Moses manipulated Saiyu to take out his phone and dial Pariston's number.
After about ten seconds, the call was connected.
But Pariston didn't speak immediately, as if waiting for Saiyu to say something first.
However, Saiyu was still trapped in Kyoka Suigetsu, and Moses had no intention of letting Saiyu speak. Thus, the call fell into a brief silence.
"What a headache."
A few seconds later, Pariston's voice came through the phone. His tone was calm, devoid of any emotion:
"From what I know of Saiyu, he should have stubbornly held out until the very end. How did he end up 'breaking under pressure'?"
"…"
Listening to Pariston's words, Moses remained silent.
On the other end of the line.
Pariston, who was sitting in his office at the Hunter Association's Headquarters, noticed the silence on the other end, and a faint gleam appeared in his dark eyes.
From the moment Saiyu called and remained silent...
Pariston realized that Saiyu had failed, and that it had been a complete failure, even exposing his involvement in this matter.
But he knew Saiyu's personality and style too well, which made him sense something unusual about the situation.
"You're listening, aren't you, my dear friend?"
Pariston stared at the empty space in front of him. Even though this was a remote communication, his face still showed the habitual smile of a cheerful boy.
"…"
The other end of the line remained silent.
Pariston didn't mind. His face still has his trademark fake smile, and his lips parted as if to speak again. But before he could, Saiyu's agonized scream suddenly came through the phone.
"…"
This time, it was Pariston's turn to fall silent. He wasn't shocked or surprised in the slightest. Instead, he listened carefully and attentively to Saiyu's screams.
However, the smile on his face disappeared.
The screams from Saiyu lasted for about ten seconds before stopping abruptly.
The call had been hung up...
Pariston slowly lowered the phone, and there seemed to be a dark energy swirling in his eyes.
"Ten seconds..."
He murmured thoughtfully.
The duration of Saiyu's screams exactly matched the time it took for him to answer the call.
Whether it was a coincidence or intentional, this was clearly a show of force.
Pariston clasped his hands together and placed them under his chin, the darkness in his eyes deepened.
Although he didn't hear any other voice during the call, he was 100% certain that this was Moses's doing.
As for why Saiyu had exposed him...
Pariston thought back to the incident at Heavens Arena where Moses had annihilated the Phantom Troupe. From that, he could roughly guess why Saiyu had 'confessed' to Moses.
Although he had not intended to do anything extreme from the beginning, he did not expect that Saiyu would fail so decisively.
"Saiyu... he's going to die, isn't he?"
Pariston lowered his head, staring at the clear floor tiles of his office.
He knew Saiyu as a comrade, and he also knew Moses, who was about to become an enemy.
So, from the moment he hung up the phone, Pariston had already foreseen Saiyu's fate.
"Heh."
Pariston let out a light chuckle, seemingly amused.
"The fourth rule of Hunter Bylaws: Hunters shall not target other Hunters unless they commit heinous crimes."
Then, in a somewhat cryptic tone, he recited the fourth rule of the Hunter Bylaws.
....
The scenic mountain area.
Thud-
Amid the howling wind, a dull thud echoed.
It was the sound of Saiyu's body hitting the ground.
After getting the information and giving Pariston a ten-second scream, Moses naturally 'disposed of' Saiyu, who had lost all value.
From this moment on, there was a vacancy among the Zodiacs of the Hunter Association.
"The fourth rule of Hunter Bylaws: Hunters shall not target other Hunters unless they commit heinous crimes."
Moses lowered his head slightly, gazing at the dark ground, muttering the rule in a calm, almost indifferent tone.
As a Double-Star Blacklist Hunter with a strong sense of justice, whose goal is to capture and kill dangerous wanted criminals, how could Moses possibly do something as heinous as harming a fellow Hunter Association's member?
Therefore, he had made Saiyu atone for his sins by committing suicide, and before doing so, Saiyu had kowtowed three times in repentance.
Huh?
Since Saiyu had committed suicide, what does that have to do with Moses?
After taking a few casual glances at Saiyu's corpse, Moses turned and walked away, striding through the howling mountain wind toward the temple at the mountaintop.
At this moment, the long-absent voice of Perception echoed in the depths of his consciousness.
"You have defeated Saiyu, one of the Zodiacs, with a perfect victory. Perception is pleased. Your Nyoi Bo - Cornerstone +1"
The voice that sounded from the depths of his consciousness made Moses pause abruptly.
But he didn't delve into the details of the reward. Instead, he quickened his pace toward the temple.
Soon.
Moses arrived at the front gate of the temple on the mountaintop.
The vermilion gates were wide open, and bright light spilled out, illuminating the steps in front of the entrance.
Pat, pat-
A very recognizable sound of footsteps came from inside the temple.
Moses looked in the direction of the sound and saw Rat Jewel running towards him.
"Chuu!"
Rat Jewel was holding a steaming hot roasted sweet potato. It scurried over on its short legs, stopping in front of Moses and raising the sweet potato high above its head, offering it to him.
"Thanks."
Moyou took the sweet potato with a smile. He then split it in half and handed one half back to Rat Jewel.
Rat Jewel took the other half of the sweet potato that Moses handed over, and immediately smiled.
Moses crouched down and ruffled Rat Jewel's little head. Then, he walked through the front courtyard and headed straight to the central courtyard.
"It's good that you made it back."
Hawk sat on a stone chair in the central courtyard, his slightly cloudy eyes looking toward Moses as he approached.
Though Hawk still had the appearance of a middle-aged man, his demeanor and movements betrayed his advanced age, and a feeling of impending death surrounded him.
Seeing Hawk in this state, Moses pursed his lips, then pretended everything was fine and asked casually: "Have you eaten yet?"
"Not yet. My appetite hasn't been great lately."
Hawk grinned and replied with a smile.
Seeing this, Moses walked over and sat on the stone chair opposite Hawk, also smiling as he said, "That's perfect, I found something that can help improve your appetite."
Without waiting for Hawk to respond, Moses flipped his hand and retrieved Nitro Rice from his Shadow World.
The golden glow emanating from the Nitro Rice slowly dispelled the haze in Hawk's eyes.