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A dark violet haze spread across Kael's skin, sheathing his blackened form in a ghostly shimmer.
He looked less like a fighter now, and more like a specter an outline slipping between the living and the unseen.
Ahead, the Golisopod thundered forward.
Its armor was cracked and bleeding green ichor, its movements fueled by fury and pain rather than thought.
Six jagged claws, each wrapped in flickering green energy, stabbed downward like guillotines, ready to tear Kael apart.
But Kael didn't move.
The monster's reflection gleamed in his crimson eyes, calm and unblinking.
Then—
The claws struck.
For an instant, Golisopod felt triumph.
It could almost feel flesh yielding beneath its claws but that feeling never came.
Its talons passed through Kael's body like wind through smoke. No resistance. No blood. Nothing.
The Golisopod's eyes widened in disbelief. Before it could react, a killing chill crept up its spine a cold presence forming right behind it.
"[Phantom Ambush]."
Kael's voice was low, calm… final.
A blur of movement split the rain.
The air twisted as his body rematerialized behind the creature, a faint afterimage still lingering where he'd stood a moment before.
His right hand was outstretched, fingers together, gathering a whirling cone of ghostly energy. Dark mist coalesced into a violet spiral, its tip honed to a deadly point.
The air around it warped, humming with the vibration of death.
Kael drove the strike upward, precise, merciless, right into the gap beneath the Golisopod's armored skull.
Shhk—kkk!
The sound was hideous like a drill boring into bone. The ghostly energy ate through the armor as if it were wax, softening and corroding it in seconds.
Then the spectral spike punched through, grinding deep into flesh and nerve.
Green blood sprayed in thin streams.
The creature spasmed violently as the dark energy shredded its spine,
then burrowed higher straight into its brain core.
Sssk—krrrk!
The monster convulsed once… twice…
and went still.
Its black eyes lost their glow. The hulking body stumbled forward, momentum carrying it three steps then crashed into the mud with a wet, final thud.
Kael landed lightly behind it, exhaling through his nose. He flicked his right hand; the violet energy dissolved into mist, vanishing along with the haze on his skin.
The battle was over.
The move [Phantom Ambush] was one of the newest moves he'd learned since the last surgery.
It allowed him to shift into an ethereal state, dodge attacks, reappear at short range, and deliver a piercing strike that ignored defenses. In essence: evasion, teleportation, and execution all in one move.
It came at a cost, draining his stamina and straining his nerves, but as a trump card, it was perfect.
A familiar chime echoed in his mind.
[+35 Experience Points]
Kael opened his system panel briefly:
[Species: Machop
Level: 24
Ability: Steadfast
Skills: Low Kick, Leer, Focus Energy, Confuse Ray, Payback, Grudge, Low Sweep, Knock Off, Shadow Punch, Reversal, Phantom Ambush
Held Items: Terrakion's shoulder Guard, Zamazenta's Heart (Fragment)
Evaluation: "A peculiar Machop bearing Ghost-type affinity."]
From Level 20 to 24 in just a few days—his growth was accelerating faster than he'd imagined.
Two new moves in quick succession: [Reversal] for the Fighting path, and [Phantom Ambush] for the Ghost.
Balanced. Deadly.
The latter had already proven its worth.
The former, though useful, was a fallback answer to overwhelming strength rather than a killing blow.
He'd find a way to perfect both in time.
Still, his mind wasn't on moves or stats.
It was on what came next.
Evolution.
From Machop to Machoke a transformation that, even among Pokémon, represented a staggering leap in raw power.
If a Machop were a boy soldier, a Machoke would be a warrior-king. With his augmentations and dual energy control, the change would be seismic.
When that day came… even the phrase "mountain-breaking strength" might no longer be an exaggeration.
He was still lost in thought when—
Ding-ling…
The soft chime of a silver bell drifted through the air, light and pure, breaking his focus.
Kael turned, eyes narrowing slightly, toward the convoy behind him.
The survivors were still there staring at him through the rain.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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