Whoosh!
Two dark figures appeared in front of Cain: Darkrai and Gengar.
Behind them, Mega Aggron kept his eyes fixed on the beam that was drawing closer. His hands did not stop picking up diamonds from the ground and, without the slightest hesitation, stuffing them into his mouth, crushing them savagely, as if they were not diamonds at all, but merely simple beans.
The metal on his body was regenerating at an extremely fast speed. Seeing that the attack of Oblivion Wing was just about to reach Cain, Mega Aggron released a large amount of electric current. Thanks to the move Magnet Rise, his body became lighter, he took a step, and charged swiftly toward Cain's position.
At the same time, Mega Tyranitar also moved, rushing toward the place where Cain was, just like Mega Aggron.
Mega Tyranitar, Mega Aggron, Darkrai, and Gengar constituted Cain's final line of defense at that moment.
But a new anomaly occurred. Just before the four Pokémon could finish preparing themselves for defense, and just before the beam of Oblivion Wing reached its target, the entire aerial fortress suddenly shook violently. A massive fragment of wall appeared in front of Cain and the others, cutting directly across the trajectory of the beam.
Magearna!
Inside the control room, although Magearna still had her eyes closed, she could perfectly feel everything that was happening outside.
And when she had finally managed to receive a portion of the divinity, she immediately used all the power she could mobilize to help with the defense.
However, Magearna's current strength was still insufficient, and her divinity still had not fused completely, so the blocking power she could provide remained limited.
The beam pierced straight through the wall's defense!
Ting!
Then, a deer-shaped Pokémon of dazzling and resplendent colors gently set its hooves down upon the metallic shell of the fortress, producing a crystalline sound.
"Xeaarrnss!"
It was Xerneas, who had arrived from the far reaches of the Kalos region!
From its body, Xerneas released rays of green or multicolored energy that spread out and affected everything around it. Then, from its iridescent antlers, it fired a seven-colored beam that intercepted the trajectory of Yveltal's Oblivion Wing with absolute precision.
The instant the attack of Oblivion Wing came into contact with Xerneas's beam, it vanished immediately and disappeared.
As though that attack, which had looked so ferocious, had been nothing more than an ordinary ray of light.
When Yveltal saw Xerneas appear, the expression that until then had been cold and completely impassive instantly turned fierce.
"Yveeltt!"
"Xeaarrnss!"
At first glance, those two Pokémon seemed to represent absolute extremes. One radiated a terrifying ferocity, while the other transmitted an infinite calm, without the slightest hint of aggression.
And yet, from the way the ferocious Pokémon reacted, it was obvious that its wariness toward the peaceful Pokémon was far greater than the latter's wariness toward it, creating a strange sense of contrast.
"Yveltal, the time for your appearance has not yet arrived."
"The life energy has expanded too far, forcing me to awaken from the Cocoon of Destruction. That is my mission: to eliminate the excess life in this world and return everything to balance."
"You know perfectly well what this life energy represents. It does not fall within the scope of your responsibilities."
"A variable. Within the time that we calculated and distributed, such a variable should not exist. This is... surplus life energy."
"... The descent of a Legendary Pokémon is not something in which you should interfere, Yveltal. Return. No matter how the variable changes, the agreement still stands. And you know perfectly well that, as long as I am here, you will not succeed today."
"..."
The two Pokémon were communicating by means of psychic power. And in the end, Yveltal remained staring fixedly at Xerneas for a long time.
But in the end, it was the one who yielded.
After all, according to the agreement between the two of them, the proper moment still had not arrived. This was still Xerneas's time, and during this period its strength was clearly superior to Yveltal's.
Yveltal had been awakened by force, and its power had only recovered to somewhere between seventy and eighty percent. It was precisely for that reason that Cain's Pokémon had been able to block its attacks up until now.
In the end, it cast one final glance, full of deep unwillingness, toward the aerial fortress before turning around and flying off into the distance.
Only after seeing Yveltal leave did Cain let out a long sigh of relief.
Then he turned his gaze back toward Xerneas. This was not the first time he had dealt with this Legendary Pokémon. Diancie's successful appearance had had a great deal to do with it, and even Diancie's Mega Stone had originated from one of the small antlers that Xerneas had shed from its crown.
Xerneas also turned its gaze toward Cain. The colors of its antlers shifted without cease, and because of Xerneas's own height, it looked down at Cain from above.
"Variable..."
The voice appeared suddenly inside Cain's mind. It was impossible to tell whether it was a male voice or a female one.
There was no need to think much to know who had spoken.
But before Cain could respond, Xerneas gave a leap and descended from the top of the aerial fortress directly into the control room, appearing in front of Magearna.
Cain was startled, and, recalling his Pokémon in an instant, used Teleport once again to appear back inside the control room.
There, he saw Xerneas releasing a gentle multicolored energy from its antlers, completely enveloping Magearna.
After that, he was able to clearly perceive how Magearna's body was becoming more and more serene, while the aura exclusive to true Legendary Pokémon surrounding her gradually stabilized little by little.
Legendary Pokémon!
That would, from now on, be the title that accompanied Magearna's name!
(End of Chapter)