If the Dark Sonata knew what Akira was thinking, its fluctuations would probably grow even more intense.
The violent disturbances made Morel and the others realize something was amiss, and they all heightened their vigilance to the maximum.
They scrutinized every detail around them, fearing danger might emerge at any moment. Unfortunately, the Dark Sonata paid them no heed.
All the Devil Cicadas had only one target: Akira!
As long as Akira was dealt with, the rest would be easy pickings.
Coincidentally, Akira also disregarded the Dark Sonata, treating it like a treasure chest waiting to be opened, just waiting for him to claim it!
"You all stay here for now. I'll handle this first."
With his back to the group, Akira spoke calmly.
Hands in his pockets, Akira walked steadily along the path carved by Hyper Beam, his expression composed and calm.
A massive swarm of cicadas, seemingly fearless, flew in from both sides aiming for Akira as he strode down the middle.
"Buzz…"
The shrill chirping of insects grew louder in Akira ears, signaling the swarm's approach.
Morel and the others followed Akira instructions, standing their ground without moving.
They weren't Akira.
Charging recklessly into the swarm would be unwise.
Their only hope now rested with Akira, His two apprentices couldn't help but worry for him—after all, the Dark Sonata aura was utterly terrifying.
But Morel and the others, who had experienced the full force of Akira five auras, knew one thing for certain—Akira would be just fine!
After all, he had only used two of his five strong nen beast so far!
Faced with the approaching swarm, Akira expression remained unchanged.
A faint smirk appeared on his handsome face. His eyes were fixed solely on the Dark Sonata at the end of the path—the swarm wasn't even worth a glance.
Ten meters, eight meters… When the swarm was just five meters away, something finally happened.
"ROOOAARR!"
A blast of flames shot in from the side, wiping out the approaching cicadas in one sweep.
The intense explosion incinerated countless Devil Cicadas into nothingness, while the shockwave sent the rest flying backward.
It was Hydreigon Fire Blast! Hydreigon sinister and malevolent aura matched the eerie Demon Realm perfectly.
Akira continued forward as another wave of cicadas surged toward him from the opposite side.
"Woof!" Arcanine appeared at Akira side. Raising its proud head, scorching flames enveloped its body like a fire deity descending, its form majestic and awe-inspiring.
The blazing light shot into the sky, standing out starkly in the dim Demon Realm.
The searing flames were an intense hue, indicating their extreme heat.
With a sudden burst of strength in its limbs, Arcanine shot forward like a red flash, appearing amidst the cicada swarm in an instant.
The crackling sounds were unending.
This was the sound of the cicadas being scorched by the intense heat!
Fire-type move—Flare Blitz! Another wave of the cicada swarm swiftly vanished.
Akira lips curled slightly as he continued forward.
"ROAAR!" Another flash of white light and Lucario appeared beside Akira.
Powerful Aura surged around it, radiating a dense blue glow.
A flicker of fiery red light appeared on Lucario leg, its muscles tensing before it launched a fierce kick toward the cicada swarm!
Fire-type move—Flame Kick!
"BOOM!"
Another wave of approaching cicadas was obliterated, the melody of the Dark Sonata growing increasingly frantic!
Akira drew closer and closer, yet so far, he hadn't suffered even a scratch!
Suddenly, grains of sand materialized out of thin air, swiftly piling up into small dunes.
Amidst the chaotic battlefield, a fierce sandstorm erupted, stirring up swirling dust that left onlookers in awe.
"ROAR!!"
A towering figure silently emerged within the sandstorm, a pair of crimson eyes glaring conspicuously. An aura of brutality radiated from its entire body, and its roar even momentarily drowned out the melody of the Dark Sonata.
The cicada swarm froze in place.
Earthen-yellow Aura erupted from the steel behemoth, solidifying into sharp stone blades around it.
The brownish stone blades shot toward the cicada swarm at blinding speed, slicing through the air with a piercing whistle.
Rock-type move—Stone Edge!
Countless stone blades mercilessly shredded the cicada swarm into dust, scattering into the air before settling as mere specks on the ground. Faced with an S-rank Tyranitar, these B+-rank Demon Cicadas stood no chance.
They were nothing more than helpless targets for Tyranitar to obliterate!
***
Akira continued strolling forward leisurely, his Pokemon clearing the cicada swarms behind him.
Morel and the others at the rear were utterly stunned.
Every time Akira took a step forward and a cicada swarm approached, a Nen beast would appear to intercept them.
Not just intercept—the cicada swarms crumbled under the Nen beasts' attacks!
Akira actions seemed like a direct challenge to the Dark Sonata!
You have endless Demon Cicadas? Well, I have just as many Nen beasts!
Every time a new wave of Demon Cicadas approached, another powerful Nen beast would emerge.
In this short span, Akira had already summoned four or five Nen beasts!
As Akira pressed forward, the number of Nen beasts appearing around him only grew.
Gardevoir, Snorlax, Dragonite…
Once again, Morel and the others were struck by the sheer terror of Akira power.
His Nen beasts truly seemed limitless! And every single one of them was overwhelmingly powerful!
All Akira had to do was take step after step, moving straight ahead.
The rest? His Pokemon would handle it!
Trying to overwhelm a Pokemon Master with sheer numbers was undoubtedly a mistake!
Especially when that Pokemon Master was Akira.
Want to touch me? You'll have to get past my Pokemon first!
These endless swarms of cicadas were nothing more than fodder to strengthen his Pokemon.
Before long, Akira stood before the Dark Sonata.
Not a single Devil Cicada remained on the battlefield at this moment.
The group of Pokemon stood proudly behind Akira, awaiting the final judgment!
The Dark Sonata no longer possessed its previous intimidating aura, its silhouette outlined by black threads having noticeably shrunk. It seemed the complete annihilation of all Devil Cicadas had dealt it a significant blow.
After all, every Demon Cicada carried the Death Aura it used for control. These Death Aura dispersed into the air after the Demon Cicadas were destroyed, only to be completely absorbed by the waiting Gengar.
From Gengar feedback, as long as it devoured the remaining Dark Sonata Death Aura, it could easily advance to S class! Even the experience bar for S+ class could be significantly replenished.
The other Pokemon also gained considerable experience from defeating the Demon Cicadas, each benefiting in their own way.
Among them, Hydreigon reaped the greatest rewards.
As a powerful artillery unit, Hydreigon was nothing short of a ruthless killing machine against these swarms of cicadas that relied solely on numbers. Every beam attack claimed countless cicada lives.
Had the Demon Cicadas not possessed the ability to shed their shells, their resistance would have been even shorter.
Previously, after the journey to the Ancient Labyrinth City, Hydreigon had received half the experience from the S-class Gold Silver Ingots. Today, it finally crossed that threshold, advancing from S- class to a solid S class! Now on par with Tyranitar!
One specialized in special attacks, the other in physical attacks—their roles were clearly defined.
Faced with Akira and his Pokemon, who were "relentlessly aggressive," the shadow formed by the Dark Sonata seemed ready to surrender.
Its aura withdrew entirely, as if resigned to its fate and prepared to let Akira do as he pleased.
However, all its covert movements were detected by Gengar at Akira side.
Akira stood before the shadow, staring thoughtfully at it
. Why had the Dark Sonata appeared in this Demon Realm?
Earlier, the Pokedex Ability had provided information that the Demon Cicadas were native to the Demon Realm. It was only after being influenced by the Dark Sonata that they turned into these monstrous forms.
In other words, the Dark Sonata wasn't originally here—it had appeared in the Demon Realm due to some coincidence.
So how had it ended up here? Akira thought of the wrecked ship outside and then looked at this eerie shadow, muttering to himself.
Could it be that someone on the ship had, by chance, brought the Dark Sonata into the Demon Realm?
If Akira wasn't mistaken, beneath this eerie shadow should be a human body!
A "tool" used as a medium by the Dark Sonata!
This would also explain why the Dark Sonata had developed self-awareness. A Human had come to this Demon Realm, played the Dark Sonata and become enveloped in the resulting Death Aura.
Completely reduced to a puppet of the Dark Sonata.
Though not yet confirmed, Akira believed this was the most plausible conclusion.
All that remained was to devour the shadow to verify his theory.
Suddenly, the shadow withdrawn aura erupted all at once!
Countless Death Aura swayed around it, exuding a dense darkness that seemed capable of devouring everything.
Almost instantly, the shadow swiftly drew its violin, producing a sharp, piercing sound.
From the violin, pitch-black blade-like energy materialized, faintly gleaming with a chilling light.
This blade energy, composed of thick Death Aura, shot straight for Akira neck, aiming for a fatal strike! It still had a trick up its sleeve!
A mocking smile appeared on Akira lips—he had guessed right.
Even while deep in thought, Akira hadn't let his guard down, as he had always suspected the Dark Sonata wouldn't give up so easily.
Sure enough, here it come.
Just as the shadowy figure thought it was about to succeed, Akira Gengar was already prepared.
The deadly blade of Death Aura, influenced by Gengar, veered slightly off course and flew straight into Gengar mouth. Transformed into streams of experience points, it pushed Gengar experience bar forward once more. Before the shadowy figure could react, Gengar made an even bigger move.
This would be the shadow final attack. Because it was about to be devoured by Gengar.
Gengar body swelled like a rapidly inflating purple-black balloon, growing significantly in size in an instant. Its appearance also underwent noticeable changes—a yellow ring now adorned its forehead.
Its towering form exuded an eerie and terrifying aura, one that seemed capable of enveloping the entire Demon Realm. Its crimson eyes locked onto the shadowy figure before it grinned wide, ready to swallow its rightful feast.
Mega Evolution—Mega Gengar!
Facing the Dark Sonata, Akira decided to proceed cautiously and had Gengar attack in its Mega-Evolved form. A tiny black dot appeared before Mega Gengar, quickly expanding into a massive energy sphere.
The black energy sphere radiated an ominous presence, appearing at first glance like a sphere composed entirely of Death Aura.
Rotating counterclockwise, it whipped up swirling winds within, containing astonishing Aura!
Ghost-type move—Shadow Ball! The black-purple sphere shot forth at lightning speed!
BOOM!!
With a deafening explosion, the already exhausted shadowy figure had no strength left to resist Mega Gengar Shadow Ball.
Utterly obliterated!
Strands of Death Aura, exuding a sinister aura, scattered through the air before being sucked into Mega Gengar stomach. Its experience bar continued to climb… until it reached the end!
Thanks to the Dark Sonata, after absorbing countless Death Aura, Gengar became like Hydreigon.
It successfully advanced from S- rank to S rank! In its Mega-Evolved form, Gengar even possessed S+ rank strength!
This series of events left Morel and the others, who had been standing by, utterly stunned once again.
Just like Ging that day, the same thought flashed through Morel mind—Did Akira Nen beast… have a second form?!
Even Menchi, Akira woman, was slightly surprised her emerald eyes gleaming with amazement. Before this, she hadn't known Akira Nen beast possessed a second form either. Beyond shock, their expressions grew even more complex.
They all realized the same critical point—If all of Akira Nen beasts had this ability, then wouldn't that mean…
Before he could finish the thought, Morel couldn't suppress his astonishment any longer and hurriedly grabbed his large smoking pipe.
He needed a few puffs to calm his nerves.
Accompanying Akira required a strong heart—otherwise, one would be overwhelmed by the constant surprises.
"The strongest in the world… truly well-deserved!" Morel exhaled a smoke ring, watching Akira distant figure as heartfelt admiration surged within him.
The others nodded in agreement—Morel had voiced exactly what they were thinking.
Only Menchi felt an overwhelming sense of pride.
Her man was an omnipotent existence! She had always believed this without a doubt!
***
Unlike the others, who were either marveling or swelling with pride, Akira himself was mostly puzzled. Because even after resolving the Dark Sonata, the Incubation Bar in his mind remained stagnant.
It showed no signs of progress at all?
Why was that?
According to Akira expectations, the two newly appeared Incubation Bars corresponded to different things. One was linked to the Demon Realm—or more precisely, its native inhabitants, the Devil Cicadas.
This was how the Shedinja had been born.
As for the other Incubation Bar, it was most likely connected to the Dark Sonata, which also existed within the Demon Realm.
This was precisely why he had been so eager to eliminate the shadowy figure.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
Even after dealing with the shadow, the Incubation Bar in his mind remained frozen at the one-quarter mark, unmoving.
There was still a long way to go—three-quarters of the journey left.
It had stopped exactly at the one-quarter point, as if the Incubation Bar had been precisely divided into four segments.
Wait a minute… Divided into four?
The number four, when associated with the Dark Sonata, led Akira to a hypothesis.
Legend had it that the Dark Sonata was a musical score composed by the Demon King, divided into four movements: flute, harp, piano, and violin.
The numbers matched perfectly.
Since the violin—one of the four—had appeared before him, the Incubation Bar had only progressed by one-quarter before stopping.
If that was the case, then the Incubation Bar would only reach completion if he collected all four parts of the Dark Sonata?!
Though there were no further clues, this seemed to be the only plausible explanation.
This was by far the most demanding Pokemon Akira had ever encountered.
Most people would never encounter the Dark Sonata even once in their lifetime—and those who did were usually doomed to die.
Yet this Incubation Bar required him to gather all parts of the Dark Sonata. The difficulty couldn't be overstated. For Akira, however, the real challenge wasn't handling the Dark Sonata itself.
It was finding the Dark Sonata in the first place.
But this also hinted at just how extraordinary the resulting Pokemon would be.
With such stringent conditions, whatever was being incubated had to be extraordinary.
It might even be a legendary or mythical pokemon!
A being of immense power and high rank. One with abilities tied to music. Capable of using melodies—or songs—for both offense and defense.
This made Akira think of one particular Pokemon.
A perfect match for these traits.
The legendary mythical Pokemon—Meloetta!
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