"Are you certain this is accurate? There's no error?"
After a brief silence settled over the conference room, one of the officials spoke up, uncertainty clear in their voice.
"Do you think I would bring this up if I hadn't already confirmed it? The Hall Master from the Imperial City is probably already on his way here."
The Mayor of Belon City replied with barely concealed irritation. A joke? He wouldn't have put it on the screen if there were any doubt.
David's profile remained projected on the wall.
"So — not only did a son of the Moore family go missing, but it happened at an official event we hosted?"
"If I recall correctly, the Moore family only has two direct descendants in this generation."
The room went quiet. If David had gone and gotten himself into danger on his own terms, that would be one thing. But an incident occurring at an official city-sponsored event was another matter entirely. If something truly had happened to him, every person in that room would be facing serious consequences.
The proof was already in front of them — they had only just received word, and his parents were reportedly already on their way.
This was, in part, why David had been so certain that help would arrive within half a day. A matter like this couldn't be kept quiet. The moment his parents received word, they would come immediately.
He knew his father well enough. With Dragonite as his lead Pokémon, his father could travel from the Imperial City in under an hour and a half. Even if he wasn't in the city at the time, two hours at the outside. And once he arrived, the Supreme Organization's backup wouldn't matter at all.
David had no embarrassment about that. Only a fool relied on their family name as a crutch — but refusing to use it when lives were on the line was an equally foolish kind of pride. There was no room for that kind of thinking right now.
"Enough deliberating. We deal with the situation in front of us. Are you all planning to simply sit here and wait for outside help?"
The one who finally broke the silence was Hall Master Naomi, who had remained quiet throughout the discussion. As the strongest Trainer among those present, the final call rested with her.
"Commander — mobilize every vessel in your coastal defense unit. I want the entire sea zone around the incident area blockaded."
"Understood. No problem. I'll go personally and take command now."
The middle-aged man in the blue military uniform responded immediately and stood to leave.
"Good. Go ahead — I'll follow shortly. The Public Security Bureau is to begin evacuating residents from the coastal areas and ensure everyone from the celebration is safely resettled. Mayor, I'll ask you to remain here and receive the incoming reinforcements."
"Leave it to me."
The commands came quickly and clearly. Within half an hour, the entire city of Belon was in motion.
A fleet of warships formed the core, with a large number of additional vessels rapidly encircling the incident zone. Hall Master Naomi and several other high-level Trainers had already moved out to the site. Aside from a single quasi-Elite Trainer left behind to maintain order in the city, virtually every capable Trainer Belon City had was now concentrated at the scene.
Standing on the deck of the lead warship, Naomi's brow furrowed as she studied the image forming in the water ahead — the outline of the temple ruins growing clearer by the minute.
"It won't be long before those ruins break fully out of the sealed space."
"I just hope the situation inside isn't as bad as it looks..."
— Inside the Ruins —
While Belon City scrambled to respond, David was walking away from the Ice Temple in noticeably good spirits, and for good reason.
For one thing, the Ice Feather was now safely stored in his system space.
Beyond that, thanks to Fatty — currently sleeping deeply after a Hypnosis from Zorua, boosted just enough to keep him under — David had put together a fairly clear picture of what was going on. Between what Fatty had told him and his own reasoning, most of the gaps had been filled.
The Supreme Organization had been after this Sea Temple from the start. Their target was the legendary resources that might still be preserved within it.
They had been watching this location for at least several months. The sea zone had always been restricted, and the Cloudspire Alliance ran regular coastal patrols through it, so they had waited. The fishing competition — the one event that opened this area to the public — had given them the window they needed.
As for the Pillar of the Sea, still en route, he was almost certainly their planned escape route. Without him, even if the group managed to secure the legendary resources inside the ruins, they would be walking straight into capture the moment they surfaced.
The one thing I still can't work out — where did the Supreme Organization get the entry token?
This temple had been built by an official institution of the ancient Cloudspire Empire. Even the modern Alliance, which had inherited that empire's legacy in full, held no record of such a token. So how had criminals, whose operations were primarily based in other regions, come to possess one?
It nagged at him. There was likely something significant buried in that question — but it was clearly beyond what Fatty knew. According to him, even their leader had only been told that the Pillar of the Sea had supplied it.
Well. Once I've caught them all, the answers will come out eventually.
David decided not to dwell on it. He had already used Hypnosis to keep Fatty and the others asleep, bound them securely, and locked them inside the Ice Temple. He took their belongings and confiscated all their Poké Balls, but beyond that he left them alone. He had no interest in going further than necessary — they could face the Cloudspire Alliance's legal system once everyone was out.
Though, now that he thought about it — all of this technically counted as seizing ill-gotten gains on behalf of the law, didn't it? Whether he'd need to hand it all over once he got out was a separate question.
Either way, it was a substantial haul. The Sea Temple had once been the largest of its kind in all of Cloudspire, and it showed. Most of the older items had degraded beyond use over the centuries, but mineral resources in particular had held up surprisingly well. The black-clad leader hadn't cared much for those — his sights had been on greater prizes. So the bulk of it had ended up with Fatty and the others, parcelled out among the group, and now all of it was in David's hands instead.
It was a good thing David's family circumstances were already comfortable. Confronted with this much at once, someone in a more desperate situation might have had a harder time keeping their head clear.
So — clear out the remaining criminals first, or head to the Main Temple?
He weighed it as he walked. After a moment, he settled on the Main Temple. It was the heart of the ruin — the hall that had once been dedicated to Lugia, the Sea Guardian. He had come this far. Leaving without seeing it would sit poorly with him.
Besides, with Zorua's ability to conceal his presence and Dragapult ready to act the moment anything went wrong, David was confident he could at least retreat safely even if things took a turn.
His mind made up, David recalled Dragapult from standby and signalled to Zorua, then set off at a steady pace toward the Main Temple.