Contrary to what many had suspected, Nathan had never bribed the contestant from the Kingdom of Gangin. On the contrary, it turned out that Gangin and the Liberty Union had colluded in advance, working together to frame Nathan and orchestrate a setup against him.
The moment this result was publicly announced, the entire arena instantly erupted into a frenzy. Cheers, gasps, and exclamations filled the air, and excitement surged like a tidal wave through the audience. The shocking reversal had turned everything on its head.
Meanwhile, the competitors from both the Liberty Union and Gangin stood there stunned—limp, powerless, and emotionally devastated. Their hearts were filled with bitterness and despair.
It was over.
Everything was over.
From this day forward, the World Tournament would no longer see the names of the Liberty Union or Gangin appear on the stage. Their presence had been erased from the competition, their reputations disgraced.
A loud voice rang out across the venue:
"Now, we will announce the truth behind the allegations of bribery involving the Ganginian contestant!
The nation of Celestia did not engage in any act of bribery.
On the contrary, the contestants from the Liberty Union and Kingdom of Gangin are found guilty of conspiring together to defame Celestia and are hereby permanently banned from all future competitions!"
At once, jubilant cheers rang out from every corner of Celestia. Cities, towns, and villages echoed with celebration. People even rushed out into the streets, lighting fireworks and celebrating with joy. Even people who became fans of Nathan from other countries celebrated.
No one had expected such a dramatic reversal of fate. The sudden turnaround caught everyone off guard and sparked a wave of national pride and vindication.
But as for the other nations that were still participating in the tournament and had not yet been eliminated—they were all visibly disappointed.
Compared to the now-eliminated teams from the Liberty Union and Kingdom of Gangin, these nations feared facing Celestia even more.
They would have preferred to face both the Liberty Union and Gangin at the same time rather than confront Celestia alone. The level of pressure and challenge Celestia posed was simply on a different scale.
----------------------
But now, the decision was final, and the outcome irreversible.
However, just as tournament staff were preparing to escort the banned players from the Liberty Union and Gangin off the island, they were startled to discover that Samuel was missing.
Upon investigation and inquiry, other Liberty Union contestants explained that Samuel had already packed his belongings and left the island the night before last.
Given the circumstances, the tournament staff didn't pursue the matter further.
After all, the Liberty Union was now banned, and Samuel, as the central figure behind the conspiracy, was also permanently disqualified.
Eventually, someone else would surely deal with Samuel.
As for the World Tournament, it had little to do with him anymore.
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After departing the island cluster, Samuel—now fully aware that he could never return to his home country—flew nonstop for nearly an entire day. Eventually, he landed on a remote, uninhabited island, completely isolated.
There, he began contemplating his next move.
His own country would never tolerate a traitor and national disgrace like him. That path was sealed.
If he were to go to a completely foreign country, he would have to start over from scratch. His entire identity would need to be concealed and remade.
What he needed more than anything now was someone trustworthy who could help him create a brand-new identity from the ground up.
Otherwise, he would spend the rest of his life as nothing more than a rat scurrying through the sewers, always in hiding, never able to walk freely in the daylight.
Just as despair was about to overtake him, a sudden voice cut through the silence—
"What's wrong? Nowhere to go?"
Startled, Samuel jumped up, scanning the direction of the voice warily.
To his shock, he saw two men and one woman standing nearby, staring at him.
If Nathan had been here at that moment, he would have immediately recognized the woman—Mary or the so-called Black Dew!
"Who are you?" Samuel asked with a guarded tone, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
It was clear that anyone who could appear silently on this remote island was no ordinary person.
The woman nonchalantly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We all share a common enemy—Nathan Vesper.
So tell me, what do you think we are?"
This woman was Black Dew, a key member of Chiyou.
After regrouping with her comrades from the organization, Black Dew had not immediately returned to her Valar. Instead, she chose to remain close to the tournament site, continuing to monitor the competition and Nathan's every move.
When she saw that Samuel—once Nathan's enemy—had fled the tournament, Black Dew swiftly led a team to track and tail him.
Although Samuel had repeatedly lost to Nathan during the competition, it didn't mean he was weak. On the contrary, being the seeded player of the Liberty Union, he clearly had his own strengths and capabilities.
Now, he had become a rat, forced into hiding and stripped of power. All Chiyou had to do was offer him a crust of bread, and he would likely become their pawn.
Such an opportunity was too good to pass up.
In the future, they might even be able to use Samuel, this disgraced former enemy, to take down Nathan.
"You are…?" Samuel began cautiously. As someone from outside Pacific, he wasn't familiar with Chiyou.
Although the group had agents across the globe, their notoriety was primarily centered in Pacifica. So, it was perfectly reasonable that Samuel didn't know much about them—or their bitter history with Nathan.
The woman smiled and extended her right hand.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Black Dew, a member of Chiyou."
The three figures stepped closer. Samuel looked hesitant at first but ultimately reached out and shook her hand.
And just like that, the four people smiled.
An unspoken alliance had formed.
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Back at the World Tournament, the competition pressed on.
Swanntica's representative knew that their next opponent would be Celestia, and worry had already taken root in their heart.
Their country didn't have many trump cards left.
Trying to defeat Nathan—it was far too difficult.
Even after revealing all their strongest Pokémon, Swanntica still lost to Nathan.
With this victory, Celestia, led by Nathan's immense strength, successfully advanced to the final round.
Their last remaining opponent would be either Gurney's nation, Tolkan or the country of Calica—who were about to face off.
Previously, Calica had always been considered the bottom of the pack, barely scraping by in each round.
Yet somehow, whether due to luck or hidden strength, they had made it this far.
Watching Swanntica's exit, Nathan remarked casually, "Looks like we'll be facing Gurney in the finals after all."
His tone was relaxed, even a little carefree.
If Tolkan were the opponent, then victory would be almost certain. Gurney didn't have many hidden trump cards—unless, by some miracle, they had three legendary Pokémon yet to be revealed.
"I know, right?" said Evelyn enthusiastically. "Looks like we're going to breeze through this year's tournament!"
---------------------
The next day, the match between Tolkan and Calica began.
And to the utter shock of everyone watching, Calica unleashed a legendary Pokémon—right on the battlefield.
This seemingly bottom-tier team had suddenly transformed into a black horse contender for the championship.
Even Gurney himself was stunned.
He had already accepted that defeating Nathan might be too difficult, but at least earning second place would've been a decent accomplishment.
But now—at this final hurdle—Calica had dropped a bombshell.
They had been hiding a legendary Pokémon this whole time, only bringing it out now, at the last possible moment.
From underdog to top contender, Calica had pulled off a shocking transformation.
Gurney was left feeling miserable and helpless.
He had fought so hard, only to lose not just the finals—but even his chance at second place.
Could anything be more frustrating than this?
And the worst part? Calica had shown incredible restraint.
Through all the earlier matches, they never once revealed their legendary Pokémon. They waited until now—the semifinals—to show their true hand.
Even Nathan, watching from the sidelines, was caught off guard by Calica's sudden reveal.
As expected, the mission given to him by the system wouldn't be so easy to complete.
Fortunately, Calica had only shown one legendary Pokémon so far.
Completing the task wasn't impossible yet.
---------------------------
"Are legendary Pokémon not rare anymore?" Evelyn asked, eyes filled with envy as she watched Calica's legendary Pokémon dominate the battlefield.
She had once thought her Dynamax Gyarados was impressive—maybe not the strongest, but certainly powerful.
But now, looking at the legendary Pokémon on display, she realized she had been overly optimistic.
Even if her Gyarados evolved to champion level, it still wouldn't stand a chance against a true legendary Pokémon.
"They're still rare," Nathan replied calmly. "They—just like me—have just paid a price."
To control a legendary Pokémon without paying a steep cost was nearly impossible.
------------------------
Now that Calica had revealed one legendary, and considering the nature of his mission, Nathan suspected they likely had a second legendary hidden.
In the finals, where each trainer could send three Pokémon onto the field at once, Nathan would have to choose carefully.
If he wanted to fulfill his system's task perfectly, he could only use one legendary Pokémon himself.
That meant, among the three slots, only one could be a legendary.
The other two had to come from among his non-legendary champions—carefully chosen to support the team.
He would need one to stall the opposing legendary and another to quickly defeat the enemy's secondary Pokémon.
But legendary Pokémon weren't that easy to defeat.
Especially Zapdos, the legendary now revealed by Calica.
Zapdos, a powerful Flying/Electric-type, boasted incredible speed—faster than almost any Pokémon in existence—and could transform into lightning itself.
The only saving grace for Nathan was that the final match wasn't taking place in a city.
If they were battling in an urban setting, Zapdos could tap into and control an entire city's electric grid, making it virtually unbeatable.
Thankfully, the battlefield was situated over the vast ocean, where there were no large electric sources to empower Zapdos.
Still, that didn't mean Zapdos was weak—only that its advantages were reduced.
"This is giving me a headache," Nathan muttered as he watched Zapdos unleash destruction on the field. "I knew it wouldn't be this simple…"
Evelyn gave him a sidelong glance.
"Didn't you bring three legendary Pokémon? What are you so worried about?"
Her voice was playful, but the underlying concern was real.
Nathan had to choose—winning dominantly or perfect completion of the mission.
And the decision wouldn't be easy.
(End of Chapter)