, which in turn attracted even more ghosts from every direction.
Indeed — that was exactly Aven's plan.
By bringing so many knights and Pokémon into the Abyssal Forest, he intended to use their combined vitality and spiritual presence to lure all the ghost-types out from hiding.
"Form up! All knights, form up!"
Earl Ruize's commanding voice rang through the ranks.
They had reached a wide clearing, close to the entrance of the Abyssal Cavern, a perfect spot to form battle lines.
Whoo~ whoo~ whoo~
As the knights took formation, the air around them grew rapidly colder.
A chilling wind swept across the clearing, carrying with it the distant whisper of shifting gray mist.
"Lil~ lil!"
The leaves atop Petilil's head quivered twice. Sensitive to the flow of life energy, it could feel the countless ghost-type presences gathering ahead.
After a few moments of sensing, Petilil's large eyes brightened. According to her perception, the number of ghosts coming this time was far fewer than the night before.
"Only a few hundred?" Aven murmured, eyes narrowing slightly.
It seemed that last night's beast tide had already gathered the majority of the forest's ghosts.
Only a few hours had passed since then — not enough time for many more to cross through the Ghost World Passage.
That was good news. If they could lure out and destroy all the ghost-types still within the Abyssal Cavern, they would be able to enter safely.
"They're coming…"
The knights tightened their grips on their bows, flame-tipped arrows nocked and ready.
Moments later, countless shadowy figures emerged from the mist ahead — and were immediately met by a rain of fire arrows that lit up the shadowy forest in an infernal glow.
The battle was far easier than the night before. With the ghost-types' assistance, it took only half an hour before the fight was over.
"Don't stop! Keep moving forward!" Aven exhaled, then gave the next order.
Perhaps because most of the nearby ghosts had already been drawn to them, their path ahead was surprisingly smooth. Before long, they arrived at the entrance of the Abyssal Cavern.
From here on, things would be simpler. The knights took cover outside the entrance, ready to unleash overwhelming firepower on any ghosts that emerged.
"It's going smoother than I expected," Aven muttered, squinting at the gaping cavern before him.
With so many knights and Pokémon gathered outside, the mindless ghosts inside would be powerless to resist the pull of their combined life and soul energy.
It was almost like setting a trap — luring the enemies out and then annihilating them in waves.
For a moment, Aven even had the illusion that as long as they held this position, the Abyssal Beast Tide would never again escape this cavern.
"Unfortunately," he sighed softly, "the knights and Pokémon can't stay here for long."
"If they remain within the gray mist too long, even they risk being corrupted."
He drew in a deep breath, his gaze turning toward Froslass, who floated down from above. She was still steadily absorbing the mist seeping from the cavern entrance — but no matter how much she took in, the gray fog kept flowing endlessly, like an infinite tide.
He couldn't risk letting her push too far.
"Lord Aven, are you truly planning to go into the cavern yourself?" Baron Berrin asked anxiously.
None of them knew what horrors lay within that dark abyss. To charge in blindly was nothing short of madness.
"Don't worry," Aven said calmly. "I know what I'm doing."
"This cavern has already been explored by Luxray and Kale before. I know the route that leads directly to the main hall."
"Besides, there shouldn't be too many ghosts left inside now. And even if I do encounter them, I won't be their first target."
"Even if I meet a powerful enemy, I have both Froslass and Garchomp, two King-tier Pokémon, at my side."
"And as a final safeguard—" He glanced at the small figure on his shoulder. "Kirlia can always use Teleport to take me out instantly if things go wrong. My safety is guaranteed."
He slipped both hands into his pockets, fingers closing around two Poké Balls. Right now, he was carrying every bit of power he had.
The knights fell silent for a moment, moved by the resolve in his voice.
They all knew — Aven's decision wasn't for himself, but for the protection of Aspiration City. Though he was immensely strong, the Abyssal Cavern was filled with unknown dangers.
He didn't have to take this risk — yet he chose to.
One by one, the knights straightened their backs. "Lord Aven, we'll be waiting here for your return!"
"Don't worry," Aven replied with a faint smile. "I'll be back soon."
"If I'm not out before nightfall, leave this place immediately. Aspiration City needs you alive."
After leaving those words, Aven turned and urged Luxray forward, heading straight into the darkness of the Abyssal Cavern, with Froslass and Garchomp following closely at his sides.
As his silhouette disappeared into the fog, the knights' expressions grew tense. They kept their weapons ready, eyes sharp, prepared for any sudden attack.
Inside the cavern, Luxray sprinted swiftly through the dim tunnels.
"Lass~"
Froslass floated ahead, seemingly attuned to the gray mist — she could clearly feel the direction of its source.
That was precisely why Aven had chosen to enter alone. At least with Froslass here, he wouldn't lose his way — and in this labyrinthine cavern, getting lost was the deadliest danger of all.
"Kir~"
Kirlia now sat on Aven's shoulder, her psychic senses spread wide as she constantly scanned their surroundings, ready to teleport them away at a moment's notice.
"ROOAR!"
Garchomp charged ahead, moving fast and clearing the path.
Suddenly, the mist ahead stirred and a Sableye emerged from the haze.
But before it could react, Garchomp lunged, its claws glowing with draconic power as it slashed downward — Dragon Claw!
In an instant, the Sableye was down.
Before Froslass could even move, Aven flicked his wrist, hurling a Poké Ball that cleanly captured the corrupted ghost.
From prior experiments, he knew that gray mist–corrupted Pokémon wouldn't suffer too much after being sealed inside Poké Balls.
Right now, speed mattered more than anything and so he didn't hesitate to use this method to clear their path.
"Garchomp, Luxray — faster!" Aven ordered quietly.
Both Pokémon immediately picked up their pace, darting through the maze-like tunnels toward the source of the mist.
After cutting down several more corrupted ghosts, the passage ahead finally widened — opening into a massive underground hall.
Just as Kale had described, three towering stone pillars stood at its center — and before them, a vast rift exhaled endless gray mist!
"We found it…" Aven's pupils constricted. "The source of the gray mist!"
The fog was pouring out from a massive crack suspended in midair, pulsing faintly like a wound in the very fabric of space.
"Hm? It doesn't seem like a Ghost World passage…" After a moment of study, Aven frowned. "It's… a spatial rift connecting to another world?"
"Meow~ meow~"
Luxray nodded, confirming that this was indeed where the gray mist originated — yet, just like before, it couldn't sense the Ghost World's familiar energy.
"Kir~ lia~"
Kirlia's eyes glowed softly as she stared at the rift. She could feel an overwhelming spatial energy surging within it. Beyond that tear in space… lay another dimension entirely.
"Could it be… that the Ghost World Passage lies inside that alternate dimension?" Aven muttered, frowning deeply.
The situation was far different from what he'd expected — and for a moment, even he didn't know what to do next.
"Hehehe~!"
Suddenly, a sharp, screeching laugh echoed through the hall.
Aven's eyes snapped toward the rift — just in time to see a shadowy hand stretch out from within!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
As the hand emerged, the surrounding space shattered audibly, and the tear in the air widened even further…
(End of Chapter)