Unexpected

Skin like withered bark, a body reduced to skin and bones.

That was Arieser's physical condition. He looked like someone who had suffered from malnutrition for a long time.

However—

Arieser had one striking physical feature.

His mouth was enormous. When closed, the seam of his lips nearly stretched across his entire face.

Now,

as Nen took effect, Arieser's enormous mouth gradually began to shrink.

"Appetite of the Anorexic."

This was Arieser's Nen Exorcism ability.

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

During this process, every "bite" he swallowed was fixed in quantity. That was also why his mouth had shrunk.

Moreover—

For him, swallowing Nen was like forcing a severe anorexic to eat. Every bite was agony.

And after swallowing the Nen, he still had to face the issue of "digestion."

If he could not completely digest the Nen he had consumed, then the threat contained within that Nen would truly transfer onto him.

That was Nen Exorcism.

It was risky, and the process was difficult.

Thus, Nen Exorcists were rare not only because of talent, but also because of how demanding the work itself was.

Given the choice, would one become an exceptionally powerful combat-type Nen user, or a support-oriented Nen Exorcist?

Most people would probably choose the former.

A moment passed.

The Nen around Arieser stopped surging, while his open mouth had shrunk to the size of a billiard ball.

At the sight, Moyu, Hawk, and Cheadle wore different expressions.

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

Hawk understood and said nothing either. Under everyone's watchful gaze, he walked to the edge of the Release Pond.

Seeing Hawk approach the Release Pond, Moyu's pupils contracted slightly.

After hearing Cheadle explain the full story earlier, he had discreetly touched Hawk's body, yet he had not sensed the presence of Post-Mortem Nen.

He had initially found it strange, but now it seemed—

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

Facing everyone's gazes, Hawk unconsciously clenched his fists.

Whether he lived or died depended on this attempt.

He adjusted his breathing, then activated his ability and summoned Rat Treasure from its sealed location.

Whoosh—!

A powerful wind abruptly rose, sending ripples across the surface of the Release Pond.

In midair, a tiny black dot shimmering with Nen appeared out of nowhere.

Everyone immediately looked toward the black dot, only to see it expand in an instant to the size of a millstone, resembling a bottomless circular hole.

Then, at the center of the opening, a vertical three-dimensional symbol flickering with green light slowly emerged.

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

Moyu examined the black opening with its floating vertical symbol.

The Nen Beast category could be said to be the most complex and difficult type of Nen Ability to master.

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

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

It reminded Moyu of Knov's Hide and Seek ability from the original work.

"Rat Treasure."

Hawk called toward the opening.

The vertical symbol within the pitch-black opening suddenly blazed with bright green light.

Then, a round, plump figure emerged from the glow. It was Hawk's Nen Beast, Rat Treasure.

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

Hawk crouched down and rubbed Rat Treasure's head, then looked toward its tail, where an expression made of aura was displayed.

Half a month ago, it had worn an angry expression. Now, it had become a listless, dispirited one.

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

Just as Hawk was about to order Rat Treasure to release the Power of Price, an immense fluctuation of Nen abruptly surged from the pitch-black opening hovering above the Release Pond.

Streams of pitch-black Grudge squeezed out from the opening, writhing like clawing vines.

A closer look would reveal a tilted Balance standing deep within that mass of flowing Grudge.

An extreme and terrifying malice poured endlessly from that Balance.

The aura formed from it seemed to Conjure dense black threads, crashing down like a torrential downpour upon the shoulders of everyone present.

Moyu and Cheadle's expressions changed, and they almost simultaneously released Nen to the fullest extent, covering themselves with it.

Arieser, who had already prepared for Nen Exorcism, merely stared wide-eyed at the Post-Mortem Nen trying to force its way out of the black opening. Uncontrollable terror flooded his gaunt face.

"Rat Treasure!!!"

Hawk abruptly rose to his feet, his eyes trembling violently.

Rat Treasure, standing beside him, sharply turned toward the pitch-black opening floating in the air.

The green symbol originally within it turned red in an instant.

"No Entry."

The black Grudge that had seemed ready to burst forth like a flood was suddenly dragged into the depths of the black hole by an irresistible force of suction.

The oppressive aura in the area also vanished into thin air.

"Paji!"

Rat Treasure cried out, and the floating black opening turned into a black dot before disappearing.

After closing the passage, Rat Treasure sat on the ground. The expression on its tail became even more weak and dispirited.

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

Cold sweat covered Cheadle's forehead. The Post-Mortem Nen had clearly shaken her.

As a Nen user, she at least possessed the strength to resist it.

But what she considered was the threat that this Post-Mortem Nen posed to ordinary people.

If this Post-Mortem Nen were allowed to spread freely—

Then—

Everywhere it reached, ordinary people who did not understand Nen would likely decay into ash beneath the Grudge's aura like withered leaves.

This was already an existence on the level of a "Calamity"!

Moyu was equally unsettled.

Compared to the Grudge he had seen that night, this was not even on the same level!

Or rather, the Grudge he had seen that night had been only a small part of it.

Could the Nen Exorcism ability granted by Perception truly remove this Post-Mortem Nen without conditions?

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

He could not even be sure what would happen if he touched that Post-Mortem Nen himself.

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

A wealth of expressions appeared on Arieser's zombie-like face, most of them filled with terror.

Still shaken, Hawk took a deep breath.

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

As he spoke, he pointed to the spherical expression made of aura on Rat Treasure's tail and said gravely, "That is the target you need to remove it from."

"Hm?!"

Arieser's expression froze.

—

Far away, on a mountain road.

Several cars sped along the road.

"Hm?"

Inside one of the cars, Ken, seated in the front passenger seat, suddenly looked toward the scenic area where the Temple was located. His narrow eyes slowly narrowed.

"Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable..."