Hiding in the burrow, Dianna was torn.
What was certain now was that Yveltal was still outside keeping watch.
More precisely… it was probably venting its rage.
Even down underground, she could still hear trees collapsing one after another above them.
Elias had been snatched away right in front of it—given that Pokémon's temperament, it had to be furious enough to explode.
Luckily, this tunnel had been dug deep enough.
No matter how strong Yveltal was, as a Flying-type Pokémon it couldn't possibly chase them down here.
What troubled Dianna even more now was where she should take Elias.
Once her emotions settled, she thought it through calmly.
"Come back to the Undergroud Kingdom with me."
She lifted her head and looked at Delphox as she spoke.
She'd seen this fox before too, back when she came to visit Elias and Diancie.
Hearing that, Delphox's face showed a trace of hesitation.
It wasn't that she disliked Dianna and wanted to refuse.
It was mainly…
In a place like the Underground Kingdom, where supplies were scarce, did they really have any way to save her Trainer?
Watching Elias's color gradually dim, Delphox couldn't help worrying about that.
Seeming to guess what she was thinking, Dianna narrowed her eyes and continued.
"Our territory has stockpiled quite a bit of medical equipment from the human world."
"And besides… how many good things do you think Cogita's place can have?"
Dianna's voice returned to its usual authority.
But in truth, the reason she wanted to bring Elias back to their territory was because she was afraid of Diancie seeing him like this.
She knew that successor of hers all too well.
If she saw Elias hurt, she might even faint from the shock.
Hearing Dianna's reasoning, Delphox looked like she wanted to say more.
But after parting her lips, she ultimately didn't argue again.
She was afraid of wasting time on a pointless quarrel.
...
[With Delphox's reluctant concession, Dianna quickly took you to the Underground Kingdom.]
...
Along the way, even as a Ghost Form, Elias's consciousness never fully sank into darkness.
He still had the most basic sense of the outside world.
But his control over his own body right now was nearly zero.
His whole body felt limp and weak—moving even a finger was unbearably difficult.
And most importantly… Yveltal's power was still crashing through him, consuming what little Life Energy he had left.
...
"Cogita, I'm going out!"
Night had fallen completely. Diancie stood at the entryway, glaring fiercely at Cogita, who was blocking the door.
It had been a long time since Elias left.
Now the sky was already dark, yet there was still no sign of him.
Not even a single message had come back.
Everything pointed to one thing: he'd probably run into trouble.
Diancie was frantic, her face full of panic.
And yet, despite that, Cogita was standing in the doorway, refusing to let her go out to look for Elias.
Across from her, seeing Diancie gritting her teeth like that, Cogita had no mind to argue.
Elias was missing—she'd panicked long ago, too.
It was only out of trust in his abilities, and because she didn't want to rush out and make things worse, that she'd forced herself to stay inside.
She pressed her lips together and said coldly, "If Elias ran into trouble that even Enamorus and Delphox couldn't solve, do you think you going would help?"
"And besides… if Elias comes back afterward, wouldn't he have to go out again to find you?"
Cogita looked at Diancie and fired off two questions in a row.
She completely understood how Diancie felt, but she also knew panic was meaningless at a time like this.
Sure enough, after hearing her, Diancie unconsciously took two steps back.
Sometimes she really was pretty dumb—but she also knew Cogita was right.
But…
The moment she thought about Elias possibly being in danger, she couldn't maintain even the most basic calm.
"When it's morning, I'll go with you to search," Cogita said, pressing while she had the opening.
This time, even though she was still reluctant, Diancie compromised and nodded.
Then, as if all her strength had been drained, she slumped against the wall to the side and lifted a hand to her forehead.
She regretted not going with him.
If she had, then when danger came, at least she could've been by his side.
But now… all she could do was stay here with Cogita, staring blankly at the walls.
And she wasn't the only one with regrets.
Cogita was blaming herself too—she shouldn't have been so careless, shouldn't have let Elias leave the cottage.
At worst, dinner could've been simpler. They didn't need mushroom dishes and all that…
All she could hope was that he hadn't run into a Pokémon on Yveltal's level, and had only been delayed by something on the way.
...
[For Cogita and Diancie, this was without a doubt the most unbearable night.]
[The heavy rain that gradually began to fall outside the window left both of their hearts turning cold as well.]
[At the same time, Dianna stayed busy for the entire night.]
...
"Haa…"
Dianna sat on a stone chair and let out a long breath.
At last—after a whole night—Elias's injuries had gradually stabilized.
But strictly speaking…
That didn't have much to do with her.
All she'd done was invite every healing-specialized Pokémon nearby over.
Yet without exception, even Pokémon like Chansey were helpless against Elias's condition.
They couldn't even slow it down by the slightest degree.
Fortunately, just as she was about to sink into despair, the pace at which Elias was fading began to ease on its own.
He was still slowly losing life force, but to Dianna, being able to protect him for the moment was already enough to feel grateful for.
"Elias… is he okay now?"
Delphox glanced at Elias and asked, still half in doubt.
Not long ago, she'd nearly come to blows with Dianna.
"Mm. For now, he's okay."
Dianna rubbed her tired eyes and spoke slowly.
She didn't have any other options left.
But at the rate his life force was draining now, he shouldn't be in immediate danger.
Hearing that, Delphox finally let out a breath of relief.
Just then, Elias—who had been unconscious for a while—had his tightly shut eyelids twitch twice.
It looked like a sign he was about to wake.
Seeing that, Dianna and Delphox hurriedly leaned in, watery eyes full of concern.
"Mmh…"
Elias let out a muffled groan and slowly opened his eyes.
The light wasn't harsh, and the room felt familiar.
Elias froze for two seconds, momentarily unable to process the change in front of him.