Xuan Qiu truly couldn't understand why Nanook would glance at him. Feeling the cold, heavy energy of destruction flowing into his veins, he confirmed it wasn't his imagination. He had come to this world and hadn't even killed a chicken, so how on earth was he connected to destruction?
The next moment, the rampaging power suddenly converged on a single point within his body. A special, unfamiliar energy manifested deep within him.
"This is... Suiyang energy... Could it be?!"
The only person he could think of who could leave such a parasitic anchor on him without his notice was Phantylia.
Could the Lord Ravager have truly infiltrated the station?
Xuan Qiu shook his head, thinking it impossible. Before the Iron Curtain emerged, to put it bluntly, even a general of Destruction wouldn't rashly provoke the Genius Society on their home turf.
He had no time to ponder the mystery; extracting this corruptive force from his body was the urgent priority. But the instant he tried to purge it, the Suiyang energy surged straight into his mind, causing his spirit to throb with blinding pain. The sudden, intense agony made him drop to one knee, clutching his head.
Yanqing immediately noticed and moved forward to help him up.
On the other side of the platform, the energy within Stelle burst forth completely, instantly annihilating the Doomsday Beast in a massive shockwave. The resulting energy storm nearly knocked March 7th off her feet, but Dan Heng managed to catch her arm.
"Eh, eh, eh? Why is there another blast behind us?!"
Under Xuan Qiu's strenuous resistance against the internal intrusion, a powerful wave of energy also erupted from his coordinates, pushing March 7th back just as she was trying to regain her footing.
Stelle's internal energy was incredibly chaotic, looking like it could explode at any moment. At this critical point, Welt suddenly materialized, striking at the weakest point of the roiling energy field with his cane, directly causing the chaotic forces to dissipate.
"Uncle Yang, is she alright?" March 7th asked, catching Stelle as the girl collapsed.
"She's fine, but the real trouble is over here," Welt replied, his gaze shifting toward Xuan Qiu as the vigilance on his face grew stronger.
"Isn't that Boss Xuan Qiu? Uncle Yang, what's wrong with him?" March 7th naturally recognized him from the offline tournament. Although she was curious about his sudden presence on the station, his current situation was far more urgent.
"He seems to be fighting against a foreign power. I sense a violent conflict of two completely different energies within his body..."
No sooner had Welt finished speaking than the surging, destructive power transformed into a golden orb of light, violently breaking free and flying out of Xuan Qiu's body.
Xuan Qiu finally calmed down, his breathing ragged, but this sudden internal ambush made him furious. Even though his mind hadn't fully recovered from the strain, he forced himself up, wanting nothing more than to smash this lingering power of Phantylia.
"What a pity," Phantylia's voice echoed from an unknown source, ringing clearly in everyone's ears. "I hadn't intended to expose my presence so early in the script. I truly didn't expect that you would happen upon the exact microsecond that esteemed adult cast his glance."
"This aura... it's a Lord Ravager!" Welt and Himeko frowned, immediately stepping forward to shield the three young pioneers behind them.
Yanqing also firmly took up a defensive stance in front of Xuan Qiu.
Alert, alert! Emanator-level energy fluctuations detected. All personnel, please seek immediate shelter. Alert, alert...
The space station's automated alarms blared in perfect synchronization with the threat.
As Phantylia spoke, the floating orb of light began to warp, slowly transforming from a golden sphere into a massive, pitch-black cocoon.
"Heh heh, I didn't expect such a glorious specimen hidden among the creatures you designed to champion peace. Xuan Qiu, why not join the ranks of the Wounded God alongside me?" the voice purred from within the darkness.
"You want to poach me?" Xuan Qiu gasped for breath, wiping the sweat from his brow. He hadn't fully recovered from the intense pain, but he refused to back down an inch. "Then you'll have to ask the God of Fun if he agrees to release my contract."
He watched the black cocoon warily. Others might be blind to its nature, but how could the creator not recognize it?
It was the Cocoon of Destruction. The corresponding entity was a legendary sovereign born exclusively for cataclysm—the Destruction Pokémon, Yveltal.
"Truly regrettable," Phantylia sighed. "Then I can only use this power granted by the Wounded God to bury your profile here! After all, your existence causes far too much trouble for my long-range plans."
The Cocoon of Destruction slowly unfurled. Its massive wings and tail spread out like three giant, clutching hands. Its crimson body was adorned with stark black patterns, radiating a terrifying aura that instinctively struck fear into the hearts of the Express crew.
"Caw!"
Yveltal let out a piercing shriek—a strange, unnatural sound that hummed like a bird's cry yet carried the weight of an apocalyptic roar.
A heavy circle of dark energy rapidly expanded outward from its wings. The powerful destructive forces instantly eroded the outer walls of the platform, causing the reinforced metal to gradually decay, rust, and crumble into dust. Enveloped by this dark field, the Express crew and Yanqing felt their life force rapidly draining away, their limbs stiffening as a slow petrification began to creep up their bodies.
Xuan Qiu immediately mobilized his remaining baseline energy.
"Come forth! Xerneas!"
A magnificent, deer-like creature materialized in a flash of brilliant light. Eight branch-like antlers crowned its head, each ending in glowing, multi-colored chalcedony tips. It overflowed with pure, unadulterated life energy—the Life Pokémon, Xerneas.
"Whoosh!"
Xerneas let out a long, resonant cry, fully activating its Life Field to directly block and neutralize Yveltal's Dark Aura.
The crushing weight lifted, and everyone slowly recovered their strength.
"What was that just now? It was terrifying; I honestly thought my data was about to get wiped," March 7th wheezed, rubbing her arms. Stelle, resting in her embrace, quickly healed under Xerneas's soothing light and opened her eyes.
"What happened? I felt so uncomfortable just now..."
"I'm afraid we can only ask Mr. Xuan Qiu to balance the ledger for us," Welt said, his serious gaze shifting from Xerneas to Xuan Qiu.
"Everyone, Nanook cast a glance at your companion just now," Xuan Qiu explained openly, pointing toward the sky. "Because I carried an invisible tracking aura left behind by a certain Lord Ravager, I was incidentally caught in the splash radius. Nanook's raw power forced that hidden aura to manifest, preventing her from continuing to hide in the shadows."
"The initial commotion was her attempting to breach my mind to control me, but my defenses blocked the hack. However, perhaps due to the mutual attraction of the Destruction path, she managed to glimpse the specific Pokémon most compatible with her philosophy from my design files—Yveltal."
Xuan Qiu pointed toward the massive black-and-red, Y-shaped titan hovering above the terminal.
"It is a legendary sovereign I designed for a later version of the game. Yveltal, the Destruction Pokémon. Its very existence is engineered for cataclysm; it indiscriminately destroys the environment around it and absorbs the life energy of all living things."
"Ah, why would Boss design such a terrifying monster in the first place..." March 7th murmured, a hint of playful blame in her voice.
"March, you mustn't be rude," Welt corrected gently. "So-called destruction is merely a type of power itself, not inherently an evil thing. Sometimes, the destruction of the old is exactly what brings forth new life and hope. I believe Mr. Xuan Qiu created this template based on a similar philosophy."
Welt judged a person by their actions, not their raw tools. Seeing Xuan Qiu's protectiveness over his creations and the bright spirit woven into the game, the veteran archivist was certain the developer wouldn't fall into the faction of ruin.
"As expected of one of my Elite Four," Xuan Qiu smiled, feeling a wave of professional appreciation. "You truly understand the core design docs."
"Xuan Qiu! You... when did your office compile such a magnificent dragon design without telling me?!"
Suddenly, a loud voice shattered the tension. Stephen's digital avatar materialized right beside Xuan Qiu, enhanced by high-end holographic projections. The boy genius leaped up, entirely ignoring the apocalyptic sovereign hovering outside the glass, and grabbed Xuan Qiu's collar to shake him frantically.
Xuan Qiu stood completely speechless. My friend, can your eyes not parse the current environment? Is this honestly the correct time to argue over a sneak peek?
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