Shadow's End

Someone was hiding in a passenger's shadow.

It might have sounded unbelievable, but Nen abilities made such a thing possible.

Kang Zai could spot Moro's disguise with his sharp eyes, yet he could not discover the person hidden in the shadows.

This was not an oversight.

Rather, this ability could evade detection from "Gyo."

The Nen user hiding in a passenger's shadow was Kawahara from Ryuuou Country.

According to the original plan, after obtaining the Famous Sword Senra, he should have returned home with his companions.

However, the leader had given him a mission:

Find out why and how Shinra's Nen aura had disappeared.

So he set his sights on Moro and had finally waited for a sealed environment suitable for making his move.

"Shadow's End."

This was Kawahara's secret art.

In truth, it was simply a Nen ability. Ryuuou Country merely called special abilities secret arts or ninjutsu.

The effect of Shadow's End allowed Kawahara to freely travel through the shadows of non-Nen humans "within a certain range."

The limitation of that range referred more to volume.

And the volume of the entire airship happened to fall within the range of Kawahara's shadow-travel ability.

Besides shadow travel, Kawahara had another ability that leaned toward the Manipulation type.

After entering a target's shadow, as long as he fulfilled the condition of "sufficient invasion time," he could gain control of the target and employ "two" methods of manipulation.

One was to hide directly in the target's shadow and control the target through a soul invasion—or rather, occupy the target's body.

The other was to take away the target's shadow, turning them into a humanoid puppet that obeyed commands.

For now, Kawahara was hiding in a passenger's shadow and was in no hurry to act.

This airship would need three days to reach the Gugan Jade Kingdom.

Although it would land midway to refuel, passengers were not permitted to disembark during the entire refueling process.

In other words, Kawahara had three days to complete this mission.

With plenty of time, he could first invade the shadows of more passengers and quietly build a group of puppets.

That was the fundamental reason he had waited for this enclosed space.

It would let him gather puppets without worry while ensuring Moro could not leave midway.

Within a sticky, pitch-black expanse of shadow space.

Kawahara's body remained fixed within it, expressionless as he patiently waited for the right opportunity.

Inside a VIP cabin.

Kang Zai stood by the door and answered the burly female bodyguard's question. "That boy is a Nen user. He used some kind of disguise."

"Hm!?"

The female bodyguard was named Talia. Her gaze sharpened at his words.

Influenced by Kang Zai, she had come to feel that Moro might be suspicious, but she had been unable to see through his disguise.

Kang Zai crossed his arms, his expression calm. "I didn't sense any hostility, but we can't let down our guard. Among all the passengers, he's the only Nen user. Being overly cautious can't hurt."

"..."

Talia looked at Kang Zai, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping herself.

From the sofa inside the cabin, the woman who had removed her mask and sunglasses cast a light glance their way.

"What?"

Kang Zai raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled by the female bodyguard's reaction.

Talia hesitated, but ultimately did not correct Kang Zai's misuse of the idiom. She merely shook her head. "Nothing."

Kang Zai suddenly felt baffled.

This Professional Hunter, who was extraordinarily sensitive to "potential threats," seemed exceptionally dull only when it came to arithmetic and language.

Not paying much attention to Talia's strange reaction, Kang Zai shifted his gaze to the employer sitting on the sofa, a woman with silky silver hair.

This employer was a daughter of the royal family of the Gugan Jade Great Country.

When he had first accepted this escort commission, Kang Zai had not thought much of it.

It was not as if he had never taken on commissions to protect royalty and nobles before. Usually, it was simply escorting them from one country to another.

The greatest risk encountered along the way was generally an attack by other Nen users.

But this time was completely different.

Had he known this escort commission would get tangled up in the damned mess of a royal power struggle, he would never have accepted it—even if Chairman Netero had personally assigned the commission to him.

He hated these convoluted power-struggle messes the most...

But since he had already accepted the commission, professional ethics demanded that no matter how much it gave him a headache or how reluctant he was, he had to handle it with one hundred percent professionalism.

Fortunately, this female employer was quite normal. She had none of the usual unpleasant flaws, such as arrogance or haughtiness. She could even recognize the situation for what it was and had cooperated throughout the journey.

Only...

When facing attacks, this female employer was as calm as a robot.

All manner of dangers rushing toward her seemed like insignificant trifles in her eyes.

Kang Zai could sense a contradiction within this female employer.

She seemed to believe that dying on the "road ahead" was a perfectly natural outcome.

Thus, when facing deadly danger, she possessed an almost indifferent composure that made it difficult for Kang Zai to see even the slightest will to resist in her.

Yet at the same time, she firmly believed that as long as she survived to the end, she would surely be able to realize immense value.

Under this contradiction, some of her will and thoughts resembled the perspective of a pure bystander, detachedly watching herself walk down a road covered in thorns.

After spending some time together, Kang Zai felt that this female employer possessed some indescribable quality.

Whether from the perspective of the commission or his own personal perspective, he hoped this female employer would survive.

Knock, knock—

Talia immediately moved into position in front of the silver-haired woman.

Kang Zai, meanwhile, went to the door and opened it only wide enough for three fingers.

Outside the door.

A waiter in work clothes pushed a dining cart and smiled. "Hello, your meal has been prepared..."

"Just leave it there."

Kang Zai spoke blandly.

The waiter continued smiling. "Certainly. If you need anything else, you may use the room telephone to contact the service desk."

"Got it."

Kang Zai stared expressionlessly at the waiter outside.

The waiter seemed accustomed to all kinds of guest reactions and left with a smile.

After the waiter departed, Kang Zai pushed the cart carrying dinner into the room.

The silver-haired woman moved to sit at the dining table.

Talia placed the exquisite dishes onto the table one by one, then looked at the silver-haired woman. The latter gave a slight nod.

Talia immediately selected a portion of the food and put it into her mouth.

As she chewed, steam-like Nen aura swirled around her entire mouth.

"Normal."

After swallowing the food, Talia tested another dish.

"Normal, normal..."

She continued until the final dish. There were no problems with any of them.

However, when Talia picked up a flute glass, she detected a colorless, odorless, highly toxic poison on its rim.

"There's a problem."

Talia set down the flute glass, her expression unchanged.

The silver-haired woman's response remained calm.

Kang Zai glanced at the silver-haired woman and could not help sighing.

Before deciding to board this airship, they had released a whole pile of smokescreens.

It had all been meant to deceive others, yet it had been completely useless.

It really never ended...

Kang Zai raised a hand and ruffled his hedgehog-like hair.