Elf: Starts with small diamonds, then mutates into Diancie.

Articuno flapped its wings, unleashing an unreasonable surge of powerful Flying-type energy. A strong collision airflow was formed, and Articuno, relying on its powerful Ice God physique, soared straight into the sky.

This move directly eliminates the time required for takeoff, allowing it to ascend quickly, much like an alternative rocket.

The next moment, the blood-red energy beam blasted into the spot where Su Hao and the others had been standing, blasting countless materials into fragments that flew everywhere, leaving a deep trench.

Because of the urgency of the situation, Articuno didn't have time to build an energy shield on its back to prevent Su Hao from being thrown off or injured by the powerful force.

“Kouqu…”

Even though Su Hao's physique was already superhuman, this sudden blow almost made him throw up his dinner from the night before.

Fortunately, Tianxi was there to support him, otherwise Su Hao would definitely have been thrown out.

Without time to recover, Su Hao plucked at the Articuno's feathers and looked down.

It seemed that because Su Hao and his group had instantly ascended to an extremely high altitude, the negative energy phantom Reshiram lost track of them and, like a machine, swayed back to the top of the Dragon Spiral Tower.

Why did you run away?

Su Hao patted Articuno and asked in confusion.

Given Articuno's strength, even if it was an illusion created from negative energy, it shouldn't have run away without even fighting back, right?

"...That Pokémon must be the Reshiram you mentioned, right?"

"...Yes and no."

"They look similar, but are fundamentally different," Su Hao replied hesitantly.

“Indeed, it’s more appropriate to call it an aggregate of negative energy than a Pokémon. Your name, Phantom Reshiram, is quite fitting.”

Articuno stared straight down for a moment, then suddenly turned and asked, "Little Diancie, how are you feeling?"

Diancie, who had been silent and waiting for Su Hao and Articuno to discuss, stammered when Articuno called her, "I feel... fine, everything is normal."

Articuno nodded to indicate that it understood, then looked at Su Hao: "And you, just like in the Spirit Realm, you didn't react at all?"

"Um......"

Su Hao was certain that he was no different now than he was outside the secret realm.

The reason is quite simple...

The system panel in his eyes wasn't a jumble of gibberish like it was in the spirit world; instead, it clearly displayed a sentence highlighted in red—

[Alien energy detected; protection activated]

How come this system has this kind of function?

Pinching his thigh to clear his mind of his complicated emotions, Su Hao looked up at the ceiling and frowned, saying, "What are we going to do next? The presence of negative energy here is no small matter."

"This should be... the highest point of the Spiral Secret Realm. The waveguide can sense an invisible air wall above our heads that we can't pass through."

Ultimately, this is just a secret realm, not the real world, so it will definitely have boundaries.

"Well, the reason I chose to fly to the highest altitude is very simple."

"This form of negative energy...I've never seen it before, not even possessing it."

"I have no idea what kind of power it is." The Frozen Bird's tone was bitter; it found the current situation unbelievable.

He initially thought that the source of the black mist was some kind of virus or something man-made, a situation He had encountered before over the long years.

Within that wisp of black mist, He sensed no trace of anything related to the dark matter of the past.

Even this phantom composed of negative energy, if it weren't for the foul odor that is characteristic of negative energy, would be mistaken for some other kind of energy.

Su Hao's eyes darted around as he probed, "You haven't seen it before? Does that mean you can't necessarily eradicate it using the methods you're familiar with?"

“That’s right. Without our knowledge, it seems to have evolved into a new form, a form composed of a large amount of negative energy that I have never seen before in a long time.”

Articuno used an analogy: "If the dark matter that we were fighting back then was using negative energy to control the bodies of Pokémon from another world, then after using the power of purification to expel and eliminate the negative energy, it would leave behind only empty shells of flesh."

"So, the feeling this negative energy phantom gives me now is that it is a pure aggregate of negative energy, without any physical body."

Su Hao gradually understood everything, and he roughly understood Articuno's thoughts: "I understand. It's because this situation makes it easy to be killed on the first encounter, so we must find a way to figure out the methods of the negative energy illusion, right?"

In gaming terms, if he and Articuno are careless and rush in without dodging, they will likely fail because they don't understand the boss's mechanics and kill conditions.

Articuno nodded, then shook his head: "At the time, the Allied Forces paid a huge price to deal with the endless methods of the Dark Matter, but since I was just a soldier at the time, I didn't know the intelligence from the higher-ups."

"From what I've observed, this phantom's strength was only that of a grunt on the battlefield back then. Even I could take on ten of them at once. The question now is whether we can purify the negative energy that permeates the entire secret realm."

Articuno looked down over the entire Spiral Realm. Although the crimson mist had dyed the clouds red, it could not reach them at the highest point in the sky.

According to the intelligence Su Hao gathered, humans would forcibly break in around noon or even morning today.

However, if negative energy leaks into the main world due to intrusion from the outside, that would be a huge problem. This thing feeds on negative emotions, and it would probably grow rapidly in this world full of desires.

If this little phantom manages to do what even the Dark Matter couldn't, how can Arceus and the allied forces of that time possibly accept that?

------------

Czech Republic, Rom.

Chapter 239 Special Forces Are Greater Than Heaven

Su Hao counted on his fingers, feeling increasingly pressured as he spoke: "In other words, we first have to get rid of this negative energy phantom, and we must completely wipe it out, leaving not a single particle behind."

"Afterwards, we need to find a way to purify the negative energy crimson mist that permeates the world and thoroughly eliminate this secret realm."

"Moreover, all of this must be done before the deadline for outside interference, otherwise, once the negative energy leaks out, it will be game over."

“Yes, if we can’t do that, we’ll retreat for now and prevent those people from getting in from the outside,” Articuno confirmed.

Tianxi suggested, "If we need to purify this place, perhaps we could ask Xiaomei's older brothers and sisters for help?"

"You mean Latios and Latias? Indeed... we can see from Milotic that they have mastered a certain amount of purifying power." Su Hao sat cross-legged on Articuno's cool and comfortable feathers, pondering for a moment.

Given Latios and Latias's speed, they should be able to get here in time.

Should we call for reinforcements?

Before Su Hao could even ask Articuno's opinion, Articuno directly shattered his and Diancie's plans: "I'm afraid the two of them won't do."

"Huh? Why?"

"Their purification power is not strong. They can purify water toxins normally, but they probably won't be very effective against negative energy, and that's not their job."

"In this situation, it would be best to have Suicune, who inherited Ho-Oh's purifying power, or Ho-Oh himself, step in, but we don't know where they are, so it's hopeless."

"Okay... so what do we do now?"

Su Hao looked at the Articuno, which was stretching its neck and staring at him, and asked for its opinion.

His understanding of negative energy is too one-sided. In this situation, it's better to let Articuno, who actually participated in that battle, take command.

Furthermore... the system's mission prompt stated that even Articuno couldn't completely eliminate the negative energy, so the only one among the three who could break the deadlock was...

"Tianci!?"

"Let little Tianxi give it a try."

Su Hao and Articuno spoke up almost at the same time, both turning their gazes toward Diancie, who seemed unaffected by the negative energy environment.

"?"

Tianxi tilted her head, completely bewildered. What were they looking at?

..................

"That's the battle plan. First, we'll conduct a control group experiment!"

Su Hao nodded to indicate that he understood, then turned to Diancie and said, "Thank you for your help, Diancie."

"Okay, I'll do my best!" Tianxi clenched her little fist, cheering herself on.

Su Hao had finished communicating with Articuno and Diancie. The plan was ready, and success or failure depended on this one move!

Diancie's eyes gleamed with the light of superpowers, and invisible ripples spread out. Her mysterious and wondrous superpowers lifted Su Hao up, carrying him away from Articuno's back, and they floated quietly in the air.

Articuno folded its icy blue wings, its beautiful tail feathers scattered with ice crystals, and canceled the floating airflow created by its flight energy, diving downwards headfirst.

Looking down at the spiral secret realm, which is neither too big nor too small, the edge of the forest should not be easy to trigger attacks from negative energy phantoms, so Articuno used it as its landing point.

"It's truly astonishing. If I hadn't been constantly using the power of extreme ice of my authority to cover my body with a thin layer of insulating energy membrane, even I would have been affected by the blood-red mist formed from this negative energy."

The frozen bird muttered to itself, "This is the first time I've ever seen this kind of negative energy."

Could it be that the dark matter was not only not completely killed, but has even evolved new abilities and invaded the Spiral Secret Realm that exists based on the real world?

Is this secret realm inhabited by remnants of dark matter?

Or is it that, at this very moment, in other parts of the world, similar phantoms are silently appearing?

Articuno became increasingly restless as it pondered the matter. The legendary Pokémon active in the outside world were all clan-based legendary Pokémon, while the true gods mostly remained hidden, and those who had experienced that battle were even rarer.

Latios and Latias both

It is a new god in the last hundred years. The rabbi travels through different timelines, and it is difficult for Him to be able to sense anything without the power of Everlasting and the assistance of Everlasting Forest.

The fire god and thunder god, who were equally famous as Him, lived in seclusion at home, while only their people were outside.

At the time, Articuno, as a lowly soldier, didn't know many of the secrets either, which was tough.

With a thousand thoughts swirling in its mind, the Articuno's wings kept moving.