Lunatic Corruption

The sheet of the blue parted as Golduck-Kai leaped out of it and landed on the galley painted with blood.

Clutched under the grasp of his webbed right hand was Charles, dead and drenched. The moment he had lost his life, the iron man suit must have returned to his Inventory, Kai reasoned. Charles was a handsome corpse, but the charm of his lifeless figure failed to outshine the beauty of the Blue-Skinned Demon. Kai flicked away his wet, white hair off his face, pushing them backward, and threw Charles on the deck.

Then he eyed Yannis, alive and lost.

He would suck his soul first before killing him. Not now. Kai looked around, eying all the bodies, their souls frozen solid. He had lost five bodies to the narrow sea, Kai counted.

'Let them be my sacrifice to the Drowned God,' he thought, sneering. 'Don't be impatient, more coming.'

A dull thump reached his ears from behind. Kai doubled back, and saw Item-M in her old body, her face pale, but elated. The paper wings on her back erupted in thousands of twittering birds, roses, and tiny fishes. Embraced in her arms, Kai noticed, was Totodile, bloody and torn.

'I completely forgot about the fucking Pokemon!' Kai exclaimed inwardly, shaking his head. 'Where in the seven hells was it, to begin with?'

Item-M noticed him looking at the Pokemon. "Totodile was ever so brave, master," she told him proudly, coming closer. "It didn't let go of the Gyarados' tail even once. Kept biting it, I saw."

"Toto… dile…" the Pokemon cried meekly, panting.

Kai looked at it, now deeper than he had before. Several of Totodile's teeth were missing, and a few seemed loose. A gash was running across his blue snout, blood dripping off it in several pauses. Yet, it was the Pokemon's eyes that caught Kai's attention. Red, barbaric, and determined. A fury was pulsing in Totodile's pupils, he felt, and couldn't help but smile.

'Maybe…' Kai deliberated upon something, thinking of the future, and the corners of his mouth arched even higher. "I will take your words for it, Item-M," he told her, his hand flicking at empty air. "If it has shown unmatched bravery, then this bravery will be rewarded."

A Pokeball occupied the gap over his palm, as his fingers curled over it, tasting its smoothness. But the colors differed from their ordinary counterparts. Its top half was blue, with three yellow stripes over a red zig-zag pattern. It was one of the seven Apricorn Balls Kai had gotten from Pokeball Expert Kurt after completing the Hidden Mission related to his granddaughter.

[

Item: Lure Ball - Generation II

Grade: Common

Specification: An Item to catch and store live magical beasts

Requirement:

1. Elementary Pokemon Trainer

2. 0.1 MP per second

Attributes:

1. Pokemon Catch Rate: 15% - 45%

2. Pokemon Catch Rate (water-type): 40% - 65%

3. Current Status: Empty

Skill: Not Applicable

Effect:

1. Store magical beasts by converting them from matter to energy

2. The beasts within the Item will become friendly with the Contestant

3. Magical beasts up to D+ grade can be captured using it

4. It can store any type of magical beast

5. Magical Beasts HP, MP, and SP regeneration +100%, and +200% for Water-type

6. The beast's status and grade affect Pokemon Catch Rate while being captured

Quality: 91%

]

The low consumption rate of MP had shocked Kai, but Item-M had later told him that this was well-known among the Pokemon Trainers. This MP consumption rate decreased drastically with each rise in Item's grade and Pokeball's Generation.

'So that's why Gyarados is still outside,' Kai again reflected, checking the Lure Ball's stats.

Kai saw Item-M gaping at the Custom-made Pokeball and chuckled. He threw it towards her, who caught it in the air, her expression still dazed at what she had just seen. She whispered some words of appreciation, acknowledgment, and concern in Totodile's ears, and then tapped the Pokemon's head with the Lure Ball. With a flash of light, Totodile vanished, not before throwing a deep look at Kai.

"Your Master Origami Creation's Proficiency seemed to have increased a bit, right?" Kai prodded. "Making the opposite sex' origami, and that too in different forms, does work, then."

Item-M blushed, or tried, at least. With her back hunched, and loose old skin, it was impossible to tell her emotion only by seeing her face.

Kai felt amused. "So," he said, his hand rubbing Yannis' head, "you told me I can get a random Item from the Contestants, and then opt to get the remuneration for the second chance. Are you sure?"

Item-M nodded. "As a Captain of Guard, you do have a 5% chance to draw a second random Item from the Contestants, master," she said, her brows furrowing. "But with your Luck… Let's say you get the Item at your first chance. Then you would only have a 5% chance to get remuneration from the same Contestant, instead of 100%, if you were to opt for it in the beginning."

Now, this didn't amuse him. Not a bit.

Kai sighed, remembering his original plan of hoarding as many Mission Credits for Time Compression, and let go of his greed. His head turned to look at the distant Gyarados, towering over the sea surface, with a dim image of Actaea in the background. "What's going on there?" he wondered aloud.

Item-M looked back in the same direction. "She has petrified the Pokemon, hasn't she?" she said, narrowing her eyes. "I couldn't believe she had this much power. Petrifying such an enormous Pokemon isn't a simple feat, master."

'Is she a fool?' Kai rebuked Item-M, but then recalled she wasn't with him when he was indulged in his research. 'No. This isn't petrification. Gyarados' scales are still blue and lustrous. I can see that even from afar. And it's not water rippling around it, but its tail. Oh, Selene! What have you done to my prey?'

"I will deal with these later," he told Item-M, ordering her to keep an eye out, and then grabbing Yannis' neck, he lunged back into the sea. In a few moments, Kai was stroking the water around the tall Pokemon, feeling the Mana coursing over its body.

'So this was that kept Selene's intangible form from penetrating its body,' Kai thought, running his webbed hands over Gyarados' smooth scales. He looked at those scales more than he would have otherwise, his gaze moving up and down. Then he nodded to himself, coming to some unknown conclusion, and called forth his other Blood Essence.

His entire body shriveled up, as a dark, foul robe appeared over him, its tattered strips drenching in the salty waters under them. He flew up and approached the Pokemon's gigantic mouth, and when he saw its eyes, his own eyes widened.

They were unfocused, almost running back into its head.

Low, piercing hisses welcomed him as he neared it.

-I could've petrified you, if I didn't fear you drowning to a depth beyond my master's limit- she was hissing. -One day, he and I will become one for eternity. Inseparable.- Then she slithered over to her other ear. -I will kill that red bitch, you will see. Oh, no, you won't. Haha!-

'Lunatic Corruption?!' Kai gulped, guessing the source of these ravings, and the hold Selene had over Gyarados' senses. Deep down in his heart, a fear fumbled to crawl out, as he heard those hisses, wondering why this Ability hadn't affected him before? Was it because he was a Parselmouth, as well? Or was it nothing but Selene's mercy? If he were in Gyarados' place, would he notice these horrific changes about him?

Questions without answers did less to curb his curiosity. Putting them in the back of his head, his dry, corpse-like lips pressed hard, he activated the Skill Dementor's Kiss and kissed the Pokemon. A cool, more liquid than air, sensation ran down his throat, making him ecstatic.

[Soul Points: +1]

Not waiting to marvel at the feeling, Kai pressed his lips on Yannis' before the Skill got canceled.

[Soul Points: +0.06]

-Selene- he hissed, his breath rattling. -Kill them.-

Selene's head reared as if it was the first time she was sensing him, and then she turned into a silver mist, entering Gyarados through its bulging eyes. Suddenly, something wriggled under Gyarados' throat, Kai noticed, and realized Selene had returned to her material form. Both Ghost Neurotoxin and Soul Chill were useless once Kai had sucked out its soul, so there was only one way she could kill it. Kai saw her pushing her way down and then coiling around something huge. Even hovering outside, Kai heard a buried squelch.

She had crushed Gyarados' heart.

The moment she came out of its dead eyes, covered in dark blood, she lunged at Yannis like a taut bowstring, disappearing into his body. Her murderous ecstasy shocked Kai.

In the very next moment, Yannis was dead, blood bursting out of his mouth in deep, red gurgles.

The long-awaited notifications materialized in front of Kai, then.

[

Your Kill Count is updated

Floor: 3 (1st Set)

Kill Count: (100/100)

Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn…

You have achieved a Title

Title: Poacher

Specification: Kill 10 magical beasts collectively. The magical beasts' grade must be equal to or higher than Contestant's equivalent floor number

Status: (10/10)

Effect: Agility +1, Perception +1, Charisma -2

Note: Only 1 Title can be equipped at a time

Conditions to upgrade this Title…

Title: Shady Hunter

Specification: Kill 30 Magical Beasts collectively at the behest of main-storyline characters. The magical beasts' grade must be equal to or higher than Contestant's equivalent floor number. Only 3 magical beasts out of the 30 can be of the same species.

Status: (0/30)

Effect:

1. Agility +4

2. Perception +2

3. Skill: Shade Scythe

]

Kai's robed shoulders visibly slackened as the weight of this strenuous task finally lifted off them. Yet, he couldn't help but realize what he lacked as he recalled this short but deadly fight he had been through.

'I need Items, sure,' he told himself, looking into Selene's blood-stained blind eyes. 'But I need a finishing move even more.'

*************

AN: Image reference of Lure Ball is available on Discord.

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