They opened their eyes, and what they saw caused their jaw slacked. They didn't expect nor have presumed what happened before their very eyes, turned their reality upside down.
Nicholas and Eliza weren't exempt, but their reaction seemed to be an exaggeration. Their eyes wholly opened, while their jaw dropped. But they were not standing straight and used their hand to grasp their knee as if they were resisting the urge to kneel.
Their face was covered with sweat, and that's one thing that the hunters noticed. Thus, they thought that their reactions seems a bit exaggerated, but alas…
Although Nicholas, and Eliza, specifically the latter, preserved their pride if possible. But, now the so-called pride vanished from their minds. If only the hunters felt what the two of them experienced, then they wouldn't have the thought to resist the urge to kneel.
Their eyes have never been directed anywhere and stayed only in one direction. Their pupils narrowed and their eyes reflected a scene where Vincent was standing before Clover a meter away from each other.
However, the scene seems bizarre, since what the scene should have reflected in their eyes was a battle that should have happened, yet there was only tranquility and silence. Vincent's eyelids dropped, while he tried to focus his body to stand up as if there was some kind of pressure pressing him down.
He felt there was a boulder resting on his back, and no matter how he tried to get rid of it, he couldn't. Meanwhile, Clover who had been standing earlier a meter away from him, have a fierce facial expression on his face, while his body slightly leaned forward.
This strange confrontation was reflected in every pair of eyes, and anyone feel a slight disappointment looming in their hearts. They became Hunters because they were maniacs, but still as a human beings, they have emotions, and that's why morale was important to every battle.
As their morale had decreased earlier after they had received information that one of their comrades had succumbed to their animus. It vanished the moment a battle happened in their eyes. Furthermore, it was their leader who initiated the battle, and they anticipated that something would happen, except for Clover getting smashed by his hammer.
But what they received have not something they anticipated. Their leader was using his hammer as a way to stop his fall, or to be precise, his urge to kneel, which was beyond something they had expected. Clover, on the other hand, fiercely gazed at their leader, and when anyone finally looked towards Clover's eyes.
It was at this moment they finally felt a chill crawl out of their spine. Not even a second passed, and they immediately turned their head, afraid that Clover's eyes would set on them.
***
Earlier, as Vincent was dashing toward him. Clover was thinking of a way to stop this battle because he never came for that. At first, he thought of using his flying knives as a way to stop the man's charge, but that underhanded method seemed could only make things complicated, so he dismissed that thought.
As for dodging the attack, given the width of the hammer's head. It was basically impossible for it to dodge that attack, but not him, he could dodge it. But after he evades that attack, what comes after?
If he only evade attack after attack, the man would not stop until to the point the man's temperament increased. Then, the more he irritated him, the more he would not stop until he hit him. So he tossed the dodging at the back of his mind.
Now here comes defending or parrying the hammer, it was no way for him to gamble, since if he lost, then his rapier sword would break and might be shattered into pieces. Although Clover was optimistic, he was always looking forward and did not let his recklessness take over him.
Now, after he realized that there was no better option for him, and all the thought of what to implement in this battle vanished, and remembered that he only came to get information, and did not come for trouble. He felt infuriated, and that's when he remembered how he controlled his killing intent.
He had now realized that these people had thought that he was harmless, and was easy to make fun of, and anyone could challenge him whenever they want. He now wanted to completely release his killing intent, so that these people would stop troubling him.
Although he may incur their wrath, he never intended to stay with them anyway, and he would not stay there for over a day.
'Now, now. Although I know how to control my killing intent and appear harmless. It's because I'm releasing my demeanor as a kind and helpless person. But releasing my killing intent to this fool wasn't that hard. I only have to think about the reason, why this man should better be dead.'
As he came to his decision, he remembered all of his resentment. Whether the time he battled with the tiger, the abomination, and mostly Morgan's death. He only needs to show and acknowledge that the man dashing toward him, was the reason all of this was happening to him.
As his emotions build up, to the point that he wanted to shout and yelled 'Kill!', he still held up and wanted to build all of his emotions to the limit.
He was closing his eyes, and tears could be seen crawling out of his eyelids when he remembered Morgan's death. Not only that, he had even imagined that the man dashing toward him, must be the reason why Eleanor and Rose were suffering, or they have already become a corpse.
His emotions ran rampant, and the image of Vincent become distorted to the point that Morgan's body was sliced and cut into pieces. It was terrifying as if the demon had finally woken up from its long slumber.
He opened his eyes, and his body leaned forward. His pupils reflected Vincent's appearance dashing towards him only a meter away, and he watched him like dead meat. Of course, Vincent didn't miss that looked, and his body turned cold and he couldn't feel them anymore, causing him to a halt.
He gasped for breath while he leaned his body towards the hammer, and refused to fall to the ground. However, as Clover's killing intent never stopped directing toward him, he felt that his lungs constricted.
He grasped his heart, and he wanted to tear the hands that seemed to be holding his heart with so much resentment and were ready to smash it into pieces.
Vincent was sweating so much, and his head steamed. He didn't even feel irritated by so much sweat slithering on his face. A drop of liquid fell from his nose, and some fell at his chin.
He grasped the inverted hammer with his right hand, and his left hand was clutching his heart. He felt suffocated, and it continued for dozens of minutes. Furthermore, he felt that his spine was slowly breaking from the strong oppression as if the field he was standing from, was constantly increasing gravity.
It did not long that the sufferings he was tormenting disappeared into thin air. The hand that was grasping his heart, slowly putting pressure from the grip, disappeared alongside his tightening lungs. The back oppression he felt also vanished in an instant as if someone get rid of the boulder on his back with ease.
He could finally breathe normally, but that refreshing feeling didn't let him fall, as he gritted his teeth to stop himself from falling.
"I did not come here to fight! I may have experiencing anxiety earlier, it was because it had long been since I met other humans aside from one person. Just because I was having a hard time talking with you all doesn't mean you can take me lightly." Clover wiped the tears surging out of his eyes with his right hand.