The breeze swept silently through the small alley, and for a moment, the two people staring at each other remained silent.
Everything looked so calm, as if the urgent tone Andrew had just used when shouting those words was fake.
No.
It should be said that the seemingly urgent tone was fake to begin with.
In fact, when Andrew spoke those warning words just now, the tone was faked so obviously.
He was basically deadpan reading from a script; he didn't even put much effort into acting.
Normally, such completely monotonous, 'realistic' acting could be spotted as fake at a glance by any ordinary citizen pulled off the street, let alone Hoshimi Miyabi, who was a Void Hunter.
But the fact was...
As New Eridu's youngest Void Hunter, Hoshimi Miyabi had been decisively fooled by Andrew's acting once again in the time it took to turn her head.
Just as Hoshimi Miyabi was falling into a slightly dazed state again because the gap between reality and his words was too large, and before she could completely come back to her senses...
Andrew decisively chose to strike first, immediately apologizing loudly and with great sincerity:
"Sorry, what I just said was actually fake again. I lied to you again."
Amidst Hoshimi Miyabi's blank expression, as she had still not quite reacted, Andrew took another step forward. Closing the distance, he seriously refuted her with facts:
"Being tricked by almost the exact same thing within just a few seconds... this clearly shows you are already very shaken."
"You!"
Having been thoroughly exposed again, and knowing that her current condition could no longer be hidden, Hoshimi Miyabi rarely felt a bit anxious.
She couldn't help but frown with some annoyance, her face puffing up slightly due to her simmering anger.
Subsequently, she asked somewhat angrily:
"Mocking me repeatedly like this, what exactly are you trying to say?!"
Hearing this, Andrew immediately raised both hands in surrender to show his innocence.
Seeing Hoshimi Miyabi looking like she had reached the limit of her endurance after being deceived by him twice in a row and then having him gloat right to her face...
Although he really wanted to do it one more time...
To prevent taking the joke too far and ruining things, Andrew chose to raise his hands high to signal surrender.
Then he immediately explained:
"Don't be angry, don't be angry. I just wanted to help you, I didn't mean anything else!"
"Being able to make the same mistake so many times clearly shows that the situation is very serious, right? Is there something abnormal appearing with this sword? Can you tell me what the situation is exactly?"
Andrew's concern was sincere.
Regarding Hoshimi Miyabi's obviously incorrect state, he didn't intend to pretend not to know and stand by idly.
After all, no matter how easy Hoshimi Miyabi was to fool, she wasn't usually this easy to fool.
Being tricked several times in a row actually indicated from the side that Hoshimi Miyabi had entered an incredibly shaken state when facing this sudden event.
After all, if she could really be deceived so easily by any random thing repeatedly, she wouldn't be just clumsy, she would be stupid.
And Hoshimi Miyabi was actually never clumsy, let alone stupid.
When she easily fell for very obvious tricks, there were usually only two possibilities.
One was something she, as a sheltered young lady, had never encountered before. The other was that she had sufficient trust in the person telling her.
Andrew knew that the current him definitely didn't belong to the category of people Hoshimi Miyabi could trust. At the same time, the situation just now with the sword huffing and puffing fire definitely also didn't belong to a type Hoshimi Miyabi had never seen before.
The two conventional possibilities had been ruled out, meaning they didn't fit. But this didn't mean it was a good thing.
On the contrary, this precisely showed that this matter was big trouble.
It was like a doctor at the hospital tactfully telling you after an examination that you could consider how to name a new disease, and that you would use it very soon because there was a high probability you would leave a colorful mark in medical history.
In the capacity of a carrier for a newly discovered disease.
At least Andrew felt that he might really be about to leave a colorful mark in New Eridu in a direction he had never imagined.
After all, judging by Hoshimi Miyabi's performance, this sword suddenly going berserk like just now was undoubtedly something she had never encountered before.
This actually piqued a trace of Andrew's interest.
What exactly happened just now to make a sword cause such a huge commotion just from a simple energy overflow?
Moreover, it even caused his own weapon, Icebrink, to make such a human-like move.
This situation, where weapons seemed to have self-awareness, was completely unheard of in the original Monster Hunter world.
Although he had discovered before that it occasionally had some faint reactions, Andrew had never found any particularly stable method to get a response from start to finish.
Let alone the fact that all reactions had never been as violent as this time, possessing such large-scale movements.
This was also unprecedented.
As for the fact that the opponent's target was obviously himself, Andrew wasn't actually that worried.
Leaving aside the fact that judging by the situation just now, even if the opponent came, he always had Icebrink protecting him; even if he didn't, Andrew didn't feel those things could affect him.
After all, no matter how strong the emotions contained within were, the madness and erosion ability contained within wouldn't be stronger than the Frenzy Virus, right?
One had to know that back in the Forbidden Lands, because Canary always had a mysterious confidence regarding Fabius's description of the Gore Magala's Frenzy Virus, Canary had a completely careless attitude.
This led to Fabius, in order to make the two understand the severity, simply getting two bottles of unknown potions transported directly from the Old World from who knows where.
Then, with a mysterious face, he held that bottle of mysterious potion with pitch-black sediment and told the two that this was good stuff for improving physical fitness, it just had a tiny side effect in the early stages.
---
[Frenzy Body - Universal for All Weapons]
Created by a certain researcher.
A forbidden medicine that cannot be explained by science.
If one accidentally swallows that medicine with pitch-black sediment, they will be infected with the Frenzy Virus.
...What kind of people would dare to drink this?
[Medium] Required Hunter Art Gauge
---
So, out of trust for Fabius, the two who drank the mysterious potion completely defenselessly immediately had a good experience of the taste of the Frenzy Virus.
As for why Andrew also had a share?
After all, if he only prepared the potion for Canary, one of the two partners, it would be too abrupt. It would be impossible to trick Canary into drinking it.
Plus, no matter what the verbal description was, it couldn't compare to experiencing it personally.
Upholding the creed that good partners should enjoy blessings together and endure hardships together, Fabius simply went all the way and gave them both a bottle.
It's just that, to be honest...
Although Andrew getting hit was purely being pitted by Canary, after successfully overcoming it, the two indeed felt that their physical fitness had improved to a certain extent in all aspects.
Especially considering Andrew's physical strength at the time, for it to still improve his physical fitness... one could already say it was powerful.
At the same time, they felt their willpower had been further tempered.
After all, that crazy desire to attack that surged from the depths of the heart after being infected with the Frenzy Virus, gradually eroding and filling the entire brain, was truly hard to forget.
No wonder Fabius only dared to do this to Andrew and Canary.
If it were any other Hunter, after drinking this bottle of potion, even with immediate treatment, they would likely suffer no small amount of damage.
Let alone forcefully overcoming it directly.
Even for the two who overcame it relying on their own strength and willpower, for safety's sake, Fabius gave each of them an extra shot of Frenzy Virus vaccine as insurance before it was considered over.
So.
Under the circumstances where Fabius wasn't completely lying either, the two simply had no way to fight back from the moral high ground.
Helpless, they had to silently swallow this bitter pill.
Though Andrew, because he was completely pitted by Canary, was so angry that he directly made Canary gnaw on cabbage or pan-fried hodgepodge for two days.
Back in the present, facing Andrew's pressing questioning, the color of anger in Hoshimi Miyabi's eyes slowly faded, replaced by confusion and a trace of panic that couldn't be concealed.
Regarding the concern of the person she had almost implicated just now, Hoshimi Miyabi was a little unsure of what to do for a moment.
However, thinking of the method that forcibly suppressed the berserk No-Tail with an unknown means she had never seen before...
In the end, Hoshimi Miyabi decided to speak up and explain:
"It is a treasure passed down through generations of the Hoshimi family, a sharp weapon that has accompanied successive family heads in punishing evil."
"Ever since Father crafted the scabbard for me, it has never shown any abnormality. Even during that time when we went deep into the core area of Hollow Zero, it never lost control."
Speaking of this, Hoshimi Miyabi couldn't help but feel a trace of bewilderment and helplessness regarding what had suddenly happened just now.
"I... don't know why it behaved like this. I can only guess that some external factor triggered the change..."
"Lord Father might know more, but according to the schedule seen this morning, he is currently in a confidential meeting. It will be at least noon before I can contact him."
Hearing this, Andrew couldn't help but frown and asked:
"If you have to wait that long, will it have any impact on you?"
Seeing this, Hoshimi Miyabi nodded, but then shook her head.
Under circumstances where Andrew was completely confused, she opened her mouth to explain:
"According to what Father said, this scabbard was made based on the labyrinth of Hollow observation data."
"And after a labyrinth is breached once, before the labyrinth receives new reinforcements or direct modifications, its sealing ability will be greatly discounted compared to the original."
"So although it is currently in a sealed state, if I use my full strength as usual, or encounter high-concentration Active Ether, the probability of it going berserk will be greatly increased compared to before."
"Uh..."
After thinking for a moment, Andrew roughly understood what she meant.
"In summary, you can't use your full strength for the time being?"
But Hoshimi Miyabi still stubbornly shook her head and corrected:
"It is that the influence of external factors that might cause No-Tail to go berserk again has greatly increased for No-Tail. I must reserve the possibility of preventing No-Tail from going berserk."
"Moreover, I actually do not rely on No-Tail's power. So even if No-Tail cannot be overused, it will not affect my strength."
Hearing this, Andrew nodded with relief.
As for the external factor Hoshimi Miyabi just mentioned...
Although it felt a bit inconceivable, Andrew actually had a clue.
Whether it was No-Tail immediately going berserk the moment they shook hands, or the fact that the flames produced when the sword went berserk didn't rush towards anyone else, and even used its owner Hoshimi Miyabi purely as a stepping stone to charge straight at him.
As for why it didn't continue to appear when they were running away just now...
Could it be because he grabbed Hoshimi Miyabi's wrist which was covered by a gauntlet, and didn't have direct physical contact?
Coupled with the fact that he could be said to be the only variable the other party had encountered during this period.
After pondering for a while, Andrew felt more and more that everything that happened just now indicated that the sword's target and the reason for its rampage were very likely himself.
And after Andrew shared his conjecture with Hoshimi Miyabi, the number of people pondering became two.
"Judging by the various signs at present, the possibility you mentioned is not nonexistent."
But after acknowledging it, Hoshimi Miyabi still shook her head somewhat incredulously and said:
"But surely, I still have some doubts. Before this, as the Ethereal-Slaying Blade passed down in the Hoshimi family, there has never been a record in history of it reacting to an outsider."
However, compared to Hoshimi Miyabi's hesitation, Andrew looked at it very openly.
As the saying goes, true knowledge comes from practice. Andrew didn't hesitate; instead, he spoke directly:
"In that case, why don't we try it again? Let's see if this sword is really going berserk because of me."
"But..."
Hearing this, Hoshimi Miyabi hesitated instantly.
As someone who had experienced the feeling brought about by being dominated by the madness within No-Tail and going completely berserk, as well as the scars brought about by that one time she was dominated and went berserk...
Everything was making Hoshimi Miyabi instinctively resist this proposal.
However, Andrew simply waved his large hand and said with great confidence:
"Rest assured, there won't be any problems."
As he spoke, Andrew took the Blazing Light Tachi: Icebrink off his back and placed it in front of Hoshimi Miyabi, saying:
"Have you forgotten? Icebrink directly suppressed it just now."
Saying this, Andrew patted Icebrink's blade body carelessly to demonstrate its reliability, and said at the same time:
"So since the opportunity is rare, how about we research together what exactly caused this situation?"
Recalling the things that happened in that short second just now.
Having witnessed how Icebrink suppressed and whipped No-Tail, Hoshimi Miyabi ultimately nodded seriously. After all, if the cause of the rampage was ascertained, her father could also be more thorough when upgrading the scabbard later.
She agreed:
"Okay, then let us attempt it."
As she spoke, she assumed the posture she had made when shaking hands with Andrew in front of the HIA Club earlier.
It could even be said to be exactly the same as that time.
Although Andrew was a bit speechless watching this scene, he didn't refuse. Instead, he assumed the posture in his memory and extended his hand once again to hold Hoshimi Miyabi's fingertips.
It was just that this time, No-Tail did not begin to go berserk quickly and crazily like before.
It was so calm that Andrew started to suspect a little if he had overthought it, and that No-Tail's target actually wasn't him.
That he was just purely affected by the berserk No-Tail.
With this, would Hoshimi Miyabi think that he simply wanted to find an excuse to have physical contact with her and take advantage of her?
However, compared to Andrew's subconscious nervousness, Hoshimi Miyabi behaved very calmly.
She didn't think about all those unnecessary things at all. Instead, she held her breath and concentrated, waiting quietly for over ten seconds, feeling the state of No-Tail at her waist.
And heaven pays off those who wait; No-Tail, which had been hanging quietly at Hoshimi Miyabi's waist, finally showed a change.
____
New Story: Danmachi: But I am a God, time to make a family!
🔥 25% off something at the funeral parlor... care to take a look? 🔥
✅ Jump 40 chapters ahead of the public release!
✅ Get access to special perks and news!
Help smash these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter (for everyone)
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters (for all stories)!
👻 P - Walnutchan