Cain nodded gently, indicating that he knew what he had to do.
Although he was not looking at him, the council elder was able to perceive Cain's slight affirmative gesture, and an involuntary smile appeared on his face.
If Cain was there, that meant the Hoenn region already knew what had happened. And if Hoenn knew, then the other regions would eventually find out as well. As long as they could hold on a little longer, when everyone returned, that day would undoubtedly be the destruction of the Sacred Church.
At the moment Kael learned that Cain was present, he had already deduced that Marcus, the person in charge of Hoenn, must have been defeated. What he had not expected was that it would happen so quickly.
But whether expected or not, the truth was that he did not care very much.
"Old man, your opponent has already arrived. I hope you enjoy yourself!"
Then Giratina, in its altered form, flapped its wings and charged directly toward the council elder, not caring in the slightest that the other party was a human. It treated him directly as if he were a Pokémon.
Because from the council elder's body, Giratina sensed the aura it hated the most: the aura of Arceus.
The council elder looked at Giratina rushing toward him, and his expression became serious. He took a Poké Ball from his waist and threw it toward Giratina.
"Chiii!"
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
A massive bird covered in golden lightning burst out of the Poké Ball and collided head-on with Giratina, causing the previously calm sky to suddenly fill with thunder and lightning.
Compared with the Moltres Cain had just captured, this Zapdos appeared even more imposing. Just from its majestic bearing and the fierceness in its eyes, one could tell that it was a Pokémon with enormous combat experience, one that had not relaxed in battle simply because the council elder was already so old.
However, although this Zapdos looked extraordinary, it was still no match for Giratina. It barely managed to stop its initial charge before quickly falling into a disadvantage.
The council elder's expression did not change. He threw two more Poké Balls.
"Kraashiar!"
"Archierr!"
One red and one blue. Two bird Pokémon similar to Zapdos shot out of the Poké Balls. Without the council elder needing to say another word, they charged directly toward Giratina.
Moltres! Articuno!
At that moment, the three legendary birds of Kanto gathered together!
And together, they faced the dragon of the underworld, Giratina.
Only with the combined strength of the three legendary birds did they finally manage to barely hold Giratina back. And it seemed that the three birds were deliberately trying to push it back toward the Distortion World, not caring in the slightest that it was the enemy's territory.
The council elder followed behind his Pokémon and also slowly floated toward the Distortion World. When he reached the edge of the spatial rift, he still said a sentence to Cain: "Young Cain, hold on for a while. Reinforcements will arrive soon!"
After saying that, he stepped into the spatial rift and entered the Distortion World together with the three legendary birds and Giratina.
"..."
Cain watched the council elder disappear into the spatial rift, and for a moment did not know what to say.
Until then, the situation had been a confrontation between the council elder and Kael, while Cain observed from the side. The pressure on him had not been so great.
Because, in his opinion, soldier against soldier, general against general; facing a boss at the level of the Sacred Church bishop, someone who could to a certain extent be compared with Giovanni of Team Rocket, was not something a rising talent like him could handle.
His task was only to join the battle below, deal with the commanders and ordinary members of the Sacred Church, and relieve the pressure on the League's side.
But now the council elder had entered the Distortion World together with Giratina, leaving the Sacred Church bishop and him facing each other here. No matter how he looked at it, Cain had the feeling that he had been sold out.
Cain glanced around and discovered that everything was empty. Aside from himself and the Sacred Church bishop, who was smiling as if nothing had happened, there was no one else left.
That complete isolation gave Cain an uncomfortable chill.
"It seems that only the two of us remain, Cain. Although I do not often come to the Pokémon world, I frequently hear others speak of you. The prodigy of the League's new generation, one of the greatest experts among the young."
"The one who caused great suffering to Marcus and the other senior members of my Sacred Church in the Space-Time Continent, and even used their plans to make the church attack itself."
"Last time we did not have time to speak calmly. Now, judging from your presence, you truly seem to be one of the League's greatest young experts. It only remains to see how strong you really are," Kael said with an ambiguous smile.
Cain's expression stiffened slightly. From that brief glance earlier, he had already seen just the tip of the iceberg of this mysterious Sacred Church bishop's power. Although now he had Darkrai and Tyranitar at the second barrier of the Champion level, and if he stretched the calculation, also Mega Gengar after mega evolving, as well as the Moltres he had just beaten into submission and captured...
Cain estimated that even adding all those Pokémon together, at most they might be able to hold back one or two of the other party's Pokémon.
At the very least, that time, that Latios, once mega evolved, had already been able to resist so many of his Pokémon by itself.
"Uh... if I say I was just passing by, would you believe me?" Cain asked with an awkward expression.
Who would have thought that Kael would simply shrug and say: "Of course I would. If you were just passing by, then do not involve yourself in this matter. If you leave now, I guarantee that I will not stop you."
"..."
Seeing him so convinced, Cain almost believed him for real.
"But... aren't you truly curious about the peculiar Unown I have in my hand? Aren't you interested in knowing what my original identity was? Or what exactly is inside the League that I desire to obtain at all costs?" Kael continued, his voice full of temptation and mockery.
Cain looked at Kael's left hand and nodded honestly.
"If I say I am curious... would you tell me?"
Kael nodded.
"Of course. Defeat me, and I will tell you!"
"..."
(End of chapter)