On the coastline near the wreckage of BW1, everyone gathered together.
Kite's white sweater was soaked in dark red blood, so thick and sticky that it couldn't be worn anymore.
He had no choice but to take it off, roll it up, and carry it with him.
Sanbica treated his many wounds, wrapping him up so heavily he looked like a "polar bear," a stark contrast to his usual lean frame.
Some of the wounds looked scary, but none were actually life-threatening—especially since he had just received the blessing of the "Silver Halo of Virtue."
Sanbica then went to treat the injuries of Knuckle, Shoot, Menchi, and Buhara—two long-time partner duos.
Shizuku stood by to help, occasionally reaching into her "Blinky" to pull out the medical tools Sanbica needed.
Germain and Shizuku had just used six teleport lanterns, making a round trip to Greed Island.
With the help of Granny Linne, Dwun, Ickshonpe, and Abengane, they quickly gathered all the supplies listed by Cluck, Pyon, Cheadle, and Gel.
This took not only a huge reserve of resources, but also a smooth and efficient supply chain—something Greed Island just happened to have.
The Greed Island Game Masters, upon learning about the BW1 incident, were also fully cooperative.
But they hadn't expected that as soon as Germain and Shizuku returned, they'd sense an intense battle happening here.
Germain rushed ahead.
Shizuku arrived a little later.
By the time she reached the beach, the fight between Germain and "Guardian Beast" was already over.
Everyone once again expressed their gratitude to Germain.
If it hadn't been for his timely rescue, they might've all died on that shore.
Seeing that everyone's wounds were now treated, Germain finally said, "Let's go. This isn't a place we should linger. We'll head back to the fortress first."
He had already mentioned the fortress to the group, so no one was surprised. They all nodded and stood up together.
"Wait," Shoot called out. He still had a kind heart. He pointed to the corpses of Teradein and his men. "Let's bury them."
No matter how much they disagreed in the past, Teradein and the others were still members of the Hunter Association. Leaving them here like this was just too cruel.
No one objected to Shoot's suggestion.
Knuckle and Buhara took the lead. They dug a deep pit on a grassy slope away from the coastline—deep enough to prevent scavengers from easily reaching the bodies.
They laid Teradein and his subordinates to rest in the same grave, then covered it up.
A simple marker was placed above it, just in case they needed to come back and deal with it properly in the future.
After everything was done, they all stood in silence for several minutes, mourning everyone who had lost their lives in the chaos.
Only then did they leave.
10:19 AM
"They're back."
Kastro put down his binoculars and turned around, excitement clear in his voice. "Germain and the others have entered our line of sight."
One of his hands was still wrapped in thick bandages and held in a sling. The other clutched the binoculars.
Even though he was injured, he had joined the temporary defense unit stationed on the fortress's outer perimeter, doing what he could to help.
To be honest, at a time like this, how many Nen users in the fortress aren't already injured?
Kastro didn't want to just lie on a hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
He would much rather do something useful—to repay the kindness shown to him by people like Germain.
Besides, knowing that Queen Oito and Steiner were both actively doing what they could to help, he felt he had even less reason to stay idle.
In the entire fortress, the only one acting relaxed and carefree, completely ignoring everyone else's opinions, was Illumi.
He strolled aimlessly through the fortress, looking here and there. He didn't lift a finger to help, and yet no one asked him to.
But with his loose hair, pale face, and ghostly appearance, he looked like a wandering spirit—so much so that more than a few people nearly had a heart attack just seeing him.
Still, those who had the authority to stop him either weren't around, or were too busy. And those who didn't have the courage certainly weren't going to speak up.
Kastro's words reached the ears of Ging, who was standing nearby.
Currently serving as the head of the defense unit, Ging raised the binoculars in his hands. A group of people had appeared in his line of sight.
He watched them for a while—first spotting Germain and Kite, then more and more familiar faces.
When he saw his disciple, Kite, his hand paused ever so slightly while adjusting the binoculars.
It wasn't until a long moment later, after confirming that Kite was acting normally, that Ging finally put the binoculars down. Even then, he said nothing about him.
"Stand down from battle stations for now," Ging said into the radio. "Resume full alert once the survivors have entered the fortress."
Replies came through one after another. All around, cannon barrels and gun muzzles were lowered.
After Germain and his group stepped into the fortress, the first thing they had to do—of course—was pass through Kurapika and Sacho's inspection, even if they were all familiar faces.
Unexpectedly, Germain saw Illumi there.
Illumi was standing around doing nothing, arms resting on his hips, craning his neck behind Kurapika to sneak a peek at whatever he was writing in his notebook.
Kurapika felt a chill run down his spine.
Especially with Illumi's long black hair, pale skin, and pitch-black eyes right there in his peripheral vision—it was unnerving, to say the least.
But Kurapika couldn't say much. Illumi got along well with his teacher, and more importantly, he was Killua's older brother.
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