“Forget it, let’s let them off the hook.
We should leave while we can.”
“Eh?
We’re just leaving it at that?” Agumon asked.
“Yeah.
After all, we’re the ones who barged into their territory.
Plus, we’ve already achieved our goal, so there’s no need to waste any more time here.”
Since Sinshi said so, Agumon naturally had no objections.
Saying that, Sinshi walked toward the gap in the boulders.
As he walked, he glanced back at the Unown hovering above.
They were still bawling their eyes out, showing no signs of stopping.
It was obvious they weren’t faking it; they felt genuinely wronged.
Sinshi watched them for a moment before letting out a helpless sigh.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out the berries Agumon had saved for him earlier, and placed them at their feet.
Then, he led Agumon out of the ruins.
…
“Phew~”
Feeling the fresh air outside the ruins and the crisp breeze brushing against his body, Sinshi took a long, deep breath.
“This place looks so spectacular,” Agumon marveled, standing at the edge of the ruins and gazing at the surroundings.
In the distance lay a lush, towering green forest that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Closer in was a perfectly square clearing sitting entirely above ground level.
The massive ancient ruins were situated right in the center of this clearing, dividing it into four equal sections.
The entire structure looked very much like an ancient fortress surrounded by its territorial gardens—a truly magnificent sight.
However, what surprised Agumon the most were the two towering statues standing right at their feet, flanking the entrance to the ruins.
The one on the left was a quadrupedal creature with a slender neck and tail.
It had fin-like spiked structures on its back and a massive chestplate with a diamond embedded right in the center.
The one on the right stood upright on two legs.
It also had a long tail, with disk-shaped armor on each shoulder, and a giant pointed crest on its head that extended all the way back to connect with its wings.
“Sinshi, are these two statues based on Pokémon too?
They look so intimidating.”
Sinshi nodded.
“Yes.
They are incredibly ancient Pokémon.
Or rather, instead of just Pokémon, they should be called Legendary Pokémon.
Their age predates even the existence of this continent, and many humans once followed in their footsteps.”
Hearing the word “Legendary,” Agumon’s eyes widened, clearly grasping the weight of the term.
“But if they’re so powerful, why put their statues here?”
“To guard these ruins, of course.”
“They’re that amazing, yet they still have to be guards?” Agumon was visibly shocked.
Sinshi slowly glanced at the statues and began to explain, “Don’t underestimate these ruins.
They have a history of at least two thousand years.
The fact that they’ve been preserved for so long without any signs of collapsing proves just how high their status was in ancient times.
It’s completely normal for them to be guarded by powerful Legendary Pokémon.”
“I guess…
It’s just a pity that such a well-built place has no one living in it, leaving only those pitch-black, unlikable Pokémon behind,” Agumon sighed after hearing Sinshi’s explanation.
Sinshi shook his head but didn’t say anything more.
Perhaps an ancient ruin standing strong through two thousand years of history only to end up abandoned sounded a bit desolate, but Sinshi knew that in ancient times, this place most likely wasn’t a human settlement, but rather a site for worship and storing artifacts.
‘Who were they worshipping?’
Sinshi looked up at the two massive stone statues.
They were the deities revered in ancient Sinnoh—also known as the Hisui Region—two thousand years ago: Dialga, the master of time, and Palkia, the master of space.
And above them was their creator, the God of Creation, the Almighty Sinnoh, Arceus.
The ancient people of Sinnoh prayed and worshipped here, hoping to receive its blessing.
‘As for what is stored here…’
Sinshi cast a deep, lingering look at the ruins behind him.
During his week of exploration, he had basically confirmed the locations of several hidden chambers, secret compartments, and the artifacts stored within.
But he hadn’t dared to touch them.
Because those were incredibly precious items—things capable of changing the entire region, or even affecting the whole world.
The first was fragments of Arceus’s lost Plates.
The second was the Spear Key—the key used to locate and summon Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, the trio created by Arceus.
This was the fundamental reason why he decided to stop while he was ahead and leave with Agumon.
With these two items present, Sinshi was absolutely certain that these ruins contained far more than just those thirty-two Unown under Level 10.
After all, thousands of years had passed.
Even if the Unown acting as guardians were complete trash, the accumulation of time meant their strength couldn’t possibly be limited to just a few levels.
Deep within those ruins, hidden behind walls covered in ancient murals and texts, there were undoubtedly ancient Unown with profound strength who had survived for millennia.
They…
were the true guardians of these ruins.
Perhaps a little minor scuffle wouldn’t cause any issues, but if something were to awaken them, things would get completely out of hand.
Right now, he and Agumon simply didn’t have the strength to go toe-to-toe with them, nor was there any need to.
He would come back to retrieve these two items once he was strong enough, or when the main plot officially began.
After all, the qualitative leap in power provided by the Plates was simply too tempting.
‘But…
what timeline is it right now?’
At this thought, Sinshi fell into a brief silence.
Having lived like a wild man in the wilderness for a week, he had neither the time nor the means to figure out the current date.
The only thing he could be sure of was that Team Galactic hadn’t yet sent anyone to retrieve the artifacts from the ruins, which meant the Sinnoh arc from his memories hadn’t started yet.
‘I need to head to a nearby town to confirm the situation.
But…
before that, I need to fill my stomach.’
Eating nothing but wild berries for days on end didn’t leave him starving, but his stomach desperately needed some other kind of food to balance things out.
Now that he had finished exploring the ruins and successfully summoned his “Pokémon,” Agumon, the combat power it displayed gave him the confidence to forage for meat in the wild.
“Agumon, let’s go find something to eat first.
Then we’ll see if there’s a town nearby and gather some information.”
“Alright!”
Hearing the mention of food, Agumon instantly perked up, filled with boundless energy.
Following Sinshi, it descended the stone steps in the corner of the clearing and headed deep into the dense forest.