Shadow's End

A person was hiding in the passenger's shadow.

It might sound unbelievable, but Nen abilities made this possible.

Kang Zai, with his sharp eyes, could see through Moro's disguise, but he couldn't find the person hidden in the shadow.

This wasn't an oversight.

It was because this ability could evade detection from "Ko."

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

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

However, the leader gave him a mission:

Find the reason and method for the disappearance of Senra's Nen.

So, he set his sights on Moro and finally found a suitable enclosed environment to make his move.

"Shadow's End."

This was Kawahara's secret technique.

In reality, it was a Nen ability, but the Ryuuou Country referred to special abilities as secret techniques or ninjutsu.

The effect of Shadow's End was that Kawahara could freely travel within the shadows of non-Nen users "within a certain range."

The limitation on this range was more about volume.

And the entire airship's volume was precisely within the range where Kawahara could use his shadow-piercing ability.

Besides the shadow-piercing ability, Kawahara had another ability that leaned towards Manipulation.

After entering a target's shadow, as long as the "invasion time requirement met" condition was fulfilled, he could gain control of the target, thereby achieving "two" methods of operation.

One was to directly hide in the target's shadow, controlling the target through soul invasion, or rather, possessing the target's body.

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

Currently, Kawahara was hiding in a passenger's shadow, not in a hurry to act.

It would take three days for this airship to reach the Gugan Jade Great Country.

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

This meant Kawahara had three days to complete this mission.

With ample time, he could first invade more passengers' shadows and quietly develop a group of puppets.

This was also the fundamental reason he waited for this enclosed space.

It allowed him to collect puppets with peace of mind, without worrying that Moro would leave midway.

In a viscous, pitch-black shadow space.

Kawahara's body was frozen within, his expressionless face patiently waiting for the opportune moment.

In a VIP cabin.

Kang Zai stood by the door, answering the burly female bodyguard's question: "That young man is a Nen user; he used a disguise."

"What!?"

The female bodyguard, named Talia, her eyes narrowed upon hearing this.

It was under Kang Zai's influence that she suspected Moro might be problematic, but she hadn't been able to see through Moro's disguise.

Kang Zai crossed his arms, his expression calm. "I don't sense any malice, but we can't let our guard down. Of all the passengers, he's the only Nen user. It's always wise to be cautious."

"..."

Talia looked at Kang Zai, wanting to speak but hesitating.

On the sofa inside the cabin, the woman who had removed her mask and sunglasses cast a casual glance.

"What?"

Kang Zai raised an eyebrow, looking strangely at the bodyguard's reaction.

Talia hesitated for a moment, ultimately not correcting Kang Zai's misuse of an idiom, and simply shook her head. "It's nothing."

Kang Zai felt a sense of bewilderment.

This Professional Hunter, who was extremely sensitive to "potential threats," seemed unusually slow when it came to arithmetic and language.

Without paying much attention to Talia's strange reaction, Kang Zai turned his gaze to his employer on the sofa, who had luxurious silver hair like satin.

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

Initially, Kang Zai didn't think much of accepting this escort mission.

He had taken on similar commissions protecting royalty before, usually just escorting them from one country to another.

The greatest risk he would encounter during such journeys was being attacked by another Nen user.

But this time, it was completely different.

If Kang Jae had known this escort mission would get entangled with royal power struggles, he wouldn't have taken it, even if Chairman Netero himself had assigned it.

He found these convoluted power struggles the most troublesome...

But since he had accepted the mission, his professional integrity demanded that he approach it with 100% professionalism, even if he found it difficult and resisted.

Fortunately, the female employer was normal, without any of the usual arrogance or haughtiness. She even understood the current situation and had been very cooperative throughout the journey.

It's just...

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

The various dangers directed at her seemed like trivial matters in her eyes.

Kang Jae could sense a contradiction within the female employer.

She seemed to consider dying "on the path forward" a natural outcome.

Therefore, when facing mortal danger, she displayed an almost indifferent composure, making it difficult for Kang Jae to discern even a sliver of her will to resist.

Yet, she firmly believed that as long as she survived, she would undoubtedly unlock immense value within herself.

Underneath this contradiction, some of her resolve and thoughts were like those of a pure bystander, watching herself walk a thorny path as if it had nothing to do with her.

After spending some time together, Kang Jae felt the female employer possessed an indescribable quality.

Whether from the perspective of the mission or from a personal standpoint, he hoped this female employer would live.

Knock knock—

The door was knocked.

Talia immediately positioned herself in front of the silver-haired woman.

Kang Jae walked to the door and opened it a crack, about three fingers wide.

Outside the door.

A server in uniform pushed a meal cart and said with a smile, "Hello, your meal has been prepared..."

"Just leave it here."

Kang Jae said flatly.

The server, seeing this, still smiled and replied, "Okay, if you need anything else, you can use the room's phone to contact the front desk."

"Got it."

Kang Jae stared expressionlessly at the server outside the door.

The server seemed accustomed to various guest reactions and left with a smile.

After the server left, Kang Jae pushed the meal cart with the dinner into the room.

The silver-haired woman then sat down at the dining table.

Talia placed the exquisite dinner dishes onto the table one by one, then looked at the silver-haired woman, who nodded slightly.

Talia immediately picked out some of the food and put it into her mouth.

As she chewed, her entire mouth was enveloped in steamy Nen.

"Normal."

After swallowing the food, Talia tested another dish.

"Normal, normal..."

She continued testing until the last dish, and there were no problems.

However, when Talia picked up a flute-shaped glass, she detected a colorless and odorless potent poison from its rim.

"There's a problem."

Talia put down the flute-shaped glass, her expression unchanged.

The silver-haired woman reacted with indifference.

Kang Jae glanced at the silver-haired woman and couldn't help but sigh.

Before deciding to board this airship, they had deployed a lot of diversionary tactics.

The goal was to cover their tracks, but it was completely useless.

This is truly never-ending...

Kang Jae raised his hand and ran it through his spiky hairstyle.