Get comfortable, turn the page, and let’s see what this story has been hiding 🔥 ✦ Cheadle never hid her disgust toward Hawk.
That was because Hawk had once been a grave robber who wandered through ruins and tombs.
It was also because this “grave robber,” whom she despised so deeply, had stolen away the dear friend she valued most.
If that were all, it might have been fine.
But the damned bastard had not only failed to give her dear friend happiness.
He had instead made that friend pay with her life to bear consequences she never should have had to bear.
Cheadle had never understood why her dear friend would fall for a man like Hawk.
So ever since that incident ended, she had often felt it was unfair for her dear friend.
Now…
After only one formal meeting, the urge to take Kieran away was something Cheadle could no longer suppress.
The memories surging in her mind actively stirred her emotions.
As a result, she failed to control herself and blurted out what she was thinking.
“Uh.” Kieran was startled by Cheadle’s words and did not know what to say for a moment.
He could faintly sense that something had happened in the past between Hawk, Cheadle, and the original body’s mother, who had not left even the slightest memory behind.
However…
Leaving aside Cheadle’s motive for wanting to take him away, he temporarily did not want to leave the temple.
Because its location was remote and quiet enough to serve as an excellent training environment for him.
His current plan was to quickly solidify his foundation in the four major principles, then master the advanced applications Gyo and Ken.
Only after reaching that level would he consider leaving the temple.
Even if he did leave, he basically would not choose to go with Cheadle.
Who knew how many enemies a Two-Star licensed Hunter might have?
Most importantly, Heavens Arena, where he could absorb battle experience, was the place he wanted to go next.
On that point, he had already made plans.
Once his Nen techniques were sufficiently practiced, he would go to Heavens Arena and fight the Floor Masters without using his Nen ability, relying only on Nen techniques.
He would not use his Nen ability because he did not want to expose it in public for no value.
Using only Nen techniques, meanwhile, would let him accumulate strength more quickly.
Cheadle naturally did not know what Kieran was thinking.
She looked at him as he remained silent and very much wanted to explain further that she was not joking.
But reason returned at the right time and stopped her.
The highest priority right now was not taking Kieran away from this place.
It was completely removing the power of the cost that could threaten his life.
“What I mean is…” Cheadle recovered her calm and spoke softly in the tone of an elder.
“The city where I live is very prosperous and lively.
If you have time later, you can come back with me, stay there for a few days, and then return.” “Sure.
I have grown up without ever seeing a big city.” With the help of the original body’s memory fragments, Kieran revealed a suitably expectant and excited expression.
Cheadle smiled slightly, then raised her index finger.
“There is one more thing.” “Hm?” Kieran looked at her in confusion.
Cheadle emphasized, “Do not use honorifics with me in the future.” “…” Kieran felt something was off, but he chose to follow along.
After that, Cheadle took the initiative to start chatting with him.
She called it chatting, but it was more like one-sided questioning from Cheadle.
For example: Had Hawk ever hit him?
What did Hawk usually feed him?
Did Hawk make him do odd jobs to support the household?
No one knew how Cheadle came up with so many questions.
Somehow, she kept asking from morning until noon, and every question was painfully detailed.
Kieran was almost unable to handle it.
Seeing that noon had arrived, he hurriedly used the excuse of making lunch to try to escape Cheadle’s almost inhuman “concern.” However, the moment he stood, Cheadle pressed him back into his seat.
“Sit.
Do not move.
I will do it.” Cheadle took over the place as if she owned it, speaking in a tone that allowed no objection.
That forceful, confident attitude made Kieran follow along once again.
He obediently sat in the chair without moving.
Cheadle went straight to the kitchen.
“…” After entering the kitchen, she lowered her head slightly.
The light reflected from her glasses hid her eyes.
After several seconds of silence, Cheadle lightly pushed up her glasses and began to cook.
Half an hour later.
Thick black smoke poured from the kitchen chimney, accompanied by a heavy burnt smell.
“?” Kieran looked at the black smoke mixed with the scent of burning that drifted from the kitchen.
The confident expression Cheadle had shown when pressing him back into the chair flashed involuntarily through his mind.
A Two-Star Disease Hunter who specialized in solving difficult problems for people, yet could not cook?
Of course that would be the one ordinary thing she could not do.
Unable to find a good response, Kieran passed through the black smoke and entered the kitchen.
At a glance, he saw an unknown object inside the iron wok, pitch black and no longer identifiable as food.
Looking downward, he saw the stove stuffed with plenty of firewood.
The roaring flames inside seemed ready to break free from the stove, constantly surging out from its mouth.
Cheadle stood beside the stove, holding a spatula and looking completely at a loss.
“Let me do it.” Kieran glanced at Cheadle and made the suggestion.
“O-okay.” Cheadle slipped out of the kitchen in defeat.
Before long, Kieran cooked a pot of noodles.
He could not guarantee the taste was especially good, but there was enough to fill them.
When they ate, Cheadle perhaps felt embarrassed.
She kept her head lowered and quietly ate noodles, no longer asking Kieran countless daily-life questions.
That made things much easier for him.
After simply filling his stomach, Kieran went straight to the guest room to clean it so that Cheadle could stay comfortably that night.
‘She asked me so many trivial little questions over half a day, yet she alone did not ask me anything about Nen.
What reason made her selectively ignore it?’ Holding a broom and sweeping the floor, Kieran lowered his head and thought.
‘Forget it.
I will wait until Hawk returns.’ Swish, swish.
The broom moved, and dust flew through the room.
Night fell.
After dinner, Kieran returned to his room to train the four major principles.
Normally, he trained in the courtyard, but now that there was another person in the temple, he could only continue in his own room.
The night grew deep and quiet.
Cheadle slowly walked out of her room and came to the release pond in the courtyard.
“So quiet.” Cheadle lowered her head and stared at the pond.
It was completely ordinary.
Nothing special could be seen.
But anyone who knew the truth understood: Beneath this ordinary release pond was sealed a post-mortem artifact that even licensed Hunters had to treat with caution.
Normally, an object conjured by a Nen user disappeared without leaving a trace after the user’s death.
But Nen was something…
Under specific conditions, it could become even stronger after death, becoming an independent entity that remained in the world.
So the so-called post-mortem artifact was actually a special object made from conjured Nen that had remained after being nourished by death.
It also had another name: Nen artifact.
Because it was created by Nen, the vast majority of Nen artifacts possessed at least one special ability.
But because the birth conditions for Nen artifacts were extremely harsh, Nen users who possessed one could be counted on one hand.
It was worth noting that in modern times, very few new Nen artifacts had been born.
Most Nen artifacts currently controlled by Nen users had been discovered in various ruins or royal tombs.
The post-mortem artifact sealed under the release pond was precisely something Hawk had stolen from a ruin.
However, the post-mortem artifact Hawk had brought out belonged to the kind that was extremely difficult to control and carried enormous risk and danger.
What it could bring was not an ability that might once have shone brilliantly hundreds or even thousands of years ago, but disaster through and through.
“What must be done…” Cheadle’s gaze, lowered toward the release pond, suddenly turned cold.
In a low voice, she said, “to completely remove you?” As someone who knew the truth, she had personally witnessed how terrifying this post-mortem artifact was.
She had even unconsciously developed a certain guess: Could such a terrifying existence have come from beyond the known world map, from the Dark Continent?
Could it be an as-yet unconfirmed calamity?
When Cheadle formed that guess, as a member of the Hunter Association’s Twelve Zodiacs, she should have reported all known information to Netero from the beginning.
But she had not done so.
Between her worship of Netero and her own selfishness, she had chosen selfishness almost without hesitation.
Because at that time, she did not want to see a newborn infant treated as a possible unknown calamity from the Dark Continent and taken into custody by international agencies.
Cheadle stood by the pond for a long time before silently withdrawing her gaze and walking outside the temple.
After reaching the outside, Cheadle, who already understood the mountain’s terrain thoroughly, only glanced around casually before confirming a direction.
She followed the steep slope step by step into the forest.
Schrk.
Moving through the trees, Cheadle’s expression remained calm.
With both hands pulling, she drew out a thin thread that shone faintly.
At first glance, it looked identical to Phantom Troupe member Machi’s Nen Stitches.
In theory, Nen abilities were not unique.
Under equal conditions, there was a chance that two different people could develop the same Nen ability.
However, the Nen thread Cheadle conjured was far inferior to Machi’s in both function and extension.
The two were not on the same level.
Strictly speaking, Cheadle’s Nen thread was no different from ordinary suture thread in quality or strength.
Why develop such an apparently limited ability?
If someone asked Cheadle that, her answer would only be: Because I believe it will be useful.
Cheadle moved back and forth through the forest, laying one seemingly ordinary Nen thread after another in various corners.
She was setting up a warning net to guard against potential enemies.
The reason she was this cautious could, in a sense, be credited entirely to Hawk.
Bzz.
The phone in her pocket vibrated softly.
Cheadle took it out.
The incoming number belonged to Hawk.
At the same time, inside a room in the temple, Kieran stared at his own shadow.
He was thinking about whether he needed to develop the ability to share his shadow’s vision first.
✦ ✦ ✦ Ready for more?
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS EmberHollow Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you deeper into the story.
Stick around, because there’s still a lot waiting just ahead.