Even though Reshiram and Zekrom had agreed that this battle would be a mere show without using their full strength, Reshiram unexpectedly took the initiative to unleash her exclusive skill.
To Zekrom, this was undoubtedly a treacherous act that lacked any sense of martial honor!
It clearly hadn't expected Reshiram to use that move, and its body visibly faltered.
The result was a direct collision with Reshiram's Fusion Flare, forcing Zekrom to take the full brunt of the damage...
The surging heatwave made Damon feel for a moment as if he were being scorched by the fires of hell.
He thought this was his end, but fortunately, Zekrom protected him well.
In the end, he only paid the price of having his robe slightly singed, though Zekrom looked quite disheveled.
To the people on the ground, what they saw at that moment... was two suns hanging in the sky!
Someone shouted out, and the rest immediately began to pray piously toward this miracle as if witnessing a divine manifestation.
The sun has always been humanity's most primitive totem of faith, and they naturally accepted Reshiram as a god-like existence.
Pity that Zekrom, also a legendary dragon, became nothing more than a background prop for the people's worship.
Although an attack of this level wasn't enough to cause permanent damage, Zekrom still cursed in its heart:
You son of a bitch, didn't we say we wouldn't use our full power? Why did you use our killing blow!? This is just bullying an honest dragon!
Fusion Bolt and Fusion Flare were the unique skills of Zekrom and Reshiram, respectively.
Since they had agreed to stop at a certain point, they had a tacit understanding not to use them first.
However, Lorze had commanded to this extent, and Reshiram could hardly disobey, could she?
Zekrom gnashed its teeth in a fit of rage, no longer listening to Damon's commands.
Its turbine tail lit up with a blue plasma light, retaliating against Reshiram with a Fusion Bolt of its own!
Of course, this didn't mean Zekrom was exhausting all its power.
Just as Reshiram's Fusion Flare earlier wasn't a truly maximum-output strike, neither of them would cross that red line today.
They were simply going "full throttle" within certain limits, perhaps carrying a bit of a personal grudge.
"Oh my, it seems we played a bit too hard..."
Lorze obviously recognized Zekrom's Fusion Bolt.
He didn't think Damon was capable of calling out that name; it was more likely Zekrom had been beaten into a frenzy by him and Reshiram...
Reshiram also activated her Overdrive Mode.
Her massive turbine tail lit up red like an overloaded engine, even spraying flames to provide propulsion.
Zekrom was not to be outdone; in terms of both speed and power, the intensity of their confrontation was clearly a level higher than before!
At times, the speed of the Black and White dragons was so fast that only red and blue afterimages remained.
The battle had truly entered a white-hot phase.
The residents of Eindoak Town were completely swept up in the emotion, anxiously wondering how the battle would end...
As a mere mortal, Damon clearly could not intervene in the battle between the twin dragons, just as Janta had said.
But even though Zekrom had exploded with such power, it was still being steadily suppressed by Reshiram?
Could it be... that guy Lorze!?
Damon, finally realizing it was a gap in commanding ability, seemed to lose the light in his eyes.
He knew he had been utterly defeated; his heart was now as cold as dead ashes.
"Big Sister, you must be tired too, right? I think Damon has recognized the gap between us. Let's give them the final blow, shall we?
Victini and I... will assist you!"
Reshiram was panting heavily. Although she wanted a quick victory, the strength between the two dragons was very close after all.
Lorze's command allowed her to maintain the upper hand, but to directly defeat Zekrom...
However, Reshiram was willing to trust Lorze.
She simply let out a smiling "Mmh" and took a stance to condense the remaining energy in her body.
This strike... would be her everything!
"Little Sister Victini, let's help Big Sister Reshiram together, okay?"
"Vini❤!" Victini nodded firmly with a happy face. She was willing to fight for Lorze and Reshiram!
On the other side, Zekrom saw that Reshiram had taken a stance for a final decider.
It confronted her and began charging its own ultimate move: It's just a beam struggle, who's afraid of who!
But while Zekrom was fighting a lonely battle, Lorze, as a psychic, injected all of his power into Reshiram.
Victini also held her breath and extended her claws, her long V-shaped ears glowing with a fiery red light.
She was transferring her power—the power that brings victory—into Reshiram!
In fact, Victini's ability to create victory can be manifested not only by herself but also by passing this energy and the conviction of certain victory to others, increasing their strength geometrically.
Thinking about it now, perhaps this was... a "Helping Hand" skill plus version?
Having received help from her partner and the Victory Star, Reshiram felt herself refilled with power.
In this state, she had no reason to lose to Zekrom!
"Vrrr—!" "Roar!"
Reshiram and Zekrom roared simultaneously, releasing their strongest strikes at their opponent!
Zekrom had originally expected a balanced beam struggle.
When the contrast in the momentum of the skills appeared, it smiled in relief:
Reshiram's Fusion Flare was five or even four times more powerful than its Fusion Bolt. How the fuck was it supposed to play this?
Of course, there was another saying—since ancient times, in a beam struggle... the one on the left loses!
Regardless, the Fusion Flare悍然 (brazenly) crushed the Fusion Bolt with a posture that could swallow the heavens, striking Zekrom directly—BOOM!
With a burst of brilliant fireworks in the sky above Eindoak Town, Zekrom and Damon plummeted toward the ground together.
Everything seemed finally settled.
Those people who had been waiting with bated breath finally got the answer they wanted, whether it satisfied them or not.
In the end, the Black and White dragons fighting intensely in the sky did not cause any substantial damage to the buildings of Eindoak Town, nor was anyone injured.
This point was what surprised everyone the most.
Reshiram and Zekrom had essentially performed an aerial show and a fireworks display for the residents.
The intensity of this battle didn't even reach a single toe of the Great War a thousand years ago, let alone destroying the world.
Of course, anyone could see that the White Dragon suppressed the Black Dragon throughout the fight.
The strength of the twin dragons is similar; the only reason for such a result was the commander.
As for the "Helping Hand" Victini used at the end, it was nothing more than finishing the sauce over a high flame for a predetermined result.
Even if the fight continued, the winner would only ever be Lorze.
This battle was a victory for Lorze and Reshiram—a victory for the Hero of Truth.
Damon's wish wasn't even an "ideal"; it was purely an unrealistic fantasy.
How could such an "ideal" withstand the test of cruel truth?
Damon lost completely.
Those People of the Vale who had gathered in Eindoak Town because of promises or delusions knew that it was time to wake up from their dream...
The Black and White dragons fought a battle that wasn't really a battle above Eindoak Town.
No one expected the situation to be so one-sided: This Zekrom fought way too ugly.
The result was that Zekrom, driven by Damon, was double-teamed by the husband-and-wife trio of Lorze, Reshiram, and Victini.
It was kicked to death like a stray dog on the side of the road and then suffered a glorious crash: Mamba out!
However, as Damon and Zekrom were falling together, he finally saw the images shared by Victini—
images containing extremely important information that arrived far too late.
In his blurred vision, the dying old King earnestly told Victini that the Sword of the Vale must never be moved again, or the world would face a crisis.
After entrusting Victini to guard the Sword of the Vale, he used his last bit of strength to set up the barrier and then passed away.
In other words, no one knew about this except Victini.
Yet, it was exactly what Lorze had said yesterday.
Damon's pupils shook uncontrollably. He was in shock from learning the truth.
"How can this be..."
This way, it made sense why only Lorze, who was close to Victini, could know this.
Yet he had scoffed at Lorze's earnest persuasion and even slandered it as a conspiracy theory.
In the end, he was the only clown...
If he had seen these images yesterday, would today's completely defeated "Great War" have even happened?
It was... truly a disgrace.
As he fell with Zekrom, it felt as if time had slowed down.
Although in immense pain and sorrow, Damon understood that he was utterly wrong.
This actually brought him some relief, so he calmly accepted the outcome of his defeat.
"It really was as Mr. Lorze said... What... what have I done... and the Village of the Vale... I'm sorry, Mom. I failed..."
At the same time, the self-abandoning Damon felt a bit lucky:
Fortunately, the Hero of Truth defeated me. Otherwise, it would have led to a catastrophe, and by then, even regret would be too late.
It's just that... falling to the ground at this speed, he would probably die, right?
But dying like this seemed okay too; he wouldn't have to worry about the aftermath.
He felt he truly had no face to meet the people who held expectations for him.
"Big Sister!" "Understood!"
Damon closed his eyes calmly, but the expected impact did not come.
Instead, he felt his wrist grabbed by an arm, and then his butt sat on something furry and warm.
It turned out Lorze, riding Reshiram, had caught Damon.
But they didn't care about Zekrom—because Reshiram and Lorze both agreed that it wouldn't die from a fall.
Otherwise, it would be too much of a loss of face for a Legendary Pokémon.
"Boom!"
Zekrom, crashing into the ground and kicking up a sky full of dust, let out a roar: Nüwa, witness me! (Meme translation: Witness my peanut/rebirth!)
"Why..."
Sitting on Reshiram's back, Damon murmured in a daze, but Lorze wasn't sure which "why" he was referring to.
"It's all over, Mr. Damon. There is no meaning in fighting further. I do not wish to see pointless sacrifices either."
Damon looked at the youth in the cloak with a sense of loss.
He still couldn't hear much emotional fluctuation in Lorze's voice.
Is this guy just a machine that precisely executes actions?
Of course not, but Lorze's emotions were mostly reserved for his wives and their sexual encounters.
How wanton he was when making love with his wives was how calm he was when on a mission.
"Your Excellency Lorze... I..."
The one who stopped him was Lorze, and the one who saved him was also Lorze.
Should he say it was a trick of fate?
Damon's heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions. Various surging feelings hit him, shattering his riddled mental defenses in an instant.
Damon began to cry like a child. Although he used his long sleeves to cover his face, the fabric was soon soaked.
Though men don't cry easily, Lorze said nothing more in this situation.
He could empathize with Damon to some extent.
Damon wasn't a purely bad person after all; he was just an idealist who had taken the wrong path.
Moreover, the burden pressing on him for so long was too heavy.
The gazes full of expectation, the concerns as the Hero of Ideals, the internal self-strife—the fact that all of this combined hadn't driven him mad already made him quite the figure.
As for the Village of the Vale... one can only say that those on different paths cannot make plans together.
Reshiram flapped her massive wings and flew at a distance not far above the people's heads.
Wherever she passed, she first blocked out the sky and sunlight for the people, and second, she brought an incomparably scorching air current, giving those who lacked reverence and tried to approach a small lesson.
The only human who could be close to her was Lorze.
Eventually, the White Dragon landed in front of Janta's small shop.
This was Lorze's request. He hoped that at this time, Damon and his family could reunite.
Surely his relatives could give him some modicum of comfort, so he delivered him to Janta and Carlita.
"Carlita... and Mom..."
Damon had barely managed to stop his tears with forced strength, but seeing his closest sister and mother, he couldn't hold his fragile defenses.
His tears began to fall uncontrollably again.
"Brother!"
The emotional sister was also weeping just like Damon, proactively stepping forward to support her brother.
The mother on the side expressed her gratitude to Lorze with eyes full of thanks, grateful that the battle between the two heroes didn't end in death.
She did hope for the restoration of the Village of the Vale, but to trade her son's life for it, as a mother, she was certainly unwilling.
Regardless... as long as the people were still there, it was fine. As long as people are there, there is still hope.
"I'll leave Mr. Damon to you two. I think the matter regarding the Village of the Vale and the Sword of the Vale isn't completely over yet.
So, I will stay here for a while. I hope Mr. Damon can adjust back as soon as possible. We can have a proper talk then."
"I understand. Still... thank you, Hero of Truth."
Regardless, the battle between Reshiram and Zekrom was also a collision between the Hero of Truth and the Hero of Ideals.
This time, it concluded with Truth triumphing over Ideals.