You Truly Are a Genius

Kill the Third Princess…

The Prince whom Muer served only asked them to complete this mission to the best of their ability, provided they kept their lives.

If it proved impossible, their primary objective was to preserve their lives.

Muer didn't try to guess the Prince's thoughts. He simply understood the Prince's instructions from his own perspective:

As long as he was alive, he could better utilize his value as a pawn.

Muer was willing to be a pawn that could bring more value to the Prince.

However, as his companion Aida had said, the Prince didn't want to see them both lose their lives for a single mission, but they themselves didn't want to disappoint the Prince.

Killing the Third Princess was crucial.

For this purpose, Muer had already decided to offer his heart while inscribing the Divine Script.

If death wasn't necessary, he and his companion certainly wouldn't want to die.

They still wanted to follow the Prince and watch him ascend to the throne.

But there was no other way…

The obstacle in their path was the Twelve Zodiacs of the Hunter Association, who were focused on the main combat direction.

Without the resolve to risk their lives, how could they overcome this obstacle and complete the mission?

So, when "Cicada's Molt" was activated, whether it was a pretense or a bluff…

Muer's only goal was to interfere with or mislead Kan Kai's judgment, causing Kan Kai to waver in the muddied waters and thus prolonging the distraction.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Kan Kai even gave a precise guess for the timing.

Even if it had been tens of seconds longer, it was still guessed exactly.

So, after 60 seconds were up, he would live for a few more seconds if he could…

The longer he survived, the higher the success rate for his companion.

If there was any regret, it was that he couldn't induce more severe damage from Kan Kai before activating his ability.

This was also something he couldn't help.

If he didn't use the most basic Nen to defend himself when hit, he wouldn't meet the ability's conditions.

But the most crucial point was that Kan Kai had taken precautions beforehand, suppressing his instincts during a hasty counter-attack and not targeting his vital points.

If he hadn't set up a second layer of security, allowing his companion to forcefully enter the room, thereby compressing Kan Kai's reaction time, it would have been truly impossible to drag Kan Kai into the Nen space immediately.

As expected of the Twelve Zodiacs…

Muer offered this praise sincerely, while also internally apologizing to his companion.

"I'm sorry, Aida… If I could have distributed more damage to this guy, your survival rate after completing the mission would have been much higher."

While Muer was prepared to sacrifice himself, he also firmly believed that his companion could complete the mission.

He lowered his eyelids, then looked up at Kan Kai again.

"Tiger of the Earth, from the information I have, you should be an Enhancer, but after fighting you, it's completely different from what I expected."

"What are you saying? Do you think Enhancers are all just reckless brutes who only charge forward?"

Kan Kai spoke with a blank expression, simultaneously counting down the time internally.

Muer retorted, "Aren't they?"

The few Enhancers he had encountered were fearless, relying on their high offense and defense.

Therefore, when working with his companion, his favorite opponents were Enhancers; they were easy targets.

"Did Enhancers eat your rice or something?"

Kan Kai detected the disdain in Muer's words for Enhancers. His eyes widened slightly, and he internally ended the 60-second countdown.

The Nen space hadn't disappeared…

At least he didn't have to worry about the counter-attack effect of "damage distribution."

Kan Kai concluded the 60-second conversation segment and then, with utmost decisiveness, acted on his judgment, charging fiercely at Muer.

The moment he launched his attack.

Kan Kai's not particularly strong physique erupted with an aura as fierce as a tiger.

Muer, who bore the brunt of it, finally saw the expected characteristics of an Enhancer in Kan Kai.

"Even if I didn't divert aura output to the Divine Script, there's no way I could block this…"

With just one glance, Muer felt the gap in "frontal combat," which was also the most troublesome aspect of Enhancers.

However, he hadn't planned to confront Kan Kai head-on. He gathered Nen in his feet, turned, and sprinted away, extending the distance Kan Kai could attack him in the first instance.

Unfortunately, the Nen space mechanism fixed the range of activity…

He couldn't jump off the airship, nor could he play hide-and-seek.

"I can hold on for a minute or two!"

Muer fled without engaging in battle.

Because "Cicada's Molt" had the ability to deal damage to the enemy within 60 seconds, he had put a lot of effort into his mobility.

By desperately avoiding combat at this moment, Kan Kai wouldn't be able to catch him for a while. However, if he were caught, he would likely be killed in one blow.

Thus, Muer and Kan Kai began a chase on the upper level of the airship.

With the intervention of Nen abilities, the psychological states of both sides gradually switched.

The one who needed to be anxious now was no longer Muer, but Kan Kai.

Although Kan Kai's victory was already a sure thing, he still had to consider the safety of his client, Saff.

"Does this guy's Nen ability... have such a strong effect?"

As Kan Kai pursued Muer, time trickled away, and he gradually realized that Muer's ability mechanism was exceeding his expectations.

60 seconds. If the Nen space didn't disappear, it could be basically confirmed that the "damage distribution" ability mechanism was gone.

After another 30 seconds at most, the Nen space should also disappear.

However, the phenomenon he expected didn't happen.

Kan Kai couldn't help but frown.

He didn't know that Muer was buying time with the resolve to die.

On the 38th second after the chase began.

Kan Kai finally found an opening and threw a punch imbued with a large amount of Nen at Muer's back.

Facing Kan Kai's attack, Muer suddenly turned and raised his left arm horizontally, mobilizing almost all of his aura output to construct a defense.

Bang.

Crack!

The punch landed on Muer's left arm.

The immense destructive force sent his body flying backward rapidly, while his entire left arm suffered a comminuted fracture on the spot.

"Do you want to know how long this Nen space will last?"

Using the distance temporarily created by Kan Kai's punch, Muer's body fell from mid-air. Disregarding the injury to his left arm, he asked himself and answered, "A full 300 seconds. Now you understand, from the moment you entered this place, you couldn't protect that Princess."

"..."

Kan Kai's heart jolted. He ignored Muer's words and once again erupted with the speed of a fierce tiger descending a mountain, charging directly at Muer.

A mocking smile reappeared on Muer's face.

Even though both his arms were useless, he should be able to stall for at most another minute.

Enough!

Just as Muer thought this, the surrounding yellowish color abruptly receded like a tide.

"Huh!?" x2.

The sudden change caused both Muer and Kan Kai to show surprise.

As the yellowish color faded, the two were still in their original positions. However, a person had appeared on the path from the lounge area to the entrance corridor.

"It's him!"

Kan Kai looked at the person and recognized the young man who had hidden his Nen user identity when boarding.

This young man was naturally Moro, who had come to check the situation.

Seeing Kan Kai and Muer's bodies materialize out of thin air, Moro glanced at the Divine Script on the corridor wall behind him, which had lost its Nen aura luster. Originally, a painting had hung in that spot.

"It seems my judgment was correct..."

Moro's gaze shifted to Muer, whose Nen aura was gradually retracting. He calmly stated, "Destroying the Divine Script, even if no benefit is gained, can at least bring disadvantages to the 'agitator'."

"You...!"

Muer looked at Moro, this sudden variable, with disbelief.

Moro gently raised his hand, glanced at Kan Kai, and said earnestly, "I really hate terrorists the most. Leave him to me."

"!"

Kan Kai shouted, "You're a damn genius."

With that, he unhesitatingly turned and rushed into the room.

The spacious lounge area was then left with only Moro and Muer.