“Mr. Saw!” Sean rushed towards Swan, wearing an apologetic face. “Err… I’m sorry for my friend’s behavior. He just had a bad day, so…”

Swan shook his head and patted Sean’s shoulders with a smile on his face. “No worries, doctor Sean. Times are tough, I can understand.” His eyes, however, didn’t leave Nel. Under his foot, what Sean didn’t notice was the spilled milk slowly coagulating.

It didn’t escape Nel’s eyes, though.

His fingers twitched as the grip on the spear shaft tightened. He discreetly stepped his right foot forward and bent his knees slightly, positioning himself like an arrow knocked on the bow and pulled to its limit, ready to shoot at a moment’s notice.

“You don’t mind if I have a moment with this… friend, right?” Swan asked, raising his chin towards Nel.

“Huh!?” Sean exclaimed, turning towards the pointed direction and then looked back at Swan with a strange look on his face. "Err!" He wondered if this guest was alright in his head.

To be honest, he found the entire thing strange. From Nel’s over-the-top reaction to this man’s attitude—Sean couldn’t wrap his head around it. He suspected they both knew each other.

“S...ure, I don’t mind. But is it really okay? My friend just—” Sean left the sentence hanging. He darted his eyes from side to side, trying to hint Swan of his meaning. Some things couldn't be said out loud, after all.

“You don’t have to worry about it, doctor. Me and this gentleman… have a special connection.” Swan patted Sean’s shoulder twice before walking towards Nel. “I’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” Sean mumbled under his breath. He turned to see only the security staff standing in a circle around him. The crowd has dispersed since the show was over. Everyone left in disappointment, grumbling under their breath since they wanted to see some action.

Not every day, they get to witness two hunters in action.

“Keep an eye on them. If they start anything,” Sean paused and narrowed his eyes at the staff. “Throw them out.”

XXX

“What do you want?” Nel hissed, narrowing his eyes. He fixed Swan a glare as he came closer. His mana was circulating to its limit under his skin, ready to empower him when needed.

Swan glared back, matching Nel’s intensity. “I promised my sister not to start a fight with you,” He whispered. “Otherwise, I’d have killed you here and now for what you did to my brother.”

“Oh Really?” Nel smirked. He rubbed his chin and whispered back, “should I thank your sister then?” His eyes narrowed to slits as his glared intensified.

“Why are you here?” Nel asked coldly.

“This is a hospital. What do you think I’m doing here, hmm?” Swan mocked.

Nel’s grip on the dagger tip tightened as he gritted his teeth. If he could, he would’ve slashed open this man’s neck. He snorted and stood up, ready to leave. It was dangerous to stand close to someone who tried to take his life not long ago. Nel was afraid he would lose control and attack him. He doesn't want a fallout with the best hospital in the town.

“Wait!” Nel halted his steps after hearing Swan’s sudden call. His face morphed into a frown as he turned around and shot a glare. “What?”

Nel’s fingers around the dagger tensed. He had dismounted the tip part of the spear from the shaft and was using it like a dagger.

“Can you… can you…” Swan struggled to complete his sentence. His face turned red as his eyes dodged Nel's.

Nel found it odd and wondered what this bastard wanted. But Swan didn't say anything after the 'can you'.

Nel snorted and turned around, ready to leave. “Don’t waste my time. You better not leave this hospital if you want to stay alive. I’ve not forgotten your threat,” He growled coldly.

“Just wait, dammit!” Swan nearly screamed. “That's just an empty threat I made.” He sighed like a deflated balloon. With his shoulders drooped, he looked down and mumbled under his breath, “I just don't want to seem like a sore loser.”

“Huh!?” Nel exclaimed, missing the last bit that Swan whispered. He found it difficult to process what the man said. And when he did, his face morphed into an ugly frown. “You meant to say that you lied? For what? To make me anxious?”

“Wait!” Swan put his hands up to stop Nel from blowing up. He could see the boy was close to exploding in anger. Not to mention him, anyone will get angry in his shoes. “Although I exaggerated it a little too much, your general situation is still the same.”

Swan's words doused a bucket of cold water on Nel's raging emotions. He took a few long breaths and forced himself to calm down. “What do you mean?” He asked for clarification.

Swan shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know the details, but there are some shady people looking for you. They hired us to track you down and extract information. Since we failed, they’ll send others for the job. Perhaps, stronger than us.”

Nel clicked his tongue and knitted his brows after hearing about his situation from Swan. In the end, nothing had changed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and asked, “What do you want? Since you revealed this much, there must be a reason, right? I’m not telling you anything about any girl I met, though.”

“I don't want to know anymore,” Swan grunted. He looked weary, and Nel noticed the anger in his eyes. “Those damn bastards! They are not paying me because I failed the task!? My good brother nearly died!”

He didn't know why, but when hearing Swan’s complaints, he felt a little guilty.

“I should’ve charged them upfront.” Swan shook his head. He raised his head but still not looking at Nel in the eye. “I- I was actually going to look for you.”

“Oh!? What for?” Nel asked, his hostility coming back in full force. Although, he was not as violent as before. “Are you going to seek revenge? Let me tell you, it won’t be easy. I can do much more than what I showed before.”

“Revenge? Of course, not.” Swan grunted. “I need your help. Only you can save my brother’s life now.”

“Say what?” Nel was taken aback by Swan’s request. Out of all things, he didn't expect it'd be something like that. Nel stared at Swan for a while, wondering if he was joking. The last time he met Swan’s brother, Nel had lodged a knife into his skull. It was truly surprising that this person would even ask for his help. Nel wondered if Swan was really alright in his head.

“You are joking, right?” He asked, confused. “Are you seriously asking the person who nearly made your brother cross the river Styx for help? Okay, let’s forget whether I can do it or not, why should I even bother? After all, you two tried to kill me.”

“Kill you?” Swan shook his head. “Murder was never our intention. We only wanted to apprehend you and take you to meet a few people.”

“Yeah?” Nel snorted. “And you think those people would’ve treated me like a guest and served me tea? Maybe they'd have taken me to a spa for a relaxing evening?”

Swan looked down. He curled his fingers into a tight fist as his nail dug into his palm. It was true that those guys who hired him to bring Nel over wouldn’t treat him nicely. They might even kill him after getting what they wanted.

Swan realized he had neglected to consider a lot of things when asking for help.