First, his hiding place was found by someone who called himself Seirin Group, and then he witnessed the crazy behavior of this man named Diego with his own eyes.
"…"
Davidson's pupils contracted as he silently stared at the lifeless body of Diego lying on the ground, already dead beyond death.
The act of letting a companion shoot oneself without any psychological burden is definitely not something a normal person would do.
The feeling Davidson had just now was not wrong...
This man, Diego, is the same kind of person as himself.
Around him, the black-robed individuals holding torches remained indifferent to the lifeless body of Diego presented before their eyes.
The person in black robe who fired the gun calmly put away their gun.
It was at this moment… A sudden and fleeting flash of dazzling lightning illuminated the scene.
When the lightning faded, Diego's body, skull fragments, brain matter, and blood all vanished without a trace, leaving only a human-shaped scorch mark on the spot.
Immediately afterwards,
A black bubble bulged on the ground next to the human-shaped scorch mark, and then burst open. It wriggled and coalesced into the shape of Diego, resembling swamp mud.
"Kill me."
Diego, who was resurrected on the spot, showed no awareness of being shot just now.
He looked at Davidson, maintaining the same intriguing smile on his face as before.
"You're already killed."
At this time, a low-pitched female voice came from behind Diego.
The one speaking was the black-robed person who had shot Diego moments ago.
"Ah, is that so…"
When Diego heard this, an interesting smile appeared on his face. He then he shook his head regretfully: "It's a pity I didn't get to experience it at all."
In Diego's 'perspective'—
There is no process of being shot and then resurrected.
So, for him, his time was completely frozen at the moment when he said 'kill me', and there was no sense of experience when transforming into a Swamp People.
"Well, now, I am…"
Diego withdrew his gaze from Davidson, then turned to his companion who had shot him, and said with a smile: "I am already a Swamp People."
"Yes, there is no doubt about it."
The female black-robed person nodded towards Diego, then coldly said: "So, from this moment on, you'd better stay away from us."
"It's so cold."
Diego shrugged, then walked up to Davidson and asked with a smile: "How is it? Now that I've become a Swamp People, do I make you feel good feeling?"
"…"
Davidson looked at Diego and said calmly: "You really are a lunatic."
"A lunatic? Pot calling the kettle black, aren't we?"
Diego laughed even more happily and said: "Only those who truly love the book Swamp Man are qualified to become Swamp Man, right? In other words, I am 100% pure and unadulterated loyal fans."
"…"
Davidson couldn't help but fall silent.
Until now, no matter what happens, he still has an indifferent attitude.
Diego looked at the silent Davidson and said seriously: "Great author Davidson, for the sake of me being a loyal fan, how about opening up your heart and have a chat with me?"
"Are you trying to take advantage of my ability?"
Hearing this, Davidson asked.
Diego nodded simply and admitted: "Yes, to be honest... this ability of yours is simply wonderful!"
"That's unfortunate."
Davison said calmly: "Now, I can't use or control this ability anymore. You can simply take it as... my ability has gone out of control."
"No, no, no." Diego shook his index finger and said solemnly: "How could this ability be considered out of control? On the contrary, it is precisely because you never thought about controlling this ability that you can create such a marvelous ability."
"…"
Davidson looked at Diego calmly.
From the other party's behavior of daring to bear the risk of death and thus voluntarily transforming into a Swamp People, Davidson can discern the other party's intention to some extent.
To some extent, what the other party wants to do actually does not conflict with Davidson's goals.
In fact,
Due to the limitations of Swamp Man's ability, Davidson had to remain in a state of Zetsu all the time.
Unless he actively lifted the ability, this state would continue.
Normally speaking, when a Nen User enters Zetsu, whether voluntarily or due to an enemy's ability, his or her Nen Ability, including Nen Skills, will be disabled.
This is common knowledge.
But it's not absolute.
There are a very small number of Nen Users who will use them entering Zetsu as one of the limitations for activating their Nen Abilities.
Davidson is such a Nen User.
Because of the ability limitations of the 'The Book of Swamp Man', he must always maintain the state of Zetsu.
However, this also means…
His ability will not be interrupted by Zetsu.
In other words, even if there is the ability that could forcibly make the target enter Zetsu state, it will not be able to produce the corresponding effect on him, and naturally, it cannot be used to interrupt the spreading of Swamp Man's ability.
Judging from Davidson's intention, it can be said that he has made perfect use of this limitation.
Not only did he receive the vow effect as a reward, but he can also eliminate the risk of interrupting the ability to persist.
In addition to the limitations of being forced to enter Zetsu state, Davidson cannot sense the presence, location, or number of Swamp People, nor can he control the spreading unknown number of Swamp People.
So, all he can do now is to hide in a place like this and wait quietly for death to come, or for someone from the Hunter Association to come to his door.
But what surprised him was...
The person who came to his door first turned out to be the Seirin Group, who seemed to want to take advantage of his ability.
Through Diego's performance and their brief exchange, Davidson guessed the intentions of the Seirin Group.
"If you only want information about Swamp Man, then there's no need to chat all night. This kind of thing can be explained in half an hour."
Davidson stared directly into Diego's eyes and said indifferently: "It doesn't hurt to tell you the information about the ability."
From beginning until now, he was always calm.
Even death was already put behind him, so what else could shake his state of mind?
"Oh?"
Seeing Davidson being so understanding and cooperative, Diego was somewhat surprised.
At first, he thought it would take a lot of effort to reach the current situation, but in the end, he was seen through so thoroughly by Davidson before he even fully explained his intentions.
'As expected, dealing with smart people is very convenient.'
"Great author Davidson, I want to chat with you all night, not just to get information about the ability."
Diego took out a copy of Swamp Man from his waistband and said seriously: "Regarding my love to the book Swamp Man, I don't need to emphasize it any more. So if possible, I would like to have a good exchange of thoughts with you."
"Because…"
"The thing I like to do the most is to spread death."
"And the content of Swamp Nan book resonated with me. It's as if, across a vast distance, I saw a rare kindred spirit."
Diego's face slowly revealed a crazy smile.
At this moment,
Davidson suddenly understood the significance of Diego's active transformation into Swamp People.
'This man…'
'Want to personally contribute to the cause.'