Hawk was puzzled.
He was clearly a very kind person.
But...
Why does someone always take his kindness as stupidity and something that can be deceived?
Alexander Pierce was like this.
King Namor was like this too.
Now it's Kovinus's turn, the same.
Is it true that the wise man submits to circumstances is just an ancient saying from the Eastern Country?
Forget it.
Hawk sighed, stood up from his chair, and looked at Kovinus standing with the captain of the guards.
"I am so powerful; didn't you ever think that my hearing is also excellent?"
"..."
Kovinus's face changed dramatically.
The next second.
A magnificent golden Phoenix Beam shot out, with a bang, vaporizing not only Kovinus but also taking away the remaining surviving vampires, including the captain of the guards.
In the blink of an eye.
The castle was empty.
No.
There was still one survivor.
Lying on the floor, but currently barely alive, with no unscathed skin, the vampire Carter.
Hawk's gaze fell on the vampire Carter.
The vampire Carter's gaze, full of endless pleading, also fell on Hawk.
Their eyes met.
A slight smile appeared on Hawk's lips.
"Boom!"
"Poof!"
Now the castle was truly empty.
Hawk's pupils flickered with gold.
"Blood God Envoy?"
"Heh."
Nineteen years ago, after Bruce and Andor faked their deaths, one after another, they found Carter; Carter was indeed instructed to convert them.
But Carter didn't hold back and revealed the origin of the instigators.
Blood God Envoy.
These two envoys appeared earlier than Bruce and Andor, and as Carter described, their vitality was more vigorous than any pure-blood vampires.
As a reward for Carter converting Bruce and Andor, the two Blood God envoys also purified Carter.
Turning Carter from a mixed-blood vampire into a pure-blood vampire.
In the following ten-plus years, Carter had always been secretly maintaining a single line of communication with the two Blood God envoys, the most recent contact was to have Bruce and Andor blend into the so-called Blood Pack Squad, allowing them to go to New York City.
As for why, Carter indeed did not know.
And this was the information that Kovinus kept hidden.
Hawk, ever since awakening the Little Cosmos, had his first five senses elevated to the peak.
So it seemed like he was resting with his eyes closed just now, but actually, the entire process of the captain of the guard interrogating the vampire Carter, he experienced it as if he were there.
Not to mention that the captain even whispered to Kovinus in front of him after coming out.
And what happened?
Kovinus still hid this information, thinking he didn't know.
It was purely treating him like a fool.
Hawk felt, if he didn't explode over this, that would completely be humiliating himself.
"Gave you a chance to live."
"You didn't cherish it."
"What's the point."
Hawk glanced around the now empty, lifeless, and vampire-free castle, withdrew his gaze, turned around, and stepped forward with his right foot.
In 0.02 seconds, or 19.5 milliseconds later.
Hawk returned to New York City, which was in the afternoon.
"Hey!"
"Shit!"
Sharon, who was about to leave her office to greet Gwen, turned at the sound behind her and was startled at the sight of Hawk appearing in her office, clutching her chest: "Weren't you going to Paris?"
Hawk shrugged.
"I'm back."
"Problem solved?"
"No."
Hawk shook his head: "What about the two vampires and the Blood Servant?"
"The vampires are still being searched for, agents have already approached the Blood Servant."
"Address."
"Jersey City, Maple Street..."
"Have your people pull back."
After Hawk got the address, he said a word, then turned, disappearing from Sharon's office once again.
The next second.
Hawk appeared in the home of Kovinus's Blood Servant, Joruno Bruno, who was responsible for the Andrew Chloe case years ago and was now a retired detective at home.
Hair white, face old, wearing home clothes, Joruno Bruno was happily cooking in the kitchen, humming a song, seemingly unaware of Hawk's arrival.
Hawk stood in the living room, looking at Joruno Bruno, who was facing away from him.
Joruno Bruno hummed as he stirred the pot frying beef cubes.
Time tick-tock.
The beef cubes in the pot gradually blackened.
In sight.
Joruno Bruno continued to hum, but sweat was already starting to drip from his forehead.
His peripheral vision tried to identify the person standing motionless behind him, while his thoughts raced.
Hawk smelled the burnt scent of beef cubes in the pot.
"Are you planning to..."
"Clang!"
Just as Hawk began to speak, the overfifty-year-old Joruno rapidly and uncharacteristically flung the pot towards Hawk as he turned and crouched, pulling out a weapon attached under the island counter behind him.
He rose, finger on the trigger.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"BANG——!!!"
Almost instantly, twelve bullets emptied out of the clip, whizzing out of the barrel, and froze along with the iron pot in front of Hawk, under the increasingly shocked eyes of Joruno Bruno as he transformed.
Hawk glanced at Joruno Bruno, his eyes raised.
Boom!
Standing behind the island counter, Joruno's figure suddenly soared, his back slamming into the kitchen glass window. Amidst the shattering glass, his buttocks landed right on the stove that hadn't been turned off yet.
Joruno's pupils visibly enlarged, even his expression twisted into something fierce at an observable pace.
"Ah——!!"
With a heart-wrenching scream, Joruno jumped off the stove, frantically slapping his buttocks in an attempt to alleviate the pain.
His buttocks, visibly blistered in two rings.
Hawk's mind moved.
A whooshing sound.
Joruno's limbs were stretched, lifting him into the air, soaring over the island counter, then he hovered in front of Hawk.
"Andrew Chloe."
"Speak."
Hawk maintained his calm demeanor, looking at the still screaming Joruno: "You can keep screaming, but even if you scream until your throat breaks, outsiders won't hear your cries."
Joruno, hair white and sweat on his brow, clenched his teeth.
"I don't know who Andrew is..."
"Crack!"
"Ah——!!"
Joruno's neck veins bulged as his eyes widened in disbelief, staring at a piece of his left arm that had fallen to the floor.
His left arm.
Mysteriously, after his arm was dismembered, there wasn't a single drop of blood squirting out.
Hawk's lips curled into a smile.
"I just thought George missed it."
"What Blood Servant."
"Isn't this also a vampire? But, looking at you, if I guess correctly, it should be Bruce Jerry from Paris or Andor Yager who transformed you."
"..."
Listening to Hawk, Joruno continued to scream.
But inside, he was filled with terror.
Yes.
He was transformed into a vampire just over a month ago.
Indeed, back then he had the option to transform along with Bruce and Andor into vampires.
But...
Compared to the young Andor and Bruce, who had just lost his wife, his wife and children were still around, so he didn't choose to become a vampire back then.
Even after his retirement five years ago, becoming a vampire never crossed his mind.
Because his wife was still alive.
It wasn't until half a year ago when his wife died from illness that he contacted Bruce, seeking his long-overdue reward from twenty years ago.
But...
He didn't understand why, that incident had been over twenty years ago.
Hawk looked at the still screaming Joruno, whose eyes rolled feverishly, chuckled, and surveyed the room, finally fixing his gaze on a family photo hanging on the wall.
He glanced at Joruno in the family photo, turned to look at the frozen Joruno, and smilingly pointed at the young couple in the photo holding a baby standing together: "Is that your son, daughter-in-law, and grandson?"
Joruno's screams abruptly stopped.
He looked at Hawk, who was taking a photo of the family portrait with his phone, and roared.
"Stop, what are you doing, what are you doing?"
"Nothing."
After taking the picture, Hawk sent it to Sharon, then made a call and opened the speakerphone in front of Joruno.
"Sharon..."
"Did you receive the photo?"
"Running facial recognition, got it."
"Bring them in."
"No, damn it, no!"
"Understood."
Hawk ended the call, expressionless, watching Joruno who was screaming in a fury.
Joruno glared at Hawk: "My son and grandson are innocent, don't touch them."
Hawk scoffed.
"I haven't introduced myself."
"My name is Hawk."
"Hawk Phoenix!"
"Or, Hawk Chloe."
As Joruno's pupils gradually contracted, Hawk calmly spoke: "Andrew Chloe's son, now, you're telling me your son and grandson are innocent? I promise, I will dismember your son and grandson and throw them in front of you."
Joruno trembled all over.
The next second.
His body shook even more violently.
"It wasn't me who killed your father, why are you seeking me?"
"You tell me."
Hawk spoke calmly, raising his arm: "You have ten seconds, Joruno, either speak now, or in ten seconds your son and grandson will become food for wild dogs. Believe me, when I say something, I do it."
Joruno gritted his teeth.
Hawk remained expressionless.
Their eyes locked.
Almost as the ten seconds were about to pass.
Joruno closed his eyes, roaring in rage.
"We only helped transport that corpse out of the country."
"...Corpse?"
Hawk's eyebrows shot up, looking at Joruno.
"Whose corpse."
"Andrew Chloe's corpse."
"..."