The outside world had no idea what was happening inside David's mind.
Now that David was safe, Dragapult was finally free to deal with the men standing before it. Compared to a Dragapult at full strength, these men — who had only reached the strength of a low-ranking Elite through crude bodily modification — were never a real threat.
Furious, Dragapult unleashed Phantom Force, slipping in and out of the spirit world as arrows of vengeful dragon energy tore into the modified creatures again and again. Caught between the assault of the Ghost- and Dragon-type attacks and the way their own life force was burning away from within, the modified Pokémon did not last long.
Yet in their final moments, a flicker of reason returned to them. There was no fear on their faces as death approached — only the faint trace of a relieved smile. Guilt and gratitude showed together as they murmured weak words to David and Dragapult, apologizing for the attack and thanking the two of them for finally setting them free.
Then, just like that, the modified Pokémon lost every sign of life. At least, in the end, they had not left this world as monsters.
David stood quietly before them as the sea wind drifted past. Their bodies crumbled like something worn down over countless years, turning to dust that the wind carried away. Whatever life they had left had already been spent, consumed by the endless suffering of the experiments done to them.
David fell silent as he took in the scene. He had always known, from books and from his father's words, that the world of Pokémon was not as gentle as it appeared in stories. But knowing something and witnessing it firsthand were two very different things, and even now he found it hard to fully accept.
"Those damned people..."
"Zorua! (David!)"
Sensing that its Trainer's mood had darkened, the little fox climbed onto David's shoulder and nuzzled him with its soft head, trying to offer some comfort. Kirlia used Teleport to appear at his side as well, gripping his arm tightly, her expression full of lingering fear and regret. Lucario watched him with quiet concern.
Dragapult, meanwhile, stretched its Ghost-type senses as far as they could reach, carefully checking the surroundings for any other threat. Having nearly let David fall into mortal danger once already, it was determined never to allow such a thing to happen again.
It seemed as though this attack, born from a failed assassination attempt, had finally come to an end. But of course, nothing would be resolved that easily.
A few minutes earlier, in a quiet stretch of coastline, a submarine sat a hundred meters below the surface. It should have remained silent to avoid detection — instead, it was in chaos.
"What is going on? What exactly happened? How were we found out? And what's this about a 'terrorist attack'? We were sitting quietly underwater — who went out there and started something?!"
"Somebody answer me!"
The leader slammed the emergency communicator down on the table, struggling to keep his anger in check as he addressed the others around him. If it weren't for the last shred of sense reminding him that the inside of a submarine was not the place for it, he might have released his Pokémon and turned on everyone in the room.
Damn it all.
To stay hidden, the submarine had cut off all contact with the outside world, save for the single emergency communicator now in his hand. If not for that backup, the whole crew might have died without ever learning the cause.
Another leader picked up the communicator that had slipped onto the table and studied it, his face going pale. He understood clearly just how far the situation had already spiraled out of control.
"It can't have been our people. K is already dead. G and Q were driven out into the wilderness long ago by those Cloudspire Alliance dogs, just to cover our infiltration. And Z has already gone back to report to headquarters."
"There are only a handful of us Holy Envoys of the Cloudspire Alliance left here. None of us could have done this."
"Does it matter who's responsible, S? What matters is that the blame has already landed on us. Do you honestly think you can explain to Cloudspire Alliance leadership that we were secretly infiltrating Cloudspire and this attack still wasn't our doing? Do you really think they'll believe that?"
"Enough talk! We need to decide what to do next. Cloudspire's naval fleet is already moving and closing in on our position."
"On land, the public security bureau, the special security division, and the garrison forces have all been mobilized — even the Gym Leader has shown up in person."
"Our stealth measures might normally be enough to slip past them, but not now. Not with things like this."
"We can't go by land, we can't go by sea, and flying is out of the question — we'd be shredded by anti-air fire the moment we surfaced..."
Inside the submarine, panic had taken hold. No one cared about staying quiet anymore. Everyone understood this was the critical moment — if they didn't act wisely, they would all meet their end right there.
Cultists were not afraid of dying, that much was true. But given the choice, no one wanted to throw their life away needlessly.
Bang!
W, the leader, struck the table with his fist.
"Enough arguing! What good does shouting do us now? Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?"
"J, release every secret weapon we brought — including the Destroyers. Release all of them. Leave nothing behind."
"You mean..."
J understood immediately what he meant.
"That's right. Release them all. Since trouble has already broken loose, let's turn it into full chaos and buy ourselves some time."
"Whether we fight our way into the city or vanish into the wilderness, either is better than dying down here."
W's voice was cold and merciless.
"But if we release everything, what happens to the rest of the plan—"
He was cut off before he could finish.
"Plan? If we're all dead, there is no plan. That's enough talking. Move!"
No one could have guessed that a single failed assassination attempt would, through a strange twist of fate, spark the largest terrorist attack Cloudspire had seen in decades.