Chapter 258: Your Will Has Awakened Me
"Is this guy... crazy?"
The gray-cloaked man on the far right frowned, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Was there anything more important than staying alive?
"Magmortar, use Flamethrower."
The man in the middle narrowed his eyes, seemingly impatient, and gave the order.
"Lumba!"
Ludicolo quickly stretched out its arms, blocking the attack in front of the old man.
BOOM!
A surging, intense column of red fire erupted from Magmortar's arm-cannon.
"Lucario!"
Will kicked off the ground, rushing toward Ludicolo's position.
"Yes!"
Lucario clawed at the ground, dragging himself forward with all his might.
Just as the column of fire was about to hit Ludicolo and the old man, Will and Lucario appeared in front of them.
They spread their arms simultaneously.
Brilliant blue energy converged into a barrier, blocking all the flames.
Fortunately, Lucario's level wasn't low; his strength was comparable to the Magmortar's. Plus, with Will's Aura support, they barely managed to block the Flamethrower.
"Ludicolo, return."
The old man's voice was slurred.
The next moment, a red beam of light recalled Ludicolo into its Poké Ball.
"Piplup, Lucario, you leave too. You're still young, good kids. You can't die here. I'm an old man with one foot in the grave; it doesn't matter if I die."
The old man handed the Poké Ball to Will. "Please take Ludicolo away for me. Our story... relies on him to pass it on."
He looked at the gray-cloaked men in front of him.
His old, clouded eyes became unfocused. He seemed to return to decades ago.
On a quiet forest path, familiar figures walked ahead of him.
Just as he was about to catch up...
The tall figure at the back stopped, turned around, and pushed him back, whispering something.
Those words still echoed in his ears.
[Someone has to stay behind to guard this story. I'm counting on you, Jiang.]
"Hehe... Captain, my mission... can end now, right?"
The old man grinned slightly, seemingly ready to welcome death.
However, Will and Lucario had no intention of leaving.
Lucario's immobility was one thing.
Another thing was that, as wielders of Aura Power, abandoning a civilian in the face of danger was just too shameful.
Especially for Will, who could restart his life. He bore the title of "Eternal Aura Guardian" and was the idolized father figure in Meowscarada's heart. Running away with his tail between his legs? He'd rather die; he'd lose too much face otherwise.
"Hmph. Then we'll send you down together."
The gray-cloaked man waved his hand.
The other three men beside him gave orders simultaneously.
Air Cutter.
Venoshock.
Fire Blast.
Sludge Bomb.
Four attacks fired at once.
Will and Lucario raised their arms together again, expanding the Aura barrier.
Suddenly...
Every living being present felt the world spin.
The next moment, their positions were swapped!
"Ally Switch..."
"Swapping even Elite Four-level targets... has Azelf awakened?"
Will immediately turned to look at Lake Valor.
Sure enough.
Hovering over Lake Valor was a blue-gray, fairy-like Pokémon. It had its hands raised, its eyes glowing as it looked at them.
As for the gray-cloaked men and their Pokémon...
Having suddenly taken the brunt of their own attacks, they were now sitting on the ground, looking terrible.
"Boss! It's Azelf!"
The gray-cloaked man who had been knocked into the lake earlier had climbed ashore. He pointed at the Pokémon on the lake and shouted.
"Lord Will?"
Lucario looked at Will instinctively.
He felt that Will knew a lot. He even suspected Will was a special Pokémon who had reincarnated since ancient times, and his true status was no less than those legendary "gods."
But Lucario was very wrong.
Will had only lived in the Pokémon world for about 40 years, all told. He knew a lot simply because his memories from when he was human were still fresh.
And honestly, he had forgotten a lot of details. Some memories only came back when he saw specific Pokémon.
"One of the Lake Guardians, Azelf. Humans call it the 'Being of Willpower.' It's said to have given humans the determination to do things."
Will gave Lucario a brief introduction.
His attention was fully on Azelf; he didn't have much mind to spare for Lucario.
But suddenly, he remembered something.
"Right! Quickly, heal the old man's wounds!"
Will ran to the old man's side.
The old man had collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at Azelf, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something.
"How do we heal him?"
Lucario looked at the two bullet holes in the old man's shoulder and thigh, and the bullets lodged in the flesh, confused.
"...Crap. I don't know either."
Will felt a headache coming on.
Aura Power could only heal external injuries. If they helped the old man's wounds close now, the bullets would be trapped inside his flesh. They might even fuse with the muscle.
A penny really could stump a hero. They had run into a field Will knew nothing about.
"Piplup~"
Just then, Lorelei's voice rang out from the distance.
Will's eyes lit up. He shouted toward her, "Lorelei! Get Slowpoke to help! Use Psychic to take the bullets out of Grandpa's wounds!"
"Huh?! Okay!"
Lorelei ran over, shocked by the scene. But she quickly threw a Poké Ball, having Slowpoke use Psychic to remove the bullet fragments.
Will and Lucario then immediately used Aura Power to heal him.
While healing, Will turned to look at the lake.
After seeing Azelf, the five gray-cloaked men had completely forgotten about Will and the others and launched an attack on Azelf.
But was Azelf someone ordinary people could mess with?
True, the Lake Guardians only had a base stat total of 580 in the games. They were at the bottom of the Legendary tier, alongside many sub-Legendaries.
But their seniority was high. They were the ancestral gods of the human spirit. How could these gray-cloaked thugs compare?
Legend said:
Uxie, the "Being of Knowledge," could wipe the memories of evil people instantly.
Mesprit, the "Being of Emotion," could drain the emotions of those who disrespected it.
Azelf, the "Being of Willpower," could turn hostile people into puppets.
Legends might be exaggerated. But there was always some truth to them.
Just like now.
Azelf swept its gaze over them.
The five gray-cloaked men immediately recalled their Pokémon. Although Azelf couldn't instill a will to die in them and make them shoot themselves...
It could erase their will to resist. They sat on the ground, motionless.
"That's him! The Pokémon we saw back then!"
The old man raised a trembling hand, pointing at Azelf, a relieved smile on his face.
Now, even if he died, he could give his captain an answer.
It hadn't been a pipe dream. The story they guarded was real.
"Azelf."
Lorelei stared at the Pokémon for a while before gasping in realization. Azelf was so famous that even the Pokémon Academy taught about it in basic classes. It wasn't an obscure sub-Legendary like Regice or Heatran.
"Your will... has awakened me."
Azelf ignored the five blank-eyed men and floated over.
It stopped in front of the old man. Without opening its mouth, it spoke with a telepathic, ethereal voice.
"I..."
"I acknowledge you."
Azelf said something enigmatic.
Then, it turned to look at Will and Lucario. It paused in front of each of them.
"Wielders of Aura... only three remain in this world? And all of firm will. Thank you for your assistance. You bought me time to come to this world."
Azelf nodded to Will and Lucario.
When facing Will and Lucario, Azelf's tone held a trace of respect.
When speaking to the old man, it was like praising a junior. But when speaking to Will and Lucario, it was like speaking to equals.
"Looks like Aura users are popular in the Legendary circle," Will muttered to himself.
A thousand years ago, Sir Aaron asked Mew for help, and Mew helped without hesitation. Now, Azelf had a completely different attitude toward him and Lucario.
This proved the status Aura users held in the eyes of Legendary Pokémon.
"We will meet again."
After saying this, Azelf turned toward Lake Valor. "When you have nowhere left to turn and need my help... I will bring my companions to aid you."
Leaving these words behind, Azelf sank into Lake Valor and vanished.
Fog began to rise around the lake, and the sound of police sirens and fire trucks came from the distance.
"Right, put out the fire! Don't worry about me, I won't die! Go help with the fire!"
Hearing the familiar sounds, the old man sat up straight and pushed Lorelei and Will.
"It's fine. We put out the fire on our way here. Only this area around us is still burning," Lorelei said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Is that so? That's good."
Hearing Lorelei's words, the old man relaxed. He pursed his lips, looked toward the lake, and slowly closed his eyes.
"Don't die! Grandpa! Open your eyes..."
Lorelei panicked. She lunged forward, grabbing the old man's head and shaking it.
"I'm just tired and taking a nap! Stop shaking me! You'll kill me! I'm gonna die!"
The old man's eyes flew open, and he shouted angrily.
This reckless girl was going to be the death of him. Good thing she wasn't his descendant, or he'd have died of anger long ago and never seen Azelf.
"Oh, that's good. You almost made me cry."
"...Hmph."
The old man closed his eyes and huffed.
Suddenly, he felt...
Having a kid like this around...
Wasn't so bad?
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter