__________ POV Narration__________
It took a while for the Guard Captain to realise that the treasure was missing. The death of the king caused too much distress in the Royal Guard.
But, eventually, he realised that Chrollo was known to be a thief. So he obviously had a target in that room.
He frantically checked the trapdoor that held the national treasure. Only to further panic after seeing that it was indeed missing.
He was seething in anger. But he couldn't publicly state that the treasure was missing. It would put their kingdom in an even worse light.
He needed to somehow retrieve it before it was found out. He gave the order for the hunters to hunt down the Troupe.
But he was secretly hoping he would be able to find them himself to secretly retrieve the national treasure. The succession war needed to go on, regardless of the king's fate.
And the Seed Urn was a necessary item for the War to continue. As it had a condition that prevented the participants from ever leaving. At least while it was still in process.
The Guard Captain needed to make sure that the Succession War kept going and that a new ruler would reach the throne swiftly.
Otherwise, the lack of a ruler would weaken the nation and create a power vacuum that the other nations would certainly take advantage of.
He could only hope that the Troupe didn't hide the Urn too well.
__________ POV Ashton__________
After I finished my call with Cheadle, I called Kurapika and told him to meet me in the third tier of the ship.
Right now, I am quite excited to reunite with my former student and see his face as every single one of his plans collapses.
I mean, I don't actually hate him or anything. But he chose to start this. If he didn't add me to his plots I wouldn't even care about it.
But here we are, or, here I am, about to murder or capture my former student because of his 'crimes'. I guess I don't actually care about whatever he did to the Kakin Empire.
But, for Kurapika to gain any closure on this matter, the Troupe needs to go. And I need to make sure they don't ever resurface again. Which means I can't spare them, not even in secret.
I walked down to the lower tiers at a moderate pace. The hurry in Cheadle's tone didn't really affect me much. I already know where to find them.
Even if they changed their location, I can easily find them again. The mark I put on Momoze, the one that tells me of her state and location.
I also put one on a Troupe member. And they are bound to be together at this time. Separating would only make them easy targets.
The mark is actually an Artifact. The 'Ring Stamp', or the 'Trackers Blessing', all I need to do is touch something with the sigil in my ring and they will receive an invisible mark.
From then on, I can always find out where that someone is, and I will always be alerted if something was to happen to them.
The requirements are quite strange. The sigil needs to be fed a bit of blood from both of the targets, the member I marked is the one I beat into the ground when they attacked me.
I made sure to do it secretly, the other two didn't have any way of realising what I did, even if they knew of my relic. I did it too quickly for them to see it.
Still, I can't help but wonder if I've reinforced my relationship with Kurapika enough for it to not be shaken by what Chrollo will tell him.
I could kill Chrollo before he even spoke, but that would make it seem suspicious like I had something to hide.
And that would not be a great mark to leave on a friendship. Even if said friendship is built on a lie.
I met up with Kurapika at the entrance of the Third Tier. He was just standing there, impatiently tapping his foot on the ground.
His eagerness is quite nice to see. But he's psyching himself up a bit too much, stress isn't all that good for the heart.
"Hello, Kid! Are you ready to hunt down some spiders? Did you bring pesticide?" My poor attempt at humour still lightened the atmosphere a bit.
Kurapika just sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose a bit... Wait, that's my move! I am usually the annoyed one, what happened?
Oh well, I guess someone needs to take Netero's role in the friendship... It's a bit concerning really, I don't want to consider myself similar to that guy...
"Hey, Ashton... Are we ready to head out?" Wow, this kid really wants to hurry things along. Did the pressure the governments put on the hunters reach Kurapika too? Likely, especially since he's a member of the Zodiacs.
"You're no fun... But sure, let's head out." I said with a smile. Suddenly, a person shouted from behind us.
"W-Wait guys! I'm coming too!" Oh, it's Cheadle. I guess it would make sense for her to come, this is quite an important assignment for the association.
She needs to make sure things get done. Otherwise, the association might be blamed, either for failing to protect the king or to catch the perpetrators.
Either way, solving this issue properly is basically her saving grace right now.
"Cheadle! Great to see you... Let's not waste any more time with pleasantries though." I said with a smile on my face. The three of us should be enough to take care of the Troupe...
Well, I could take care of them by myself. But where's the fun in that?
"A-Alright! I'll follow you guys..." I think she didn't really enjoy my tone. But then again, it's not like we're friends. We've only spoken a few times, I would say that her job has her occupied.
But Netero seemed to have more free time than me, and I work on my own schedule... I guess this period is a bit busier though.
Kurapika just raised an eyebrow at my quick exchange with Cheadle. But hey, personal matters remain personal.
And just like that, the three of us started heading for the location of the Troupe. A quiet trip, we all seem to have our own thoughts right now.
Chrollo is still in that same room though. And I can't wait to meet him again.
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