HxH : Pokemon Master-Chapter 158: Soul Crystal!

As the last trace of the Death Aura disappeared down its throat, the shadowy presence vanished completely, leaving no trace of the Aura in the area.

Only the lingering mist of the Misty Terrain remained, which could easily lead an unsuspecting visitor to mistake this place for a fairyland.

Who could have imagined that, mere moments ago, this had been a land of death, steeped in eerie, sinister energy?

’Truly terrifying... such power...’ Satotz twirled his curled moustache, muttering under his breath as his gaze settled on Akira.

He had always known that Akira was extremely strong.

Whether it was the steel Nen beast that defeated Chairman Netero or his performance at the Heavens Arena, all of it proved that Akira strength had reached a level beyond Satotz comprehension.

But...

’’Can Nen beasts actually have a second form?’’ Satotz voice trembled as he asked the same question as Morel.

If a single Nen beast could transform, what about all of them?

Suddenly, Satotz recalled a moment from Jed live broadcast.

Though it had only been for an instant, didn’t Gengar also transform at that time?

Pyon silently watched Akira, offering no response to Satotz thoughts.

"Gengar!" Gengar patted its swollen belly, feeling utterly content after its feast.

Its crimson eyes curved into happy crescents and a grin spread across its face. Its inflated belly shrank visibly as the Death Aura energy was rapidly digested.

Within the shadows, the petite Marshadow peered out at Gengar. Watching its dear friend relish its meal, Marshadow adorable face twisted with sympathy.

If Gengar could enjoy something like this so much, how terrible must its usual meals be?

Seeing its friend endure such ’poor’ food, Marshadow expression grew resolute.

It silently vowed to itself: From now on, it would find Gengar better things to eat!

Akira glanced at his shadow, then back at Gengar, his lips twitching in exasperation.

The difference between the two was simply too vast.

The Dark Sonata was undoubtedly a top-tier Dark artefact in the Six Continents, yet even a Death Aura of this calibre couldn’t meet Marshadow standards.

The only way to pique its interest would be to venture into the Dark Continent.

***

Akira gaze swept past Gengar as he focused on the three items lying before him.

In the previous Dark Sonata, there had been two items, though technically only one was meaningful.

This was because one of them was a desiccated corpse used by the Dark Sonata for possession — utterly useless.

This Dark Sonata was no exception, containing another corpse of no value to Akira.

What truly caught his attention were the other two objects.

One was the inevitable eerie, yellowed sheet of paper.

Made from an unknown material, the sheet bore what appeared to be deliberately distorted musical notation. A mere glance would make ordinary people dizzy, as if their souls were being sucked into the paper.

Clearly, this was the Dark Sonata music sheets documenting the harp movement, bringing Akira collection to half completion.

The Incubation Bar representing the Dark Sonata in his mind had now reached the halfway point and stopped there, showing no further movement.

In order to complete the Incubation Bar, Akira would need to acquire the remaining two movements of the Dark Sonata.

As before, this Dark Sonata amplified Ghost-type moves.

After some thought, Akira decided to entrust it to Gengar once more.

Unlike items in Pokémon, the effects of the Dark sonata weren’t governed by fixed rules. Pokémon items provide exactly a 20% enhancement — no more, no less.

However, Dark sonata offered a fixed-value enhancement rather than a percentage-based improvement. This would still benefit Gengar significantly, especially when stacked with multiple Dark sonata.

However, giving it to Marshadow would be pointless.

Marshadow power was immense — even all four Dark sonata combined would have a negligible effect on it.

Since the enhancement was a fixed value, the recipient hardly mattered. Gengar, being weaker yet appearing more frequently, was the more suitable choice.

Casually handing the Dark sonata to Gengar, Akira turned his attention to the final object.

This was something that hadn’t appeared during the previous Dark sonata!

Gengar accepted the Dark sonata with its stubby hands, knowing from experience that it could boost its power.

Just as it opened its mouth wide to swallow it, its movements suddenly froze.

It stared at Akira shadow, then looked back at the Dark sonata in its hands, a thought flashing through its mind.

It already had one Dark sonata— shouldn’t this one go to its new friend, Marshadow?

Gengar decided that it shouldn’t be too selfish.

’’Gen... gen...’’ Gengar’ low growl snapped Akira out of his focused state.

’’You want to give this to Marshadow?’’ Akira repeated Gengar’s words in surprise.

"Gengar!" Gengar nodded emphatically — it genuinely wanted to give this to its friend.

Though they hadn’t known each other for long, Gengar could feel Marshadow care and affection, and it wanted to give something in return.

’’I see...’’ Akira glanced at the shadow, sensing Marshadow’s emotions.

It was a complex mixture of emotions: touched, joyful... and others.

’’All right, then you can give the Dark sonata to Marshadow later.’’ Akira smiled gently and spoke in a soft voice.

After all, it didn’t matter who give it — the bond between Gengar and Marshadow was what truly mattered.

Seeing them become such close friends was something Akira was happy to witness.

’’Gengar.’’ Gengar cradled the Dark sonata like a treasure, already imagining the moment he would hand it over to his dear friend.

However, remembering how Marshadow had dismissed Death Aura earlier, Gengar mood dimmed slightly and unsettling thoughts crept into its mind.

Would Marshadow even like this gift?

After resolving Gengar issue, Akira returned his attention to the object in his hand.

This was the last remaining item after the shadow had vanished — and by far the most peculiar.

It was a hexagonal crystal, perfectly shaped as if meticulously carved by a master artisan. The crystal was translucent with a green hue, emitting a faint, eerie glow.

In terms of colour, form and overall appearance, this green crystal could almost rival the Seven Great Beauties of the World!

This peculiar green glow was the same shade as the soul energy he had just witnessed.

The two were identical.

Considering that the violin movement was missing while the harp movement, which controlled souls, was present, Akira realised that this green crystal was likely connected to souls.

Faced with such a mysterious object, Akira decided to activate his Pokédex Ability to analyse it.

Pokedex Ability — activate!

Name: Soul Crystal

Origin: Derived from the Demon King Dark Sonata — Harp Movement, it possesses the unique ability to manipulate souls.

By gathering the souls of living beings, they can be condensed into a crystalline soul entity.

This entity contains a considerable amount of soul energy and has extraordinary effects, though it cannot be used under normal circumstances.

After using the Pokédex Ability, Akira finally understood the true nature of this green crystal.

As he had suspected, it was indeed a Soul Crystal, formed from the convergence of living souls.

Although its origin was now clear, Akira still didn’t know its exact purpose, so he decided to leave it with Gengar for the time being.

As it was a Soul Crystal, its purpose was probably related to souls.

Perhaps it could repair a damaged soul?

Or maybe it could be used to launch soul-based attacks, like the soul army from earlier?

The appearance of the Soul Crystal only served to deepen Akira fascination with soul-related phenomena.

He wondered what role it might ultimately play.

He suspected that he would encounter more soul-related phenomena in the Dark Continent in the future.

Gengar, familiar with the routine, stored the Soul Crystal away, but remained motionless.

’’What’s wrong? Marshadow is waiting for your gift, isn’t he?’’ Akira raised an eyebrow when he saw that Gengar hadn’t moved even after taking everything.

’’Gengar?’’ Gengar lowered its gaze, hesitation flickering in its eyes.

It wasn’t sure if Marshadow would accept its gift.

What if Marshadow refused? Would that harm their friendship?

’’Don’t worry. Marshadow is really looking forward to your gift.’’ Akira hadn’t expected Gengar to be anxious about being rejected by Marshadow, so he offered some reassurance.

Encouraged by Akira words, Gengar plucked up its courage, plunged into the shadows and vanished from sight in an instant.

***

In the shadows,

’’Gengar!’’ Gengar handed the Dark sonata to Marshadow, its tiny hands trembling slightly.

’’Oh?’’ Marshadow smiled warmly and gave Gengar a hug before accepting the Dark sonata.

It was a gift from a good friend, so of course it would accept it.

Though the effect might be minimal, it was the gesture itself that mattered most to Marshadow.

Seeing Marshadow accept the gift without hesitation, Gengar broke into an innocent smile.

Marshadow casually pressed the Dark sonata against its body and It gradually sank into its body until it disappeared from view.

***

Reflecting on his time at Flame Rock Island, Akira felt he could genuinely describe it as ’extremely fruitful’.

Firstly, he had successfully nurtured two powerful Pokemon, Aerodactyl and Dracovish, while also advancing the Dark Sonata’s progress bar to the halfway mark.

Secondly, his Pokémon had gained experience, enabling Gengar to ascend to S+ rank.

Most of all, Akira was pleased that Gardevoir had broken through to S-rank, unlocking its Mega Evolution form.

His beloved partner now had even more opportunities to shine.

Lastly, he had encountered the concept of souls, deepening his understanding of them. He had also obtained a Soul Crystal, though its exact purpose remained unclear for now.

The items he purchased at Flame Rock City’s market could also be counted among his gains. Setting aside the various medicinal herbs with their diverse effects, the most useful items were the Blood Fruit and Blood Root.

The former was a miraculous medicine capable of replenishing large amounts of blood rapidly.

The latter was an Aura Tool that could accelerate plant growth and improve their survival rate — essentially a ’crop cultivation’ tool.

These alone could be listed as significant achievements.

After confirming repeatedly that nothing had been left behind, Akira returned to Pyon and Satotz.

’’It seems everything here has been cleared out.’’ Akira scanned the cavern chamber once more.

Using his En, he could clearly sense every object within.

Aside from scattered dust and some fragmented bones, the chamber was completely empty.

While Akira was reviewing his findings, Satotz picked up some of the scattered bones to take with him.

The Death Aura clinging to them had already been consumed by Gengar, so they were safe to collect as souvenirs.

They now had a general understanding of what had caused the bones’ transformation.

This was probably due to the Death Aura from the Harp Movement attaching to them, possibly in some way connected to souls.

Given their unique properties and already striking appearance, these bones held considerable collector’s value.

’Truly worthy of being the world’s strongest!’ Satotz suppressed his astonishment and let out a heartfelt sigh.

Across all six continents, nobody could destroy the Dark Sonata the way Akira did.

Most couldn’t even get past the initial musical notes, let alone deal with it.

Not to mention the subsequent soul army, the stitched-together soul abomination, or even that final sneak attack.

Any one of these stages would have stopped the vast majority of people on the six continents!

Only one person could fully conquer it all: the strongest in the world. Akira!

While others fled in terror from the Dark Sonata, Akira did the opposite, actively seeking it out.

This alone set him apart from countless others. It all stemmed from his unwavering confidence in his own abilities.

’’Now that the matter is settled, let’s head back up.’’

With a flash of pink light, the group vanished, leaving the dark cavern in utter silence.

Perhaps, in the future, someone might excavate this place and be astonished by the countless bizarre skeletons here.

But none of that concerned Akira and the others.

Although they had achieved the purpose of their trip, Akira planned to stay and travel around the island with Pyon for a while longer.

After all, they had just confirmed their relationship and they needed more time together.

Flame Rock Island was the perfect getaway destination.

Satotz had also obtained his target and no longer needed to spend time digging. He planned to stay for a while to study the fossils and he could even serve as a guide for Akira and Pyon.

While Akira was enjoying his travels, a drastic upheaval was unfolding in the NGL Autonomous Region on the Six Continents!

[A/N : For anyone who confused about dark sonata]

Sonata of Darkness/ Dark Sonata : is a piece of music said to be composed by Satan himself. It is said that whoever performs or listens to it will be horribly cursed.

The piece has solo piano, violin, harp and flute parts. Melody heard the flute solo, which changed her appearance dramatically, her unnamed friend who played it died gruesomely.

Aside from cursing, dark sonata also give the one who hear it abilities.

Melody was given a supernaturally keen sense of hearing by the Sonata in exchange for her health which changed her appearance dramatically.

So far, the mc have already deal with 2 of dark sonata : The Violin movement and the Harp movement.

With this, another dark sonata arc finished.

Next is Chimera ant arc.

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