Interrogation Area.
Located on the edge of the mountaintop, this was an open-air prison fashioned from a natural hollow in the mountain. Surrounded by steep rock walls, its only exit was guarded by two bored Team Magma members.
Ken.
The current Ken had long since lost the high-spirited look he had when they were climbing the mountain.
He hung from a pillar like a tattered sack, his collarbones pierced by thick iron chains.
Whip marks and brands crisscrossed his body; there was hardly a patch of intact skin to be found.
Most shocking of all was the bloody mess at the corners of his mouth.
His tongue seemed to have been crudely cut in half, perhaps for being too noisy or for cursing, leaving him able only to make rasping, wheezing sounds.
His eyes were hollow and numb, devoid of all life, like a walking corpse whose soul had been extracted.
Beside Ken, Lele and Valk were already corpses.
Ariel couldn't help but feel emotional. Honestly, Trainers caught by evil organizations like Team Aqua and Team Magma—groups with fanatical beliefs as their dogma—were the unluckiest of all.
Because for groups like Team Aqua and Team Magma, catching a League Trainer didn't mean negotiating for ransom or conditions.
There was only one outcome for those captured: their Pokémon would be stolen, and they would be left for dead.
A set of footsteps approached as two Team Magma members walked over, crudely dumping a bucket of rancid food into a worn-out trough before giving Ken a harsh lash with a whip.
"Eat! Dammit, don't you play dead on me!"
Ken's body jolted violently, yet he couldn't even manage a scream. He only numbly raised his head and stared blankly at the trough without making a move.
The member cursed and lashed him twice more. Seeing no reaction, he spat on the ground and turned to leave with his companion.
Ariel watched everything silently from the shadows. He didn't move until the two guards had walked back into the distance and started dozing against the wall again.
His footsteps were light, like a black cat hunting at night, as he noiselessly bypassed the clutter and reached the fence of the Interrogation Area.
Without a moment's hesitation, he flicked his wrist, and a Dagger and a wire appeared in his hands. He gave the old iron lock a gentle pry and a twist.
"Click."
With a faint sound that was almost inaudible, the lock opened.
He pushed open the gate and stepped inside with slow, deliberate strides.
Hearing the movement, Ken, who had been as still as a corpse, suddenly stiffened.
He struggled to lift his head, his hollow eyes reflecting Ariel's approaching figure.
He thought a new round of torture was about to begin.
Ariel walked up to him with an expressionless face, crouched down, and met his gaze.
At close range, Ken's tragic state was even clearer. His face was covered in dried scabs and fresh wounds; his breathing was weak, carrying a heavy scent of death.
Ariel reached out and removed the Goggles from his face, revealing his true features.
In the dim light, this familiar face struck Ken's stagnant consciousness like a bolt of lightning.
His pupils suddenly constricted!
Shock, bewilderment, and then an unbelievable surge of ecstasy!
"Ariel... Ariel!"
The half-severed tongue in his mouth moved clumsily as he exerted all his strength to squeeze out the broken syllables.
"Is... Is it you?"
"Are you... here to... res... rescue me?"
Hope, like a prairie fire, instantly reignited in his ashen eyes.
He saw light; he saw the possibility of survival!
He even tried to struggle, wanting to grab onto this lifeline before him, but the movement pulled at his wounds, making his whole body twitch with pain.
Ariel did not answer his question.
He simply reached out and, with an almost tender motion, gently placed his hand on Ken's blood-stained and scarred face.
His palm was warm, forming a stark contrast with Ken's bone-chillingly cold skin.
This gesture calmed Ken's agitated emotions slightly.
He thought this was an act of comfort.
"Ken."
Ariel finally spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear, each word like a nail being driven into Ken's ears.
"In a way, I should thank you."
The ecstasy on Ken's face froze, replaced by deep confusion.
Thank me?
Thank me for what?
"Because you taught me a lesson."
Ariel spoke to himself, his fingers lightly brushing over a hideous brand on Ken's face—the emblem of the Team Magma.
Ken made indistinct "wu-wu" sounds, as if asking a question.
The corners of Ariel's mouth curled into a cold, heartless arc.
"You taught me that when you're out in the world, you should never show anyone your real name."
These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Ken's head, making his entire body tremble.
Ariel continued, as if reviewing a game:
"I've reviewed this operation, and the only—and biggest—mistake was telling you my real name."
"If I hadn't said it then, no one in the Team Magma would know a person named Ariel exists. They would only know that a mysterious infiltrator stole something important."
"But now, things are different."
Ariel's gaze grew colder bit by bit, like a freezing current that made Ken's skin crawl.
"I used Hypnosis, took Team Magma's things, and dealt with the grunts along the way. Once they realize what's happened, that guy Fire Ghost will surely pin everything on the Trainer named Ariel."
"And you, Ken, are the only person who knows my real name."
"You are also the only one who exposed my name to the Team Magma."
As he said this, the last trace of pretense vanished from Ariel's face.
The light in Ken's eyes was completely extinguished. The fire of hope that had just been lit was crushed underfoot, leaving not even a wisp of smoke.
In its place was a bone-deep coldness and despair.
He wanted to struggle, but the chains through his collarbones and his broken bones wouldn't obey.
He wanted to scream, to beg for mercy, to curse, but his damaged throat and half-severed tongue could only produce desperate rasping sounds.
He finally understood.
The person before him wasn't a god come to save him.
He was a reaper come to take his life!
Ariel watched the shifts in his gaze from hope to fear, and finally to complete despair. His tone was as calm as if he were stating a simple fact.
"So, to repay you for teaching me this lesson, and to plug my only oversight..."
"I've come to grant you release."
The moment the words fell, Ariel's other hand moved.
A cold glint slid noiselessly from his sleeve. It was a sharp Dagger, its blade gleaming with a lethal chill in the dimness.
There was no hesitation, not even a moment of delay.
"Squelch—"
The sound of the blade entering flesh was so faint it was almost inaudible.
Ariel's hand was as steady as a rock, precisely and efficiently plunging the blade into Ken's carotid artery.
Ken's body stiffened violently, his eyes bulging as his remaining despair instantly froze.
He let out one last short gasp, and then the breath of life drained from his body like air from a punctured balloon.
Ariel did not pull the knife out immediately.
He maintained this posture, quietly feeling the body beneath his palm go from violent trembling to complete relaxation.
Only when Ken's head slumped powerlessly and there was no longer any movement did he slowly withdraw the blade.
Warm blood flowed down the blade, but not a single drop touched his hand.
Ariel stood up and expressionlessly used a relatively clean piece of cloth from Ken's body to carefully wipe the blood from the blade, his movements meticulous.
Having finished, he retracted the knife into his sleeve and put his Goggles back on, obscuring his unwavering eyes.
He took one last look at Ken's corpse and the other cold bodies nearby, with only one thought in his mind.
He turned and prepared to leave this filthy corner as silently as he had arrived.
However, just as one of his feet was about to step out of the fence—
"Hey! What's that noise over there!"
A rough shout came from the direction of the entrance not far away.
Immediately following were messy and hurried footsteps, rapidly approaching the Interrogation Area!
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