Cherreads

Chapter 205 - Chapter 205: The Ultimate Weapon, “The Flower”

Lucius opened his system interface, and what he saw was a drastic overhaul.

...

Host: Lucius

Virus Type: Leviathan Virus

Infected: 1/1

Level: Lv96

Vitality: ∞

Adaptability: Level 10 (Can survive in any environment. Even if the Emperor Strain is destroyed, as long as a single virus origin remains, it can regenerate.)

Evolution Rate: 40%

Abilities:

The Dominator (100%) – Can alter all parameters governing the world.

Heart of the Emperor – Absolute command over all infected.

Virus Tree – Most viral evolutionary paths unlocked.

Items:

World Base – One World Base established (T1 tier).

Infected Entities – Each infected is a clone.

Spacetime Key – Can open gates through space and time.

Objectives:

Consume 4/10 Primal Genes

Upgrade World Base to Tier 2

Available Evolution Path: Old One Virus

...

Though the data was succinct, every entry now carried far more weight than before.

Still, what exactly were these "T1" and "T2" designations?

"System, explain the World Base tiers—T1 and T2."

[The World Base is ranked in five tiers: T0 through T4, determined by the overall strength of the world it inhabits.]

[T0: Lifeless dead worlds]

[T1: Basic life planets with at least one god-tier being and between 100,000 to 1 million species]

[T2: Common life planets with ten or more god-tier beings and between 1 million to 10 million species.]

Had Lucius been drinking something, he might've done a spit take.

His current planet was just T1… and the spread was from 100,000 to 1 million species?

Species count wasn't about total organisms, but types. That meant the mere thousands of humans left only counted as one species. The rest, Ultra Beasts and other native Pokémon, didn't exceed twenty species.

Based on the infection spread so far, there weren't more than 300 distinct life forms left on this planet. Most teetered on extinction. The ecosystem had long since collapsed.

If not for Lucius, most species, aside from a few deep-dwelling creatures, wouldn't last a few decades.

To meet the second objective, creating ten god-tier beings and over a million species here, was near impossible.

No, calling it "impossible" was almost an understatement.

Then a thought struck him. The system had said he'd "preemptively completed the task of establishing a World Base." Meaning, the mission would've been issued regardless, he just got there early by conquering another world.

If he wanted to upgrade this planet's tier, he'd have to import species from his original world.

But there was a problem: this place had no sun. Species from the other world wouldn't survive here...

After pondering a moment, Lucius decided to test a hypothesis, perhaps the virus could adapt foreign species to thrive in darkness. That adaptation might let them survive.

He left his real body at the planet's core. Through one of the blooming flowers on the rejuvenated Tree of Life, he had Necrozma open a stable Ultra Wormhole.

That way, his true body could remain buried deep in the planet's heart while remotely controlling all his clones on the surface.

His clone returned to the Kalos region in the original world. Wielding the Heart of the Emperor, Lucius unleashed the full viral swarm, including T-Viruses capable of infecting plant life, and Mindworms that could corrupt consciousness, while actively suppressing wild mutations.

The viruses surged like invisible locusts, a storm blotting out the skies, coating every visible organism. Human, beast, Pokémon, flora, stone, water, spirit—it made no difference.

Different viruses infected genetically similar targets, fusing with them and harvesting their genetic sequences.

Even for a level 96 being, one planet was too massive to cover entirely. But infecting just Kalos alone had a visible effect: in his mental world, the honeycomb matrix of the hexagonal Hive began to sprout new genetic tiles—thousands. Its borders rapidly expanded.

In under two hours, every organism not shielded by golden energy, be they human or Pokémon, was infected. Not even underground life could escape the all-penetrating virus.

...

Underground, outside Geosenge Town.

This location had once been where Team Flare planned to activate the Ultimate Weapon. Though Lucius had previously exposed the plan, and the site was allegedly shut down, that shutdown had only been a public cover.

Deep beneath the surface, the base remained operational, but now it was being run by agents of the Unova League.

Unlike the original timeline, this time the League had taken initiative. Upon realizing the Hive was opposed to Team Flare, they negotiated with Lysandre through Malva, reaching a deal.

The Unova League would provide protection. In return, Team Flare handed over the Ultimate Weapon.

Team Flare's infected higher-ups, starting with Celosia, had been detained.

Lucius had noticed the League's activity then, but at the time he was focused on Zygarde, not the weapon. So, he'd let it be.

But times had changed.

Now the weapon was crucial to his next plan. He couldn't afford to ignore it any longer.

A massive shadow descended, the obsidian form of Rayquaza plummeted from the skies. Its claws tore a jagged rift through the rock formations of Geosenge.

Beneath the shattered surface lay a hollowed passage, spiraling downward.

Lucius knew what was hidden below: the Flower, the ultimate weapon AZ had created in ancient times. The towering megaliths on the surface? Likely ancient Pokémon, petrified after their life force had been drained by the weapon.

As the chasm cracked open, an invisible viral tide poured in, coalescing into a monstrous, five-meter-long Leviathan—part dragon, part serpent.

It rampaged instantly. From its back, wings unfurled and shifted into glowing golden spikes.

These spikes stretched outward like spider silk, piercing steel walls as if they were paper. In an instant, they impaled every human and Pokémon in the base—clean, silent kills.

In under thirty seconds, the entire underground staff was dead.

Arceus's divine energy might shield them from infection, but not from sheer physical violence.

The strike was ruthless, so sudden that neither Arceus nor Charles Goodshow had foreseen it. They'd hoped to preserve a delicate balance, but Lucius had no more interest in playing along.

Now that he had a World Base, he no longer cared about making enemies of the League.

With the facility seized, Lucius instantly teleported in two Deoxys meteorites, placing them in the weapon's energy core.

The Flower, capable of annihilating entire regions in a single blast, wasn't something Lucius wanted for destruction.

No, he had a different vision: he would repurpose it.

Into a microbial dispersal device.

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