Cain did not bother to explain anything; he simply nodded to indicate that he had understood. Evidently, the other party's way of thinking was not aligned with his own.
Both of them withdrew their Pokémon and advanced toward the summit of the central mountain of the continent. Because of the spatial barrier, there was an enormous platform there on which they could stand and walk normally. At that moment, quite a lot of people had already gathered; besides those who had always remained there, several leaders from the outer regions had also arrived.
Cain and Number Four did not exchange another word. They walked in silence to the places that originally belonged to them and stayed there, pretending to be merely waiting.
However, when Cain passed by Will and Irene, his eyes, hidden beneath the psychic cloak, unconsciously shifted toward them.
It seemed that Will and Irene were doing fairly well within the church. Although their strength was nothing special, it gave the impression that their status was somewhat special.
The arrival of Cain and Number Four did not attract much attention. Nevertheless, when Cain directed his gaze toward Will, the latter reacted with notable sensitivity and looked back at him, slightly frowning without saying anything, though a strange feeling arose within him.
Cain's current disguise, both in appearance and in psychic power, showed no visible flaws, so Will only felt that something was odd without being able to identify the source of that discomfort.
One after another, members of the church dressed in black robes arrived.
Although it was night, the mountaintop was illuminated as if it were daytime. It was still unknown what exactly was emitting that light, but one could vaguely sense that it had a very close relationship with what lay inside the spatial barrier.
As more people arrived, Cain saw, through Bartram's memories, how the gloomy-faced man he so greatly respected appeared out of nowhere. Less than a second after his appearance, space stirred slightly and the powerful eccentric man arrived immediately after. Both appeared one after the other, as if they shared a strange synchronization... or as if they were competing with each other.
The gloomy-faced man was already accustomed to the eccentric one's behavior. His penetrating black eyes swept across the entire place, briefly stopping on each person. When he noticed that two individuals had yet to arrive, he instinctively frowned.
When his gaze landed on Cain, the latter felt a scorching sensation, as if an incandescent stare were piercing into him—something extremely uncomfortable.
It was no wonder everyone feared him so much; with just a single look, he could make someone feel this miserable.
In contrast, the eccentric man seemed to be the complete antithesis of the gloomy-faced one. He wore an expression of obvious enjoyment, as if seeing the other's face darken even more gave him deep satisfaction.
The eccentric did not bother to inspect everyone with his psychic power. Even he considered it unnecessary to reach that level of suspicion.
After all, for an organization skilled at infiltrating spies into other forces to itself be infiltrated by someone else would be a monumental irony.
After another five minutes of waiting, the gloomy-faced man could no longer hold back. This was the limit of his patience.
"Can anyone tell me why Number Two and Number Six still haven't arrived? If they don't show up soon, then they won't need to show up ever again!" he roared, suppressing his fury.
Most of the people present fell into absolute silence. No one dared to answer.
Seeing that no one spoke, the gloomy-faced man made an effort to restrain his anger. He already felt that something was wrong.
Everyone knew his temperament. If there were not a serious reason, no one would dare arrive late and make him wait there, since they knew perfectly well what the punishment would be.
"Number One! Number Three!" he suddenly shouted.
Cain immediately stepped out of his position. Along with him, another church member he did not know also stepped forward.
Both stood before the gloomy-faced man with their heads lowered, pretending not to dare to look at him directly.
"You two are close to Number Two's territory. Did you notice any anomalies in your region?" he asked.
Cain and Number One kept their heads lowered, as if thinking.
Just as Number One was about to speak, Cain stepped forward first: "Reporting to Your Excellency: this subordinate did not perceive any significant anomalies due to the distance. However, two nights ago I believed I heard a large explosion coming from Number Two's territory. I do not know whether it is related to this matter."
Hearing that Cain had said exactly what he himself had intended to mention, Number One immediately added, "I perceived it as well."
With both of them saying the same thing, the gloomy-faced man was forced to take it seriously.
"Number Five! Number Seven! Did you detect anything out of the ordinary?" he roared again.
Two more people stepped forward, but their answers provided no relevant information.
With a wave of his hand, the gloomy-faced man ordered them back to their places.
At that moment, the eccentric man finally turned his attention to the situation. The person in charge of Number Two's territory was one of his subordinates, and now he had not returned. Moreover, from the words of Cain and Number One, there had been a considerable explosion. Something must have happened.
Although he enjoyed seeing the gloomy-faced man run into setbacks, as a leader he could not ignore what had occurred. Otherwise, why would anyone follow him?
Moreover, the eccentric man was famous for fiercely protecting his own. For this reason, his subordinates did not fear the gloomy-faced man too much, and between the two factions there was a clear difference in attitude.
The gloomy-faced man looked at the eccentric, whose mocking expression had disappeared. Although his face was already dark by nature, now an even gloomier air could be felt.
"It is possible that your people have suffered some mishap. It would be best for you to go and check it out," he said.
As the person in charge of this mission, the gloomy-faced man did not dare to demand too much from that colleague with overwhelming psychic power. He did not fear him, but he acknowledged his extraordinary strength, and moreover, the two of them held equivalent status within the church.
