Chapter 39: Stopping Farrell (2)

[Effect: Fear's has been activated.]

The target's (All) Stat will be decreased by 50% for one minute.]

'It worked!'

Hal knew he had been able to gain the upper hand now.

On the other hand, William's eye was shaking as his heart started racing uncontrollably.

Since his eye had come in contact with that E-ranker's eye then, his body system wasn't functioning as it ought to.

His speed, agility, and everything else had reduced, and he wasn't feeling like himself.

Swish! Swish!

Wounds on William Farrell's body increased one by one, as Hal moved round him in a blur.

"Why, why? !" William screamed.

He was a B-rank Hunter and he was still being bested by an E-rank, not to mention that he had already taken the Burst Serum, which increased his abilities.

However, William stopped his thought there and then.

"No! No! I refuse to be bested by a pathetic bottom-feeder!" He screamed in a fit of rage, and just as he had gotten slower, his speed increased again, but with it came some slight changes, which went unnoticed at first.

He aimed the iron claw of his gauntlet at Hal's head, and this time Hal was too slow to fully evade it.

He managed to tilt his head out of the way on time but still got scratched on the shoulder.

Of course, he knew he'd get hurt in this encounter, and wasn't moved by being scratched just a little. He'd expected at least this much, or even worse, so he decided to take the risk and moved in to take that final strike.

But he soon stopped himself as he noticed the now visible changes occurring on William's body.

"Wha..What?"

"How come my body is.....?"

"This, this isn't possible!" William screamed as his body was beginning to swell into an unshapely thing.

The muscles in his arms and legs bulged unevenly, while his head remained small and hung in the middle of his two unevenly swollen shoulders.

His whole body was red, including his face, and the veins on them bulged unsightly with a pale green color that added to his grotesque appearance.

"Ahhh!"

He screamed as he seemed to be in pain. Hal didn't know what could be causing this, so he just stood there and watched, but still stayed alert.

At this point, William's suit had now been torn apart due to his excessive shape.

His face was contorted with pain but soon shaped into one of rage, and soon enough, he came storming towards Hal, who prepared himself to put in that final strike now.

"Ahhh!"

But, alas! He didn't get too far.

Pow!

His body exploded with a brute force that sent all of his innards flying out along with pieces of his body.

His blood and body pieces rained down the passage, covering the walls in gore.

"Fu*k what you do that for?" An annoyed voice rang out from behind Hal.

"Me? No, I didn't do that." Hal shrugged.

"Huff!"

"Anyway, it's good that that's done with." Sir Jack exhaled as he stood fully to his feet, seemingly having recovered all of his energy.

"Are you okay?" Hal asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Sir Jack replied in a gentle tone which was unlike him, but that didn't last long.

"And I would have defeated this backstabbing piece of shit, anytime had he not used that Burst Serum of a thing." He said as he pointed to the dead remains of William Farrell.

"Burst Serum? What's that?" Hal asked curiously.

"Ahh, well, I don't know much about it, as this is also my first time hearing it, but from what I heard, it's a kind of a serum that increases the user's Latent Talent and blah blah. It also comes in different types."

"Woah, is that so? Sounds quite great, except for the exploding path bit, of course." Hal replied half-jokingly.

"Yh, you think?" Sir Jack said as he straightened his back.

"No, just joking. Where did he say he got it from anyway?" Hal asked, and this time, Sir Jack's expression became totally serious.

"That's the problem. He didn't directly mention it, but he said something involving the Organization."

His brows curved at a very sharp angle as his face scrunched up in annoyance.

"I guess the 'MHO' has some explaining to do." He said with the same expression still on his face.

'The 'MHO'? Involved in this? Does that mean they're aware of William Farrell being an accomplice with the Convicts? And does that mean they equipped him with the Serum themselves?' Hal couldn't help but wonder.

If it was so, then that would be really bad, as they controlled the whole city now.

With such power in their hands, they could do anything they chose to.

He just hoped it didn't get to that, and before it did, he must increase in strength.

He folded his fist as he looked at Sir Jack who just finished doing a series of exercises to stretch his bones.

"Ah, okay then. Let's go get that Boss monster and get out of this shit hole. I'd hate to spend any more time in here." Sir Jack said as he walked away Hal following at his back.

"So how did you kill those C-ranks all alone?" He quipped his voice laced with excitement.

"None of your concern Sir," Hal said with mock respect.

"And oh, what of Mister Heights? I didn't see him come in with you; what's wrong?" He asked again.

"I killed him," Hal replied coldly.

"What! Why?" Sir Jack literally screamed.

"He turned on me," Hal replied with the same cold voice.

"Oh, that's a shame, but good, good. I ate such people. Backstabbing piece of shit!" He emphasized the 'Backstabbing piece of shit.' with disdain.

"You so strong, you know?"

"After William took that Serum I wasn't able to do much to him, but there you came, Knight in shiny armor, hee-haw! And defeated him!"

"How'd you do that?" He asked excitedly again and Hal repeated his reply, only less cold this time around, slightly jovial.

At this time, they got to the forked pathway with three mouths and took the path they had initially followed, the path that Hal suspected led to the Boss monster.

"Once again, I say dear Sir, it is none of your concern," Hal replied, a light smile playing on his face.

"Oh! But you're so boring!" Sir Jack replied in a sharp voice, his voice echoing through the dark passage as they went deeper into it.