Ch.113: Cold Winds Roaring! Claw Your Way Toward Victory!

The corrupted fields of the Aqua-Storm border became increasingly encased in a vast tundra of ice. The more heat sapped out of the air, the wider Vashti's sphere of influence became. Soon, nothing would escape the reach of her ice magic. All shall be buried under a sea of cold. Not even the remains of her army could escape being frozen to the core.

"Show yourselves, my lost children of shadows," she whispered. Steam blew from the corners of her mouths of active chimneys, and her eyes were nothing but a piercing icy blue through the mist encompassing the frozen land.

Tucked away deep in the frozen earth was a dome of ice, created against the barrier conjured up by Edwin at the last minute. He and the rest of their party barely escaped under the protective field, yet shivered as it didn't prevent heat from being sapped out of the atmosphere.

"She's…pushing us up against a wall," Edwin panted. "We're going to die if we keep this up."

"Agreed," Wilbur said. "We need to overpower her regeneration factor until it can't reconstruct her body. Ripping her to pieces won't work, so overtaxing her healing is our only chance."

Courtney nestled into Owen's mane and shivered. "I-I'm scared."

The Pyroar stroked her back. "It'll be alright, kiddo."

Fernando glanced worriedly at Holly, who was leaning against the wall of the dome. "Holly. You said you had a way to beat her?"

She glared a bit. "I do. It's the ultimate spell of the Sorrow Anima. The ultimate illusion spell. Activating it may give you all the chances to overpower the puppet. However, it's going to take a combined effort just to break through. I've never used this spell before."

"Is it like what Mack used against Voss? He seemed to use his just fine in that battle."

Holly laughed bitterly. "I never had Mack's unwavering insanity as a boost. He adapted to it faster than Griffin or I expected. Still, his fear may have been the reason he mastered it on his first try. Emotion Animas are filled by overwhelming emotion, and Mack had an abundance of fear to fuel him."

Fleurette glared. "Still, do you think it'll give us a chance?"

"It should. Once I activate it, we should be able to fight at full power." She glared. "However, the spell has a maximum limit of five minutes, and I can't even guarantee I'll sustain it that long. I haven't been absorbing sorrow quite as much as Griffin and Mack have absorbed other emotional energies, and I'm not completely attuned to my Sorrow Anima. I've always had a better grasp of my emotions. To activate the spell requires one to understand the depths of their feelings and what their anima means to them."

Edwin growled. "In other words, we have at least five minutes for you to turn this fight around."

"Precisely. I'll need time to collect myself and activate it."

He sighed. "Asking a lot out of us, but if it's our best shot…"

Laying down beside Owen, Elise panted softly as she touched her gemstone. It sparked with weak psionic energy. "Well, I won't be much help even if I had the nerve to fight that foul woman. I think I've burned out my psychic energy."

Fernando shook his head. "That's perfectly fine, ma'am. Leave the rest to us." He glared at Wilbur. "You should stay behind with them to provide long-range support."

Wilbur tipped his hat. "It's my specialty."

"Edwin and I will take the puppet on face-to-face. It'll be rough, and I'm risking my neck since I don't have any passive protection from her attacks, so I'm counting on you all to keep me safe."

Edwin smirked. "Don't sweat it. I think I'm getting the hand of activating this limiter." He spread the green, glowing markings further along his face. "It's not much, but I can feel my strength growing."

Wilbur glared. "Ah yes, if I recall, that's the power you were wrongfully given by your masters."

Edwin flinched and growled at the Fraxure. "Is now really the best time to be bringing that up, you monotoned cowboy?!"

"…Wait a minute." Edwin flinched again at the sound of Elise's voice. The Espeon narrowed her eyes on his back. "Stolen…power?"

"Uh…"

Elise picked herself up. "I recall hearing something similar to that a while back. A Simisage who reportedly stole magic…and used illegal corpse puppets in the Gelid Peak Tournament."

"Uhhhhhh…"

"You…You…!" Elise's face twisted into a furious scowl. "You're that punk who harmed my daughter and her friends at the Gelid Peak Tournament, aren't you?!"

Edwin spun around and pressed his back against the barrier. "Uh, ma'am, maybe this isn't the best time to be bringing up old news—"

"I saw the reports on the tournament! You and your ruffian friends caused a commotion during the trials, brutally beat another team, broke Flint's leg, had the nerve to attack my daughter—"

"Okay, I wasn't even responsible for Ravenfield on that one—"

"You have some nerve showing your face here! I ought to—" Elise got up too fast and was struck with a dizzy spell. She groaned and fell back onto the frozen grass. "Ow…"

Trevor helped her back up. "Ma'am, this isn't the best time to be venting your frustrations."

"…" Elise bowed her head and sighed. "I always thought it was too dangerous for Ella to go adventuring, especially after she got hurt because of Wes. I never approved of it. Even still…" She looked up and glared at Edwin. "I could've done better to be understanding of her feelings. So, when I heard those reports, it made me furious. I wanted to understand her feelings, and only now have I begun to realize how much pressure we've been putting on her. She wanted to prove she could handle adventure, and you had to come along and make me worry for her more than ever."

Edwin relaxed against the frozen barrier and let his arms droop against his sides. He took a deep breath and sighed. "I can't begin to apologize for my actions. I understand the depths of my crimes cannot be atoned with simple words. Even so, I plan to do all I can to make it right." He clenched his fist. "Even with this stolen power, I hope to at least honor the original user by using it for its true purpose: being a shield to my allies."

Elise's glare softened. "Oh?"

"I'll make amends. I'll do everything I can to earn your forgiveness. Everyone's forgiveness."

"…" She looked away and huffed. "You have some nerve." She shook her head. "Don't expect any flattery from me when you save us."

Owen chuckled lightly. "That's her way of saying she'll give it some thought."

Edwin smiled. "Thank you." He sighed and faced the ice dome. "Now or never."

Wilbur turned to Fleurette, holding her hand for a moment. "I'll protect you and the others, no matter what."

She kissed him on the cheek and smiled. "I know you will."

Fernando stood up and rolled his shoulders. "Welp, time to throw ourselves back into the pit. Holly, how long will it take to activate your spell?"

She pushed herself up against the frozen barrier, balancing on one leg. "Can you give me ten minutes?"

Edwin smirked. "Pushing it, but manageable." He closed his fists together and pulled out a sword of black flames. He wrapped the Revulsion Anima around it and solidified it into a green blade with black, jagged sickles covered the edge.

With a snap of his fingers, the barrier partially expanded and blew the ice off, alerting Vashti to their location. He dropped the barrier for him and Fernando to step out onto the frozen landscape.

Vashti narrowed her eyes. "My lost children have finally revealed themselves." Icicles grew out of her hair, hissing with steam. "What will they do now?"

Fernando wrapped his rosary chain around his arm. "You ready, Edwin?"

Edwin pointed his sword toward the puppet and snickered. "Let's make trouble."

Snow Zone

In mere seconds, the tides of battle shifted back into the hands of Pokémon with the arrival of Hugo Lightborn. With the paladin's presence, he casted a blinding array of light from his staff, shining a path toward the hostile forces that howled under its burning glow.

"Children of Arceus!" he shouted. "This is our world. Do not give into despair! Advance!"

Talismans fluttered across the battlefield and stuck to the backs of the Ironworks soldiers. A light aura enveloped each of them, and the soldiers felt an invigorating power rushing through their systems. With mighty battle cries and renewed courage, the soldiers charged toward the opposing monsters and pushed back.

Hugo sighed in relief. "I am glad to have made it in time."

"Hugo!" He looked over and saw his team and Cosette rushing over to his side. Oswald grinned up at him. "Dude! You have no idea how happy we are to see you!"

Saffiro smirked. "For someone who doesn't like making grand entrances, you have a way of making a statement."

Hugo nodded. "Well, I consider that the influence of my team at play. It is good to see you all again."

Ebony laughed dryly. "Well darn, and here I was getting used to not having someone breathing down my neck."

"Hmm." Hugo's expression softened at her. "I am happy to see you, too, Ebony."

"…" She turned away and pouted. "No need to get all mushy with me."

Hugo saw a shadow fireball heading toward them, but quickly dispelled it with a click of his fingers. "I can see things are escalating out here. I sensed a foreboding presence in the area and flew over immediately to see the damage."

Cosette used the brief pause of fighting to reload her revolver. "Well, the battle started a while ago, so you arrived just in time."

"Yes, but…I sense something else lurking in the area. It's not the army that's concerning me." He glared out at the snow for a moment before turning his gaze back onto the group. "That reminds me. Where are Krystal and Cybil? Are they okay?"

Whatever good mood they had upon seeing their friend instantly faded. Hugo stared in alarm at their somber faces filled with uncertainty and hesitance. He took the time to investigate the support team high up in the mountains and detected Cybil's pendant among the crowd.

"Cybil's alright. Did…something happen to Krystal?"

"…" Saffiro clenched his teeth. "See those freaks out there, Hugo? Krystal…she got turned into one of them."

"…I see." He gripped his staff tightly and turned toward the shadow army. "How unfortunate." His magic radiating off the staff's cross wheel and his tattoos. "The green ones are infected, right? I don't sense any souls inside the monsters."

"Y-Yeah," Oswald mumbled.

"Good, then I won't have to hold back as I purge this filth." He raised his staff high and radiated holy magic through the cross wheel. "Sacred Scatter Light!" A flurry of heavenly bullets fired out from the wheel, peppering the corrupted army and burning through their shadows.

The rest of Team Shatter Star and Cosette nodded to each other and charged toward the army. Oswald and Ebony dove ahead, smashing their way through the frontlines while Saffiro and Cosette unleashed a hail of flames and compressed air bullets into their scattered numbers. Hugo ceased firing and followed after his comrades.

"A man of faith I may be, I will not withhold divine judgment upon you creatures!" Hugo reared his staff back, channeling a spiral of holy energy around the cross wheel. "Heavenly Penance Wheel!"

He lunged into the crowd and swung, breaking through a cluster of shadow monsters. The holy magic revving off his cross wheel sawed into their bodies and charred their corrupted forms. He tensed his arms and pushed with all his might, cutting through half a dozen monsters at once. Their severed bodies became engulfed in holy light and withered to ash.

"Die, you mortal scum!" a Shadow Feraligatr roared, lunging at the priest from behind.

Hugo spun and struck the corrupted gator's side. "Divine Departure!" He spun the gator around and catapulted him through the corrupted crowd, bowling a path straight through. "Heavenly Sun." He channeled a ball of holy light in his hand and tossed it over the army.

The monsters screamed out under the spell's intense rays as their shadowy skin burned. The brief distraction allowed more of the empowered soldiers to push harder against their numbers, taking them down into the snow and driving their weapons through.

"Incoming!" Hugo looked up and saw a Famine knight flying overhead, being mercilessly kicked by Wolf in his Morning Sun form. The Raboot struck Famine out of the sky with a flaming axe kick, driving him into the ground.

Hugo aimed his staff and drove the beast further along the snow with a beam of holy light. Famine roared out in agony as the light seared his unprotected underside and charred the shadows to ash. He stepped out of the way as Gene came running past him.

"Excellent work, Tater To-Go!"

"Father Hugo—"

"Let Gene handle this beast!" His spear changed shape, elongating in size and forming a drill-shaped spearhead. "Ground Emperor Drill!" The drill head spun, and Gene drove it through Famine's stomach. The beast howled a guttural scream as shadow blood spewed out from the gaping wound. Burnt flesh and fading darkness splattered in all directions. "Wolf, assist Gene!"

Wolf dove out of the sky and slammed his fiery feet down on the monster's head, further burning it alive. Hugo rushed in behind then and struck with Heavenly Penance Wheel. Famine, from all sides, felt nothing but agonizing pain from all sides. Worst of all, the close proximity to Hugo on top of the Heavenly Sun beating down on the battlefield made it impossible to regenerate.

Gene tightened his grip and dug deeper into the flesh. "Now monster, join your corrupted brethren…in OBLIVION!" He angled the spear and drove it up the body, ripping into Famine's jaw and tearing it clean off.

The combined damage overloaded Famine's regeneration, and the body collapsed under them into a pile of ash and shadow. They backed as the body disintegrated before them, reduced to nothingness with only the armor remaining.

"AHA!" Gene raised his spear triumphantly. "Another victory for Gene!"

"NO!" They looked up at Pestilence, one of the only remaining Abyssal Knights. "Impossible! How can you mortals possibly be beating us?!"

Hugo glared. "A creature as heartless as you could never understand mortals."

She growled and extended her infected claws. "Why you—" Before she could go on the offensive, she sensed two magic auras careening toward her position. She barely got out of the way as Benedict and Dugald crashed down in the snow locked in combat. "AH!"

Benedict and Dugald had a tight grip on each other before separating. While the puppet's injuries healed away, Benedict was feeling the damage accumulate over his body. He brushed it off as best he could, but it became clear he was becoming winded.

Dugald cracked his neck and raised his bladeless hilt at him. "Do you yield?"

Benedict cracked his knuckles. "Do you?"

Pestilence floated over to Dugald and yelled, "Quit fooling around and help me with the priest!"

"My chances of beating him are as successful as yours," he stated.

The toxic mage snarled. "You are the worst puppet I've worked with, you know that?!"

"Enough talk." Their attention was brought back onto Hugo, who radiated with heavenly light. He aimed his staff at them and said, "Judgment shall be passed upon evil."

Dugald glared. "Have it your way, Father—" Just then, the ground trembled beneath their feet, nearly knocking them over. "What the?!"

Hugo steadied himself on his staff and looked around, seeing both sides of the field falling over. "An earthquake?"

"It's not an earthquake." Hugo, Wolf, and Gene looked behind themselves as M walked up on them. The normally complacent Alakazam looked ahead with a worried grimace. "Can't you feel it? There's something moving below the earth. Something huge."

Gene glared at Pestilence and yelled, "What trickery is this?!"

Pestilence raised her hands. "I-I don't know! We never got a memo about this!"

Hugo bent down and touched the snow. He focused on the shifting of the earth and detected something. His eye widened, sensing an indescribable malice brewing deep below. This malice felt uncomfortably familiar.

"This…This is what I was sensing. This is what drew me to the Snow Zone!"

M sensed it moving closer to the surface and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Everyone, BRACE YOURSELVES!"

He quickly conjured a forcefield around his group as the earth split open. A geyser of snow exploded out into the sky, throwing back both armies in opposite directions. Dugald and Pestilence caught themselves on the air and backed off to get an aerial view of the development.

Pestilence's eyes widened. "What in the name of darkness is that?! It's…It's…"

Hugo glared through M's barrier as the snow fell away. "Demonic."

Both armies, scrambling back to their feet, gazed up in horror at the towering creature impeding on the battlefield. It resembled a fat, giant centipede with hundreds of bony legs and sickly mandibles that sharpened against each other. However, focusing on the body, the exterior was made up entirely of corpses and bones. Frozen flesh and brittle bones forcibly brought together in the shape of a grotesque monster dripping with a malicious, demonic aura. There were signs of shadow monsters imbedded into the body, pinned and squished together like patchwork.

Benedict stepped back and grimaced. "What is that thing?"

"It's made up of all the dead lost for five centuries in the Snow Zone," Hugo said in disbelief. "It's an amalgamation of death. How could something like this possibly—"

"Hello, mortals and shadows alike!" a voice boomed from the undead amalgamation.

Gene's eyes widened. "Wait. Gene remembers that voice."

Wolf clenched his teeth. "Don't tell that's…!"

The face of the creature shifted. The corpses shuffled against each other, changing into an equally disgusting, but less monstrous form. Both armies backed away from the monster as the face of an Alolan Sandshrew with hollow eyes peered down upon the significantly smaller creatures.

The Puppet Master, Reuben, grinned with malicious delight. "Did you all miss me?"

Aqua-Storm Border

Edwin and Fernando sprinted across the ice as Vashti let loose waves of slush and sharpened icicles, tearing through the frozen ground like Garchomp splitting from the earth. Using their superior agility, they dodged and climbed along the ice structures as they formed, throwing themselves through the air with a grand display of acrobatics.

"Improvised Shadow Spell…" Edwin reared his sword back, channeling shadow magic through it and the crescent blades. "Fastidium Crescent Dance!" He swung and unleashed several dark green, crescent-shaped tendrils from the sword. They sliced through the ice rushing toward him, cutting a path straight toward Vashti. "Wilbur!"

The Fraxure aimed his cannon toward the sky and fired a ball of purple light. "Annihilation Rain!" It exploded into hundreds of energy bullets that rained down on the frozen land, each blasting a sizable crater through the ice.

Vashti bounced off into the sky and avoided the ground-level destruction. The surface became cloaked in a thick mist from the ruined ice. "Perish." She formed icicles out of her hair and fired them toward Wilbur's position.

Edwin, within the mist, slammed his hands down. "Fastidium Shadow Fortress!" Rows of dark green shadow barriers rose out of the earth and surrounded Wilbur and the others. The icicles exploded against the barriers, barely breaking through the first row. "Fernando!"

Vashti's eyes widened, sensing the killer intent of the Monferno hitman from behind. She barely turned around to see the scarlet malice radiating around him like a pair of wings.

"Forgive me, Sister Vashti."

Vashti's body suddenly ripped open with cuts. His balisong moved fluidly, dancing through the air with such grace that she couldn't see the point of impact. Cuts parted open across her gaudy uniform and eyes.

This speed. This unchecked malice. She glared through the shadow blood coating her vision. What a dreadful aura.

Fernando channeled holy magic through his knife and stabbed it through her face. "Holy Assassination!" Heavenly light burst through the blade and blasted out the other side of Vashti's head, crumbling it to dust.

The corrupted priestess clenched her fists and wordlessly channeled ice magic over her body. Fernando immediately jumped off before clusters of ice spikes burst out all over.

"Shoot her down!" Edwin ordered.

Wilbur fired through a gap in the barriers and blasted into Vashti's ice sphere. Ice and mist scattered across the air, but the priestess flew out with minimal damage. Her head had already begun to regenerate, albeit slowly compared to her other wounds.

"Inprobus Winter: Ice Age." More gray clouds formed above and spread their bitter winds over the frozen earth.

Edwin manifested a barrier and hid behind it. The high winds caused ice to rapidly form on the other side. "If we get too caught up in that storm, she'll freeze us down to the bone."

"Keep fighting!" Wilbur yelled over the storm. "Holly needs more time to activate her spell!"

The Lurantis sat next to him, legs crossed and eyes shut as she focused activating her limiter. The blue markings stretched along her body, attempting to encompass and take her over. She winced from the cold air blowing around her. "Trying as fast…as I can."

Fleurette worriedly held onto Wilbur's shoulders. "Is there anyway I can help? I'm the only other person here with magic."

"…" Wilbur glared. "Fleurette, can you compress spells?"

"A little."

Back on the ice, Edwin and Fernando evaded pillars of ice rising out of the ground. The longer they stayed in the wind, the more their skin started to freeze over. Edwin was barely staving it off with his aura, but Fernando had to repeatedly take cover out of the storm to warm up. Not even the light of his rosary could save him due to the ice not being corrupted in nature.

"Agh! I'm going to reach my limit soon!" Fernando shouted.

"Don't you quit on me, hitman!" Edwin yelled back. "Fastidium Crescent Dance!" He swung his sword and released the crescent tendrils through the storm.

Vashti floated along the winds to dodge them. "My poor, deluded child. Can't you see the hopelessness when faced against the one true god?"

"That's the thing! If I was actually sane, I wouldn't be out here fighting for my life!" He swung, detaching the crescent blades from his sword, and fired them at the flying puppet. "It takes pure crazy to go beyond their limits!"

Vashti blew stored steam and knocked the flying blades away. "You who has allowed himself to become one with the darkness. Have you no sense of your faith?"

Edwin smirked. "The hitman using one of your church's rosaries doesn't bother you?" He summoned shadows knives and tossed them before sprinting toward her position.

Vashti waved her hand and casted the knives aside in the wind. "Hmph." She dropped down to the ground with hard landing, summoning up an all-compassing wave of ice to rise up over them.

Edwin leapt toward the wave and spun. "Fastidium Force!" The spiraling barrier broke through the wave and parted it around him and his party.

Fernando jumped out of hiding and whipped the rosary chain around Vashti's neck. With a tug, he decapitated her with holy light. "We don't stop fighting! This is our world, and we have a right to decide if it should live!"

Vashti, as her head flew through the air, glared at the hitman. "You're a bold one, hitman. Tell me, do you remember how those holy weapons work?"

Fernando retracted the chain and examined it. The holy aura flickered weakly through the cross wheel. He grimaced. "Oh no…"

"It passively absorbs magic in the air. Pure, untainted magic. My ice may not have any corruption, but the very air of this twisted world does. You're absorbing corrupted magic just as much as pure. You'll eventually run low."

Undeterred, he wrapped the chain back around his arm and charged for her unguarded body. "Then I'll use what I have left to stop you!"

Vashti's head began to crumble away, but not before parting with, "Inprobus Winter."

"Fern, look out!"

Fernando's vision became obstructed with a wall of sharp ice charging toward him. It came dangerously close to skewering him, but Edwin barely managed to raise a wall and cut them off. Fernando slipped back on his heels and held his heart in relief.

Edwin grunted. "You don't do direct combat often, do you?"

Fernando smirked wearily. "I prefer working in the shadows."

He helped the hitman back onto his feet just as Vashti's body pulled itself out of the ice. Her head had partially reformed itself, half of it still masked behind a vapor of darkness. Edwin instinctively raised another barrier as a flood of ice came rushing toward them.

"Wilbur!" he shouted.

Shots rained down from the sky and blasted through the ice. Edwin and Fernando ran around the barrier and rushed through the cloud of slush and freezing winds. As Fernando ran ahead, Edwin briefly stopped and slammed his hands down, summoned spires of twisted barriers towards Vashti.

"Fastidium Shadow Rend!"

Vashti summoned ice below herself and propelled into the sky, dodging the attack. She scanned through the mist until she detected Edwin's aura. She took a deep breath, summoning ice missiles around herself. "Be still—"

Something flashed in front of her vision: a tiny pink marble. Her eyes widened as it started to glow and expand.

Fleurette, watching the battle through Wilbur's scanner, clicked her fingers. "Release."

The marble exploded in Vashti's face and knocked her out of the air. She expanded her hair to catch the winds, but sensed the familiar presence of malice hanging around her. Peeking through her peripherals, she saw Fernando clinging to the ice pillar she made earlier.

"Got you." He lunged at her, swinging his balisong at her neck.

Vashti stretched her hair and fired several ice missiles at the Monferno. "Perish."

The missiles reached Fernando and prepared to tear him to shreds. Even if they didn't kill him, they'll shred through his contract and take more years off his life. Sooner or later, he'll be reduced to minced meat.

The missiles struck…and shattered on impact with his body.

Vashti's eyes widened. What? How did they not…? She felt an overwhelming malice forming behind her. Wait, I sensed his malice, but I didn't see that aura extending around him. Then who is—

A fist struck through her back with holy magic, punching straight through her torso. She glared over her shoulder and met eyes with a second Monferno, permeating with the scarlet, demon-like aura. Her eyes flickered back to the first Monferno.

He smirked and gripped the edge of his face. A white mask peeled away from his skin, and the Monferno transformed into a full-grown Simisage. "Thanks for lending me your mask, Fern~!" He coated his fist in darkness and Revulsion Anima, bursting off like flames. "Take this!"

Fernando jumped away before Edwin slammed his fist down on Vashti. His darkness extended out in the shape of a pillar and plowed the puppet into the ground. The two monkeys landed as the pillar faded and backed away.

"How much time did that buy us?" Edwin asked.

Ice ruptured through the earth and nearly impaled them. "Not enough!" Fernando shouted.

Vashti pulled herself out of the ground and shined her icy eyes on her quarry. "Enough." She stomped down and released a wave of cold forward.

They tried to escape, but the ice jumped after their legs and caught them. It spread over their bodies, freezing them up to their necks. The cold winds wrapped around them, sapping their heat away and gradually freezing the moisture in their bodies.

Vashti limped out of the small crater as her darkness repaired her body. "Lost little children. I shall send you all to the abyss where you belong. Become one with the darkness."

Fernando gritted his teeth. "H-Holly! Wilbur! Anyone?!"

Over with the others, Wilbur saw the two being restrained through his turret. "They're going to die at this rate."

Fleurette stood up and clutched a handful of marbles. "I'll help them!"

"No! It's too dangerous."

"But—"

"Don't worry." Everyone's eyes widened as Holly finally stood up. Her limiter markings expanded over her skin until she was glowing a brilliant blue. "Everything's going to be alright. Get ready!" She tensed her good leg and leapt high up into the air.

Vashti stopped advancing for a moment and spotted Holly sailing over the battlefield. "She returns."

Holly flipped through the air and dove toward Edwin and Fernando. "I won't let anyone else die this day. The shadows took enough away from us. But I can still protect my friends!" Cracks formed along the blue light coating her body. "Let me show you the depths of my sorrow! The power of the Grim Ash Clan!" She crashed down in front of the boys and spread her arms out.

"Come forth, my ultimate spell! Animi Motus Zenith: Dolorem!"

Vashti and the boys shielded their eyes as a blinding blue flash detonated in front of them. The pressure exuding off Holly's body blew apart the ice and cold winds. Fernando and Edwin's restraints crumbled in her presence. Edwin grabbed Fernando and conjured a barrier to withstand the blast.

Vashti stepped back, barely holding out against the force. What…is this?

The light bent and twisted into a cyclone, and a flurry of petals formed along the currents. The silhouette of a Lurantis rose from the center of the cyclone, dancing and twirling within. Her brilliant blue eyes pierced through the veil of cerulean around her.

"This…is the depths of my sorrow."

She swiped her sickle across the wind and dispelled it. Edwin, Fernando, and Vashti straightened up as the pressure died down, and they gazed upon the faux mantis' transformation.

Standing before them was a Lurantis in varying shades of dark blue and her blue limiter markings tattooed over her body. A transparent, blue-tinted membrane flowed out from under her arms like gossamer wings. Fully blossomed, blue roses sprouted over her arms, and a mane of blue metals wrapped around her neck.

Holly's shining blue eyes opened and peered down at Vashti. "I will not allow you to harm my friends."

Vashti glared. This power…

Fernando stood in utter amazement at her transformation. "Compared to Mack's, she looks absolutely divine."

Edwin, who could feel the raw emotion surrounding her, found himself tearing up in her presence. He could feel the sadness radiating off her. "It's a completely different experience."

Vashti shook off her shock and exhaled an icy breath. "An impressive form, but will it be enough to seize victory?"

Holly glared at her briefly before looking over her shoulder. "Edwin, Fernando. I'm not sure how long I can hold this form. When I activate my spell, go beyond your limits. Don't bother defending yourselves. I'll cover you."

Edwin and Fernando shared a look with each other before nodding. "We're right behind you."

Vashti slammed her hands down and sent waves of ice slithering toward them. "You will be buried under a mountain of cold!"

"Go, now!" Holly ordered. The boys raced past her and, holding faith in their ally, charged toward the icy attacks. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Now, I shall sever the barrier between fantasy and reality. Animi Motus Exsolvo: Divine Illusion!"

Magic pulsated from her body and tinted the atmosphere around everyone in a shade of blue.

"Perish." Vashti swiped her hands down and sent her ice waves crashing down on top of Edwin and Fernando. She clenched her fists and commanded the waves to explode into clusters of ice, guaranteeing that everything within them will be ripped to shreds. "You lose."

"…I'm sorry, but—"

The puppet's eyes widened as Edwin and Fernando reappeared above the ice clusters, both looking shocked to still be alive.

Holly stepped out from around the cluster and glared cheekily at the puppet. "That was an illusion."

Vashti growled and summoned spears of ice toward the boys. They rushed toward her blindly and were soundly impaled by the spears. Vashti sensed the weight pressed against her ice as the spears tore through their bodies, but was stunned as they simply reappeared away from the slaughter and continued toward him.

"Wha—" Edwin and Fernando struck her in the face and sent her flying across the field. She caught the ground and dragged herself to a stop. She glared at them in disbelief. "Impossible. I know I landed my attack—"

"You did." Holly walked through the mist as an illusionary leg appeared in place of her missing one. "Sorrow Anima's Ultimate Spell: Divine Illusion. An illusion so powerful it crosses the borders between fantasy and reality. It's the advanced form of Dolorem Rewrite, which rewrites the outcome of an attack. This spell…grants me complete control over fantasy, where reality becomes an illusion."

Vashti's eyes widened. "What?"

"For the next five minutes, I can turn anything into an illusion, even death itself. In other words…" Magic flared out from her eyes as a shower of petals fluttered around her. "This spell…makes my friends and I completely invincible."

Snow Zone

The shadow and Ironworks armies stared up at the towering corpse monster in silence, frozen in awe and horror at the creation. Hundreds of corpses and shadow monsters were forcibly joined together to create a creature that terrified the imagination.

"What is this?" Dugald asked. "Why are our soldiers infused into that thing?"

Reuben's laugh boomed across the snowy mountains. "I'm terribly sorry! It's kind of hard to find lost corpses in a vast tundra like this. Fortunately for me, there's a steady supply of live corpses roaming around! My puppets, specifically!"

The Wild Fangs, Origin Mages, and Team Shatter Star joined up with the others, still gawking at the monstrosity. "How long has he been building that up?!" Oswald yelled.

"I have…no words to describe what I'm looking at," Yon quivered.

Hazel growled. "How in tarnation are ya still alive?! Ah damn near swore Ah saw Indigo turn ya into a kabob before she tossed yer sorry keester into the ice!"

Reuben turned toward the source of complaining and laughed. "Ah, if it isn't the little resistance group who took control of the Immensus Library." He stretched his hundred legs out and showed off his amalgamated body. "You're looking at a genuine Puppet Master in his prime! I've been rebuilding and improving my body for years. I know my way around a dead body. Creating this vessel to store myself away in is child's play! One of the features I gave myself was the ability to stitch corpses to myself and control them!"

Saffiro grimaced. "This guy has no other hobbies, does he?"

The amalgamation rose to full height and boomed with maniacal laughter. "That's the difference between you and me, you mortal scum! I've abandoned my pokemanity long ago to achieve perfection. Death shall never claim my soul! I'm completely immortal—"

A series of purple lasers cut the mad puppet master off and pierced through his body. The back of the amalgamation exploded, causing it nearly topple over. Reuben barely managed to dig his legs down and stay tall.

"Who dares?!"

The Origin Mages turned to Cielo, who waved the smoke off his fingertips. "What a disgraceful form. Abandoning your flesh and repurposing the dead as your tools? There's not an ounce of shame in that artificial body of yours, is there?"

Reuben smirked. "You think I'm scared of you, old man?" The holes in his body began to seal shut with darkness. "I've been collecting hundreds of shadow monsters since the Shadow King corrupted Mysto. Since they're made from my handiwork, they're mine to take and assimilate. I've already taken a few Abyssal Knights into my body. Their power will serve me well!"

Pestilence flew up to confront the puppet master. "You fool! How dare you misuse the Shadow King's army for your own machinations?"

"I wouldn't talk tough to your creator, my little puppet. I'm still here to serve, just like you." His smirk stretched wider. "In fact, why don't you continue to serve your master?"

The amalgamation's side bubbled and exploded out into a grotesque arm composed of several hundred more arms. Pestilence gasped and tried to fly away, but Reuben caught her inside his grip in time. He then opened his hand and grinned down at the toxic magic as the hands dragged her down into his palm.

"N-No! No!" She clawed at the hands grabbing and pulling on her, but dozens more overpowered her. "NOOOO—" She submerged into the body.

Reuben laughed and began to shift his form again. He dropped the centipede-esque form and took on one closer to his own. He stomped his foot down, shaking up the battlefield, and spawned dozens of bony tendrils from his back. One by one, they flew down like harpoons and plucked shadow monsters off the ground. Some struggled and fought while others gave in to their creator's whims, letting themselves be absorbed into his body.

Tendrils flew after Dugald, but he sliced them up and flew closer toward the Ironworks army. Despite his mind being programmed to serve the Shadow King, his dominating, defiant personality wouldn't allow him to succumb to his creator's commands.

"What a despicable creature," he muttered.

Randolph growled. "Master Cielo, what do we do?"

"Taking on the monsters was challenging enough," Seraphina said, "but that thing is twenty times larger than anything we've faced up to today."

Cielo clutched his side and trembled. Though he wished he had an answer, even he couldn't muster a half-hearted plan. His injuries and age were catching up to him. He's been fighting the hardest he ever had in the past couple weeks. If he had the strength when he battled Wes, there was a chance, but…

"We're not giving up!" Everyone spun around as Cybil came running out onto the battlefield. She slid to a stop and glared at them. "We've come too far to quit now! I say we show that monster exactly what we're capable of and put an end to this war once and for all!"

Her team looked to her in awe before grinning. "That's the spirit, girl!" Ebony cheered.

"Like Hell we're dying out here!" Oswald cheered.

Gene and his team grinned as well. "Gene likes that attitude, Cycle! The Wild Fangs won't quit here!" Orville hardened his wings, Hazel punched her fists together, and Yon channeled water through his sword, standing proudly beside their leader. "We're going to tear that thing to pieces!"

Wolf increased his firepower and nodded. "As will I!"

Cosette smirked and aimed her revolver. "I've about had it with pests like this."

Calder crossed his arms and nodded. "Hmm, you kids are quite brave."

Vernon cracked his knuckles. "We're waiting for your orders, Cielo!"

Margo summoned her swords and set her sights on the towering monster. "We've got this."

Cielo looked around at the change in attitude from his fellow mages and allies in awe. The doubt building up within him quickly subsided, and he allowed himself to breathe easier. "Origin Mages, divert its attention!"

"Yes, sir!" They took off running/flying toward Reuben.

"Wild Fangs, ground control! Team Shatter Star, attack from above!"

"Right!" They followed after the mages.

Cielo pointed to M and Wolf. "Back up Team Shatter Star from above. They'll be taking on the core of that thing."

Wolf saluted. "Right!" He fired off into the sky and followed behind Team Shatter Star.

M hung back for a moment to observe the battle. He sighed to himself. "May this battle turn favorable for mortal kind."

"…" Cielo glared at him. "What do you mean exactly?"

M smiled wearily. "Who knows? Perhaps I'm trying to prove a point to my stubborn old man." Disregarding his age, the elderly Alakazam sprinted at great speed toward the monster.

Cielo stared out into the open for a moment before gazing up at Dugald, who continued to watch from afar. "What about you? Will you deny your orders or continue to serve as our enemy?"

"…" Dugald sighed and summoned up his kinetic blade. "We shall see."

Aqua-Storm Border

With Holly's Divine Illusion active, Edwin and Fernando charged headlong into a sea of ice. Vashti casted down a storm of ice to rip them to pieces. Their instincts told them to avoid the attack at all costs, but they held trust in Holly's word that they'll survive.

Ice struck down and cut through their bodies mercilessly, yet their forms broke apart like vapor. Holly wasn't creating illusions anymore. She was turning existing reality into an illusion. The ultimate support spell on a battlefield.

Vashti growled. "I hold faith in the abyss! So long as my faith stands, I shall not fall!" She struck the ground and summoned ice serpents toward the two monkeys.

Edwin crossed his arms and barreled through the attack without fear. Shadow sabers spawned in each hand, and he sliced a path straight toward the puppet. She casted an ice wall to block him, but it broke down into a blue mist as soon as he connected. She barely avoided his attack, his blades grazing her body.

She's turning everything in an illusion. My attacks won't work. She spotted the Lurantis as she repositioned herself around the ice. However, it seems she still needs to have visual contact with her target. She dove into the ground and summoned walls of ice all across the battlefield. Then I'll just cut off her line of sight!

Holly backed off from the ice rising up before her. Shit, she's figuring it out!

Vashti set her sights on Fernando as he dodged the rising walls. "And with that, I'll take you out first!" She stomped down and sent forth a wave of sharpened ice.

Fernando braced himself, but Edwin slid in and conjured a barrier in front of them. "Go! Now!"

Fernando jumped off Edwin's shoulders and flipped over the ice wave. He unwound his rosary chain as he slid down the wave and whipped it into Vashti's head. It burned a horn off, but nothing more. I'm running low on holy magic.

Vashti shook off the attack and casted waves of ice after him. Fernando leapt and kicked off the rising waves, wincing from the cold biting at his feet. "Edwin!"

"Fastidium Force!" Edwin shattered the ice around him with a quick rotation and lunged through an opening. His swords blazed with shadow fire. "Take this!"

Vashti sent an ice spire to impale him. It connected, but Edwin's form faded out of existence and reappeared alongside the spire. She dodged his attack and glared over her shoulder, spotting Holly on top of the ice walls. "She's quick." She summoned ice needles in her hair and fired them off.

Holly ran along the wall's edge, dodging the needles. "Don't stop! No matter what!"

Edwin jumped after Vashti and stabbed into her. "Fastidium For—"

Vashti backhanded and knocked Edwin off. The brief impact caused his skin to freeze solid, which Holly immediately nullified. The priestess set her sights back on Holly and fired a barrage of needles toward her.

Holly's eyes flashed just as the needles impacted. She faded out of reality and reappeared a meter away from the illusion. She's trying to divide my attention.

Vashti clapped her hands. "All shall freeze in an eternal winter! Inprobus Winter: End of Creation!"

A mass of cold magic exploded out from her body, causing the existing ice and cold around her to explode in power exponentially. The winds howled louder, ice formed into monstrous structures, and temperature plummeted. Holly, Edwin, and Fernando staggered briefly as the air around them began to turn to ice itself. Each breath then took felt like they were swallowing knives.

"H-Hang on!" Holly's eyes flashed. So much going on at once. My dad could easily turn all of this into an illusion. Best I can do is make it an illusion for the guys. She directed her focus onto Edwin and Fernando, nullifying the freezing temperatures around them.

Edwin staggered back on his heels and shielded his eyes against the wind. "It's not that bad anymore, but I can barely seeing anything. We're in the eye of a storm."

"This power is incredible," Fernando muttered.

Vashti rode the winds toward Holly. "Struggling to keep up? Sooner or later, that power of yours will vanish. Until then, let's see how long you can keep up against my attacks." She summoned larger needles in her hair and fired them.

Holly prepared to nullify them, but a volley of energy blasts beat her to it. Green energy orbs fired around her, blasting through the needles, and detonated in Vashti's face. She looked down the ice wall and saw Wilbur and Fleurette climbing up the wall with Trevor's assistance. The Runerigus dug his stone body and shadowy fingers to keep a tight grip on the freezing surface.

"No consequences, right?" Wilbur asked. "Then we're joining the fray head-on!"

Fleurette flashed some marbles. "We're ready!"

From below, hiding out against the raging storm, the Ciphers glared up the wall and shouted, "YOU CAN DO IT!"

"I BELIEVE IN YOU!" Courtney screamed.

Wilbur, struggling to aim his cannon with one arm, lifted it and fired an arching shot through the sky. It exploded into a shower of energy spikes toward Vashti. She called upon the frigid winds to shield her, turning the air itself into ice. The shots exploded against the barrier, and the smoke was sucked away into the storm.

Fleurette tossed a couple marbles up. "Holly, kick!"

Holly kicked the marbles with her illusionary leg into Vashti. Fleurette clicked her fingers and released the stored magic into the puppet, knocking her away. Wilbur fired another arching shot that drilled Vashti back down to the earth.

Trevor climbed up to the edge and dumped his passengers. He panted heavily. "S-S-So cold…"

"Tough it out!" Wilbur aimed his cannon. "Eradication Driver!" He braced his stance and fired into the earth.

Vashti summoned a towering wall of ice to intercept the attack and rode the winds the escape the ensuing explosion. "Persistent…"

"That's the strength of mortals!" She gasped as Fernando jumped from cover and lassoed her leg with the rosary chain. He tugged and slammed her into the ground. "We don't give up no matter the danger!"

She tried to freeze him, but Edwin lunged out from the thick mist and crushed her head beneath his fist. "We're too stubborn to die here!"

Vashti roared and released the stored heat, blasting them away with the pressure. The frozen land briefly melted before refreezing in the high winds. "I hold onto my faith. As long as I have trust in the Shadow King—"

"He is not your god!" Edwin immediately recovered from the blast and rushed back at her, impaling her from behind. "You're not his puppet! Remember who you once were!"

"Insignificant fools!" She released more heat from her body, but Edwin stood his ground and endured the pressure.

"Fastidium Force: Shadow Sword Style!" He channeled the Revulsion Anima through his shadow sword and twisted. A vortex of magic surrounded the blade and expanded, rupturing Vashti's form from the inside.

"Not…YET!" She pushed her regeneration harder, reforming near instantly from the destruction. "All shall be crushed under my ice!" Missiles rapidly formed in her hair and fired out in bursts. They soared high up into the sky before raining down on each of her foes.

Holly flashed her glare at the missiles heading for the wall and turned them into illusions. One, however, struck the wall and caused its occupants to stumble. She nearly slipped over the edge, but Fleurette caught her in time.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Holly held her face and groaned as her form flickered. "I'm reaching my limit soon."

Trevor gasped. "But if your spell drops, the air will kill us!"

Wilbur took aim and said, "Then we keep fighting. Eradication Driver!"

Vashti rode the wind to dodge the beam again. "Inprobus Winter!" She roared out to the heavens above, calling upon hundreds of ice serpents to devour all in her way.

Edwin signaled to Fernando, and the two sprinted toward her position. "Holly, cover us!"

Holly focused her attention on the monkeys as the serpents struck down. One-by-one, they faded in and out of reality, narrowly escaping death. Once he saw an opening, Edwin grabbed Fernando's arm and flung him forward.

"Fastidium Force!" He spun and used the unstoppable forcefield to strike Fernando and propel him faster toward Vashti.

He clenched his fist and summoned up all the holy magic he could from his chain. "This is our world. We won't let the Shadow King take it from us!"

"You're all fools!" Vashti called down her ice serpents on him, but Wilbur's Extermination Volley rained down to obliterate the main horde. "No!" She dodged out of the way, barely avoiding Fernando's punch.

Fleurette pulled out another supply of marbles and dropped them over the edge. "Incoming!" Right as they reached eye level with Vashti, she snapped her fingers and released the stored magic in her face.

"GAAAAH!" Vashti shielded her eyes and floated aimlessly.

Edwin summoned large shadow javelins in his hands. "You're not escaping us!" He tossed them at the blinded puppet, accurately impaling her through the body and face.

The javelins flung and pinned Vashti into her own ice wall. As she struggled to get loose, she spotted Fernando sprinting vertically along the wall toward her, his fist still blazing with holy magic. She growled and commanded ice spikes to rise out of the surface.

They pierced through Fernando's body, but Holly's illusion spared him an ill-fated death once again. He lunged the rest of the way and grabbed her by the hair. "We'll save you, Sister! We'll protect this world to our last breaths!"

Vashti snarled. "You…!" The darkness within her screamed in defiance, yet…something deeper inside was screaming as well. A buried part of the soul stuffed away in this wooden dirt puppet. A voice whose true words have been drowned for far too long.

"Save me, Children of Arceus."

"HA!" Fernando grabbed Vashti's face and let loose all the holy magic stored in his chain. "Disappear, darkness!"

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Vashti summoned a maw of ice around herself to bite down on him, but Edwin came in at the last second and stopped the maw from snapping shut.

He grunted as the ice teeth pressed into his hands and feet. "K-Keep going!"

"Hurry!" Holly, Fleurette, and Trevor screamed.

"End this NOW!" Wilbur screamed.

Vashti growled as her body crumbled against the imposing light. Her regeneration worked its hardest to fight off the light. The cold winds slammed down on their backs to freeze them dead. Pinned and trapped, she tried everything in her power to stave off their execution. Everything she could to guarantee victory for the Shadow King.

…But the true Vashti refused.

Clarity flickered into the puppet's eyes, and she gazed upon Fernando and Edwin with a serene smile. "Children of Arceus. You are the hope of this world's future. Never forget that."

Their eyes widened. "Sister Vashti?!" Fernando gasped.

She took a deep breath. "Arceus, lend me your strength. I offer up my very soul as a conduit for your light."

Edwin's eyes widened as heavenly light pierced through her crumbling body. "She's regaining control!"

The winds began to die down around them. The ice wall, now losing its magical ties, began to crumble into mist. Holly and the others staggered as the edge gave out under their feet.

"We're going to fall!" Fleurette screamed.

"Hang on!" Holly pulled everyone into her arms and leapt off the wall. "I have enough magic left for one last illusion! Everyone, brace yourselves!" They held onto each other as they crashed down with the crumbling ice.

Fernando and Edwin watched everything toppled down around them, then turned back to Vashti. "Sister Vashti…" they whispered. They noticed Fernando's chain glowing brighter than before. It was absorbing the holy magic Vashti was exuding.

She closed her eyes and smiled as the darkness within and her body crumbled to dust. "Continue to be good people. For the sake of everyone's futures. Thank you, my children."

Edwin grabbed Fernando, and they both leapt off the crumbling ice wall. The ice came crashing down and exploded into mist. The stolen heat returned to the atmosphere, casting a strong wind that blew away the icy mist. The hardened ground turned soft, and the grayed-out sky returned to the gloomy dark sky from before.

The crumbling ceased. A welcomed silence filled the air as the mist parted. The remnants of the icy wonderland had completely dissolved back to the ruined earth of their battle.

Fernando and Edwin picked themselves up, groaning from the fall. Edwin massaged his head and mumbled, "Did…Did we win?"

Fernando glanced over and saw the remained of a green horn burning to dust. He smiled softly and fell onto his back in relief. "Yeah. Yeah. I think we did."

"…Good." Edwin collapsed onto his back as well. "Thank goodness."

"Heeeey!" They tilted their heads and saw the others racing over. Holly, having returned to normal, leaned on Trevor. Elise and Owen followed behind with Courtney racing around in excitement. Fleurette grinned wearily at the boys. "Nice work."

"Woooo! We won!" Courtney cheered, bouncing and bounding over the destroyed earth. "Take that, evil shadow monsters!"

"Dear, be careful! You'll get hurt!" Elise yelled. She groaned and touched her forehead. "Ugh. I need to sleep…"

Wilbur dropped his cannon and sat down to take a breather. "That…was tough."

Fleurette collapsed beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "You said it."

Holly sat down as well, massaging her temples. "I feel drained…"

Owen smiled. "You all were amazing. You should be proud of yourselves."

Edwin smiled softly. "I suppose so." He took a deep breath and glanced up at the sky. "One unstoppable monster down. A whole region's worth to go."

Holly chuckled. "On the bright side, fighting a horde of regular shadow monsters doesn't seem like that big a deal anymore."

"Heh, true." He sighed. "Let's just hope someone figures out a way to put this nightmare to rest."

Elise glanced up as well. "I wouldn't worry too much about that."

"How so?"

She smiled. "Because I trust Ella. If she says she'll stop the apocalypse, then I place my trust into her. She and her friends will win. I know they will. After all, she inherited her stubbornness from me."

"…" Edwin chuckled. "You raised her well."

"Heh. Well, I'm doing my best."