"Speaking of that bird… why don't you tell me why you went looking for Articuno?"
"And why did you come here afterward?"
"Can you sense something?"
Su Bai cast a glance at the power station behind him before turning back to Amino with a faint, unreadable smile.
Yet despite his seemingly casual expression, his voice was ice-cold.
As the one who had brought Pokémon into this world, Su Bai had no intention of letting disgusting creatures like the Sub-beasts get anywhere near them.
Moreover, Articuno was one of the Three Legendary Birds—the Ice God who possessed an actual divine authority.
Amino's actions had created a great deal of unnecessary trouble for this Pokémon expedition.
Right now, Su Bai felt as though someone had been eyeing the valuables in his own home.
"Why should I tell you?!"
After repeatedly suffering setbacks at Su Bai's hands, Amino had completely lost the arrogance he had displayed at the beginning.
His mouth, however, remained just as stubborn as ever.
"Why?"
"Because my fist is harder than yours."
Su Bai coldly waved his hand.
Electricity began gathering around Zeraora.
Amino, who had been about to continue cursing, froze.
The words that had been on the tip of his tongue suddenly refused to come out.
Sub-beasts were still living creatures.
They could feel pain, too.
And Zeraora's electricity was particularly troublesome for him in his already weakened state.
That strange paralysis effect from earlier had practically rendered him incapable of moving.
If Su Bai had attacked while he was paralyzed just now…
The consequences didn't bear thinking about.
Seeing that the strange little creature—barely larger than a cat, yet frighteningly powerful—was about to unleash another one of its bizarre electric attacks, Amino immediately raised his remaining hand in panic.
"Wait! Don't attack! Don't attack!"
"I'll talk! I'll talk, all right?!"
"Oh?"
Su Bai raised a hand, stopping the eager Zeraora.
"Looks like you only know how to talk after taking a beating?"
"Fine, then. Let's hear it…"
"But if I think there's anything suspicious about what you say…"
"This time, getting shocked will be the least of your problems."
As Su Bai spoke, sparks crackled around Zeraora.
Clearly, the little Thunderclap Pokémon was quite interested in giving Amino another electric punishment.
"Fuck…"
Amino wiped his face haphazardly with his hand.
When he had vomited blood earlier, the angle had been particularly unfortunate, leaving his face smeared with blackened blood.
"Right, right! Everything I say will be completely honest!"
Amino glanced at the messy, dark blood staining his hand and forcibly suppressed his anger, once again putting on his honest, harmless expression.
His eyes, however, continued darting around.
He was searching for a chance to escape.
Amino wasn't stupid enough to actually expect this human to let him go.
But using this information to buy himself some time to escape…
That was certainly a worthwhile option.
"The Marlene you killed before was one of the strongest Sub-beasts outside the Apostles."
"Moreover, she possessed a Death Energy Seed given to her by the Great Ancestor."
"Someone capable of defeating her even under those circumstances naturally attracted our attention."
"I happened to be nearby, so I came to investigate."
A flattering smile spread across Amino's honest-looking face as he spoke with utmost sincerity.
His eyes, however, kept wandering around the battlefield, constantly searching for a way out.
Su Bai nodded indifferently.
Based on his own judgment, Amino's explanation was almost certainly true.
Marlene's self-destruction before her death had indeed been preceded by something resembling a seed draining her dry.
Su Bai had already felt that something was wrong at the time.
Judging from Marlene's strength, even if she had detonated herself, she shouldn't have been able to produce such terrifying power.
Combined with how unwilling Marlene had looked before her death, as well as the information Amino was providing now…
It was likely that the so-called Great Ancestor had sensed Marlene's defeat and forcibly detonated her using that Death Energy Seed.
The moment Su Bai thought of this so-called Great Ancestor, his expression darkened.
Even now, he still hadn't forgotten that strange sensation from before—the feeling of being surrounded by dampness and cold.
The Great Ancestor's strength…
Was probably far beyond anything he had imagined.
"Crack!"
A bolt of lightning as thick as a child's arm suddenly erupted from Zeraora.
It struck Amino directly.
One of the six thin arms growing from his back was blasted clean off.
Amino clutched the severed limb, his face contorted in pain and shock.
Su Bai frowned and waved his hand.
"Stop feeding me useless nonsense."
"Marlene's matter is already settled. What I care about now…"
"Is why you appeared here."
"If you keep dodging the question…"
"Next time, I won't be striking your arm."
Su Bai's words immediately sent Amino into a panic.
Zeraora's electricity seemed to have an effect similar to Articuno's attack.
Normally, all Amino needed to do was circulate his Death Energy, and he could easily regenerate a severed limb.
Just like when the Shadow had stabbed dozens of holes through his body earlier—he had restored them all in the blink of an eye.
For a creature like a sub-beast, losing a limb wasn't particularly serious.
But now…
No matter how desperately he tried, his Death Energy seemed to be blocked by the chaotic currents of electricity coursing through his body.
"The bird! Right! There's also that bird!"
Amino's face turned deathly pale as he hurriedly explained.
"Was it called Articuno?"
"The moment I entered this region, I sensed that tremendous vitality."
"That kind of vitality…"
"For us Sub-beasts, it's an irresistible temptation."
"Whether I absorb it, subjugate it…"
"Or even corrupt it…"
"Any of those would be tremendously beneficial to us."
"If I succeeded, I might not even be ranked tenth anymore!"
A hint of unwillingness appeared on Amino's face.
Even if he couldn't defeat Articuno, his strength was sufficient for him to retreat safely.
But the temptation that bird represented had simply been too great.
And on top of that, he had severely underestimated Articuno's strength.
One moment of carelessness had landed him in this state.
For someone as cautious by nature as Amino…
This could practically be called the greatest mistake of his life.
"Corrupt…"
The word made Su Bai's expression turn grim.
Sub-beasts could never truly subjugate Pokémon through normal means.
Even if they were capable of concealing the aura of Death Energy perfectly, Pokémon—creatures that valued purity of heart—would eventually realize something was wrong.
Even if they managed to deceive them once, the moment they discovered the truth, they would flee.
The system had effectively opened a green light for Pokémon in this regard.
If a Pokémon was dissatisfied with its Trainer, the chances of it leaving were extremely high.
But corruption…
That word was far too unpleasant to hear.
Su Bai frowned.
"What exactly do you mean by 'corrupt'?"
"Is it like the way you turn humans into sub-beasts?"
"You…"
"You want to turn Pokémon…"
"…into Death Beasts?!"
Su Bai looked at Amino with undisguised disgust.
No wonder the entire mountain where Articuno lived had been saturated with Death Energy.
This bastard was planning to use an enormous amount of Death Energy to corrupt Articuno's mind!
If Articuno hadn't been powerful enough to resist it…
There was a chance it really could have fallen into his trap.