Under the complicated and heavy gazes of the crowd, Aven slowly walked toward the gladiatorial arena.
At this moment, he was holding a Petilil in his arms, a Cherrim perched gracefully upon his shoulder, and a Kirlia floated calmly at his side.
Following right behind him were the leaders of Nidoking tribe and Drapion tribe —two quasi-king level Pokémon whose mere presence radiated an overwhelming aura of strength and intimidation.
"He's here… as long as I kill him, I will finally obtain everything I have ever desired!"
Inside the arena, the Marquis of Hormay shut his eyes, and countless scenes replayed in his mind.
Ever since that Earl Aven had risen to prominence, in just a short year's time, they had clashed numerous times. And every single time, without exception, it had ended in his own crushing defeat.
First came the destruction of the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild, which dealt a devastating blow to the trade of magical beasts. Then came their direct confrontations, in which the Ironblood Knights suffered unbearable losses.
But all of that was already in the past. Here, today, he would bring it all to an end. Here, he would claim his final victory in this long and bitter struggle!
BOOM!
At that moment, the deep clang of colliding iron resounded abruptly.
Aven stepped out from the dim corridor and entered the arena. The instant he set foot inside, a massive iron gate suddenly crashed down behind him.
The muffled reverberations echoed endlessly within the corridor. Startled by the sound, Nidoking leader and the Drapion leader both snapped their heads around.
They glared at the gate now blocking the passage. Without hesitation, the two exchanged glances, clenched their fists, and struck together, causing the air to shake with a deafening rumble.
Yet even under the force of two quasi-king level strikes, the gate did not shatter. Clearly, it was forged from an extremely resilient metal—one that could not be broken through sheer brute force alone.
"A reinforced gate infused with beast-forged metal, is it?" Aven frowned slightly.
Not only that, but the entire arena itself was enclosed within a gigantic cage of iron. This lattice was specifically designed to withstand the ferocious attacks of magical beasts and prevent them from escaping, ensuring the safety of the spectators.
In all of Aspiration City, there was likely no one else other than the Ironblood Fortress who could afford such extravagance—using rare beast-forged metal to construct such a massive and unyielding cage.
And of course, it was precisely because of this kind of protection that the Ironblood Fortress' magical beast colosseum had become so renowned, attracting countless knights and nobles every year to witness the brutal battles of magical beasts.
"A battle of life and death… only when one side emerges victorious will the gate open again?"
Aven's eyes flickered as he gazed at the faint light shining from the corridor ahead. There was no retreat. The only way forward was to fight.
At this moment, the audience was fully focused on the arena's entrance. When Aven, flanked by his Pokémon, stepped into the battlefield, the entire atmosphere became tense and suffocating.
The common folk clutched their hands together in prayer, their faces pale with worry. Many fell to their knees, whispering fervently, "Lord Azelf, please protect Lord Aven…"
"Lord Aven, you must win!" The knights of the Pokémon Domain also muttered desperately under their breaths, voices low but firm.
"You finally came."
From the opposite corridor, the Ironblood Marquis emerged once more.
This time, he was clad in blood-red armor, his former wine glass replaced with a scarlet longsword.
Perched upon his shoulder was a massive Crobat. Unlike its ordinary kin, this Crobat's wings gleamed with an unsettling crimson hue.
The moment it saw Aven, its blood-red eyes locked onto him with greedy hunger. Faint traces of dried blood still clung to the corners of its fanged mouth.
"A quasi-king level Crobat…" Aven narrowed his eyes.
It was unexpected. Crobat was a Pokémon that could only evolve through bonds of intimacy with its trainer. Yet this marquis had somehow managed to obtain one.
Beside the marquis also stood a Rhydon, its normally stony-gray hide twisted into a grotesque dark crimson, as if drenched for years in blood that had seeped into its very skin, staining it permanently.
"Rhhyyy…"
The Rhydon let out a low growl, its eyes fixed on Aven with killing intent.
A suffocating bloodlust rolled off its body. It was easy to imagine how many battles drenched in gore this magical beast had fought through.
"Rhydon… without a doubt, this is the very one that accompanied the Ironblood Marquis through countless campaigns." Aven's gaze hardened.
Originally, Marquis Hormay had been nothing more than an ordinary earl. His rise to marquisate and the title of "Ironblood" were all carved from rivers of blood and corpses.
He had repelled wave after wave of invading magical beasts from the Aspiration Mountain Range, staining the land crimson. The Ironblood Fortress itself was built atop countless bones.
"Two quasi-king level forces already… but this is still not everything, is it?" Aven muttered under his breath.
His gaze shifted to the marquis's shadow. With Petilil's warning, he knew that a Ghost-type Pokémon lurked within.
And beyond the marquis, his sharp eyes picked out movement from within the dark corridor.
"Lil…"
Petilil's expression grew grave. It could feel a life force of immense magnitude seeping from that passage.
Clang… clang… clang…
The ground trembled faintly as the rattling of chains echoed. A towering figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
"CHOOOMP!!!"
The moment it stepped into the sunlight, a deep and terrifying dragon's roar exploded across the arena.
The entire audience went pale, their gazes snapping as one to the monstrous figure that appeared.
It was a bipedal, draconic beast. Its body was mostly blue, with a hammerhead-like crest upon its skull.
Four fins jutted from its body—two on its arms, a dorsal fin upon its back, and a shark-like tail fin. Its underbelly blazed crimson, the red running all the way up to its lower jaw.
Its hands were shackled in broken manacles, bloodstained chains still dangling as they clinked and swayed with its movements.
The moment it appeared, an oppressive draconic might erupted outward in all directions. Its roar shook the air, and its kingly aura flooded the arena without restraint.
"That Pokémon… that's a Garchomp!"
Aven's pupils contracted sharply, his expression filled with disbelief.
Garchomp—a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, said to possess extraordinary power. Once it reached its final form, it could wield strength rivaling that of a master-level Pokémon.
This one, however, was no ordinary specimen. This was a naturally born king-level Garchomp—undisputed royalty among pseudo-legendaries, incomparably rare and overwhelmingly powerful.
"A king-level Garchomp?!"
The entire audience gasped in shock.
Faces turned pale. Could Earl Aven really stand against a king-level magical beast?
"Ha ha ha ha! This… this is my trump card! A king-level magical beast!"
Marquis Hormay bellowed with laughter, before pointing his blood-red sword toward Aven. "Kill him for me!"
At his command, the Garchomp let out another thunderous roar, its body trembling with resistance for only a brief moment.
Then, black miasma abruptly coiled across its frame.
The struggling ceased. The Garchomp bowed its head, and its eyes glowed a murderous crimson as it locked onto Aven.
"That black aura…" Aven frowned deeply.
Of course. There was a sorcerer's hand behind this. That ominous aura was the trademark of a sorcerer's craft.
Not only could it augment a Pokémon's power, but it could also forcibly seize control of it.
The realization made his heart tighten. For black miasma to control even a king-level beast—it was even more tyrannical than beast-forged equipment!
"ROAR—!"
The Garchomp suddenly bellowed, slashing its claws as sand and stone erupted violently in a swirling sandstorm.
Seeing this, both Nidoking and Drapion stiffened, then shot each other a quick glance. With resolute roars, both surged forward, their claws glowing with poisonous light as they struck to meet the attack.
BOOM!
The clash shook the earth as Ground-type and Poison-type energies slammed into one another, detonating in an ear-splitting explosion.
Even two against one, Nidoking and Drapion were forced backward, their bodies struggling under the overwhelming force.
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, a sound split the air.
The Garchomp burst forth from the lingering sand, its twin claws shining with eerie green light as it lunged straight at them.
"NIDOO!"
"DRAAA!"
The two Pokémon roared, slamming their feet into the ground to steady themselves.
Then, in unison, they charged again, Poison Jabs flashing as they met the dragon's strike head-on. The arena thundered with the collision.
"Lil, lil!"
Petilil leapt in front of Aven, its body shimmering with green light.
It cast Grassy Terrain, emerald energy rapidly spreading across the battlefield.
Blades of grass erupted from the stone floor, bursting upward even through cracks in the hardened rock.
Cherrim followed immediately, summoning Sunny Day as radiant sunlight spilled across the arena. Then, through its Flower Gift ability, it blessed both Nidoking and Drapion, flooding their bodies with renewed strength.
Empowered, the two exchanged another look, then unleashed their full might, managing to block Garchomp's furious assault.
But the dragon only grew more enraged. It roared once again, maw gaping wide as it unleashed a blazing Dragon Breath toward the two.
"Dig—now!" Aven commanded sharply.
As the searing energy swept across the field, grass shriveled and burned away.
But Nidoking reacted instantly, burrowing into the ground. Both it and Drapion vanished into the earth just before the Dragon Breath obliterated their previous positions.
The attack slammed into the iron cage, shaking it violently. Yet even under the force of a king-level blast, the structure merely quaked without breaking.
The knights of the Pokémon Domain grimaced as they watched.
Their eyes flickered warily toward the Ironblood Knights, ready to intercept them should they try to harm the defenseless civilians.
At the same time, their thoughts raced. How could they break through such a cage? Even if Aven was endangered, without a way through, they could not intervene.
And the fact that this iron barrier could withstand the power of a king-level Pokémon left their hearts sinking deeper and deeper.
BOOM—! BOOM—!
The battle raged on in the arena.
When Garchomp realized its quarry had vanished underground, it dove down after them.
For Garchomp, subterranean combat was second nature. Digging was instinct itself.
"It's working!" Aven's eyes flashed.
Suddenly, he drew out a Pokéball and hurled it forward.
A burst of radiant light shot forth, materializing into Empoleon.
Already prepared, Empoleon surged with battle spirit. Water gathered around its form, coiling into a roaring torrent that propelled it skyward before it surged straight toward Marquis Hormay.
The crowd gasped. None of them had expected another magical beast to suddenly appear within the battlefield.
By the time they realized what had happened, Empoleon had already closed the distance in a flash.
"No—! That's the king-level Empoleon!"
The Commander, Bloodhowl's eyes widened, a memory of Empoleon single-handedly holding back thousands of foes flashing in his mind.
His heart sank to the pit of despair. Even with Crobat and Rhydon by his side, how could the marquis possibly survive a close-range strike from such a monster?
"Yes! Go, Empoleon—end this with one strike!"
On the other side, the knights of Pokémon Domain erupted in excitement, faces bright with hope.
Kale clenched his fists, trembling with exhilaration. He knew better than anyone the true might of his partner. Lending its power to Lord Aven—it was enough to finish everything here and now!
"Empo!"
Under countless stares, Empoleon reached the marquis.
Its steel wings flared wide, gleaming sharply. A flash of cold light crossed its eyes as it swung down with lethal force.
But just as everyone thought the battle would end in that instant—the shadow behind Marquis Hormay suddenly writhed.
From it, a figure shot upward, intercepting Empoleon's strike.
CRASH—!
The collision was deafening. The entire arena floor cracked under the impact.
Before Empoleon now floated a figure shrouded in black miasma.
Its palms pressed together, directly catching Empoleon's steel wings head-on.
"It… blocked it?!"
"That… that's another king-level?!"
The audience went deathly pale.
(End of Chapter)