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"Lady Phoebe is here?"
"That's great! Lady Phoebe will definitely be able to solve this!"
Hearing this name, a glimmer of hope rekindled in the eyes of the originally demoralized crowd.
Phoebe, an Elite Four specializing in Ghost-types; no one was more suited to handle the current situation than her.
Steven's brow, however, furrowed even tighter.
He turned to the first Officer Jenny and asked in a low voice:
"Is there a rough casualty count now? How many Trainers entered Mt. Pyre this time?"
Officer Jenny's lips quivered for a moment, ultimately settling into a helpless sigh.
She looked up, her eyes filled with a deep sense of powerlessness.
"Mr. Steven, roughly over two hundred Trainers entered the Mt. Pyre area this time. But... based on the sporadic intelligence we currently have and the strength of that Banette inside..."
She paused, struggling to spit out a cruel number.
"I'm afraid... not even one in ten remains."
Not even one in ten!
These words were like a heavy hammer, smashing hard against Steven's heart.
His body swayed slightly, his eyes filled with unbelievable pain.
Over two hundred Trainers, and in the end, fewer than twenty could survive?
This was no longer a simple Pokémon rampage; it was a massacre.
"How... how could this happen..."
Steven muttered to himself.
Could a single Pokémon's wrath truly implicate so many innocent people?
He couldn't believe such a tragedy had occurred, let alone believe that all of this was done by that Banette.
Even though the facts were laid out right before his eyes.
Seeing Steven's distraught state, Ariel silently pulled him aside, away from the crowd.
On the other side of the sandbar.
"Steven."
Ariel spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear.
"Regarding that Banette, I have some speculations."
Steven looked up, staring at him blankly.
Ariel didn't beat around the bush, directly connecting the conversation he had just overheard with his understanding of the Black Fire Exploration Team's style into a complete logical chain.
"...So, it's very likely that Banette didn't go mad for no reason. Was it the Black Fire Exploration Team who killed the old couple on the peak, causing it to lose its mind?"
Steven's expression shifted from blankness to shock, and finally, transformed into a sky-high rage.
His fists clenched instantly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force, and his handsome face even twisted slightly with anger.
"A bunch of animals!"
A curse squeezed through his teeth, carrying undisguised killing intent.
"The Black Fire Exploration Team... I will personally bring them to justice and have them face the League's harshest judgment!"
"There's no need for that anymore."
Ariel patted his tense shoulder, gesturing for him to calm down.
"Banette has already carried out the sentence for you, and for those who were killed by them."
Ariel's gaze turned toward the island still shrouded in thick mist, his tone somber.
"Facing a Banette filled with hatred and possessing Elite Four Level strength on its home turf, no one could have survived."
Steven's rage was extinguished as if by a bucket of cold water, replaced by a deeper sense of powerlessness.
He let out a long sigh, and his clenched fists slowly relaxed.
Yes, the Black Fire Exploration Team was dead.
They died under the bitter fruit they had planted themselves.
But what about the innocent Trainers who were caught in the crossfire?
What did they do wrong?
They just wanted to undergo a normal trial at Mt. Pyre, but because of others' greed and cruelty, they would stay on that misty island forever.
Steven had always wanted to be a righteous Trainer, one who could help everyone.
But today, he could only watch helplessly as the tragedy unfolded.
As the matter of Mt. Pyre drew to a close, Steven looked at Masaki and Tome beside him, who were still somewhat shaken, and felt a pang of self-reproach.
This whole way, through this crisis-ridden Mt. Pyre, he shouldn't have involved the two company interns in such danger.
"Masaki, Tome, you two head back to Devon Corporation first."
Steven's voice carried an indisputable decisiveness, but his eyes betrayed a hint of apology.
"The League has already taken over here. You staying won't be of any help and will only increase unnecessary risk."
Masaki opened his mouth to say something, but seeing Steven's brook-no-argument expression, he eventually nodded.
"Alright, please take care of yourself too."
Tome followed with a response, her eyes full of worry.
Watching the two leave, Steven's tense shoulders finally relaxed slightly.
Just then, a unique aura drifted over.
Everyone turned to see a girl dressed in blue clothing with a distinctive flower ornament in her hair walking toward them.
She was the Hoenn region's Ghost-type Elite, Phoebe.
Her steps were light, as if she were floating above the ground, and a faint smile hung on her face.
"The matter has been resolved."
Phoebe's voice was ethereal, as if coming from far away, yet it fell clearly into everyone's ears.
"That maddened Banette—attempts to move it were unsuccessful, so it was slain on the spot."
She spoke nonchalantly, saying words that were completely inconsistent with her age group.
Hearing this result, the surrounding Officer Jennys and Investigators all breathed a great sigh of relief, and the oppressive atmosphere lightened instantly.
"That's great, thank you for your hard work, Elite Phoebe!"
"It's finally over..."
Steven's taut nerves also completely relaxed, and he exhaled a long breath of turbid air.
So many innocent Trainers had died; although the cause for the Banette's actions was sympathetic, the slaughter it caused could not be forgiven.
Being slain was perhaps the best outcome.
"Oh, right,"
Phoebe seemed to remember something, tilting her head and adding with some confusion,
"I also happened to rescue an exploration team inside. They aren't badly injured, just terrified. I told them to follow behind me. Eh? Where are they? Why didn't they follow?"
She looked around, seemingly searching for that 'missing' exploration team.
Hearing this, Steven only felt it was a bit strange but didn't think much of it; his mind was entirely occupied by the news that the matter was finally resolved.
However, Ariel's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Exploration team?
Rescued in passing?
No way? How could there be such a coincidence in this world?
His brow twisted into a knot.
The Black Fire Exploration Team... in that chaotic situation, it was impossible for Elite Phoebe to verify the identity of a team calling for help.
She only knew to save people, but she didn't know that the ones she saved might be the very perpetrators of this whole tragedy.
This matter really was some damn dark humor.