Unreserved trust.
Even if Gel hadn't said it, Morrow had already sensed it for a long time.
It wasn't just her. Kurapika, Kalluto, Ponzu... many others held this same complete faith in him.
That was why, on the journey to explore the Dark Continent, Morrow couldn't guarantee everything would go smoothly, but under the weight of such heavy trust, he had secretly made a resolution. No matter what dangers lay ahead, he had to be the one standing at the very front.
Now that the habitually cold Gel had brought herself to ask him for help, he certainly wouldn't refuse.
It wasn't just because Gel was asking for his help, but also because this matter would likely affect the safety of every human in the world.
That included himself and his companions.
Besides, even if the V5, the big shots, could handle it without him, Morrow wouldn't be content with the status quo.
"Let's give it a try then, Gel."
Morrow didn't hesitate for long before agreeing to Gel's request.
Hearing this, Gel wasn't as happy as one might expect.
"Morrow."
"Hm?"
"Should I... not have said all that to you?"
A trace of hesitation inexplicably surfaced in Gel's heart.
She suddenly realized that her subconscious, unreserved trust in Morrow was, in fact, pushing him into the perilous position of confronting that terrifying calamity head-on.
This made her suddenly feel a pang of regret.
She regretted that she seemed to have prioritized the future of the Association over Morrow's personal gains, losses, and safety.
"I won't die, Gel."
The moment Morrow heard her, he guessed her thoughts and said with a smile, "Whether on the Dark Continent or here, I can say this to you countless times. So don't feel burdened. Just keep trusting me like you always have."
Gel was silent for a long time.
"Okay."
She replied softly.
So that was it...
Gel suddenly understood why Ponzu had undergone such a clear transformation in the past few months, and why Menchi and Kalluto never worried about their own safety as long as they were by Morrow's side, no matter how great the risk.
It was this man who gave everyone on the team a sufficient sense of security.
Clutching her phone, Gel lowered her gaze slightly, the anxiety in her heart quietly dissipating.
Morrow then asked, "I'll head to the Association as soon as possible. By the way... how many people did the Association lose this time, exactly?"
"226 people."
Gel's tone suddenly grew heavy.
This mission, in terms of both difficulty and risk, far exceeded any before it.
Under the V5's stringent demands, the Association had mobilized nearly all of its Pro Hunters.
However, the danger level of the multiple calamities needed no further explanation. The near-certain threat of death alone was enough to make every Pro Hunter feel as if they had stepped one foot into the gates of hell the moment the operation began.
Gel even felt that Morrow's inhuman level of aura intensity might not be enough to completely withstand the destructive power of that calamity. And besides the calamity itself, the large number of Cyborg Legions emerging from Meteor City were individually stronger than most of the Association's members.
The sheer number of these cyborgs was what led to the Association's incredibly high casualty rate.
"Is that so..."
Although Morrow had anticipated it, hearing that the Association had lost nearly a third of its members in this operation still sent a tremor through him. But on second thought... even though one could learn Nen under the Association's arrangements after becoming a Pro Hunter, not everyone could cultivate this power to a sufficiently profound degree.
This process required not only talent and effort but also overcoming the Pro Hunters' own desires for fame, status, and money. While such desires could be converted into powerful motivation, in most cases, they were merely shackles that prevented Pro Hunters from making great strides on the path of Nen.
This was the fundamental reason why Hisoka had been so disappointed when he assessed the strength of the Association's members back then.
Faced with such a high-risk mission, the inherent flaws of the Association, with its uneven skill levels, were completely exposed.
After this incident, the current chairman, Cheadle, would surely realize the severity of this problem.
But these matters didn't have much to do with Morrow.
The only thing he had to consider now was whether he could resolve the most dangerous calamity.
And Morena, who accompanied the calamity.
After exchanging a few more words with Gel, Morrow hung up the phone.
He looked down at the darkened screen of his phone and said to himself, "Morena, if it's you, you must still be obsessed with destroying this world."
Etude of Love.
It could be used for destruction, but it could also be used for protection.
Morrow put away his phone. As he raised his hand, the Wolf Spirit brought its head over, letting him stroke it gently.
—--
Hunter Association Headquarters.
Gel was also looking down at her darkened phone screen.
Directly in front of her, Beans watched her with some nervousness.
As if sensing Beans's questioning gaze, Gel put her phone away and said, "Morrow agreed."
"That's wonderful!"
Beans was instantly thrilled.
His confidence in Morrow stemmed largely from Gel and Ging's high praise for him, as well as the ability Morrow had displayed when dealing with Beyond last time. Now that Gel had secured Morrow's help, Beans saw a glimmer of hope.
After all, after the Association's frontal assault had failed, they had tried various other operations targeting the calamity based on Ging's plan.
But all of them, without exception, had ended in failure.
The only gain was acquiring more useful intelligence.
In Ging's own words: "That thing can make 'all objectively existing things' wither as if they were dying. With humanity's current Nen, we're completely helpless. That's why I suggest you ask Morrow for help. If it's him, he might have a way."
Given Ging and Morrow's friendship, asking Morrow for help was a simple matter of a few words.
But Ging hadn't stepped forward himself, instead advising the Association to invite Morrow through a more formal process.
The problem was, the Association couldn't contact Morrow.
Or rather, Morrow didn't want to be contacted by them.
So Beans and Cheadle had sought out Gel to act as an intermediary.
And after talking with Morrow, Gel suddenly understood why Ging hadn't personally made the connection, but had the Association ask Morrow themselves.
It was just that her realization came a little too late.
"Beans, if Morrow can solve the current problem, then the vast majority of the profits from this mission must go to Morrow." Gel had reverted to her usual indifferent demeanor, but her tone carried an unshakeable resolve.
Hearing her words, Beans was taken aback and hesitated, "This... I don't have the authority to make that decision."
Gel's face was expressionless. Just as she was about to speak, Cheadle's voice suddenly came from the office doorway: "Distributing the mission's profits according to contribution is perfectly reasonable. I agree, Gel."
Cheadle walked into the office, her expression serious.
Gel glanced at her sideways and said no more, merely giving her a nod.
"Morrow wants us to halt all operations for now to avoid unnecessary sacrifices. But it's up to you to decide what to do specifically."
Leaving these words behind, Gel walked toward the door under the gazes of Cheadle and Beans.
As she reached the doorway, she suddenly stopped.
"Morrow doesn't care what he gets from this mission, but fighting for the reward he deserves is something I must do after my 'mistake'. Cheadle, you'd better understand what needs to be done next."
"I understand."
Cheadle looked at Gel's back and said solemnly, "Since both you and Ging believe that this is something only Morrow can handle, we will hold the same view. All subsequent actions will be led by Morrow."
Gel said no more and left the office directly.
She walked through the corridor and suddenly stopped at a corner.
Ging was leaning against the corridor wall, arms crossed, looking at Gel who had stopped in front of him.
"You look terrible. It seems Morrow agreed to take this hot potato."
Gel met Ging's slightly teasing gaze and said coldly, "Were you waiting here specifically to laugh at me?"
"Not really."
Ging straightened up and shook his head, his tone becoming serious. "Actually, even Kanzai knows that if Morrow wanted to participate in the operation, he wouldn't need anyone to ask him. That's why he never bothered Morrow in the end."
"What are you trying to say?"
Gel's eyes gradually grew cold.
Disregarding Morrow's own wishes and safety... although Morrow himself didn't mind, the matter still made Gel feel she had done something she shouldn't have.
"Nothing much. I just think it's a good thing for the Association to have a Pro Hunter like you."
With that, Ging turned to leave, waving a casual hand back at Gel.
Gel stood there, watching his receding back, and softly uttered two words: "Idiot."
—--
The first thing Morrow did upon returning to the Kukan'yu Kingdom was to have Kurapika and the others temporarily halt their hunt for the Meteor City cyborgs.
This wasn't because he was worried about the threat posed by the Meteor City Cyborg Legion. The main reason was the calamity that could make "all objective things" wither.
As long as that calamity was closely related to Meteor City, continuing the operation would bring unpredictable risks.
After all, Morrow had already received firsthand intelligence from the Hunter Association.
Even Gel, who possessed max-level aura, had only narrowly escaped by relying on her Guardian Spirit Beast's Substitute Death ability.
Kurapika and the others, who had not yet reached the max level and had no Guardian Spirit Beasts, would have absolutely no chance of survival if they encountered that calamity. After recalling Kurapika and the others, Morrow went to the palace to meet with Eve.
"It's been dealt with."
Morrow had no intention of explaining the process, only reporting the result to Eve.
Eve, however, pressed with great interest, "What was the Eye of Truth's goal? And how did it manage to appear from someone's shadow?" "No idea."
Morrow was clearly too lazy to elaborate and just brushed it off perfunctorily.
Eve could see that he truly didn't want to talk about it, so she sighed softly and ultimately didn't press any further.
However, with the hidden danger of the Eye of Truth resolved, she could indeed feel some of her pressure ease. Next, she would have to concentrate on dealing with the "other calamities."
She looked up at Morrow and asked, "I heard from my subordinates that you had Kurapika and the others pull back?"
"Yes."
Morrow nodded, then took the opportunity to tell her that he would be participating as a member of the Association to resolve the calamity that had been named "Wither." Hearing this, Eve's expression gradually turned serious.
As the supreme ruler of the Kukan'yu Kingdom, she naturally had access to all related intelligence in real-time.
The reports of the Hunter Association's heavy losses, the news of elite troops going in and never returning, even the records showing that military weapons were completely ineffective all clearly indicated that the danger level of "Wither" was far beyond ordinary.
"Morrow, are you confident?"
Eve's feelings were conflicted at this moment.
She both hoped Morrow could resolve this most troublesome calamity and feared he would meet with a mishap during the mission.
She couldn't bear the consequences of something happening to Morrow.
She needed his ability and his presence, so she wanted him to live on.
"From the intelligence we have so far, I'm not completely confident I can resolve this calamity either. I can only try a long-range snipe first to see how effective it is," Morrow said, shaking his head slightly.
Eve's brow furrowed, and she said in a low voice, "If it proves impossible, don't force it. Staying alive is more important than anything."
Morrow looked at her with a hint of surprise.
He was usually the one saying things like that to others.
—--
The calamities ran rampant across the six continents.
Every day, the number of victims grew at an astonishing rate.
If they were just normal calamities, even with four appearing at once, the situation wouldn't have been so tragic.
The current outcome was due to the endless human malice involved in this chaos.
Turmoil bred unease, and unease exacerbated the turmoil.
Large nations like the V5 still had the ability to maintain some semblance of order.
But many smaller nations were powerless to cope.
For them, the crisis of national extinction was drawing ever closer.
The impact of the calamities thus spread to every corner of the world.
The public's trust in their governments gradually crumbled, and crime rates soared.
However, this was only the beginning.
More urgent than the social unrest was the still-spreading calamity.
It hung over everyone's heads, the gravest threat every nation had to face.
—--
Morrow began his operation.
He stood atop a skyscraper, looking out toward the city center.
This city had already become a city of the dead.
The calamity, which could easily trigger mass-death phenomena, had turned human lives into cold numbers.
Only by personally standing amidst this deathly silence did Morrow truly gain a clearer understanding of this calamity.
Just half a day ago, this had been a bustling metropolis.
This showed that the speed at which the calamity reaped lives was frighteningly fast.
"Ponzu, have you confirmed the position?"
Morrow condensed aura in his palm, asking through the Surveillance Paper Doll.
A moment later, Ponzu's voice came through: "Fayed Street, 8-61-206. The target is moving south at a normal walking speed... Wait, my babies have been discovered... They've been dealt with."
"That's enough. Send me the last image." Morrow said.
Ponzu quickly replied, "Okay."
—--
South side of Fayed Street.
The Death God casually glanced at the bee swarm falling from the sky.
"Here they come again."
He grinned, a silent, cold smile.
He had already dealt with similar attacks countless times.
Morena remained indifferent to this, walking with a placid expression down the street littered with corpses.
The Death God retracted his gaze, floating by her side.
Just then, an extremely powerful aura approached them at lightning speed.
The Death God's playful expression vanished in an instant, his eyes changing abruptly.
He shot his head up to see a massive, fluorescent green wave of aura shooting toward them like a comet.
"Death."
The Death God instantly activated his ability.
The surging, massive Nen wave suddenly decayed and annihilated, as if it had never existed.
"Whoa, whoa, this level of power... doesn't seem like something a human can do."
After neutralizing the attack, the Death God was slightly surprised, then keenly noticed Morena's unusual reaction. "What, is it someone you know?" In Morena's mind flashed the image of the Shooting Star-like attack. She nodded.
The Death God asked again, "Can I kill them?"
Morena's eyelids drooped slightly as she said calmly, "Kill."
As her voice fell, the Death God shot off like a gale toward the direction the attack had come from.
—--
Atop the skyscraper, Morrow's En extended like a straight arc, spanning several kilometers and instantly locking onto the Death God who was speeding toward him.
The numerous members of the Association, as well as personnel from the V5 and the International Permit Agencies, all saw that exaggerated Nen wave and the even more astonishing En through city surveillance or their own Nen abilities.
Shock was written on everyone's faces.
The Death God, firmly locked on by the En, also clearly sensed Morrow's power.
Tch.
He truly hadn't expected a human like this to exist.
But in the face of his fundamental power, the strength of any individual was meaningless.
The Death God reached the top of the skyscraper at top speed, only to find Morrow's figure gone.
Because before he arrived, Morrow had already entered the Wolf Spirit's Nen space.
Disappeared suddenly?
The Death God quickly scanned his surroundings.
Just then, from high in the sky, a star rain of Nen waves rained down.
The Death God abruptly looked up.
His gaze pierced through the dense barrage of Nen bullets, and he saw Morrow standing high above, the Wolf Spirit Nen Beast wrapped around his shoulders.
A spatial transfer ability.
The Death God immediately understood the means Morrow had just used.
And at this moment, the host of stars had already fallen before his eyes...
(Translated by yourtl.app)