Chapter 336: "Mammon's a Good Man"? Give Me a Break!
By the time Diantha finally came to, it was already five in the afternoon.
She slowly sat up, the thin silk blanket sliding off her, a lovely view left entirely on display.
The room was quiet. She was alone.
"That bastard..."
Diantha tried to sit up further, but the moment she moved, her brow snapped into a tight wince, a small, sharp intake of breath escaping her.
Sore. So sore...
Once she'd gathered herself, Diantha gritted her teeth. That absolute bastard.
She'd literally been in tears, begging him to go easy, slow down — and somehow the more she'd cried out, the more relentless he'd gotten. Was he trying to actually kill her, damn it?!
Sure, Diantha could grudgingly admit that a woman like herself might genuinely drive a man to a certain kind of fervor — but couldn't he have shown at least a little consideration for her body? He'd knocked her clean unconscious! Was he even human? And this had been her first time, too.
After resting a good while longer, Diantha finally located her clothes scattered on the floor and got dressed again, then made her way slowly out of the room, one careful step at a time.
"Huh? Miss Diantha?"
A startled young voice came from nearby the moment she reached the living room.
"Serena?!" Diantha froze, turning, her pupils shrinking slightly.
"What are you doing here?" Diantha asked, her voice sharp with genuine shock.
She never in a million years expected to run into Serena, of all people, here. Wasn't this Mammon's villa? This didn't add up at all.
And on top of that—
Diantha's eyes landed on the fruit platter Serena was carrying.
"Oh, Mr. Mammon and everyone else are out back right now — I'm just bringing some fruit out to them."
Serena explained with a smile, seeing Diantha's confusion.
"I'm actually staying here for now. When did you get here, Miss Diantha?" Serena asked, curious — she'd been in the kitchen the whole time and hadn't heard anyone come in.
So Diantha had been in the villa this whole time?
"I came by this afternoon to discuss something with Mr. Mammon. I wasn't feeling well, so I rested in a room for a bit."
Diantha's voice and expression gave nothing away — not a professional actress for nothing. But that wasn't the important part right now.
"You're staying here, Serena?" Diantha's voice had already taken on a strange edge.
"Yeah, Mr. Mammon invited me to move in — I didn't have anywhere to stay in Lumiose City."
Serena answered readily, and honestly, she thought it was pretty great. Mostly because she got to spar with Platinum whenever she wanted, and if Mammon or Caitlin happened to watch their training, they'd offer guidance too. Serena genuinely loved this atmosphere.
"If you don't have a place to stay, you could have stayed with me, you know." Something clenched in Diantha's chest.
"That would've been too much trouble for you, Miss Diantha." Serena smiled apologetically.
You're worried about troubling ME, but not worried at all about troubling MAMMON?!
Diantha felt her entire being deflate — worse, honestly, than the moment Mammon had made her go on all fours from behind. Serena, you're supposed to be Kalos's future, our region's own hope and glory — how could you get this close to Mammon?!
Diantha's back teeth were practically grinding to dust.
She never in her wildest dreams imagined that after "sacrificing" herself for Kalos — after literally being knocked unconscious by Mammon — her most promising protégée would end up moving into his sprawling villa.
Goddammit! Unbelievable!!!
"You two only just met, and Mammon is, after all, a man — this arrangement doesn't strike me as entirely appropriate for you, Serena. Why don't you stay with me instead..."
Diantha tried to make one more push.
"It's fine, Miss Diantha, Mr. Mammon's a good man. I really believe he's not that kind of person."
Serena's delicate face carried a genuinely sweet smile, her tone brimming with deep, sincere trust in Mammon.
Well — she'd already had a fair amount of goodwill toward Mammon to begin with, and after hearing his life story that afternoon, Serena was now even more firmly convinced Mammon was completely worthy of her trust.
Girl. Girl, has he PUT A SPELL ON YOU?!
Diantha couldn't wrap her head around it. In her understanding, Serena was supposed to be a genuinely calm, rational person. Moving in and living with a man she'd only known for a few days — that shouldn't be something that happened to Serena, of all people.
And Mammon, "a good man"? Give me a BREAK!
"..."
Diantha was genuinely speechless — but she couldn't exactly explain what Mammon had coerced her into either. She still had her dignity.
"But Serena, do you really know Mammon? Some people aren't necessarily who they present themselves to be — there might be things about them you don't know."
Diantha was, at this point, visibly agitated, all but spelling it out directly.
After all, she genuinely believed in Serena, and had put a huge amount of hope into her future.
"I know." Something in the way Serena looked at Diantha now had already shifted, slightly off.
"...?"
"Miss Diantha, you're probably trying to say that Mr. Mammon is the leader of Team Rocket over in Kanto, aren't you?"
"?!?!"
Diantha was floored. Serena already knew?!
"Serena, since you already know that, you..."
"It's because Mr. Mammon isn't a bad person. Our Team Rocket isn't an evil organization, either."
Serena replied with a smile — a genuinely lovely smile, but one carrying a polite, deliberate distance to it.
"Serena, you..." Diantha froze, noticing it.
"Yes, Miss Diantha. I've already joined Team Rocket. I'm a Senior Officer there now."
Hearing Serena's words, something inside Diantha's brain simply short-circuited.
"Miss Diantha, I really hope you won't look at our organization with such prejudice. Mr. Mammon is an outstanding, kind-hearted, genuinely magnificent man — he's constantly contributing his own part to make this world better."
Serena said this earnestly.
Serena. Have you seriously been BRAINWASHED?
Mammon, kind-hearted and magnificent??
Diantha was completely numb at this point, opening her mouth toward Serena but genuinely unable to find any words.
Finally, all she could do was let out an internal, resigned sigh.
"Is that so? I suppose I've been too narrow-minded about this."
Even with Diantha's considerable acting skill, she couldn't quite manage perfect expression control right now — her face carried a visibly strained edge.
"I think if you took the time to get to know Mr. Mammon better, Miss Diantha, you'd come to understand." Serena had clearly noticed the insincerity in Diantha's words.
Not that it was especially surprising, really — Team Rocket's old reputation had genuinely been that toxic, so it made sense Diantha would remain skeptical.
No — when it comes to "knowing" him, trust me, I know him far better than you ever will, Diantha thought bitterly to herself. I even know exactly how long and how big he is.
"I'm about to head out back — would you like to come with me, Miss Diantha?"
"No, I need to head home first. Could you let Mr. Mammon know for me, Serena?"
Diantha replied evenly, keeping her expression steady. Right now, all she wanted was to go home, take a shower, and rest properly.
There was absolutely no way she was staying the night — if Mammon decided he wanted to "play" again tonight, she genuinely felt like she might not survive it. The man was simply too much.
Better to go home, rest properly, get her body back to normal, and worry about the rest later.
"Okay, let me walk you out."
Serena set the fruit platter down on a nearby table and escorted Diantha to the door. She would have liked to walk her out further, honestly, since she genuinely respected Diantha — a senior figure who'd shown her considerable kindness. But Diantha insisted it wasn't necessary, so Serena had no choice but to head back inside.
Pulling out her phone to text her assistant, Diantha sat down on a nearby bench, and even someone with her composure couldn't help grinding her teeth at a certain someone right now.
Being ravaged herself was one thing — she'd braced herself for that, at least. What genuinely infuriated her was how brutally, mercilessly rough Mammon had been about it, with zero consideration whatsoever.
But he'd gone and stolen HER Serena, too!
Serena was the protégée Diantha had held the highest hopes for, and Mammon had turned around and tricked her straight into Team Rocket.
How could he DO that?!
"No. I have to 'save' Serena."
Diantha's resolve hardened. There was no way she could stand by and watch Serena tumble into that "abyss." Team Rocket was absolutely not where Serena belonged.
But the real problem was — Serena seemed to trust Mammon with an almost eerie level of conviction now. It genuinely baffled her — why? Diantha turned it over in her mind again and again, unable to make sense of it. Had Mammon somehow hypnotized Serena? No, surely not, that wasn't possible—
And right at that moment—
"Miss Diantha?"
A startled voice broke her train of thought.
Diantha looked up to find Viola and Violet standing right in front of her.
"Hm? Viola, Violet — what are you two doing here?"
"We're here to see Mr. Mammon."
"What?!"
Diantha stood up in reflexive alarm — but a flash of pain from a certain area made her brow furrow involuntarily.
"Miss Diantha, are you alright?" Noticing Diantha had gone visibly pale, Viola hurried to steady her, genuinely concerned.
"I'm fine. Just need a moment to rest." Diantha forced her expression back under control.
"What are you two here to see Mammon for?"
Diantha asked the question she genuinely most cared about right now.
I threw myself into that man's clutches for the sake of you two sisters, and now you're both just... voluntarily coming BACK here to find him?!
Diantha felt like she was genuinely losing it.
"My sister interviewed Mr. Mammon at noon, and she's already finished editing it — she wants to show him the final cut first," Violet explained, her smile radiant and genuine.
"An interview with Mammon?" Diantha blinked, thrown.
"Yeah, Mr. Mammon really is amazing — and really handsome too." Violet blinked dreamily, unable to hide a certain wistful admiration.
The two of them had spent the entire afternoon editing without a break, finally finishing the cut. Honestly, having watched the interview back carefully now, Violet had to admit — she'd fallen for Mammon a little herself.
Talent, responsibility, ideals, achievement — what an outstanding man.
"?" A question mark practically hovered over Diantha's head.
"Viola, would it be alright if I watched that interview later?"
Diantha felt something was seriously wrong here. She decided she needed to see this video for herself.
"Of course you can — though right now, I..."
Viola glanced toward Mammon's villa nearby, hesitating.
"It's fine, go on ahead to see Mammon. Just send it to me tonight."
Diantha exchanged contact information with Viola.
Something's wrong here. Something's badly wrong.
Diantha watched Viola and Violet's retreating figures, her mind drifting back to Serena inside the villa.
Everyone, one after another, acting like they've been put under some kind of spell, convinced Mammon's a good man?
What exactly is "good" about him, EXACTLY?
This was her first time, and he wouldn't even take it easy — went hard enough to knock her clean out.
Something here was genuinely, seriously off.
Diantha really did feel like something was fundamentally wrong, but couldn't quite pin down what. She'd just have to watch Viola's interview with him tonight and see.
After waiting about ten minutes, her assistant's car finally arrived, and Diantha climbed in and left.
Roughly half an hour later, Viola came bursting out of the villa, positively buzzing with excitement.
That evening, an interview video was pushed out by the Lumiose Press, broadcast across television channels and spreading rapidly online — not just in Kalos, but across every region.
The headline read:
"Exclusive Interview: Team Rocket Boss Mammon — 'I Illuminated the Path Into Darkness!'"
(End of chapter)
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