The girl committed suicide. Mock watched the entire process without so much as a blink.
He hadn't truly thought she would die. She didn't have the eyes of someone about to die. He had seen several people driven into similar situations before, but her eyes were different from any of them.
Death is not something one can do by just being prepared. People who want to die also want to live. Usually, they lose themselves in the gap between those emotions and reach death through sheer momentum, like a runaway car that has lost control. That is the minimum level of decorum a living creature should maintain.
Resolve is a determination held only by those with a will to live. It is a beast-like thirst to cling to life and survive even if one's limbs are torn off and intestines are dragged behind. Or, it is the stubbornness of trying to accomplish something until the very moment one faces the destiny of death.
There was no desperation in her eyes. But then again, there was no resolve either. Mock could not read her psychology from her expression. Until the moment of death, he didn't know what she was thinking.
An indescribable feeling of discomfort remained. The crossbow in his hand was still aimed at the slumped-over girl.
"Uh... She died, Professor?! What are we going to do about this?!"
There was nothing to be done. If she was dead, they would just have to report it to the organization as such. He might receive a reprimand, but he contributed enough on a daily basis to shrug that off.
If the opponent was clearly not a civilian, Mock could have processed them as a poacher at his own discretion, but this intruder was special. She didn't look like someone belonging to the underworld, but she didn't seem like a mere ordinary person either. Fearing that killing her might cause inconveniences, he had contacted the organization. A photo of the girl's face had been attached to the email and sent.
As a result, an order had come down from the organization to capture the girl alive and bring her in. His desire to kill her quickly had been strong, but breaking orders would mean owing the organization a favor, leading to unnecessary trouble. That was why Mock had acted in such a roundabout way while dealing with her, but he hadn't been told to bring her back no matter what.
In other words, she was likely only worth enough that it wouldn't be a problem if she died. Mock had no way of knowing for what purpose they wanted to take custody of her, but perhaps being able to die here in a single stroke was a mercy for the girl.
"Good grief, I was just about to get a great shot...! This is a total letdown, dammit!"
The tattooed man, Pejjo, spat out curses as he approached the girl's corpse.
"Wait. Don't approach carelessly."
"Eh? No, but we can't just leave her like this, right? I mean, are you still on guard? She's dead no matter how you look at it."
Certainly, there was no room for doubt. Because there was a risk of fatal wounds being faked through Nen abilities, Mock had used Gyo to carefully observe the girl as she stabbed her own throat.
Gyo is a technique that concentrates aura in a part of the body. It is a technique often used specifically to enhance the eyes, allowing one to detect suspicious movements in an opponent's aura. Even if the girl were a far superior Nen user than Mock, she shouldn't have been able to deceive his eyes at this distance and in this state of concentration.
Without a doubt, the ballpoint pen had destroyed her throat, and an enormous amount of blood was flowing from her collapsed body. Even if she were alive, she would be at death's door. He didn't think she could do anything from this state.
But Mock felt somehow unsatisfied. He decided to attack just in case. He aimed the crossbow at her head, but he reconsidered at the last second.
The organization had, for the time being, ordered her capture. He hadn't achieved that, but the duty to report remained. He intended to speak honestly and say he couldn't stop her suicide, but if he left a wound that destroyed her head here, the explanation would become tedious. It would look like nothing more than an execution.
Ultimately, he fired a bolt at her leg, adjusted to a power that wouldn't leave a very large wound.
"Whoa, you're a demon, Professor. You're going that far?"
As expected, there was no reaction. Thinking he might have been overthinking it, he released his stance.
"Man... she was such a perfect subject... I can't believe she broke so easily! At least let me take a picture of her dead face."
From Mock's perspective, it was a stomach-turning fetish, but since it was the activation condition for Pejjo's ability, he had no choice but to tolerate it. He just wanted to get the photography or whatever over with and kick him off the island.
However, just as Pejjo approached to lift the girl lying face down, Mock noticed a small anomaly. Blood was spurting vigorously from the wound of the bolt he had just fired into her leg. The girl's body had already lost an amount of blood from the throat wound that was clearly lethal. This wasn't the force of blood coming from a corpse whose heart should have stopped.
Then, looking at the back of the girl lying face down, he realized something. Until a moment ago, there had been an unnatural 'bulge' there. Now it was gone. While facing her, he had missed the changes on her back because she was always facing forward.
"Get away from her!!"
He shouted, and the girl moved at the same time he drew the crossbow string. Her hand reached out toward the defenselessly approaching Pejjo. Clasped there was a grotesque insect. It wasn't a species that lived on the island. There was a possibility it was a Nen beast.
He didn't think that an insect brought out with such a grand setup, after luring them in, would be without threat. If it were a Nen user, they should have chosen to evade in such a situation, but Pejjo, who was exposed to the attack, had failed to show any reaction.
Despite Mock's warning, this was the result. He lacked the basic physical conditioning of a Nen practitioner. In terms of reaction speed, the girl was far superior.
Because he had shot the girl's leg beforehand, he had noticed the anomaly a step earlier, but because he had shot it, his next move was delayed. The crossbow took time for a second shot.
The long crossbow Mock used had a classic structure known as the goats-foot mechanism. It was a method where the string was drawn by pulling a lever using the principle of leverage. Most could not be drawn by arm strength alone; from a standing position, the tip of the weapon would be fixed with the foot using a metal fitting, and the string would be pulled using the muscles of the entire body.
However, Mock pulled this with one hand. He fixed the butt against his stomach, and while pulling the lever with one hand, he simultaneously loaded a bolt with the other. He finished the movements up to firing readiness in a single action.
Mock himself understood that speed accurately. Therefore, before pulling the string, he already had the answer as to whether this attack would be in time or not.
It wouldn't be in time.
The advantage of a crossbow, which allows for precise shooting by separating the firing preparation and aiming, was also the disadvantage that those actions could not be performed in parallel. Those functional characteristics inherent in the weapon could never be reduced to zero, no matter how fast the movements were performed.
In other words, the girl's attack would reach Pejjo before Mock could fire the bolt.
To the organization, Pejjo was an irreplaceable talent. The Nen ability he possessed was extremely rare, and he was given important missions that only he could do. If he were to be left to die for nothing, the scrutiny Mock would face would not be a punishment as soft as a reprimand.
He had no choice but to admit he had been outplayed. It was a fact that he had been complacent. He had been trapped by the preconceived notion that she couldn't possibly be alive after suffering that fatal wound.
Mock reflected on himself. However, there was no panic. If he were to lose ground to an enemy just because an attack wasn't in time, he wouldn't be worthy of the name Hunter.
Activation—[Clever Hunt]—
The target for manipulation was Pejjo's leg. He was well-acquainted with Pejjo's low combat ability, and considering the possibility of him being a hindrance, he had fulfilled the activation conditions before they even landed on the island.
"Whaaaaaa?!"
Pejjo let out a strange cry and leaped from the spot.
---
My greatest weapon is not something like a ballpoint pen. It is poison. The insect itself has several types of powerful toxins in its fangs. My instincts as a species told me of their strength and effects. I believe they possess enough potency to kill a single human.
The problem was the method of how to deliver this into the enemy. To make the main body bite, I naturally had to get close enough to reach them. Even then, the surprise attack wouldn't succeed unless I hid the main body's existence until the last second. How was I supposed to get close to Mock, who used a long-range weapon?
To that end, I feigned death. Even wounds that would kill an ordinary human can be healed by this body. The plan was to make him think I was dead and then attack when he approached.
However, it didn't go well. It would have been perfect if Mock had approached, but the one who came close was the other man, Pejjo. I had no choice but to change the plan.
I decided to take Pejjo hostage. If the person who approached had been Mock, I would have considered killing him. However, killing Pejjo wouldn't make the threat known as Mock disappear. He is an opponent I cannot beat even if I stood on my head. In that case, taking a hostage as a deterrent seemed better. The poisons I can use include a paralytic one, providing a way to neutralize a target without killing them.
He isn't an opponent who will fall for a surprise attack twice. This is the last chance. And the surprise attack succeeded. I caught Pejjo within my attack range. The opponent was not responding to my attack. That's how it should have been.
Just as the attack was about to reach, Pejjo showed a sudden, massive leap. Like a grasshopper, he retreated to Mock's side in a single jump. I couldn't have predicted such a turn of events. It wasn't a movement a human could make without a preparatory action. Even an Olympic athlete couldn't do it. It was superhuman jumping power.
"Ow ow ow ow, my leg cramped?! Professor, when did you set [Clever Hunt] on me?! Thanks to that I'm saved, but..."
Pejjo hit his body against the ceiling and rolled across the floor without even properly breaking his fall, but in the end, he safely gained distance.
This is bad. On top of exposing my trump card, I let the enemy escape without any results. I think frantically about what to do next. However, I can't think of any further strategy.
"Is that the end of your struggle? Little girl."
The next moment, my right hand was blown away. Only my eyes caught the attack.
It was a crossbow bolt. However, it had such intense power I thought it might have had an explosive charge tied to it. All my fingers were gone.
But such a wound is trivial. Why did Mock aim for my right hand? Because my 'true self' was being held there.
A shock ran through the insect's body. It was a life that hadn't even been born for a week, but this was a shock of a magnitude never felt before. My body left the girl's hand, flew in a straight line through the air, and was slammed against the wall of the room.