“Brother, what are we gonna do now?” Celpie asked, sounding dead on the inside. She was leaning against the wall on the opposite of Bell’s bed. Her red eyes focused on Bell’s sleeping form as it reflected the pain of her anguished heart.

Swan didn't speak as he stood next to Celpie with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His unfocused eyes were facing in the direction of Bell as he drummed his fingers along his biceps. His mind was somewhere else, thinking of something else.

“Big bro?” Celpie nudged Swan with her elbow as she gave him a sidelong glance with her red eyes.

“Hmm! Ah!” Swan blinked as he came back to his senses. Turning his head towards his sister, he asked in a much more repressed voice, “What did you say?”

“Are you alright?” Celpie wrapped her fingers around Swan’s palm and gave it a squeeze. She knitted her brows as her worries increased.

“Mhmm. I’m okay. You were asking something, right? Can you repeat it?”

Celpie made a face but repeated her question nonetheless. In response, Swan let out a heavy sigh.

“Pie, I was thinking about that, actually,” Swan said. “The doctors here couldn't help. Even that doctor Sean, who turned out to be a 1-star healer, was powerless. Even our last hope has failed. But I don’t want to give up.”

“I think we were wrong to put our hopes, Mr. Nel,” Celpie mumbled, looking down.

Swan gave the girl a meaningful glance. “Pie, do you not feel any animosity towards Nel?” He inquired.

Even though they had interacted with Nel, in the end, he was an outsider while Bell was their own brother. No matter how much goodwill they had towards Nel, they simply couldn't forgive him. It should be true for Celpie, as well.

“I don’t know.” Golden eyes blinked as the girl took a long breath. A brief silence later, she continued, “I can’t forgive him for what he did to big bro. But, I just can’t muster any hatred towards him.”

“It was our fault, to begin with.” Swan agreed. “Alright, enough of this. According to doctor Sean, we still have a few hours before the mana goes out of control. We must do something soon.”

Celpie perked up as she turned to Swan and asked hopefully, “do you have a way, big bro?”

“I’ve heard Aries sent their Support Department’s rising star, Rhea Heart here,” Swan said, scratching his cheeks. “We can try our luck with her.”

“Her!” Celpie hissed like a cat with her tail stepped on. “Out of everyone, they sent that coward and greedy bitch? I feel sorry for them already.”

Swan slapped her forehead. “Don’t you think you are pitying the wrong people here? We are also going to seek help from her.”

“Ah!” Celpie’s interesting face made Swan chuckle.

XXX

Nel sighed as he walked out of the hospital, wearing a long face. Sean’s uncensored scolding gave him a lot of things to mull over. His way of handling enemies was contrary to a hunter’s poise. In Sean’s words, he was indeed a pussy.

Nel wondered if it was a habit that followed him from the slums he used to live in. It was painfully obvious that he lacked resolve. Everything he claimed ‘troublesome’ or ‘too much work’ was just him deluding himself. In reality, he was just afraid of consequences.

“Maybe that's why Chen and Loui didn’t include me in the new path they choose to walk.” Nel shook his head as he sighed.

Just as he was about to step into an alley, the hairs at the back of his neck stood up. His heart trembled in restlessness. Nel widened his eyes and whipped his head around, looking for the source of the uneasy feeling in him.

Nel found he had become unnaturally sensitive to dangers. In the past, due to his astute mana control, he already had sharp senses. When he used Empowering, nothing would leave his detection range, no matter how small it was. Those senses became more refined after he obtained the Skill.

During the hour he spent inside the hospital, Nel’s Magic Reserves has restored more than 80% of mana. This speed was yet another surprise that came to him out of nowhere. Previously, it’d take him no less than two or more hours to refill just 20 points of mana.

Nel narrowed as his mana circulated through his bloodstream and powered up his muscles and bones. Nel clicked his fingers, sending out a ripple of invisible mana wave. But he didn’t get any feedback.

He stopped in his tracks and slowly pulled the shaft from his back. Though [Mana Ripple] showed nothing, Nel was sure something was lurking in the shadows of this narrow alley.

As he focussed all his attention, Nel noticed the strangeness around him. Although it was a narrow space between two adjacent buildings, it shouldn’t be empty. No matter what time it was of the day, this road should’ve a few pedestrians walking about. It connected the Clover Hospital to the main street, after all.

Nel’s heart palpitated as he furrowed his brows. Since he couldn't find anything with [Mana Ripple], whoever aiming at him was strong, probably stronger than him.

Reminding himself to be extra careful of any sudden ambushes, Nel carefully inched backward.

Swoosh!

His extra sensitive ears caught the sound of something cutting through the air as it came towards him. As mana flowed into his eyes, the dim alley brightened considerably. Nel saw an arrow rapidly closing the gap between them.

He tensed his legs and stepped on his right foot, twisting his body out of the deadly weapon’s way. His eyes quickly followed in the direction from where the arrow came. At the end of the narrow path stood a thin silhouette holding what looked like a crossbow.

Nel couldn't see the figure clearly to determine their gender. It does not matter anyway. Twirling the shaft in his hands, he empowered his legs and rushed towards them. However, Nel had to stop his mad charge as another arrow came with its tip pointing at his head.

Nel flicked his spear to deflect it.

Ting!

A heavy sound of metal hitting metal rang in the silent alley as the shaft made from bloodvore wood bent back from the arrow’s momentum. Nel gritted his teeth as he increased the grip strength and finally managed to stop the arrow’s charge.

Although he succeeded in stopping the arrow, Nel wasn’t happy. His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. Narrowing his eyes, he took a deep breath before charging towards the silhouette.

After experiencing the strength of just a single arrow, Nel wouldn't allow them to fire another. It was better to close the gap between him and the person.

“Shit!” Suddenly, Nel cursed. In his periphery, he noticed another silhouette rushing at him. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop his momentum. A fist collided with his left cheek, throwing him to his right. Nel grunted as the air from his lungs knocked out of his lungs.

Before he got used to the pain, another fist landed on his abdomen, forcing him to bend over. A punch to his right cheek threw him to the ground.

After Nel fell on his back, clutching his stomach in pain, the assailant pressed their knee on his chest and pinned Nel in place. A moment later, a rain of fists drizzled on his face.

There was no room for retaliation for Nel. The two assailants didn’t give him time to react.

As he endured the pain of the punches, Nel’s mind gradually clouded with anger. He wanted to retaliate! He wanted to throw a punch at his attacker.

Suddenly, the mana in his body surged as it confirmed to his wishes.