The silence didn't last long.
As if recalling something, Mu Xue replied slowly and calmly,
"Those fragments were originally a statue? I thought they were just ordinary broken stones."
The cold female voice on the other end responded,
"After analysis and reconstruction by the investigation team, the statue's original form has already been restored. If you want, I can send you the images."
"Sure," Mu Xue said. "I'm curious what kind of Pokémon was important enough to be enshrined in that ruin."
"My questions are finished. I'll send the images shortly."
Mu Xue suddenly spoke again.
"Wait. You've asked me so many questions—now I have one for you."
There was a brief pause.
"…Go ahead."
"I've only been a Four Heavenly King for less than four years, and I haven't explored many ruins," Mu Xue said seriously.
"But this time, the murals depicted three Pokémon whose power looked capable of destroying heaven and earth. Have similar murals appeared in other ruins before?"
The cold voice answered without emotion, as if reading a report.
"You are qualified to know this. In fact, several decades ago, humanity discovered similar murals in another ruin. The Pokémon depicted there could tear the sky apart with a single gesture."
"However, because the impact was too great, the information was never made public. It was circulated only among the highest levels of various nations."
"As more ruins were discovered, knowledge of these murals inevitably spread. After multiple discussions, the classification level of this information was lowered."
"Strictly speaking, with your status, you should have known this already. It's just that you're too lazy—rarely accepting missions—so you never encountered this information."
Mu Xue's face darkened.
"So what you're saying is… among the Four Heavenly Kings, I'm the only one who didn't know?"
"You could say that."
Mu Xue took a deep breath.
"Then what is the Alliance's stance toward these Pokémon depicted in the murals?"
The reply came immediately.
"For many years now, the Alliance has been preparing for the possible arrival of these unknown Pokémon."
"In the ruins, humans worshipped them as gods. Therefore, the Alliance has collectively classified them as Legendary Beasts."
"But even if they are Legendary Beasts—if they descend upon this world with hostility toward humanity, we are fully prepared to go to war."
Among Pokémon researchers, Pokémon were classified much like animals:
Gardevoir was the Embrace Pokémon,
Venusaur the Seed Pokémon,
Aggron the Iron Armor Pokémon.
As for those never personally witnessed by humanity—existing only in murals, yet possessing power capable of annihilating the world—top researchers across nations had collectively given them a single title:
Legendary Beasts.
"I understand," Mu Xue said softly, letting out a long breath.
At that moment, she felt as if an enormous weight had settled on her shoulders.
Humanity's future will be full of hardship…
And I will stand at the front, cutting through it.
"You don't need to feel so burdened," the voice added.
"The Secret Realms have existed for a hundred years, and these beings have never appeared. Perhaps they won't appear for decades more."
"By then, humanity may already have the means to face them."
"…I hope so."
Long ago, the humans who built that ruin possessed three drops of divine blood, representing Wind, Thunder, and Earth.
Wind and Thunder were used to nourish the land, making it fertile.
Earth was used to lock that power in place, preventing the energy from dispersing.
Out of reverence for Landorus, they never used the Earth-aligned blood.
As time passed, the Wind and Thunder energy in the land was exhausted, and the remaining drop of Landorus's blood gradually lost its activity.
If that drop's original function was to seal and regulate wind and thunder, then activating it would require—
Oliver's eyes suddenly lit up.
Wind and Thunder.
If he used wind-type and electric-type energy to stimulate the blood, would it instinctively react—begin absorbing those energies and restoring its activity?
And now, that drop of blood was inside Garchomp.
Which meant that to stimulate it…
Garchomp would have to be exposed to both wind and lightning.
Oliver slowly raised his head and looked toward Garchomp, who was still enthusiastically attacking training targets nearby.
There was a trace of pity in Oliver's eyes.
If nothing went wrong, Garchomp's future days… were going to be rough.
Garchomp suddenly felt a chill run down its spine.
It stopped mid-attack and turned its head.
Their eyes met.
From Oliver's gaze, Garchomp clearly sensed dense malicious intent.
A very bad feeling instantly welled up in its heart.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/SwipeSage