"…Then… then I… I'll still follow you guys."
After hearing Icarus's words, Luna hesitated before finally making her decision.
"Then keep up. Hurry."
Icarus wasn't surprised. He waved them forward and immediately rushed ahead.
"Brother Icarus, it looks like Brother Teng's team is moving toward us too."
After running for a while, Airi checked her communicator and spoke with relief.
"Normal. Brother Teng is only mid-stage Ordinary Level. Let's speed up and meet as soon as possible."
Icarus nodded and increased his pace again.
"Okay!"
Airi and Stone didn't say much and quietly sped up.
Airi, being Naturally Extraordinary, had physical abilities comparable to Icarus.
As for Stone, after many days of Body Tempering training, this speed was no issue for him.
"Hoo… hiss… hiss…"
Behind them, Luna struggled desperately to keep up. Her lungs felt like they were about to explode.
If she hadn't bonded with that Rattata before—gaining some physical enhancement—she would have collapsed by now.
Even so, she didn't dare ask them to slow down. She knew Icarus wouldn't wait.
All she could do was grit her teeth and push forward.
After one or two minutes of sprinting, they finally met up with Brother Teng's team.
"Brother Teng, any ideas?" Icarus asked immediately.
Teng let out a bitter laugh.
"What ideas could there be? We just have more people now. Maybe we can set traps and launch sneak attacks to slow him down.
Or… we get lucky and never run into him."
Not exactly reassuring.
"Alright, we'll move together," Icarus said. "But I don't think we'll be that lucky."
"Why?" one of the Trainers asked.
Icarus glanced at them calmly.
"Put yourself in his position. You're injured, low on resources. Do you keep running… or kill weaker targets nearby to recover?"
The group fell silent.
"He came this way on purpose," Icarus continued. "We're the easiest prey."
"…That makes sense." Teng's expression darkened.
"Alright. Since we can't avoid it, let's prepare properly."
Then he suddenly frowned.
"Icarus, why is there an extra person in your team?"
"Oh, her?" Icarus replied casually. "She's an acquaintance. Just became a Trainer. When I found her, her Pokémon were already dead.
I was going to send her back, but then the emergency order came. Without a Pokémon, she can't leave the inner forest anyway. She'll just hide somewhere."
"Brother Teng, I'm sorry for the trouble," Luna said quickly, bowing deeply. "I'll hide myself. You don't need to worry about me."
Teng didn't care much and waved it off.
"Fine."
He quickly moved on to planning.
"No time to dig traps. Weepinbell and Tangela—make vine nets. Ariados—spin sticky webs. Butterfree—spread powder on all of them."
He glanced at the communicator.
"He's already close."
"As for the rest… fight individually. Don't hit each other."
No one argued.
Trying to coordinate perfectly right now would only make things worse.
"Alright, start preparing!"
Pokémon were released one after another.
"Icarus," Teng added, "get your team ready too."
"Got it."
Icarus turned to his team.
"Airi, Stone—did you bring the protective jade talismans?"
"We did."
"Good. Give one to each Pokémon. If things go bad—break them immediately."
He handed talismans to Pidgeotto and Houndour as well.
"Um… do you have an extra one?"
Luna spoke hesitantly.
Airi didn't even think twice.
"I've got one. Here."
She handed it over directly.
"Thank you… thank you…"
Luna bowed repeatedly, clearly relieved.
"Now go find a place to hide," Icarus said.
"O-Okay."
Luna quickly moved away to find cover.
"Aren't we moving anymore?" Airi asked.
Icarus's expression turned grim.
"No. The Investigator is driving him toward us."
"What?!"
"Yeah. Teng's communicator shows it. He's coming straight here now."
Stone's face darkened.
"So we're being forced to stop him."
"Yes."
Icarus exhaled slowly.
"They promised extra rewards. Double pay. Bonus if we capture him."
Airi frowned.
"We need to survive first."
"Exactly. Running isn't an option anymore."
He tightened his grip.
"Prepare for battle."
⸻
Not far away, a battered figure rushed through the forest.
Hirano.
"Damn it… he's driving me forward on purpose."
His eyes were sharp despite his injuries.
"There must be people ahead… but it won't be strong ones."
He smirked.
"Hitmonlee—let's slaughter them."
"Yeh-bip!"
"Good… as long as you're here, I can recover."
His laughter echoed coldly through the forest.
⸻
Moments later—
"Swish! Swish!"
Nets shot out from all directions.
The ambush had begun.
They had already seen him coming.
Now there was no turning back.