Even if Kael managed to achieve his objective, it would not pose too great a threat to Team Rocket. It was not something that needed much concern. After all, no matter how strong a single person was, they were still only one individual.
Moreover, Giovanni did not want to confront the Aether Foundation either, because the idea forming in his mind was so astonishing that, to a certain extent, he needed the Aether Foundation's help to carry it out.
Seeing Giovanni step aside, Kael smiled faintly. His psychic power stirred, his body flashed, and he disappeared from the spot, entering directly into the main building of the League headquarters.
When Magnus and Cain saw this, they wanted to move forward to stop him, but the people of the Aether Foundation, led by Lusamine, slowly surrounded them. As long as the two of them attempted to pursue Kael, the Aether Foundation would take action.
However, there was one important detail: the people of the Aether Foundation prevented them from acting directly against Kael, but they did not stop Magnus's Pokémon from continuing to attack the members of the Sacred Church. It even seemed as though they did not care in the slightest.
The weakening of the Sacred Church's strength could only bring advantages to the Aether Foundation, never disadvantages.
Magnus's heart was filled with anxiety, but he had no way to break through the encirclement. With the massive loss of strength he had already suffered, it was completely impossible for him to break through the Aether Foundation's blockade. He could only vent all his anger onto the ordinary members of the Sacred Church.
When had something like this ever happened in the League, aside from its earliest founding years? Someone barging so brazenly into the main headquarters building, taking whatever they wanted and acting without restraint.
An indescribable sense of humiliation rose within Magnus's heart.
Cain, on the other hand, viewed the situation much more calmly. If even Giovanni was not stopping him, then any attempt on his own part would be meaningless.
Just as Giovanni had thought, after everything that had already happened, if the League still ended up being destroyed, then that would prove that this organization had truly become outdated. Even if it were forcibly saved, it would hold no real meaning.
It was obvious that Kael had kept many hidden cards, which was why he acted so recklessly and was not concerned in the slightest about Giovanni's appearance.
His battle with Giovanni had merely been the natural impulse of reuniting with an old friend, with a close friend from long ago.
As for the members of the Sacred Church, it could only be said that, in Kael's eyes, those individuals were nothing more than sacrifices.
He had spent so many years building this organization, and now it had all collapsed here without him caring in the slightest. Cain even began to suspect that Kael's true purpose had never been to overthrow the League, but rather to use that grand objective as a cover to conceal his real goal.
And surely, all of that would soon become clear.
After entering the main building of the League headquarters, Kael moved with complete familiarity. That place had hardly changed since the last time he had been there.
He fully spread out his psychic power, searching for any hidden location.
"Oos!"
"Aas!"
Mega Latios and Mega Latias made sounds almost simultaneously. Psychic power was also one of their strengths, so they immediately found the location of the secret place.
Kael's eyes lit up, and he once again disappeared instantly through Teleport.
When he opened his eyes again, he was already standing in a place decorated with extreme simplicity — it could even be said that it had a somewhat miserable appearance.
Aside from a bed, an old desk, and a bookshelf, there was absolutely nothing else.
There was no need to think too much: this was the place where the president of the League, the council elder, normally lived.
Just from this environment alone, one could see that the council elder was an extremely austere person. As the president of the League headquarters, one of the highest-ranking individuals in the entire Pokémon world, and yet still living in such a simple place, being able to endure such an austere life spoke greatly of his personal character.
That the League had reached its current state, where everyone spoke of corruption, did not have so much to do with him. After all, he was not the one who founded the League; he merely inherited an already existing mess.
The changes and growth of the League over so many years certainly had much to do with him, but overall it could be said that his merits and his faults balanced each other out.
If viewed from the perspective of certain people with unconventional ideas, it could be said that he was excellent at preserving what had already been built, but insufficient when it came to pushing forward change. He would have been a very good leader in an era of peace, but in a turbulent era like the current one, he was, to a certain extent, somewhat unsuitable.
Kael's gaze quickly swept across the room and very soon found what he had been searching for all this time.
Since the room was not large, finding it was extremely easy. Moreover, from time to time, an aura emanated from that object that even inspired a certain degree of reverence in him.
It looked like some kind of metallic ring, although in reality it did not form a closed circle. Nor could it be said to be only a ring: inside it there was a cross passing through it, and at the points where the cross connected with the ring were embedded four emerald-green gems. At the center was a whitish gem.
Looking at that white gem that emitted soft glimmers, Kael could not help but feel mesmerized. This palm-sized object, resembling a pendant, was precisely the true objective for which he had come this time.
If there were someone present with sufficient knowledge, they would recognize that this object was extremely similar, almost identical, to the special metallic ring that Arceus carried on its back.
The moment it was in his hands, a smile appeared on Kael's face. Gradually, that smile began to distort, until in the end it took on an almost crazed expression.
"HA, HA, HA, HA...! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!!! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!!! I FINALLY HAVE IT!!! IT HAS FINALLY FALLEN INTO MY HANDS!!!"
Kael's hysterical voice echoed within the secret room of the League headquarters.
However, because the room was very well insulated and, at that moment, there was absolutely no one inside the building, no one heard that laughter. Otherwise, anyone would have thought a demon was howling.
Even the Pokémon accompanying Kael unconsciously stepped back slightly from him. A Kael like this was something even they, as his closest Pokémon, had never seen before.
(End of chapter)