Ariel had to raise his arm to protect his head, stumbling back several steps before barely managing to steady himself.
Purple arcs of electricity, like wildly dancing vipers, leaped frantically between the walls, floor, and ceiling of the grotto, reflecting the entire space into an eerie purple Inferno.
Peering through the gaps between his fingers, Ariel witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.
Under Mewtwo's violent infusion of energy, the ancient altar, which had endured countless ages, actually let out a groan of being overwhelmed.
The ancient characters engraved on the obsidian surface lit up one after another.
But it wasn't the soft glow of awakening; instead, it was a ghastly white glare bursting forth amidst an extremely painful struggle.
The light grew brighter and more blinding, as if something inside the altar was being forcibly torn apart and activated.
The entire altar shook violently, and fine cracks even began to appear on the obsidian surface.
Ariel's heart pounded wildly.
He finally understood.
If Cynthia's attempt was like holding a delicate key, trying to find the right keyhole and using skill and resonance to open this ancient door...
...then what Mewtwo was doing now was directly hoisting a hundred-ton battering ram and smashing it ruthlessly against the door itself.
It didn't care about the structure of the lock at all, nor did it care if the door would be destroyed.
All it wanted was to open it.
Using the most absolute, pure, and unreasonable power to crush all rules and forcibly achieve its goal.
This power that transcended—and could even be said to despise—the laws of nature gave Ariel a new, bone-chilling realization of Mewtwo's danger level.
This was no longer just strength; it was something on an entirely different level.
Looking at Mewtwo, a flicker of fervor ignited in Ariel's eyes.
Just then, the light at the center of the altar reached its peak.
All the bursting rays of light seemed to be pulled by something, suddenly shrinking toward the center.
In the air directly above the altar, they converged into a violently rotating, twisting energy vortex.
At the center of the vortex was a deep darkness that seemed capable of swallowing everything.
At that moment, a dazzling beam of light erupted from the center of the altar, shattering the ceiling of the grotto and shooting straight into that energy vortex in the sky!
The pillar of light was like a colossal pillar supporting the heavens, composed of pure energy and connecting heaven and earth.
Inside the light pillar, countless mysterious runes spiraled upward like swimming fish, finally exploding at the top of the cave and forming ripples of energy visible to the naked eye, washing a massive hole through the thick clouds.
High above, the sea of clouds churned.
Two streamlined figures, one red and one blue, emerged through a distorted, folded spatial rift as if hearing an ancient summons.
Their forms were elegant and agile as they traced two magnificent arcs in the sky, diving down precisely toward the source of the light pillar.
Inside the grotto, the light gradually faded.
Latias and Latios, the legendary Eon pokémon, floated quietly in mid-air.
They were the guardian deities of this sea, sleeping in the cracks of space since time immemorial, guarding the peace of this place.
The violent fluctuations of the altar being forcibly activated by an external force had awakened them from their slumber.
There wasn't a single trace of fighting intent on them.
Their clear eyes were filled with pure goodwill toward the world and uncontaminated curiosity.
The siblings' gazes simultaneously fell upon the strange creature encased in metal armor in front of the altar.
Such powerful psychic strength.
This was the first thought that surfaced in their minds.
The texture of this power shared the same origin as theirs, yet it carried a cold and violent aura they had never felt before.
Latias was clearly more lively and active than her brother, Latios.
She tilted her head and let out a series of clear, melodious cries like wind chimes, as if giving a greeting.
Seeing no reaction from the other party, her large eyes blinked, and she boldly began an elegant aerial ballet around Mewtwo.
She flew very fast, the red afterimage behind her stretching into a magnificent ribbon.
She wanted to get closer to sniff that strange-looking "shell" and see what it smelled like.
This scene made Ariel, who had just steadied himself in the distance, break into a cold sweat.
Those were Latias and Latios! pokémon that only existed in myths and legends, the guardian deities of this sea!
And at this moment, they were facing Mewtwo.
A being that had just been born, whose worldview had not yet formed, and whose very "self" was still in a state of chaos.
Its kind nature was buried deep, twisted into a pure weapon of war by Team Rockets' day-after-day combat brainwashing and the brainwave devices flickering on this restrictive armor.
In the current Mewtwo's eyes, there was perhaps no concept of kin or life.
Only targets and obstacles.
To it, Latias's innocence and goodwill might be no different from a rock blocking the path.
In the next second, Ariel's conjecture turned into cold reality.
Buzz—
A faint sound of electric current rang out.
The flashing frequency of the crimson electronic eyes on Mewtwo's helmet suddenly quickened, finally turning into two ominous, steadily burning red lights.
In its mental world, there was no curiosity from Latias, no calls from the outside world—only a cold, emotionless mechanical command frantically repeating at a frequency of tens of thousands of times per second.
"Eliminate all obstructors."
"Eliminate all obstructors!"
"Eliminate... everything!"
No skill starter,There is no energy condensation process.
Boom!
An invisible, terrifyingly peerless mental power exploded outward with Mewtwo as the center!
This power was so pure and overbearing that the air itself let out a groan of being overwhelmed.
The gravel and dust on the ground floated up against gravity, being crushed into powder in mid-air.
"Wuu—!"
Latios reacted almost the instant the red light lit up.
He let out a sharp warning, his blue figure turning into a phantom as he desperately shielded his sister.
A layer of pale blue light shield rapidly expanded in front of him; it was the Special Defense he took pride in.
However, it was too late.
Or rather, in the face of absolute power, any defense appeared pale and weak.
A thick purple Confusion beam erupted from Mewtwo's casually raised hand, without any delay, striking Latios's hastily erected shield with a "first to strike" speed.
Crack!
The light shield lasted for less than a thousandth of a second before it instantly became covered in cracks like glass struck by a hammer, then shattered completely.
The purple light's momentum remained unchecked, piercing through Latios's body.
A deafening roar echoed throughout the grotto.
Latios, who possessed Dragon and Psychic types and super-strong Special Defense capabilities, didn't even have time to let out a cry of pain before his entire body was hit head-on like by a siege cannon, being ruthlessly blasted into the rock wall behind him in an irresistible manner.
Rumble—
The hard rock wall was easily pierced like tofu, and a terrifying, bottomless hole appeared there.
Centered on the hole, massive spiderweb-like cracks spread frantically, the entire mountain shaking violently. Tons of boulders crashed down from the ceiling; with that casual strike, half the grotto was already on the verge of collapse.
"Go!"
Ariel's pupils constricted as he exchanged a look with Yule.
At almost the same time, both of them threw their Poké Balls.
"Greninja, use Double Team!"
"Crobat, take me away!"
With a flash of white light, Greninja and Crobat appeared.
The former formed hand seals, and over a dozen identical clones instantly scattered, smashing the falling boulders.
Meanwhile, Crobat spread its massive wings, accurately grabbing Ariel and Yule by the shoulders. With a powerful flap of its wings, it turned into a purple stream of light, narrowly brushing past a multi-ton falling rock as it flew desperately toward the cave entrance.
Inside the grotto, it was already a scene of doomsday.
Latias finally snapped out of the sudden turn of events, letting out a shrill cry sharp enough to tear the soul as she desperately tried to rush toward the ruins where her brother had been thrown.
But a cold shadow had already enveloped her.
Mewtwo's figure had appeared before her at some unknown moment.
Its method of movement couldn't be explained by common sense at all; it was as if a mere thought had bridged the distance of space.
The hand covered in heavy metal armor accurately and coldly gripped Latias's slender neck.
That hand was so cold and so powerful, devoid of even a hint of warmth or emotion.
All of Latias's sounds and struggles were ruthlessly cut off by that vice-like hand.
Her petite body kicked feebly in mid-air, and in those eyes that were once full of innocence and curiosity, there was now only endless fear and despair.
Mewtwo just carried her like that, slowly floating as it arrived at the nearly shattered grotto.
The crimson electronic eyes indifferently scanned the chaos below.
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