"Harry is dead!"
"..."
One afternoon a few days later, while Hawk was busy tidying up a corner of the backyard garden under Gwen's direction, Peter, clad in his red and blue Spider-Man suit, swung in, startling Gwen.
But before Gwen could react, Peter took off his mask and spoke in a low voice.
Hawk was stunned by the news Peter brought.
Gwen, who had just been startled by Peter and hadn't yet recovered, became even more dazed upon hearing the news.
After a while.
Gwen finally reacted, looking at Peter, who had slumped onto the corridor floor after speaking.
Peter held his head in his hands, looking very sad and heartbroken.
Gwen blinked, walked over to Hawk's side, and seeing Peter's appearance, quietly asked Hawk, "What's going on?"
Hawk replied.
"It's about my visit to Osborn the other day."
"...Oh."
Gwen remembered, then looked at Peter, who was holding his head, and cautiously said, "Peter, is it because of your blood?"
Peter looked up at Gwen and nodded.
Once again, it was different from the original plot.
In the original plot, Peter did not give Harry his blood, which led to Harry becoming the Goblin and ultimately dying tragically at Peter's hands.
But this time, Peter gave it.
The result…
Harry still died.
Hawk raised an eyebrow, then looked at Peter, feeling a bit puzzled.
"That shouldn't be right. Before you gave it, didn't you tell Harry that your blood might be poison to him?"
"I did."
"And then?"
"Harry called me yesterday. He was very happy and said it was a success."
"Wait."
Hearing this, Hawk quickly interrupted Peter and looked at him: "Harry injected it yesterday?"
Peter nodded.
"Yes, he injected it yesterday afternoon and said it was a success."
"And then he died this morning?"
"Yes."
"Then what does that have to do with you?"
Hawk listened to the time difference and couldn't help but shake his head, looking at the guilty Peter: "If Harry had died right after the injection yesterday, your guilt would make sense. But Harry passed away a day after the injection. What does that have to do with you?"
Peter, sitting on the corridor floor with his hands wrapped around his head, was stunned by the remark.
He looked up, staring at Hawk without blinking.
Hawk shrugged.
"Am I wrong?"
"But… if it wasn't the serum, then how did Harry die?"
"You're asking me?"
Hawk looked at Peter with a hint of amusement, then asked curiously, "Who found Harry?"
Peter got up from the floor.
"Felicia."
"That female assistant?"
"Hmm."
Peter nodded: "Felicia also lives in the manor. This morning, she saw that Harry hadn't come downstairs yet, so she asked a servant to wake Harry up. When the servant opened the door, they found Harry tragically dead in his bed."
Hawk caught the keyword.
"Tragically dead?"
"I didn't ask for details. I originally called Harry to see how his recovery was going, but Felicia answered the phone. She told me not to spread the news for now, but I was too distraught, so I thought of you."
"Indeed, it can't be said."
Gwen, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, said to Peter, "Harry finally took over Osborn Industries and stabilized Osborn's stock price. If news of Harry's death gets out now, it will be a huge blow to Osborn Industries."
And this huge blow was not just any ordinary huge blow.
It was well known.
The Osborn family had a genetic disease that even modern medicine found difficult to identify, and the Osborn family had always been sparsely populated.
Harry's Grandpa only had three children in total, but it was Norman Osborn who truly made Osborn flourish.
Norman Osborn only had one son, Harry.
But…
Harry was not yet married and had no descendants.
Now that Harry was dead, whether Osborn Industries could continue to be called Osborn was a problem.
As expected.
Three days later.
After the news of Harry Osborn's sudden death due to illness was reported, the stock price of Osborn Biological Industry plummeted like a cliff dive.
However, with three days of preparation, following a series of statements from Osborn Biological Industry, the downward trend stabilized somewhat.
Although it was still falling, at least it wasn't a catastrophic drop.
At the same time.
Harry Osborn's funeral was held in the Osborn family cemetery.
Hawk and Gwen, as Harry's friends, also received invitation letters from Felicia and once again came to the Osborn family cemetery located behind the Osborn Manor.
This funeral was presided over by Felicia.
Because Felicia was Norman Osborn's adopted daughter.
This matter had only been revealed yesterday by the resourceful media, and at the same time, there were rumors that Harry Osborn had left a will, stating that if anything happened to him, all his property would be inherited by Felicia.
"This isn't a rumor."
"It's true."
Peter, who was standing with Hawk and Gwen at the funeral, whispered, "I know about this."
Gwen looked sideways at Peter.
Peter explained, "For a while after Norman Osborn passed away, Harry was in a very bad mood. He told me that he didn't trust anyone at Osborn and always felt like someone was trying to harm him, so he made a will immediately, with Felicia as the beneficiary."
Gwen quietly said, "So, Felicia is really Harry's sister?"
Peter nodded: "Yes, she was adopted by Norman when she was little, but it was never made public. Harry told me about it before and asked me not to tell anyone."
Gwen nodded in understanding, then looked at Hawk beside her.
Hawk's attention wasn't on this.
Gwen followed Hawk's gaze to the coffin where the final farewell ceremony was taking place nearby, and gently nudged Hawk.
"Hawk?"
"Hmm? Yes."
Hawk came back to his senses and looked at Gwen: "What's wrong?"
Gwen blinked.
"What are you looking at?"
"Looking at the coffin."
Hawk didn't hide it.
He thought of the familiar scent he had smelled when he came to Osborn Manor a few days ago.
However, at that time, he followed the scent, passed through the annex, and after seeing the Osborn family cemetery, he didn't look any further.
Because he had already found the source of that very familiar aura at the time.
Norman Osborn's grave.
He had thought that this aura was the aura of Norman Osborn's death.
But now.
This aura of death reappeared when he came to attend this funeral.
And this time, the source of the aura was not emanating from Norman Osborn's grave, but from the coffin containing Harry Osborn's body.
Hawk thought, looking at Peter.
"Do you know the cause of Harry's death?"
"Hmm."
Peter nodded and whispered, "Retroviral proliferation, which is the Osborn family's genetic disease. Felicia said that after the serum injection that afternoon, he did recover to normal, but then…"
After all these days, Peter was no longer as guilty as before.
Because Harry did not die from his blood.
His blood did indeed heal Harry.
This was a fact.
As for why it suddenly recurred later, and why the onset was so rapid, that could only be explained as something that science currently couldn't explain.
Just then.
Mary, who had been silent, reminded them, "The farewell has begun."
Hawk and Peter looked over, and seeing the guests rising from their seats, they also stood up, preparing to see Harry one last time.
Harry lay in the coffin, dressed in a black suit, with his eyes closed, as if he were asleep.
But…
When Hawk walked to the coffin, he glanced at Harry, and when his gaze fell on a wisp of black mist condensed between Harry's eyebrows, he finally remembered why he felt somewhat familiar with this aura of death.
It wasn't Norman Osborn.
It was Mephisto!
On the African savanna, after he killed Hulk, the remaining projection of Mephisto carried such a wisp of death aura.
But because several months had passed, and the aura of death was indeed very faint, he didn't remember it immediately.
Now…
Hawk looked at the wisp of black mist near Harry's eyebrows and finally understood.
This was not an aura of death at all.
This was clearly the aura of a Devil.
Hawk thought to himself, but didn't show it, silently following Peter, who was walking ahead. After taking one last look at Harry, he walked down from the left side.
Half an hour later.
As Harry's coffin was closed and buried underground, the funeral was declared over.
Hawk and Gwen, along with Peter and Mary, did not stay for the subsequent reception, but chose to go home.
After all, it was getting late.
After Hawk and Gwen dropped Peter and Mary off at the Queens subway station, they drove towards Manhattan.
Gwen watched Hawk drive into Manhattan territory before speaking, looking at Hawk: "Alright, tell me."
Hawk smiled, glancing at Gwen: "You saw my expression?"
Gwen shrugged: "Please, if I didn't know you, how would I have found you alone in Maryland? What did you find?"
Hawk smiled slightly, not hiding anything.
"Devil."
"What?"
"I suspect that the Osborn family's genetic disease isn't a disease at all, but rather due to a Devil."
"..."
Gwen was stunned at first, then seemed to think of something, and said thoughtfully, "Peter just said that at first, Harry's illness was indeed cured, but then it recurred, and it happened very rapidly. If what you say is true, it certainly sounds a bit like a Devil noticing and simply deciding to kill him."
Hawk shrugged.
...
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