Chapter 188: These Twenty-Odd Years, Thank You for Your Hard Work
That night, Will went to Shabboneau Castle alone. Meowscarada and the others were waiting down below. Earlier in the day, Seigo had been all "I'll go up and take pictures even if I die," but as night fell and the atmosphere changed, he had quickly become "I'm a little dizzy, I'll just stand guard for you down here."
For Will, Seigo not tagging along was definitely a good thing.
Creeak~
He pushed open the castle's large wooden doors.
"Hisss," the Cofagrigus's voice came from above.
Will looked up, his pupils narrowing. On the third floor, the Cofagrigus and a pure blue human figure were waving at him.
"Well... you don't see that every day," Will muttered, then pushed off the ground, jumping straight up to the third floor.
"Whoa~ amazing," the pale blue figure clapped, its voice even younger than Will had imagined. It seemed his assessment of the spirit's age was off. He wasn't a teenager; he was probably only fourteen or fifteen.
In that case, it was almost certain that this Cofagrigus was not raised by him from the start.
"Hello... Sceptile? I heard the person with you call you that. My name is Nico, from Nimbasa City in the Unova region," the spirit introduced himself, holding out his hand.
Will glanced at it, but didn't move. He kept a five-meter distance.
"Ah... I forgot. I'm a spirit now. I can't touch other living things, haha," Nico said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. To prove his point, he reached for the nearby wall, and his hand passed right through it.
"It looks like... you're about to fade away, aren't you?" Will asked, looking at the spirit's 80% transparent body.
"Cofagrigus, what did he say?"
"Hisss."
The Cofagrigus acted as a translator.
"Oh~ you're so smart! Yes. If I stay in the real world, I'll probably disappear completely in another two years. Then the Dusknoir won't even have to come and get me," Nico said, giving Will a thumbs-up, his tone devoid of any sadness.
"You can tell me the reason you brought us here now."
"Ah, yes!" Nico nodded and pointed up.
"...The gate to the Spirit World?"
"Yes! You even know about that?! Good heavens! You are definitely not a normal Pokémon!"
"Hisss!" This time, even the Cofagrigus, who had lived for centuries, was shocked.
"Well, that saves me a lot of explaining, haha," Nico laughed. "The gate hasn't completely closed. It looks like in a few days, a much stronger one will..."
"Hisss..." Cofagrigus lowered its head in despair. It would protect Nico with its life, but it had no confidence it could win next time. The battle with the Dusknoir last night had already been a difficult one.
"So, I need to find someone to help me fulfill my lingering attachment as soon as possible, so I can go to the Spirit World with the Dusknoir, happy and content!" Nico said, clenching his fists. He then ran back into the intact bedroom. "Aah! I can't pick it up! Cofagrigus, help me!"
"Hisss." The Cofagrigus, long used to this, went to help.
A few seconds later, they returned. The Cofagrigus was holding two items: a letter and a jade amulet.
"Please, I'm begging you. Please deliver these two items to Mr. Clay in Driftveil City. Whether you take them personally or mail them, it doesn't matter, haha."
"Why me? Why not just ask someone else?" Will asked, taking the items. It was a small, simple task.
"Because... no one else could see me before. And Cofagrigus would just scare everyone away. And even if he didn't, he can't explain things clearly," Nico said with a shrug. "The Dusknoir before all came from other places... This is the first time the gate has opened right here, allowing me to become visible."
For such a small matter, he had lingered in this world for over twenty years.
"Hisss..." Cofagrigus lowered its head, feeling useless.
"I wasn't blaming you! It's thanks to you protecting me all this time, or I would have been dragged away long ago, hahaha," Nico said, reaching out to pat his Pokémon's cold body.
"Are you willing to tell me your story?" Will asked. He still remembered that this kid was an illegal immigrant.
"Oh~ of course," Nico said, telling him the story from the book. "Our family was in the tourism business. But twenty-odd years ago, Unova was in a bad situation... no one was traveling. My father's business was facing bankruptcy, so I decided to go out and find a way to help. I ended up in Kalos, but I got sick on the way here... and, well, you saw the rest in the book."
"...So you're just a reckless kid who got himself killed? Your father must be heartbroken," Will sighed.
"I know, I know," Nico's voice grew somber. "I... I argued with my father before I left. I'm worried that after I've been gone for so many years, he'll blame himself. So... this letter, I have to get it to him."
Will looked at the spirit. He couldn't see his expression. But... a fourteen-year-old boy, trapped in this dark, dead castle for over twenty years, constantly facing the crisis of being dragged away... and yet, he had never given up. The importance of this letter and this amulet was clear.
"Sceptile, I'm begging you! No one else dares to come here, and no one else will talk to us. But my time is..."
"HISSS!"
Just then, the Cofagrigus suddenly roared and shot towards the roof.
"So soon?!" Nico immediately knew what was happening and rushed after it.
"This..." Will paused, looking down at the letter and amulet in his hands. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to follow.
He leaped up to the fourth floor and onto the rooftop. The moment he arrived, he saw a thirty-meter-tall Dusknoir. Behind it, the gate to the Spirit World was now fifty meters high. The entire town of Parfum Palace could probably see it. From this day on, the legend of the "Spirit World" would surely begin to spread across the Sinnoh region.
The Dusknoir exuded a terrifying pressure, far more than even the Alpha Dragonite from his past life.
"Pressure... its ability is amplifying its aura?" Will thought.
The giant Dusknoir raised a hand and pointed. Will's entire body froze. He was completely paralyzed. What is this move? Don't tell me it's Disable? I didn't know it was this strong!
He looked over. The Cofagrigus was also frozen, though it could still move slightly. It was trembling, its four arms uselessly trying to reach for the Dusknoir, in whose giant hand... was Nico.
"It's okay, Cofagrigus. You've already done so much to protect me," Nico said, not struggling.
Thump. The Cofagrigus collapsed to the ground, but its four arms were still clawing at the stone roof, leaving deep gouges, as if to scream at its own powerlessness.
"We always knew this day would come, right? So, it's okay," Nico said, trying to sound brave. He then turned to look at Will. "Sceptile, that thing I asked... can I entrust it to you?"
Will blinked his eyes. He couldn't move his tongue, but he tried to signal that he had accepted.
The Dusknoir, seemingly devoid of emotion, began to pull Nico back towards the gate, not giving him any more time.
"Thank you. Hehe, now I can leave without any regrets," Nico's shoulders trembled, but he still smiled. He looked at his Cofagrigus. "Come to think of it... I wrote so much to my father, but I never wrote anything for you..."
"Hisss..." a piercing, mournful cry came from the Cofagrigus. Its red eyes watched as Nico was pulled further and further away. The Spirit World... what is it like? Will it be very dark? Nico... is very afraid of the dark!
"Cofagrigus... these twenty-odd years... thank you for your hard work. And... I love my dad, and I love you, more than anything."
Nico raised his hand to wipe his eyes. As he got closer to the gate, Will could finally see his face. He was just a gentle-looking boy.
"If I can... in my next life... I hope I can meet you all again... hahaha..."
Can spirits cry? Will had thought they couldn't. But today, he learned they could. Their tears were sky-blue. They floated in the air, unfalling, like a swarm of fireflies.
Nico and the Dusknoir vanished. The gate began to shrink. The binding force on Will and Cofagrigus disappeared.
"Hisss (I owe you one. If I'm still alive, I will repay you)."
The Cofagrigus's voice echoed in his ear. The next moment, its figure shot towards the closing gate.
"Hey! You..."
Will's eyes widened. He reached out a hand, but it was too late. The Cofagrigus, and the gate to the Spirit World, vanished before his eyes.
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