How could Silas possibly let the man escape so easily?
The moment the psychic man turned to flee, Silas's arm snapped forward.
The dagger in his hand spun through the air, a streak of silver flashing beneath the fading sunset.
It cut straight toward the man's back.
Silas could already imagine the blade piercing flesh.
But Just before impact, the pale man twisted around. Blue-pink light flared violently in his eyes.
The dagger froze mid-air.
"Bing-!"
A sharp metallic ring echoed.
Then the blade shuddered.
And turned.
It shot back toward Silas at terrifying speed.
Telekinesis.
The Spoink pearl in the man's hand had already dimmed from vibrant pink to a dull gray , its psychic energy completely drained.
Silas rolled to the side without hesitation.
The dagger stabbed into the ground where he had stood just a heartbeat earlier.
Sand scattered.
A faint smile tugged at Silas's lips.
Because This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for.
The psychic man , believing he had successfully repelled the attack, turned to escape once more.
But The ground beneath him trembled.
Just slightly.
His pupils shrank.
Too late.
The sand exploded upward.
"SAN—!!"
A Sandile burst from beneath the earth like a predator emerging from quicksand.
Its black "sunglass" eyes burned with crimson killing intent.
The psychic man tried to activate Teleport.
Pink light flickered weakly in his eyes but Then died.
Nothing happened.
His psychic reserves were gone.
Completely exhausted.
Sandile's jaws opened wide.
A brutal, decisive bite.
The sound was wet and sickening ,it was final blow.
The man's body jerked violently.
He clutched at his throat, disbelief frozen across his pale face as blood soaked into the sand beneath him.
He collapsed without another word.
Silence followed.
Only the desert wind remained.
Silas stood slowly and walked forward.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
He retrieved his dagger and finished the job cleanly, ensuring absolute death.
Only then did he kneel and remove the Poké Balls from the man's belt, locking them securely.
"Psychic powers are powerful," Silas murmured calmly.
"But they can't see underground."
From the very beginning, he had sent Sandile beneath the sand.
Waiting.
Watching.
Patient.
All for this single fatal opening.
...
Sandile stood over the fallen body, chest rising and falling steadily.
No trembling.
No hesitation.
No confusion.
Just steady, controlled aggression.
"San…"
Silas crouched and placed a hand on its head.
"Well done."
This was the result of the survival trial.
The best selection.
Life-and-death combat against six siblings.
Its combat instincts were razor sharp.
Its reaction speed was frightening for a Pokémon that had only just passed infancy.
Silas remembered Umbreon's first real kill.
She had hesitated.
Murkrow too.
But Sandile
There had been no pause.
No doubt.
Only execution.
"Not surprising," Silas muttered. "Your species was born for war."
Sandile's tail swayed once.
Low, satisfied growl.
After quickly cleaning the scene and erasing obvious traces, Silas left the forest.
He did not linger.
....
Later that night.
Inside a dim cave lit by a crackling campfire, Silas sorted through the spoils.
The cave had once belonged to a Lickitung, but it had been driven off earlier.
The firelight flickered across stone walls as he emptied the contents of the psychic's spatial BAG pack.
Items spilled across the ground.
Jewels.
Poké Balls.
Notes.
And
A book.
"Psychic Meditation Manual."
Silas's eyes sharpened slightly.
He flipped it open and began reading carefully.
The contents explained the fundamentals of psychic power.
Psychic ability was one of the few extraordinary forces humans could awaken- similar to Aura or the Power of Viridian.
But unlike those rare blessings, psychic users had formed an actual community.
They were categorized into Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced levels.
The man Silas killed had only recently entered Beginner rank.
Still-He had been dangerous.
According to the notes scribbled inside, awakening psychic power required at least three times the mental strength of a normal human.
The greater the multiple, the higher the talent.
The psychic's own notes recorded his mental strength at seven times that of an average person.
Even so-It had taken him more than ten years to successfully awaken.
Silas reached for a small dark bead from the pile.
The manual explained its use.
Place it against the forehead.
Wait three minutes.
The brightness of its glow would measure potential.
Silas pressed the bead to his forehead.
Three minutes passed in silence.
The bead glowed faintly.
Very faintly.
Silas lowered it slowly.
"…Three times."
Bare minimum threshold.
According to the manual, someone with this level of potential would require decades or possibly fifty years of dedicated training to awaken even beginner psychic abilities.
Silas stared at the bead in silence.
Telepathy was undeniably useful.
Silent commands.
Instant reactions.
A massive advantage in battle.
But talent-
Talent could not be forced.
He attempted meditation anyway.
Cross-legged.
Breathing steady.
Following the instructions precisely.
Two hours passed.
Nothing.
Not even basic entry into a meditative state.
Silas opened his eyes slowly.
"…Enough."
He gathered the psychic-related items and stored them away.
Not worth wasting time.
He continued sorting.
Three Luxury Balls.
Arbok.
Kadabra.
And
A young Smoochum.
Not even level ten yet.
"Chuu…"
The small Psychic/Ice Pokémon blinked innocently from inside its capsule.
Its stats were excellent.
Inherited moves: Trick and Miracle Eye.
In the black market, such a rare Psychic type would fetch at least 400,000 Pokédollars.
But Silas had no intention of raising it.
He had already decided to specialize.
And He anyway had no interest in Jynx's evolutionary line.
He moved on.
The remaining Poké Balls contained assorted wild captures.
Various types.
All intended for sale.
Now
All his.
Lastly, he examined a pile of Spoink pearls.
At least ten of them.
Silas raised an eyebrow slightly.
"…These look familiar."
He had once sold pearls like these.
And now After a long detour through fate
They had returned to him.
He gave a faint, almost amused exhale.
"Everything eventually circles back."
The campfire crackled.
Sandile slept near the entrance of the cave, tail twitching slightly even in rest.
Battle had awakened something deeper within it.
And Silas knew
This was only the beginning.
<><><><><><>
(End of chapter)