Beyond the Testing Gate lay another world.
The air was deathly still.
Towering ancient trees blocked out the sky.
Sunlight fell in fragments across the stone path leading to the summit.
This place was beautiful.
A vast, exquisite tomb.
The four walked along the stone path without a word.
An invisible pressure closed in from every direction.
Their nerves stretched taut.
Kurapika suddenly spoke.
"The smell here..."
He frowned.
"It's clean. Too clean."
"Yeah."
Luo Ye murmured in agreement. His extraordinary senses had already picked up on something wrong.
"No birdsong, no insects."
"Even the wind smells like disinfectant."
Looks like the Zoldyck Family's 'corporate culture' is even more twisted than I imagined.
They had not gone far.
At a bend in the road ahead, a figure blocked their way.
A girl around their age.
She had dark skin and wore an impeccably neat black butler's uniform.
She held a long metal staff.
Her face was expressionless.
Her black eyes were cold and empty.
Canary.
The "good kid" and "most loyal guard" Zebro had spoken of.
As she watched the four approach, she raised her staff.
She drew a white line across the stone path in front of her.
"This is the Zoldyck Family's private property."
Her voice was as flat and cold as her expression.
"Outsiders are forbidden to enter."
She paused, lifting her eyes to sweep across their faces.
"Anyone who crosses this line dies."
It was not a threat.
It was a statement of fact.
Leorio and Kurapika both understood.
This line marked the boundary of death.
Well, well. The starter zone's first miniboss has appeared.
Luo Ye studied the girl before him.
Attack pattern: establish a restricted area. Trigger condition: crossing the line.
Interesting.
"We mean no harm."
Gon stepped forward and looked at Canary, just