A Dragon's Tail
Tail 8: Sirius' Tail - Monstrosity
Tail 8-8: The Stars of Venturnome
'Astra… The pontifex of Venturnome…' I looked at the Mewtwo who was floating over the stage. 'The current Hero of Psychic type…'
"So… You are the one who have been messing with us…" Baromyteus said with ominous voice, and I could see his paws tightening their grip on the swords' handle.
"Don't be hasty, Baromyteus. That guy… He is strong, stronger than the rest of current generation of heroes." Richard spoke up. "Just the fact that he was able to ambush and kidnap us had made that apparent."
"You are sorely mistaken, my dear actors and actresses." Astra spoke up after hearing our conversation. "What I did is merely a part of the show, a guidance from the stars, for that the world is but a stage, and everyone—"
"Just shut up about that crap!" Claura interrupted Astra's monologue. "Why would you even kidnap us?! What are you trying to do?!"
"Ah… There is but a single reason behind that, for that I have received the revelation from the stars…" Astra bowed down to us in the same manner an actor bowed down to the audiences. "The stars know everything, and as the celestial prophet, it is my duty to convey the revelation to the audience, for that is such a role of the director of the show."
"… The fuck?" Diego let out a word of confusion after the Mewtwo finished speaking.
"… He meant that he wants to show something to the 'audiences'." Korben spoke up. "And in this case, I guess that we are the 'audiences' that you want to show something to."
"Ah, but you are sorely mistaken." Astra spoke up. "Today, you are but the performers, the actors on the stage, not the spectators, for that role belongs to someone else."
"Someone else?" Rachael said. "Who?"
"It seems the time has come. Behold, the shining constellation of legend, consisting of the brightest stars in the sky!" In respond to Richard's words, Astra held his paw forward, and then all of us saw that the curtain that covered the area in front of the stage gradually opened, revealing the audience zone, which was a luxurious-looking room full of several expensive-looking furniture. Those, however, were not as interesting and frightening as the Pokemon, the audiences, in the room. From the first glance, I could see that there were quite a number of Pokemon there. After a few more seconds of looking at them, I now recognized that there were a Lucario, an Eevee, a Florges, a Sceptile, a Scyther, a Heliolisk, an Aggron, a Feraligatr, an Aurorus, a Charizard, a Tyrantrum, a Garchomp, an Aerodactyl, a Zoroark, a Dragalge, and an Alolan Marowak. Upon seeing the line-up of the audiences, I felt my blood become cold, frozen event, and I was very sure that the rest of Pendragon all felt the same, for that I recognized some of them, and it didn't take a genius to see the thing that everyone in the audience group had in common.
"Jasper! Zenpai!" Rachael was the first Pokemon who spoke up upon seeing audiences of the show. Her attention was on the Sceptile and the Scyther.
"Rachael! It's really you!" The Sceptile spoke up. "Thank goodness… It's been so long since the last time I saw you… Three years… After our infiltration of Civilight Laboratory."
"Rachael…" The Scyther mumbled the Latias' name.
"… Viola… Grimlock…" Richard spoke as his attention was directed to the Heliolisk and the Aggron.
"Richard! There you are!" The Heliolisk spoke up. "We all are worried about you and your sister!"
"Richard…" The Aggron, in which I recognized as none other than Grimlock, spoke up. "… Who are those people you are with?"
"…" Richard didn't say anything.
"So, these two are your missing friends, huh?" The Feraligatr spoke to the Sceptile, Scyther, Heliolisk, and Grimlock. "I guess we owed you a thank for taking care of them, Claura, Sea'viar."
"…" Unlike Rachael and Richard, Claura and Xavier said nothing to the Feraligatr or the other audiences. This was when I realized that the Sceptile, Scyther, Heliolisk, and Feraligatr were the other disciples of Solar Village Dojo, the one Ridley and Grimlock mentioned before, and they were the very same group of Pokemon I saw entering the theatre before I infiltrated the theatre myself. Their names were Jasper, Zenpai, Viola, and Bismarck respectively.
"Korben! There you are!" The next person who spoke up was the Lucario, who was none other than Ridley. "We all are very worried about you! We are so glad to see that you are safe here!"
"Safe, is a very wide word, indeed…" The Florges, Katarina, spoke up with the lower half of her face concealed by her fan.
"Ridley… I am sorry for being a trouble to you." Korben spoke.
"Oh? So, you two are already acquainted?" The Zoroark, who was none other than Fenrir Jr., spoke up. "Fate truly works in a mysterious way…"
"Oh? Fenrir, you know Korben too?" Ridley said as he looked at Fenrir. At this point I almost forgot that they were brothers.
"How wouldn't I?" Fenrir Jr. mumbled in response, in which I could detect the hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"…"
"…"
Two Charizard, one in Mega X form and another one in normal form, stared at each other without saying anything. That was when I remembered that Diego had a twin brother, a Charizard, and if I remembered correctly, his twin brother's name was Dinus.
And speaking of siblings, I glanced at Zetarus and saw that he also had his attention on a group of three Pokemon, a Dragalge, an Alolan Marowak, an another Garchomp, who was taller and looked much more muscular than Zetarus. They must be Emperor Terrus, Princess Natasha, and Prince Largo, the first, second, and fourth siblings of Dustorm Empire, with Zetarus and Freya as the third and fifth siblings among them.
At this point, I managed to recognize the identity of most Pokemon among the audiences. There were only three Pokemon that I didn't recognize, the Aurorous, the Tyrantrum, and the Aerodactyl, however, I had an inkling about them, for that one thing that all of the audiences had in common was…
"Just like how the show must go on, the stars must also go on with their journey across the night sky…" Astra spoke up again. "Despite that their journey is a part of the show, it sometimes brought them upon the void in the sky, and today, for the very first time in the history, 17 bright stars and 10 dark voids had finally encountered each other face-to-face."
'17 bright stars and 10 dark voids…' I thought about the Mewtwo's cryptic words. With those numbers, he must be talking about…
"… By 17 bright stars, you are referring to us, aren't you?" The Aerodactyl spoke up. "For that there are 17 of 18 Hero/ine of Legend here, and that are all of us here, including you, Pontifex Astra."
'I knew it…' I thought after hearing the Aerodactyl's words. There were 16 audiences, and plus Astra it's 17. 17 Hero/ine of Legend were here… Only one missing. With all but one Hero/ine of Legend gathering at one place, it could only mean one thing. A great crisis was looming upon the world, and it was time for them to perform their duty… And the crisis that they would face this time… For some reason, I had a very bad feeling about it… No… For some reason, I had had a very bad feeling since the very first moment I laid my eyes upon them…
"… And the 10 dark voids…" Katarina said as she, as well as the rest of Hero/ine of Legend, casted their eyes upon us. Without Freya and Snow here, there were 10 of us Pendragon here. "And with how all 17 Hero/ine of Legend are gathering here, and how you referred to them as 'dark voids'…"
"Indeed…" Astra said. "The stars know everything, and they never tell a lie. As the prophet of the celestial sky, I had received the star's revelation, informing me about the upcoming crisis that is even greater than the Fallen Crisis faced by the former generation of the bright stars, who had since fallen from the celestial sky, half of which were caused by none other than the dark voids themselves."
"Half of which… were caused by none other than the dark voids themselves…" The Aurorus repeated the Mewtwo's words. "That's…"
"It seems like the star's revelation has also reached all of you at last." Astra continued speaking. "The dark voids that appeared on the night sky were responsible for the end of several bright star of the previous generation, the predecessors of the current generation of bright stars. And very soon, all of them shall be responsible for the upcoming crisis that is looming upon us. And that, my friends, is the revelation of the star, for the star knows everything, and they had grace us with the script of our future chapters, for the show that we shall perform afterward."
A moment of silence filled the entire room after the Mewtwo's speech ended. Everyone's reaction toward Astra's words was difference between Pokemon. Some seemed confused, unable to process the meaning behind those cryptic words. Those who did, however, were flabbergasted, especially the Hero/ine of Legend. The Pendragon, on the other hand, seemed very anxious.
"So… You are saying that…" The first Pokemon who broke the silence this time was the Charizard who was on the Hero/ine of Legend side. "The one who will cause the upcoming crisis, the one who is our enemies that we must defeat, is them?!"
"Indeed." Astra said. "The stars know everything, and they never tell a lie, my friends."
"H… How could that be?!" Eva said as she looked at us, especially Korben. "S… So, you are saying that… All the time Korben was in Solar Village… H… He is a b… bad guy?!"
"…" Korben didn't say anything in response to the Eevee.
"… There must be a mistake." Diego spoke up. "I admit that we here aren't good guy. In fact, some of us here, myself included, are bad guys. However, we were just common bad guys found everywhere in the world. We aren't the type of those villains who caused the destruction of the world or something like that."
"I agreed with him." Viola spoke up while looking at Diego before shifting her attention to Astra. "Though you claimed that they are the 'dark void' or whatever, I couldn't see what they could do to cause another crisis that is greater than the Fallen Crisis, and the Fallen Crisis was caused by the Fallen Dragon themselves too…"
"I know Rachael personally, for that I am her elder brother." Jasper spoke up. "And I can say without any hesitation that she isn't a bad person. She is a good person at heart and soul, and since several of us here have a connection with them, I would say that I am not the only person who thinks so."
"The stars know everything, and they never tell a lie." Astra said. "Yet the stars are fickle creatures. They never reveal all, for that doing so shall spoil the show. That is why I, the director of the show, had to involve myself in this matter. I had located the identity of the 10 dark voids, though I only successfully located 9 of them, and I brought them here not only to bring forth the tenth dark void, but also to look at the script of the voids themselves, and the script… Alas, they made my blood cold, like the darknets night of Winter Solstice on top of Mt. Snowlost…"
"… So, that's why you kidnapped us…" Richard spoke up. "You are trying to find out how we can be a potential threat to the world…"
"And what did you discover about them, Pontifex Astra?" Bismarck asked.
"There were two aspects that I have unearthed. The first and foremost is what I have told you all before." Astra said. "The dark voids that appeared on the night sky were responsible for the end of several bright star of the previous generation, the predecessors of the current generation of bright stars."
"And what does that supposed to mean?!" The Tyrantrum asked.
"P… Pontifex Astra meant that t… they…" Eva spoke up. "T… They are responsible for the death of several of our parents, several of Hero/ine of Legend of the previous generation!"
"!" All of the Pendragon, myself included, were shocked by the Eevee's words. And I could see that several of Hero/ine of Legend were shocked too. However, some of them didn't seem as surprised as others.
"… Yeah, I admit it." Zetarus spoke up. "I was the one who killed Emperor Garland."
"That is only because you were under the effect of the Curse of Quakersand, Zetarus." Natasha spoke up.
"Yeah." Largo said. "Besides, our father kinda deserved it."
"… Under a different circumstance, I would be the one who killed our father instead." Terrus said. "And so, we couldn't really say that Zetarus is fully responsible of our father's death."
"… It's true that Rachael was with me and Zenpai during the death of my father, Joshua." Jasper said. "However, he died because he committed suicide, not because Rachael killed him."
"In fact, Rachael is fully innocent." Zenpai said. "It was Joshua who fell into madness, after all."
"Brothers…" Rachael said as she looked at the Sceptile and the Scyther.
"And of course, Richard has nothing to do with Ellisk's death." Viola spoke up. "He also committed suicide right in front of me, Grimlock, Jasper, and Zenpai. Richard wasn't even there to see it."
"As for Kamui, he activated his self-destruction, killing himself, after his final battle with us." Grimlock said. "If you would count Richard as the one who caused Kamui's death, then you'll have to count me and others too, for that we also battled against my dad."
"…" Richard said nothing in response.
"Same here with my dad, Magnus." Bismarck spoke up. "Claura, Sea'viar, and I battled our dad before he died, but the true murderer was the Pyukumuku that got into his body."
"…" Claura and Xavier said nothing.
"The similar thing also happened to Leonel." Dinus spoke up. "It's true that Diego battled Leonel before he died, but I also battled him too. And the one who really killed Leonel was the God of Volcano."
"Dinus…" Diego said as he looked at his twin brother.
"And of course, my mother, Empress Sharon, died several years ago due to illness, before War over the Windsky Plateau even started." Natasha spoke up again. "So, I had no doubt that they weren't involved in it."
"B… But what a… about the rest?!" Eva spoke up again. "W… We don't even know who killed Ridley's father, Pontifex Hawkins, Archsage Iris, Queen Nyxier, or… or…"
"… If you were talking of the Hero of Justice…" Baromyteus stepped forward and spoke up. "Then I was—"
"No, you didn't." Fenrir Jr. spoke up before Baromyteus could finish his sentence. "My mother already relayed her message to me, about the truth behind our father's death, that you were not really responsible for it."
"You… know?" Baromyteus seemed to be taken aback by Fenrir Jr.'s exposure.
"Of course, I do." Fenrir Jr. continued speaking. "My mother, Fenrir Sr., wrote everything in her letter she left to me as a will, hoping that I would read it after she died, which I did, of course."
"Wait, Fenrir." Ridley spoke up. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying that… Our mother… is…"
"Dead? Yes, of course." Fenrir Jr. said. "After all, those Pokemon on the stage went to Shadowlost Territory in order to kill our mother specifically, after all."
"I… It can't be…" Ridley was shocked, very, very shocked after the revelation from his elder brother, about the death of his mother.
"I… I knew it!" Eva said. "T… They are really—"
"However, my mother, knowing that she could easily escape death, chose to confront it on her own will." Fenrir continued speaking. "And in the end, it was neither of them who killed Fenrir Sr. It was her own younger brother who did it in the manner of a mercy kill, for that by the very last moment of her life, she was already lost."
"Fenrir…" Korben spoke up. "Why are you…"
"You know me better than that, Korben." Fenrir Jr said. "The only thing that interested me is the truth, not a fabrication of what really happened."
"… Which means that we have 4 Hero/ine of Legend of the former generation whose deaths are still a mystery." Soryl spoke up. "On top of that, the last of them is still missing, right? If he's still alive, he would be the only living Hero/ine of Legend of the former generation."
"T… That doesn't change anything!" Eva spoke up again with her attention directed at Korben. "I… I can't believe I trust you! Y… You must be the one who… Who…"
"No, my dear Eva." Katarina spoke up. "The apparent evidences still point out at the Kommo-o here being innocent regarding the murder of Archbishop Zira. Besides, he was with Ridley all the time, and by the time he arrived at Temple of Yggdrasil, you and your brother were there too. How else would he kill Archbishop Zira?"
"I… I don't care!" Eva said with a hint of anger in her voice. "He… He… He's the one who killed my mother!"
"… Without any more evidences, we can come up with any guess we want." Fenrir Jr. said. "However, that's just it. Guess. Without any proves or logic behind it, they won't become the truth. Pontifex Astra, if you would be so kind, please enlighten us with more information regarding the death of the remaining Hero/ine of Legend that we haven't uncovered yet."
"The stars know everything, and they speak of only the truth." Astra spoke up again. "However, the stars are fickle creatures, and, more often than we want, they sometimes leave us in the dark, for us to find the path without their guidance, for us to play by our roles."
"Then we can't really say that they…" Fenrir Jr. continued speaking while also glancing at the Pendragon. "… are truly a group of villains that threatened the fate of this world. It is true that they are responsible for the death of some of our parents, but from what I heard, most of them didn't want to do that. It is either a mercy kills, or that they were under an influence of something. You can't really say that they are guilty, can you?"
"Indeed… If that is the only thing I have unearthed about them and their role…" Astra continued speaking. "I did mention before that I have uncovered two aspects regarding the dark voids, didn't I? The second aspect I uncovered… Oh, the stars of the celestial sky…"
"Just shut up and say it!" Viola scolded.
"Then, allow me…" Astra said as he raises his paw upward. "Oh, celestial beings, the omnipotent arbiters of the night sky. Grant us revelation. Let us see the truth behind the darkness of the universe. Let us witness the role of the actors and actresses on the stage. Let the audience judge the performance!"
As the Mewtwo finished his chanting, the stage that we Pendragon were standing on suddenly became bright white, as if thousand spotlights suddenly appeared beneath the stage!
"AHHH!" All of the Pendragon quickly shielded their eyes from the sudden burst of light, myself included. That, however, went on for just 10 seconds before the burst of light completely disappeared, leaving the stage in the same manner as before, and we Pendragon were able to open our eyes again, only to see that the expression on the face of each Hero/ine of Legend was different.
"H… How…"
"Could it be?"
"Are they really…"
Those were among the words of mumbling that I could catch on. I didn't understand why they would react like that… Until I turned my attention to the other Pokemon on the stage.
"!"
Everyone else, the rest of the Pendragon, was still the same. All of them were still their normal self in every way… Except their shadow. Their shadows no longer appeared in the form of their owners. Instead, they appeared in form of other Pokemon. Rachael's shadow was a Mega Latias. Richard's shadow was a Mega Latios. Zetarus' shadow was a Zygarde. Diego's shadow was a Kyurem. Claura's shadow was a Reshiram. Xavier's shadow was a Zekrom. Anastasia's shadow was a Dialga. Baromyteus' shadow was a Palkia. And Korben's shadow was a Giratina.
In other words, their shadows were changed to show the silhouette of the Legendary Pokemon that each of them had formed a pact with!
"The stars know everything, and they never tell a lie." Astra spoke up as he slowly descended down to where the other Hero/ine of Legend were standing. "Ladies and gentlemen, behold, the true identity of the dark voids. The role of the actors and actresses on the stage. They were those who had formed a pact with other Legendary Pokemon!"
"…" I glanced at my shadow, seeing that, unlike the rest of the Pendragon, remained unchanged. This must be the result of how my pact with Arceus was different from ordinary pact. Then I casted my gaze toward the Hero/ine of Legend, observing their reaction upon learning the truth of the Pendragon.
"… Zetarus, explain yourself at once." Terrus spoke up. "Is it true regarding of what Pontifex Astra claimed earlier?"
"… Remember back then, when I escaped from Desert Prison?" Zetarus spoke up. "I was on the execution block back then. How do you think I manage to escape death and even destroy the entire Desert Prison?"
"… So, it is true, then." Terrus said. "You have formed a pact with a Legendary Pokemon since then, since even before we met for the first time during my Succession Ceremony."
"Zetarus…" Natasha looked at her younger brother in disbelief. "You… You are joking, right?"
"Sis, you should know that even someone like Zetarus wouldn't take a joke this far." Largo said.
"… Let me guess…" Fenrir Jr. spoke up as he looked at Korben. "Since you are wearing that cursed artifact, the diadem of chaos that allows a communication with the unknown being who offers to grant a wish at a prince, right now, it must be the same being that you have formed a pact with, isn't it, my cousin?"
"… Yes." Korben said as he involuntarily touched his diadem.
"Wait, what are you talking about, brother?" Ridley spoke up as he looked at both Fenrir Jr. and Korben. He seemed to still be in shock after the revelation. "Cursed artifact? What is that? And more importantly, why did you call Korben our cousin?"
"Oh, trust me, Ridley. You will get to know everything soon." Fenrir Jr. said. "But trust me, sometimes, truth can be a cruel mistress."
'Fenrir Jr… He's still as sharp as ever…' I continued to observe the rest of Hero/ine of Legend. Most of them were still in shock and awe, while some seemed to be confused. I could see that Jasper, Zenpai, Viola, Grimlock, and Bismarck were looking at Rachael, Richard, Claura, and Xavier in disbelief, as if they want them to tell that this was just a cruel joke. However, Rachael and Richard avoided their gaze, while Claura's face was blank. She didn't show any emotion on her face. Xavier, on the other hand, avoided it all by falling asleep, or that's what he was pretending to do.
"…"
"…"
Unlike the rest of Hero/ine of Legend, there was one who didn't show any sign of shock or surprise. All he did was looking at a member of the Pendragon, at his twin brother, who also looked back at him, as if the twin brothers were communicating with each other using telepathy. It was almost as if he already knew about the pact that his twin brother and the rest of us possessed...
"… Silence speaks louder than any words. So, it is true, then." Katarina spoke up, still holding her fan to conceal half of her face. "Your group consists of Pokemon who had formed a pact with Legendary Pokemon."
"A… According to the teaching of Goddess Yggdrasil, forming a pact with Legendary Pokemon is a grave sin!" Eva spoke up. "O… Only those who hungers after power due to their avarice within their heart shall seek after a pact. T… This is a sin, an extremely serious one! A… Anyone who committed this sin s… shall be exempt from salvation for eternity!"
"Let's ignore what the goddess had said about the pactbearers, or what someone claimed to be goddess' own words, for now…" Fenrir Jr. spoke up again. "It is true that forming a pact with Legendary Pokemon is something that we don't get to see every day, and almost everyone has a really negative view toward those who do so..."
"So, then, allow me to ask all of you…" Terrus stepped forward and spoke with voice full of authority. "Why did each of you choose to form a pact with Legendary Pokemon? What are you aiming to do?"
"… I did it to achieve my goal." Zetarus was the first person among the Pendragon who spoke up after Terrus finished his question. "And for what my goal is… I already completed it, and I am sure that you know what it is, Emperor Terrus."
"… Indeed, Zetarus." Terrus said in response to his younger brother.
"Same here. In order to survive in the world, to achieve our goal, I will take the pact or anything." Claura said.
"ZZZ… You would be a fool to not agree to something like this, after all…" Xavier mumbled.
"Claura… Sea'viar…" Bismarck mumbled as he looked at the duo.
"I did it to break free from the yoke that binds me." Diego was the next Pokemon who spoke up. "As the son of the former Hero of Fire type, my destiny was set, like a shackle upon my soul. It is something that I find unacceptable, for that I want to walk on my own path, and thus that was how I casted away my role and birthright for a freedom."
"… You chose your own path, and I chose mine…" Dinus said in response to Diego's words.
"For me, it is so that I can get stronger, so that I won't be a burden to anyone, especially to those I care…" Rachael spoke up.
"Rachael…" Jasper said.
"…" Unlike the Sceptile, Zenpai said nothing. He simply looked at Rachael.
"Unlike my younger sister, I don't have a noble reason behind my pact. I simply seek knowledge, and a pact will help me with achieving that goal." Richard said.
"Richard… You… haven't changed at all…" Viola mumbled.
"That… is exactly something that you would do…" Grimlock said.
"… I am sorry, but I can't say my reason…" Anastasia said while also avoided looking at anyone.
"… Let's just say that it's either do or die for my sister and I." Baromyteus said.
"Anastasia…" The Aurorus said with a sad voice as she looked at Anastasia.
"…" I could also see the Tyrantrum looking at Baromyteus. Unlike the rest of Hero/ine of Legend, he didn't seem to be interested in the topic of a pact with Legendary Pokemon that we were discussing right now. Instead, he looked as if he had found something that he had been looking for.
"And as for me, this pact of mine is to protect everyone." Korben spoke up. "The Legendary Pokemon that I had formed a pact with is dangerous, which you know better than I do, Fenrir. And so, if someone has to suffer under his pact, let it be me and me alone."
"Indeed…" Fenrir Jr. said. "So that's your decision…"
"Korben…" Ridley said. "You have such a noble heart…"
"I… It doesn't change the fact that they all had formed a pact!" Eva spoke up. "A… All of them are still sinners!"
"Aren't we all?" Fenrir Jr. chuckled.
"Well… We have heard their reasons in forming a pact with Legendary Pokemon." The Aerodactyl spoke up.
"Indeed, Soryl." Largo said before turning his attention to his elder brother. "What's next, Terrus?"
"… It is true that, for the world, forming a pact with Legendary Pokemon is unacceptable. Some even considered it a grave sin or a crime at the highest order…" Terrus spoke up.
"Wait a minute, Terrus." Natasha spoke up. "Are you going to judge them just because they formed a pact with Legendary Pokemon?"
"You know that isn't right!" Largo spoke up. "I made a mistake by judging Zetarus as bad guy when we first met him just because he was trying to kill our dad, not knowing the truth behind—"
"However…" Terrus continued speaking, interrupting Largo's words. "We can't judge something based on how the world perceive it, can we?"
"Indeed…" Katarina spoke up. "What matter the most is the truth. While it is already proven to be true that a group of dragons here had formed a pact with Legendary Pokemon, and some even has selfish reason behind it, they still haven't become that kind of villains that needed to be defeated by the Hero/ine of Legend."
"B… But Katarina…" Eva spoke up. "T… The Goddess' teaching clearing stated that forming a pact with Legendary Pokemon is a grave sin!"
"… You really believe in the Goddess' teaching, hm?" Soryl the Aerodactyl spoke up as he turned his attention toward Eva.
"O… Of course!" Eva said. "T… The goddess' teaching had saved million, including my mother, who would be lost without her guidance. I… I believe in the goddess and her teaching with all my heart! After all, she cares for everyone, and her salvation will extend toward every Pokemon on the continent of Symmetria."
"… If it's true that the goddess' salvation shall reach every corner of Symmetria…" Soryl continued speaking, this time with emotionless voice. "Then why did she abandon Windsky Plateau after the war?"
"!" Eva seemed to be caught by surprise by the Aerodactyl's question.
"Soryl…" Terrus said and looked at the Aerodactyl with a worried look on his face.
"Ever since the War Over the Windsky Plateau, I have been considering the Goddess and her teaching…" Soryl continued speaking. "Windsky Plateau used to be part of Theocracy of Venturnome, the holy realm blessed by the goddess herself, and yet, what happened during the war… If the Goddess really extends her salvation to everyone, then why did all those terrible things happen to Windsky Plateau and its people?"
"T… That must be the Goddess' trial…" Eva said with a shaking voice.
"And her trial involves countless innocents being killed?" Soryl said. "I used to believe in the goddess' teaching, just like everyone in Theocracy of Venturnome, but after the War over Windsky Plateau…"
"Soryl…" Terrus spoke the Aerodactyl's name again.
"… That is certainly tragic, isn't it?" Fenrir Jr. spoke up. "However, aren't we getting sidetracked here?"
"True." Viola said. "We were discussing those who had formed a pact with Legendary Pokemon, which happened to be our friends on the stage here."
"Heh… So now you are going to judge us if we are the villains that needed to be defeat or not, huh?" Baromyteus spoke up with a sarcastic voice. "After all, you are the god's chosen heroes, so you can basically judge anyone to your liking."
"What did you just say?!" Grimlock spoke up. "And now that I think about it, who the hell are you?! I never see you before."
"Of course, you don't know who I am. After all, your parents would never speak of my name, the name of the cursed 'hero' who betrayed the Hero/ine of Legend right before the confrontation against the Fallen Dragon…" Baromyteus said.
"The hero who betrayed— Wait a minute…" Largo spoke up as he looked at Baromyteus. "Don't tell me that… The two Hero/ine of Dragon type who betrayed the former Hero/ine of Legend during the Fallen Crisis… You are one of them?!"
"Yes, one of them is me. I used to serve as the Hero of Dragon type during the Fallen Crisis, and I betrayed your parents at the final moment, right before they faced the Fallen Dragon." Baromyteus said as he slowly removed the helmet that he always wore, revealing his face to the audiences.
"!"
Upon seeing Baromyteus' face, the Hero/ine of Legend's expression changed. This time, the reaction of every Hero/ine of Legend was in unanimous. To summarize it in one word… Dread.
"This is how the world punished me." Baromyteus said as he put the helmet back onto his head, concealing it one more. "I was cursed to have my flesh disintegrated, turning me into a living, walking skeleton Haxorus. Hell, I am not sure if I am really alive or not, but that doesn't matter. If this form still allows me to fight on, then I have no issue with that. I just wear this armor suit because it's a pain if everyone could see my dreadful appearance of all time."
"Y… You have no problem with that?!" Soryl said. "H… How could you even live with that appearance?!"
"T… That's truly the appearance of the sinner!" Eva said as she hid behind Grimlock. "Y… You are truly the sinner of this world! Y… You are the true evil of this world!"
"The concept of good and evil is no longer a concern for me." Baromyteus said. "I only exist to fight on. I crave a battle that could shake my soul and sate my lust for blood. That is my life now."
"Then…" The Tyrantrum stepped forward and pointed his paw at Baromyteus. "You, whatever your name is, I challenge you—"
"CHRONOS!" The Aurorus stepped forward and held the Tyrantrum back. "This isn't a time and place for that!"
"But Misvale, you know that I will never let a chance to fight strong warrior go…" Chronos the Tyrantrum said. "And the Haxorus in front of us is strong, I can tell. He might be even the strongest Pokemon I have met. I can't let this chance—"
"No." Baromyteus spoke up. "I am not in a mood to fight the son of the traitor right now."
"What?!" Chronos was taken aback by Baromyteus' blunt reply.
"Son of the traitor…" Misvale the Aurorus spoke up. "Does it mean that you know who our father is?!"
"You don't?" Baromyteus said with a sarcastic tone of voice. "Of course… I heard about his deed after the Fallen Crisis. No doubt that Nyxier would conceal his existence from her children."
"Y… You know our mother too?" Misvale said.
"If he's the corrupted Hero of Dragon type, then of course he would know our parents, Val." Chronos said.
"Wait a minute…" Bismarck spoke up. "If one of the former Hero of Dragon type is you, then who is the other one?"
"… It's me." Anastasia spoke up. "I was with Ru—With the Hero of Justice since the beginning of his journey, and in the end, I betrayed him, alongside my brother here. And as for my punishment, I was spared of one, for that the world deemed my crime to be minor."
"Anastasia…" Baromyteus said as he looked at his younger sister.
"So… You are the other one…" Fenrir Jr. mumbled. "And despite that you have befriended my father since the beginning of his journey, according to your words, you still betrayed him and his comrades. Did you decide to betray them at the very last second, or did you decide to betray them since the very beginning?"
"…" Anastasia said nothing in response to the Zoroark's question.
"… I have never thought that the two former Hero/ine of Dragon type are still alive, let alone that I get to meet them…" Natasha spoke up. "And it seems that the world had already decided on a punishment for—"
"I… It doesn't change anything!" Eva spoke up again. "I… It is just as Pontifex Astra said, these dragons are evil! They are the villains that we must defeat!"
"… Pardon my forgetfulness, but why are they evil again?" Fenrir Jr. spoke up, and I could detect a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"B… Because they have formed a pact with Legendary Pokemon!" Eva said. "A… And according to the teaching of the Goddess, it is a grave sin that even the goddess herself would withdraw her salvation for them for eternity!"
"How did you know that the Goddess really say that?" Soryl asked. "Have you ever met Goddess Yggdrasil face to face before?"
"Well, I read the book that recorded the goddess' teaching before, and I remember seeing what Eva said being written there…" Ridley answered.
"… I guess this is as much as I could expect…" Fenrir Jr. mumbled to himself.
"Let us disregard what the Goddess said about it for now…" Dinus spoke up and looked at the Pendragon. "It is true that they have formed a pact with Legendary Pokemon, but they haven't caused any major damage to the world, have they? Pardon me for saying this, but I know several previous nation rulers who had caused a lot more damage to this world than they did."
"…" Viola, Grimlock, Misvale, Terrus, Natasha, Largo, and Soryl went into silent after hearing the Charizard's words.
"E… Even if you say that…" Eva spoke up again. "T… Two of those dragons were the former Hero/ine of Dragon type! T… They were the one who betrayed the former Hero/ine of Legend, betraying our parents!"
"Yeah, I did." Baromyteus spoke with an emotionless voice.
"…" Anastasia said nothing in response to the Eevee.
"But they were already punished for their crime, wasn't they?" Terrus spoke up. "The world already deemed a worthy punishment for the Haxorus, as per what we all have seen, and the Goodra was spared from the punishment, yet it doesn't mean that she is entirely innocent, for that the sin and guilt of what she had done shall be with her for the rest of her life. There is no need for us to punish them any further."
"… I am sorry…" Anastasia mumbled.
"… Heh… You are nothing like Garland, kid." Baromyteus spoke up. "Are you sure that you are really his son?"
"… That is what I have heard before." Terrus answered with a calm voice.
'Now that I think about it…' I thought as I observed the Hero/ine of Legend. 'There are 17 Pokemon on the Hero/ine of Legend, despite that there should be 18 Hero/ine of Legend, one for each type. By the process of elimination, the missing one is the Hero of Dragon type… Then… Is it possible that Anastasia and Baromyteus will be the Hero/ine of Dragon type? No… That can't be… Both had betrayed the world before, and Baromyteus was punished with his accursed body, while Anastasia was spared from the punishment due to her crime being minor comparing to her brother. There's no way that the world would let both of them continue being the Hero/ine of Dragon type. Moreover, both had formed a pact with Legendary Pokemon already, and the pact with other Legendary Pokemon will cancel your title as the Hero/ine of Legend, or at least that's what I heard of Diego. But then… Who could the current Hero of Dragon type be?'
"And so, the issue about the dragons' crime of betraying the world is absolved, and the issue of them being pactbound to Legendary Pokemon had been put on parole for now…" Fenrir Jr. spoke up. "And so, it seems that, despite of what our holy pontifex has revealed, we can't really judge them as evil, can we?"
"W… Wait! T… This isn't over! T… There is still one more crime that they committed!" Eva spoke up again. "T… They killed our parents, the former Hero/ine of Legend!"
"We have talked about it already, haven't we?" Bismarck spoke up. "We now know the truth behind the death of 9 out of 14 Hero/ine of Legend. Only 4 of them that their death remained a mystery, and we aren't sure if the last one is still alive or not."
"You are talking about Queen Nyxier, Pontifex Hawkins, Archsage Iris, and Archbishop Zira, right?" Jasper said. "The 4 of them whose truth behind their death is still concealed, I mean."
"… Actually…" Xavier spoke up. "We know who killed Archsage Iris, and I can say that it's none of us who killed her."
"… Do you have any prove behind what you claimed?" Katarina asked. "Moreover, if you all aren't behind Archsage Iris' death, then who? Who killed her?"
"I don't." Xavier said. "But you also have no prove that we killed her either, for that something like that doesn't exist."
"And as for who killed her…" Baromyteus spoke up. "… We couldn't say."
"What?!" Katarina snapped. "What do you mean that you can't say?!"
"I meant what I said before." Baromyteus said. "And no matter what you did, I won't say anything else regarding her death."
'So… Baromyteus is concealing the fact that Bahamut killed Archsage Iris…' I thought as I observed Baromyteus and the Hero/ine of Legend. 'But… Why? Why would Baromyteus do that? What is his aiming? Is he protecting Bahamut? Or is there any other reason?'
"… Let's move on from Archsage Iris' death…" Natasha spoke up. "We have Queen Nyxier, whose body was found imprisoned in Nevermelt Ice in a castle on Mt. Snowlost, Pontifex Hawkins, whose body was found alongside his guards near the Dustorm-Venturnome border, and Archbishop Zira, who was found death in her own chamber just a week ago…"
"I… It's him!" Eva spoke up as she looked at Korben. I could see that she was getting tears in her eyes. "H… He is the one who killed my mother!"
"We already discuss about it, Eva. He isn't the one who killed Archbishop Zira for sure." Katarina spoke up.
"B… But the Knights of Yggdrasil had arrested him! T… They said that they had a concluding evident that he is the killer!" Eva continued speaking.
"But we haven't seen that evidence, have we?" Katarina said. "Until I have seen the evidence they claimed, my mind shall remain unchanged."
"B… But we have the evidence!" Eva said. "R… Remember the scales at the crime scene? It's definitely scales of dragons! A… And the only dragon type Pokemon who was at Solar Village at that time w… was…"
"The investigation also points toward that the killer had entered and left Temple of Yggdrasil via the evacuation tunnel underneath the temple." Katarina said. "That means any Dragon type Pokemon could commit this crime, but since Korben has a solid alibi since he was with Ridley during the time of the murder, he is innocent."
"But… But…" Eva tried to say something else, but she couldn't as she was getting too teary to say anything else.
"… Excuse me, Lady Katarina…" Natasha spoke up.
"Yes? How can I help you, Princess Natasha?" Katarina turned her attention toward the Dragalge.
"The Dragon Scales found at the crime scene of Archbishop Zira's murder… Can you describe it in greater detail to us?" Natasha asked.
"I don't see why not. In fact, I have a picture of it, so, allow me." Katarina said as she grabbed her handbag and picked something from it and handed it over to Natasha.
"Thank you." Natasha said as she received the picture from Katarina.
"The very same kind of Dragon Scales were found near Pontifex Hawkins' body too." Katarina said. "If I remember correctly, Dustorm Empire was involved in the investigation behind Pontifex Hawkins' death too, for that his body was found within the territory of Dustorm Empire."
"…" Natasha looked at the picture given to her by the Florges, with Terrus, Largo, and Soryl joining her too.
"And so, we have come to the conclusion that the perpetrator behind Archbishop Zira's murder is the same Pokemon as the one behind Pontifex Hawkins' death." Katarina said. "If only we could find out the culprit of one case, it will solve the other case too…"
"B… But we already did it!" Eva spoke up again. "K… Korben is the one who killed—"
"No." Natasha spoke up. "The Kommo-o over there isn't the killer of either Archbishop Zira or Pontifex Hawkins."
"H… Huh?!" Everyone's attention was turned to the Dragalge as she finished speaking her previous statement.
"May I ask to hear your reasoning, Princess Natasha?" Katarina said.
"It was as you said, Lady Katarina, that Dustorm Empire was involved in the investigation of Pontifex Hawkins' death too, for not only that his body was found within Dustorm's territory, but also that Pontifex Hawkins is late Emperor Garland's elder brother, so all of us royal children of Quakersand family are his nephews and nieces." Natasha said.
"Dustorm Investigation Team had collected the evidences, Dragon Scales included, found at the crime scene, and sent them for the analysis at our capital." Terrus spoke up. "I just received the analysis result the day before I left for Theocracy of Venturnome, and the result indicated that the Dragon Scales found at the murder scene don't belong to a Kommo-o."
"Which means, the Kommo-o over there isn't the one who killed Pontifex Hawkins, and since you said that the one who killed Archbishop Zira is most likely the same person as the one who killed Pontifex Hawkins due to the very same kind of Dragon Scales found at the crime scene, it also meant that the Kommo-o over there isn't the one who killed Archbishop Zira either." Soryl said.
"I… It can't be…" Eva was taken aback by the revelation from the remark of those from Dustorm Empire.
"… Who was it?" Grimlock spoke up. "If the Dragon Scales found at both crime scenes didn't belong to a Kommo-o, then, what kind of Pokemon do those scales belong to?"
"… According to the analysis…" Terrus closed his eyes and answered. "… Those Dragon Scales all belong to a Dragon type Pokemon called… Tyrantrum."
"…"
"…"
"… Eh?!"
Upon Terrus finished speaking, everyone's attention was drawn toward one Pokemon in this room, who was none other than the only Tyrantrum in this room.
"Chronos" Dinus spoke up.
"Now that I think about it… The crime scene of Archbishop Zira's murder…" Katarina spoke up. "It shows that the killer possessed a blunt weapon and two sharp claws, and a Tyrantrum certainly possesses two sharp claws on their paw…"
"…" I glanced at Baromyteus and noticed that he seemed to be deep in thought after hearing the words from Terrus and Katarina.
"I… It wasn't me!" Chronos spoke up. "It's true that I like challenging strong opponent, but there's no way that I will challenge either Pontifex Hawkins or Archbishop Zira!"
"A… Are you implying that my mother is weak?!" Eva said with a shaking voice.
"That's not what I mean, of course!" Chronos said. "The point is, I didn't kill them!"
"Do you have any proof behind your claim?" Katarina asked.
"W… Well…" Chronos seemed to be anxious once he heard Katarina's words.
"Of course! I can vouch for him!" Misvale spoke up. "Around the time of Pontifex Hawking going missing up to when he was found dead, Chronos was in Fire Kingdom of all time, taking care of me, who just fled the civil war of my homeland. And during the week of Archbishop Zira's murder, Chronos was with me all the time during our journey from Queendom of Riverbrine to this place. He has a solid alibi. I can vouch for him."
"Y… You are just trying to protect him!" Eva said. "After all, you two seem to be really close! Aren't you two lovers or something?!"
"Wait, you misunderstood—" Chronos was about to correct the Eevee's words, but his words were cut off by someone.
"I can vouch for Chronos' innocence too." Dinus spoke up. "Chronos and I lived together with my father on Fireview Volcano, and I can confirm his alibi during the time of Pontifex Hawkins' death. And I also accompanied Chronos and Queen Misvale for our journey from Riverbrine to Venturnome too. There's no way that Chronos is the killer."
"B… But you are his close friend!" Eva said. "It could be that you are still trying to protect him!"
"Then, how about me?" Soryl spoke up. "I can't vouch for him for Pontfiex Hawkins' death, for that I was accompanied Emperor Terrus back then, but during the week of Archbishop Zira's death, I also accompanied Chronos, Queen Misvale, and Dinus too. And I have no close relation with Chronos, for that I only met him twice before, one during Fireview Kingdom's Coronation Ceremony, and another time during our journey to this land, so I have no reason to protect him should he is really guilty."
"Yeah, and since we already discussed that the one who killed Pontifex Hawkins and the one who killed Archbishop Zira are the same person, it means Chronos' alibi during Archbishop Zira's murder also extends to his alibi during Pontifex Hawkins' murder too." Largo said.
"I… It can't be…" Eva was taken aback again when Chronos' innocence was proven. "I… If neither of them is the killer, then who? Who kill my m… mother?!"
"… Heh… Hehehehehe…"
Everyone's focus was interrupted when the sound of someone laughing manically, which was none other than the dragon in the black armor suit who was standing on the stage.
"You poor fools…" Baromyteus spoke up with a creepy voice. "You are wasting your time and yet still haven't grasp the truth you all desperately seek. What a bunch of fools…"
"What did you just say?!" Viola seemed to be enraged by Baromyteus' words.
"… May I assume that you have solved the mystery behind both murders?" Zenpai asked.
"You all fail to account 2 points." Baromyteus said. "One, it's easy to kill Zira since she's weak—"
"D.. Did you just say that—" Eva spoke up again, but she quickly closed her mouth and hid behind Grimlock when Baromyteus glared at her with his murderous intent.
"… However, it isn't easy to kill Hawkins, as he is a Lugia, a Legendary Pokemon, not counting the fact that he was guarded by several of Venturnome's elite knights, and yet all of them were killed. This meant the killer is someone who is very powerful, at least powerful enough to match Hawkins." Baromyteus continued speaking.
"Yes, we have come to the same conclusion too." Katarina said. "However, there isn't a lot of Pokemon who could defeat all of Venturnome's elite knights, let alone defeating Pontifex Hawkins."
"You have come this far, and you still haven't grasped the truth? Pathetic." Baromyteus said. "As for the second point that you missed, it might be possible that those Dragon Scales were planted at the crime scenes to frame someone—"
"That's impossible." Katarina spoke up again. "If the killer really planted the Dragon Scales at the crime scene to frame someone, they would plant them somewhere that is easy-to-notice. However, we have found Dragon Scales in places that are both easy-to-notice and hard-to-notice. Since it's entirely possible for the killer to drop their own Dragon Scales entirely in easy-to-notice place, there is no need for someone to planted Dragon Scales in both easy-to-notice place and hard-to-notice place if they want to frame someone, which means that the Dragon Scales dropped at both crime scenes really belonged to the killer themselves."
"Then…" Richard spoke up. "Why would the killer drop his own scales at the crime scenes?"
"!"
"Ah… Now that you mention it, I really fail to consider this…" Katarina said. "It can't be because they failed to destroy the evidence, for that some Dragon Scales we found were in a really easy-to-notice place that you would have to be legally blind to miss them."
"Perhaps they didn't have enough time to destroy the evidences?" Chronos asked.
"That's true only for Archbishop Zira's murder, but not Pontifex Hawkins' murder." Grimlock said. "After all, Pontifex Hawkins' body was found in the desert near Dustorm-Venturnome border, and he was dead for sometimes before his body was discovered, which meant the killer wasn't in a hurry to escape at all."
"Then, did the killer leave their own scales there as a 'challenge letter' or something?" Bismarck spoke up. "It's like the killer was saying 'I am the killer. Catch me if you dare.'"
"That's a bit illogical thing to do, isn't it?" Ridley said. "After all, the killer had killed two Pokemon so far, and Archbishop Zira's murder doesn't look like an incidental murder either. This meant that the killer must have planned to kill Archbishop Zira beforehand. It doesn't make sense for someone like that to purposefully leave damning evidence at the first crime scene, one that might point toward him."
"Unless the killer doesn't care whether they would be caught or not." Jasper spoke up. "My father, Joshua, who was the Mysterious Tsujigiri of Leafburg 3 years ago, also left evidence on each of his victim in the appearance of his blade mark on the victim's body. All blade marks showed that all the victims were killed by the same person, who is a really skilled and powerful swordman. My father did it because he didn't care if he would be caught or not. All he wanted was to kill as many Pokemon as he could, for that madness already overcame his sanity."
"But this case is clearly unlike that." Zenpai spoke up. "After all, there are only 2 known victims in the span of 3 years, unlike Joshua's case."
"Hmmmm…"
The Hero/ine of Legend seemed to be in deep thoughts, and so did I. After all, we were trying to solve the mystery behind the murders of two former Hero/ine of Legend, and we had found a new path that we hadn't considered before. However, when we followed the line of thought, it didn't get us anywhere, and we seemed to be hitting the wall again…
"… You all aren't really creative, are you?" Xavier spoke up.
"Hm?!" The Hero/ine of Legend's attention was drawn to the Dragonite upon hearing his words.
"You all are still thinking in the box." Xavier said. "Instead of considering 'why' the killer left their scales at the crime scene, you should consider why the killer 'had to' leave their scales at the crime scene instead."
"Had to?" Ridley said.
"… I see…" Zenpai spoke up. "In Joshua's case, he killed people with his katana, which would unavoidably leave the blade mark on his victim's body, and thus the evidence was left at the crime scene."
"So, in this case, the killer had a reason to leave their own scales at the crime scene…" Ridley said. "But, why would they have to do that?"
"You are still thinking inside the box, Ridley." Fenrir Jr. spoke up. "You only assume that the killer left their own scales at the crime scenes on their own will."
"What?! Are you saying that the killer tried to frame someone else by placing someone else's scales there, or someone forced the killer to drop their own scales at the crime scene?" Ridley looked at his elder brother.
"… For the first point, of course not, for that we already ruled out that possibility." Fenrir Jr. said. "As for the second point, not quite. It's not that 'someone' forced the killer to drop their own scales, but 'something' forced the killer to drop their own scales at the crime scene."
"Something forced the killer to drop their own scales at the crime scene…" Ridley said. "What could it be?"
"Like the killer's scales fell off from their body on their own?" Chronos spoke up. "During some"
"!" Everyone's attention was drawn to the Tyrantrum once he finished speaking as they all seemed to have realized something.
"Hm?" Chronos realized that he became the center of attention once again. "… Did I say something wrong?"
"Chronos… Thanks to you, I think we finally make a breakthrough we sorely need…" Dinus spoke up.
"You are saying that I hit the mark? Hell yeah!" Chronos said.
"But even if what Chronos said is true…" Viola spoke up. "How could scales fall off from the killer's body on their own? I mean, scales aren't like hair or fur. It isn't easy for scales to fall off, is it?"
"Well, my scales definitely fell off my body sometimes during a fierce battle. A strong hit from weapons or magic can sometimes knock a piece or two of my scales down." Chronos said. "But they eventually grow back, so I am not worry about it."
"Well, the killer engaged in a fight against both victims before they killed them, right?" Bismarck said. "Then, it's entirely possible for their scales to fall off from the fierce battle."
"… That might be true when the murderer killed Pontifex Hawkins…" Katarina said. "However, I doubt their battle with Archbishop Zira would be fierce enough, for that the crime scene clearly suggested a one-side slaughter, pardon me for being blunt, Eva."
"…" Eva said nothing upon hearing the Florges' words.
"If it isn't a fierce battle that caused the killer's scales to fall off, then what is it?" Largo said.
"… It's their age." Fenrir Jr. spoke up. "When we grow old, our body won't be as good as it was before, and one of the most common symptoms of growing old is hair loss, or in the case of hairless creatures, wrinkled skin… Or scales falling off."
"So…" Soryl spoke up. "It means that the one who killed Pontifex Hawkins and Archbishop Zira is at very least someone in the second half of their life."
"ZZZZZ… Finally…" Xavier spoke up. It seemed that he really had fallen asleep. "It took you all soooo long just to get here. You all could use an improvement class in deduction skill."
"So, now we get 3—No, 4 clues that can help us pinpoint the killer." Baromyteus spoke up. "One, the killer is a Tyrantrum. Two, the killer uses blunt weapon. Three, the killer is strong enough to match Hawkins. And four, the killer is aged... I trust that this is enough."
"!"
"Honestly, we only need the first and the third clue to identify the killer. The second and the fourth clue are just there to support our theory." Xavier said.
"… And Archsage Iris actually figured it out since several months before you all could, and back then, the murder of Archbishop Zira hadn't occurred yet." Richard mumbled to himself, which only us Pendragon who was near him could hear. "But again, she's clearly smarter than any of you there…"
"So… He is the true culprit we seek…" Fenrir Jr. said. "My mother told me quite a bit about her fellow comrades during the Fallen Crisis, so I know quite a bit about the former Hero/ine of Legend, and there is one among them that clearly fits the four clues we have."
"If he is still alive, then he must be at least 50 years old…" Soryl said. "That fits the fourth clue."
"If that Pokemon is a Hero of Legend, then it would explain how the killer's power matches Pontifex Hawkins…" Terrus said. "That fits the third clue."
"His weapon of choice is a ball and chain, a blunt weapon." Baromyteus said. "That fits the second clue."
"And, of course, he is a Tyrantrum." Katarina said. "That fits the first clue."
"And we have one more clue to support that he's the culprit." Claura spoke up. "Diego and I encountered him during our survey near the Trading Post near Venturnome-Leafburg border."
"Right." Diego spoke up. "We actually get to battle him, but he managed to escape, and before we could chase after them, we got kidnapped by the weird Mewtwo over there."
"…" I looked at Astra, who had been staying silent since he revealed that we Pendragon were pactbound to Legendary Pokemon, and I could see that he was lost in his own thought, as all he did was staring at his sacred weapon, which seemed to double as a crystal ball used by a seer, as if he was trying to see the revelation of the stars, or whatever he claimed that he could see.
"Which means that our suspect was present in Theocracy of Venturnome during the week of Archbishop Zira's murder." Korben spoke up. "And with four clues we have deduced before, I think we have finally reached the conclusion we seek."
"That's right." Fenrir Jr. said. "With our deduction, we finally learned that the one who killed Pontifex Hawkins and Archbishop Zira is none other than the last Hero/ine of Legend from the time of Fallen Crisis, the one whose whereabout is unknown."
"Father…" Misvale mumbled. "So… Father is the one…"
"… Damn it…" Chronos cursed. "Damn you, old man… We never get to meet you at all… Why did you have to do all of this?!"
"If you get to meet him, you won't be surprised at all that he would do something like this." Baromyteus spoke up. "That guy is the embodiment of betrayal. He first betrayed his kingdom, then he betrayed his own father. And now, he betrayed his own comrades, including his own wife and his children. I wouldn't be surprised if he betrayed the world next."
"Brother…" Anastasia spoke up. "You aren't suggesting that… The one who killed Nyxier…"
"I don't have anything to support my claim, but I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that it was that traitor who killed Nyxier too." Baromyteus said.
"I… In the end, everything is still just your speculation!" Eva suddenly spoke up again. "Y… You don't have a solid prove that… That the one who killed my mother…"
"Eva, calm down…" Grimlock spoke up. "We have already come to the conclusion together, and we now have the idea of who the killer is. And with the clues and the evidences we have, it's irrefutable that that Kommo-o is innocent."
"N… No! I… I don't accept this!" Eva said as she looked at Korben. I could see that her face was showing the angriness, and yet I could also see tear started pouring down from her eyes. "H… He is the one who killed my mother!"
"No! Eva, you are wrong!"
"HM?!"
The Eevee's words were cut off by another voice, which came from neither the Hero/ine of Legend in the audience area nor the Pendragon on the stage. Instead, it came from the backstage, and it turned out that the voice wasn't unfamiliar, at least to us Pendragon and to some of the Hero/ine of Legend, as the owner of the voice walked out of the backstage onto the stage, joining the Pendragon, and revealed herself to everyone.
"F… Freya?!" Terrus, Natasha, Zetarus, and Largo all spoke up at the same time as they recognized their younger sister who just appeared.
'Freya… So, she finally got here, which means…' I thought as I looked at the backstage where Freya came out. True to my thought, I saw Snow silently came out of the backstage and stood next to me as he joined the rest of the Pendragon. With everyone's attention on Freya right now, barely anyone seemed to notice the Draconic Lapras' presence.
"I see that you have found our comrades. Good job, Sirius." Snow whispered to me. "Please forgive us for being late. It took us quite a while to find your whereabout. And we actually arrived right as Pontifex Astra revealed the Hero/ine of Legend, but we couldn't find a chance to join you and everyone. My apology."
'Snow… So… You and Freya have seen and heard everything after the battle ended. Good. That means we won't have to explain everything to them, especially since this isn't the best time for that.' I thought as I turned my attention to Freya.
"F… Freya?!" Eva seemed to be surprised to see the Flygon appearing. "W… Why are you here?!"
"I… I am here to rescue my friends…" Freya said as she looked at the Pendragon. "A… After all, the Pendragon are my friends…"
"You… are with them?" Eva seemed to be taken aback by the Flygon's words.
"Pendragon? So, that's the name of your group…" Zenpai said.
"I… I have been with them for a few months—No… For some times already…" Freya continued speaking. "A… And I can say without any doubt that Korben isn't the kind of Pokemon who would kill someone like this! He… He valued equality over all… There's no way that someone who valued equality would do something this cruel to others!"
'Freya…' I looked at the Flygon. 'Like Eva, she's also relying on her emotion a lot…'
"P… Please believe me, Eva…" Freya said. "Korben isn't the culprit. The one who killed your mother is someone else."
"F… Freya…" Eva's voice softened a bit as she mumbled the Flygon's name.
"My dear Eva, you are letting your emotion overcome your thought." Katarina spoke up. "When it comes to deduction, emotion is important, but it's also sometimes unreliable. They can be your guide, but without facts and logics, it might guide you toward the wrong path. You must keep your head cool, or else you will lose your way."
"Eva, we understand your pain. To me, Archbishop Zira was like my mother too, for that my real mother couldn't fulfill the role of one…" Ridley said with a soft voice. "So, please, keep calm—"
"Freya… I…" Eva spoke up. "I… I never thought… I never thought that… That you would say something like that to me…"
"Eva?!" Freya was clearly shocked after hearing the Eevee's reply.
"I… I always thought of you as my friend… I… I have always trust you…" Eva said with a shaking voice. "But now… Not only you side with the one who killed my mother, but you are also a part of those sinners!"
"E… Eva! Please calm down!" Freya said. Her voice was as shaken as the Eevee's voice. "I… I am still your friend and will always be! And I understand how you feel—"
"No! Freya! You didn't understand anything!" Eva said with angry voice. "You… You never understand how I feel at all! I lost my father before, and now I lost my mother, and her killer is standing right there, and you still side with him?! How… How could you, Freya?! I… I thought we are friend…"
"Eva, calm down." Grimlock tried to calm down his younger sister. "Please try to calm your mind and listen to—"
"STAY OUT OF THIS, MAXNET!" Eva snapped at the Aggron. "You… You haven't been with mom for as long as I do. You… You could never understand how I feel!"
"Eva…" Grimlock was clearly taken aback by the Eevee's sudden outburst.
"And you… Freya… I… I couldn't believe that I became friend with someone like you…" Eva turned her attention to the Flygon. "You have betrayed our friendship… You have betrayed my trust… You have betrayed me…"
"Eva, no, I didn't betray—" Freya tried to say something, but her words were cut off when the Eevee spoke up again.
"I don't want to hear your excuse!" Eva said. "… From now on, we are no longer friend, Freya."
"Eva… No…" Freya almost collapsed on the stage floor.
"…" Eva's words also elicited reaction from everyone else, especially Ridley, Katarina, Terrus, Natasha, Zetarus, Largo, and Grimlock.
"Eva…" Ridley said with a worried voice as he looked at the Eevee.
"… Do whatever you want…" Eva said with a depressed voice. "None of you believed in my words, despite that the one who killed my mom is right there. I don't care anymore. Do whatever you want."
"… Eva clearly needs some rest." Katarina spoke up. "So, let's get this over with, fast."
"So, can we go now?" Richard spoke up and glanced at Astra. "We also sorely need some rest, after everything we were put through by that… starry clown."
"He is not a star. He is the entire celestial night sky." Xavier said.
"Or are you still going to keep us here because we are 'sinners'?" Baromyteus asked with a sarcastic voice. "What's your next step? It's time to cast our judgement."
"… No, that is not what we should be doing right now." Terrus spoke up. "What we should do right now is to find the whereabout of the culprit behind the two gruesome murders, the one who killed Pontifex Hawkins and Archbishop Zira."
"If he is alive, which is most likely, then he will be the last living Hero/ine of Legend from the time of the Fallen Crisis, which means he can't kill any more of his comrades." Fenrir Jr. said. "But, of course, we don't know what he is planning to do next. He might kill himself, go after the two Hero/ine of Dragon type who were also his comrades… Or the worst case, hunt after the current generation of the Hero/ine of Legend too, or in other words, hunt after us."
"No way…" Misvale gasped. "How could our father… Why would he even do something like that?"
"… I want to meet him too." Chronos spoke up. "I want to ask him everything, and if I must, I will be the one who strikes him down, though I hope that it wouldn't have to come to that."
"And as for you all… Pendragon, isn't it?" Terrus spoke up as he looked at the 12 Pokemon, including me, on the stage. "According to Pontifex Astra, you are the enemies of the world, the one that must be defeated by the Hero/ine of Legend."
"…" The Pendragon said nothing as they listened to Terrus' words.
"There are three issues with you all here." Zenpai spoke up. "One, at least one of you are the Hero/ine of Dragon type who had betrayed other Hero/ine of Legend during the time of Fallen Crisis. Two, most of you have formed a pact with Legendary Pokemon. And three, you are under suspicion of being the culprits behind the death of several Hero/ine of Legend."
"However…" Grimlock spoke up. "We have seen that the world already delivered a suitable punishment for the former Hero/ine of Dragon type. There is no need for us to do anything more. This issue is solved."
"…" Baromyteus closed his eyes as he heard the Aggron's words, and I could see that Anastasia also did the same thing.
"Next, the issue of you all being the one who killed the former Hero/ine of Legend…" Viola spoke up. "We already did a lengthy discussion about it, and we have come to the conclusion that you aren't responsible for the death of any of them… Well, some of you were actually involved in their death, but due to the circumstance, we can't really say that you are entirely responsible for it."
"That narrows down to four former Hero/ine of Legend whose death is still a mystery. They are Queen Nyxier, Pontifex Hawkins, Archsage Iris, and Archbishop Zira." Natasha spoke up.
"But we already solved the mystery of Pontifex Hawkins and Archbishop Zira's death, and you all seem to be non-guilty of this, despite that some of us might still have a different opinion about it." Fenrir Jr. said.
"That leaves only the murder of Queen Nyxier and Archsage Iris." Largo said. "But since we have next-to-zero clues about it, we can't really say that you are guilty for that."
"Of course, we are innocent, for that we didn't kill them." Richard spoke up.
"And thus, that leaves only one issue…" Soryl spoke up. "The issue that all—No… Most of you have formed a pact with Legendary Pokemon."
"…" The Pendragon remained silent as the biggest issue was brought up.
"Since the case of a Pokemon forming a pact with Legendary Pokemon is extremely rare, there is no law regarding one." Katarina said. "But according to the Goddess' teaching, forming a pact with Legendary Pokemon is a grave sin"
"But that is according to a religion, isn't it?" Dinus spoke up. "Religion should have no bearing when it comes to laws of the land."
"Such irony words of the shaman of the secondmost religious nation on Symmetria…" Fenrir Jr. commented.
"… If you saw your own father get killed off by the very same god he worshipped right in front of your eyes, you would come to questioned what you believe in too…" Dinus said.
"A shaman who questions the god he serves? Not something that you would see every day…" Fenrir Jr. mumbled.
"Which means, we can't really use the Goddess' teaching to decide whether you are guilty or not." Jasper said and looked at the other Hero/ine of Legend. "Well, what do you all think?"
"Well… Forming a pact with Legendary Pokemon is frown upon, but it isn't a crime, is it?" Chronos said. "Besides, if you ask me, I don't think it's a bad thing at all. After all, people want to grow stronger, so that they can tackle higher bar. As long as they don't use it to cause the end of the world or something, I am fine with it."
"I guess we can't really say much in this case…" Misvale spoke up. "After all, all of us Hero/ine of Legend also received special power from the god."
"Which means that…" Bismarck said. "The verdict is…"
"Innocent until proven guilty, of course." Katarina said. "We shall determine that they are not guilty of forming a pact with Legendary Pokemon for now."
"However…" Zenpai spoke up. "If you cause a great crisis to the world, we shall immediately decide that you are the villains of the world, and we will not hesitate to strike you down."
"And that, is our verdict for you all, the Pendragon." Terrus said.
'So… We were off the hook, for now.' I thought as I looked at my fellow teammates. I saw that most of them seemed indifferent toward the verdict they received, except for Rachael and Richard, who clearly sighed in relief.
"And thus, the verdict is delivered." Astra spoke up after staying silent for a long time. "This shall conclude today's show, for that the current chapter has come to the end, and a new chapter shall begin soon."
"Then, can we fucking go now?" Diego spoke up. "It might not look like it, but we are fucking tired as hell after all the damn circus plays you pulled."
"Of course." Astra said. "As the final show of this chapter, I shall deliver all of you to the Cherry Blossom Park at once. Is that acceptable?"
"… You know, you could have asked us too when you kidnapped us…" Richard spoke up. "Not that any of us would agree on being kidnapped like this anyway."
"… Just get us out of here. But before that…" Baromyteus said as he looked at the entire group of Hero/ine of Legend. "Hear our words, Hero/ine of Legend. We Pendragon aren't a group of those who fight for justice or righteousness. We are just a group of those who lost everything to the world that masqueraded evil as righteousness, which is what we are fighting against. We don't care if this path will make us the enemies of the world. If it comes to the day that any of you Hero/ine of Legend had fallen to the corruption of the world, then you, too, shall become our enemies."
"…" The Hero/ine of Legend said nothing after hearing Baromyteus' words.
"And so, it's time for this chapter's curtain call." Astra said as he spreaded his paw, and the stage started glowing with aura of light, and next second, all of us Pendragon were teleported away, leaving the stage of Starlight Theatre.
"And thus, today's show is concluded." Astra said as he bowed down after finished teleporting the Pendragon away. "Thank you for joining us today."
"I have to apologize to you, Pontifex Astra." Terrus spoke up as Astra finished the teleportation spell. "You have shown us the revelation from the stars, about the Pendragon and that they are potentially the villains that we must defeat, but we still let them go just like that."
"There's no need for an apology, Emperor Terrus." Astra said. "After all, I am but a director of the stage. It is unsuitable for a director to involve himself with the show on the stage in the first place. My duty here is to guide the actors and actresses on the stage as they perform according to their role."
"I see…" Soryl mumbled after Astra finished his monologue.
"Whew!" Bismarck moaned in relief as he threw his body onto the nearby seat. "What a day! I didn't expect that today will turn out like this!"
"First, we came to Theocracy of Venturnome because we heard of Archbishop Zira's death…" Viola said as she took a seat next to Bismarck. "Then we got a letter from the Pontifex calling all Hero/ine of Legend here… And then there's those Pendragon… And Richard is among them…"
"… Who would have thought that…" Jasper mumbled as he leaned his body on the nearby wall. "… That Rachael would end up being with such a dangerous group like that."
"Rachael…" Zenpai mumbled as he rested himself next to Jasper. "I wonder what happened to her during these 3 years… Damn it… If only I have been there for her…"
"…" Dinus seemed to be lost in thought while everyone else was chatting.
"So, what's next for us?" Largo spoke up. "Honestly, I would really appreciate it if we could get some rest now. It's been a long journey for many of us coming to this place, after all."
"And my sister needs some rest to clear her mind too." Grimlock said as he gently held Eva on his shoulder. "My apology for her outbreak earlier."
"Don't worry, Grimlock. Her situation is understandable." Katarina said. "She just lost her mother, after all. And our dear Eva wasn't in her best condition ever since then."
"Speaking of losing mother…" Ridley turned his attention to his elder brother. "Fenrir, is it true that—"
"As I have said before, yes, it is true." Fenrir Jr. said. "I will explain everything that happened to you later, so please calm yourself for now."
"… Okay, brother." Ridley said.
"I guest some rest is in order, then." Natasha said. "After all, we have a lot to do next."
"That's right." Katarina said. "First, we need to issue an arrest warrant but our suspect behind two murders. I could only hope that he is still somewhere in Theocracy of Venturnome."
"Then there's another issue of our role as Hero/ine of Legend too." Soryl said. "Our life had already changed since the day we awoke the power of our Blood of Legend, but from today onward, our life will never be the same again."
"Indeed, for that you all have accepted your new role as the heroes and heroine of this story." Astra spoke up. "But we can discuss the roles performed by all of you and the next chapter of the show on a later date, for that I could see that all of you are tired from today's rehearsal. I have prepared lounging for you all. Please, make yourself at home, and I hope you enjoy your stay in this ancient capital."
As Astra finished speaking, he floated toward the exit of the chamber and left, and each of Hero/ine of Legend follow him, leaving the chamber one by one, until there were only two remained.
"… How are you feeling, Val?" Chronos spoke up as he looked at his twin sister. "Today has been a long day. So many things happened…"
"Yes, it is." Misvale said. "We have met other Hero/ine of Legend, as well as the Pendragon. But the biggest of all… Who would have thought that our father would turn out to be…"
"Yeah…" Chronos said. "If I could, I want to meet him, even just one… But I have a feeling that we wouldn't get to."
"… Let us go, Nos." Misvale said.
"Mhm." Chronos nodded to the Aurorus as they followed the rest of Hero/ine of Legend out of the chamber, leaving the Celestial Chamber empty at last.
-Meanwhile…
"Finally… We are back."
The sound of teleportation echoed through the hall of Pendracomonium as we Pendragon arrived back at our base after an entire week of absence, finally experienced a familiar sensation again. After Astra teleported us out of Starlight Theatre, we found ourselves in Cherry Blossom Park again, and we took a warp portal we found there back to Pendracomonium. It looked like the portals weren't guarded at all, as Astra seemed to know where we were due to his 'revelation of the stars', so he just headed toward where we were and kidnapped us instead of ambushing us at the portal, so we could have used them during the week in Venturnome if we knew.
"Finally… It's over…" Zetarus said as he, along with the rest of the Pendragon, left the teleport room and into the main hall of Pendracomonium. "What a week! I felt like this past week is like my entire journey through Dustorm Empire, back when I first met Diego and were hunting after my dad."
"Theocracy of Venturnome is… such an exotic land…" Rachael said. "It's the exact opposite of Shadowlost Territory, and yet both lands gave me an unwelcome sense, that I don't belong there."
"Well, let's be glad that it's over now." Richard said. "And all of us make it back safely."
"I am glad that everyone is safe." Rachael said as she looked at her comrades. "Also, I am sorry for worrying you, Ilia."
"I am glad to see that you are safe, Rachael." Ilia spoke up with a gentle voice.
"You are really a trouble magnet, Richard." Holmer spoke up.
"It's not my fault that this world is full of trouble, after all, Lord of Blindness." Richard said.
As soon as we Pendragon arrived at Cherry Blossom Park, those who had formed a pact with Legendary Pokemon except me had received a calling from their pactbound Legendary. It seemed that the connection between the pactbound Pokemon and their Legendary was cut off while they were in Starlight Theatre, most likely due to Astra's power. (My pact wasn't affected, for that it was a special pact, after all.) Now that we were out of Astra's influence, we were able to reconnect with our pactbound Legendary. From what I could hear, Ilia the Mega Latias, Rachael's pactbound Legendary, was very glad to see her champion being safe, while Holmer the Mega Latios, Richard's pactbound Legendary, was acting as if he was tired that Richard often got himself into a trouble, but deep down I could sense that he actually cared for his Champion. Zygarde, Zetarus' pactbound Legendary, ended up chastising his Champion, which actually seemed like a parent scolding their child for being a bad kid instead. The rest of pactbound Legendary were acting quite neutral toward their Champions upon managing to reach out to them again, and yet I could still see that they cared for their Champions and were glad to see their Champion safe… Except for Giratina, Korben's pactbound Legendary, who wasted no time tormenting poor Korben upon managing to reach out to him again.
"I guess our mission in Theocracy of Venturnome is partially successful, huh?" Xavier spoke up. "After all, out of two of our targets, one is dead, not by our hand, but we can't be picky at a time like this."
"Archbishop Zira is dead." Claura said. "And it turns out that the one who killed her is none other than our last target, whom Diego and I encountered before we were kidnapped."
"Which means that only that traitor remains." Baromyteus said. "If I were him, I would already escape from Theocracy of Venturnome, which means it will be hard for us to hunt after him now."
"For now, let us take some rest." Anastasia spoke up. "I was kidnapped for just a few hours and I am already this tired, so I have no doubt that everyone else is tired too."
"Damn right." Diego said. "After this mission, I am going to need at least a week or two for a rest."
"We all do, Diego." Richard said. "After all, what happened in Starlight Theatre has exhausted us not just physically but also mentally too."
"…"
Everyone's attention was at Freya, who hadn't said anything since we left Starlight Theatre. In fact, she hadn't said anything ever since her fateful encounter with Eva at the Starlight Theatre.
"…" Freya didn't say anything, even when all of us were looking at her. Her face was blank, but we all could see the feeling of shock, confusion, and sadness hidden there, which none of us could blame her, of course, after everything that happened at the Starlight Theatre, after the encounter with the Hero/ine of Legend… And after that encounter…
"… I'll take Freya back to her room." Zetarus spoke up. "I guess that we are dismissed here and now, right?"
"Of course." Baromyteus said. "All of us have earned at least a week of rest. We will discuss our next course on a later date. For now, you are dismissed."
"Mhm." The Pendragon nodded to Baromyteus words, and then each of us prepared to leave for our own room… When…
"Please wait for a second."
"Hm?"
Before we could leave for our room, someone called for us, and when we turned our attention to the owner of the voice, we found that it was none other than the other member of the Pendragon who hadn't said anything ever since the event at the Starlight Theatre.
"Snow?" Rachael called the name of the Pokemon who called us.
"Pardon me for keeping all of you here for a while longer, especially during the time that you all clearly need a moment of repose…" Snow spoke up with a calm but determined voice. "But I have something that I must tell all of you right now."
"Can it wait?" Diego asked. "I could fucking collapse at any second now, to be honest."
"I can, if that is what you really want." Snow said. "However, this is an important matter to me—No, to all of us Pendragon. I think all of you might want to hear this as soon as possible, and I need to get it out of my mind too."
"Then, let's get this over with." Claura said. "Out with it, Snow. What is it that you need to tell us?"
"…" Snow looked at all of us. For the first time, we could see a hint of determination that we had never seen before in his eyes, as if he had something that he must do at all cost. And not before long, the Draconic Lapras spoke his words.
"… I know where Tyrus is."
The Pendragon's chapter of darkness and chapter of light had come to the end…
The Hero/ine of Legend finally joined the stage…
Two groups of performers… One who fights for the peace of the world… Another who fights for what they believe in…
Are they each other's enemy? Or are they each other's ally?
Which one is the villain? And which one is the hero?
Are they both heroes? Or are they both monsters?
Sometimes… The answer might not be crystal clear…
-End of Tail 8: Monstrosity-
To Be Continued…
Dragon of Vale: After 2 entire years, I get to write the words 'End of Tail' again. It's been so long since when I first wrote Tail 8, and it doesn't help that I went hiatus for 2 entire years. But here we are, the end of Monstrosity.
The Pendragon's journey in the exotic land of light, Theocracy of Venturnome, has reached a curtain call. Thought they haven't actually done much this time, Sirius finally evolved and got a pactbound Legendary Pokemon… Or should I say pactbound Mythical Pokemon? In any case, one more former Hero/ine of Legend is death, which means only one is left. Moreover, the current generation of Hero/ine of Legend are assembled now, which means that something big is going to happen very soon…
I thought that Tail 7 is hard to write, but Tail 8 now takes the stage, with it being Sirius' Tail, so I wrote everything from his point of view, to show Sirius' thought to the world, which will expand his character and personality, but it's hard to do sometimes. This tail also has a strong topic regarding religions and beliefs. I have to make a disclaimer here that this story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between this story and the real world is merely a coincidence.
Well, I actually planned to finish Tail 8-8 and 8-Interlude before the end of June 2022, but I got sick for 2 entire weeks, so I didn't write anything during those time, and thus, this chapter came out a bit later than I hope for. I have to apologize for that. Nevertheless, I hope that I could finish 8-Interlude soon, and after that, it will be the time of… Not Tail 9. Instead, it's going to be Intermission II, with another character as a protagonist, of course. If you follow the pattern of Tail and Intermission, you might be able to guess who the protagonist of Intermission II would be.
Lastly, a thanks (as well as milk and cookies) for everyone who have supported me, be the readers, reviewers, or my fellow writer friends. Thank you for your support, and see you later!
Q&A Session:
Tail 8-8 - Question: How much can you handle alcohol? How high is your alcohol tolerance?
Answer:
-Korben: Not much, I'm afraid. There's one time that Dimitri smuggled a bottle of spirit from his dad. I recall that I fainted just from a few cups of it. Noctus, Unos, and Lyzia weren't different from me, while Dimitri lasted longer than us. Heh… In the end, we all got scolded and grounded by our parents.
-Claura: I can handle alcohol better than most Pokemon could. I once had a drinking contest with Bismarck when I was travelling with him. I lost, of course, but Bismarck said that I lasted longer than the rest of his crewmates, so… I guess I can be proud of it.
-Xavier: ZZZZ… I can handle a glass or two… But… Alcohol made me sleepy… ZZZ…
-Anastasia: I am not good at them. We Goodra have really sensitive body. I can't even touch salt with my bare paw, or else I will suffer dehydration. Alcohol is even worse, for that my body could absorb it really fast, so I can't handle them at all.
-Baromyteus: I don't want to brag, but I am really proud in my ability to handle alcohol. It's not that I usually drink a lot. It's just that my body can handle them really well. If I enter a drinking contest with everyone, I will most likely win over most of them, maybe tie with Claura, and only lose to Diego.
-Diego: Fire type Pokemon usually have high alcohol tolerance, for that the heat inside our body burn away the alcohol. Those with Novaflare blood, however, is at the next level, even. I can handle several barrels of vodka and am still only mildly drunk, which means that I always be the last one standing.
-Zetarus: Hm… Mine is above average, at very least. Not the level of Claura or Baromyteus, but still above everyone else. I can handle quite a few rounds, but eventually I got drunk too. This perk kinda helped me quite a bit back then in Desert Prison, for that other prisoners had tried to get me drunk with smuggled liquor so that they could use me.
-Rachael: Alcohol? Ewwww! I can't even handle its smell. They are bitter and smell really bad! And you even have to wait a few months before they are ready. Why would people wait a few months for something that smell and taste bad when they can just immediately drink tasty berry juice?
-Richard: Just like Rachael, I can't even handle the smell of alcohol too, so, you will never find us near it. And we aren't at a drinking age too… Not that we would ever drink if we reach the drinking age. Also, people act stupid whenever they get drunk, so, no way in hell that I would lower myself to that level.
-Freya: It might sound unusual, but I can handle alcohol better than I thought. However, I will still get drunk just from a single glass. I think it has something to do with my type. Ground type seems to have higher-than-average alcohol tolerance, not to the level of Poison type or Fire type, of course.
-Snow: As a butler, I have a basic knowledge regarding alcohol, for that I have a faint recollection of me serving wine to people. Of course, I can handle wine, for that I was also an amateur sommelier. However, the… more crude liquor like beer or spirit aren't my taste, unfortunately.
-Sirius: Bork! (Dragon of Vale: Sirius says that they can't consume alcohol at all, for that it seems that alcohol is poisonous to them, and Sirius themselves doesn't like its smell either. Good boy. If only your awareness is also at this level when it comes to chocolate…)
Question From RKType-0
To: Zetarus Quakersand
On an "how easy it is for you to believe" scale of 1 to 100, would you believe that Terrus and Soryl would have a friends with benefits relationship with each other?
Zetarus: If I have to answer this question on three separate occasions, my answers would be 100, 100, and 100. Seriously, just look at those two. They are closer than most close friends are, and they are barely presence without each other beside them. Even Largo also suspects this too. I bet Terrus use Soryl as his personal bitch, while Soryl also gladly accepts being used by Terrus.