So… what now?
Lillie and Lusamine… they each had their own ways of drawing Haru's attention, and Haru wasn't about to deny that.
Sure, Lillie was a bit behind in "progress," but Haru could feel the sincerity in her.
Honestly, Lillie was naturally a reserved girl—who would've thought she'd act so bold today?
But that was exactly why her actions had made Haru's heart race so much.
Gazing out at the lake shimmering gold under the setting sun, Haru pondered for a long while.
Forget it—better to take care of business first. All that romantic stuff could wait.
Besides, the group under Faba was starting to get out of control—he couldn't let them stir up trouble.
Faba and Guzma themselves weren't too concerning—they couldn't make much of a splash.
But the Ultra Recon Squad from Ultra Megalopolis was a different story.
Their technology was far more advanced than modern science, they could open Ultra Wormholes at will, and used them to travel freely between their home world and Alola.
And as luck would have it, there was a very dangerous Necrozma sealed away in Ultra Megalopolis.
If that thing were to break loose in Alola, even Haru would have a headache dealing with it.
This wasn't some chump that could be taken out by a Swinub or a Delibird—in the anime, its power level had stayed respectable even there...
So he'd need to proceed very carefully.
With that thought, Haru stood up, glanced at the message his brother-in-law had sent, and walked toward the bridge connecting directly to the shore.
With Mew helping him, he wasn't remotely worried about getting ganged up on by random grunts.
Hmm—might as well bring Lillie along too. Since she'd been attacked today, it was clear those guys had their eyes on her too. Keeping her close would be safer.
Of course, it wasn't because he wanted to spend more time with Lillie or anything.
With that perfectly selfless reasoning, Haru subtly adjusted his course.
What he didn't expect was that before he could even go after them, that bunch had already started falling apart on their own…
Faba and the Ultra Recon Squad were once again gathered.
But this time, they weren't nearly as composed as before.
Faba slammed a thick stack of data onto the table, clutching his head in near breakdown:
"Why the hell did this happen?! All I did was extract a bit of data—what's wrong with that Pokémon?!"
"Didn't you say it was already under control?! Why is it going berserk again?!"
The Ultra Recon Squad looked equally displeased:
"That's what we'd like to ask you. That tower should've held for much longer. What exactly did you do to it?"
Although they were "Ultra Beings" from Ultra Space, the Ultra Recon Squad had actually been quite friendly toward Alola.
This was the first time they'd shown any real anger toward the people of Alola.
But honestly, this situation deserved their anger.
At Faba's request, they'd kindly opened a VIP portal for him to visit Ultra Megalopolis and examine the Necrozma contained within the tower.
The idea was to see if he could further improve the Beast Balls used to capture Ultra Beasts.
And what happened? Who knows what the hell he did, but a perfectly stable Necrozma had suddenly gone ballistic—like Gin seeing Shiho in a fit of murderous rage.
It had practically tried to crush Faba on the spot… He'd barely escaped with his life.
Though Necrozma's attack had missed, Faba had been scared shitless—literally running for his life.
Luckily, the tower hadn't collapsed in the end, or Ultra Megalopolis would've been in deep trouble.
If Necrozma, deprived of light, got loose, it would destroy Ultra Megalopolis—and it wouldn't spare Alola either.
Once Faba had vented enough to calm down a bit, the Ultra Recon Squad spoke up again:
"So what now? It won't hold much longer. We need a solution fast."
"And where's that so-called Emperor of Destruction?"
"Hell if I know what that bastard's up to!"
Faba shot an annoyed look at an empty chair nearby.
"As for what we do next… well, I did manage to gain something from this. I am a genius, after all."
"But… that thing Lillie's holding is even more important than we thought."
---
"Mmm~ ah—nnn… haah…"
In an empty lab somewhere in Aether Paradise, strange sounds echoed through the office.
Yes—it was Lana and Wicke.
They'd been tied up here for several hours now, and the Golden Experience Requiem-like effect hadn't faded.
Haru had no idea what was happening here. Mew had assumed Lusamine would come handle things, so after setting things in motion, it had simply bailed.
As for Lusamine… she'd been "handled" by Haru to the point of unconsciousness, and still hadn't woken up.
Originally, she'd just planned to run a few "lessons" and then release the two of them—but plans rarely go as expected...
Mew's directorial masterpiece had ended up crashing and burning.
Lana and Wicke had no choice but to endure the torment of both the "lesson" and the seductive sounds that accompanied it.
For them, it was pure torture.
Whenever they were about to hit their limits, Mew's programming would give them a brief "break," only to start the cycle all over again.
This constant tease without release kept their inner frustration burning endlessly.
But… this would be the final round. Mew's bindings couldn't last forever—once this last cycle ended, they'd regain their freedom.
Still… their mental states had already been pushed to the brink.
Right now, all Lana could feel—besides overwhelming desire—was rage. Rage directed entirely at Lusamine.
She was furious at how Lusamine had treated them. Even angrier that Lusamine had deliberately denied them any form of release.
So even someone as kind-hearted as Lana… now wanted revenge.
Desperately wanted revenge!
But how?
The answer came to her instantly, fueled by burning rage.
Didn't Lusamine care deeply about that man called Haru?
Everything she did seemed to revolve around him—even tying them up here had been meant to please him.
In that case, Lana would turn herself into a five-star chef, tie up Lusamine, and right in front of her eyes, thoroughly wreck that man—giving Lusamine a taste of her own medicine!
And not just wreck him—she'd utterly dominate Lusamine in a way she would never forget.
Lana (now fully blackened), was practically surrounded by an aura of dark energy.