Late at night.
When Monica woke up, she found herself lying on a single bed.
She immediately sat up, looking bewildered.
Everything that had happened tonight flashed through her mind like a slide show. The crazed murderer who attacked her and her companions seemingly without reason, the frantic escape through the woods, the distant glimmer of dawn, and finally…
The calm and composed young man, and the gruesome corpse.
As these images flickered in her mind, fear quietly emerged, casting shadows that lingered in Monica's heart.
Even if she managed to escape this ordeal—
The looming shadows would likely remain, haunting her like ghosts, accompanying her for the rest of her life.
The room was very quiet.
A wall lamp hung not far from the bed, casting a soft yellow light throughout the room.
In the silent atmosphere, Monica slowly pulled herself out of this emotional state and then tried to calm herself.
Now might be the time for grief or anger, but more than anything, it should be the joy of escaping the life-threatening situation.
"Where is this…"
After adjusting her mood, Monica finally had the presence of mind to examine her surroundings.
It was a room of about 20 square meters in size, and it's furnished with essentials like a wardrobe and a desk. Besides that, there were no other conspicuous decorations.
The overall impression of the room was clean and tidy.
What caught Monica's eye was the bookshelf near the window, next to the study desk.
The bookshelf was filled with books, seemingly deliberately organized by the color of their covers.
The uniform and orderly colors resembled a solved Rubik's Cube, making it visually appealing.
Monica stared at the bookshelf.
'This must be the young man's room.'
"I… huh?"
Monica suddenly noticed something and raised her arm in front of her.
Her arm, which were covered in scratches, had been properly treated and bandaged.
'It must be the work of the young man.'
Monica was left speechless.
Thinking that she had been frightened to the point of passing out in front of her savior, Monica felt a bit ashamed.
"Creak—"
The wooden door was suddenly pushed open.
Moses walked into the room, and noticed Monica had sit up.
"Ah, you're finally awake."
"Thank you for saving me…"
Monica looked towards Moses as she spoke, her voice is hoarse and her face is full of gratitude. She knew that if it wasn't for this young man in front of her, she would have undoubtedly met the same fate as her companions at the hands of that monster.
"No need to thank me. After all, it's thanks to you that I managed to obtain something important."
Moses walked to the chair at the desk and slowly sat down.
'Obtain… something important?'
Monica blinked in confusion, not understanding the meaning behind Moses's words.
Moses didn't seem to care about Monica's reaction, nor did he offer an explanation. He suddenly took out an expensive-looking phone from his pocket.
Of course, it wasn't his phone. He had taken it from Monica's pocket when she was unconscious.
"Your phone."
Moses tossed the phone to Monica with controlled force, and she caught it reflexively.
"After you fainted, I took the liberty of borrowing your phone. You don't mind, right?"
"No, no, I definitely don't mind…"
Monica held the phone tightly, nervously expressing her attitude towards Moses "borrowing" her phone.
Then, she naturally thought that this old temple on the mountain might not be equipped with modern communication devices, so Moses might have taken her phone to call for help.
But in reality, though Moses didn't have a phone, there was a landline installed in the temple.
Moses took Monica's phone partly to check the identity of the man outside, and partly to see if Monica had called the police.
Monica was unaware of these details. She looked at the young man sitting casually on the chair and said softly, "Um… I don't know your name yet."
"Moses."
Moses casually stated his name and then calmly said:
"From the time you called the police until now, about five hours have passed. Although I don't know how much longer it will take for the police to arrive, it should be soon. Just wait here patiently for the police to come."
"Huh?"
Monica was a little confused.
Seeing Monica's reaction, Moses continued, "I checked your call logs and saw that you had called the police."
"Oh, I see."
Monica understood immediately.
Her immediate thought was that this young man took her phone to report the incident. However, she was worried that the body outside might cause trouble for Moses. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she expressed her attitude:
"After the police arrive, I will explain in detail on your behalf as a witness. I won't cause you any trouble."
After escaping the danger and calming down, Monica displayed a completely different demeanor than before.
Moses looked at Monica with some surprise, shook his head, and said, "That won't be necessary."
"Huh?"
Upon hearing this, Monica's pupils shrank slightly, and she immediately imagined Moses discreetly disposing the body while she was unconscious.
This is enough to show that Moses is the type who hates trouble.
She thought about using a "generous donation" to exempt Moses from the obligation to cooperate with the investigation. But now, it seemed…
"I understand."
Monica forced herself to calm down and said, "When the police come, I'll tell them the perpetrator has already escaped."
"…"
Moses remained silent as he observed Monica, realizing she probably thought he had disposed the body.
However, Monica's current behavior and words were somewhat unexpected for Moses. Compared to his initial impression of her, she seemed like a completely different person at this moment.
"I'll say it again, it's unnecessary. Besides, the body is still outside."
Moses shook his head, firmly rejecting Monica's suggestion.
His response left Monica somewhat puzzled.
Moses adjusted his sitting posture slightly and spoke in a calm tone, "In existing medical cases, there's a classification known as Homicidal Addicts. The guy outside is likely a typical example of such a person."
"Huh?! I've never heard of such a medical case…"
Monica stared at Moses in astonishment.
"In simple terms, they are beasts who ignore legal constraints, addicted to murder, and showing utter disregard for life."
Moses lowered his eyelids.
There was one phenomenon he didn't explain – how Nen could subtly amplify and magnify the good or evil within a person's nature, highlighting various virtues and flaws in their character with greater clarity.
In reality, after awakening his Nen, Moses had vaguely felt that he had undergone certain changes. However, he didn't consider this a bad thing.
For society, a Homicidal Addict who awakens their Nen, is undoubtedly one of the most troublesome threats to society.
"Just think about it for a moment. Beasts like him, who act wantonly and recklessly, how could they have a normal identity? So, I used your phone to check the information about wanted criminals. It took some time to narrow it down."
"So, you mean…"
Monica started to piece things together.
"Exactly."
Moses nodded and calmly said, "That guy outside is a wanted criminal. When the police arrive, they will only… Hm?"
Moses's words suddenly stopped.
His expression subtly changed, and he swiftly grabbed a pencil from the desk, throwing it at the wall switch.
Swish—
The pencil cut through the air and hit the light switch.
With a faint click, the room plunged into darkness.
"Someone's here, and it's not the police. Stay quiet."
Moses interrupted Monica with the briefest of words, stopping her from asking further questions.