Chapter 19

When Hudson reached his apartment building, he bought two bottles of Coke from the convenience store below before returning home. However, Winona was nowhere to be found, and a sense of unease crept over him. He instantly opened the door to his room. Sure enough, Winona was under the bed frame. Her hips and long legs were exposed, wriggling about in an awkward yet adorable manner. Her feet flailed in the air, and her hips swayed slightly as she tried to find support. Her movements were accompanied by the sound of her hurried, frustrated breathing. It was obvious she was struggling to get out. The scene made Hudson burst into laughter. The bed wasn't very high off the ground, but underneath, it was full of his prized possessions. Given Winona's well-proportioned figure, it was pure luck she hadn't gotten stuck last time. Nevertheless, she was courting trouble for trying it again. "What are you doing?" he asked, leaning casually against the doorway. Startled by his voice, she instantly tried to crawl out. But her sudden movement caused her head to bump against the underside of the bed. She yelped in pain, but her voice was muffled under the bed. Winona wriggled her hips and said helplessly, "Help… Help me. I'm stuck." "Oh, you're stuck, huh?" He walked to the bed and crouched beside her. "Is there some kind of monster underneath the bed that won't let you go?" For a moment, she quieted down before continuing to struggle. "Quick. Help me out. I can smell the barbeque ribs." "Do you dare snoop under my bed again?" "I wasn't snooping. I was just curious," she said defensively. "You're still denying it, huh?" Hudson rose and gently sat on the bed, causing the mattress to slump, and Winona instantly wriggled even more. "Ah! I'm sorry! I won't do it again." He wanted to taunt her more, but when his gaze fell on her slim legs, his cheeks flushed slightly. "Alright, if you've learned your lesson…" He leaned down and grabbed her by the ankles, ready to pull her out. But the moment he held her ankles, Winona made an unusual, high-pitched noise that caused both of them to freeze. "Don't touch my feet!" "Okay." His hands went upward slowly, and he grabbed her thighs instead. "What are you doing? Are you trying to take advantage of me?" Her body trembled slightly, and she sounded timid. "I'm not! There's no other place for me to grab." Hudson placed his palm firmly on the bedframe and thought for a second. Then, as if remembering something, he raised the sturdy wooden frame. "Hurry!" he said helplessly at the sight of her covered in dust. In an instant, Winona climbed out with her cheeks flushed. "I'm going to shower." With that, she dashed to the bathroom. Hudson couldn't help but sigh at the sight of his upturned treasures. "Looks like I need to find a new hiding spot." … He thought he'd over-ordered the food, but to his surprise, her appetite was as enormous as she'd claimed. As Hudson watched her devour the food with sauce dripping from the corners of her mouth, he chuckled and asked, "Aren't you afraid of gaining weight?" Winona shook her head, her cheeks puffed out with food. "When I was a kid, I was infected once. When Mr. Jennings saved me, he asked the Necroshade for help. Ever since then, my body burns through nutrients way too fast. No matter how much I eat, I won't gain weight." The topic wasn't a pleasant one, and he decided not to tease her further. He sat quietly across her and watched her devour the food. When she finally slumped back in her chair, patting her slightly rounded stomach, Hudson realized something. There was a faint, wispy white energy that seemed to swirl around her. "The souls have feasted well, too. They're very satisfied and asked me to thank you," Winona lifted her head and said. "The souls like barbecue too?" Hudson asked with a smile. She shook her head. "No. They draw from my nutrients." "Awakeners' powers vary widely. For example, most members of the Ascendant League are Psychic-Class Awakened, while the Necroshade League consists entirely of Soul-Class Awakened. "Of course, there are also larger organizations with mixed members. Take Fearless for example, one of the Big Four. They're huge, with specialized teams to handle all kinds of beasts." Hudson listened intently before suddenly asking, "What about Twilight Revenants?" At his question, Winona scratched her head awkwardly and curled up in her chair as she mumbled, "Twilight Revenants is probably the smallest organization. Including you, Mr. Jennings, me, Mr. Duncan, and one other field Awakened, there are only five of us." She avoided his gaze and looked uneasy. "Do you regret it? Other organizations invest a lot of resources into training new Awakeners, but we can't afford that right now." He stared at her silently. His expression was serious, and his gaze carried a hint of collected thoughts. His gaze only intensified her uneasiness, and she gradually planted her head onto her knees. She said in a muffled voice, "If you regret it and want to leave, I'll talk to Mr. Jennings for you. I can leave your house now." Hudson didn't answer right away. Instead, he slowly rose from his seat and walked over to her side. He gently grabbed her hands, forcing her to look up at him. "I told you yesterday that you can't run away. You set the stage, so now you're responsible for seeing this play through to the end," he asserted, leaving no room for argument. Winona replied softly, "Okay. I understand." After a moment, she seemed to remember something and hurried to her worn-out suitcase, rummaging through it until she pulled out a small amulet. "It's the first calming amulet I made when I was a child, so it might not be very effective. But I thought you might like it. Do you want it?" The amulet wasn't refined and showed clear signs of age. It looked like something a child had made, but instead of being unimpressive, it radiated a genuine sincerity. "It's alright if you don't want it." "I want it," Hudson answered with a chuckle. He took the amulet and immediately hung it around his neck. "It isn't worth anything. Even the amulet doesn't have much power. You don't have to care so much about it," Winona said hesitantly. He merely smiled and ruffled her hair, replying, "Nonsense. I'll treat it as a token of our love. Since we're putting on a show, we might as well make it convincing." Seeing her cheeks flush, he added sternly, "From now on, no more snooping under my bed!" … Winona maintained her rigid schedule, going to bed and getting up at the same time every day. As Hudson watched her sleep, drooling with her mouth open, he couldn't help but chuckle softly. "It's good to be young." Then, he slowly knelt by the bed and examined the frame. The bed was left by the landlord. Although it was old, it was solid and firm. Yet now, a chunk of the frame had splintered where he had grabbed to lift it earlier. He couldn't help but frown when he looked at his hand. He was being extra careful earlier, yet he still couldn't control his strength. He didn't have an issue with his strength normally, but when force was required, his body seemed to lose all control. Hudson walked to the balcony and peered over the empty street below. He was tempted to see how much he could control his strength. Taking a deep breath, he stepped back, then sprinted forward and leaped onto the balcony railing, intending to jump lightly upward. Instead, the railing shattered beneath his foot. "Shit!" His body plummeted to the ground below. Hudson hit the pavement hard, leaving a crater in the cement. Lights flickered on in the nearby apartment buildings as residents stirred from the commotion. Seeing this, he quickly climbed out of the hole. He needed to leave before anyone saw him. The moment he decided to run, his body responded, propelling him forward like an arrow shot from a bow. Hudson's first thought was that he was going too fast. Even though he was holding back, his speed rivaled that of a speeding car. And it wasn't even the full extent of his power. At this moment, his skeletal armor slowly formed over his body, and his footsteps grew so heavy that with each step, a dent was left on the ground. Yet his speed didn't falter. Finally, the skeletal form covered his head, and a ghostly blue light glowed in his eyes. Hudson leaped toward an apartment building, and his jump was so powerful that he reached the roof with a single bound. Bathed in moonlight, his silver-white skeletal frame gleamed ominously. He laughed wildly, exhilarated by the power coursing through him. … Owen didn't think it was outrageous to let Winona be with Hudson. Although Kevin had his doubts, Owen believed in his instincts. It was also because of his instincts that he managed to save Winona as a little girl all those years ago. Besides, without Hudson, Winona wouldn't have survived that night. Thus, Owen decided to trust himself and believed in Hudson's power to stop the beasts. As he walked on the street, he suddenly felt an overwhelming energy that suddenly radiated into the night. It was the unmistakable energy of a beast that was announcing its mightiness to the world. Owen pulled his hat lower. After checking to make sure no one was around, he rolled his shoulders and said through gritted teeth, "Don't get yourself caught before I reach you!" With that, he stepped forward, and his figure dissolved into the darkness like a ghost. … Hudson's exhilaration reached its peak as he leaped from building to building, his skeletal tail whipping through the air for balance. When a leap wasn't enough, he planted his feet into the walls of the building, shattering glass as he scaled upward with inhuman strength. Finally, he landed on the tallest point of the broadcast tower with a flip. As Hudson looked down at the city beneath him, he let out an excited growl. His beastly roar echoed across the silent street, alarming the Guardians watching over in the dark. "This energy… is it an infected?" "No. It's a beast, and it's not any ordinary beast!" From various corners of the city, Awakeners noticed the presence of this unknown beast. Yet just as suddenly as it had appeared, the overwhelming energy vanished without a trace. Back atop the broadcast tower, Hudson returned to his human form and stared blankly into the distance. Owen was now with him. "You really know how to cause trouble," Owen muttered with a cigarette in his mouth. "I still can't control it. When the transformation is complete, I feel less like myself," Hudson said calmly. Owen's usual mockery was absent now. Even when Hudson returned to his human form, Owen's hand remained in the grip of the gun holstered at his waist. He slowly approached Hudson. "From tomorrow onward, outside your university classes, you'll train with me. I'll teach you how to control your power."