At that moment, even the volcano's roar seemed somewhat insignificant.
It was a giant bird, a creature of myth and legend, yet now it had descended upon the mortal world in its most tangible, most terrifying form. It emerged from churning volcanic ash and searing waves of air, hovering directly above the crater. Dark red flames flowed slowly over its body like living liquid, tracing an outline far larger than anything recorded in documents or footage. The aircraft's searchlight beams struck its body, only to be swallowed entirely by those ominous wings, unable to illuminate even a fraction of it.
Nearly black sparks danced along the edges of every feather, a sign of energy concentrated to its utmost limit, about to collapse into destruction. These flames brought no light and symbolized no warmth. What they represented was pure pain and finality. Inside the command cabin of the Pokémon League fleet's flagship, high-resolution tactical screens magnified its image to the limit, displaying every detail clearly before everyone's eyes. Its eyes should have been the dwelling place of divine majesty and compassion, but now all that remained were fractures left by endless torment. It was a madness and savagery that penetrated the marrow and burned away the soul, as though its very existence were an unending torture, mercilessly seared by the raging volcano beneath it with the fury of the entire planet.
A shriek so agonized it sounded distorted erupted without warning.
The sound was not, in essence, a vibration of the air, but a piercing attack on the Psychic Plane. It easily overwhelmed the thunder of the splitting crust and the volcano's roar, becoming an invisible icicle that stabbed deep into the mind of everyone present. The weaker Pokémon League soldiers clutched their heads and rolled on the ground in agony,