The hope that had just begun to rise in Harker's heart was crushed by Aaron without mercy.
He never imagined Aaron would actually kill him.
The moment Aaron chose to act, there was no hesitation.
No room for bargaining.
He was the only son of a Champion.
Did this bastard even understand what that meant?
His father had already arrived, and Aaron still dared to kill him?
Was he really not afraid of death?
Harker's eyes were filled with disbelief as Aaron's terrifying power blasted him apart on the spot.
His body was reduced to dust.
Not even a trace remained.
"Nooooo!!"
"Harker!! My son!!"
A heart-rending howl echoed across the sky.
BOOOOM!
A gigantic figure descended into the Eastside Ruins.
It was Salamence, the Dragon-type pseudo-legendary Pokémon known as the ruler of the skies.
Standing atop Salamence was an elderly man with graying hair and tears streaming down his face.
It was Harker's father, Quentin, one of the Ten Great Champions of Hualis.
The Dark-type Champion.
WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO!
At that moment, the Pokémon police from Grit City finally arrived.
Eight police vehicles screeched to a halt around the ruins, and dozens of Pokémon officers rushed out with specialized firearms in hand.
Leading them was a burly officer who immediately shouted toward Aaron and Quentin,
"Hands where we can see them!"
"You're surrounded!"
The muscular officer shouted out of habit, but the instant he got a clear look at the two people before him, his jaw nearly dropped.
Champion Quentin?
And Aaron, Grit City's new King of Fighters?
Mother of Arceus…
Did I seriously just tell these two to put their hands up?
Gulp.
The burly officer swallowed hard as cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
He was Jian, chief of the Grit City Pokémon Police Department.
He was also the cousin of Champion Brutus.
Quentin alone was already terrifying enough.
But the young man before him had an even more frightening background.
Aaron had personally handled the Donovan Group incident, so Jian naturally knew exactly who he was.
His cousin Brutus had once proudly said to him,
"Jian… this is Aaron. What do you think?"
"Pretty outstanding, right?"
"When the time comes, I'll introduce my younger sister to him. Then we'll all be family, hahaha!"
Brutus was famously obsessed with protecting his sister.
He was the kind of man who would beat up any guy who got too close to her.
Yet he had actually taken the initiative to introduce her to Aaron.
That alone showed how satisfied Brutus was with him.
He practically treated Aaron better than his own brother.
…
Jian snapped back to his senses and hurriedly saluted Quentin and Aaron.
"Champion Quentin!"
"Aaron!"
"Jian, chief of the Grit City Pokémon Police Department, reporting!"
The other officers immediately followed suit and saluted as well.
Aaron merely nodded slightly, but his attention remained locked on Quentin.
The Nightmare Stone had already appeared in his hand.
If Quentin dared to attack…
Then father and son could die together.
A freezing glint flickered in Aaron's eyes.
Even if Greninja entered its Bond Phenomenon Form, it still could not defeat a Champion-level Pokémon.
Moreover, the Bond Phenomenon state had already ended, and it had reverted to normal.
The gap between Gym level and true Champion level was enormous.
And the difference between Champion level and the realms above it was even more terrifying.
The further one advanced, the wider the gap became.
…
Quentin slowly raised his head.
His eyes were blood-red, overflowing with icy killing intent.
In a hoarse voice, he asked Aaron,
"Why?"
"Why did you kill my son?"
Jian's expression changed instantly.
Aaron had killed Quentin's son?
Holy shit.
This was bad.
Really bad.
Jian secretly contacted his superiors and urgently requested reinforcements.
If Champion Quentin lost control, there was no way Jian could protect Aaron.
His entire back was already soaked in sweat.
Damn it…
Why do I always end up in disasters like this?
Jian cursed inwardly.
"Hahahaha…"
"You really don't know what your son did?"
"Your son openly colluded with assassins to murder a nationally decorated Trainer. That alone is enough to count as treason."
Aaron stared coldly at Quentin as he spoke.
Quentin's pupils suddenly contracted.
He truly had not known about this.
He had repeatedly warned Harker not to provoke Aaron.
But he had never imagined Harker would actually hire assassins to kill him.
Quentin clenched his teeth so hard they nearly cracked before asking coldly,
"Do you have proof?"
He had been suppressing his killing intent this entire time.
At this moment, grief and rage nearly drowned his sanity.
But the last sliver of reason in his mind kept warning him.
Aaron could not be killed.
If Aaron died…
His entire family could be dragged down with him.
No one understood the value of Hidden Dragon's No. 1 prodigy better than Quentin.
Not to mention, Aaron was protected by the Nightmare God, Darkrai.
For all he knew, Darkrai might already be lurking nearby, watching him from the shadows.
The moment he made a move…
Darkrai would kill him instantly.
So Quentin could only force down the monstrous killing intent in his heart.
"The evidence is right here."
Aaron had prepared for this long ago.
The moment he arrived, he had already started recording everything.
He projected the footage from his communicator into the air.
The video clearly showed Harker tying up Zoroark and whipping him.
Then Aaron arrived.
Their entire conversation had been recorded clearly.
Finally, the footage showed Harker ordering the hidden Pokémon assassins to attack Aaron.
Aaron had nearly died.
Fortunately, Greninja had blocked the fatal blow.
As for what happened afterward, Aaron did not continue playing the footage.
He had no intention of exposing his trump cards to outsiders.
Especially not to enemies.
Quentin stared at the floating video.
A tear of regret slowly rolled down his face.
Then he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha…"
"Losing a child in old age…"
"Hahahahahaha!"
He laughed wildly as tears streamed down his face.
The sight was pitiful beyond words.
But Aaron's gaze remained ice-cold.
This old bastard really knows how to endure.
He's dangerous.
Aaron thought silently.
He had originally assumed Quentin would lose all reason and attack him no matter the cost.
But he had underestimated him.
Quentin's scheming ran unbelievably deep.
He could actually endure the hatred of his son being killed and the pain of his family line ending here.