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Now—
With Xerneas newly awakened from its long slumber and its body in an extremely weakened state—
This was the best opportunity to defeat it and eliminate the threat once and for all.
Moreover, Kael had already made a vow before Gaia's will, witnessed in the final moments of Tapu Koko.
He had promised to save this world.
By emotion.
By reason.
He could not retreat.
Only now did he completely halt his backward motion and begin seriously evaluating the feasibility of battle.
Previously, if the gap in strength had been too vast, charging forward would have been nothing more than suicide.
But now—
The situation was different.
Xerneas had only just awakened.
Its body was in terrible condition.
After releasing that enormous wave of life energy, its reserves were nearly depleted.
Physically—
This might have been the weakest it had ever been in countless ages.
Mentally—
Its consciousness had collapsed.
Every movement was driven by the Nightmare Seeds' insatiable greed.
Rational thought was gone.
Even if fragments of instinct remained, it was no longer the composed guardian of nature.
It was a beast.
Unstable.
Chaotic.
In both body and mind, Xerneas had reached its lowest state in history.
The battle would still be difficult.
But for the first time—
Kael saw a sliver of hope.
And he was no ordinary Machamp.
Human experimentation.
Training and research within Ignis City.
Gaia's blessing.
The system's attributes and equipment.
All of it had elevated him far beyond others of his species.
He might not rival a true Legendary.
But his base potential—
His very existence—
Had likely reached pseudo-legendary levels.
Perhaps…
Just perhaps—
He could contend with this corrupted god of life.
A spark of excitement ignited in his crimson eyes.
He had never feared battle against those close to his level.
He relished it.
"SKREEE—!!!"
A sharp, hollow cry tore through the forest.
Violence and madness filled the air.
Xerneas lowered its head and unleashed another surge of emerald life energy.
The thick, liquid-like wave crashed over Kael's dark skin.
It did nothing.
With Zamazenta's Heart granting damage immunity against life-based corruption, he was unaffected.
He clenched his fist, battle intent surging—
But suddenly—
CRASH! CRACK!
The forest roared.
The twisted gray-black branches around him writhed violently.
They moved.
Like tentacles.
They lashed toward him from every direction.
Even corrupted, Xerneas remained a top-tier Legendary of nature.
Within a forest—
It still commanded terrifying authority.
Kael's heart tightened, but he did not panic.
His fingers aligned.
His fists straightened into blades.
Four arms crossed before him.
"Dual Chop!"
Dragon-type energy erupted along his arms, forming sharp violet-blue edges.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
The air screamed as it was torn apart.
Blade shadows filled the space before him.
The oncoming thorns were shredded instantly, reduced to flying splinters, With four arms, his attack frequency was absurdly high.
Maintaining a sealed defensive zone with Dragon-infused slashes was effortless.
But even so—
He did not relax.
There were too many thorns.
It felt as if the entire Sandalwood Forest had transformed into a living weapon under Xerneas' control.
The assault was endless.
"This can't continue."
His stamina was more than sufficient.
He could defend like this for an entire day.
But defense alone would not win the battle.
He needed initiative.
He needed control of the tempo.
"Shield Form?"
He considered activating Zamazenta's power.
"…Not yet."
He did not know the true gap between them.
If he activated Shield Form prematurely and failed to finish the battle within thirty minutes—
The backlash afterward could cost him everything.
And for now—
Xerneas had not displayed overwhelming, instant-kill dominance.
There was still room to test.
He would probe first.
Understand his opponent.
Then—
Strike decisively.
His slashing speed increased dramatically.
Violet light surged.
The surrounding thorns were cleared in a burst.
In that instant—
He reversed his palms outward and thrust forward.
"HUM—!"
A radiant blue Aura barrier manifested instantly around him.
It expanded outward.
This was an advanced Aura application.
Condensed energy formed into a defensive dome.
After evolution, his Aura had grown stronger and more refined.
The barrier's durability far surpassed its previous iterations.
CRACKLE—!
Thorns slammed against the glowing shield.
They bounced off.
Unable to penetrate.
And the moment the barrier stabilized—
Kael moved.
His legs coiled.
Exploded.
BOOM!
The ground shattered beneath him.
His massive body launched forward like a missile.
A streak of dark violet cutting through the forest.
"Close combat."
If he could drag Xerneas into his domain—
Into his rhythm—
He would seize control of the entire battle.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
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