The assault from the three Cursed Stones was terrifying, yet Akira remained unfazed, standing calmly in place.
The next moment, beams of multicolored light suddenly pierced through the void, striking the three Cursed Stones with precision.
BOOM!
With an ear-splitting explosion, the three Cursed Stones shattered simultaneously, scattering into countless fragments of limestone.
In an instant, the battlefield was as if covered in a heavy snowfall, with flakes of "white snow" swirling through the air.
Akira had thought it was over, but then the limestone fragments underwent a startling transformation upon hitting the ground.
Countless stone pieces began reassembling themselves, as if invisible hands were stacking them back together.
Within moments, the Cursed Stones had reformed, their menacing aura barely diminished.
Narrowing his eyes, Akira watched this eerie phenomenon with mild surprise—after all, the previous Cursed Stone hadn't displayed such an ability.
He hadn't expected these Cursed Stones to possess a reassembly effect, making them far harder to deal with.
However, Akira's sharp eyes noticed that the reformed Cursed Stones were slightly smaller in size.
Perhaps there was a limit to how many times they could reassemble.
Even so, this discovery wouldn't make things any easier for the average challenger.
Killing them once or twice was simple, but the psychological pressure of not knowing how many times they could revive could wear anyone down.
Akira, however, wasn't worried about that.
With a casual snap of his fingers, spatial rifts opened beneath the three Cursed Stones.
In the next instant, they plummeted into the voids and vanished without a trace.
He was too busy to waste time "playing" with these things.
Akira had already decided—if he encountered more Cursed Stones later, he'd simply have Porygon-Z teleport them into Digital World.
There were plenty of Pokémon there to deal with them.
Or, if he couldn't be bothered, he could just isolate them in a separate pocket of Digital World and leave them trapped.
…
Within Digital World,
The three Cursed Stones suddenly materialized, disoriented, only to immediately face a relentless barrage from Porygon-Z.
Akira had left the decision to dispose of them optional, but in the end, Porygon-Z chose to handle it.
It didn't intend to completely obliterate the Cursed Stones—instead, it planned to weaken them enough before handing them over to Meowth for research.
Porygon-Z figured Meowth would find these strange entities interesting.
After countless battles and experience gains, Porygon-Z's aura had grown increasingly profound, its mere presence causing the Cursed Stones to shudder.
Then, an overwhelming surge of violet-black Aura erupted before Porygon-Z.
Dark, eerie wisps of Aura swirled through the air, as if unseen hands were kneading them together.
They coalesced into a massive black sphere, within which strands of inky Aura drifted, emitting a faint, ghostly glow.
It was like a black hole—staring at it for too long made one feel as though their soul would be sucked right in.
Ghost-type move—Shadow Ball!
At the moment, Porygon-Z had merely casually unleashed a Shadow Ball, yet its power was unimaginably immense.
With a light flick, the massive Shadow Ball shot forward, crashing into the three Cursed Stones that had been charging toward it.
The fate of these three Cursed Stones had been sealed the moment they encountered Akira.
...
Meanwhile, in the outside world—
After the brief interlude, Akira continued forward, but he hadn't taken more than a few steps before he noticed something peculiar.
Not far ahead, on the rare patch of muddy ground, grew an extraordinary plant.
It stood about knee-high, with lush green leaves layered in seven or eight tiers, overlapping one another.
From the center, two forked branches extended upward, each bearing a plump fruit at its tip.
Both fruits were roughly the same size—about that of an apple—and could be eaten in just a few bites.
One fruit was dazzlingly vibrant, a striking bright red that whetted the appetite at a glance.
The other was dull and lifeless, emitting a faint, murky black glow that gave off an aura of death.
These two nearly opposite impressions appearing on the same plant were enough to leave anyone astonished.
The unusual sight caught Akira's attention, and as he approached, he activated his Pokédex ability.
[Light-Dark Twin Fruit]: Ripens once a year, bearing two fruits—the Light Fruit, symbolizing vitality, and the Dark Fruit.
Upon full maturity, it emits an intoxicating fragrance that lures in many creatures from a wide radius.
Consuming the Light Fruit alone provides an immense surge of life energy, but if the consumer's physical constitution is lacking, their body will explode from the overload.
Consuming the Dark Fruit alone delivers an effect comparable to the deadliest poison, killing the consumer in an extremely short time.
To harvest the fruits, both must be plucked simultaneously.
Otherwise, whether picked or left behind, both fruits will vanish without a trace, requiring another year for new ones to grow.
...
Light-Dark Twin Fruit, huh?
Akira raised an eyebrow, intrigued—mostly by its effects.
The appearance of the Twin Fruit also answered a question that had been nagging at him.
Namely, why there were so many creatures in a place like this.
Cursed Stones were creations of the Cursed Snake Demon, but their original forms were once living, active creatures.
Yet this coral terrain was desolate, hardly the kind of place where large numbers of creatures would gather.
At first, he had assumed these Cursed Stones were ancient, perhaps even predating the formation of the coral terrain.
For example, this area might have once been a forest?
Now, it seemed the creatures had likely been drawn to the coral terrain by the [Light-Dark Twin Fruit], only to be turned into Cursed Stones by the unseen Cursed Snake Demon.
The real culprit behind it all was this [Light-Dark Twin Fruit].
The question was whether there were more of these fruits, or if this single plant alone was enough to attract so many creatures.
That was one point.
At the same time, Akira was also fascinated by the two opposing effects of the Twin Fruit.
One brimmed with vitality, capable of providing vast amounts of life energy—equivalent to a [Hope] that could extend one's lifespan.
The other was the deadliest poison, presumably matching the other fruit in potency.
The Light Fruit could grant immense vitality, while the Dark Fruit could destroy just as much.In a way, these two things are quite a match.
Who knows what would happen if both fruits were eaten at the same time? Maybe they'd cancel each other out?
The Light-Dark Twin Fruit didn't emit any scent that attracted him, so it was probably not ripe yet.
But that didn't stop Akira from taking it.
Yes, Akira planned to uproot it along with the soil and place it in the Digital World, intending to cultivate it later in the planting base.
As a plant-type [Hope], it was destined to end up in Akira's planting base.
Though it required simultaneous harvesting, the [Light-Dark Twin Fruit] was undoubtedly a genuine [Hope].
Picking both at the same time wasn't difficult.
Akira hadn't tried it yet, but anyone with SS-tier strength could manage it in a single instant.
Precision down to the split second.
Then, he could store the Dark Fruit away and enjoy the Light Fruit properly.
Hmm… another variety added to his Hope planting base. Keep up the good work.
Soon, the [Light-Dark Twin Fruit], which had been here for who knows how long, was pocketed by Akira.
Nodding in satisfaction, Akira prepared to leave, but before he could take more than a few steps, two eerie chimes rang out.
The two chimes were starkly different.
One was clear and piercing, with an intense penetrating quality.
Not only was it bright, but it was also rapid in tempo.
Just hearing this series of chimes was enough to tighten one's heart, instinctively inducing tension and making emotions hard to control.
The other was the complete opposite.
This chime was deep and heavy, its tempo sluggish, carrying a sense of stagnation—thick and viscous like patches of swamp.
Just listening to this oppressive chime made one feel as if they were sinking into quicksand.
Falling endlessly into an abyss, never to climb out again, forever trapped within.
Akira had heard these chimes before.
They belonged to the Hellbell Snake.
But… how was this possible?
He was clearly in the Coral Fields, not the swamps, so how could he encounter a Hellbell Snake here?
Not to mention, he had already dealt with all those snakes—not a single one left.
Could there be others?
Filled with confusion, Akira quickly scanned his surroundings and soon spotted several strange snakes on the ground not far away…
By all appearances, they were genuine Hellbell Snakes.
Frowning, Akira immediately prepared to eliminate them.
Though he was now SS-tier, making the chimes less effective against him, it was still best to act fast.
No sooner had this thought crossed Akira's mind than a sharp whistling sound cut through the air beside him. Dodging sideways, he narrowly avoided a rushing fist.
Leaping back, Akira focused his gaze and saw something unbelievable.
Before him stood a giant, its entire body covered in diamond-like material.
It gleamed brilliantly, its surface uneven and irregular, with prismatic facets so transparent they reflected the surrounding environment.
"Is that… Jin?"
"But how?!"
Akira's pupils constricted as he confirmed again and again—the creature before him was indeed the Jin from before.
And it was the Jin that had consumed vast amounts of [Gemstone Power].
If the appearance of the two-tailed snake Akira could still be explained, there was no way he could explain the sudden appearance of "Jin."
After all, he had personally witnessed Steelix devouring Jin's remains back then.
There was no way he could still be alive.
So...
It had to be a fake!
Just as Akira realized this, "Jin's" rising aura suddenly froze, stabilizing at a certain level.
Akira frowned slightly, stomped his foot, and several eerie Shadow Balls emerged from his shadow, blasting "Jin" into pieces.
Watching the vanished Jin, Akira became even more convinced it was a fake—though one with considerable strength.
But how was it done?
To bring back the already deceased "Jin" and even grant it some of his former power...
Glancing at the spot where the fake Jin had disappeared, Akira shifted his gaze to the nearby two-tailed snakes.
If Jin was fake...
Could these two-tailed snakes also be fakes?
Akira cast a suspicious look at them, but before the snakes could react, another disturbance erupted around him.
A massive creature suddenly emerged from the coral-covered ground, shaking the earth violently.
It resembled a blue dragon—slender, with a crown-like organ on its head.
An overwhelming, kingly aura radiated from it as it glared down at Akira, as if ready to annihilate him in an instant.
Akira recognized this creature too.
Before they had reached the Dark Continent, during the final stretch of their voyage, they had been ambushed by a horde of sea beasts.
The leader of that attack had been this blue dragon-like creature.
It was the only one among them to reach SS- rank.
Akira recalled that this creature had been recorded on the [Gatekeeper]'s map as the strongest being in that stretch of sea.
Now, just like the "two-tailed snakes" and "Jin," it had inexplicably appeared before him.
Strangely, this "Blue Dragon Sea Beast" was noticeably smaller than the original, its aura only around S-rank.
A far cry from its true power.
Eyeing the hollow imitation, Akira casually waved his hand, and Porygon-Z, lurking in the Digital World, unleashed multiple beams of light.
In a dazzling flash, both the "Blue Dragon Sea Beast" and the "two-tailed snakes" vanished without a trace.
Just as Akira wondered if a "fake Demon King's shadow" would appear next, his vision suddenly shifted.
It felt like transitioning from the Digital World back to the real world—as if he had returned from some fabricated dimension.
Scanning his surroundings, he found no traces beyond the aftermath of Porygon-Z's attacks and the indentations left by the Blue Dragon Sea Beast.
Nothing else remained.
Except for one bizarre insect at his feet.
The insect wasn't large—about the size of a palm—but its intricate, extraordinary patterns made it stand out.
Sensing Akira's gaze, the insect began scuttling rapidly away from him.
Though uncertain, Akira suspected this insect was likely the culprit behind the strange phenomena he had just experienced.
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