After leaving Sodo City and traveling at full speed, Su Xiao arrived at the headquarters of the Watch Association. The building, which had stood for hundreds of years, had now been reduced to ruins scattered across the ground.
A figure stood amid the ruins, tilting her head slightly upward with her eyes closed as she bathed in the sunlight.
"Byakuya, Bal... is dead."
Madam Xiang spoke with her back to Su Xiao as a breeze stirred her golden hair.
"Oh."
"Don't you feel sad? You're the only divine hunter left."
"Not really. Bal accomplished what he wanted to achieve."
Su Xiao removed the Hunter Brand hanging around his neck and tossed it to Madam Xiang. The azure Hunter Brand flew through the air, its surface already covered in scratches and signs of corrosion.
"What are you doing?!"
As soon as Madam Xiang caught the Hunter Brand, she noticed the injuries on Su Xiao's body. His left forearm was severed, while his chest and shoulder each had a bowl-sized hole in them. If his vital points hadn't been spared and his constitution hadn't been strong enough, he would have been unable to move by now. Even drinking a recovery potion wouldn't have changed that.
Aside from those three injuries, Su Xiao had six finger-thick penetrating wounds in his lower abdomen and lower back. His entire right arm was covered in cuts, and a bloody gash nearly a centimeter wide ran from his right cheek to his collarbone.
Seeing Su Xiao's injuries, Madam Xiang was speechless for a moment. She couldn't understand how he could still converse with her so calmly. Earlier, she had only suffered a cut across the back of her hand, yet it had left her forehead covered in cold sweat. Since she hadn't been injected with anesthetic, the