A corner of the towering mountain peak was abruptly missing, as though an invisible blade had swept across it.
Layers of snow accumulated over countless years vanished before they could even collapse.
Above, thunderclouds swirled and gathered, their concentric patterns reaching into the heavens, while an invisible battleship stood ready to strike at any moment.
Beneath the thunderclouds, a blood-colored glow flickered with the lightning, illuminating Hunter J's utter indifference.
The Salamence beneath her feet stretched its axe-shaped wings to their fullest, their rich red color seeming ready to drip blood. Its crimson radiance seemed to form the center of heaven and earth.
Its scarlet eyes shifted eerily toward either side, taking in the scenery in every direction. On closer inspection, a profoundly dark light seemed to flicker beneath its crimson pupils.
Its thick tail lashed freely amid the raging thunder, whipping up gusts of wind.
Hunter J cast Ghetsis a cold, sidelong glance, utterly unconcerned by the flattery hidden in his words.
Who knew how she had endured this stretch of lying low and biding her time?
Only she understood the sinister chill of it, and it had made her all the more certain of one thing.
Anything in this world could be false. Only profit, only the money in her hands, only the strength under her command was real.
Reality would always remain in her own hands!
At that thought, Hunter J clenched her right hand and said evenly, "I'm starting to believe you could have escaped Reshiram and the Unova League."
In all honesty, this was not a slight.
Never mind the Unova League—Reshiram alone was beyond what most people dared imagine facing.
And escaping alive while caught between those two forces, no matter what methods Ghetsis had used, was enough to prove his capabilities as the