Chương 46: The Failed Capture

Oniteng, a denizen of the Hyakki Yagyō, an otherworldly parade of supernatural entities.

Modeled after the legendary Daitengu - a anthropomorphic creature from Japanese folklore renowned for its immense martial prowess and extraordinary abilities. True to those ancient tales, it possessed formidable psychokinetic powers capable of pinpointing coordinates for unleashing devastating force attacks. However, its true forte lay in close-quarters physical combat employing that inky black staff clutched in its grip - a fearsome weapon able to obliterate any substance.

Kyūkon, another resident of the Hyakki Yagyō realm.

Taking the form of the legendary nine-tailed fox spirit revered across Asian mythology. Fabled stories depicted such cunning vixens capable of transfiguring into peerlessly beautiful maidens, beguiling those in power only to subsequently wreak catastrophic havoc. While indeed supremely versed in mystic arts surpassing even Oniteng's capabilities, Kyūkon equally excelled as an elite combatant. Any blade manifested from her luxurious tails held the power to bifurcate any target effortlessly.

Bestowing those designations upon the enigmatic pair scarcely registered as a momentous decision in the bespectacled man's mind. He had simply articulated their most visually conspicuous attributes into verbal labels without much forethought.

Yet the newly christened entities seemed rather delighted by their appointed titles, their vibrant reactions stirring faint pangs of guilt within him. Averting his gaze from their jubilant responses, he resumed his hushed conversation with Shirona.

"What did you mean by that, exactly?"

"Well, you see, this conflict won't end until we've utterly exterminated these alien beings, right? So doesn't that logically mean we'll have to...eliminate those two as well eventually? Before they realize our intent, it might be wiser to take preemptive measures..."

Rather than concurring as he anticipated, Shirona's brow furrowed contemplatively. "You're suggesting...?"

"W-Well, if I give them an order as their handler, even though they'll surely disobey, perhaps I could compel them to, uh...willingly sacrifice themselves?"

She briskly rapped his shoulder in mild admonishment before fixing him with a solemn stare as they walked.

"Listen carefully. While I can't deny harboring similar sentiments deep down, rationally speaking your approach definitely holds merit. However, you above all others must never voice such intentions."

"What do you mean?"

She glanced sidelong at the spectral Mikaruge hovering alongside them. "It's a matter of responsibility. Having officially caught them via those Balls and directly interacted, you alone bear an irrevocable obligation to retain their trust under any circumstances. No matter what befalls us, you cannot forsake being their ally."

"But how can you spring that on me so suddenly..."

Shirona offered a wry smile."I know, it's just one of my personal codes really. But if coexistence remains viable, shouldn't we prioritize that option? You hold the key for making that determination."

"Mmh..."

More than anything, the predominant sentiment filling his mind involved trepidation over being entrusted with such weighty responsibilities. Furtively observing their ragtag procession, he noted Oniteng cradling numerous injured comrades without any apparent resentment for the time being. Kyūkon maintained a somewhat greater distance, the two Tokyo men who had previously confronted the bespectacled man eyeing her warily while nursing their own wounds - though healed enough to ambulate unaided. Evidently they bore the brunt of her earlier onslaught, their demeanors wavering between terror towards the vixen and commiserative sympathy directed his way instead.

"Coexistence, eh?" He silently mouthed the word, ruminating over whether such an ambitious prospect could truly materialize. Though realistically, fretting about long-term prospects proved moot if they failed to survive their current ordeal.

Disrupting the bespectacled man's tumultuous deliberations, Kyo's interjections underscored the complexity of their quandary.

"Nah, no way that'll work."

"You seem quite certain?"

"Three hundred points? Ain't happening. We'd get stomped trying to fight that head-on. Straight up suicidal."

"Yet retreating isn't an option either. Together, we must overcome this adversary no matter what."

"Which is why I'm saying frontal assaults are just dumb risks. But listen...what if you could somehow get your new pet there to defuse that skull-bomb in our heads first? Then we could all just bail outta here."

"I'm afraid that's..."

"Look, I got no death wish, alright? An' I sure as hell don't wanna see Shirona bitin' it neither. That's where I'm coming from."

"I...understand. Thank you for your concern."

"You pickin' up what I'm layin' down here, man?"

Even observing from afar, Kyo's affections towards Shirona seemed abundantly transparent. Frequently brushing against her, seldom concealing his wandering gaze drifting towards her chest. While Shirona undoubtedly realized his intentions, her bemused reactions implied uncertainty over how to properly address them.

Briefly, the bespectacled man felt compelled to interject - after all, Kyo had yet to apologize for their previous confrontations. He fleetingly considered enlisting Oniteng's assistance in forcibly separate Kyo from Shirona.

Before voicing anything, an anomaly down the adjacent street diverted his attention. A cluster of black-suited individuals came sprinting towards them from around the corner.

However, before the bespectacled man could process their identities, an even larger silhouette dominated his field of view.

"What the hell...is that thing?"

Even from a distance, its monstrous nature seemed undeniable. Squinting harder revealed the colossal entity comprised countless fused feminine forms towering above two-story buildings at minimum. Relentlessly pursuing those fleeing suited personnel at staggering velocities.

"Anzu!"

Shirona's alarmed cry drew focus to a familiar raven-haired woman desperately fleeing alongside that party - others accompanying included a disheveled man carried half-naked by unknown individuals. Various serpentine creatures trailed them, accompanied by plantlike animal chimeras and aquamarine sluggish masses struggling to keep pace.

"Waaaahhhh!"

Kyo recoiled, instinctively clinging to Shirona's arm with palpable dread. "No doubt about it, it's...it's gotta be THAT thing! We're all gonna get eaten alive by it!"

"That won't happen." Steadying her X-Gun, Shirona launched a preemptive barrage towards their rapidly approaching target despite the considerable distance.

Yet the elusive behemoth reacted with alacrity, deftly contorting its unwieldy frame with gymnastic poise to evade the incoming barrage.

Boom! Boom!

"We can't retreat any further. Running is no longer an option."

As she turned, one of their serpentine allies unleashed a streaming salvo of frozen particles from its gaping maw – this was Milotic. However, the entity evaded that attack with equal ease through a soaring aerial maneuver, its preternatural reflexes proving disconcerting. Conventional frontal assaults seemed incapable of inflicting meaningful damage upon that juggernaut.

Then perhaps a more unconventional stratagem could whittle it down instead.

The bespectacled man found himself regaining lucidity compared to others clearly overwhelmed by panic and confusion. Though initially paralyzed by that inundating sight himself, a newfound determination gradually took root.

"M-Maybe this could work after all..." Drawing Shirona's sidelong glance, he outlined his strategy. "What if we used these Balls to try capturing it instead?"

"It'll evade us before that could happen."

"I'll, uh, try circling around back then. While everyone else distracts its attention, I might get a clear opportunity..."

Before continuing, a vice-like grip wrenched his shoulder, spinning him around to face Kyūkon's foreboding beauty at disconcertingly close proximity.

"Just what insanity are you contemplating?"

Those nine undulant tails bristling indicated the vixen's vehemence, her vulpine snarl mingling dismay with incredulity over his proposed scheme.

"Utterly impossible."

"But if you and Oniteng assisted me, we could..."

"Out of the question."

"Why?!"

"None can surpass the Primordial's might. Opposing it guarantees our extermination. Retreat remains our sole viable recourse."

"But...if we flee beyond that designated boundary, the skull bombs will..."

"We shall neutralize those inhibitors ourselves if need be. Sustaining minor neurological aftereffects poses no hardship since we would remain together indefinitely to care for you regardless. Therefore, abandoning this place is wisest."

"I...I can't do that! There's just no way..."

Shoving Kyūkon aside proved futile - she acquiesced without resistance, seemingly incapable of opposing him further. Oniteng's emphatic headshake reinforced their stance.

Lucidity rapidly dwindling, the bespectacled man still clung to hopes of aid from those ostensibly formidable allies despite doubting their full trustworthiness. Yet now they advocated retreat, his subconscious reservations finally resurfacing.

"I...I get it now..."

"Hm?"

"Never mind relying on you two after all. At your core, you were nothing but hostiles to begin with. My mistake for expecting otherwise." His legs trembled faintly as that monstrosity's ominous approach grew inexorable.

Turning towards the anxiously observing Togekiss, the bespectacled man issued new instructions.

"Togekiss, just like before. We'll strike from above, same strategy. Think you can manage?"

"Kyuuu!"

"Right. Sh-Shirona and everyone, please try diverting its attention even briefly. I'll make this quick."

Kyūkon stepped forward to protest, but before uttering a word the bespectacled man clambered onto Togekiss's back. Soaring skyward in a singular fluid motion imparted an exhilarating surge despite his inability to fly independently - the rush of open airstreams enveloping his entire body starkly contrasted experiences aboard enclosed airliners. An expansive world unfolded panoramically from their lofty vantage, their colossal adversary remaining obliviously preoccupied by the beleaguered group below. Shirona's barrage had proven ineffectual overall yet sufficient for compelling evasive maneuvers, enabling their stratagem's fulfilment thus far.

One suited individual succumbed to that monster's clutches, the man previously carrying another ally on his back still struggling defiantly - the bespectacled man quietly marveled at his valorous perseverance protecting others amidst such harrowing circumstances. Those were the type who deserved surviving to make tangible impacts.

He too felt an unprecedented conflagration igniting within, fueling resoluteness in contributing meaningfully for once rather than deferring to others more capable. If any opportunity existed to aid someone, he realized the moral imperative to seize that chance despite his unremarkable persona.

Timing the optimal moment for deployment as that trajectory arced overhead, he hurled the Monster Ball skyward - its descent accelerated by gravitational forces aimed squarely towards the gargantuan composite's epicenter.

A clustered appendage deflected it almost nonchalantly.

Despair welled up until noting Shirona's resolute nod seeming to indicate "As expected" before mouthing "It's fine."

The next instant, the reopened Ball disgorged torrential brilliance rapidly engulfing that entire colossal entity. Its distended immensity contracted fluidly, streamlining into that singularly spherical nexus before converging inward - the entire grotesque mass reabsorbed by irresistible forces into the Ball's confines.

Witnessing that process highlighted how remarkably potent these specialized capsules proved - even catching merely a fragment triggered wholesale entrapment mechanics overriding any resistance. An outright cheat bordering on the illicit, yet one which had previously saved his own life.

With bated anticipation tinged by lingering dread, the bespectacled man descended upon Togekiss, dismounting to scrutinize the quivering sphere.

Two shudders.

Three shudders.

He steeled himself for potential failure since Shirona mentioned capture probabilities factored into Ball mechanics. However, she assured that any successfully restrained subject would cease struggling after shaking thrice regardless of might or resistance.

The ensuing stillness felt interminable as the dust settled. The suit-clad man who avoided complete engulfment shakily regained his footing, supported by Anzu as they distanced themselves from that motionless orb.

Click!

A faint clicking resonance shattered that tense silence.

The bespectacled man exhaled deeply in palpable relief.

"Thank goodness..."

Togekiss sidled up affectionately, brushing him with its downy wingtips in reassurance.

Offering an appreciative pat, the bespectacled man approached that unmoving sphere undeterred by attempted dissuasions - at this juncture its occupant should remain docile and compliant under his authority. Victory seemed assured.

Grasping the Ball this time imparted no unusual heaviness, simply the standard weight he had grown accustomed to previously. Raising it demonstrably before the assembled crowd, he intended observing it further before unleashing whatever lay within - perhaps like Kyūkon, an alternate form representing its true primordial self would manifest.

Steadying himself against any shocking appearances, a sudden scorching emanation seared his clenched fist.

"Owww! Its hot!"

Instinctively fumbling the superheated orb, he froze momentarily bewildered as his entire left hand simply...disintegrated before his eyes. The cauterized stump hemorrhaged prolifically as he collapsed backwards, the expected impact against solid ground never manifesting. Instead, a familiar fragrant warmth cushioned his descent.

"Master!"

Cradled in Kyūkon's embrace, the bespectacled man beheld the Ball's ongoing disintegration in real time - already pockmarked by fissures as the upper crimson hemisphere melted fluidly. From its lower alabaster portion, scintillating beams erupted progressively boring through the crumbling casing. Tendrils of smoke began wafting forth as that structure lost all semblance of its original spherical integrity, cracking apart with an infinitesimally widening aperture.

Boom!

Brilliant radiance blazed outward as dual silhouettes discorporated from that liberated luminescence.

"Fufufu..."

"Mmm...mmmm..."

One manifested as an elderly wizened figure the bespectacled man recognized - that frail old man whose battle power exceeded 300 points. Though his lachrymose expression gradually contorted into an insidious leer.

However, juxtaposing that withered form, a feminine nude silhouette materialized behind him. One slender arm penetrated straight through the back of the old man's skull, fingers seeming to manipulate something within as he squirmed faintly in apparent agony.

That female entity's sultrily narrowed gaze appraised them all with palpable disdain. Equally diminutive in stature compared to her wizened counterpart, her frame contrasted distinctly from his withered aesthetic - specifically her distended abdomen undulating with inexplicable vitality, seeming to convulse sporadically as if its gestating occupant strained for release.

Reeling from shock and hemorrhaging profusely, the bespectacled man's fading coherence still clearly perceived Shirona fixating upon that nude female entity with naked, visceral terror. As if confronted by an inescapable, existential nightmare manifested before her disbelieving eyes.