"Yuli, you really didn't have to come. I promise I'll get Yui and Karen out of this safely."
Rex spoke to the anxious Yuli beside him.
They were already soaring through the blue sky, riding atop a powerful Totem Swellow that streaked across the air faster than the eye could follow.
"I know I was being stubborn… But I just couldn't stay at Rex Farm doing nothing anymore. That helpless feeling—I never want to feel that again."
Yuli stared out at the distant horizon as she voiced what was on her mind.
To her, both Yui and Karen were like family. The thought of something happening to them was unbearable. That's why she had insisted on coming with Rex to help.
She wanted to see with her own eyes that they were safe—even if it meant throwing a rare tantrum to convince him.
"You rookie Trainers should've stayed out of my business. It's too late for regrets now."
The brooding man, Eck, looked down at the two girls glaring up at him and sneered with disdain.
Eck was a member of a dark hunter organization—a high-ranking agent who specialized in capturing rare Pokémon for high-paying clients.
Any Pokémon that ended up on Eck's capture list, he would pursue relentlessly—regardless of how rare or already bonded it was.
To date, Eck had never failed a single mission he accepted.
Several months ago, he took on an especially lucrative job: capturing a mythical Illusion Pokémon—Zorua.
Zorua's species was not only extremely rare, but their naturally timid temperament made them masters of disguise. They rarely showed their true forms, often mimicking people or Pokémon to survive.
Even with intel provided by his organization, it had taken Eck months of effort to finally locate a trace of the elusive Zorua.
But the first capture attempt had failed. Despite his caution, Zorua had escaped. Ever since, he'd been hunting it—until he finally found it today, near Yui and Karen's campsite.
Initially, Eck hadn't planned to involve bystanders. But since the two girls had interfered, he no longer felt the need to show restraint.
Their Pokémon weren't particularly rare, but he decided to take the girls and their partners back to the Hunter HQ anyway. What happened to them after that wasn't his concern.
The only downside was that with two extra captives, he couldn't just fly away on his Fearow. So he chose to stay at the camp and wait for backup to arrive by ground.
What he didn't know was that this delay would become a lifelong regret.
Eck didn't bother watching the girls closely. He assumed their future would be miserable enough on its own.
"Not so clever now, are you, Zorua?"
He sneered as he poked the tied-up Pokémon with a finger.
Zorua trembled in fear. It knew this human well—and feared him deeply. During its earlier escapes, many Pokémon had been killed by Eck simply for getting in his way.
Zorua could see it in his eyes: there was no compassion, only cold, ruthless disregard for life.
"Hey! Stop bullying Zorua, you bastard!"
Yui shouted, furious, her fear overtaken by anger at the terrified look on Zorua's face.
"Heh… Looks like I've been too soft on you. Did you think we were just playing house?"
Eck turned to her, his tone mocking.
Without warning, he stepped over to Yui and, after staring her down for a moment, slapped her across the face—hard and repeatedly.
He didn't hold back. Her face quickly swelled up, and blood began to trickle from the corner of her mouth.
"You monster! If you've got a problem, come at me instead!"
Karen couldn't stay silent any longer. Though she had been trying to wait calmly for Rex to arrive, seeing Yui attacked pushed her past the breaking point. She tried to draw his attention away from Yui.
"You two really don't seem to understand the situation you're in. Maybe it's time I show you what happens when people cross me."
Now fully enraged, Eck grabbed a stick from the ground and began beating the girls with it.
His face twisted into a cruel smile. He relished their screams—he found them intoxicating.
After a while, he finally stopped, remembering that the two were now his "cargo." But by then, both Yui and Karen had lost consciousness from the pain.
Zorua, watching them suffer because of it, was filled with grief and rage. It struggled against its bindings with everything it had—but it was too weak and badly wounded to break free.
Seeing Zorua's desperate resistance only seemed to please Eck more. He leaned against a tree, humming a tune as he waited for his reinforcements.
Eck had once been a rookie Trainer himself. But during one trip into the wild, he was betrayed by his teammates and nearly died. Ever since then, he stopped trusting others and embraced brutality. Anyone who crossed him paid dearly.
Eventually, he fully succumbed to the darkness, becoming one of the most infamous hunters in the underworld.
"You're finally here. I was about to fall asleep."
Eck called out to two men who stepped down from a rugged off-road vehicle.
"Apologies, Lord Eck. We came as fast as we could once we got the message."
The two large men were visibly nervous. They knew full well how violent Eck could be, and they dared not test his patience.
"Take them. I'm leaving."
Eck didn't intend to ride with them—he only wanted to hand over Yui and Karen.
"Understood, Lord Eck. We'll transport them back to HQ immediately."
The taller of the two bowed low in submission.
Just as Eck released his Fearow and prepared to depart, he suddenly sensed a powerful presence rapidly approaching.
Years in the shadows had sharpened his instincts. He wasn't sure what it was, but he could feel it closing in fast. Still, confident in his own strength, he chose not to flee. He would wait and see.
The approaching presence was Rex and Yuli. Riding atop Totem Swellow, they had finally arrived—just in time.
As they landed, Rex's eyes immediately locked onto Yui and Karen, tied up and covered in wounds. His fury boiled over in an instant.
Beside him, Yuli burst into tears the moment she saw the condition of her two sisters—her pale face streaked with anguish.
(End of Chapter)