Immunity [Deflection] X Family Goes to Their Deaths

Andrew Cooper neither wants to nor is willing to go back to those days filled with suffering.

He was terrified of poverty and hunger... For this reason, he didn't hesitate to offer his childhood sweetheart, who was also his wife Miranda, to the esteemed knight in exchange for a "Entry Permit" to enter Bandle City... As it turned out, his decision was correct... His wife Miranda is doing very well, and is now said to be the knight's most favored concubine...

Some time ago, Lord Edmond even rewarded him with a small bag of gold coins, telling him that Miranda was wonderful. Because of her, the other knights of the Security Corps had a rather "thorough" conversation with her, and unanimously agreed that... her skills were no less than those of the succubi who always "served men with their Succubus"...

Andrew Cooper was well aware of this, and he was both relieved and excited. Miranda's constant dalliances with the various high-ranking officials in the Security Corps detail had finally given him a chance to change the course of his life. Not long ago, Lord Edmond had found him and told him... the mysterious death of Frank Becky, the 4K Party, the fat man who provided services to a powerful figure in the Samir Principality... Andrew Cooper immediately realized that the opportunity he had been waiting for for over a decade had finally arrived!

He immediately knelt down, took Lord Edmond's right foot in his hands, kissed the shoe, and vowed to do everything in his power to take over Frank Becky's responsibilities, gather the old 4K Party members, and be responsible for connecting Bandle City and the Samir Principality, becoming an inconspicuous bridge built by the Security Corps in their attempt to regulate [The Storm], shed their Abandoned People status, and return them to [The Storm]...

Of course, the premise is -

He had to abide by the rules of Bandle City and get the [Soul Placement] done first!

[Soul Placement] is said to be Nen Ability of a certain vice-captain of the Security Corps. The prerequisites for its activation are: first, one must be willing; second, one must be eaten by Magic Beast. According to Lord Edmond's drunken remark, the "willingness" seems to be to avoid being [devoured] by something... Lord Edmond didn't elaborate on being eaten by Magic Beast, but according to Andrew Cooper's observations, it might be related to a secret deal between the Security Corps and a certain [Magic Beast Lord].

After all, Magic Beast do eat people, especially... "Nen user," which are tender and delicious food!

Andrew Cooper stood atop the thick trunk of a towering tree, holding a finely crafted "Nen Artifact Hand Crossbow." Beside him stood a tall, bald man clad in heavy armor, carrying a massive round Round Shield. His sudden, sneak attack with an arrow was unexpectedly cleaved in two by the unassuming Sun-Earring Boy before him with a swift, backhand strike...

He looked down at him, his gaze passing over Roy and settling on Old Mark. He said calmly, "Old man, you don't want your precious granddaughter to be unable to enter the city, do you?"

Old Mark shuddered, then shakily picked up a stone from the ground and smashed it hard against his head. "Bang!"

Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared... Old Mark felt his hand go empty, and the stone he was holding was instantly sliced into hundreds of tiny pieces, which gradually fell to the ground, as if it had encountered a storm of swords!

"Sun-Earring Boy," Old Mark paused, then exchanged a glance with his wife, Nora, now a ghost, and pleaded, "Please don't stop me... You know everything... My worthless life is gone, but... my Little Matty must live..."

"Mark..." Lady Nora gently stroked Old Mark's face, then turned and floated to Roy's feet, prostrating herself on the ground, pleading with him, "For [the Storm's] sake, please don't stop him..."

Roy's gaze shifted, a rare and profound sense of absurdity rising within him. "Saving someone could also be a mistake." He looked up at Andrew Cooper in the tree, understanding the source of this absurdity. His gaze then moved downwards, landing on the small leather flask tucked into the man's waist. He faintly heard a mournful cry, as if calling out... "Grandpa..." "Grandma..."

Grandpa... Grandma... Whose grandpa, whose grandma?!

The Sun-Earring Boy involuntarily closed his eyes, held his knife horizontally, turned his back to Old Mark, grazed Lady Nora's head lying on the ground, stepped forward, and said coldly, "Mr. Mark, I must emphasize that I stopped you earlier only out of my moral obligation as a human being not to associate with beasts."

The knife in his hand turned red, ignited, and then with a "whoosh," burst into flames, illuminating a patch of forest and bringing forth a bright new day...

Roy held the knife in one hand, the tip pointing diagonally. Under the stunned gazes of Old Mark and Lady Nora, he coldly looked at Andrew Cooper. "As for now, I've done what I needed to do. Since you're determined to die, then do as you please. I won't stop you."

As they spoke, another sharp sword cry rang out, and the surging flames suddenly receded, then poured back into the blade, imbuing the [Eclipse] sword with a vibrant glow.

The darkness of "embers and remnants"!

Roy turned his back to the two of them and slowly walked forward. "But there's one more thing I think I must tell you..."

"Perhaps death is the right thing to do, that way,"

"Only then can I reunite with your beloved granddaughter Little Matty!"

"Reunion... reunion..." Old Mark and his wife Nora were both stunned. The former seemed to realize something, struggled to his feet, and shouted at the Sun-Earring Boy, "What... what do you mean?"

"Literal meaning." With a "whoosh," a slash spanning nearly a hundred meters tore through the air, aimed at Andrew Cooper... Roy pointed his blade diagonally upwards. "Instead of asking me, ask him where that flask at his waist came from!"

"Sizzle~" The Sword Qi flew over instantly!

Unexpectedly, a huge, open Round Shield arrived first and blocked it solidly... In an instant, it was bounced back and slashed towards Roy's neck at an even faster speed!

"It's that bald guy with the shield!"

[Circle] Roy swung his sword again, deflecting the rebounding Sword Qi... letting it fly into the air, slicing through large swaths of clouds...

Up in the tree, Andrew Cooper stood calmly behind the bald man, squinting at Roy. He also summoned [Circle], mercilessly expelling the Heart Bug that were trying to invade his heart along the causal branches...

He said expressionlessly, "Be careful, Longergon... This guy's [Circle] can read minds. Back then... Frank Becky died at his hands, probably because he fell victim to his mind-reading ability and was put on the defensive..."

[Fortress] Frank Becky, known as "One Man's Army," is no pushover... At first, Andrew Cooper didn't notice, but the moment Roy pointed out the flask at his waist, he glanced at it again, surprised, and suddenly realized that the man before him bore an eight-tenths resemblance to the "God-Slayer" wanted on the Security Corps's internal wanted list... Clearly, the other party was that person... the criminal personally wanted by Archbishop Benjamin!

"I know, that sword... is pretty good..." The bald, burly man in heavy armor slammed his large Round Shield into a tree trunk, glaring confidently at Roy. "What a pity for Becky. If I had been with him, he definitely wouldn't have died."

[Deflection] Longergon, true to his name... "Another Heart Bug, unleashed by the bald giant [circle]"

Ruthless expulsion...

Taking advantage of the brief moment he was trying to peek into the other man's mind, Roy seized the opportunity to gather information about him. The other man, like him, belonged to the [Conjuration] type, capable of conjuring a round Round Shield at any time, focusing on [Deflection]. Once the shield appeared, it could instantly deflect any physical attack aimed at him, regardless of whether it was a sword, spear, or halberd; physical attacks Swordsmanship would send the attacker flying back at twice the speed of the previous attack... No wonder he was confident; with him by his side, Frank Becky wouldn't have died...

"Lord Andrew, may I ask... how is my Little Matty?"

The slash that shot straight into the sky, after shattering several layers of white clouds, finally exhausted its power and vanished into the high heavens after being struck by the sun... After a brief exchange, Old Mark seemed to finally react, forcing a smile as he looked at Andrew Cooper, noticing the leather flask tucked into his waistband. Andrew Cooper cursed under his breath, "Damn it," and grinned.

"Okay, of course that's great... I brought her to meet you all, didn't I?"

The man gently patted his waist, sending the wine jug flying. He caught it firmly in his hand, stroking it as if caressing his former lover, Miranda, and murmured, "Her skin was so smooth and white. Look, even the wine jugs she made were so exquisite. Old Mark... you've raised a fine granddaughter... it's rare for Abandoned People to see such 'good stuff'!"

"You... you lied to me!" Old Mark swayed, nearly collapsing to the ground... His chest heaved violently as he pointed at Andrew Cooper, feeling the world spin. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground... He was utterly dazed, like a living dead man—still alive, yet his soul was dead, surrounded by...

A sudden gust of cold wind swept through, its eyes red, filled with resentment due to the immense shock, and in an instant...

Lady Nora, corrupted into a "post- Post-Mortem Nen"!

[Post-Mortem Nen]: Driven by intense obsession, they force themselves to remain in the Human Realm... They are all formidable characters... For example, Neferpitou, through [Post-Mortem Nen], despite being dead, still clings to protecting Meruem and forcibly drives [Doctor Blythe] to attack Adult Gon. Another example is Hisoka, who, through [Post-Mortem Nen], forcibly Hisoka in the Heavens Arena during his duel with Chrollo...

The deeper the obsession, the stronger the [Post-Mortem Nen]. Among them, the most terrifying and despairing is... the [Post-Mortem Nen] without hope, such as... Lady Nora rushing madly towards Andrew Cooper. Just a moment ago, she was an ordinary Undead with no power to kill a chicken. After learning of her granddaughter's death, her hope was quickly shattered, and she plunged into darkness!

Roy watched as she transformed into a gust of cold wind, baring her fangs and claws, her fingernails stretching half a meter long as she lunged at Andrew Cooper... A faint sorrow welled up within him, and even the [Eclipse] in his hand fell silent.

His great-grandfather once warned him that a person cannot live without hope, otherwise... they completely lose the meaning of "existence." Looking at it now...

Lady Nora was clearly seeking death, but after she actually died, she unwillingly dragged Andrew Cooper into a self-destruction!

Unfortunately... since the other side has come, they are never unprepared... Andrew Cooper faced the sinister wind that Lady Nora had transformed into, showing no fear whatsoever, and even... almost wanted to laugh... His face was cold as he calmly toyed with the wine jug sewn from Little Matty's scalp in his hand, and he sneered, "Collect."

The flask lid opened, and a sudden suction force emanated from it, instantly condensing into a storm that mercilessly swept up Lady Nora was rushing towards it!

"Knock—" The lid fell and was resealed. Andrew Cooper glanced at Old Mark with a smile, "Hey, old man, why aren't you dead yet?"

The man rattled the wine jug in his hand, making a clanging sound, and winked at the distraught Old Mark, saying, "Your wife and granddaughter are here, you're the only one missing..."

Old Mark stiffly turned his head to look, then silently got up from the ground, took a few quick steps, accelerated, and crashed into a large tree beside him!

"Bang~"

The sound of a head shattering rang out...

Red, white, yellow... all exploded together...

On the edge of this dense Uzuki Great Forest... Roy suppressed his pounding heart, took a deep breath, and silently closed his eyes.

Some people are alive, yet they are already dead. Some people are dead, yet they are still alive.

Some people ride roughshod over the people. "Ah, how great I am!"

Some people humble themselves and serve the people like cattle and horses.

Some people carve their names into stone, hoping for "immortality"; others are willing to be wild grass, waiting for the fire from underground.

Fireflies bloomed... Old Mark slid to the ground facing the towering tree. As his last breath faded, his soul separated, peering blankly at everything around him—everything familiar yet strange, everything that had nurtured him, exploited him, and driven him to the brink of despair... Without a second thought, he lunged at Andrew Cooper, who opened the flask, sucked it in, and drew him into the flask.

"This deal is finally done." Andrew grinned, shaking the flask made by Little Matty, squatted down, and gestured towards Roy with his lip. "Hey~ God-Slayer, how do you want to die next?"

Was it murder... or suicide?

The man shrugged. "Let me make this clear, I wouldn't dare let you live. After all, you're even more formidable than us Abandoned People, rejected by [God] right from the start... It's probably going to be hard for you not to die."

Those watched by the gods will eventually have nowhere to hide... Although this is the Uzuki Great Forest, not controlled by the Seven Gods, the last time he killed Frank Becky, he encountered his father's old friend, the Archbishop of the Storm, Benjamin Federico... who used the Power of Faith to see through his scheme... When Roy opened his eyes again, he looked indifferently at Andrew Cooper, and at least understood one thing... The so-called "House of the Colorless," which claims to protect the Abandoned People, has secretly colluded with the Samir Principality...

In other words, continuing to seek refuge with the House of the Colorless while still bearing this face would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den, tantamount to suicide. Therefore...

Roy simply concealed his original appearance, using [Deception] to Transformation into Andrew Cooper in an instant, and calmly asked him, "Who are you asking about?"

A crimson glint crept into the Sun-Earring Boy's eyes...

Without sorrow or joy, he said, "If I kill you, who will know I am God-Slayer?"

Sharingan... Awaken!