Chapter 7: Goodbye (Part 1)

Chapter 7: Goodbye (Part 1)

In the dark of night, the sea's surface reflected the shimmering moonlight. "Orson-wolf" hid behind a window of the small cruise ship, its eerie green eyes silently spying on the movements on the shore.

Suddenly, "Orson-wolf's" ears twitched forward. On the dim, silent shore, the sound of faint footsteps could be heard.

The moment the wolf's night-vision eyes spotted a dark figure with slightly heavy steps approaching on the shore, inside the cabin, Orson—who had been brooding over his heart and a series of derivative problems—reacted immediately. There was no time to think about future worries; the urgent matter was the challenge at hand.

This newcomer did not have good intentions!

"Orson-wolf" zipped back to its main body's side like a wisp of smoke. Orson controlled the wild wolf to help him move a box large enough to serve as cover. Then he had the wolf hide in a room diagonally across the corridor, leaving the door ajar, with only a narrow crack for the wolf's line of sight to pass through.

Next, Orson looked at the striped tiger. "Tiger Bro, for better coordination, I, your brother, will have to offend you."

There was no fresh blood to use, so he could only pull out another strand of hair to make do. Orson pinched the hair and reached towards the tiger's abdomen—the tiger just tilted its head and watched him with its large, watery eyes, showing no intention of resisting. Orson was touched, and then quickly left a small rose-gold pentagram mark on the tiger's belly. He himself hid behind the box, on one hand controlling the tiger to lie in ambush, and on the other, continuing to breathe deeply, listening intently through three pairs of ears for any movement from the cabin entrance.

Soon, a light "thud" was heard. The wolf and tiger ears, hidden in different rooms, both twitched.

Tap, tap…

The newcomer's steps were very light… Had they stopped?

They started walking again, but this time with more caution… Is he certain there's someone on the ship?

Damn, it must be because of the pile of snacks I left behind. I forgot to clean up…

"Who is it? Come out."

The person stepped into the ship's corridor, approaching slowly while making threats.

Tap, tap, tap…

Orson leaned against the box, breathing calmly with his eyes closed. Behind the crack of the door Muse was passing, a wolf's eye quietly appeared. In the shadows, the striped tiger lowered its center of gravity, poised to strike…

——

The night deepened. Orson, leaning against the resting tiger, briefly reviewed everything that had happened in such a short time. He had to admit, he had won his first proper battle by a fluke.

If the guy who came had even a little bit more Aura, he very likely would have lost…

To a Nen user, both Leo the tiger and the wild wolf were just two not-very-threatening animals. The defensive power of a Nen user could withstand even bullets at close range, let alone the claws and fangs of two beasts.

His Manipulation ability was certainly powerful, and could indeed kill in one hit, but the premise was that it had to hit its mark.

「Next, I must focus on training my basic abilities. The Four Major Principles of Nen training—'Ten,' 'Zetsu,' 'Ren,' and 'Hatsu'—I've at most half-mastered 'Hatsu.' My fundamentals are practically non-existent, and more importantly, my Nen capacity is shamefully small. 'Star Mark' can empty me out after just two uses, which is unacceptable…」

「And there's the problem with my heart… That strange aura, let's call it 'Death Aura' for now, I still can't figure it out…」

As Leo breathed, its body produced a continuous, slight vibration, like a low rumble of thunder.

Orson lay on his side in the warm and soft "tiger's den," as if enjoying a full-body massage while making plans for tomorrow.

「Right, I also need to find a way to kill that guy locked up on the ship to silence him…」

Without realizing it, he had curled up and fallen into a deep sleep.

…

'Rear Window Bird' activation failed!

Muse sat in the sealed room, dazed for a long time, before letting his hand fall limply.

How is that possible?

Could it be that the little brat… like me, has a habit of applying a Manipulation ability to himself before a fight?

Muse simply couldn't comprehend it. That brat, barely a meter tall, looked five years old at most!

For a five-year-old youth to have mastered a mature Manipulation-type Nen ability was already something that shattered Muse's understanding. Now, he discovered that this brat was as cautious as an experienced veteran in the world of Nen users! It was as if he had already witnessed countless duels between Nen users… But how was that possible? Who on earth taught that brat Nen?

What a joke!

So from the very beginning, that brat was already standing on invincible ground…

As for the "guess" Muse had told Orson earlier, Muse himself didn't really believe it.

Rather, if it were really like that, if it was the mother's stronger Nen after death that had parasitized her son, causing him to mature rapidly to his current five-year-old appearance… how did this kid learn to speak? Where did he get basic logical thinking skills?

That woman had given birth to the bastard child less than a week ago!

A brat whose real age was less than seven days, even if his body was artificially matured, being able to use Nen so naturally, so experiencedly, and also be rational and behave normally… it seemed absurd at first glance, and upon careful thought, it was indeed exceptionally absurd.

"No matter what, my mission has failed… to fall at the hands of a five-year-old brat…"

Muse was completely disheartened, muttering to himself in the sealed room.

He desperately wanted to open the door and rush out, but whenever his hand reached for the doorknob, his body would stiffen, unable to move another inch, let alone turn the handle.

The "manipulation command" the youth had cast before leaving was still in effect on him.

A fine cold sweat broke out on Muse's forehead.

He completely realized that his fate was now entirely in the hands of that little brat…

As he thought this, Muse's expression gradually calmed. He sat down and, from a hidden compartment in his shoe, took out several mechanical parts. With uninterrupted movements, his hands assembled them into a mini pistol.

One bullet.

It was enough.

Straightening his clothes, Muse stood up, ramrod straight. He faced north, towards Kakin, through the sealed bulkhead, then raised the pistol, aimed it at his temple, and released the safety.

「Goodbye, Your Highness Prince Benjamin. You will surely become the king of Kakin! Your subordinate will go on ahead…」

He pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

…

"Bang!"

The muffled sound of the gunshot echoed throughout the ship.

The Pale Moon Tiger, Leo, who was resting at the cabin entrance, immediately opened its eyes in alarm and lifted its head, looking towards the source of the gunshot. It then raised a paw and pushed the human cub sleeping curled up on its body.

"Don't mess around…"

Orson pushed the tiger paw away, turned over, and instinctively took a huff of his "cat."

The tiger lowered its head, licked the top of Orson's head, then nudged him again with its big head, a gentle but firm push.

Orson was already groggily opening his eyes. Was there some noise just now?

He frowned, sat up, and looked towards the corridor.

After "Star Mark" was successfully applied to a target, it basically had two states—activated and dormant.

When the mark was active, Orson could clearly sense the direction of the mark and could switch the method of controlling the Star Mark bearer at any time.

But when Orson disconnected all control, yet didn't touch the Star Mark with his hand to remove it, the mark would enter a dormant state during this period, and Orson would not be able to sense the mark's position or direction. Perhaps there was a subtle sensation, but with Orson's current level of control finesse, he really couldn't feel it…

For example, at this very moment, Orson could still sense the mark on the wild wolf he had assigned to watch Muse. But the mark on Muse, who was also controlled by a command and unable to leave the room, Orson couldn't sense it at all.

「Did I sleepwalk?」

「Or did I talk in my sleep, accidentally switching to the first control method? And then instantly released control, causing it to completely disconnect and the mark to enter a dormant state?」

As Orson thought this, his mind stirred, and he switched the method of controlling the wild wolf to the first-person perspective. His consciousness was instantly projected.

"Orson-wolf" blinked, adjusting to its own night vision in the dim room.

Directly in front of its line of sight was indeed the door to the room where that guy was imprisoned, and it was still tightly shut—however, the gunshot had clearly sounded just now, yet this stupid wolf just continued to stand there傻傻地?

Well, the command he had given it before sleeping was indeed only one: to kill the guy if he left the room without permission… It didn't include other emergencies…

"Orson-wolf" rushed out of the room, leaped up onto its hind legs, and wrapped its two front paws around the doorknob. With a gentle turn, it opened the door.

A thick smell of blood assaulted its senses.

"Orson-wolf" saw Muse lying in a pool of blood.

Glancing at the mini pistol clutched in Muse's hand, "Orson-wolf" couldn't be bothered to figure out where Muse had hidden the gun. Instead, it was a little curious as to how this guy had successfully committed suicide.

Perhaps he could learn from it.

"Orson-wolf" nudged the dead Muse's head over and saw the left temple that had been hit by a bullet at close range. It immediately knew the answer.