Meanwhile, in a quiet corner of the Sky Arena, Kurapika frowned as he saw a passage suddenly open again. Earlier, various passages throughout the arena had been urgently sealed off, and he was on his way to the central control console when these restrictions were lifted halfway through.
The reopening allowed those who had chosen to leave to exit smoothly. 'What was going on? Could it mean the person who had invaded the central control console had been defeated?' Kurapika's mind raced with questions, but he didn't stop moving and pressed on toward his destination. Maybe it was a good time to check things out.
For some reason, Larry came to mind. 'What was he doing now? Could he be the one trying to restore control over the central console?'
At the central control console, Shura was struggling. "I always feel like something's blocking me," he muttered. "No matter what I try, there's this strange resistance. It takes three times, or even more, resentment than usual to get the same effect."
He failed to regain control over the screen, lost the channel he had originally secured, and even the robots slipped out of his command. "There's definitely something here!" Shura's sharp gaze landed on a dark corner, and his cold expression twisted into something dangerously intense.
Suddenly, fragments of space appeared out of nowhere, falling one after another until the form of Polygon Z gradually materialized from the fragments. Polygon Z's balloon-like body drifted out, a playful spark flickering in his small eyes that made him look almost human.
Shura's anger flared even higher. Just moments ago, he'd felt like a fool, every move he made was laid bare to this Gakily presence.
"So you're the one pulling the strings behind the scenes!" Shura muttered, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably as Polygon Z emerged from the void.
As a master of networks and machinery, Shura was well aware of the network world, but the idea that something could move between the network and the real world? That was new to him.
The longer he thought about how he'd found no clues, the darker his expression grew. This power in the network far surpassed his own. But that didn't matter. If it dared to show itself, Shura was determined to destroy it today.
Looking at this creature, which resembled an inflatable duck, he scoffed inwardly, how strong could it really be? "If you stand in the way of our revenge, no matter who you are, you will die!" he snarled.
"Die for me!" His long hair whipped wildly around him, and with his disheveled appearance and pale face, he looked like a specter risen from hell.
A surge of On burst forth from his body. When facing those who obstructed his mission, Shura's hatred only grew fiercer.
Dark tendrils of resentment twisted together like thick ropes, ready to lash out with countless attacks in an instant. Even without using machinery, his combat power was terrifying, fueled purely by his anger.
In this moment, the crazed Shura lived up to his name. Yet, despite Shura's fury, Polygon Z's eyes remained calm and unreadable. To Polygon Z, Shura's fate was already sealed.
Since its creation, Polygon Z had been absorbing data from the network world for a long time, reaching an A+ level and coming close to S-rank. Shura was strong, yes, but Polygon Z was on a whole different level.
Suddenly, a deep black wave surged forward from Polygon Z, its ink-like breath sending chills down Shura's spine. 'It's really that strong…' Shura thought, alarmed. 'I can't let it use that move!'
Desperately, he launched countless dark whips of resentment at Polygon Z. But the power Polygon Z revealed far exceeded Shura's expectations. Judging by the overwhelming aura it emitted, Shura knew he couldn't withstand this attack.
He knew he had to take it down before it could act, so he moved quickly. Luckily, he succeeded, countless lashes of On struck Porygon-Z before it could make a move.
Bang! Bang! Bang...
One after another, the whips pounded Porygon-Z relentlessly. Empowered by resentment, each strike packed a serious punch.
The rapid blows created a flurry of afterimages in the air, forming a dark net that seemed ready to envelop Porygon-Z completely. After what felt like an eternity, Shura finally stopped and let out a sigh of relief.
To be safe, he had even kept whipping for a full minute! Watching with confidence, he waved his hand to clear away the smoke and dust in front of him. But when the haze cleared, there was no battered Porygon-Z lying in pieces, no broken limbs or scattered fragments anywhere. Instead, there was only a fading spirit puppet, a cute little green dinosaur figure slowly disappearing before his eyes.
"A puppet?" Shura muttered, staring in disbelief.
Could this puppet actually be the real body of that inflatable duck? Unfortunately, since Shura wasn't familiar with Pokemon, he didn't realize this was a classic move, Substitute!
Suddenly, a chill ran through him as he sensed something was off. Turning toward the opposite corner, he was hit by a wave of darkness that crashed over him like a black sea, pounding him relentlessly in surging tides. It was a dark ability, Dark Pulse !
Panic flashed in Shura's golden eyes as the terrifying onslaught bore down on him. He had fallen right into the trap, it was all a setup!
The real enemy had already made their move. Unfortunately, Shura realized this only moments before he died.
Soon after, his consciousness was completely consumed, and he collapsed silently to the ground. Porygon Z glanced at the lifeless Shura, then turned and stepped into the network world, disappearing without a trace.
"Did a battle really happen here?" Kurapika whispered, holding his breath as he cautiously entered the control room and surveyed the scene.
When he reached the central control console, all he saw were the bodies of the staff and Shura lying sprawled on the floor. The aftermath of the fight was chaotic, the entire central control area looked as if a tornado had swept through it.
Although such destruction was understandable after a fierce battle, Kurapika couldn't shake the feeling that Larry was somehow involved. After all, not many people in the Sky Arena could face an enemy like this.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the Sky Arena, the highest point where the entire city's night view stretched out below, Jed stood gripping a communicator. His golden eyes were heavy with exhaustion and a faint haze of despair.
He had just tried contacting Gaki and Shura but got no response. In this situation, it was all too likely that they were dead.
Pocketing the communicator, Jed turned to look at Netero, who was chained nearby, and sneered bitterly.