Thousand-Armed Kannon  

While half-squinting with distaste, Kuwabara seemed to be making inappropriate comments towards Milotic, who had also joined their group. Realizing his intentions, Shirona grew more vigilant.

The structure was not particularly large but adorned with lavish decorations, as if enshrining something sacred. Shirona too sensed it - this direction might indeed prove more challenging than anticipated.

Upon entering, they found stone statues lined up. In total, there were five. Unlike the exterior ones, these exuded a different aura. Though similar in size, their apparel appeared more ornate, with some donning helmets. Most lacked any visible weapons, somewhat underwhelming.

However, Shirona felt overwhelmed. The central figure possessed a distinctly unique form. Numerous arms protruded from its back, each hand grasping various implements, including short swords. Its very presence felt distinct from the others.

"Quite puny. Seems our expectations were misplaced." No sooner had Muroya voiced his complaint than the multi-armed statue abruptly spoke.

"Are you also among them?"

A chill ran down her spine. That voice belonged to an ordinary man, yet emanating from the unsettling statue amplified its ominous quality.

The middle statue opened one eye. "My apologies if I startled you. I should still be able to communicate, right? I'm still getting used to this. I tried reading someone's mind to understand the norms, but I'm not sure if this is considered ordinary. Can you comprehend the meaning?"

Without warning, Kuwabara and Muroya simultaneously fired their X-Guns. The shots unerringly struck the statue. Or so it seemed.

"I see. Disasters do persist, it seems."

Another figure had positioned itself before the statue. After a brief moment, they burst apart, the liquid resembling blood gushing out as the fallen figures collapsed, as if shielding their master.

The remaining two helmeted statues emerged in succession.

Reflexively, Shirona retreated outside the shrine. She had no desire to face multiple enemies in such confined quarters while carrying only her X-Gun, having left the more potent Z-Gun behind.

They had supposedly destroyed all the lamps, with no visible light beams restoring the statues. Her instincts told her these opponents clearly differed from those they had previously dealt with. Failure to grasp that difference would lead to defeat.

The others too had successfully evacuated and focused on the emerging statues.

"How sorrowful. We have done nothing, and yet..."

One of the hands glowed, firing a beam that narrowly missed Shirona's face, eliciting a scream from someone behind her.

Muroya turned and shouted, "Miho!"

Nakayama stared blankly at the hole in her abdomen before collapsing backward.

Without hesitation, Shirona caught her body and instructed Togekiss to stem the bleeding using Life Dew while gradually healing her with Wish over time. Of course, she would only have that chance if circumstances permitted.

"Stay focused! Togekiss will take care of her!"

Heeding only those words, Muroya faced forward to confront the two approaching figures, while Kuwabara simultaneously aimed his X-Gun at the other pair. Anzu trembled but readied her weapon towards the multi-armed statue.

"Why must we be destroyed? Your actions constitute sheer slaughter. Surely we have the right to resist, don't we?"

She sensed it coming. One of the hands targeted her. As soon as its fingertip glowed, she had already spoken.

"Mirror Coat!"

Milotic stepped forward, forming a transparent barrier. It was a gamble as to whether it would succeed, but it worked - the beam struck the barrier without penetrating, then instantly reversed course. Milotic's powerful counter move seemed to catch the enemy off guard.

The beam struck the firing statue, shattering part of its right-hand appendages.

Simultaneously with Anzu, Shirona fired the X-Gun. Though the statue swiftly tried to close the distance, Milotic's Ice Beam halted its advance.

One of the hands launched a sword. Shirona clearly registered it, rolling sideways while sweating profusely.

A searing sensation on her arm - the suit had been cleanly torn. For an instant, her mind went blank. Was this not supposed to protect her? Or perhaps that sword possessed far greater power than anticipated.

The multi-armed statue, poised to act further, abruptly burst apart.

Simultaneously, Muroya's group managed to destroy the other figures, though appearing somewhat fatigued.

"Seems a bit different from that earlier group, huh?"

She harbored no expectations of it ending so easily.

That statue, along with the others, began rising once more. Their insides bulged outward as if made of flesh, fully regenerating their bodies in a ghastly spectacle. The dreadful prospect that this might never end gradually took root.

Reminding herself to remain calm, she recalled having another means of attack at her disposal. Shooting, slashing - none seemed particularly effective. Then she would have to try a different approach.

With Togekiss having completed Nakayama's preliminary treatment, it released a Thunder Wave. Milotic spit out ice, aligning with the trajectory of the dodged stone statue. Impressively, the opponent fell for it. Shirona aimed her weapon at it.

From the Y-Gun, a rope of light was discharged. It wasn't a weapon with good memories. There were doubts about whether it would even be effective. But perhaps with this... It accurately coiled around the stone statue, and the phenomenon began.

"Ugh..."

That groan faded away midway. The statue's head had almost completely vanished. It was just like when Shirona and the others were transferred. Though it was unclear where it was being taken, since this was a weapon issued to them, if completed, it would count as an extermination.

"We... did it..." Anzu exhaled a breath.

Shirona was also mostly convinced of their victory. The entire upper body of the statue was chipping away. Once it reached the lower half, it would soon disappear completely.

"Uhn..."

From that cross-section, flesh began swelling up. All they could do was watch as the enemy revived.

The mass of flesh that had completely separated from the stone statue's body was initially just rolling on the ground. But it gradually began to writhe, sprouting numerous thick arms from its back as it slowly rose up. The missing part of the head was also gradually filled in, until what looked like human faces eventually emerged. Numerous facial features formed.

"Could it be... you thought I was weak?"

"It's so creepy. That's just how it is." 

"I am the strong one. You all are the weak ones." 

"Kurono-kun, what were you thinking back then when you did that to me..." 

"I'll protect Kato-kun. So you all should just die." 

"Fufufufu..." 

"Kei-chan, you need to run away..." 

"Your destination is hell. The Buddha sees everything." 

"Do you understand?"

The multiple faces simultaneously turned towards Shirona. The grotesquely enlarged body began moving. The fleshy, unsettlingly exposed-looking colored body approached menacingly.

"You all will become part of it too."

Togekiss fired a projectile that was destroyed by a beam of light. The following Thunder Wave was also absorbed by the sword it picked up.

Shirona somehow managed to move her frozen consciousness and simultaneously fired the X-Gun and Y-Gun. But by then, the sight before her had changed.

"I suppose this is the troublesome part."

Milotic was caught in one of its arms. The finger-like parts had swelled up, trapping her large body. Shirona desperately tried to aim, but the enemy used that Pokemon as a shield. Because of that, she couldn't recklessly fire.

"Hmm. Fascinating. Limbless creatures, especially serpentine ones, have no way to resist when captured like this. It seems to apply here too."

Kuwabara looked this way, causing him to get punched by the helmeted stone statue he was facing. But it seemed he was able to shield himself with the hand that still had part of his suit attached before it hit his body.

Shirona shouted while being utterly perplexed. Was she losing her mind? As she was driven into a corner, bizarre hallucinations entered her sight.

Milotic should have been able to escape. If she had been more proactive, she could have slipped out of those finger-like parts. But she wasn't using any moves at all. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say she couldn't.

Her body was distorted. More precisely, it was blurred. As if mixed with noise, her figure became indistinct, and she herself seemed to be in pain. Because of that, she couldn't resist.

"And the Reverse Barrier is also limited in direction and range, it seems."

Beams of light were fired from the arms and multiple mouths of the faces. Most of them pierced through Milotic's body. Her pink tentacles were obliterated.

Before Shirona could even cry out as she fell to her knees, she felt a blaze ignite in her chest. Larger than sadness or emptiness, anger and hatred welled up inside her, one after another.

"This..."

"OOOOOOOOOOAHHHHHH!"

But there was someone who charged in first. Kuwabara had completely abandoned his usual nonchalant demeanor, slashing at the monster with an intensity Shirona had never seen before.

"My hole! What are you doing to iiiiit!"

Even if he wasn't calm, his movements were refined. Despite only wearing half his suit, he deftly avoided the enemy's beams of light. He swiftly ran circles around the monster, already landing several slashing attacks.

"Knee Beam."

But in an instant, both his legs had holes blasted through them. Kuwabara fell, breathing heavily. And Muroya, who ended up facing four bodies, was blown away by a series of punches. Even against an enemy that could endlessly regenerate, sweat poured down his face.

The fleshy monster relaxed its expression slightly. 

"Well, there are four more firing apertures. Glad you could gain some meaningful knowledge at the end."

As Shirona knelt, she looked at Milotic's motionless body, unsure of what else to do. Togekiss moved forward to try to protect them, but it too had become sluggish in its movements. It was suffering. Its very existence was becoming unstable. That nightmare was resurfacing.

Anzu had already lost strength in her legs. Her weapon fell from her hand. Next to her unconscious form, Nakayama still hadn't woken up.

"Well, bye bye."

The sound of something crackling echoed. A strange object appeared next to Shirona. It looked like an artificial construct.

For a moment, she made an association. In a region different from Sinnoh, there was a legend about ancient Pokemon. Some of the traits resembled those of the ones called the Regi series. Particularly Registeel and Regigigas.

Its lower body was humanoid, closely resembling a person in a black suit. However, both arms were abnormally enlarged, with an emphasis on the fists. From what seemed to be the elbows, covered in black armor plating, thin blades extended. Flexing its thick, pockmarked shoulders, it raised its fists.

"Come at me," Oka's voice came from the mask with tubes extending from the back.