"Destroy one of his eyes, Murkrow!"
Murkrow, who had paused mid-flight, moved even faster now. Before Xander could reach them, Murkrow fiercely pecked at Ekans' eye. When it rose back into the air, a bloody eyeball was dangling from its beak.
"Ekans!" Xander shouted, stumbling as he ran toward his Pokémon.
Murkrow didn't hesitate at all and swallowed the bloody eye in one gulp.
In the face of this scene, no one dared to say a word. Even Viper silently approved of Cain's behavior, as he himself had set the rules of a death match, though he was now contradicting himself.
Cain turned his gaze toward Viper, meeting his stare without hesitation, a questioning seriousness in his eyes.
He didn't believe it was only because of Xander's brother. Although Xander's brother was an Officer in Team Rocket, that only placed him in the mid-tier. Viper, as one of the senior leaders of Team Rocket, was on a completely different level.
Viper frowned under Cain's intense gaze, but he didn't become angry, knowing there were reasons he couldn't reveal.
"He's still useful!" was all Viper said, in a tone that left no room for argument.
As one of the main instructors of Team Rocket, offering Cain even a brief explanation was a concession, a courtesy out of respect for his friend Umbra. Otherwise, anyone else who dared to look at him like that would have died many times over.
Cain understood that it was time to let this go. Though Viper hadn't given him a full explanation, there wasn't much he could do but accept the situation.
However, Cain understood the hidden meaning behind Viper's words.
This test wasn't like the others.
Murkrow, although unsatisfied, returned to Cain's side. Just when it was about to finish off Ekans, it was stopped, which left it frustrated. However, at least it had managed to blind that annoying snake, which provided some consolation.
Cain petted Murkrow's feathers to calm its agitation, taking several antidote potions from his belt and administering them one by one.
He couldn't deny that, after ingesting the purple pill, Ekans' venom strength had significantly increased. Murkrow didn't manage to purge the poison entirely until it had consumed five antidotes.
Xander, stumbling, finally reached Ekans, pulling out vials and potions from his belt and pouring them desperately into his Pokémon's mouth while using healing sprays to stop the bleeding from the damaged eye.
The burning pain from the disinfectant made Ekans, even while unconscious, tremble uncontrollably.
If it had only been an ordinary Pokémon who lost the ability to battle, it could have recovered quickly with proper treatment, but Ekans' case was different.
After ingesting the purple pill, Ekans' body sensitivity had decreased, and its loss of combat ability was a form of self-preservation.
The purple pill's side effects were severe. If Ekans didn't recover soon, it might experience a drop in level, or worse, its inherent quality, forever losing the ability to keep up with Murkrow.
Moreover, the damage Murkrow had inflicted on Ekans by blinding it in one eye reduced its combat ability by at least 20%.
Cain decided not to continue with his intent to kill Xander and Ekans.
Though Xander had clearly shown intent to kill him, Cain didn't view him as a serious threat. He simply had the habit of eliminating any potential risk.
At this point, Cain already had the capability to dominate Xander, and in the future, the gap between them would only widen.
Besides, it was clear that the purple pill wasn't easy to assimilate. Although Ekans had lost its ability to fight, Xander acted as though he were in an emergency, administering a huge amount of medicine.
Under the reverent gazes of everyone in the square, Cain finally walked away from the battlefield with Murkrow.
Once Cain left, the examiner formally announced:
"Challenge over! The challenger has failed; his ranking drops by ten positions."
After controlling Ekans' injuries, Xander silently returned it to its Pokéball, lowered his head, and left the battlefield, heading straight to the accommodations without stopping in the square.
This time, Xander had truly learned his lesson. If it hadn't been for Viper's intervention, he would likely have lost his life.
This experience was a lesson he would not forget: there is always someone stronger.
Skye watched as Cain approached. Before, he had harbored some doubts, but now those doubts completely vanished.
When Cain reached first place on the leaderboard with 458 attack points, Skye was already impressed, but he hadn't expected that was not Murkrow's full power.
It was only when Xander exhausted all his options that Murkrow showed its true strength, dominating with its speed and power.
Moreover, Skye knew that Cain didn't only have Murkrow; he also possessed a Slowpoke just as strong.
Considering Murkrow's strength and Cain's overall power, Skye realized he could no longer afford any doubts.
Finally, Skye accepted reality: if Cain was so strong and had so much potential, then following him with loyalty wasn't such a hard choice to make.
In the end, it was Cain's command that fully convinced Skye, who was now resolved to never betray Cain unless something entirely unexpected happened.
Skye had been impressed by Cain's strength and tactics.
"Mr. Cain, do you need any healing potions? We still have some in stock."
Skye quickly approached Cain, and his attitude was no longer as reserved as before. His tone was respectful, stemming from genuine admiration.
Cain looked at Skye in surprise, noting a change in him.
He seemed to have understood something. Cain shook his head to indicate he didn't need anything.
After clearing out the poison, Murkrow's condition was quite good, so it didn't make sense to waste healing potions.
The twenty or so followers standing behind Cain were visibly excited. Having such a powerful leader made them feel lucky to have joined him.
After Cain and Xander's challenge, others began taking turns challenging their opponents.
However, compared to the intense battle between Cain and Xander, the other challenges seemed simpler and less meaningful.
Though these were also death matches, except for those with deep grudges, a true fight to the death was rare.
Everyone on the trial island knew that if you couldn't win a fight, it was best to surrender to avoid more serious consequences. After all, only the top ten places received rewards, and the positions after that held little importance.
However, there was an exception: the fight for last place.
That was the most intense battle in the trial. Everyone knew that being last meant elimination, and elimination meant death.
So, if they were already doomed, why not fight to the end?
Thus, after the first person in last place successfully challenged someone, those who remained in last place continued to challenge frantically.
Over time, the death toll increased.
The challenge trial continued until dusk, ending amidst gasps of amazement.
In total, five people died during the challenges, and though three survived, their Pokémon weren't treated in time and also perished.
In these circumstances, although the surviving trainers wouldn't die immediately, their fate was sealed for the next trial.
The new rules established by Viper had quickly brought this trial to a bloodier level of combat.
(End of chapter)