Hunter was stunned as he stood in front of the door. The man he was pretty certain that he had murdered yesterday was standing before him. He must've been hallucinating. Surely, Ian can't be alive after Hunter torched him himself.
His stomach began to churn and the memories of him killing the hunters flooded his brain. Their charred faces, their silent screams and the desperate looks on their faces. If he wasn't careful, Hunter would lose his breakfast and give in to his emotions.
"It's you..." said the youth as he stepped out of the house. "You just called me Ian, didn't you?"
"W-what?" said Hunter as he slightly backed away.
"Ian. That's my brother's name."
"Your brother...? Ian Brown had a brother?"
"Of course he did. I knew I recognised you from somewhere. You're Catherine's boyfriend, aren't you?"
"... Who are you?"
"Leonard Brown. I'm Ian's elder brother," replied Leonard as he crossed his arms.
As you could imagine, Leonard was the spitting image of Ian. His hair was just as blonde and his eyes were slightly bluer than his baby brother's. But, one thing that made Hunter realise that they were siblings was the glare he recieved from Leonard.
Hunter wasn't expecting to see him. Mostly because he didn't know of his existence. But, it made sense why he was at the Kennedy's residence. His brother and his childhood friend both died in the same dungeon at the same time.
'He's here to investigate...' said Hunter as he spoke to himself.
"Leonard? Is something the matter?" a middle aged woman asked as she stepped outside, her husband following behind her to check the cause of the commotion.
"Hunter..." the man said as he saw Hunter standing outside his doorstep.
"Mr and Mrs Kennedy..." replied Hunter.
Mr and Mrs Kennedy were the spitting image of Catherine. Catherine recieved her beautiful brunette hair from her father and her wonderful eyes from her mother. As Hunter continued looking at them, he couldn't help but tear up when he saw them.
It was as if Catherine had never left.
"I just... I came here to... check on you guys... I wish I had come sooner, but-"
"Hunter," said Mr Kennedy as he placed his hand on Hunter's shoulder. "It's alright. It wasn't your fault."
"Yes, it was... I was there when it happened... I am so sorry..." Hunter pleaded as he dropped his head and faced the floor.
Mrs Kennedy covered her mouth and teared up, Mr Kennedy holding her in his arms right after. As Mr Kennedy was about to speak again, Leonard quickly jumped in and spoke directly to Hunter.
"So you're the tier 18 that went dungeon diving with my brother. It's funny... He was a tier 5 hunter, his friends were tier 8 hunters and Cathy was a tier 6 hunter. And yet you, a tier 18, was the only one to survive..."
Hunter didn't raise his head and continued facing the ground, his face showing little to no emotion as Leonard spoke. Leonard sighed and turned to the Kennedys, smiling gently and bowing his head.
"Thank you for your time today, Mr and Mrs Kennedy. I'll return soon to check up on you," said Leonard.
"You're too kind, Leonard," said Mrs Kennedy.
"And Hunter," he said, turning his attention to Hunter once again. "I hope I get to see you too. You and I have a lot to talk about when we do."
Hunter felt the weight of those words and couldn't help but swallow his spit in nervousness. Leonard walked past Hunter and left the Kennedy residence. Once he did, Hunter raised his head and sighed softly.
"Hunter dear, you don't have to keep blaming yourself for Catherine and Ian's death," said Mrs Kennedy. "Accidents like these happen..."
"Even though we're gonna miss our little girl, we knew what would happen when she decided to become a hunter. All we can do now is hope we can heal from this incident..." added Mr Kennedy.
Hunter felt his heart sink for a moment. He hated the feeling of seeing grown people crying. Ever since he was a child, he would avoid seeing adults crying because it made him feel uncomfortable. But now, he wasn't just uncomfortable.
He was guilty.
'They're crying... because of me... Mrs Kennedy's eyes are red. She must've been crying for a long time now. And, Mr Kennedy's eyes are just as red. He's not the type to cry, so I'm willing to bet that he didn't get any sleep upon hearing what happened to his daughter...' said Hunter.
He clenched his fists and wore a serious expression. "I love Catherine and I'll continue to love her until the day I die. Thanks to your daughter, I was able to know what true happiness was. And for that, I'd like to thank you for raising a fine young woman like her."
The Kennedy's smiled faintly as Hunter gave another gentle bow.
"Don't hesitate to come and visit us more often, Hunter," said Mr Kennedy.
"I'm certain Cathy would like it if you would see us every once in a while. Even if she isn't here anymore..." added Mrs Kennedy.
"Of course..." replied Hunter. 'Now I get it. This isn't just about me. It's about them too. The fact that they're feeling sick shows how much they cared for their daughter. Now that I have this system, I have to make sure that not a single family member loses their daughter to corrupt hunters.'
[Now you finally see the light, Hunter Quinn]
'... I'm doing this for them, not me,' said Hunter.
[Of course you are. But, now that you have a proper objective, you'll become stronger faster. Then, you'll cleanse the world and create a utopia]
'I don't know about a utopia, but I'll do my best,' said Hunter. "I'll come back again," said Hunter.
The Kennedys smiled gently and watched Hunter walk away. The Sun began setting and Hunter began running back to the hospital, his head clear and his mind made up. He would become stronger. Not just for himself, but for the families of those who don't want to lose their children before their time.
[Meanwhile...]
Leonard Brown walked down the street and pulled out his cellphone. After dialling a number, he placed the phone on his ear and let it ring. Seconds after, someone picked up.
"Yeah?" the man, who had a deep and raspy voice, said over the phone.
"It's me," said Leonard. "I'd like you to do a little digging on someone for me."
"Another target, perhaps?"
"Possibly. His name is Hunter Quinn. I want to know about his past, who he's affiliated with, which Guild has signed him. Everything."
"One second..." replied the man over the phone.
A few seconds passed, the man over the phone sighed, slightly alarming Leonard. He knew what the sigh meant. His contact had found nothing on Hunter.
"Turns out he's just an orphan from St. Jonah's. There are no records of his family or friends. He's alone in this world," the man said.
"The colour of his eyes. What's the colour of his eyes?"
"... They're blue."
'Hunter Quinn has never had blue eyes from what I've heard. Unless he's wearing coloured contacts? No. He wouldn't start wearing them now...'
"Is that all?"
"Yeah. I'll send you the payment right away."
"Many thanks, Mr Brown."
Leonard hung up and held his phone tighter. He stared at the sky and furrowed his brows.
'Something fishy is going on here...'