Unexpected

Skin like withered tree bark, a body of skin and bones.

This was Arieser's physical condition—he looked like someone suffering from long-term malnutrition.

However—

Arieser had one striking visual feature.

His mouth was enormous; when pressed shut, the seam of his lips nearly stretched across his entire face.

Now, as the effect of his Nen took hold, Arieser's large mouth began to gradually shrink.

"Appetite of the Anorexic"

This was Arieser's Nen Exorcist ability.

He had to "consume" in order to transfer the "Nen" that needed removal from a target onto himself.

During this process, each "bite" he took was a fixed amount, which was why his mouth was shrinking.

Furthermore—

The act of "consuming" Nen was, for him, like a severe anorexic eating—every bite was pure torment.

And after finishing the consumption, he still had to face the problem of "digestion."

If he couldn't fully digest the Nen he had swallowed, then the threat posed by that Nen would be transferred directly onto him.

This was Nen Exorcism.

Risky, and arduous in process.

That was why the number of Nen Exorcists was so scarce—not just because of talent, but also because of the sheer difficulty of the work.

If given a choice, would one rather be a combat-type Nen user with overwhelming strength, or lean toward a support role as a Nen Exorcist?

Most people would likely choose the former.

A moment passed.

The Nen surging around Arieser's body ceased, and his wide-open mouth had shrunk to the size of a ping-pong ball.

Seeing this, Moyu, Hawk, and Cheadle each wore different expressions.

Arieser slowly looked toward Hawk, saying nothing, only conveying his meaning through his eyes.

Hawk understood. Without a word, he walked under everyone's gaze to the edge of the Release Pond.

As Hawk approached the Release Pond, Moyu's pupils contracted slightly.

After hearing Cheadle's explanation and grasping the full story, he had subtly touched Hawk's body earlier but sensed no trace of "Post-Mortem Nen."

He had found it strange at the time, but now it seemed—

Hawk had used some method to seal the "Price" residing in his body, along with the "Post-Mortem Entity," beneath the Release Pond.

Meeting the eyes fixed on him, Hawk unconsciously clenched his fist.

Life or death—this was the moment.

He adjusted his breathing, then activated his ability, summoning "Rat Treasure" from its sealed location.

Whoosh—!

A strong wind suddenly rose, and ripples spread across the surface of the Release Pond.

In midair, a small black dot gleaming with Nen light appeared out of nowhere.

Everyone's eyes locked onto that black dot, which in an instant expanded to the size of a millstone, looking like a pitch-black circular hole.

And within that hole, a vertical three-dimensional symbol flickering with green light slowly emerged.

"So that's Hawk's Nen Beast ability..."

Moyu studied the black hole with its floating vertical symbol.

The Nen Beast system—this was arguably the most complex and hardest type of Nen ability to master.

One first had to use "Aura" as a foundation to materialize various forms of "pseudo-lifeforms," then grant those "pseudo-lifeforms" abilities.

And Hawk's Nen Beast ability leaned toward the spatial type.

This reminded Moyu of Knov's "Hide and Seek" ability from the original story.

"Rat Treasure."

Hawk called out toward the hole.

The vertical symbol inside the pitch-black hole suddenly flared with bright green light.

Then, a round, chubby figure emerged from the light—it was Hawk's Nen Beast, "Rat Treasure."

It leaped out of the black hole and landed directly beside Hawk.

Hawk crouched down, patted Rat Treasure's head, then looked at its tail, where an expression made of "Aura" was formed.

Half a month ago, it had been an angry face. Now, it had turned into a listless, wilted expression.

"Rat Treasure, release it... Hm?"

Just as Hawk was about to command Rat Treasure to release the Power of Price, a massive surge of Nen fluctuation suddenly erupted from the pitch-black hole suspended above the Release Pond.

Streams of black, viscous Post-Mortem Nen squeezed out from the hole, writhing like vines with claws bared.

If one looked closely, they would see a tilted Balance standing deep within the mass of viscous Post-Mortem Nen.

Extreme and terrifying malice was pouring out from this Balance without end.

The aura condensed from this materialized into dense black threads, crashing down like a torrential rain onto everyone's shoulders.

Moyu and Cheadle's expressions shifted, and they almost simultaneously released their Nen to its maximum, covering their bodies.

But Arieser, who had already prepared to exorcise the Nen, could only stare wide-eyed at the Post-Mortem Nen trying to force its way out of the pitch-black hole. An uncontrollable look of terror surged across his withered face.

"Rat Treasure!!!"

Hawk shot to his feet, his eyes trembling violently.

Rat Treasure, standing beside him, abruptly looked at the pitch-black hole suspended in midair.

The green marker that had been inside it turned red in an instant.

"No Entry"

The black Post-Mortem Nen, which had seemed ready to burst out like a flood, was suddenly yanked back into the depths of the black hole by an irresistible force.

The overwhelmingly oppressive aura within the arena vanished into thin air as well.

"Pop!"

Rat Treasure squeaked, and the suspended pitch-black hole shrank into a black dot and disappeared.

After closing the passage, Rat Treasure sat on the ground, the expression on its tail growing increasingly listless and weak.

"That aura... it's different from before. Could it be... a growth type?!"

Cheadle's forehead was covered in cold sweat, clearly shaken by the Post-Mortem Nen from earlier.

As a Nen user, she could barely muster the power to resist it.

But what concerned her was the threat this Post-Mortem Nen posed to ordinary people.

If this Post-Mortem Nen were allowed to spread—

I'm afraid—

Wherever it went, ordinary people who didn't understand Nen would wither and decay into ash like dead leaves under the aura of resentment.

This was already a disaster-level existence!

Moyu was also stunned and uncertain at this moment.

Compared to the Post-Mortem Nen he had seen that night, this was on an entirely different level!

Or rather, the Post-Mortem Nen he had seen that night was just a small fraction of it.

Could the exorcism ability granted by Perception truly remove this Post-Mortem Nen unconditionally?

After personally experiencing the aura condensed from that resentment, Moyu began to doubt it.

He couldn't even be sure what would happen if he touched that Post-Mortem Nen with his own hands.

"Post-Mortem Nen of this level... I can't swallow it at all. Even if I could, I definitely couldn't digest it!!!"

Arieser's zombie-like face twisted into a rich expression, mostly one of terror.

Hawk, still shaken, took a deep breath.

"Mr. Arieser, you've mistaken the target."

With that, he pointed at Rat Treasure's spherical expression, formed from aura, and said in a deep voice, "That's what you need to remove."

"Huh?!"

Arieser's expression froze.

Far away, on a mountain road.

Several cars sped along the path.

"Hm?"

In one of the cars, Ken, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly looked toward the direction of the scenic temple. His narrow eyes narrowed slightly.

"Incredible... truly incredible..."