Abyss had originally come to confront Brandon merely to annoy him. Now that Cynthia had unexpectedly appeared halfway through, he naturally wasn't foolish enough to continue his standoff with Brandon.
"Oh? Miss Cynthia. I never expected to find you here. My apologies for not welcoming you properly."
His eyes shifted slightly. Turning toward Cynthia, the anger on his face instantly vanished and was replaced by a courteous smile as he greeted her politely.
"Hmph! Brandon, listen carefully. I'll give Miss Cynthia some face today and let this matter slide."
"But once we're inside the ruins, you won't be so lucky."
"This is the desert, after all. And I've heard the Hoenn League has been having a rough time lately thanks to Team Magma and Team Aqua. Don't expect anyone to come rescue you like last time."
"Just wait for death."
The moment he finished speaking to Cynthia, his expression changed once again, turning from a smile back into naked hostility as he issued Brandon a vicious threat.
After saying his piece, Abyss gave neither Cynthia nor Brandon any chance to respond. He immediately turned around and led his subordinates away in a cloud of yellow dust.
Brandon and Cynthia watched him leave.
Brandon's eyes were bloodshot with rage, and he looked as though he wanted nothing more than to rush over and teach Abyss a lesson. Cynthia, meanwhile, showed a hint of regret.
Yet neither pursued him, allowing him to disappear into the distance.
"Thank you for helping me out of that situation, Cynthia."
"That guy has always been at odds with me. I didn't expect him to show up again this time. I'm afraid this ruins expedition is going to become much more troublesome because of him."
Only after Abyss had left did Brandon gradually unclench his fists. The fury on his face slowly faded, and his usual stern, composed expression returned as he turned to Cynthia.
"You're too polite, Mr. Brandon. Since I'm a member of the expedition team, it's only natural for me to stand with you."
"If we really do encounter him inside the ruins, please let me handle him. An opponent like Abyss, someone who's been an Elite-Four level Trainer for many years, is exactly the kind of challenge I'm looking for."
Cynthia maintained great respect for Brandon.
Seeing him lower his posture to thank her, she quickly waved her hand and spoke seriously.
Ever since advancing to Elite-Four Trainer level, Cynthia had constantly sought powerful opponents. However, she had never experienced a true life-and-death battle.
As a result, her rate of improvement had begun to slow noticeably.
This ruins expedition was filled with danger, and genuine life-or-death battles were all but guaranteed. Yet among everyone present, only Trainers like Brandon and Abyss were truly capable of threatening her life.
Therefore, she genuinely hoped to engage Abyss in a fierce wilderness Pokémon battle and use the experience to push her Pokémon to the next level.
"That won't be a problem."
"But that man is no simple opponent. He's extremely cunning and far more dangerous than any Elite-Four level wild Pokémon you've faced before. Be careful when the time comes."
Deep down, Brandon didn't want to fight Abyss inside the ruins.
It wasn't because he couldn't defeat him.
Rather, Abyss was simply too troublesome.
Now that Cynthia had volunteered to take responsibility, Brandon couldn't have been happier. He accepted immediately without hesitation.
After the two leaders of the expedition reached an agreement, the team resumed its advance.
Soon, they established a simple camp west of the ruins.
However, before anyone could enjoy even a brief period of rest, a major incident occurred.
Suddenly, a violent explosion echoed from the direction of the ruins.
Everyone turned to see a shirtless man accompanied by a Blaziken leap out through a hole that had appeared in the barrier surrounding the ruins.
Immediately afterward, the Blaziken, still inside the barrier, unleashed another devastating Blaze Kick against the barrier with all its strength.
A crimson aura enveloped its body, while the blazing sun overhead further amplified the power of its Fire-type attacks.
Boom!
Another tremendous explosion erupted.
The barrier, which had only recently repaired itself, was torn open once more.
Taking advantage of the opening, Blaziken quickly jumped through.
Moments later, large numbers of Golurk and Golett came charging toward the breach.
The ancient Pokémon created by the people of old had glowing crimson eyes that radiated obvious fury.
Unfortunately, the barrier prevented them from crossing.
No matter how angry they were, they could only glare helplessly from the other side.
After lingering near the barrier unwillingly for a short while, they eventually sank into the sand and disappeared.
The shirtless man and Blaziken exchanged glances.
Seeing that the Golurk and Golett could not leave the barrier, both finally breathed sighs of relief and revealed smiles of survival.
From their battered appearances, it was obvious that both man and Pokémon had suffered severe injuries.
Had they failed to escape the barrier, they likely would have been beaten to death by those ancient guardians.
At the same time, their appearance attracted the attention of everyone gathered around the ruins.
Within minutes, the pair found themselves surrounded by tomb raiders from every direction.
Yet no one dared act rashly.
After all, the fact that Blaziken had managed to break through the barrier by itself clearly indicated that its Trainer was an Elite-level Trainer.
Even though he looked miserable now, he wasn't someone ordinary people could easily handle.
"What are you all staring at?"
"Get lost. I'm not some circus monkey."
The shirtless man was clearly hot-tempered.
Seeing himself surrounded and watched by so many people, he immediately became furious and shouted at the crowd as he led his heavily injured Blaziken toward the west.
Although the tomb raiders desperately wanted information about the interior of the ruins, they feared his strength.
As a result, they obediently made way and did not dare stop him.
Just as he was about to leave the crowd, however, a lean man riding a Hippowdon blocked his path.
It was none other than Abyss.
Surrounded by his followers, he smiled at the shirtless man.
"My friend, I wonder what treasures you found in there."
"Why not take them out and let us all have a look? Isn't that right, everyone?"
"That's right! Let us see!"
"Please don't be stingy, brother. Tell us a little about what's inside too!"
"We'd appreciate it!"
The tomb raiders present were all seasoned opportunists.
They immediately understood what Abyss was trying to do.
With Abyss taking the lead, they quickly joined in, attempting to use their overwhelming numbers to pressure the heavily injured shirtless man into revealing both the treasures he had obtained and information about the ruins.
"This guy really is unpleasant."
"He hasn't even entered the ruins yet, and he's already making powerful enemies everywhere. Is that really wise?"
"Or does he have some hidden backer?"
Sato, who was mingling among the crowd, frowned as he watched the scene unfold.
The shirtless man was clearly a tomb raider as well—one of considerable strength and a lone operator at that.
He instantly realized that the man blocking his path wasn't someone easy to deal with.
But he was also a proud individual.
There was no way he would simply submit.
Besides, even if he ignored his pride, revealing the treasure he had risked his life to obtain would probably ensure he never left this place alive.
"Oh, you want to see it?"
"Sure. Give me a moment."
His eyes rolled slightly, and a plan quickly formed in his mind.
A foolish-looking grin appeared on his face as he reached into his spatial equipment.
Seeing him apparently give in, everyone widened their eyes eagerly, wondering what valuable treasure he was about to reveal.
Soon, he pulled out an object.
It was a smooth metal sphere.
At first glance, it clearly wasn't some ancient relic. The crowd immediately realized they had been fooled.
Unfortunately, before they could react—
The object exploded.
A blinding flash erupted from the metal sphere.
"AAARGH!"
Cries of pain instantly filled the area as everyone clutched at their eyes. The sudden burst of intense light had temporarily blinded them.
The item the shirtless man had taken out was a flashbang.