"They've arrived." Lyra's eyes sharpened. As the person with the greatest psychic talent and the strongest in that aspect among the four present, she was the first to discover Cain's presence.
But very soon she frowned. "There's someone else!"
Hearing her words, Ragnar and the others extended their psychic powers in the direction Lyra pointed and sensed the presence of the three in Cain's group.
"Number Three and two people we've never seen before. One of them carries a weak fluctuation of psychic power; it seems their psychic awakening hasn't been for long. Judging by this, these two don't seem to be from the church," Ragnar said, also frowning. "But why do I feel a strange sense of familiarity coming from these two people?"
Cain, who was walking from not very far away, naturally also felt how four different psychic powers swept over them. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
"Your four old friends are here. I wonder if, after sensing the presence of the two of you, they will still recognize you," Cain said to Brad and Catherine.
"Probably not," Brad replied calmly. "In order to survive here, back then we didn't dare to appear before their eyes." However, beneath the black robe, a chilling cold light flashed in his eyes.
And not only him. Ever since Catherine learned whom Cain was going to take them to meet, the hatred in her gaze had never disappeared.
Anyone who had never lived here would never know how much psychological pressure those six people had exerted on them, nor what kind of mental fortitude was needed to continue living under such humiliation.
It could be said that those six people were a recurring nightmare from which they could not escape every night when they fell asleep.
But, to be honest, the fear they had felt back then was only because the combined strength of those individuals was greater. Now, the two of them had each gathered six Pokémon and possessed a basic level of combat power. The fear was no longer so great; who knew, perhaps today they could finally shatter that nightmare.
Cain smiled again without saying anything. At such close range, he could clearly perceive the resentment of Brad and Catherine.
"Let's go. Let's go meet them."
When both sides finally faced each other, they were in a relatively flat area within that forest of shattered rocks.
The place had been chosen by Cain himself. Before leaving the mountain the previous time, he had indeed transmitted a message to Ragnar, who was the one in charge among the four.
Now that Marcus and his people no longer had the prestige or strength to suppress them, before returning to the Pokémon world they could act and decide for themselves without being constrained by Marcus.
They had stayed in that place for so long with the sole goal of uncovering the secret of the mountain's summit; Cain did not believe they felt not even the slightest curiosity about what was hidden inside.
Even if it was a try, even if it was a gamble, Cain thought they would be willing to give it a shot.
Moreover, to them, this Number Three, who did not openly display his strength, posed no real threat.
"Four gentlemen, it seems you trust me quite a lot. But if you could withdraw all those little maneuvers you've prepared around here, I think I would trust you even more," Cain said indifferently, with a slightly mocking tone.
These people really took things for granted. Did they think that a few small traps set around would be enough to force him to act cautiously?
Cain originally had a better impression of these people than of the two who had died at his hands. But now it seemed that they were basically all the same: living shut up in their own ideal world. Things that looked ridiculous in the eyes of others seemed extraordinary to them.
It wasn't that they were truly stupid; anyone capable of reaching that level of strength could not be. What they lacked was experience and perspective.
It was said that a person's growth goes hand in hand with their experiences. The more one experiences, the more one learns. But they had spent twenty-five, even fifty years shut in here, stagnant, and that lack of vision made them seem absurdly clumsy at times.
Last time, they had not even prepared against a possible surprise attack from Cain, which said a lot.
This time, at least, they had prepared traps, which meant they had thought a little more, although to Cain those traps were not much different from the games of a three-year-old child.
But even so, trying to resolve the situation through a surprise attack would no longer be so simple.
Hearing Cain's words, the expressions of Ragnar and the others became somewhat awkward. That their traps had been discovered put them in a rather embarrassing position.
"Ahem... Number Three, who are these two people behind you...?" Ragnar asked, quickly changing the subject to ease the tension.
He did not know where Cain had found those two people, and the idea of being able to control him easily immediately vanished.
The identity and strength of those two people were unknown, which made them hesitate.
Ragnar's question made the coldness in the eyes of Brad and Catherine, hidden beneath their black robes, intensify even more. If not for fear of ruining Cain's plan, they probably would have already attacked.
"They're just two friends. Let's seriously talk about how to break the spatial barrier," Cain smiled, glossing over their identities.
Hearing this, Ragnar's eyes lit up. Compared to the identities of those two people, the four of them were far more interested in how to destroy the spatial barrier.
"Exactly, exactly. Number Three, do you have any method to break the barrier?"
Once again, Cain easily took control of the conversation. However, when Ragnar lowered his head, an irrepressible desire appeared in his eyes.
He had spent fifty years in that place. Even if at the beginning he had entered because of the church, deep in his heart his loyalty was no longer so firm. Instead, he felt that if the threat of the church did not exist, he might have achieved great accomplishments.
"I don't have any special method," Cain said. "There is only the church's method: gather six Eeveelutions capable of completely fusing their attributes to break the barrier."
Ragnar frowned. "Are you joking with us? There are only four Eeveelutions here. We don't even know where the other two are."
"You don't need to worry about those two. I only want to borrow the four Eeveelutions that belong to you. If we really manage to break the barrier, I can give you many benefits," Cain raised an eyebrow and extended his hand toward Ragnar with an expression of "come on, give them to me."
The four were stunned.
Were they and Number Three really that close?
(End of chapter)