To Lillie, everything that happened today felt like a complete and utter disaster from out of nowhere.
With Haru's help, everything in her life had been moving in a positive direction.
Everyone could be saved. Lusamine was trying her best to change. And she herself had found someone worthy of her love.
If things had just continued like that, Lillie truly believed she could attain her own happiness.
But only a single evening had passed—and just like that, everything had vanished into thin air, like Mewtwo's power tier among the top Legendaries—gone without a trace.
Her lover? Her family? Ha! Poor little Lillie now had nothing.
Maybe right now, Lana was off somewhere doi-ing away with her man…
Lillie hadn't even gotten the chance to start her very first romance before getting slapped with a massive, metaphorical green hat.
And Haru… being taken by a woman he didn't love—he must be in such pain, right?
Thinking about the humiliation Haru was about to suffer, Lillie couldn't help but feel sympathy for that man.
Still, up until now, she simply couldn't understand—why did that girl named Lana change so drastically in such a short time?
Just because she also had feelings for Haru… did she have to go so far as to snatch him away at any cost?
That hatred Lana had shown just now—completely exceeded the realm of love rivals.
Lana's attitude was practically like Lillie had locked her in a basement and forced her to watch AVI files for a whole month straight—treating her like a mortal enemy.
But she hadn't done anything nearly that cruel…
She had just been spending time with Haru and Lusamine these past few days.
Thinking back to everything Haru had done for her during this time, and how Lusamine had selflessly stepped in front of her to protect her… Lillie's heart grew cold—cold like 2.5 Gojo's body.
Those two had given so much for her, and yet all she could do now was watch helplessly as everything unraveled.
Maybe Lana was right: those without strength… can protect nothing.
And yet—in that moment when her heart shattered—Lillie found herself oddly able to think more clearly.
She started turning over questions she'd once had but never truly investigated.
Like… the strange behavior between Lana and Lusamine.
If Lana's hostility toward her stemmed purely from a love triangle, then why was she targeting Lusamine too?
When she'd captured Lusamine, from both her words and her actions, Lana's treatment of Lusamine was downright cruel.
But Lusamine hadn't done anything to her, right?
So… was it just redirected anger?
That didn't make sense either. Lillie even felt that compared to how Lana treated her, her attitude toward Lusamine was worse.
But aside from that, what other reason could there be?
For one fleeting moment, Lillie even wondered—who exactly was Lana's real "rival in love"?
But her rational mind dismissed that idea as impossible.
There had to be some hidden story behind all this…
The damp sea breeze played through the girl's long hair, brushing against her cheeks with a trace of coolness.
Lillie clutched the still-sleeping Nebby tightly in her arms, quietly making a decision in her heart.
She had to be strong. She would take back everything that belonged to her.
Even if Haru was fated to be "defiled," even if she had no choice but to wear that proverbial green hat, she would still reclaim him.
Even if it meant being the one to clean up the mess—so be it. She'd gladly do it.
"I'm counting on you, Nebby… If you really are the child of a god, then surely you can help me recover the happiness I've lost."
As she watched the rapidly approaching flying Pokémon in the distance, the girl murmured like she was in a dream.
---
The so-called Ultra Space wasn't specifically the home of Ultra Megalopolis, nor was it just where the Ultra Beasts dwelled.
Strictly speaking, it was more like a collection of countless "dimensions"—and until you entered an Ultra Wormhole, you never knew what you were going to face.
Maybe you'd pop right into Ultra Megalopolis and get help from some friendly Ultra Recon Squad folks.
Or maybe you'd get tossed into an Ultra Desert crawling with Pheromosa, and spend the next three months getting ruthlessly violated by their high Attack stats.
So for those who fell into Ultra Wormholes, the first challenge was always the same: getting hopelessly lost—and whatever came after that.
In this regard, Necrozma lived up to her title as the radiant deity.
The kinds of wormholes that ordinary Ultra Beasts or even Ultra Recon Squad members couldn't handle? She played through them like a video game.
And her route was always straight and clear—not even a hint of confusion or detour.
In fact, not only did she fly with total confidence—she also wouldn't shut up, taunting Haru and Lusamine the entire way like a bratty little gremlin:
"Heehee, even a pathetic little fish like you dares waste my time? Be smart and surrender already!"
"If you'd just surrendered earlier, maybe I'd have been generous enough to let you ride on me instead of flying around like some roast duck hanging on a hook."
Despite the things Lana-zma was saying, Haru didn't actually feel like his situation was that bad.
After all, once they'd entered the Ultra Wormhole, Lana had even locked her arm tightly around his waist—it looked more like she was hugging him while flying.
If things had gone the way she'd said—riding on her—that might've turned into something that couldn't be aired at all.
Lusamine, on the other hand? Yeah, her treatment really was straight-up sewer-level. Lana had just grabbed her by one leg and dragged her through the air, swaying her back and forth… it was honestly tragic.
"Having a Mythical Pokémon backing you up still makes you my toy. What a trash-tier nobody~"
Seeing Haru remain silent only made Necrozma more excited. Her voice even grew more cheerful.
Aiya~! So this is what being human is like? Way more fun than being a deity!
Forget being some radiant god—it's way better to be human!
Being a god meant keeping up that "divine dignity" all the time. And dignity? Pfft. Fun was way more important.
Thinking such strange thoughts, Necrozma finally arrived at the "prison" that had held her for who knows how many years—Ultra Megalopolis.
It was still the same towering spire, but Necrozma's mentality had undergone a total transformation.
Freedom. Joy. That was how she felt now.
Naturally, the Ultra Recon Squad noticed Necrozma's return right away. And the moment they did, they started fleeing like it was the apocalypse.
"Crap—it's Necrozma! Everyone, retreat!"
Others might not understand how terrifying Necrozma truly was—but they did.
Last time, they'd paid a huge price just to barely manage to seal her away.
Now that she was free again, of course she'd come looking for payback.
They were just ordinary people—how could they possibly withstand the wrath of the radiant god?
And yet… things didn't go as they feared.
After reaching the now-powerless spire's summit, Necrozma just sort of… went quiet. No outburst. No rampage.
What was going on?
The Ultra Recon Squad was panicked but didn't dare investigate. They certainly weren't about to imitate those bloodthirsty magnetic field spectators who risked everything just to watch the drama unfold.
They were terrified that one wrong move would trigger a Prismatic Laser and turn both them and the entire Ultra Megalopolis into orange juice.
So… what was Necrozma doing?
Answer: playing the part of a bratty little gremlin.
No one knew what kind of strange influence she'd absorbed, but Haru had a hunch—Necrozma had awakened some weird new kink.
After landing on the tower, she threw Haru and the motion-sick Lusamine straight to the ground, then dragged out a chair from who-knows-where, plopped herself into it, and looked down on the two of them like a queen.
"Miserable human… now, have you made up your mind to beg for my mercy?"
She kicked off her shoes and waved her soft, pale warden's feet in front of Haru's face, the grin on her face beyond bizarre.
It was the kind of expression that could only be described as utterly smug.
Honestly, if Haru had to describe it, right now Lana looked just like some smug little bug who just pulled off a devious plan.
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