"Report! Reinforcement police units: 150 officers.
Elite Trainers: 26.
Advanced Trainers: 4.
Gym-level Trainer: 1.
Total personnel: 181. Awaiting orders!"
At the perimeter of theMausoleum of the First Emperor, a sharp and professional Officer Jenny saluted and delivered her report to the acting commander—Cynthia.
Cynthia scanned the area, quickly confirming the distribution of personnel before issuing orders.
"Seal all entrances and exits. Establish defensive lines and prepare for combat!"
With that command, the entire area burst into action.
Unlike the neatly organized police officers awaiting orders, the recruited Trainers appeared much more relaxed. They gathered in small groups and spread across the area.
Nearby, Gym Leader An Ming was organizing the medical teams entering the site.
Several medical vehicles arrived one after another.
Nurse Joy stepped out with teams of Chansey, pushing carts of medical supplies and quickly setting up a temporary field clinic.
At the rear, where numerous instruments were stacked together—
Professor Oak stood before a computer connected to a web of cables. His fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard while his eyes scanned streams of data.
Suddenly—
He froze.
His pupils shrank slightly.
After hesitating for a moment, he picked up the computer and hurried toward Rei Akagi, who was organizing equipment nearby.
His lips parted several times, as if unsure how to begin.
"Professor Oak? What's wrong?"
Rei Akagi paused, brushing dust from his hands as he noticed the professor's unusually grim expression.
Professor Oak took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye.
"Rei Akagi… you cannot go into the mausoleum subspace."
"Hm? Professor, I already explained earlier—Gastly is native to that place. It can take me inside."
Rei Akagi spoke calmly.
At that moment, Gastly popped out of his shadow and floated in front of Oak, nodding firmly.
"Gaaastly!"
"No—it's not about that. I just updated the detection data! The abnormal Ghost-type energy has remained at critical levels for too long. The subspace itself has become extremely unstable. It could collapse at any moment!"
Professor Oak paused, organizing his thoughts before continuing.
"That means if you enter… and the space collapses while you're inside…"
"You could be trapped forever in the cracks between dimensions."
"Or I might just get sent back."
Rei Akagi replied unexpectedly calmly, even with a hint of light humor.
Of course he understood how dangerous it was to be lost in dimensional space.
But he couldn't give up so easily.
The closer he got to the mausoleum, the more he could feel the suffering of the Ghost-type Pokémon inside.
They were already on the verge of going berserk.
Besides—
He had faced even greater dangers when saving his previous world. Back then he hadn't retreated either.
And now?
Even less reason to.
More importantly, he had experience with situations like this.
With the Aura of the Chosen One, he could sense and anchor space-time. Getting lost between dimensions wasn't impossible—
But the chances were extremely small.
"How do you kn—"
Professor Oak was caught off guard by Rei Akagi's answer.
But after recovering, his tone remained firm.
"That's still only a small possibility! I won't let you take that risk!"
As a professor of the Pokémon League and the main researcher responsible for the Ghost-energy tide incident, logically he should support Rei Akagi.
After all, the safety of an entire city was at stake.
But he couldn't do it.
He couldn't ask someone unrelated to the crisis to shoulder such danger and responsibility—
Even if doing so would save more people.
Especially not Rei Akagi, a young man he valued deeply.
"Rei Akagi, you're not the one responsible for this. You shouldn't go, and you have no reason to go. I can't sacrifice your interests for the sake of the majority. That might be scientifically rational—but it's morally wrong."
My interests…
You've taken care of me so much.
Now that you need me—
How could I back down?
Besides, only Gastly could reach the mausoleum subspace.
And only Rei Akagi's Aura could heal the affected Pokémon.
Most importantly—
Gastly itself was in danger.
There was no way he could ignore that.
He just needed one reason.
System… give me a mission.
[System Notification]
"Assistant Xiao-A reminds you:
Enter theMausoleum of the First Emperor subspace, resolve the Ghost-energy tide, and heal all affected Ghost-type Pokémon.
Tell me—who is the true savior?"
Reward:
• 300 Battle Points
• Pokéblock Manufacturing Technology → Lv.3
"Professor, I understand your concerns," Rei Akagi said seriously.
"But I also have a reason I can't refuse."
He glanced at Gastly.
"You know Gastly is my family. I can't ignore the Ghost-energy tide—not for it, and not for myself."
"Gaaastly… (Father…)"
Gastly stared blankly at Rei Akagi.
Its huge eyes filled with tears, its color fading slightly.
(ㄒ^ㄒ)
"You…"
Professor Oak fell silent.
He knew he couldn't stop Rei Akagi.
After a helpless sigh, his shoulders slumped slightly before he finally said:
"…Come back safely."
"I promise."
Rei Akagi nodded solemnly.
At that moment, a clear voice—like wind chimes—spoke beside them.
"I'll go with you."
Rei Akagi turned.
It was Cynthia.
"Miss Cynthia? When did you—"
"When Gastly jumped out of your shadow."
Cynthia's lips curled into a faint smile.
Rei Akagi was speechless.
So she had been eavesdropping the entire time!
"Miss Cynthia, you really don't need to come with me into the subspace. It's very dan—"
"Mr. Rei Akagi."
Cynthia interrupted him before he could finish.
"Last time, you accompanied me into a subspace. This time, I'll accompany you."
She looked directly at him, her gaze carrying undeniable pressure.
"I told you before—I will protect you."
I really don't need protection…
Now Rei Akagi finally understood how Professor Oak felt earlier.
That helpless feeling of wanting to stop someone but having no way to do so.
Professor Oak's eyes shifted back and forth between the two of them suspiciously.
Are these two… actually involved?
Could the rumors about Cynthia be true?
Rei Akagi, you kid…
And what about Green? He's about the same age as Rei Akagi and still hasn't found a girlfriend. I'm still waiting to hold a great-grandchild…
Professor Oak shook his head, pushing away his stray thoughts.
Convincing these two was impossible.
But with Cynthia accompanying him, Rei Akagi's safety would indeed increase significantly.
Still… I need to hurry and finish developing a Spatial Anchor Device.
If something really happened, it would be too late.
"…Be careful, both of you."
With that, Professor Oak dove back into the pile of instruments, continuing his work on the Spatial Anchor Device.
Rei Akagi tucked the still-sniffling Gastly under his arm and looked at Cynthia.
"So… shall we go?"
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