The two leaders faced each other, and the pressure from Marcus and Tony rose sharply. Their subordinates stopped maintaining the previous order and directly lined up on both sides, just like their masters, looking at each other with open hostility.
Both sides already had underlying conflicts, and at that moment the contradiction had become completely irreconcilable.
That move, exploiting Marcus's and Tony's personalities to the utmost, had been executed with absolute precision.
Marcus, by his appearance, seemed like a rough and rugged type, a big man without many complications. However, beneath that exterior there was subtlety and caution; otherwise, the Sacred Church would not have entrusted him with the role of person in charge of this mission.
Tony, on the other hand, was practically the opposite of Marcus. His most distinctive trait was that latent mental illness that could erupt at any moment, that tendency to lose control, act without thinking of the consequences, and yet protect his own people to an extreme degree.
That kind of character, for subordinates, could even be something positive. If it were not so, there would not be so many people willing to follow him, preferring him even over the seemingly more "normal" Marcus.
But for companions and partners, such a personality was a time bomb, capable of exploding at any moment.
Cain had grasped the characteristics of both perfectly and, moreover, had deliberately fanned the conflict, pushing the contradictions toward a point of no return.
Both the case of Number Two and that of Number Six—the traces of psychic energy at both locations—had been arranged by Cain, who had entrusted the task to Brad and Catherine.
The goal was to muddy the waters. Although that was not enough to directly condemn Number Five, the death of Number Four was guaranteed. And once Number Four died, no matter how events continued, everything would inevitably end up at this point.
The only difference lay in how intense the escalation of the conflict would be.
Judging by the current situation, the effect had been even better than Cain had imagined.
Even Will and Irene, who were watching from outside, as well as the four remnants who used Eeveelutions, were completely stunned, confused by the turn of events.
This was supposed to be just a simple report... how had it turned into such chaos?
And, even worse, it seemed that this chaos would not be resolved any time soon.
The tension was so thick it seemed like gunpowder, although neither side had attacked yet. Everyone was waiting for the decision of Marcus and Tony.
In truth, Marcus did not want to fight. But at this point, even if he did not want to, he could no longer avoid it. At the very least, he had to keep up appearances. The problem was Tony: if he did not fight, fine; but if he did, he would go completely mad, unleashing excessive combat power that would attract the unnecessary attention of Dialga and Palkia, which would not benefit the completion of the mission at all.
While his mind was working at full speed, Marcus began to summon his Pokémon one after another, clearly adopting a combat stance.
Seeing that even the usually cautious Marcus was preparing to fight, Tony licked his dry lips, a bellicose gleam in his eyes, and also summoned his own Pokémon.
Number Five, who was behind Tony, upon seeing that his boss was willing to stand up for him, immediately understood that his safety was practically guaranteed. With an excited expression, he returned to his group and faced Cain and the others.
Although they were somewhat inferior in numbers, they were not too worried if the situation turned into a group battle.
Around them, Cain and his group also had one or two Pokémon accompanying them, their energy ready to erupt at any moment. They were only waiting for the order from the two great leaders.
The few who still harbored thoughts of "watching the show" began to retreat silently. They had no intention of mediating: it would be best if they fought! And even better if both sides were badly damaged!
"I..." Marcus had already summoned all his main Pokémon. The bitterness in his heart was evident: he truly did not want to fight. If they started fighting, the mission would be completely ruined, and as the person in charge, he would have no way to account for it.
But just as he was about to continue speaking, Cain—who had been paying attention to every one of his movements—did not give him the slightest chance. In secret, he ordered his Gengar to immediately launch the Shadow Ball it had been charging for some time.
BOOOOM!!!
With Gengar's opening attack, the already taut nerves of everyone snapped instantly. No one retreated; one after another, all of them counterattacked.
The internal battle erupted inevitably.
"I think... it would be better to sit down and talk it out calmly..." Marcus's words finished leaving his mouth at that very moment.
But it was already too late.
The fight had begun, and no one listened to what he was saying.
Seeing his subordinates plunged into chaos, Marcus was stunned for an instant. It no longer mattered who had attacked first: the only important thing was that the battle was a fait accompli.
Although those combatants were inferior to them in individual strength, they were still Quasi-Champion-level or Champion-level trainers. A collective eruption of power at that level would not only severely affect the environment, but far exceeded what a normal area could withstand.
The mountaintop was quickly covered with debris. Flying rocks and chaotic currents devastated almost the entire summit.
Tony looked at Marcus. Only he had heard what Marcus had said, but he had no intention whatsoever of listening to him. He had been suppressing his madness before; now, with the battle raging below, he was also starting to feel an itch in his hands.
"Hehehe... Marcus, you're still strong on the outside but weak on the inside. It seems we have no choice but to fight," Tony said, brimming with enthusiasm.
"You...! Do you even know what it means to reach this point?" Marcus felt exhausted.
"After so much talk, weren't we going to end up fighting anyway?" Tony replied with blatant sarcasm.
From the beginning, Marcus had been holding back a growing fury.
Just because he was the only sane one, did he have to be crushed again and again by that irrational madman?
Just because he was responsible for the mission, did he have to bear all those considerations?
To hell with all that!
He was not made of mud either!
If there had to be a fight, then fight!
Noticing the change in Marcus's gaze, Tony's expression became serious. He clearly sensed his opponent's intent to fight and understood that this man, always full of worries, had finally decided to put everything aside.
Far from unsettling him, that only excited him even more.
(End of chapter)