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"Wraith Circle is one of the larger dark organizations operating in the underground world. Its founders are known for exploiting…"
Quark spoke while glancing anxiously at the team beside him, where injured members were being treated in haste.
As he talked, he carefully explained everything he knew about Wraith Circle to Kael.
"That's all I know. My clearance in the League isn't high, so I don't have access to most upper-level intelligence."
"If you want more details, maybe you could return to Falyn City with us. The League branch there…"
His words carried a cautious hint of testing as he looked up at the massive, unusually colored Machoke standing before him.
After Crowcaller's ambush, the team had taken severe losses.
Several members were wounded, morale had collapsed, and even their two core Pokémon had suffered heavy injuries that would require time to recover.
Quark could already sense how dangerous the journey back to the city would be.
But if this overwhelmingly powerful Machoke were willing to help them, every problem ahead would become manageable.
And Kael clearly showed interest in Wraith Circle.
If he went to Falyn City, the League branch there could provide far more information.
To Quark, it felt like a mutually beneficial option.
Kael, however, only frowned slightly and shook his head.
A clean refusal.
He had not even noticed the deeper meaning behind Quark's invitation.
His thoughts were already focused elsewhere.
On Wraith Circle.
Crowcaller, a senior operative, had died by his hand.
But through Quark, Kael had still learned useful fragments about the organization.
"So it really is a dark organization."
He had suspected as much long ago.
Any group capable of performing brutal experiments on Pokémon without regard for life, combined with the decaying, oppressive atmosphere of that underground facility, was never going to be anything legitimate.
In that sense, Kael felt a strange sense of relief.
At least Wraith Circle existed outside the League.
If it had been a powerful League family or an official faction, the tangled web of politics and influence would have made things far more troublesome.
A dark organization was simple.
You crushed it head-on.
Destroy every lab. Erase every underground base.
Without deep roots or protection, even before Kael finished the job, other predatory organizations would tear Wraith Circle apart for their own gain.
They would vanish into history.
Kael rubbed his chin thoughtfully, crimson eyes flickering.
It seemed he had gained another task in this world.
Beyond eliminating Nightmare Pokémon and hunting Ultra Beasts to slow the end of the world.
He would also completely uproot the Wraith Circle.
And surprisingly, that thought did not burden him.
It excited him.
"Things keep getting more interesting."
In his previous life, his education as a human had instilled in him an instinctive resistance toward dark organizations.
Yet in truth, he was not entirely repulsed by them.
In his past life as Ampharos, he had spent most of his existence within Dark Star.
He had seen plenty of corruption there.
But he had also gained real power, resources, and opportunities that helped him reach his final form.
They had not treated him poorly.
Because of that, a faint trace of hope still lingered in his heart toward similar groups.
That hope died quickly.
Memories of the underground facility returned.
The inhuman torment.
The pain.
The terrified Ralts.
A shadow crossed Kael's eyes, and the air around him seemed to chill.
Suppressing the surge of anger rising again, he etched Wraith Circle's name deep into his personal list of targets.
There was no rush.
Time was something he had plenty of.
This encounter had been long, brutal, and filled with painful memories.
But it had also forced him to grow.
Different lives. Different roles. Different perspectives.
They reshaped how he viewed the darkness of this world.
As his thoughts settled, Kael was certain of one thing.
From now on, he would judge the world with both reason and emotion.
Balanced.
Even if such constant restraint risked dulling his feelings over time, it was the best path available to him now.
"I drifted again."
He gave a faint, self-directed smile and shook his head, clearing his thoughts.
His crimson eyes snapped back into focus.
"Oh. You're still here."
Quark stood in front of him, hesitant, hope lingering in his gaze.
"Are you really not coming back with us?"
"No. You've rested enough. Leave this place while you still can."
He was not about to abandon the reason he came to Nanth Town in the first place.
The Ultra Beast had yet to show itself.
He was not anyone's bodyguard.
Information about Wraith Circle mattered, but it could not compare to an Ultra Beast he had hunted for so long and finally traced.
And with Gaia's consciousness guiding him, following that invisible pull would inevitably lead him to answers.
Seeing that Kael's decision would not change, Quark finally gave a reluctant farewell.
He led the prepared survivors toward the town's exit.
Kael waved dismissively, urging the fragile humans to hurry and stop slowing things down.
Then he turned around.
Facing the depths of Nanth Town, his gaze sharpened, as if staring through empty space at something unseen.
Something dreadful was stirring.
A presence buried deep within the shadows had been awakened by the violent battle.
Brilliant light, almost white yet tinged with gold, drifted across the blue sky like shimmering mist.
An alien atmosphere descended.
The aura of Ultra Space spread outward, swallowing the town whole.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"It's here."
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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