Cheadle coldly glared at Hawk, her gaze as if wanting to tear him apart with a thousand blades.
Her reaction wasn't just because Hawk touched a sore spot, but it was also due to Hawk making jokes about her Zodiac Title from the Hunter Association.
This was something she couldn't tolerate.
Seeing Cheadle's attention finally on him, Hawk sighed in relief.
Compared to bleeding out, a few icy glares from Cheadle were nothing.
"Um…"
Hawk tried to give Cheadle a slight smile, intending to emphasize the urgency of stopping his bleeding first.
But before he could finish, Cheadle's icy voice interrupted, "Move your hand away. I'll stop the bleeding first."
"Okay!"
Upon hearing this, Hawk swiftly moved his hand, revealing the bloody and gruesome wound on his abdomen.
Cheadle crouched down, promptly removed her white glove, and gently placed her palm over Hawk's wound.
Suddenly, her fair and delicate palm emitted a soft and hazy green Nen aura, visibly wrapping around Hawk's wound. Under the influence of this Nen, the bleeding from Hawk's wound was significantly reduced, and after a while, it stopped altogether.
This was the characteristic of the Enhancement category. Using Nen as a medium to temporarily strengthen the target's clotting function.
Cheadle used this method to quickly stop Hawk's bleeding.
Of course, if one could enhance the clotting function, they could also enhance the self-healing function.
Had it been aimed at self-healing, Hawk's wound would not only have stopped bleeding but would have healed faster.
However, Cheadle didn't do that because she wasn't an Enhancer.
To develop an ability to enhance someone else's clotting function, while not being of that category, demanded time and energy which she deemed manageable.
But to enhance another's self-healing capability, even if she wished to, it was beyond her power.
Leaving aside whether her current memory capacity and talents could support such an endeavor, the biggest risk was–
Investing a considerable amount of time and energy to develop a non-affiliated Nen ability might not necessarily yield satisfactory results.
In simple terms, the returns might not justify the investments.
"I feel alive again…"
After the bleeding stopped, Hawk felt much more relaxed.
Cheadle didn't reply but instead took out a wound ointment from her pouch and forcefully applied it to Hawk's wound.
"Hiss…"
Hawk couldn't help but winced at the stinging sensation.
'This was clearly revenge!'
He wanted to tell Cheadle to be gentler, but in the end, he held back.
Hawk knew that such a remark would likely result in Cheadle applying even more force.
After a while, the emergency treatment was completed.
Cheadle walked to the creek to wash away the blood from her hands.
Hawk, who has gradually recovered, lifted his eyes to look at Cheadle's back.
"Cheadle, even though you've chosen the path of a Disease Hunter, it's wasteful to divert your talents to other Nen categories. If I'm not mistaken, you should have developed more than one ability outside your Nen type, right?"
Hearing Hawk's words, Cheadle suddenly stopped washing her hands in the creek. She turned around, giving Hawk a sharp gaze.
"What qualifications do you, someone who wastes his Nen talents on grave robbing and thieving, have to lecture me?"
"..."
Hawk opened his mouth, but ultimately lowered his head in silence. In the moonlight's shadow, a trace of melancholy flashed in his eyes.
The sudden silence made the bridge much quieter, and the sound of water splashing as Cheadle washed her hands in the water became more pronounced.
After washing away the last traces of blood, Cheadle slowly stood up, her expressionless face asking. "Who wounded you?"
"Who else could it be?"
Hawk suddenly raised his head, his eyes flickering with a cold killing intent.
Seeing his reaction, Cheadle immediately understood, her brows furrowing. "Is it those self-proclaimed heirs of the 'Seirin Group'? So they found you?"
The so-called Seirin Group was a legendary team of Hunters who followed the will of the previous Chairman of the Hunter Association.
However, times have changed. With Netero being the current Chairman of the Hunter Association, the influence of the Seirin Group has diminished.
"No."
Hawk shook his head, his eyes squinting slightly, "To be precise, I took the initiative to find them."
"!!!"
Hearing Hawk's answer, Cheadle's pupils contracted, and she raised her voice involuntarily: "Have you gone mad? After everything that happened, you still dared to actively seek them out? If your whereabouts were exposed, Moses would be the first to suffer!"
"Don't worry, I'm not so reckless to the point of not making any preparations before acting. I wouldn't make a joke about Moses's safety."
Hawk slightly restrained his killing intent, leaning heavily against the wall.
Taking two steps forward, Cheadle looked at Hawk and said with a cold voice, "You always think you know everything, forgetting the efforts I put in back then… Humph, why did you seek them out? Do you have any idea how much effort I had to exert to clean up after your antics? Even after Moses was born, I could only distance myself from him…"
"If I weren't for the current situation, do you think-"
Hawk interrupted, staring deeply into Cheadle's angered eyes, "Do you really think that, with my Nen ability crafted especially for covert operations, I'd willingly seek out trouble?"
"…"
Cheadle fell silent instantly.
Indeed…
Unless circumstances forced him, Hawk, who always followed the motto of 'avoiding battles if possible', wouldn't have taken the initiative to attack or actively seek trouble while he was already hiding.
Realizing this, Cheadle quickly calmed down and asked, "Then why did you do it?"
"Because… time is running out. I need a new Post-Mortem Artifact to suppress the cost. If necessary, I'm willing to use my own lifespan as fuel."
Hawk looked up. When discussing such serious matters, he no longer had his usual playful demeanor.
"Hawk, you…"
Cheadle seemed to have realized something, her eyes slowly widening.
Hawk smirked slightly, and said softly, "Even if I hadn't said it, you can probably guess, right? I took the initiative to attack because I wanted to steal one part of the sheet music of the 'Sonata of Darkness' from those bastards. But I failed… Sigh, without Rat Jewel assisting me, I truly am a useless person."
"…"
Cheadle pursed her lips, remaining silent.
She knew the situation had become so dire that Hawk even needed to leave Rat Jewel in the temple to help suppress that Post-Mortem Artifact.
But now, knowing that Hawk was risking so much to steal a new Post-Mortem Artifact, she realized the situation was even more severe than she had initially thought.
Hawk slowly adjusted his gaze, turning his head to look at the deep night outside the bridge.
"The proudest thing in my life is that I can freely move through any ruins or tombs. But it's also my deepest regret…"
The man's eyes were filled with determination, leaving no room for anything else.
"Cheadle, I don't want to repeat the same mistakes again..."
"If you really felt that way, you shouldn't have acted impulsively on your own. Hawk... Your actions once again put your loved ones in danger."
Cheadle put on her white gloves indifferently, and said, "Anyway, I don't trust your ability to clean up the mess. So, I'm going to find Moses now to ensure nothing goes wrong."
"No, wait for me to recover… two days, no, one day is enough!"
Hawk struggled to stand, his back pressed against the wall.
Cheadle glanced at him and coldly snorted, "You don't currently have the conditions to use Zetsu. Even if I gave you three days, let alone recovering from injuries, you won't even regain normal mobility."
As soon as she finished speaking, regardless of Hawk's reaction, Cheadle turned around and left the bridge.
In the deep night, there seemed to be waves rising.
…
At the mountaintop temple.
The surroundings were as quiet as ever, not even the sound of insects could be heard.
Moses sat in front of a computer, his eyes reflecting the white light emitted by the screen.
"This search engine is too outdated."
Moving the mouse around, Moses sighed softly. The corner of his eyes glanced at the date and time displayed on the computer screen-
April 25, 1993, 23:22.
If Moses remembered correctly, the plot in the original work started in 1999.
Although there was a time difference of several years between now and the plot, electronic devices like computers and phones had already become mainstream. Especially in the case of phone development, there was a wide variety, ranging from flashy but impractical phones to practical, functional phones.
Among them, the most representative function was that they could receive signals almost anywhere in the world. Due to this feature, practical phones were highly favored by Hunters.
But for some reason, compared to phones, computer development seemed a bit lagging. Perhaps it's because Hunters were more dependent on phones than on computers.
"Still can't find it."
Moses released the mouse.
He was trying to find the contact details of the famous actress Erin Nako, but due to the limitations of the search engine, he couldn't find anything.
"Never mind, I'll check again later."
Moses turned off the computer and picked up a photo with black silk-like threads entwined around it from the keyboard. He then left the room and headed to the main hall.
Arriving at the altar, Moses casually placed the photo attached with resentment back in its original position, and then turned to leave.
During this period, Moses's Nen ability gradually became stronger as he trained.
Perhaps because of this, he had become more sensitive to the presence of resentment.
Before, as long as he didn't enter the main hall, he would subconsciously ignore the pile of relics on the altar.
Now, even when he stood in the courtyard to train, his senses would constantly remind him of the presence of resentment inside the main hall.
So, he thought about spending some time completing the last wishes on the altar to sublimate the attached resentment.
Of course, he could also dispose these resentful objects by abandoning or destroying them, but his subconscious told Moses not to do that.
Returning to his room, Moses turned off the lights and went to bed.
The next morning, Moses woke up on time and began his daily training.
Knock, knock, knock…
Just as he had gotten up, sounds of knocking were heard from the temple's gate.
Moses was slightly surprised. His first thought was that Hawk had returned, but he immediately rejected the idea.
If it were Hawk, he wouldn't just knock. He would also be shouting loudly.
"At this time... could it be Monica?"
Walking through the courtyard to the entrance, he approached the old wooden door and inquired, "Who is it?"
If it turned out to be pilgrims or tourists, he would drive them away temporarily with the excuse of the temple not currently receiving guests.
"I'm a friend of Hawk."
A woman's voice immediately came from outside the door.
'A friend of Hawk?'
Moses felt a bit surprised. He removed the door bolt and slowly opened the seemingly fragile wooden gate.
In front of the gate stood Cheadle.
As she gazed upon the revealed face from behind the door, she seemed a bit lost.