Just as Auron Vale and the group launched their attack, Deoxys had quietly switched to its Speed Forme—and without anyone noticing, slipped over and destroyed the energy barrier machine beside the Mystery Zone exit.
That was why Deoxys was able to use Teleport.
After bringing Auron Vale and the others out of the battlefield, Deoxys let out a breath.
Carrying that many people and Pokémon at once—it had cost a considerable amount of mental energy and stamina.
Even Deoxys had nearly been pushed past its limits.
"You okay, Deoxys?"
Deoxys shook its head lightly, signaling it was fine.
With that, Deoxys immediately used Recover to restore some of its stamina.
A streak of starlight flashed, and Deoxys returned to its original form.
Seeing that Deoxys was genuinely fine, Auron Vale and the others finally turned their attention back to where the battle had been.
Because Auron Vale's group had vanished so suddenly, Ono Saburo and the young man had both shifted their full fury onto the purple-robed middle-aged man's squad.
The purple-robed middle-aged man showed no fear— he led his men straight into the clash.
And just like that, the two sides were locked in combat, while Auron Vale—the one who'd started the whole situation—had become a spectator.
Watching the two sides fight, Fugui tugged at Auron Vale's sleeve. "Let's go, Master. If they spot us, we're done."
Auron Vale nodded, then recalled all the Pokémon. The group gathered together.
Auron Vale gave Deoxys a look, and Deoxys Teleported them all directly to the Mystery Zone exit.
This had all been part of the plan. If anything went wrong, the first step was to destroy the energy barrier machine.
Then they'd wait for an opening and have Deoxys Teleport them straight to the exit and out.
And Deoxys had come through—executing the plan flawlessly.
The only hiccup had been Auron Vale getting ambushed, but aside from that, everything had gone according to plan.
Deoxys could comfortably Teleport all seven of them at once.
But in that chaotic moment, there had been over a dozen Pokémon on top of Auron Vale's group.
There'd been no time to recall them into their Poké Balls.
So Deoxys had been forced to bring all the Pokémon along too—hence the severe strain on its stamina.
Had it been carrying just Auron Vale and the others alone, there would've been no problem at all.
Just like now: after bringing everyone to the Mystery Zone exit, Deoxys showed no sign of exhaustion.
At the exit, Auron Vale glanced back at the two sides locked in their furious battle. A realization slowly took shape in his mind.
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
Auron Vale acknowledged and followed Tang Yunqin out of the Mystery Zone.
Right now, every eye was on the two fighting factions. No one would think to check whether the energy barrier machine had been sabotaged, or that someone had simply Teleported out.
The moment Auron Vale stepped out of the Mystery Zone, his first action wasn't to look for Soren Li—it was to call his grandfather.
"Grandfather, the Silver Feather has appeared in the Black Mystery Zone at Jinshi. There are Church members inside, and a group of people of unknown identity—they appear to be the seller and the buyer of the Silver Feather."
The purple-robed middle-aged man and his subordinates in blue—they weren't wearing the Church's official robes, but the colors alone made it obvious. They were definitely Church operatives.
After all, if Church members were going to operate inside an officially guarded Mystery Zone while wearing their official uniforms, they'd basically be asking to die.
As for the people who'd attacked Auron Vale's group afterward—that wasn't hard to figure out either.
Auron Vale and the Church operatives had drawn everyone's attention, which had allowed Soren Li to slip away unnoticed. Then these people had come to take out their frustration on Auron Vale's group.
That part was easy: who'd be angry at Auron Vale's group for Soren Li's escape, other than the original owners of the Silver Feather?
"The Silver Feather\!?"
"Yes, the Silver Feather. They should still be inside the Black Mystery Zone."
"Hang up and open a video call. Hand the phone to the soldier guarding the Black Mystery Zone exit."
Lu Xing Guo's voice sharpened instantly.
"Understood."
Auron Vale hung up, opened the video call.
Answered instantly.
Auron Vale handed the phone to the soldier standing nearby.
The soldier hesitated for a moment, then took the phone.
On the screen, Auron Vale's grandfather flashed his credentials at the soldier. The soldier immediately snapped to attention and saluted the screen.
"Deploy the troops. Seal the Black Mystery Zone exit—no one enters. Anyone who exits the Mystery Zone, detain them immediately. I'm on my way."
"Yes, sir\!"
The soldier saluted the screen again, then returned the phone to Auron Vale before reaching for his radio to summon his squad.
Within moments, a full company of soldiers had assembled in orderly formation.
After the first soldier briefed the commanding officer on what had just happened, the officer glanced at Auron Vale—then, like the rest of the soldiers, stood at rest beside the exit.
"What's going on?"
"No idea."
"Why are all these soldiers here?"
"Should we ask?"
As the large detachment of soldiers arrived, the onlookers gradually multiplied, voices buzzing with speculation.
"Hey, can we ask what happened?"
Someone from the crowd finally couldn't resist and called out to the nearest soldier.
"Classified."
The soldier gave a single-word reply, then returned to his rigid attention stance.
"So we're not allowed to enter right now?"
"That's correct."
Another curt answer. The crowd didn't press further—there was no point. No amount of asking would get them anywhere.
About twenty minutes later, Auron Vale spotted his grandfather's Salamence and Uncle Zhuge's Talonflame descending from the sky.
"Uncle Zhuge is here too?"
Auron Vale found himself wondering. Was the official side only sending Uncle Zhuge? Why was it always him who showed up for these things?
"Xiao Ze, what happened?"
Lu Xing Guo dismounted from Salamence, then walked straight up to Auron Vale.
Beside him, Zhuge Ziyu hopped down from Talonflame, also looking at Auron Vale with curiosity.
Auron Vale didn't waste words. He laid out everything that had happened inside the Mystery Zone, from start to finish.
When he reached the part about getting ambushed, Lu Xing Guo's brow furrowed.
But seeing Auron Vale standing there in one piece, he let Auron Vale continue without interrupting.
"That's the situation. The identity of those people is my guess—it might not be accurate."
When Auron Vale finished, Lu Xing Guo nodded. Then he turned toward the people who had just emerged from the Mystery Zone over the past twenty minutes.
"Xiao Ze, we meet again."
———
Please give me Power Stones!
Support me on Patreon @ patreon(dot)com/SorenEclipse
Read 15 Chapters Ahead on Patreon!