The ghostly figure wriggled across the ground for a moment. A dark purple witch's hat appeared first. Only after it floated completely into the air did its full form become visible. Compared to its oversized hat, its body was unusually small. An empty dress trailed beneath it, and several bright red gems were embedded in its chest.
"It's a Mismagius!"
A sharp-eyed and well-informed trainer immediately recognized it.
Clearly, without anyone noticing, this Mismagius had knocked out the Onix in an instant.
Morton had no time to care about the cowardly teammates behind him. He quickly recalled Onix, then swept a vicious glare across everyone present before shouting, "It's only a Gym-level Mismagius. These hunters can't even bring out a single Elite-level Pokémon. They're just putting on a show…"
"The Hunters Guild isn't something a wild dog like you gets to bark at—"
Hunter Z finally spoke for the first time after standing there like he was invisible.
But before he could finish speaking, Morton had already turned around and dashed away from the wanted criminals. He sprinted straight toward the passage.
The shamelessness of this veteran wanted criminal left Hunter Z speechless for a moment.
Wasn't he just saying the hunters were all bluffing? Now he was already running away?
At the entrance to the passage on the other side, Morton gripped his Poké Ball tightly and shoved aside another trainer who was trying to enter at the same time.
It wasn't that he didn't want to fight the hunters head-on. He simply couldn't afford to.
His teammates were all cowards. The enemy casually brought out a peak Gym-level Mismagius, and they didn't even seem to take them seriously... except for Hunter D, who had embarrassed himself earlier.
Seeing Morton flee, many of the hesitant wanted criminals immediately turned around and ran toward the rear passage, hoping to escape as well.
Holding his Poké Ball, Morton relied on his speed and took the lead.
There didn't seem to be any danger behind him. The other trainers were more than happy to let someone else enter the passage first and check if it was safe.
As he ran, Morton shouted, "You damned hunters! Ghost-type Pokémon must've eaten your brains. No wonder Team Rocket beat you like stray dogs. Even joining Team Rocket would be better than this trash guild. Damn it, you—"
His voice stopped abruptly.
Inside the passage leading toward the meeting hall above, a black-cloaked figure was suddenly standing in front of him.
It was Shiro, who had come down through the opposite passage to avoid Bertha and Unown G.
Morton froze, then cautiously asked, "Friend, which region are you from? Are you here to—"
"Shut up."
Shiro let out a cold shout. He flicked a finger, and Morton was struck as if by a giant hammer. His body flew backward and tumbled down the stairs.
The trainers below were horrified and instinctively backed away. Not a single person dared step forward, nor did anyone even think about catching him.
Morton slammed onto the ground. His body arched once before it began twitching violently. A few seconds later, he stopped moving.
Buzz!
A flash of psychic power swept across the area.
The wanted criminals were startled once again and hurriedly scattered. Before anyone realized it, the black-cloaked figure had already teleported to the ground and was holding Morton's unconscious body with one hand.
"Rockbreaker Morton..."
Psychic energy flooded into him as Shiro rapidly searched through the memories of this wanted criminal from Kalos.
[Morton was born in Camphrier Town in the Kalos region. He was the son of a servant in a fallen noble family… By chance, he saved a noble and received his first Pokémon, a Geodude… After becoming a Gym-level trainer, he tried to steal a regional starter from a League breeding facility but failed and was hunted down. During his escape, he casually murdered a family of three that owned an inn, along with a married couple who ran a restaurant… He doesn't even have any assets.]
Having barely escaped alive from two Kalos Elite Fours, Morton had been wanted for so long that he could no longer use a League card or purchase any major property. Everything he ate or used was taken through robbery, and after every theft, he killed the owners and their families to prevent anyone from exposing him.
'What a monster!' Unown A cursed.
Shiro had no intention of wasting any more time. Perfectly in sync with Unown A, flames ignited in his palm and instantly reduced Morton to a pile of black ash.
The sight left the wanted criminals completely terrified. They swallowed nervously and backed away again. Many of them even ran straight onto the battlefield.
The newly arrived black-cloaked man hadn't even revealed his identity, and Morton didn't seem to have offended him at all.
He simply killed on sight.
The man was completely insane.
Over at the Hunters Guild side, Hunter D stood frozen for a long while. The fighting style felt strangely familiar.
Psychic powers. Ruthless killing… wasn't that Hunter A?
Hunter A wasn't dead?
Some of the wanted criminals recognized the same traits and cried out in panic, "H-He... he's Hunter A!"
The crowd instantly exploded into chaos. Wanted criminals and Gym-level trainers who had only come to watch all panicked together. Some people's legs even gave out beneath them. After scrambling back to their feet, they fled toward the opposite side.
"Hunter A? That Hunter A? How is that possible? Didn't the League already eliminate him?"
"You've got to be kidding... is it really him?"
"Run!"
Countless red flashes lit up the battlefield as the Gym-level trainers finally released their Pokémon and escaped by whatever means they could.
* * *
"Hunter A? Is that really Hunter A?"
Bertha, who was hiding in a corner with Unown G, instinctively turned to ask.
After all, Shiro had personally taken part in the operation to eliminate Hunter A and had fought him before. He would definitely know.
Unown G remained silent for a moment before firmly shaking its head. "No."
No one understood better than it who that person really was.
"No?" Bertha rested her chin in thought. "Then who could it be? Maybe he isn't even a Hunter?"
"No!" Unown G nodded vigorously this time. "He is!"
"Hm?" Bertha quickly understood. "You mean he's a member of the Hunters Guild, but he isn't Hunter A?"
"Mm."
* * *
"That's definitely not Hunter A."
Hunter J was the first to shake her head while still standing perfectly straight.
She had encountered Hunter A many times before. One glance was enough to tell the difference.
As for who it really was… she already had a guess.
"Not A? Since when did our guild have someone like that?"
Hunters E, H, and Y all looked confused. None of them had attended the meeting where W joined the guild, so they naturally didn't know this person. They knew there was a new Hunter W, but to them, W was practically a stranger.
Hunter Z turned around and counted the hunters again. There were only seven.
F and W from the Jubilife City branch weren't here. According to M, R had been seriously wounded by an Elite Four member while trying to support A. Whether R was alive or dead was still unknown, so naturally he hadn't come. Hunter T had just left alone, though no one knew what urgent matter had called him away.
As for A, he obviously wasn't here.
And B...
Hunter Z lowered his head in thought.
Hunter B had always been inseparable from Hunter A. Rumor had it that no one had ever seen Hunter B's real appearance. Some claimed B was a hunched old woman, while others insisted B was a beautiful young wife. No one could ever figure out the truth.
But if something had happened to A, B probably hadn't escaped either.
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