The moment the gate opened, Dusknoir suddenly froze. Intercepting him behind the door, waiting, was not a variety of ghosts or Ghost-type Pokémon, but only a fox-like Pokémon standing there.
This Pokémon was entirely gray and white, but its hair was extremely disheveled, with snow-white roots and tips that glowed red like burning flames.
Mu Li's pupils instantly dilated—it was Hisuian Zoroark.
However, at this moment, Ghost energy, like flames, enveloped Zoroark. He was like a malevolent spirit emerging from hell.
And his gaze was fixed intently on Zorua's soul in the void.
"No... impossible, how are you not dead?" A hint of fear actually flickered in Dusknoir's eyes.
Zoroark's voice was somewhat hoarse: "Ha... have you forgotten? If my soul hadn't been torn in half back then, with one half sealed within the Netherworld Gate and the other half remaining in the current world, do you think your strength could have so easily obliterated my soul in the current world?"
However, Zoroark completely ignored Dusknoir. In her sight, there was always only that tiny presence—Zorua.
Watching Zorua's soul run towards her, Zoroark's eyes, which had been filled with hatred, no longer held any trace of it, only infinite tenderness and continuously flowing tears.
"Why are you so foolish? My child... Even if you open the Netherworld Gate, I cannot return to reality. My physical body has long since perished; with just my soul, I cannot survive in this world," Zoroark murmured.
Zorua heard this voice, and there was no regret in her eyes, only endless worry.
She anxiously jumped around Zoroark, tears constantly dripping from her eyes, but her translucent soul couldn't even touch Zoroark; she could only pass through Zoroark's body.
At this moment, Mu Li finally understood why Zorua asked him not to prevent Dusknoir from opening the Netherworld Gate.
Perhaps she had known all along that this half of her mother's soul had already been devoured by Dusknoir.
The only way to save Zoroark was to open the Netherworld Gate.
To rescue Zoroark's other half of her soul from the Netherworld Gate and revive her.
That's why she didn't hesitate to sacrifice her own life.
But she hadn't expected such a result in the end.
Even so, there was no regret in Zorua's eyes, only self-reproach.
"What a scene of maternal love and filial piety..." Dusknoir couldn't help but laugh. "I really didn't expect you to be able to survive in the Netherworld until now, even stopping the ghosts of the Netherworld."
"Heh..." The Ghost energy on Zoroark began to burn wildly, and the original resentment returned to her eyes. "You don't know the hardships I've endured, and I crawled out of hell just to seek revenge on you."
"Revenge? Don't be ridiculous. It was those humans who sealed you back then. You should seek revenge on them, and as for me, don't forget, I am your savior," Dusknoir sneered.
"No, I know very well that humans were only temporarily deceived, but you are the true culprit who wants to destroy this world," Zoroark roared.
"Since that's the case, I have nothing more to say." Dusknoir sighed, and the Ghost energy on his body surged out wildly, instantly occupying the entire stone chamber.
A battle was about to erupt.
If Zoroark was like a ball of Ghost fire, then Dusknoir was the night, silently lurking in the darkness.
Having been in the Netherworld for so many years, Zoroark naturally had her unique way of dealing with ghosts. Dark-type energy was occasionally mixed with Ghost energy, constantly damaging Dusknoir.
But Dusknoir was clearly on a higher level in the use of Ghost energy. He was like a demonic shadow in the night, always elusive, making it impossible to pinpoint his location.
His seemingly clumsy body, far from being a burden, instead made his physical attacks extremely effective, even far exceeding the damage caused by Ghost energy.
Zoroark was inadvertently ambushed twice by Dusknoir in close combat, sustaining considerable injuries.
Mu Li watched for a while, then suddenly let out a sigh: "Without the support of a physical body, Zoroark has basically lost her ability to recover. If she were in the Netherworld, perhaps she could still recover from her injuries using Ghost energy, but now..."
On the battlefield, Zoroark's injuries grew more severe, while Dusknoir, on the other hand, had already recovered from the injuries Zoroark had inflicted on him.
Zoroark, whose power was growing weaker and weaker, also lost the ability to continue damaging Dusknoir.
Just then, Dusknoir suddenly threw a Shadow Sneak. Although Zoroark was weak, she still dodged it.
But what was unexpected was that the target of this Shadow Sneak was not Zoroark, but the Netherworld Gate.
"It's useless for you to attack the Netherworld Gate directly. As long as I don't fall, that wall won't dissipate..." Zoroark's words were cut short as her pupils suddenly widened.
The Shadow Sneak hit the Netherworld Gate, and the burst of Ghost energy seemed to directly trigger a disturbance in the Netherworld Gate. The Netherworld Gate instantly erupted with a powerful suction force, pulling everything around it into the Netherworld.
The first to be affected was Zorua, who was in front of the Netherworld Gate.
Mu Li and Zoroark both had no time to react and could only watch as Zorua was sucked into the Netherworld Gate.
Seeing this, Zoroark immediately wanted to rush into the Netherworld Gate to save Zorua's soul, but she was stopped by Dusknoir.
"Hahahaha... Once a soul enters the Netherworld, it can never come out again." Dusknoir let out a burst of wild laughter, but his attacks showed no delay, continuously assaulting Zoroark.
"Leave it to me," Mu Li suddenly said. Gengar appeared inside the Netherworld Gate at some point, and at the same time, he was holding Zorua in her soul state.
A soul state is normally intangible, but within the Netherworld, this limitation seemed to be overcome.
"This is troublesome." Mu Li looked at Zorua on the other side of the door with a headache.
Just as Dusknoir had said, once a soul entered the Netherworld Gate, it could not come out again.
"Unless..." Mu Li suddenly looked at Zoroark.
Both were in a soul state. Since Zoroark could come out of the Netherworld Gate, it meant that Zorua could also come out.
The only difference between the two was that Zorua's soul state did not have Ghost energy condensed on her body.
Zoroark apparently realized this as well. Ignoring Dusknoir's attacks, she tried to rush towards the Netherworld Gate.
But Dusknoir seized this opportunity, condensing a Dark Pulse in his hand and slamming it directly into Zoroark's back.