Chapter 121

What is he doing here????

The girl's eyes widened.

However, the other person looked extremely disheveled, and like a defeated Pokémon, his eyes were spinning. But this state did not last long, and his neck tilted to the side, as if he had lost consciousness.

"Wait... what happened?!"

The girl stared in surprise, her mouth agape. She hadn't heard from Qiao Ran for some time since she left that day. Why was he suddenly here?

And what exactly caused these injuries...?

"..."

The girl reached out to check the other person's body, and only breathed a sigh of relief after finding that the other person was alive and breathing.

"Is this the person Master is looking for? Could you please take care of him, Rotom?"

Suddenly, a red cell phone flew out of Qiao Ran's body and made a sound in the air. On the other side, the dark figure in the sky— Yveltal— also landed on the ground, looking at Qiao Ran lying on the ground with a speechless expression.

Why did Qiao Ran fall from the sky?

Actually, it was all because of his own choice—he jumped off that building himself.

Qiao Ran thought his body could withstand such a height, but he didn't notice how exhausted he was. After a long period of intense fighting and various minor injuries, he couldn't take it anymore and fainted.

Yveltal's speechlessness was practically overflowing.

--This is so embarrassing.

They managed to survive those previous battles, so why did they have to fail here?

Who is this girl? She's so excited she wants to jump off her.

"Rotom?"

The girl wasn't startled by the sudden appearance of Rotom and Yveltal. She was actually aware that Qiao Ran had a Rotom, since he had borrowed her Charge device before to restore Rotom to normal.

"Who exactly is he...?" The girl wanted to ask about Qiao Ran, but she stopped halfway through; now was not the time to ask such a question.

Qiao Ran's condition definitely needs to be addressed first. Although she doesn't yet know the severity of Qiao Ran's injuries, leaving it here is certainly not an option.

"Let's take him back first. Gloria happens to be here too; she can help us."

After her last exploration of Hammerlocke, Gloria brought back a lot of supplies. Moreover, because the Pokémon League caravan attracted the attention of many Gigantamax Pokémon, Gloria was able to explore a much larger area, which is a good thing for Spikemuth.

For this reason, Gloria hasn't left since her last return, as there's no need for her to step in again yet.

Late at night.

The girl— Marnie's home.

Qiao Ran lay quietly in bed, covered by the blanket, while Marnie and another girl with short hair and wearing pajamas stood by the bed, discussing something in hushed tones.

"Wait, Marnie, you've already changed his clothes?"

"Hmm... well... it's already dirty, so it definitely needs to be changed. I saw you were still Rest, so I didn't want to disturb you. Besides, it seems he has some spare clothes in his backpack; Rotom has already helped him choose."

"You..." Hearing Marnie's reply, the short-haired girl scratched her head in a state of panic. This was too unexpected.

Fortunately, the other person was unconscious; she was the most vulnerable.

The thing I feared didn't happen.

So she continued to ask her questions.

She was actually full of questions.

"Forget it, what's wrong with this guy?"

"--She doesn't seem to have many injuries, but she fainted... Could something have gone wrong with the convoy? Bea and the others fail to enter Hammerlocke? But that doesn't make sense... It's been three or four days since the convoy set off, which means the problem occurred on the return trip?"

"Hey Rotom over there, what do you know?"

"I don't know, Rotom, I really don't know, Rotom."

Rotom was practically in tears. These two had been pressing her for answers, asking what had happened, but she genuinely knew nothing. She had been unconscious for much longer than Qiao Ran.

Besides, even if she knew everything, she wouldn't say it directly here. After all, some things are very important information that Qiao Ran needs to judge. If Qiao Ran doesn't want to talk about it, and she does, wouldn't she be completely humiliated?

"..."

On the other side, Vulpix and Mimikyu, who were lying next to Qiao Ran, remained silent. Although they knew more than Rotom, as "Pokémon," they had no way to communicate directly with humans other than Qiao Ran.

As for why they were here, it was all for Qiao Ran's safety. After all, a great battle had just ended, and everyone was on edge. Yveltal and the others couldn't get inside, so this was their chance to shine.

"Never mind, Gloria, don't ask Rotom like that. He'll definitely explain it to us when Qiao Ran wakes up."

Seeing that Gloria kept questioning Rotom, Marnie finally stepped in to stop the farce. Qiao Ran's injuries weren't serious, or rather... there weren't any serious injuries at all. She observed this while helping him change his clothes.

The reason he fainted is definitely not that simple.

--Moreover, there was one biggest question in Marnie's mind that she never asked, or rather, she kept avoiding it.

Although the sheets are now covering her, Gloria hasn't noticed anything yet, but she'll eventually realize it once Gloria Qiao Ran wakes up.

Qiao Ran...

Why did the sword in his hand disappear?

Section 234, Chapter 230 [The Intrepid Sword]

The sword is a symbol of the identity of the Hero of Qiao Ran, and also a symbol of hope that has been passed down in the legends of Galar since ancient times. Although Galar has entered the modern era and no one actually fights with Sword and Shield anymore, this memory, which is integrated into the national culture and historical legends, is difficult to change.

"Why..."

Marnie didn't know why Qiao Ran's sword was gone. She had no idea what had happened. Even when she asked Rotom, he was evasive and vague. That's why she helped Qiao Ran change his clothes alone before informing Gloria —she didn't want Gloria to know about this so soon.

For every Galar awaiting salvation, the sword holds extraordinary significance, Marnie doesn't want to see Gloria suffer the same blow as her.

Moreover, Qiao Ran might have his own ideas, and she needs to keep this secret for Qiao Ran for now.

--A sliver of hope still lingered in Marnie's heart.

Another space.

In a daze, Qiao Ran felt as if he had entered a fog again. Feeling the warm, moist touch on his face, he frowned and opened his blurry eyes.

"Owner?"

"...?"

Qiao Ran straightened up, and standing in front of him was none other than Zacian, the Pokémon who had fought alongside him before.

She wasn't holding the long sword blade in her mouth, but her mane seemed completely Refresh, shimmering with a beautiful luster, like a noble warrior returning in triumph. Moreover, after opening his eyes, Qiao Ran finally understood what that warm, moist touch was... This thing was licking his face.

"This is..."

"This is our consciousness space."

Zacian took a step back and looked around.

"Because the master's will has merged with my 'sword,' we can converse here, but this is not true reality; it is merely a 'dream' we have constructed using the 'sword.'"

"Was this the same before? Were they all dreams?"

Qiao Ran rubbed his eyes, feeling a little dazed. He wasn't sure if it was from the fall from the sky or if the current situation made it difficult for him to concentrate.

"By the way, why did your sword appear in my world...? You've probably already heard about it from Dianxi and the others, right? We found the sword in some Ruins. Why is your sword there?"

"Hmm... it's probably because of some special reason?"

Zacian pondered for a moment, then blinked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Before that, I wasn't in a very good state, so I couldn't control these things. Back then, what was I...? My memory isn't very clear. What exactly happened? And my sister... she..."

Zacian closed her eyes. In fact, she didn't feel that she had forgotten anything, but rather that something was preventing her from recalling it.

However, when she raised her head and looked at Qiao Ran again, her gaze softened somewhat.

"However, my meeting with my master is inevitable; that's the only thing that's certain."

"You..."

Qiao Ran's words trailed off. He could sense Zacian's feelings at that moment, and the extraordinary emotions he felt.

In fact, Qiao Ran had also wondered why these Pokémon trusted him so much. Unlike Nihilego and Mimikyu, Dianxi and the others' trust in him had existed from the very beginning.

Even Zacian is probably the same.

Most importantly, before Dianxi and the others were summoned, Qiao Ran had never seen anything about them in reality, but Zacian was different; she existed in this world before being given out by the system as a "reward for clearing the level."

--So much so that the sword stood firmly in the Ruins within his world.

So, could he think of it this way: before he summoned them, Dianxi and the others also...?

"Owner?"

Seeing Qiao Ran deep in thought, Zacian stuck out his tongue again—but this time he licked not Qiao Ran's cheek, but the back of Qiao Ran's hand that was touching his chin.

"Ah... sorry, I was a little distracted."

Qiao Ran jolted awake, snapping out of his reverie. Even though Zacian had said it was a "dream," a "dream" caused by the connection of the sword, the sensation of that tongue was just too real!

In the following time, Qiao Ran did not remain idle. Instead, he continued to discuss other topics with Zacian, following his previous train of thought. A lot had happened during this period, and now that the great battle was over, it was the best opportunity for him to sort out this intelligence.

However, when asked about what happened before meeting Qiao Ran, Zacian truly knew nothing, a response basically identical to that of Dianxi and the others—they didn't remember anything from before. But there was one thing Zacian was quite certain about.

"I am my master's Pokémon, and that will always be the case, whether in the past, present, or future."

"Why... are you so sure?"

"Because a master is a master, is it strange that we're together?"

"Cough... cough cough cough."

Listening to Zacian's various direct confessions, even though the other party wasn't human in his current form, Qiao Ran was still finding it hard to handle.

During the battle, he felt that Zacian's voice sounded like that of a cold and noble swordswoman, concise and deadly, which was roughly his impression of Zacian before. However, who knew that now, it was as if she had switched to Venonat, smashing all sorts of attacks at him, and the voice was still as cold and beautiful as ever.

"Never mind, let's not talk about this anymore."

Qiao Ran suppressed his slightly turbulent emotions. Although he liked Zacian's voice and words, he could still tolerate the other person's current state.

The person is incompetent, or at least shouldn't be.

"Finally, there's one more thing I'd like to ask..."

"It's about Zamazenta, about her. How much do you remember? Can we try to find her now?"

Finally, Qiao Ran asked about Zacian's "sister" —Zamazenta. Like Zacian, who is known as the "Intrepid Sword," Zamazenta is also Hero known as the "Dauntless Shield." Many years ago, it was they who worked together to resolve a huge crisis threatening Galar.

Qiao Ran also wanted to find the other person and have a proper meeting.

Primarina

Section 235, Chapter 231 [The Oath]

"If it's her, she'll definitely appear someday, even if Master doesn't go looking for her."

"Besides, even I can't sense where she is."

Zacian answered that although she and Zamazenta were very close, they were, after all, different individuals. She could not sense Zamazenta's location in the same way she sensed her own "sword".

"Yeah."

Qiao Ran nodded. Although she felt a little regretful, she accepted the result. After all, Zamazenta and Zacian were both powerful fighters. In the game, their fully evolved forms had a terrifying base stat total of 720 points, which was much higher than Yveltal's 680 points.

However, in reality, there are still significant differences between the game and reality. Yveltal with a power level of 680 is not worse than Zacian of 720. Especially after becoming the Trainer of these two Pokémon, Qiao Ran could feel the difference even more.

Zacian is indeed a very powerful Pokémon, and its 720 base stat total is well-deserved. However, it lacks the divinity of Yveltal, which is considered a "god." In some respects, if we're comparing potential, Yveltal is still the stronger one.

Tal is stronger.

Zacian and Zamazenta are more like "Hero" powerful enough to slay gods.

The mist of the dream gradually faded, and the dream was about to end. Zacian stood solemnly in front of Qiao Ran, the gleaming blade of his sword falling before her and Levitate in front of her.

"The previous battle was too intense, and I didn't have a chance to properly introduce myself. I hope Master won't mind."

"But I hope to continue walking with my master in the days to come."

Zacian lowered his once proud head before Qiao Ran, signifying his eternal submission.

Sensing the solemnity in the other person's heart, and that indescribable sense of ritual, Qiao Ran was initially stunned, but he finally nodded solemnly and grasped the Long Sword in front of him with his left hand.