Marcus managed, with great difficulty, to suppress the agitation boiling inside him and restrain the impulse to attack.
Because he suddenly thought of something: leaving aside the first two that had been lost from the very beginning, the remaining four were all in the hands of Ragnar and the other three. Moreover, the four of them were extremely close, so even if he coveted those Pokémon with all his might, he would not have dared to go directly to seek them out.
But now, those four Pokémon had appeared in front of him at the same time, which only proved one thing: Ragnar and the other three had already died at the hands of the three people standing before him.
People whom he himself was not even sure he could handle had been eliminated by the other side, and on top of that, it seemed they had not even suffered great losses.
At the same time, Number Three's very relaxed attitude toward him, although he called him "sir" in words, showed not the slightest respect either in his actions or in his tone.
"It seems that from the very beginning everyone underestimated you. Leafeon and Jolteon were already in your hands for quite some time, right?" Marcus said in a deep voice.
Seen this way, the areas where the League members had been most active probably belonged to Number Three's territory; he had simply moved first and obtained those two Pokémon ahead of them.
Marcus had always wondered how it was possible that, after sending so many people and spending so much time, they had not even seen the shadow of Leafeon and Jolteon. It turned out that they had long since been in Number Three's hands.
Cain shrugged without confirming or denying anything, though he was somewhat surprised that Marcus had been able to restrain his desire to attack.
Going from frugality to luxury is easy; returning from luxury to frugality is difficult.
That Marcus, as someone in a superior position, could speak calmly with someone who had once been his subordinate was no simple matter for him.
At first, Cain thought he would definitely have to fight so that Marcus would acknowledge his strength and only then be able to sit down and calmly discuss how to break the mountain barrier.
"Since you have gathered the six Pokémon, why come looking for me? You alone should be able to break the barrier," Marcus said indifferently. Only now did he truly live up to his status: he appeared deep and calculating, no longer that irascible man who exploded at the slightest thing.
"Heh, heh, Lord Marcus, do not mock this subordinate. I do not believe that simply possessing six Eeveelutions is enough to break the barrier; otherwise, why would the church have made all of us enter? Especially someone like you and that... powerful expert," Cain replied, not believing Marcus's words in the slightest.
The mountain barrier had been jointly established by Dialga and Palkia. Although Cain did not know whether a direct attack would provoke a reaction from the barrier, he was completely certain that it would draw Dialga and Palkia back again, and then he would not even know how he died.
Moreover, if it were truly enough to fuse the energy of six Pokémon of different attributes, Cain did not believe that Ragnar and the others, who had been there for twenty-five years, would not have tried it. Without a doubt, the key element or method was missing, and Marcus's existence was precisely to fill that role.
"...You think quite clearly," Marcus said after remaining silent for a long while.
In fact, through that brief conversation, Marcus had gained a new perception of the Number Three before him.
Meticulous! And with a very deep mind!
Looking back calmly at everything that had happened on the mountain ten days earlier—the murder of Number Four, the framing of Number Five, Tony's easy outbursts, and he himself, bound by his identity as the one in charge—it seemed that everything had been under the other's control.
Although the opponent had remained in the shadows while he was exposed, feeling manipulated in that way was a heavy blow to Marcus, who had always prided himself on controlling the overall situation.
The loss of strength was a serious blow, but being toyed with intellectually was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
So when he thought that the person now standing before him was precisely the one who had made him run around in circles, Marcus's mood was anything but good.
"Alright, Lord Marcus, I think there is no point in continuing to beat around the bush. Wasn't it you who went straight to the point from the very beginning?" said Cain, who also did not want to waste more time with Marcus, especially now that he knew he had the strength to speak to him face to face.
Marcus took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "To open the mountain barrier, indeed, a special object is needed, and coincidentally that object is in my hands. But! What happens after the barrier is broken?"
Cain's eyes shone brightly as he replied without yielding an inch: "Naturally, each will depend on their own ability. What is obtained then will depend on the strength each possesses."
Hearing this, Marcus looked at Brad and Catherine, who were behind Cain.
Noticing his gaze, Cain continued: "You can rest assured, Lord Marcus. Those two will not participate in this matter. That said, for them not to get involved, I may need you to help me with one more small favor."
Marcus believed that, even with his strength diminished, he should still be stronger than Cain, but he had no idea of Brad and Catherine's true strength. Perhaps they were one... no, two more hidden experts.
"Speak," said Marcus.
"If I said that right now I would let them go, you certainly would not believe me. So there is a simpler method: help me send them out of the continent. While they are outside, you should feel completely at ease, shouldn't you?" Cain said with a smile. By this point, he no longer needed to deliberately imitate Bartram's manner of speaking.
In any case, it no longer mattered how he spoke.
Hearing this, Marcus was momentarily stunned and looked again at Brad and Catherine.
"Then... are those two... survivors? What luck you have, to manage to subdue two survivors."
Marcus's face turned cold. He had not expected there to still be survivors on the continent. In that case, the deaths of Ragnar and the other five could be considered justified: the useless do not deserve to possess such power.
"Do you think I'm an idiot?! Help you send back two survivors?!" Marcus roared, his tone filled with unconcealed mockery.
However, his words did not affect Cain in the slightest. He shrugged casually: "That depends on what you think, sir. If you don't mind them staying with me, I have no objection."
"Besides... I forgot to mention something: thanks to the 'help' of your subordinates, the strength of both of them has practically recovered completely. In battle, they are top-class."
"Let Lord Marcus see their strength! After all, when asking an important person for help, one must show the proper 'sincerity.'"
Hearing Cain, Brad and Catherine looked at each other and smiled. They had been underestimated.
Immediately afterward, the two of them threw out two Poké Balls, summoning their strongest Pokémon.
Upon seeing the Pokémon Brad and Catherine had called forth, Marcus's expression froze. Judging from those four Pokémon, the strength of those two survivors was by no means negligible; at the very least, it far surpassed that of the ordinary members of the church.
