Chapter 4: Delivered to My Doorstep
Let's rewind time a little...
About a kilometer away from the small yacht where Arthur was, two men in black suits were nearing the end of their battle.
They were both exhausted, the ground around them showing signs of destruction. One was half-kneeling, with multiple fractures, his Aura depleted, coughing up blood. He said incredulously, "How can this be... You should be out of energy too! Why do you still have extra 'Aura' to use..."
The man opposite him raised his gun, expressionless, "Why should I explain my ability to a dead man?"
Bang!...
The gun fired, a burst of blood mist erupting from the forehead of the exhausted man in black, who fell dead in disbelief.
The gunshot echoed in the night.
Musse waited a moment, seeing the hunter opposite him dead, the body showing no abnormal changes or stronger Post-mortem Nen, he relaxed.
He holstered his gun, walking over to the body, "Why did I have extra Aura as a backup? Fool, you should have realized I was recalling a 'Nen Beast' I had released at the start."
As a Manipulation Type user, Musse had the habit of preemptively applying control to himself...
Musse transformed the remaining Nen Aura into a bird-shaped Nen Beast, hovering beside him.
Meanwhile, Musse's left eye involuntarily widened, while his right eye remained normal.
, Manipulation Type Nen Ability, 'Rear Window Bird'!
Musse could use three bird-shaped Nen Beasts for intelligence gathering. As long as Musse touched a target, he could attach a Rear Window Bird, visible only to him, to monitor them. The Rear Window Bird would transmit what it saw to Musse through telepathy.
Musse usually kept one of these three Nen Beasts attached to himself, preventing others from controlling him.
It was this extra Nen Beast that led the opponent to a fatal misjudgment. By recalling the Nen Beast's Aura, Musse gained the strength to counterattack.
"Enhancement Type users are indeed simple-minded fools..."
Musse searched the body, "But Enhancement Type users have strong recovery, truly troublesome. You managed to push me this far, impressive!"
Soon, Musse found a special card the size of a business card in the body's pocket.
The card bore the Hunter Association's emblem. With this Hunter License, one could freely enter 90% of countries off-limits to ordinary people, as well as 75% of special zones; it even allowed free use of 95% of public facilities worldwide, enjoying the same financing privileges as top-tier companies...
Musse scoffed at the "privileges" of this card.
Official professional hunters were all Nen Ability users. For a competent Nen Ability user, entering 90% of countries, 75% of zones, was no challenge; ordinary society, in the face of Nen Ability users' extraordinary power, was a flock of lambs to be slaughtered, 95%? It was 100% at their mercy!
The Hunter Association, backed by the world's largest organization, the V5 formed by five major nations, issued this license to materialize the privileges of Nen Ability users, using the association's benefits to register as many Nen Ability users as possible.
"You were just a hunter she hired, a bodyguard, not a soldier, yet you risked your life for this..."
Musse pocketed the Hunter License, closing the unknown hunter's eyes, "Truly admirable."
"But I'm sorry, I have my mission too!"
Musse turned to leave. He had to confirm that the woman and her child were completely eliminated.
...
Though Musse's remaining Aura had transformed into the Rear Window Bird Nen Beast, he was well-trained, moving swiftly across the wilderness toward the initial battle site.
Upon arrival, Musse's eyes narrowed, stopping abruptly, staring at the tall, wild grass mound on the flat ground.
When did this grass appear? He hesitated, circling cautiously.
Being the last of his team, he had to be extra careful!
After a mental battle with the empty air, aside from the two wolf corpses on the ground, Musse found no other anomalies.
Using his gun to part the grass, Musse quickly found the woman's body among the corpses.
She was dead, good.
But the problem was, the swaddle in her arms was empty!
Where was the damn baby?
Musse searched the pile of corpses repeatedly, finding nothing, as if the baby had vanished into thin air.
He stepped out of the grass, standing in the night, looking south toward the island's center and beyond. Could someone passing by have taken the baby?
Before searching for the brat, he needed to find a place to treat his injuries, eat, rest, recover, and report the situation to the prince...
With no energy left to deal with the bodies, Musse oriented himself, taking out a new unregistered phone as he headed toward the woman's yacht.
...
The authoritative voice on the other end of the call concluded, "...You must find the brat, the woman who defiled the royal bloodline must be eradicated! If necessary, you're allowed to reveal your identity. If extradition is needed, I'll personally negotiate with the Federation of Ochima."
"Understood."
After the call ended, Musse pocketed the phone, glancing at the yacht, skillfully leaping onto the deck from the rocky shore.
Entering through the cabin door, his foot crunched on something.
Musse stopped abruptly.
He moved his foot, examining the fresh tree branch he had stepped on with his left eye, enhanced by the Rear Window Bird's 'Gyo' effect, increasing his vision and insight.
Why was there such a fresh branch in this cabin, which should have been empty...
Musse's left eye, under the Rear Window Bird's control, had a constant 'Gyo' effect, greatly enhancing his vision and insight.
Could the missing baby have been brought onto this yacht by someone?
Musse's vigilance heightened, drawing his gun, confirming there were two bullets left in the magazine.
Enough.
With Musse's well-honed soldier-like physique and two bullets, dealing with a baby and a passerby was more than enough.
Thus, he didn't dispel the Rear Window Bird Nen Beast, recalling its Aura.
Precisely because he was a Manipulation Type user, he was wary of such abilities, never letting his guard down.
Tap, tap... Musse moved quietly, making only the faintest sound, scanning his surroundings.
With his left eye enhanced by 'Gyo,' he could see every detail in the dimly lit cabin, he soon noticed the pile of snack wrappers, biscuit crumbs, and empty cake boxes on the floor, along with some bloodstains and an empty glass.
A glass?
And the branch from earlier...
Musse's alertness heightened again, someone had used the 'Water Divination' here!
This meant there was likely at least one Nen Ability user hiding in the cabin!
Turning a corner in the corridor, Musse paused, his left eye sharp. At the end of the corridor, to the left, there was a box, and behind it, someone seemed to be hiding!
"Who's there? Come out."
Musse, gun raised, demanded sternly, approaching cautiously.
Just as he was about to round the box and see who was hiding, a gust of wind hit him from behind!
Musse instinctively rolled, turning to see a glowing striped tiger!
"Lumin?"
Musse didn't hesitate, firing decisively.
Bang!
The gun flashed, hitting Lumin in one eye, the bullet exiting the side of its skull in a burst of blood.
The shot was off! Musse hadn't expected his attempt to conserve ammo, firing only one bullet, to result in such a mistake.
But there was no time for regret. The massive, muscular Lumin, weighing seven or eight hundred pounds, was already growling, pouncing on him, pinning him to the floor.
Exhausted from the previous battle, Musse struggled to push off the powerful beast.
It seemed he had to recall the Nen Aura from the Rear Window Bird...
Just as Musse had this thought, the person who had been playing dead behind the box suddenly "came to life," rushing at him pinned by Lumin.
A sneak attack!
Arthur slammed his palm down, pressing the pre-drawn pentagram in blood onto Musse's left temple.
Musse saw clearly that the one who had distracted him from behind the box was a child who looked only five years old!
"Huh?" Arthur was surprised, his ability had failed to activate.
This guy... was also a Manipulation Type?
Arthur and Musse realized simultaneously.
"Roar!" Lumin increased its pressure, pinning Musse to the floor, its massive jaws slowly closing in on Musse's head...
Musse's left eye, constantly moving, raced with thoughts, should he dispel the Rear Window Bird?
Without dispelling the Rear Window Bird, he couldn't recall the Nen Aura, leaving him without enough strength to push off Lumin;
But if he dispelled the Rear Window Bird, he'd likely be controlled by the child's Manipulation Type ability!
Musse knew he had no time to hesitate, immediately dispelling the Rear Window Bird, recalling the Nen Beast's Aura!
Though limited, the Nen Aura significantly enhanced his body, Musse's strength surged.
"Roar!!" Lumin bit down.
Pinned to the floor, Musse raised an elbow to block the tiger, his other hand flicking his wrist, adopting the fastest shooting posture, aiming at the child, firing decisively!
Bang!
A bullet struck Arthur's neck, piercing through!
Blood spurted!
Everything happened in a flash, and he had succeeded! Musse, surviving by the skin of his teeth, was overjoyed.
Arthur, hit by the bullet's impact, was sent flying, crashing into the doorway. Clutching his bleeding neck, his vision darkened, his strength rapidly draining...
"In the end, just a child..."
Musse, seeing this, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, in his moment of relief, he failed to notice...
In another room along the corridor, a door quietly opened, revealing a pair of glowing green wolf eyes, watching him from the shadows.
Surprised, aren't you? I have a backup!
"Arthur Wolf," through the door crack, watched Musse, who was about to push off Lumin, on Musse's left temple, the blood pentagram Arthur had left transformed into a pink 'Star Mark.'
Control, successful!