Kai couldn’t see the Pokemon Meg had mentioned over the video call.

Also, despite the sorry state of his servant, he dared not barge onto the stage yet.

These weren’t the run-of-the-mill Contestants whom he had helped Meg kill in Alto Mare. They were 4th-floor Contestants. Not only they had high enough Perception to pick up his presence if he was not being careful about it, but they were also experienced enough to foil his plans before he even began with them.

Time was, of course, of the most essence right now.

Equally more important was to not fuck it up, losing his chance to devour an evolved Pokemon.

"Hand over Arcanine to me," the boy in the shorts said. "Look at you, you haven't been able to make it use a single move so far."

"Carl, that was… your name, right?" Meg said, catching her breath. "Why did you recall your Pokemon? It's my dream… to battle Order's Pokemon Trainers."

"Haha!" Carl laughed, looking behind him at the boy. "Are you seeing this? Didn't I tell you that having me with you can be helpful?"

The boy said nothing.

Carl looked forward, sneering. “Dream?” he scoffed, taking out a Pokeball, nonetheless. “You are already dead… What does it matter if you die by my hands or … my Pokemon? Heh!”

Carl threw the Pokeball, pressing a button, and a blue ray of light escaped the Pokeball with a brilliant flash. “Go! Finish her…”

However, he never really got the chance to utter the Pokemon’s name.

Time slowed down in Kai's eyes then. This was it! This was the time he had been waiting for! He must act now!

Now… or never!

With one flick of his hand, he put away the Steel-Brigandine Armor back into his Inventory. It would hardly be of any use in this battle anyway. Not to mention, it ate away 1 point of his Agility.

With another flick of his hand, he took out the Fangs.

Simultaneously, he canceled his Dementor’s transformation, letting the Blue-tailed Boa Constrictor’s Blood Essence take over him once more. The snake tattoo coiled up on his right arm, turning the nail of his middle finger, where the snake’s tail ended, purple. His hazel, round eyes became reptilian, the engines of Snake Instinct roaring.

This roar echoed like an ethereal boom across the underground, dome-like structure.

Heads snapped toward him. First, it was the pair of boy and girl. The Pokemon Trainer was a bit late, but still fast enough for him to frown, cutting his words short.

Still, it didn’t matter now.

What happened next, was just fast enough for even them to do anything about it.

The hands of both the bladers blurred as they took out their Beyblades. Carl, the Pokemon Trainer, took half a step back as if preparing to run to them.

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How would Kai ever give him such a chance, though?

Pokemon Trainers needed high Correspondence. Bladers needed high Breath. None of these two types of Contestants could afford to be in-fighting freaks. This much Meg had already told him.

Kai took advantage of this info with scientific precision.

Boom!

The rocky ground under Kai’s feet cracked and the narrow cave behind him collapsed, a boom reverberating across the dome.

Like a bullet, he ripped the air apart and landed in front of the Pokemon who had taken the shape. His hazel, vertical slits, full of pure greed and hunger, matched the red menacing pupils of the Pokemon.

Its body was blue, and it was almost as tall as him. There was a red gem in the middle of its forehead which glowed as Selene at it, leaving Kai's body. The Ghost Serpent had scarcely covered half the distance between Kai and the Pokemon when an unseen force took hold of it and flung it away.

Kai smiled, slithering, his Instincts picking up on Pokemon’s slightest intention.

But Pokemon’s intentions weren’t the only things his Instincts were sensing this time. Within his eyes, the reptilian pupils shook, overloading, as Kai put his all and everything in the Snake Instinct. He sensed Carl’s steps… before they landed. He sensed the boy and the girl taking out Beyblades… before they took them out. He sensed Meg substituting herself with a paper-Meg… before she did it.

This… feeling… Kai’s mind rocked, time truly pausing for him now at this moment.

Kai wasn’t unknown to this feeling of sensing things beforehand. In his previous life, he had invested every moment of his life in preparing himself for the destined battle against Broke Valeheart. And… Broke could become invisible… to the point that even the entire World forgot about his presence.

How could Kai ever hope to fight someone like that, and kill, if he couldn’t even sense things to this degree?

In this moment, as he pushed himself beyond his limits, those Instincts returned to him.

The Snake Instinct was still stuck at 97% as of now. He needed to fight against the Bladers to truly level it up to Advance… But…

I… don’t need Snake Instinct… Kai realized, the corners of his lips lifting, becoming vile and demonic. From now on, I will rely on my Instincts alone… “Hehe-hahaha!”

Under the shocking gazes of Meg, Carl, the Bladers, and the Pokemon itself, Kai roared out a peal of laughter and… just walked toward the magical beast.

This sight itself was so shocking, and bizarre, that none of the ones watching him could make any sense of it, their thoughts abandoning them. Never had they faced such a crazed scene, not even Meg. It was like Kai had even them a shock by entering the battlefield, but then suddenly decided to just… die.

What else could be the outcome of him facing an evolved Pokemon?

Kai’s Instincts screamed to just take one step at a time. He couldn’t sense any of them making a move. So why wouldn’t he just walk?

Kai stepped forward as if he had all the leisure in the world.

In mere moments, he found himself facing the stunned Pokemon, whose red eyes were shaking as if they were lost in some grand illusion.

Kai hugged the Pokemon like the dearest friend, his Fangs crossing around them like a prison.

He took a deep breath, sucking out almost all the happiness the Pokemon had ever known in its life. He didn’t need to be in Dementor’s form to manipulate such emotions, as the Advance Ability was a part of his Stats, not the Blood Essence’s.

-For how long… have you remained a prisoner of humans, chained up in a ball?- Kai hissed, a vertical tear opening up on his chest. -Of all the magical beasts, you deserve salvation the most…-

"Blood… Devour!"

Fear possessed the Pokemon.

A fear, originating from the very depths of its existence. A fear whose roots ran deep, searching for the essence that made the Pokemon, a Pokemon. What could you do, when the snake had already tightened its coils around you?

Nothing.

Thousands upon thousands of thin, black tendrils flailed out of his chest like the fingerless arms of some hideous monster. They grabbed at the Pokemon with unimaginable hunger. With their slightest touch, the Pokemon became a bloody paste and got devoured, disappearing within the dark tear on Kai’s chest.

0 minutes to Glitch Hibernation…