sonovelo Chapter 269 A Clear and Warm Sorrow
Chapter 269 A Clear and Warm Sorrow
Chapter 271 A Clear and Warm Sorrow
As the Gym Leader of Fuyu City, Fuyu certainly couldn't possibly have misremembered the location of the Tower of Heaven.
Moreover, thanks to the presence of the Volcano from the Ardek Champion, this ancient building is now as bright as a lighthouse at full power.
And so, in the still faint morning light, the wind and dew, riding on the dancing swans, easily arrived at the top of the Tower of Paradise.
To her surprise, the top floor of the stone tower felt rather crowded.
"Hey, Fenglu. How's the permit application for the Tower of Heaven coming along?"
Before even landing, I saw the evil-looking king with an exaggerated hairstyle waving at me.
When rumors of this gambling king's defection from the alliance circulated a while ago, Feng Lu was worried about the future of the United Alliance.
However, it now seems that the terrible rumor was probably not true.
In the past, when Fuu-ro had just taken over the Fuu-ro Dojo, the league examiner who assessed her qualifications to serve as the dojo leader...
This is the infamous Heavenly King of Evil.
After meeting him face-to-face, the girl vaguely felt that although Yueju seemed a bit unreliable, his ability and character as a League King were probably trustworthy.
"The permit has been issued by the Fuki City Hall. This is the authorization document from the Heritage Planning Bureau and the Public Resources Management Department, which approves the application for repairing the load-bearing area of the Tower of Heaven and adding a barrier-free elevator block, allowing construction to begin immediately. There are also many other miscellaneous application materials, and relevant alliance civil servants should contact you one by one later."
As she descended the tower, Fenglu recalled Swan into her Poké Ball while taking out a document from her side bag and handing it to Elite Four.
This is something the other party asked her to handle yesterday, and it's supposedly related to the championship match.
At that time, she had just chased Team Plasma members riding Elephant across most of Fuyu City until they slipped into the terminal of Fuyu Airport and disappeared into the crowd. Only then did Fenglu return to the Pokémon Center in the city with no other choice.
It was there that she met Lantana, Cattleya, and Lianwu, who were waiting for the elf to receive treatment.
"Perfect timing, we need your help with something."
Upon seeing the travel-worn Feng Lu, the much-criticized gambling king revealed an expression of delight at having received a good hand, and said this with great joy.
The gist is that Aldak will be holding a championship match inside the Tower of Heaven to determine the title holder. Although Aldak said he would try his best to maintain the safety of the arena during the battle, anything can happen once the fight begins, and some minor damage to the arena is very likely. Since the Tower of Heaven hasn't been repaired for many years, it might be a good opportunity to rebuild it.
"Yes, that's true. People often complain that the stairs to the Tower of Heaven are too steep, making it too strenuous for many elderly people to climb the tower to worship..."
As the head of the Fukiyo Dojo and also the ace driver of the Fukiyo Freight Center, Furu was quite adept at handling such official business, so he readily agreed to the request.
Because this application involved the local gym leader, the Elite Four member, and even the Alder Champion, the city hall system in Fuyuki City suddenly displayed astonishing efficiency today, completing most of the necessary procedures for the renovation in just half a day.
"Also, the suspicious person you asked me to keep an eye on has left. It seems he was just resting there and didn't do anything else."
Fenglu added.
Lingju nodded, smiling as she took the document. "Ah, this is a huge help. Thanks to you, otherwise our league champions might have been forced to pay a hefty fine for damaging an ancient building. However, this application was requested by him beforehand."
"Adeke is the champion? I didn't expect him to be so thoughtful. It seems the challenge match will be very intense."
After glancing at the conspicuous hole in the center of the tower, Feng Lu shifted her gaze to the figure standing in front of the Bell of Heaven.
Fiery red hair, a flaxen shawl, twelve Poké Balls hanging from his neck, and the Sunbug standing beside him.
It was the same person the girl remembered, the champion Ardek who reigned supreme at the top of the Unicron League pyramid.
Besides Volcarona, he was surrounded by eleven powerful Pokémon. These were the main Pokémon who had accompanied Champion Alder on his journey to the top and defended the Unova League championship for decades.
However, now, almost all of them are covered in wounds.
Especially the five spirits: Old Craftsman, Red-faced Dragon, Double Ice, Knight Snail, and Agile Bug. Their auras were exceptionally weak, and their wounds had only received basic medical treatment, clearly indicating that they had just experienced a fierce and brutal battle.
"Hehe, perhaps you can only call him Mr. Adek now," Yueju said jokingly.
"Oh, stop joking."
Despite understanding the implication of the evil king's words, Feng Lu denied it without hesitation.
"The champion's Vulcan is still standing unharmed next to him, don't tell such an easily exposed lie."
"No, Master Fenglu, what Yueju said is true. The challenger who visited late at night won the battle, and the four of us, the Heavenly Kings of the Alliance, witnessed the whole process of that all-out battle."
Wearing round-framed glasses, King Wanlong walked out from the side, holding a notepad filled with notes in one hand.
She approached Wind and Dew, explaining softly in a voice just loud enough for the two of them to hear, "It's incredible, but that battle is a fact. In the very end, the challenger used every means to restrain Volcarona, then charged forward and placed his weapon against Champion Ardek's neck. Since the duel was an unrestricted duel, in a sense, Mr. Ardek was indeed defeated at that moment."
While strictly adhering to the rules, it wouldn't be unreasonable to consider the challenger who is unconscious first and has lost all their Pokémon as the loser. However, it's clear that the current Ardek Champion no longer possesses that same competitive spirit.
The Ardek champions have been defeated!
Feng Lu was dumbfounded.
Because the nouns, verbs, and subject-verb relationships in this intelligence were so mismatched, she didn't react for a moment.
The girl subconsciously recalled the date, confirming that today wasn't a suitable day for playing pranks. Then, she couldn't help but turn her gaze back to the tall figure standing in front of the Bell of Heaven.
"It's natural that you can't believe it," Wanlong said reassuringly, looking at the Kaleidoscope-like ever-changing expressions on Fenglu Pavilion Master's face.
"After all, even we who observed the entire battle couldn't fully understand the reversal that occurred at the end. Rather, from the very beginning of the match, every turn on the battlefield was completely unexpected. It was certainly exciting, but it was still too chaotic."
"So—where is that challenger you mentioned, the one who defeated the Ardek Champion?"
Looking around at everyone, besides Yueju, Wanlong, and Alder in the center of the tower, there was Iris taking care of a comatose Pokémon, and Lianwu, the Fighting-type Elite Four member standing behind Alder with his arms crossed. There were no unfamiliar challengers in sight. So, Fenglu naturally asked the question.
"She was taken to the hospital by Cattleya," Wanlong replied with a sigh.
"The person took advantage of the fact that flames compete for oxygen and extinguish each other, and by relying on the 'Blazing' ability of the Pokémon he was holding, he covered his whole body in flames and thus crossed the fire net set up by Volcarona's 'Heat Wind'."
However, this ultimately led to him completely losing consciousness when the match was decided. It's unclear whether it was due to the temperature of Volcarona's "Heat Wave" or being burned unconscious by the flames on his own Pokémon.
This is too much! It seems that the challenger's victory was not easy either. Feng Lu couldn't help but feel regretful. If it weren't for the errand and surveillance tasks, she could have witnessed this ultimate showdown in person.
"Miss Wanlong, was this match recorded?" Feng Lu asked, still unwilling to give up.
"My Chandelure recorded some footage of the match using Ghostfire, but due to the frequent changes in the battle arena, the first half of the footage was fragmented. And in the second half, for some reason, Chandelure became unresponsive, and almost no clear, identifiable footage was captured."
Novelist Tianwang shook his head regretfully, then raised his notebook and said, "Besides, I also tried to record this battle in writing, but that was only from the perspective of a narrator, and it couldn't cover everything. Many details still need to be filled in. I can only wait until I have the opportunity to ask the two parties involved."
"Then, may I take a look at that notebook?" Feng Lu asked expectantly as she looked at the novelist's notes.
Wanlong hesitated, saying, "It was an emergency, and I used a lot of shorthand symbols when I took notes. If I were to read it to you directly now, it would probably be difficult for you to understand. Besides, we need to consult Mr. Adek and the challenger about whether to make this public."
After all, not everyone wants their match history to be made public.
Feng Lu hung her head dejectedly: "Oh, that's such a pity. I really wanted to see that championship battle in person. I was right near the Tower of Heaven watching it."
"Actually, there's nothing to regret."
Beside her, Cranberry suddenly whispered.
"If you include all the regional leagues, the champion changes hands about once every two or three years, which isn't particularly rare. In my opinion, compared to what's about to happen here, the change of the champion title is nothing."
As it turns out, a gambler's intuition is always exceptionally sharp outside the card table.
Almost as soon as Yueju finished speaking, everyone's vision was suddenly enveloped in a dazzling white light.
The source of that light was the Volcano standing side by side with Alder.
It is radiating endless light from within, just like the sun.
At this moment, the renowned novelist, Tianwang, failed to instinctively reach for his pen and paper as usual. He simply stood there, dumbfounded, like a bewildered child, watching this irreversible event slowly unfold.
Only then did she truly understand what Yueju had said earlier.
For Mr. Alder, compared to what is happening now, the gauntlet battle against the four Unova Elite Four members this morning, the legendary battle against the Team Plasma Sage, and even the highly anticipated, thrilling, and spectacular championship battle late at night, might really just be a boring pastime to pass the time while waiting.
"Has this day finally come?"
Wanlong muttered to himself.
No one responded to the novelist's exclamation. The sky and earth fell into utter stillness in that instant.
The golden light grew brighter and brighter, yet surprisingly it wasn't scorching hot.
It's like a fireplace, conveying a gentle warmth that makes you feel utterly listless and inexplicably moved to tears.
For some reason, under this golden glow, both the wings of the Volcano moth and Adek's flamboyant red hair appeared somewhat pale.
Those are the marks left quietly by decades of time.
The marks of time are not only etched on their hair and cheeks, but also on the hearts of this champion duo.
Perhaps it was this aged appearance that caused him to lose to that young man in the battle. But it didn't matter, Adek thought.
Having fought to such an extent, neither he nor Volcano would hold a grudge. On the contrary, they would be pleased to have seen such an interesting young man.
It's like seeing a rare, exotic elf by the roadside after a long, exhausting journey. Even if you no longer have the energy to capture or tame it, it just makes you smile and feel lucky.
Under the spell of Alder, eleven Pokémon stood solemnly.
In addition to the five Pokémon that just participated in the battle, there are also Buffalo, Braviary, Artificial Egg, Krookodile, Chandelure, and another younger Volcarona.
They gazed at their companions with whom they had spent every day; some remained silent, some had tears in their eyes, and some trembled slightly, desperately suppressing their emotions.
Everyone had long since accepted this inescapable reality; countless heartwarming farewells had been made in the hospital; everyone could understand that the fire moth had lived a life without regrets...
But at this moment, a silence called sorrow still flows slowly.
Volcarona is about to embark on an unknown world from which no one has ever returned, and this time, no trainer will accompany it.
As the sun slowly rises, the life-giving glory of the fire moth is about to come to an end.
Compared to dying on one's sickbed, is dying while fully conscious and facing the rising sun more merciful or more cruel?
Nobody knows the answer.
As if to break the dull silence, the fire moth, where everyone's eyes were focused, suddenly fluttered its wings and began to sing a melodious chirping sound.
The volcano moth doesn't have much musical talent, and in this insect chirping that isn't exactly a skill, it naturally doesn't possess any special magic to move people's hearts. But it still vibrates its abdomen, like a bored vagrant humming a tuneless song.
Is he confronting the fear of death, or trying to comfort his partner and friends present?
It's probably the latter. However, even Volcano itself isn't sure of the real answer.
"throat-"
All his unspoken words were condensed into a long sigh as Adek placed his palm on the glowing wings of the Volcano for the last time.
During the years that Volcano was bedridden, Adek had already shared everything with Volcano. Now, they could almost instantly understand each other's thoughts just by looking into each other's eyes.
That is why words seem so inadequate at this moment.
Death is a wall that no one can cross. Even the most mysterious insects, which can disregard common sense, cannot bore a hole the size of a pinhole through it.
With this wall blocking the way, even the most willful words cannot be uttered.
The light grew increasingly intense, and the flames of the Volcano moth seemed to merge with the sunlight, gradually painting the world into a pure white expanse.
Clang—clang—Even though no living creature moved and there was no breeze, the Heavenly Bell at the center of the tower suddenly began to shake on its own.
Having lived under the clear skies of Fukiyoshi since childhood, Kazero had never heard such a clear and melodious sound of a bell.
Goodbye, my old partner. Rest in peace.
While everyone was drawn to the sound of the bells, the Volcano Moth vanished without a trace.
This sun-born insect, the most powerful Volcarona in the Unova region and even the world, did not unleash any earth-shattering flames at the end of its life, but simply disappeared into endless light.
Having bid farewell to battle and daily life, to worries and glory, to sickbeds and old wounds, he marched toward the eternal desert called death.
It burned away completely, leaving not even ashes.
All that remained were the melodious chirping of insects, though not quite melodious.
"Let's call it a day."
Adek turned around and spoke calmly to everyone.
He longs to return to the ranch in Suanmu Town and have a good cry in the deepest part of the forest where he met the Burning Bugs.
I just don't know if these tears of impending death will dry up before I get home.