Meteor City's Faith

Hearing Chrollo's words, Ian could only sigh inwardly. The First Elder, whom he had never met, really was a cunning old fox.

The First Elder clearly hadn't done much.

Yet somehow, Ian's group and the people pursuing the Third Elder had become enemies who would almost certainly fight to the death.

And there was no fault to be found with the way the First Elder had handled things.

After all, he was one of Meteor City's masters.

He had been willing to let them leave and had even given them some resources. In anyone's eyes, they probably owed him a little gratitude.

Even though... they could have done without those resources.

But if Ian hadn't appeared, those things would have been enough to win Chrollo and the others over at this point.

No wonder Chrollo would maintain a faint connection with Meteor City in the future, even after founding the Phantom Troupe.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid it'll be pretty difficult to get a vehicle out here..."

Ian glanced at the desolate scenery around them. He couldn't help feeling that running into a garbage truck would depend heavily on luck.

At the very least, his group probably couldn't count on it.

It wasn't time to check in yet, so he couldn't obtain a new item. The group could only continue on foot.

That made Ian even more eager for a new item to appear.

If he had an item like a [bamboo-copter] or a [magic carpet] right now, they wouldn't be in such a predicament.

Of course, Ian didn't know what was happening now.

While he was worrying about his group's lack of suitable items for traveling.

At the same time, somewhere behind them.

Two men and a wolf had also fallen silent. Everything around them was still, save for the soft howl of the wind as it swept up sand and dust.

"Wh... what the hell is this, damn it..."

Baines's noble attire was covered in dust, and his once-gleaming golden hair had been dyed grayish brown by the windblown sand.

Of course, none of that mattered most.

What mattered was that his eyes were slightly red and bloodshot, his pupils wide as he stared at the "statues" around them.

"W... we should stop, Ron. You know I'm not joking. It's time to stop..."

Hearing him, Ron, whose face was solemn and silent, twitched at the corner of his eye. He took a deep breath and remained silent.

He merely raised his callused hands and relit his cigar with a snap.

Of course, he understood why Baines was acting this way.

In this world.

One could say Meteor City, a region forgotten by the world, was utterly chaotic, but one couldn't say it had no order of its own.

One could also say that most people in Meteor City were lunatics and madmen, extreme and deranged in their actions, but one couldn't say they lacked devout faith.

Perhaps it was because of the damaged relics of ancient civilizations that had been dumped here and worn down by time.

Or perhaps it was a kind of spiritual compensation caused by Meteor City's children being abandoned in this lost land from birth.

Or perhaps it was because the realities facing Meteor City's power structure had forced it to lean toward religion.

Though it couldn't be explained.

There was no doubt that the people of Meteor City had faith and held it in great respect. They worshipped all kinds of strange gods.

In this land of garbage.

There were all sorts of scraps of knowledge and old objects discarded by the outside world.

As long as enough things were picked up, someone was bound to find something strange.

Especially in a world where Nen Abilities truly existed.

After people encountered certain things that didn't occur naturally.

Chaotic, motley and scattered beliefs were born.

In Meteor City, some worshipped a strange giant fish covered in tentacles as a god, while others revered a black goat with several humanlike arms and three vertical pupils, offering worship in bizarre ways. There were all sorts, each different from the next.

In short, if ordinary people from the outside world saw them.

They would probably take one look at the gods worshipped by these Meteor City "believers" and declare them heretics without hesitation.

It wouldn't be surprising for them to be put on pyres and burned to ashes.

Unfortunately, this was the abandoned Meteor City.

The outside world never turned its gaze here, and so all manner of strange religions had formed on their own.

Baines was a child who had grown up in a heterodox organization that worshipped the "Demonic Fire."

Having grown up in such an environment, Baines was naturally a very devout believer.

Awakening a Nen Ability that set him apart from ordinary people had only strengthened his faith.

He had been favored by the "God of Demonic Fire."

Otherwise, with so many believers in the "God of Demonic Fire," why had he alone awakened a wondrous Nen Ability?

For believers, even if they had never witnessed the majestic form of their god, they always had some image of it in their minds.

And now, among the countless "statues" before Baines.

There was one of a giant burning with flames in a fearsome form.

If a transmigrator had been here, the sight of these ten-meter-tall "statues" would probably have made their eyes pop out in shock.

There was a giant bear roaring at the sky, clad in lightning, savage and ferocious; a crimson demon wielding a greatsword, its face filled with an arrogant disdain for all things; a behemoth made of hard rock, capable of smashing through anything as it looked down upon all living beings; and a heroic stone figure standing proudly with its enormous wings spread, clad in sacred armor and posed like Superman...

Any transmigrator who saw these statues would probably think they had transmigrated to Valoran.

The one that had drawn Baines's gaze was Brand the Burning Vengeance from the League, whom players called Fire Man.

"Look... look at that majestic form..."

"No, I shouldn't do this. Perhaps looking directly at him is blasphemy against the Lord..."

Baines gazed at Fire Man's statue in fascination, then abruptly shook his head and muttered to himself with a worried look.

Seeing his expression, Ron frowned and said in a low voice.

"Baines, all of this might just be that brat's delaying tactic!"

Despite saying that, Ron himself didn't quite believe his own words.

After all, even the staunchest materialist would probably have their beliefs shaken by the sight of these statues, each one seemingly carved in the likeness of God.

Let alone a powerful Nen user like Ron, whose very existence was highly idealistic.

Ask any Nen user, and they probably wouldn't be able to explain why they possessed a wondrous ability like Nen.

Where did it come from? What was it, and where did its limits lie?

Even Netero, the chairman of the Hunter Association, didn't understand any of it. Only by idealistically giving thanks to all things, praying to all things, and expressing his gratitude ten thousand times, night and day, had he achieved his 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Ron thought the same way. How could a boy possibly have created so many majestic statues!?

Judging by their forms, every one of them was lifelike. They couldn't possibly have been created at random; they were more like the work of an artisan who had visited the world where the gods dwelled, returned to the mortal world, and carved what he had seen and heard.

Without a doubt, that person was the boy they were pursuing.

"Even if... even if all of this is real, only that brat knows the truth. All the more reason for us to get our hands on him!"

After hesitating for a moment, Ron spoke earnestly.

Originally, he had only wanted to secure a budding genius capable of changing Meteor City for the Third Elder.

But after seeing the statues before him.

He abandoned that idea.

He had to meet that boy and learn the truth of all this from him...

"You're right, Ron. Only by meeting that child, only by meeting him, can I find out how he knows my Lord's face!"

Baines's eyes lit up at Ron's words.

"The Lord exists!"

"I have to learn from him how I can meet the Lord!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he gave the reins in his hand a sharp tug, nearly pulling Black Wolf off balance.

But he paid it no mind. His eyes were exceptionally bright, and he shouted as if fired up.

"Let's go, Black Wolf! We have to find that child quickly. This is the closest we've ever come to the Lord. We absolutely can't miss this chance!"

He was like a person dying of thirst in the desert who had learned there was an oasis ahead.

At that moment, Baines's eyes held only a longing for his god. And before anything else, he had to find Ian.

Ian, of course, knew nothing of this.

The "hero" statues he had left behind to intimidate and deter their pursuers had instead fueled their eagerness to see him.

Of course, noon was gradually drawing near.

And Ian would have another chance at a check-in draw.

Even if he knew all this, he probably wouldn't pay it much mind.

As before, killing the other party might be difficult, but if he was set on running, there were far too many items that could do the job. All he lacked was a little luck.