Brad let out a deep breath and, for the moment, set aside the defeat he had suffered at Cain's hands. "Do you have anything to eat? I don't want jerky. Give me those industrial foods you people call junk food. Even a compressed biscuit will do."
After twenty-five years there, Brad felt an overwhelming nostalgia for that kind of food. Being able to taste it before dying would fulfill one last wish.
Cain was momentarily taken aback, but he understood.
In that place, even obtaining a bit of seasoning was extremely difficult, let alone factory-made products.
Cain rummaged around in his storage space. To be honest, he rarely ate that kind of food—not because it was more nutritious, but because once he was full, he had no interest in snacks.
After searching in the most forgotten corner of his storage, he finally found a bag of snacks that had been sitting there for who knew how long. Perhaps he had bought it back then to satisfy the cravings of some gluttonous Pokémon.
He tossed it straight to Brad.
When he saw what Cain had thrown him, Brad's face lit up with joy. Without caring how dirty his hands were, he tore open the package and began to devour the contents desperately.
As he tasted a flavor he might have experienced only in dreams over all those years, Brad's eyes unknowingly grew moist. In the past, he had loved snacks. Twenty-five years later, on the brink of death, he could eat them again. Even though he had not managed to take revenge with his own hands, at least that final wish had been fulfilled.
Cain stood silently to the side, watching as Brad, without the slightest shame, after finishing the contents, even opened the wrapper to lick off the remnants stuck to it, leaving it completely clean before showing an expression of dissatisfaction.
Cain could not help but feel that Brad was truly pitiable. But the important thing remained the same. "Now you can talk, right?"
Brad nodded listlessly, licking his fingers as he said, "Actually, something the League has never known is that on this continent of time and space, it's not true that no one was left behind. A long time ago, shortly after the League found the path here, a group of people highly valued by the League was sent to this place."
"That group was known as the League's supernovas. Although they were few in number, each one had the potential to become a Champion."
Cain listened in silence as Brad slowly recounted what he knew.
"And not all of them managed to return to the Pokémon world. But that person didn't stay here because of an ambush like me—rather, because... he chose to stay," Brad continued.
"He chose to stay?" Cain was surprised.
Brad's face showed obvious fear, as if he felt a deep respect or dread toward that person. He didn't even dare to say the name—or perhaps he didn't know it.
He nodded and said, "That's right, he chose to stay. The resources here are abundant, and the level of the wild Pokémon is very high, enough for daily training and combat."
"But the most important thing is that the flow of time here is five times faster than in the Pokémon world. If you calculate it according to Pokémon world time, growth here is equivalent to advancing at five times the speed."
"Someone who dares to be so ruthless with himself... do you find it strange that he would make such a decision?"
Cain fell silent.
Because he knew that what Brad was describing was a mindset that could very well exist. In fact, when Cain had first arrived at that place, he too had thought about the possibility of staying there for twenty-five years and, upon returning to the Pokémon world, using his absolute strength to secure his own personal freedom.
However, that thought had been stifled by him as soon as it arose.
Not to mention how much someone could grow in twenty-five years there—just thinking about living in a wilderness area for twenty-five years... could that obsessive desire to become stronger remain intact?
If someone could maintain it, then they would deserve success, because they would have the will necessary to match that achievement.
But Cain felt that he could not do it.
And precisely because he himself could not achieve it, yet there was someone who could, Cain truly wanted to meet that person: he wanted to see what kind of tyrant he was.
"Before entering here, that person was already prepared to stay, which is why he carried with him an enormous amount of resources and also a great many books, with the aim of constantly improving his Pokémon over those twenty-five years, while at the same time improving himself."
"And don't doubt it—given the identity and status he had in the Pokémon world, finding out in advance and preparing all of that was extremely easy," Brad continued.
"So... someone so important didn't return to the Pokémon world. Didn't the League have any doubts? Or didn't they try to bring him back?" Cain asked.
A deep disdain appeared in Brad's eyes. "Tsk, expect something from the League? You'd be better off believing that you yourself could break the spatial barrier of this continent with your own strength."
"Besides, that person was very intelligent. I think that back then, in front of the others, he deliberately put himself in an extremely dangerous situation. That way, when he didn't return to the Pokémon world, the others filled in the reason and the process on their own."
If one proved that one was already dead... then what meaning would there be in becoming stronger so quickly?
If one couldn't return to the Pokémon world, the only way back would be by using a spatial stone. But if he carried one, the safe teleportation point would be inside the League.
And the League is not stupid; by that point, they could easily deduce his situation.
Cain observed the fear hidden deep within Brad's eyes. Even in the face of death, Brad showed no fear, yet merely thinking about that person filled him with a terror that rose from the depths of his heart.
(End of chapter)