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The scene was pure madness—straight-up horrifying.
Kurapika and the girls didn't waste a second inside the wrecked car. They piled out and formed a tight triangle, battle-ready in an instant.
Ronin's eyes, however, stayed locked on the Elder hidden among the swarm of human bombs.
Kill the source, and the entire suicide charge would collapse.
The old man's ability was solid. From the manga, even after death it probably wouldn't vanish. It would turn into post-mortem Nen and keep working on everyone he'd already marked.
But so what?
Ronin was actually curious to see what real post-mortem Nen looked like in action.
His left eye flared. Amenotokotachi activated instantly, sealing only the space around Theodore's head—no big area this time.
It would restrict movement and slowly suffocate him, since even air couldn't stir inside the locked zone.
Susanoo vanished in a flash. Ronin's hands flew through seals as Lightning Style Chakra Mode crackled across his entire body.
His speed exploded. The surrounding blasts couldn't even keep up.
In a single heartbeat he weaved through the crowd of suicide bombers and appeared right beside Theodore.
Theodore hated outsiders more than anything.
Especially the ones who came to Meteor City to take something that didn't belong to them.
Ronin's presence had hit his reverse scale dead center. Even when Ryan sent messengers begging him to come to the villa and plan the outsider's death together, Theodore had refused.
He would kill this outsider his own way.
He wanted the man to explode in utter despair. Only that kind of bloody, violent end would satisfy him.
This time, though, he had kicked a steel plate.
That space-sealing ability was clearly Emission-type Nen—and an extremely powerful one.
Combined with the protective construct the outsider had been using earlier, it was probably an Emission-type Nen beast as well.
The moment Theodore realized he was sealed, he had two choices.
One: try to blow open the sealed space using the marks.
That should work. If the space was being held together by a massive amount of aura making it thick and viscous, a powerful enough explosion should shatter the restraint.
But then he saw Ronin dismiss the crimson armor and lightning begin crackling across his body.
Transmutation.
A person who could train two separate categories to this level was undeniably a genius.
And lightning usually meant one thing—speed.
Theodore immediately abandoned the first option.
He had a better surprise in mind.
Theodore had long been prepared to die for his beliefs.
This time, he would blow himself up. The moment the outsider used the spatial seal to restrain him and charged in with lightning speed, he would complete his masterpiece: self-detonation!
Theodore brought his unmarked hands together.
At the exact same moment, Ronin appeared beside him and reached out to make contact.
A cold, cruel smile formed beneath Theodore's mask. His mouth opened slightly.
"Boom!"
Nothing happened.
Instead, Theodore felt his Nen rapidly draining away. In a single instant he went from a powerful ability user to an ordinary person.
Sealing Technique: Four Symbols Seal.
This was the powerful sealing formula Ronin had been practicing on Owl after taking full control of him. It used the cycle of the Four Symbols to lock away evil power.
When used on Nen, it was extremely effective. By completing the formula, it could rapidly seal away the target's entire aura, forcing them into a complete Zetsu state almost instantly.
Because the power being sealed wasn't actually "evil" but normal life energy, the technique's effectiveness took a slight hit.
Still, breaking out of it depended entirely on the victim's aura reserves.
The Four Symbols Seal Ronin applied was strong enough to hold Theodore for over ten seconds.
More than enough time to kill him dozens of times over.
Four-Finger Pierce!
The moment the seal took hold, Ronin's fingers stabbed straight into the back of Theodore's heart.
Then… nothing.
The post-mortem Nen he had been waiting for didn't appear.
When Amenotokotachi released, Theodore collapsed to the ground, eyes filled with unwillingness and venomous hatred.
He died still in complete Zetsu. Not a single trace of aura leaked from his body.
Certainly no post-mortem Nen.
Ronin did notice something interesting, though—the Four Symbols Seal he had placed on Theodore had become even more stable, showing no signs of being broken through.
A thought flashed through his mind.
Maybe Theodore had triggered post-mortem Nen upon death, but the moment it tried to manifest as "evil power," the Four Symbols Seal's true function activated and completely suppressed it.
If that was the case, then releasing the seal now should cause the ability to erupt in its post-mortem form.
The explosions along the street had finally stopped.
The marks on Theodore's hands had completely vanished.
But the frenzied suicide bombers didn't slow down. Even without the ability to detonate, they continued charging at Kurapika's group like madmen.
Shizuku was the most ruthless of the three.
Kurapika mostly used his chains to knock people unconscious. Neon was far more casual—she would tear off whatever body part she found "interesting" on anyone who got too close.
Out of everyone, Neon's side of the fight was actually the bloodiest.
Ronin glanced over and told them to be careful.
He formed the cross seal, created a Shadow Clone, then quickly retreated.
The clone stepped forward and placed a hand on Theodore's corpse.
Chakra flowed in. The Four Symbols Seal was released.
In that exact instant, marks reappeared on both of Theodore's hands, and pitch-black Nen surged out of his body.
At the same time, the marks that had vanished from all the suicide bombers suddenly reappeared on them too.
Ronin's eyes narrowed.
Just as expected.
The Shadow Clone raised its hands again, forming new seals, then pressed down on the corpse.
The second it made contact, a negative (–) mark appeared on the clone.
Then—
BOOM!
The explosion detonated violently.