"Nooc... towl..."
A dark brown Noctowl slowly glided down from the ceiling of the dim passage. The grayish-white glow on its bloodstained beak gradually faded away.
The hunters behind it froze in place, their faces filled with shock.
"A... A Gym-level Noctowl..."
"Isn't that Lord F's Pokémon?"
"It was supposed to stay here and guard the place. Why is it attacking us..."
While speaking amongst themselves, they instinctively stepped backward.
Pokémon intelligence, especially among high-level ones, was almost on par with humans. Some were even smarter.
There was no way this Noctowl couldn't tell friend from foe. That left only one possibility: Lord F had personally ordered it to eliminate the hunters left behind.
Sure enough, after briefly pausing to confirm the number of people, Noctowl spread its wings and launched its attack.
"What are you standing there for? Run!"
The moment the shout rang out, the hunters scattered in every direction.
The black market had more than one passage. However, during the cleanup, Hunter F had specifically ordered every other exit sealed, leaving only this one open.
The blocked passages were secured with nothing more than several movable iron gates. If they could move fast enough, they still had a chance to survive.
Unfortunately, Noctowl had no intention of letting anyone escape. Its figure blurred into a streak of lightning across the air.
One hunter after another collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. Their Intermediate-level and Advanced-level Pokémon were also killed in a single strike.
Only a few minutes later, the black market was once again completely empty.
* * *
Second floor, the end of the hallway.
Bertha carefully studied the machine in front of her while Unown G stood beside her, looking completely bored as its thoughts wandered.
It had always wanted to ask Bertha if they really didn't need to wear masks or disguise themselves. Was it really okay to walk in so openly?
But worried that its stutter would embarrass it again, it never asked.
As for why a Pokémon like Unown G even had a stuttering problem, that was definitely Arceus' fault… maybe it had caught a cold when Arceus created the world.
At least, that was what Unown G believed every time it saw Bertha wrapped in that thick scarf.
"Shiro, do you have any ideas?"
After examining the device for quite some time, Bertha still couldn't figure anything out.
She wasn't a researcher, much less a Professor. But standing beside her now happened to be someone who was.
Looking at Unown G, she asked softly, "If you take a look, you should be able to figure out how this machine works, right?"
Unown G snapped back to its senses and nodded seriously. "Mm."
While following Shiro, it had seen Farlen use it several times and had learned how to operate it.
Under Bertha's slightly surprised gaze, Unown G skillfully began working the controls.
* * *
Hunters Guild Headquarters.
After cheerfully escorting Shiro to his destination, Farlen politely excused himself.
"Lord W, I still need to return and receive the visiting trainers. The meeting hall is just ahead. Go down the passage in the middle and you'll reach the battle arena. Everyone should already be waiting there."
"Oh," Shiro answered casually and turned his head.
Farlen quietly let out a sigh of relief. Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he turned and walked toward the teleportation device.
Just as he was about to step inside, his body suddenly froze. He could no longer move at all. It felt as though countless iron clamps had locked onto every part of his body.
Farlen's expression stiffened as his heart sank.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. I still have a few questions."
Shiro slowly walked over and rested a hand on the bald old man's shoulder. "F, do you really not know where this headquarters is located?"
"I really don't!" Farlen answered with a miserable expression. "Please, you have to believe me!"
"Then there are other ways to leave this headquarters, right?"
"I... I think there are."
"'Think?' So you don't know either?"
"Uh... maybe there aren't."
As soon as those words left Farlen's mouth, a chill ran through his body.
He knew the W behind him possessed extraordinary psychic abilities and could easily tell whether he was lying. That made bluffing almost impossible.
"So… there really aren't any other exits?" Shiro smiled faintly. "Can you still contact Hunter A or not?"
Farlen fell silent. After thinking for a few moments, he replied, "I... only contacted him once three days ago. After that, we haven't spoken again. But Lord A has always appeared and disappeared without warning. Irregular contact is—"
Shiro abruptly cut him off. "I'm asking whether you can or you can't."
Farlen immediately answered, "I can't."
Shiro slowly nodded. "This place is incredibly sturdy, and the materials used to build it are very unusual. It can't be broken easily, and even Psychic-type Pokémon can't pass through the walls."
Glancing toward the teleportation device, he continued, "Tell me, if you return and the teleportation device suddenly breaks for some mysterious reason, what do you think the people left here would do?"
"Well..." Cold sweat formed on Farlen's forehead. "There are still teleportation devices in other regions, aren't there? The other seated hunters all have their own devices. They don't rely on this one."
Shiro gently shook his head. "You've been making trips back and forth quite a few times already. While moving between locations, you've had plenty of opportunities to observe everything. Once everyone goes down to the battle arena, it would be easy to have your Pokémon destroy every remaining teleportation device."
After speaking, he stared directly at Farlen, carefully watching every change in his expression.
It was nothing more than instinct, as constant suspicion had become second nature to Shiro by now. He was simply testing the man out of habit.
Farlen opened his mouth, then closed it again. His conflicted expression twisted for several moments as he searched for an excuse, but in the end he found none.
After a brief silence, he finally accepted his fate. "As expected of Lord W. I'm truly impressed."
"Since Lord A is already gone, this headquarters won't be useful anymore. We might as well take this opportunity to bury everyone down there."
"I can't swallow such a huge Hunters Guild by myself. If Lord W is willing, I can first help you take control of the Sinnoh branch. Then you can quickly regain control over Hoenn, Unova, and Kalos."
"After that, you can once again lead the Kanto headquarters of the Hunters Guild. I'll remain in Sinnoh and handle all the affairs for you. What do you think?"
Farlen looked completely sincere.
He deliberately mentioned Kanto because it had always been part of the plan to abandon it anyway.
There was a reason why the Hunters Guild headquarters had been established in Sinnoh and why it had grown faster there than anywhere else.
Farlen knew Hunter A had always maintained an unclear relationship with Team Galactic. It could even be said that the Hunters Guild served as Team Galactic's shadow organization. And the true force behind Team Galactic was none other than the descendants of Sinnoh's ancient nobility, the People of Shin'ō.
In every other region, the Hunters Guild had to compete with local organizations for influence, making expansion much more difficult.
Kanto was especially bad. Nearly the entire underground gray market had long been monopolized by Team Rocket, and every black market was under its control. The Hunters Guild had barely managed to survive there, and not even a single seated hunter was willing to stay stationed in the region.
If he could simply hand Kanto over to the W standing before him…
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