The Assassin sat pinned against a broken pillar . Daichi bound his wrists with steel zip-ties. The man didn't fight nor did he scream. He just stared through Daichi with hollow eyes, he stayed quiet, too quiet.
"Who sent you?" Daichi asked.
The Assassin said nothing, just steady breathing his previous rage and vitality seemed burnt out.
"The Guild doesn't throw away gym leader-rank specialists on suicide runs," Daichi pressed. "Talk, or else il going to leave you here, might as well cooperate or become a meal for grimer and muk."
Silence, there was no answer, Daichi's eyebrows furrowed.
"Gengar," Daichi said. "Make him speak, Hypnosis."
Gengar drifted forward. His red eyes locked onto the Assassin's. A rhythmic, purple pulse rippled through the air. Hypnosis.
The Assassin's head slumped. His jaw loosened.
"Who do you work for?" Daichi asked.
"Not... the Guild," the man rasped. His voice was a flat monotone. "Higher."
"Explain."
"Orders... create chaos. Kill the hunter squad leader and if possible kill an elite 4, . Leave traces that the Guild was behind it . Start a war between the League and the Hunters."
Daichi frowned. A third party. Someone wanted the two of the most powerful organizations in Hoenn at each other's throats. "Why? What's the goal?"
"Distraction," the man whispered. "While the Guild gets destroyed, we harvest the spoils."
"The missing trainers," Daichi said. "The twenty-five disappearances this year. The kidnapping. That was the Guild?"
"Yes. Twenty-five... Ace level trainers , For the higher ups project. We just... provided the cover."
Daichi leaned in closer. "What project? Who is the 'Higher ups'?"
The Assassin's eyes suddenly snapped wide. They weren't blue or brown any more they were clouded and with a sudden twitching. His body began to convulse. His spine arched off the concrete with a sickening crack.
His jaw locked. A black liquid leaked from his eyes and ears. His heart gave one final, frantic thump against his ribs and stopped.
Dead.
A biological fail-safe. Daichi stood up, looking at the corpse. The man had been a dead man walking from the moment he failed.
Daichi gritted his teeth. Twenty-five trainers were Kidnapped without a trace. The Hunters Guild was involved, but they were being played by someone even more dangerous. And worst of all , he had no info on them.
Daichi pulled a comms unit from his vest. He patched through to the Champion's private line. Static hissed for a second before Steven Stone's voice came through, crisp and calm.
"Report," Steven said.
"The junction is secure. The assassin is neutralized," Daichi said. He looked at the black liquid leaking from the Assassin's eyes. "But it's not just the Guild. The Assassin was a plant. Someone is baiting the League into a war with the Hunters to cover up the kidnapping of those twenty-five trainers."
There was a long silence on the other end.
"A third party," Steven finally replied. "I'll look into it. If someone is pulling the Guild's strings, I want to know who is holding the leash. But the murders happened on the Guild's watch. They are accomplices, or they are incompetent. Either way, they are a threat."
"What are my orders?"
"The investigation stays with me. You have a different objective," Steven's tone shifted. His voice turned serious, he gave a command to Daichi. "The Guild's primary branch in the sector has been located. Drake is already en route. Meet him at the coordinates I'm sending now. You are to launch a direct assault on the branch. Break their doors down and find out where those trainers went."
"Understood," Daichi said.
"Daichi," Steven added. "Don't hold back. If they resist, level the building." The line cut.
Daichi returned his team. Nidoking went back into his ball last, his breathing finally leveling out. Daichi climbed out of the ruins and emerged into the rain-slicked streets of the Industrial Ward. He headed for the docks.
On the docks ,Drake was waiting. The old Elite Four member stood on the deck of a heavy-duty assault boat, his coat fluttering in the wind. Beside him, a Salamence let out a low, rumbling growl that vibrated in Daichi's chest.
"You look like hell, boy," Drake said, his eyes scanning Daichi's shredded uniform.
"I've been in the sewers," Daichi replied, stepping onto the boat. "Let's go capture some hunters."
On the boat, the air smelled of fish and medicine. Daichi moved with efficiency. He slotted his Pokéballs into the healing station. The hum of the machine filled the cabin as the red lights turned green one by one.
He stripped off his shredded uniform. He donned a tactical Elite suit—black, reinforced Kevlar with a lead lining to resist Psychic attacks to a certain degree. He wore his belt and checked his vials.
"Ready," Daichi said, stepping onto the deck.
Drake nodded. Beside him stood fifteen Elite trainers in full combat gear. Their faces were hidden behind tactical visors. They were the League's Elite strike squad , Team Alpha.
They disembarked. The boat pulled away, disappearing into the mist.
The hike was five kilometers of uphill terrain. They moved in a silent column through the dense forest. No flashlights, no talking. Just the rhythmic sound of boots on dirt.
The mountain loomed ahead. It looked like a solid mass of granite a until they reached the base. Hidden behind a massive waterfall was a reinforced steel bulkhead built directly into the rock.
The Guild's Hoen branch.
The team fanned out. The fifteen trainers took up flanking positions, their hands hovering over their belts. Guards on the upper ridges paced with Manectrics and Mightyenas.
Drake crouched behind a jagged rock. He pulled out his comms.
"We're at the mouth of the cave," Drake said. "Targets acquired. Defense is high-tier. Awaiting final word."
A beat of silence. Then, Steven's voice crackled in their ears.
"The Guild is finished. Sidney and Glacia are nearby to capture any straggler or escapees.Execute Operation Sub-Zero"
Drake looked at Daichi. He tapped his Pokéball.
"Confirmation received," Drake said. "Break the door."