"White Bone Coral... Worms?"
Akira muttered under his breath, his gaze unconsciously drifting downward.
If he wasn't mistaken, the hollow sensation earlier likely meant the coral had many cavities inside.
Perhaps the so-called White Bone Coral Worms were lurking within.
After waiting quietly for a while and seeing no movement, Akira wasn't in a hurry. He continued forward.
This stretch of White Bone Coral terrain was sizable, but not uniform.
At least Akira could see a large pool of water ahead, though it was hard to make out clearly from this distance.
Still, he suspected such a pool in this place couldn't be ordinary.
As he advanced, Akira remained cautious, avoiding reckless steps that might put him in danger.
Even knowing he couldn't truly die, he wasn't about to take unnecessary risks.
Just as Akira was nearing the pool, movement came from a white stone in a distant corner.
At a glance, it appeared to be an ordinary rock—pure white, blending with the surrounding White Bone Coral terrain.
But upon closer inspection, this rock, roughly human-height, vaguely resembled a beast.
Though somewhat indistinct, the beast's shape was tiger-like, albeit with an oversized head.
The entire body appeared somewhat disproportionate, yet it possessed an eerie beauty.
Suddenly, the tiger's eyes rolled, its previously lifeless gray-white pupils gaining focus as they locked onto Akira in the distance.
In the next instant, the motionless, lifeless stone tiger abruptly leaped, pouncing straight at Akira.
The stone-constructed tiger claws were razor-sharp—a single scratch would disembowel any living creature.
Akira turned his head coldly, showing no trace of panic as he watched the stone tiger lunge toward him, as if he had anticipated the danger all along.
The stone tiger wasn't far, already within the range of his [Flow], so every movement was under his surveillance.
Not only its pounce, but even the earlier eye-rolling motion had been detected.
He simply hadn't startled it, wanting to see what this strange thing intended to do.
After reaching SS- rank, his [Flow] had far surpassed ordinary expectations, allowing him to effortlessly extend it over an expansive area.
With Marshadow's assistance, his [Flow] was also incredibly stealthy—even when enveloping other creatures, they remained unaware.
Since the essence of [Flow] was the outward expansion of Aura in spatial form, any creature caught within would sense being observed.
Now, Akira was like a walking, wide-range radar—no movement in any direction could escape his notice.
The stone tiger's rolling eyes made it resemble a broken doll, its grotesque head-to-body ratio adding to the horror.
Yet before it could get close to Akira, a blue figure ghosted to its side.
Lucario growled low, its canine paws clenched into fists as meticulously honed Aura erupted forth.
Compressed violently into its fists, a flicker of orange-red light ignited, striking the tiger like a meteor.
Fighting-type skill—Rock Smash.
In an instant, the stone tiger's pale form shattered—first at the struck abdomen, then spreading throughout its body.
The entire structure crumbled piece by piece.
Notably, the tiger's interior held no flesh or bones—when destroyed, it dissolved into a shower of limestone and rubble.
It truly seemed to be nothing more than a rock.
No one would have guessed this stone had just attempted to ambush Akira.
"Just a rock?"
Akira raised an eyebrow, curiosity brimming within him, but he didn't rush over.
The area was now filled with floating dust.
Perhaps instinct—Akira felt something off about that dust and kept his distance.
Lucario, having attacked the tiger, couldn't avoid it. The moment the tiger shattered, pale dust clung to its body.
Soon, the affected areas began to petrify.
Lucario's arms and neck stiffened, their surfaces turning the same pure white as the stone tiger.
Given more time, the petrification would likely spread across its entire body.
Until it became the next stone tiger.
Lucario's expression hardened as it forcefully channeled Aura within, the four Aura sensors on its head flaring with intense blue light.
Its Aura power surged to maximum output, dyeing it a deep ocean blue.
It seemed effective—once Aura was activated, the petrification gradually receded.Until it completely vanished without a trace.
Watching the slightly panting Lucario, Akira wore a contemplative expression.
So the tiger-shaped rock might have formed this way too?
Just by being shattered or even slightly dusted with its powdered remains, it could petrify others, spreading like a virus.
After brief consideration, Akira used his Pokédex ability on the now-crumbled tiger rock.
[Fading Cursed Stone]: This cursed stone was originally a tiger beast from the jungle, later cursed by the Cursed Snake Demon.
Thus, it became a Cursed Stone.
The Cursed Stone has no vitality—its composition is purely rock, yet it contains the twisted soul of a living creature.
When any creature approaches, it shifts from a motionless state to active aggression.
If contaminated by its dust or destroyed, the victim will transform into a new Cursed Stone, their soul imprisoned within.
...
After reading this description, Akira's first thought was that Don might have met his "natural enemy."
Though "natural enemy" might be an overstatement, this so-called "Cursed Snake Demon" was indeed mysterious, with abilities tied to souls.
Anyone cursed by it would turn to stone, their soul trapped and distorted within.
So what would happen if Don were cursed?
Don's Nen Ability allowed his soul to persist after death, enabling resurrection after some time.
It would come down to whose power was stronger—or whose took precedence.
If the Cursed Snake Demon was superior, Don's soul would remain trapped and twisted inside the stone forever.
In a better scenario, he might revive directly through the rock.
Becoming a stone man?
If Don's power prevailed, he could break free from the curse, resurrecting as usual without issue.
Still, the Cursed Snake Demon was formidable. Its Cursed Stones made excellent traps.
They even had virus-like contagious properties.
An uninformed victim defeating a Cursed Stone would likely end up becoming one themselves.
Fortunately, Akira had many ways to counter such anomalies.
Even if Lucario's Aura Power failed, other methods remained.
Akira's furrowed brow gradually relaxed.
After a deep glance at the now-gone tiger Cursed Stone, he pressed onward.
Upon reaching a relatively flat coral expanse, Akira halted and suddenly extended his right hand.
As if grasping something.
Instantly, a blade appeared in his grip.
This weapon looked peculiar—it was double-edged.
One side gleamed with terrifying sharpness, cold light swirling along its length.
A mere glance made one's brow ache.
The other side, however, was utterly blunt, as if never honed, incapable of even slicing paper.
A sinister green glow emanated from it, chilling to behold—far more than it seemed.
This was one of the blades Akira had seized—the [Hundred Slash Blade].
Forged from countless ores and the core bones of skeletal beings, it was the only one of its kind in existence.
When first crafted, it was merely an exceptionally sharp blade with no other distinguishing traits.
By chance, it became a weapon with unique properties—its wielder could sever anything by expending sufficient energy.
But attempting to cut something without enough energy would drain the user completely.
And this was the former [Hundred Slash Blade].
After Meowth's modifications and reforging, the [Hundred Slash Blade] not only retained its original ability to cut through anything, but also gained new effects.
The two sides of the blade now had different properties—one side could cut physical entities, while the other could sever spiritual bodies.
The side with a green glow and an extremely blunt edge could attack an enemy's soul, provided they had one.
This seemingly impossible feat was achieved because Meowth had added something extraordinary—the [Soul Crystal].
This originated from the Dark Sonata's harp movement, a piece belonging to the Demon King, which possessed the unique ability to control souls.
By gathering the souls of living beings, they could be condensed into a crystalline soul entity.
It contained a substantial amount of soul energy and had extremely special effects, though it couldn't be used under normal circumstances.
Initially, Akira had considered using the [Soul Crystal] for attacks or soul replenishment.
But in the end, it was given to Meowth to craft into a soul-cutting blade, adding another means to attack souls.
However, according to Meowth, it hadn't used up the entire [Soul Crystal], only about half of it.
With these two effects combined, the [Hundred Slash Blade] truly lived up to its name—it could now "cut through anything."
Gathering his thoughts, Akira looked down at the snow-white ground beneath him, crouching slightly as he lightly traced the blade across it.
He used the side meant for cutting physical entities.
Under the [Hundred Slash Blade]'s power, the incredibly hard coral was split open, revealing the dark underside.
Akira's expression remained unchanged as he made a few more cuts, creating a hole the size of a fist.
The sharp [Hundred Slash Blade] didn't consume a single ounce of Aura, slicing through the coral as easily as tofu.
Akira had roughly estimated the hardness of these corals—they were much tougher than ordinary stone.
Even comparable to the body of a Silver Giant among stone golems, ordinary attacks wouldn't be able to break through.
Hiss...
Immediately afterward, tiny, pale worms began crawling out from below, quickly emerging in large numbers.
The sheer density of them would be enough to make anyone with trypophobia faint on the spot.
The rustling noise was chaotic, somewhat like the chirping of cicadas in summer, but far more intricate.
Frowning, Akira pulled out something resembling a plastic bag and swiftly enveloped the coral worms.
The "plastic bag" then emitted a glow, gradually shrinking as it trapped countless panicked coral worms inside.
As more and more worms were caught, the "bag" shrank further until it finally formed a spherical shape.
Nearly all of the coral worms were now completely sealed within.
[Sealing Bag]: A bag made from special materials that continuously shrinks as long as Aura is supplied.
Due to incorporating the tough hides of various [Disasters], it boasts extremely high durability and is difficult to destroy.
Drawbacks: The bag is small, can only shrink and not expand, and has limited capacity—only able to hold relatively small objects.
Through the transparent bag, Akira could still see a white mass inside—all of them coral worms.
This [Sealing Bag] was inspired by [Poké Balls], leading Akira to ask Meowth to create a similar tool.
However, it seemed [Poké Balls] weren't so easy to replicate, given their ability to contain creatures much larger than the ball itself.
Not to mention the other technical barriers.
In the end, Meowth managed to create this [Sealing Bag] first.
Although it wasn't exactly what they wanted, it still had the key effects they needed.
One was storage, and the other was portability.
Hmm...
In the end, it formed a spherical shape—could this be considered a [Poké Ball]?
After a few glances to confirm it was the [White Bone Coral Worm], the [Sealing Bag] in Akira's hand vanished.
It was directly handed over to Meowth by Porygon-Z.
Who knew if this [White Bone Coral Worm] would be of any help to Meowth?
Akira guessed the assistance would likely lie in the material.
Truth be told, Meowth had often mentioned that while it had many invention ideas, it lacked materials.
Especially materials durable enough.
The Diamond Spirit was working hard to nurture them, but it still needed time to accumulate—it wouldn't happen overnight.
Perhaps this [White Bone Coral Worm] could quickly produce new coral, which could then be given to Meowth for new inventions.
Next...
Akira turned his attention to other areas, intending to improve efficiency and take away as many [White Bone Coral Worms] as possible.
After all, this was a rare, stable source of durable materials that would aid his future plans.
As for the "blood-sucking" effect, solving it was simple—just separate the coral worms from the coral.
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