Inside one of the Gardens, Cooper had no choice but to somewhat use a part of the area to set up some type of base. He had gathered some of the other Hunter Lou and two of the hunters that had entered with him, and then there was his trusted partner, Joy. Not too long ago, as they were venturing in the Garden themselves, they had come across Pluto's dead body, a five-star hunter. Most of the group that had arrived along with Pluto had been left outside to stand guard. Once the scouting team was done, they were all to head in to clear the area. With Pluto gone, Lou had to quickly take charge of the group, and that's when he had run into Cooper and Joy. They had taken them to the side and made them aware of the two dangers. One, that there was an Ironfang inside that was strong enough to deal with Pluto, and the other was that outside, using the cameras of the garden, they had seen that Lupus was present. Due to the troubles, including what was going on outside, Cooper had made the decision to set up his special device and send out a message to all of the hunters of where Lupus was at. It was all he could do for now. "So what are we going to do?" Lou asked as he pulled back a large leaf and looked far ahead. Not just him, but the other hunters brought with him were doing the same in the other directions. "Are we just going to stay here, while those outside are in trouble?" "If we try to head outside, we'll run into the Ironfang!" Joy shouted. "There's no doubt about that. With the message sent out, all of the hunters should be heading here. When we see them, that's when we should make our move, not now." The orders from Joy and Cooper didn't sit well with the team. Knowing they could be fighting for their lives, they were just hiding away. "Cooper, aren't you a five-star hunter?" Lou asked. "Don't you have some pride to try and at least take on the Ironfang or even head outside to take on Lupus!" "What are you saying!" Joy snapped. "Has the situation turned you into an idiot? The number of stars only dictates how many Altereds you've killed. There are plenty of those hunters who have been strong, but because they don't use their heads, they get into situations where they lose their lives. Cooper has survived this long, and hunted countless Altereds despite all of this. His stars are the reason we're all alive right now. No one is forcing you to stay; you can just leave!" The other hunters didn't say anything else as they just turned their heads around. They had heard that Cooper had long gone past his prime. One of the oldest Hunters, having started this journey with Edvard close to the beginning of the Altered Hunter Association. Of course, the Altered hunters were a group around the world but were said to originate on the current land. There were also other rumors about Cooper, that he actually was always weak and despite that was able to get five stars. The hunters didn't know what to believe, but none of them felt safe. "What was that!" One of the hunters called out as he took out his small weapon from his back and held it tight. He held it right in front of his face and then felt it grabbed. "What the heck do you think you can even do with that thing?" The person said as he pushed through. The Altered hunter was a bit shocked at who it was, along with the others. "Blackjack? Where have you been…weren't you meant to scout up ahead with Pluto?" Lou asked. Blackjack and Pluto were in front of the others on the motorbike and the first to enter the place. Yet they had only found Pluto's body and not Blackjack's. They hadn't thought about it too much and imagined that maybe Blackjack's body was just in a different place altogether. "Me and Pluto had split up to cover more ground, but I didn't run into anyone or anything. Then, as I was searching, I guess I just got lucky and found you guys," Blackjack answered. That was a lie though; Blackjack was able to locate them due to their smell. "What's happening here anyway? Why is everyone just held up here?" "Did you not get my message?" Cooper asked. "Saiber never gave me a device," Blackjack complained. "I guess since I haven't been with the group for so long, he conveniently forgot to give me one. Why, what seems to be the problem?" "It's Lupus!" Lou shouted. "He's outside right now…right now, he's outside somewhere, where all of the others are." Blackjack immediately started to scratch his chin. "Well, that's not good. I guess since you guys are here, there's another problem. I saw his body as I was searching the place…and I'm guessing if Lupus is outside, it wasn't done by him." The others nodded, and the hunters looked excited now that Blackjack was with them. After all, he also was a five-star hunter, and one that had more reputation than Cooper, at least. Joy could see the smile on their faces as all of them went and surrounded Blackjack, which was making her somewhat displeased. "Our emotions are a cruel thing," Cooper commented. "Sometimes we give in to them. Don't blame them for acting like this; instead, be in control of you. That's the only thing you can do." "Well, I have some bad news for you all," Blackjack said. "It seems I have been followed as well. The Ironfang is here." ***** For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below. Instagram: Jksmanga *Patreon: jksmanga When news of MVS, MWS, or any other series comes out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I'm not too busy, I tend to reply.