Chapter 4: Delivery Service
Let's rewind time just a little bit...
About a kilometer from the grounded cruise ship where Ray was located, two men in black suits were reaching the end of their battle.
Both were exhausted from fighting, and the ground nearby showed signs of destruction. One was half-kneeling on the ground, multiple bones fractured, Aura completely depleted, continuously coughing up blood. He said in disbelief: "How can this be... You should be out of energy too! Why do you still have extra 'Aura' to use..."
The man opposite raised his pistol, expressionless: "Why should I explain my ability to a dead man?"
Bang!...
The gun barrel flashed with flame. The exhausted man in black took a bullet to the forehead, spraying a mist of blood, collapsing in death with his grievances unresolved.
The gunshot echoed in the night.
Muser waited a moment. Seeing that this Hunter's corpse showed no abnormal changes after death, no stronger post-mortem resentment appearing, he finally relaxed.
He holstered his gun and walked toward the body. "Why do I have extra Aura as backup? Idiot, a moment's thought would tell you—I simply retrieved a 'Nen Beast' that I'd released outside my body from the start, after my own Aura reserves bottomed out."
As a Manipulation Type user, a competent Manipulation Type user naturally had the habit of pre-applying manipulation to themselves...
Muser transformed the meager remaining Nen Aura in his body into a bird-shaped Nen Beast that floated beside him.
At the same time, Muser's left eye involuntarily widened while his right eye remained normal.
—Manipulation Type Nen Ability, "Rear Window Bird"!
Muser could use three bird-form Nen Beasts for intelligence reconnaissance. As long as Muser had touched a target, he could attach a Rear Window Bird—visible only to himself—to the person for surveillance. The Rear Window Bird would transmit what it saw to Muser through telepathy.
Muser usually kept one of these three Nen Beasts attached to himself at all times to prevent being manipulated by others.
It was precisely this extra Nen Beast that caused his opponent's fatal miscalculation. By retrieving the Nen Beast's Aura, he'd gained the strength for a desperate counterattack.
"Enhancement Types really are all single-minded idiots..."
Muser searched the corpse. "But Enhancement Types have strong recovery. They're indeed troublesome. To push me this far—I'll give you credit for that!"
Soon, Muser found a special card about the size of a business card in the corpse's pocket.
The card bore the Hunter Association's exclusive insignia. With this Hunter License, one could freely enter 90% of countries normally forbidden to civilians, as well as 75% of special restricted areas; one could even use 95% of the world's public facilities for free and enjoy financing limits equal to first-rate corporations...
Muser sneered at this card's "privileges."
Professional Hunters were all Nen users. And for a competent Nen user, entering 90% of countries and 75% of restricted areas was never difficult to begin with. Ordinary human society, facing the supernatural power of Nen users, was nothing but sheep waiting to be slaughtered. 95%? It was essentially 100% take-whatever-you-want!
The Hunter Association was backed by the world's largest mega-organization, the V5 formed by the five great nations. This license they issued essentially materialized Nen users' privileges and, through the Hunter Association's various welfare policies, attempted to register and catalog all the world's Nen users.
"You were just a hired Hunter, a bodyguard she employed—not a soldier. Yet you gave your life for this..."
Muser pocketed the Hunter License and closed the unknown Hunter's eyes. "Truly worthy of respect."
"But sorry—I have my mission too!"
Muser turned and left. He had to go back and confirm that the woman and her child were dealt with—he had to eliminate them completely.
...
Although Muser's remaining Aura had been transformed into the Rear Window Bird Nen Beast, his body was still well-trained. Even exhausted, he quickly traversed the wilderness, rushing toward the site of the initial battle.
Upon arrival, Muser's pupils contracted. He stopped immediately, staring at that conspicuously protruding pile of tall grass on the flat ground.
When had this grass appeared? He was suspicious and slowed his steps, circling cautiously.
He was the last one left in his squad. He had to be careful, then more careful!
After a while of being paranoid about nothing, aside from two Wild Wolf corpses on the ground, Muser found no other abnormalities.
Using his gun barrel to part the grass, Muser immediately saw the many corpses piled inside.
Soon, Muser found the woman among the dead.
She was dead. Good.
But the bad news was—the swaddling cloth in her arms was empty!
Where was the infant boy who should have died too?
Muser searched the corpse pile repeatedly but found nothing. It was as if the infant had vanished into thin air.
He stepped out of the human-height grass and stood in the night, gazing south toward the island's center and beyond. Could someone passing by have taken the infant?
Before searching for that spawn, he needed to find somewhere to treat his injuries, eat something, rest, recover his strength, and report the current situation to the prince...
No energy left to deal with the corpses. Muser determined his direction and, while pulling out a brand-new burner phone, walked toward where the woman's cruise ship had run aground.
...
The steady, authoritative voice on the other end of the phone finally said: "...You must find that spawn. The mother and child who defiled the royal family must be completely eliminated! If necessary, you may expose your identity. If you need to be extradited back afterward, I will personally negotiate with the Federation of Ochima's government."
"Understood."
Muser waited for the call to end, pocketed the phone, looked up at the ship, and nimbly leaped onto the deck in a few bounds, stepping on the shore rocks.
Entering through the cabin door, he heard a "crunch" underfoot—he'd stepped on something.
Muser halted abruptly.
He moved his foot away. His widened left eye—affected by the attached Rear Window Bird—carefully examined what he'd stepped on. It was a small branch covered with leaves.
This cabin should have been empty by now. Why would there be such a fresh branch...
Muser's left eye, while being controlled by Rear Window Bird, had a permanent "Gyo" effect. In this state, his vision was greatly enhanced, and his perception was unparalleled.
Could the missing infant have been brought onto this ship by someone unknown?
Muser's alertness surged. He drew his pistol from his coat and confirmed—two bullets left in the magazine.
Enough.
With Muser's soldier-king-level battle-hardened physique, plus two pistol bullets, dealing with an infant and a passerby was more than sufficient.
Therefore, he didn't release the Rear Window Bird Nen Beast from his body to retrieve that portion of Nen Aura.
Precisely because he himself was a Manipulation Type user, he was deeply wary of such abilities and couldn't afford any carelessness.
Tap, tap... Muser lightened his footsteps, only the faintest sounds as he moved, fully alert, scanning everywhere.
His left eye, enhanced by Gyo and aided by the faint moonlight, could see every detail of the empty cabin—he quickly spotted the pile of eaten snack wrappers, biscuit crumbs, and empty cake boxes on the floor, along with some bloodstains and an empty cup.
A cup?
And the branch from before...
Muser's alertness heightened again—someone had used the "Water Perception Method" here!
That meant at least one Nen user might be hiding in this cabin right now!
Turning a corner in the cabin corridor, Muser stopped suddenly. His widened left eye sharpened—at the end of the corridor on the left side of a room door, there was a crate. Someone seemed to be hiding behind it!
"Who's there? Come out."
Muser approached slowly while pointing his gun and demanding answers.
Just as his nerves were stretched tight, about to circle behind the crate and see who was hiding—suddenly a gust of wind attacked from behind!
Muser instinctively performed a tactical roll, looked back, and saw—a tiger with glowing stripes!
"Pale Moon Tiger?"
Muser didn't hesitate. He fired decisively.
Bang!
The gun barrel flashed. The Pale Moon Tiger took a bullet to one eye, the round exploding out the side of its skull in a spray of blood.
The trajectory was off! Muser hadn't expected that his moment of ammo-conserving hesitation—not firing both shots—would result in such a mistake.
But there was no time for regret. The Pale Moon Tiger, all muscle and weighing seven or eight hundred pounds, had already snarled and pounced, pinning him heavily to the floor.
Having already fought a death match, exhausted in body and mind, Muser couldn't immediately throw off this beast of terrifying brute strength.
Looks like I have to retrieve the Rear Window Bird's Nen Aura...
Just as this thought arose, the person who'd been playing dead behind the crate by the room door suddenly "came back to life," charging toward the tiger-suppressed Muser.
Ambush!
Ray slapped down hard. The Pentagram pattern pre-drawn in blood on his palm pressed clearly onto Muser's left temple.
Muser also saw clearly—the one hiding behind the crate to distract him was just a five-year-old brat!
"Huh?" Ray looked surprised. His ability had failed to activate.
This guy... was also a Manipulation Type?!
Ray and Muser realized simultaneously.
"Roar!" The Pale Moon Tiger pressed harder, pinning Muser to the floor immobile, opening its bloody maw. Its long, sharp fangs slowly descended toward Muser's sweat-covered head...
Muser's widened left eye kept rotating, thoughts racing—what to do, should he release Rear Window Bird?
Without releasing Rear Window Bird and retrieving its Nen Aura, he didn't have enough strength to throw off this Pale Moon Tiger;
But if he released Rear Window Bird, he'd immediately be controlled by this brat's Manipulation Type ability!
Muser knew there was no time to hesitate. He immediately released Rear Window Bird and retrieved the Nen Beast's Aura!
The Nen Aura wasn't much, but it substantially strengthened his body. Muser's power surged.
"ROAR!!" The Pale Moon Tiger bit down.
Pinned to the floor, Muser raised one elbow to block the tiger while his other wrist flicked—an awkward posture, but the fastest firing strategy. Aiming at the brat, he fired decisively!
Bang!
The bullet hit Ray's neck, punching straight through!
Blood sprayed!
Everything happened in a flash, and he'd done it! Muser felt wild joy at his survival.
Ray was sent flying by the bullet's impact, crashing against the room doorway before stopping. He clutched his spurting neck, vision going black, strength seeming to drain rapidly...
"Just a brat after all..."
Seeing this, Muser finally relaxed.
But in his relief, he failed to notice...
In another room down the cabin corridor, through a door left slightly ajar, a pair of ghostly green wolf eyes gleamed, watching him from the darkness.
Surprise, motherf***er—I've got a clone!
"Ray-Wolf" peered through the door crack, watching Muser who was about to push off the Pale Moon Tiger—on Muser's left temple, the blood Pentagram Ray had left behind instantly transformed into a rose-gold "Star Mark."
Manipulation—successful!
(End of Chapter)