From Trainer to Beast Tamer Pokémon Trainer! Reader x Twisted Wonderland

Chapter 48: Battle for the Underworld

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Chapter 48: Final Descent

Team Vil
After finally making their way down the seemingly endless pit, the group finally seemed to be in proximity to their goal. As the Pokémon carried them through the last threshold before the bottom, (Y/N) had to cover her mouth as a wave of thick malice slapped her in the face.
"Wh-what is this!?" Vil struggled to say.
The female grit her teeth. "The miasma's getting thicker. That's a huge amount of black crystallization we're about to charge into."
Vil nodded. "It shouldn't be this bad though. Did those two open the gate to the Underworld?" "Vil." Rook called out. "The transceiver's ringing."
The hunter handed the device to his dorm leader who immediately opened the communication line, the other two teams joining in.
"This is Tower 1, Vil speaking. Over."
"It's Leona from Tower 2, hey."
"Riddle Rosehearts from Tower 3, over."
"We finally got through!" One of the researchers exclaimed from the other end. "This is the Control Room."
"What in the world is happening?" Vil asked. "Over."
"The Gate is opening. The miasma is only going to get worse. Venturing further is going to be extremely dangerous. Fall back this instant!"
"Retreat, you say." Vil pondered. "We've climbed down a countless set of stairs for hours on end. Are you telling us to climb back up?!"
The researcher ignored his question. "Some of our engineers managed to free a few Chariots from Ortho's control. We're sending three of them your way. Climb aboard!"
Leona chuckled. "Hah, you ain't the best group of geeks in the world for nothin', huh."
"Hmph, I'll take that as a compliment. In order to keep the Underworld at bay, our staff members are manually closing the emergency hatches from the 6th to the 1st levels. We'll be closing them completely as soon as you're out of there! Prepare to move!"
As the line went dead, (Y/N) crossed her arms.
"I don't think falling back is a good idea. The miasma's just going to keep spreading. What if it breaks through the seals?"
"While I agree, Madame Dompteur de Bêtes, it cannot be understated how much energy we've expended during our descent." Rook pointed. "Regrouping and resting might be our best strategic move."
"Look!" Epel shouted. "There's the Chariot!"
"Hurry and climb aboard!" Vil ordered.
(Y/N) quickly returned her Pokémon back to their balls and followed the boys on to the contraption. As they began to fly towards the nearest exit, the area around them shook as loud groaning rose from the pit.
"What in the world...?" Riddle's voice sputtered.
Vil pulled out the communicator. "What's wrong, Riddle?
"Please look below! Something's coming out of the gate!"
Looking over, Riddle was indeed right as a shadow form seemed to claw their way out of the pit.
"Something's climbing out from the Underworld!" Rook shouted
"Is that a Phantom?" Vil asked.
"No...! It's..."
(Y/N) blinked in shock. "IDIA!?"
Ironically enough, though not surprisingly, the Ignihyde dorm leader had Overblotted. His form was armored in similar gear as that of the Ferrymen's, though his eyes were exposed as his mouth covered by a monitor displaying a feral, fanged grin. A blue flame flickered in his eye, matching his flaming hair that pointed straight up.
"Bingo! It's me!" The crazed male greeted.
"What happened to you!?" Vil shouted.
"Pretty sick, right? I feel so freakin' good! I didn't know that going into Overblot would feel so exhilarating! Now I'm part of "Problem Children" gacha gang! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"He's lost it." (Y/N) said as a wave of negative energy crashed into them.
Rook seemed to chock on the air. "The miasma is starting to get worse! What an overwhelming presence!"
"Yeah, it did make me feel a bit queasy." Idia said mockingly. "But, once I went into Overblot, all these debuffs turned into buffs. In other words, I'm like, super amped up on ATK right now. You have no chance of winning! My condolences! Shall we begin? Game Set Match... Gate to Underworld."
The gate below seemed to scream as the door crept wider. Rotom jumped out of the bag, sparking threateningly .
"His Unique Magic is opening the gate!?" (Y/N) yelled as a clawed hand pulled a giant form out of the Underworld. It was a giant, and like the previous dream, it looked remarkably similar to the King of the Underworld, albeit with a cracked bottle for a head. Crystallized shards of blot were also fused to the beast. A familiar voice came from the monster.
"Hello, friends. I'm back!"
Epel gapped like a fish out of water. Wha... What is that!?"
Vil gritted his teeth. "It's connected to the blot flowing from Idia. It must be his Phantom. But why would he announce that he's back? That voice sounds familiar."
"You don't recognize me?" The incarnation asked. "It's me, Ortho!"
"Come again!?"
"Ortho, what did you do to yourself!?" (Y/N) shouted.
"I've grown so big, haven't I?" He said proudly. "All my friends in the Underworld helped raise me, you know? The curse flowing in me turned out to be the blessing I needed to get stronger. I absorbed and burned away all the blot in the Underworld for a long time until...Well, I've become the very embodiment of the Underworld!"
The voices of Phantoms filled the room in agreement.
"Ah... I am finally free..."
"Warm... So warm..."
"It took so long... but our time... has finally come..."
"Has he morphed with all those Phantoms to achieve his current form!?" Rook deduced as Vil clenched his fists.
"Unbelievable! That sinister-looking Phantom is actually Ortho?"
"W-wait..." Epel interrupted. "Look at that figure by Ortho-kun's shoulder!"
Looking down, (Y/N) spotted a small, familiar form crawling up the incarnation. It was Grim, but his eyes had the same rage filled expression as the night he had attacked her.
"... Stone... Black stone......" He murmured.
"Grim!" She shouted, trying to snap him out of it.
Rook placed an arm in front of her to keep her from jumping. "How could this be? Did he lose his way in the Underworld and ended up sticking to Ortho-kun?!"
Epel looked like he wanted to dive after the cat as well. "We need to pry him off, but how exactly do we do that!?"
"There's only one way." Vil said. "We need to stop those two if we want to retrieve Grim and if we want to go back to our old lives!"
The Phantoms screamed as they began to surge out of the gate.
Leona clicked his tongue. "Tch! There are more Phantoms sneaking out of the gate!"
The researcher rejoined the conversation "This is bad. Most of the staff that left to close the emergency hatches are civilians. They won't survive if the Phantoms get to them!"
All around them, they heard the shrieks of the researchers as the Phantoms began swarming them.
"We have to do something!" (Y/N) shouted. "They're gonna get slaughtered!"
"Vil-senpai, Leona-senpai, please head down and save them!" Riddle said. "Azul and I will hold the fort to buy you some time!"
Vil sighed. "We have no other choice. Leona, head to the 6th level! We'll head to the 1st level!"
"Give me a break, geez." The lion man groaned. "These stupid small fry will pay for wasting my time!"
"Quit moaning, Kitty!" (Y/N) said. "Riddle, Azul, hold them off as long as you can. We'll come back once we're done!"