Nen Space

He had once said in front of Cheadle that he and Sivir were both Enhancers...

Thinking about it now, it had indeed been deliberate. It was only natural that she had noticed.

He had used every available condition and factor in the ever-changing battle to set up a killing blow. It did not matter that it had failed to achieve any notable effect.

What mattered was—

Compared to the Restriction of being "unable to fight back," the safety of that father and son in the distance was the far harsher Restriction this Zodiac member had to bear.

That was enough.

Otherwise, Ken would not have naively believed that he could determine Cheadle's ultimate fate from a single wound.

Without that crucial Restriction, he and Sivir—lacking Gambler's Rhapsody and Harvest Time—would likely have achieved nothing if they stubbornly kept fighting, only to have Cheadle exhaust all of their Latent Aura.

For two Heavenly Stems to join forces against a single Zodiac and still find it so difficult...

Perhaps Sivir would roar in impotent rage over it, but Ken did not care about such pointless feelings.

He only cared about the result.

Seize King's Balance and kill a Zodiac.

A wonderful result.

"Aren't you going to save them?"

Ken smiled as he attacked Cheadle.

At that moment, both his body and his aura became incomparably sharp.

He was a Nen user who had the least need for a blade, yet he had insisted on wielding one to disguise himself and mislead his enemies.

How could someone like that possibly be an Enhancer...

Cheadle frowned deeply, but instead of retreating, she advanced and took the initiative to meet Ken head-on.

No matter what, she had to reach Moyu's side.

"Once humans are bound by Restrictions... they become very easy to understand."

Ken narrowed his eyes into slits. He was not surprised in the least by Cheadle's advance instead of retreat.

This would raise the chance of his attack landing accordingly.

"Then try dodging my next strike..."

The vast amount of Nen surging over Ken's body followed his will and gave him its greatest support.

Then—

His arm became a blade, slashing directly at Cheadle like a fleeting arc of lightning.

This strike...

Ken had put everything into it. Whether in angle or timing, it was the most perfect attack of his entire career as a fighter.

Unfortunately—

Doctors... were the sort of professionals who could pick out even the tiniest flaw with meticulous precision.

The strike Ken considered perfect still contained a path of evasion in Cheadle's eyes.

She lowered her body and immediately charged forward, dodging Ken's strike without incident before continuing toward Moyu without losing momentum.

"Dodged again, huh."

Ken turned to look at Cheadle's retreating figure.

Elsewhere.

Under War Rhythm, Sivir attacked Moyu and Hawk without restraint.

That surging aura, like a cascading waterfall, gave her all-around protection.

Moyu tensed every nerve and stared fixedly at Sivir.

"How am I supposed to deal with this...?"

As the one facing her first, he keenly felt the overwhelming pressure bearing down on him.

Strategies, schemes.

Any trick was meaningless at this moment.

Having already played all his cards, he was utterly helpless.

"No Entry."

Hawk swept his gaze toward Sivir, his voice low.

Hearing Hawk's words, Rat Treasure immediately stopped hopping about. Nen radiance simultaneously appeared over its plump body and the three-dimensional Go Straight Marker above its head.

"Paji."

Rat Treasure looked at Sivir as red Go Straight Markers appeared out of thin air and attached themselves to her body.

The binding force produced by the appearance of those red Go Straight Markers forcibly brought the charging Sivir to a halt.

"Oh?"

Sivir raised a brow and lowered her head to look at the red Go Straight Marker on her body, where the number 3 had appeared.

Her flowing Manifestation Aura was unaffected, but she could not move.

The instant Hawk used his ability to bind Sivir, jets of blood burst from all over his body.

But he did not care in the slightest. Instead, he looked at Rat Treasure and murmured softly, "All these years... you've worked hard."

After saying that, he looked toward Moyu's back.

"Moyu, from now on... remember to eat on time."

"Huh?"

Moyu abruptly turned around, only for a burst of green light to fill his vision.

"Hawk..."

His voice cut off abruptly.

His body vanished into the green light.

Hawk lowered his eyelids and raised an index finger, slowly pointing at Cheadle as she rushed toward them.

By then, he no longer had the strength to speak.

But Rat Treasure understood the meaning of Hawk's gesture.

"Paji."

Tiny crystalline droplets shimmered in the eye that covered half of Rat Treasure's face.

"Paji, paji!"

Then, Nen radiance appeared around its body once again.

"Accelerator."

A Go Straight Marker emitting green light appeared out of thin air before Cheadle.

"..."

Cheadle's gaze seemed to pierce through the green light and fall upon the man she had always despised.

She wanted to say something, but the green light sent her away before she could speak.

Rat Treasure vanished from the field along with her, as did the red Go Straight Markers attached to Sivir.

This sudden turn of events caught both Sivir and Ken by surprise.

"Hey, Ken."

After regaining her freedom, Sivir turned to look at Ken.

"Chase them first. They can't have gone far."

Ken gave Sivir an immediate, definite answer.

The item would remain there and could be taken at any time, but if the people escaped, they might never be found again.

Ken walked over and narrowed his eyes at Hawk, who was leaning against a tree trunk, half-dead.

How far could an ability used in that state possibly send its targets?

"A pointless struggle."

"..."

Hawk raised his eyelids and merely gave a cold smile.

Memories of the past surfaced in his mind.

"Elena, I'm a useless piece of trash. I always mess everything up."

"Hawk, how can you say that about yourself? I can tell you with complete certainty that, in my heart, you are absolutely not useless."

"Really?"

"Mm-hm. Because even trash can be recycled."

"..."

The corners of Hawk's mouth lifted slightly.

He had forgotten to tell Moyu...

When it came to finding a wife, he had to do it early.

Just then—

A savage aura beyond description suddenly erupted from the Temple atop the mountain.

"!!!"

Ken and Sivir abruptly looked toward the Temple.

Even from several hundred meters away, they could clearly feel the terrifying nature of that Grudge aura.

"This intensity... isn't what the intelligence report described."

Sivir muttered to herself.

Ken frowned, suddenly seized by a bad feeling.

He instinctively looked toward Hawk.

But Hawk had raised his head. His blood- and dust-stained face bore a pair of lifeless eyes fixed on Ken, as though he were already looking at a dead man.

Ken knew that look well.

Damn it!

At the mountaintop.

Within the Grudge aura soaring into the sky, a black curtain adorned with a dazzling galaxy suddenly bloomed like fireworks, then descended over the forest like a birdcage.

"Nen Space."

Ken looked at the curtain descending over them, his expression changing drastically.