Upon seeing that expression, the subordinates who knew Tony's character well began to retreat one by one, while at the same time releasing their Pokémon and adopting defensive stances.
"The boss is going to lose his mind! Run!"
Sensing that something was wrong, Cain and the others—who originally belonged to Marcus's faction—also withdrew. Although worried, they could not help feeling a slight excitement; a battle of this level was not something easy to witness.
"Hahahahaha! Marcus, do you want to fight me? We... haven't fought in a long time!" Tony laughed crazily as he threw two Poké Balls. At the same time, a Gallade and a Gardevoir appeared.
Upon seeing those two Pokémon, Cain—perhaps the one most interested in having both sides clash—had his eyes light up.
Gallade and Gardevoir fighting together gave off a special feeling. Both were evolutions of Kirlia: Gardevoir was relatively common, but Gallade was the first one Cain had ever seen in person.
When a male Kirlia evolves using a Dawn Stone, it can become Gallade, showing enormous differences compared to Gardevoir after evolution.
The most notable were that Gallade is Psychic- and Fighting-type, and that it specializes in physical attack and special defense, being practically the natural killer of those Psychic-type Pokémon with high special attack but low physical defense.
Seeing that both sides were preparing to reveal their hidden cards, Cain only wished that they would start fighting as soon as possible.
Ideally, one would die and the other would be severely injured. If those two could truly be eliminated, his group would no longer have to fear the Sacred Church; they could confront it head-on.
Although this deviated quite a bit from Cain's plan, if by a stroke of luck things reached that point, he would be more than happy to see it.
"Come on! Marcus! We haven't fought in a long time! Let me see your current strength!" Tony's madness showed no sign of stopping. When a madman controls such power, the terror he inspires is something no one wants to face.
Because someone like that is capable of anything.
By comparison, Marcus was much calmer. He knew perfectly well what the consequences would be if they truly fought. If both of them released all their strength, they might reach the second threshold of the Champion level, just as Tony's Alakazam was doing now.
But if it came to that, it was very likely that they would draw the attention of Dialga and Palkia. By then, not only would it be impossible to obtain the items inside the spatial barrier, but even getting out alive would be uncertain.
Moreover, if he did not complete his mission, he would have no way to answer to the bishop.
"Tony, that's enough," Marcus said in a deep voice. He did not release any more Pokémon, because he knew that doing so now would only further stimulate Tony's nerves and make the situation irreversible.
Hearing "that's enough" again and again made Tony feel suffocated, unable to vent his emotions.
"Enough! Enough! Enough! Damn it, all you know how to say is enough, enough! Do you know what the hell I discovered? Huh?!" Tony opened his eyes wide, bloodshot, as if something had touched a deep nerve that pushed him toward madness.
Sensing their trainer's emotional state, Alakazam, Gardevoir, and Gallade released enormous waves of psychic power. The plaza, which had begun to calm down, was stirred again by violent energy fluctuations, and a gigantic tornado of psychic force suddenly formed.
However, upon hearing those words, Marcus let out a sigh of relief.
As long as he could still explain the causes and reasons, it meant that he had not completely lost his mind; there was still a possibility of dialogue.
"What did you find? Show it!" Marcus shouted, raising his voice enough not to be affected by the tornado.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Tony threw three more Poké Balls, but this time it was not to summon Pokémon. These three Poké Balls were the "evidence" he was talking about.
"Look at them yourself. Hmph."
"I found them in the place where Number Four used to live. They were quite well hidden, but I still found them."
Number Four, who lay behind Marcus, had recovered some mobility. Tony's furious attack, jointly blocked by all of his psychic power, had only taken away his ability to move for a short time and clouded his consciousness, without making him lose it completely.
He could not understand why Tony had suddenly decided to attack him without any warning. But when he saw the three Poké Balls thrown in front of Marcus, his eyes opened wide.
He recognized them perfectly. They were Pokémon that had belonged to Number Two, the ones that he and Cain had obtained after killing him. Among them, the most representative was Number Two's Delphox, visible through the crystal of the Poké Ball.
Anyone who knew Number Two knew that Pokémon.
Number Four, who also managed to see the Poké Balls out of the corner of his eye, was stunned, his mouth half open, trying to speak.
But the injuries from Tony's attack were too severe. The fact that he could regain consciousness was already a miracle; speaking was impossible.
He had never imagined that Tony would be able to find those Poké Balls.
For fear of being discovered, he did not carry them with him. Not only those of Number Two, but also those of Number Six: none of them were on his person or in his residence. He had buried them in a very hidden place, deliberately avoiding Cain's attention.
And now, those three Poké Balls were in front of him.
But... why only three?
That thought flashed through his mind. What worried him most was how Tony had managed to find them. He was convinced that when he buried them, there had been no one nearby and that his psychic power was not just for show.
Unfortunately, in his current state, even if he wanted to explain something, he could not. He could only stare fixedly at the scene.
(End of chapter)