Chapter 38: Stay Here for Now × Dense Clusters

Time rewinds to over ten minutes ago.

Dia had utilized the conductivity of his Ripple to create a source of continuous vibration on a distant wall. As expected, the thick-skinned monster fish abandoned the Dia standing within arm's reach to attack the silent, vibrating wall, or rather, it was attacking the constant vibrations of the Ripple within the masonry.

It was like a loud alarm clock, incessantly ringing to remind a slumbering giant: "Come over here and hit me!"

Thus, Dia had successfully deciphered the creature's behavioral mechanism. However, because it was so impossibly tough, Dia suspected that only by pulverizing its brain could he truly kill it. Not wanting to waste any more ammunition, he chose to punch the beast into a pulp, literally turning it into minced fish balls.

Later, when Borksen returned to witness the bloody scene, she couldn't stop herself from stealing glances at Dia with a bizarre, haunted expression.

'Looks like there aren't any left on the first two floors. I have no choice but to head to the third.'

Dia pulled his palm away from the wall. His Ripple Radar could only cover the span of a single floor at maximum. However, by strategically releasing pulses of Ripple Radar from pre-calculated points, he could maximize his detection range with minimal energy expenditure.

'If the first and second floors are devoid of those fish, it implies that the danger on the third floor is likely off the charts...'

To avoid attracting unwanted attention, Dia intentionally released Ripple pulses into the ground as he walked to cancel out the vibrations of his own footsteps. But as it turned out, it was entirely unnecessary; the first and second floors were devoid of living people and monster fish alike, appearing both empty and eerie.

This left Dia baffled. Why would the enemy force those fish to abandon the first two floors? The only thing he could be certain of was that there were multiple monsters, and they were engaged in indiscriminate slaughter. Furthermore, given the enemy's deliberate choice of a catfish as the prototype for their Conjuration, it was possible that these fish possessed the ability to multiply automatically, rather than relying entirely on the user's continuous output.

So, what was the enemy's goal?

Robbing the auction items? If so, the goal should already be achieved. Why was the building still sealed? Dia didn't think the enemy's Nen ability would leave a convenient "backdoor" for them to escape.

Was it to kill? The same logic applied, the people were basically all dead. Wait, not all of them. Excluding the group of mercenaries who had suddenly invaded, hadn't Dia survived? And Momoze, who had secretly slipped away...

'So they're still coming after the 12th Prince? This mission has escalated way past a C-rank difficulty.'

'I absolutely have to report this to Mizaistom. How does he even grade these tasks...'

Dia silently criticized the professional standards of the "Crime Hunter" who ran this private security firm. As they approached the third floor, the air grew thick with a rancid, fishy stench, a sign that they were getting dangerously close to the source.

An unfamiliar, malicious aura began to leak down through the building's structure, "tasting" every prey that dared to approach. Dia gazed up at the giant catfish following the tail end of the procession, watching it glide quietly from the second-floor stairwell toward the third.

'That must be the final battlefield. What a great place they've picked for it...'

Dia stepped onto the stairs, but after only a few steps, he felt something was wrong. "Hm? What am I missing?"

He turned his head. Borksen was standing motionless, exactly where she had been. She was struggling to lift her head to look at him, her eyes betraying a hint of hidden pleading and terror, but her teeth were clenched so hard they might shatter, refusing to let out a single sound. She looked as though she had been cast into an icy abyss; her entire body was trembling, her tightly clenched fists shaking violently.

'Oh, shit. That's right, she doesn't use Nen!'

Dia suddenly realized his mistake. The evil Nen leaking from the third floor, while not overwhelming, wasn't something a normal human could force themselves to overcome. She had likely reached her limit long ago, so why hadn't she made a sound?

Dia turned back and tapped Borksen's forehead, channeling a stream of Ripple energy into her.

Borksen, who had been unable to move a single muscle, felt a surge of warmth flow from her brow. This warmth coursed through her entire body, and suddenly, she felt a flush of heat. Her locked joints felt as if they had been lubricated, and she regained the ability to move freely.

'What is this...?'

Borksen felt as if she had just woken from a nightmare. She stumbled back several steps, gasping for air, putting distance between herself and the terrifying, mysterious energy emanating from the stairwell. Only then did she realize that in just a few short seconds, her back had been soaked through with cold sweat.

She had been trying to act tough. She was an adult, an elite soldier who had graduated through rigorous training, not some pampered daughter begging for candy behind her father. Yet, the moment her foot hit the stairs, that horrific malice had shattered her will, freezing her body so completely she couldn't even call for help.

"Find a place to hide for now. This floor should be clear of danger. Leave the rest to me."

Dia's flat voice interrupted her train of thought. Immediately after, she felt an irresistible force grab her wrist, pulling her toward another direction.

Not long after, Dia stopped in front of a restroom. He checked it carefully, confirming there was no Hisoka inside, and said:

"Borksen-san, stay hidden in here for now. I'll leave my cloud with you."

"T-then, what about you?"

Borksen didn't know why she had asked that question. He was leagues stronger than her, what was there to worry about? Was she actually afraid that he would leave?

Dia did indeed look at her strangely, then offhandedly remarked:

"I have things to do. I'll be back soon."

With that, he turned and walked toward the stairs without the slightest hesitation. Borksen held the small, white cloud and lowered her head, recalling that terrifying malice. He's going to fight that kind of enemy...

…

Silent Snowfield!

Lakshya, maintaining his ability, finally saw something in the mist other than walls. An open door.

There was no sound from inside, which was only to be expected; his ability didn't just eliminate his own sound, it prevented outside noise from getting in as well. Lakshya peered inside cautiously, and the scene that met his eyes made cold sweat erupt across his skin.

The auction hall was roiling with thick fog, but within the field of view, sun-bleached human bones were discarded carelessly. Bloody severed heads rolled and twitched, flesh and sinew having rotted into a crimson carpet. The entire hall was permeated with an unbearably rancid stench.

Most eye-catching of all was the center of the hall. Surrounded by white mist, a puddle of black Nen swirled and churned like boiling mud, with a dense, swarming mass of giant catfish writhing frantically within the muck.

Right in the heart of the squirming, crushing school of fish, a catfish noticeably larger than the rest, its body radiating a powerful, concentrated Nen, was staring straight at him!

Lakshya was so startled he almost released a Nen blast, but he caught himself just in time, noticing that the fish hadn't attacked him. Instead, every few moments, the giant catfish in the center would open its maw, packed with rows of jagged teeth, and devour one of the passerby fish. And every time it consumed one, its own aura would surge and intensify.

Watching this scene, a primal fear began to rise in Lakshya's chest:

'If it keeps eating like this, it's only a matter of time before it reaches a level that can no longer be suppressed!'