Chapter 154: The Ringing Bell

Chapter 54: The Ringing Bell

"Vivillon, use Poison Powder!"

Seeing her companion's Pokémon driven into a desperate situation, Feitang panicked momentarily, shouting out her instructions in a rush.

Indigo-purple scales carrying a dangerous aura descended from the sky, whipped up into a fierce gale by Vivillon's rapid wingbeats, and lunged straight toward Golisopod.

Golisopod showed not the slightest sign of retreat.

Instead, it merely raised its right claw, which was gripping Buneary, and cruelly positioned it directly in the path of the incoming poison powder.

Feitang’s pupils constricted sharply.

An eerie light flickered across Golisopod’s hard, silver-gray shell, entirely repelling and dispersing the toxicity contained within the powder that fell upon its surface.

However, the Buneary held in its grasp was not nearly as fortunate.

The glittering, indigo-purple scales landed on its furry skin, melting silently into Buneary's body like snow under the sun, leaving behind patches of vivid purple toxic blemishes on its skin.

Buneary's breathing, already somewhat weak from heavy injuries, suddenly grew rapid and labored as if it were suffocating, its chest heaving violently.

Because of Feitang's erroneous command, Buneary's already critical, near-fatal condition worsened significantly.

Without immediate emergency aid, it looked as though it wouldn't last much longer.

"Damn it!"

Feitang bit her lower lip, clenching her fists tightly. In her pale golden pupils, there was five parts regret, three parts anger, and two parts panic.

Although Feitang possessed outstanding grades and exceptionally high talent, she was still, after all, a novice Trainer with an extreme lack of practical combat experience.

Faced with her teammate trapped in peril, she had unexpectedly panicked for a moment and issued a flawed tactical command on the spot.

Golisopod wore a mocking expression, casually tossing the Buneary in its hand aside.

Ignoring the Vivillon hovering directly above its head, it walked step by step, step by step toward the members of the convoy, just as composed as it had been moments before.

*Thump... thump...*

The dull sound of footsteps echoed across the field once more.

The overwhelming pressure of death closed in on them again.

...

Qinghe leaned his limp body against the cold side of the vehicle, his eyes hollow, staring fixedly at Buneary lying motionless in the muddy water like a discarded rag doll.

He muttered disjointedly to himself.

"Older brother, younger sister... going home... even you... left me behind..."

Suddenly, as if an inexplicable surge of strength had welled up from deep within his body, he broke free from the restraining hands of those around him, stumbling unsteadily toward the Buneary lying behind Golisopod.

"No!!"

Beside him, Feitang watched his slender back and screamed at the top of her lungs.

The fine, drizzling rain hung like a misty gray fog over the muddy ground.

Qinghe staggered forward, his dirt-stained and soiled body swaying as he forced his steps toward Buneary.

In his dark, intense pupils, there was only the tiny figure of Buneary ahead, as if a momentary glance away would cause it to vanish entirely.

Watching the frail human who treated him as if he were invisible, Golisopod tilted its head in mild confusion.

Already infected by the Seeds of Nightmare, it naturally could not comprehend the complex emotions of humans.

Its two purple antennae twitched slightly in the air.

On its sub-limbs, the gleaming black claws were gently lifted, aiming from afar at the strange human before it.

*Splotch—*

Viscous blood spurted from Qinghe's chest, blooming across the muddy path like a cruel yet magnificent rose.

Qinghe's steps froze, his body tilted backward slightly from the force of the impact.

Accompanied by a sharp wave of pain, a large torrent of blood splattered outward. Even as his vision turned a vibrant, blood-red and gradually blurred, he still gazed blankly ahead.

His slender elbow lifted weakly into the air, his five fingers curled into a loose grasp as if reaching desperately for some most precious treasure far in the distance.

Alas, it was ultimately all in vain.

*Thud.*

The blood-soaked figure collapsed into the muddy earth, churning up insignificant splashes of murky water mixed with bright red blood.

Golisopod shook the droplets of blood from its claws, turned its head unconcernedly, and continued walking toward the rest of the group.

Feitang’s complexion turned deathly pale, her pale golden pupils trembling, her bloodless lips twitching slightly.

The teammate who had been sitting right beside her just moments ago had turned into a corpse in the blink of an eye.

The intense shock brought by this abrupt change made her bend over and dry-heave a few times.

At the same time, accompanied by the increasingly close footsteps ahead, a profound terror welled up from the depths of her heart, morphing into a gloomy, hovering shadow.

Washed by the rain, her once-fluffy hair plastered itself in sticky strands against her cheeks, resembling a blazing fire gradually being extinguished.

The brash confidence that once overflowed across her delicate face had vanished, replaced entirely by deep panic and dread.

"Vi... Vivillon, use Gust!"

In the sky, Vivillon looked at its master with worried eyes.

Its large, pink-and-purple butterfly wings beat rapidly, gathering a massive current of air that whizzed toward Golisopod like countless invisible blades.

The command issued by a young Trainer who had lost her reason was, naturally, nothing more than a futile struggle.

The "Gust" move used by Vivillon lacked even the power of a human bullet; how could it possibly pose a threat to the formidable enemy before them?

*Clang, clang, clang!*

Metallic impacts rang out against the hard shell.

Without breaking its stride, Golisopod watched the flustered and tense human female, the mockery in its eyes growing even more intense.

It glanced up briefly at the Vivillon fluttering in the sky.

As if remembering something amusing, the oscillation frequency of its mineral-purple antennae sharply accelerated.

It flicked its right arm upward gently.

"Missile Needle!"

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—*

Countless tiny needles formed of cyan-green energy shot out overwhelmingly toward the Vivillon in mid-air.

The air was sliced apart effortlessly.

Gleaming raindrops, resembling tiny pieces of jelly, swayed slightly as the fine needles pierced straight through them.

Vivillon maintained a calm expression, its pink-and-purple wings beating frantically to deflect the needles closing in around its body.

However, Golisopod's Missile Needles were simply too numerous!

Perhaps Vivillon could manage the initial waves relying on its mastery over the wind, but once its already meager energy was depleted, it could only be engulfed by the endless barrage of needles.

The razor-sharp, emerald-green energy needles pierced through Vivillon's massive purplish-red wings, leaving behind rows of tiny bullet holes.

The purplish-red scales dissolved into the falling rain, turning into a brilliant, dazzling radiance.

Vivillon's body drifted downward from the sky like a withered autumn leaf, falling silently.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Feitang collapsed onto the ground, her hysterical, piercing screams echoing across the field.

Gloomy leaden clouds pressed heavily upon the vault of the sky, and the fine, dreary rain continued to fall relentlessly without pause.

The hazy sound of the rain, intertwined with the shrill cries of the human girl,

resembled two silken strings of a zither,

vibrating and resonating,

playing a mournful dirge.

Abruptly,

*Jingle, jangle...*

A crisp and melodious silver bell chime rang out from an unknown source,

seemingly drowning out every sound in the world,

clear, distant, and lingering.