Chapter 32: [Ming] × Vows and Limitations
Kite began his explanation with a book.
"Have you heard of the New Continent Travelogue, a book published three hundred years ago?"
Gon shook his head, but Killua hesitated before speaking. "I think it's a mythical book, full of the author's wild imaginings."
Joey recognized the title as soon as Kite mentioned it. He knew that book.
At the beginning of Hunter x Hunter's Dark Continent arc, both the Voyage Bureau and Gon's father, Ging Freecss, had mentioned the book. It consisted of an eastern and a western volume, but only the eastern volume had been published.
Its contents described the Dark Continent.
And its author was a man named Don Freecss!
Why had Kite suddenly brought up that book? Was he saying that strange insect had something to do with the Dark Continent?
Without looking at Gon, Joey watched Kite intently, waiting for him to explain further.
"Although this book is now considered a work of fantasy, according to the information I've obtained, what it describes is real.
"In other words, it's a travelogue documenting reality. Everything in it that seems like wild imagination actually happened!"
After that explanation, Kite brought the conversation back on track. "I brought up this book because the insect Joey described is one mentioned in the New Continent Travelogue: the Soul-Guiding Insect, [Ming]!
"When faced with a mortal threat, it lets out a peculiar mournful cry, dragging a soul from an unknown place into the body of the creature threatening it. Then, while the two souls fight to the death, this terrifying Fierce Insect takes the opportunity to kill its enemy!"
"You mean this insect called Ming let out a mournful cry when Yoshikage Kira threatened it, then dragged my soul into Yoshikage Kira's body?" Joey instantly understood what Kite meant.
But in his mind, he pictured a more accurate version of events.
The native soul Joey had devoured was most likely the person who had threatened Ming.
Yet after Ming let out its cry, events had gone beyond its expectations.
The struggle between the souls should have given it a chance to reap the benefits, but the successive appearances of Killer Queen and Evil Wolf had ruined that plan.
The former had robbed it of its chance to profit, while the latter had robbed it of its chance to escape.
It really had been caught between two deadly threats!
What happened afterward was simple. Although Joey won the battle between souls, he fell into a deep sleep while devouring the other soul, leaving Yoshikage Kira in control of the body instead.
And so, after killing Evil Wolf, Yoshikage Kira skinned Ming's corpse and made it into a wallet!
Ming probably never imagined that outcome. That must have been why it looked so unwilling to accept its fate in the last thing Joey saw!
"Correct." Kite nodded. "But clearly, a lot of unexpected things happened along the way. In the end, you gained control of the body, and Ming was skinned and made into a wallet.
"Before its death, however, Ming-a creature that yearns for life and feeds on souls-unleashed an intense desire to survive. Even after dying, it left behind a corpse imbued with life energy. Perhaps it was hoping to come back to life someday."
Kite's final words explained why such dense Nen lingered on the wallet.
But Ming's wish clearly hadn't come true. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been made into a wallet.
Joey concluded that Ming's boundless yearning for life in its final moments had transformed its immense soul energy into a special kind of resentment, one imbued with the essence of life!
Perhaps it really had come back to life then, but even revived, it had been no match for Killer Queen and Yoshikage Kira.
But why could I absorb that resentment? Could other people absorb it too?
Seemingly noticing Joey's confusion, Kite thought for a moment and offered a fairly reasonable explanation.
"Perhaps when you were forcibly pulled here, a connection had already formed between your soul and Ming's.
"The resentment it formed after death could be absorbed by you because that fulfilled some condition of the vows and limitations attached to its ability.
"At least, I didn't feel that I could absorb the Nen on the wallet to recover. Even holding it made me uncomfortable, as though something inside it was watching me."
"Vows and limitations? Watching you?" This was the second time Joey had heard that term from Kite, so he seized the chance to ask about it.
The first time, Kite had suggested that Joey's eyes had accidentally fulfilled some unknown vows and limitations, allowing him to see Nen under certain circumstances.
It still weighed on Joey's mind. Not knowing what those limitations were left him constantly uneasy, as though something were lodged in his throat or a threat were lurking at his back.
"Vows and limitations are a double-edged sword. An ability user establishes rules in their heart that they must follow, gaining greater power in return.
"Take my ability, Crazy Clown, for example. The vows give each selected weapon its own unique special move, but the limitations mean I can't always choose the weapon I want. I can't even change weapons or cancel the ability until I've used the weapon properly. It's a pain."
Kite took another opportunity to complain about his ability, but his example also gave them a clearer understanding of vows and limitations.
"As for your eyes, judging by the current situation, there might not be any vows or limitations involved at all.
"After all, it isn't an enhancement that would require a heavy price. Even calling it an enhancement isn't quite accurate. It's really just a convenience, to a certain extent.
"As for your Nen Beast, you'll have to figure that out yourself. You inherited him, didn't you?"
Joey felt a little relieved, but then remembered the Nen on the wallet.
"Yes. I could control him as soon as I woke up. It felt a little strange, but he's a big part of why I survived long enough to meet you."
Joey didn't elaborate on Killer Queen. "Then could absorbing the Nen on the wallet have any harmful effects on me? And why didn't I feel anything watching me?"
"I don't know," Kite answered. "No one knows what limitations an insect imposed on itself before dying to leave aura in its corpse even when nothing but its skin remained.
"But the New Continent Travelogue does contain some records about this. After Ming dies, its corpse is rich in life energy, which is connected to its diet of souls.
"That wallet probably still holds some secrets. You'll have to discover the details yourself."
"Are there other people in the same situation as me?"
Kite shook his head. "At least according to the records, no human has survived Ming's attack. Other species have been found, but they were quarantined long ago."
Quarantined? Joey was startled. It seemed the V5 had probably researched Ming as well.
Still, since Ming hadn't been classified as a calamity, its threat to humanity apparently wasn't that great.
"One last question. How did you figure out I was no longer Yoshikage Kira?" Joey voiced his final doubt.
A rare hint of a smile tugged at Kite's lips. "You gave yourself away in too many ways. Your recovery was far stronger than that of an ordinary newly awakened Nen user, and your soul was unusually powerful.
"You knew nothing about the organization, and your behavior differed from that of a Murderer. Even your killing intent and demeanor were giveaways to a professional.
"Then there was your lack of combat experience, your amateurish attempts at concealment, and your ignorance of NGL. There was no shortage of clues.
"But without having read the New Continent Travelogue, I might simply have assumed you were pretending, or had a split personality or something similar.
"The only thing that made me question my judgment was that you knew the name of Zaiyilo, the King ruling NGL from the shadows. But once I got the Map, I understood. That must have been one of the few pieces of information Yoshikage Kira left you!"
Joey was dumbfounded. He had always thought he had hidden himself well, but now it seemed his performance had been riddled with flaws.
"So you already suspected my identity when you started teaching me Nen?"
"No. To be precise, I began suspecting you after you revealed your ability. Everything afterward, whether inviting you along or teaching you to awaken your Nen, was a test to confirm my theory," Kite answered plainly.
But that answer didn't just leave Joey dumbfounded.
Killua and Gon looked utterly bewildered too.
From Gon's expression, Joey could read his thoughts: How come I didn't notice any of those giveaways you mentioned?
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