In a small country called Grusia on the continent.
At this moment, inside a prison in the country, Netero sat cross-legged on the ground, his limbs still bound by curse energy… Behind him was a recently deceased descendant of the 'Shadow.'
Like the girl who had previously used vows and restrictions, this person had also developed abilities specifically targeting him, making it difficult for Netero to resist.
The old man closed his eyes, not struggling.
Screams and cries of people being beaten and executed could be heard continuously from the prison.
Those imprisoned here were all members of the Hunter Association.
And in the corridor outside the cage, Jed, resurrected, sat on a chair, quietly enjoying a real-time online broadcast on a screen in front of him. The broadcast showed the scene of the prisoners in this jail, about to be executed under the 'name of Hunters.'
Jed had white hair and a youthful appearance. His eyes and pupils had an unusual color, unlike ordinary people.
Soon, amidst the noisy screams from the prison, one person's cry disappeared, their life force extinguished.
"Jed… this is between you and me. It has nothing to do with these juniors."
Netero opened his eyes and looked at the familiar face outside the bars, speaking in a deep voice.
But Jed ignored him, simply snapping his fingers, and his subordinate immediately slaughtered another imprisoned Hunter alive.
Netero's brow furrowed tightly.
The power of resentment is different from Nen. Curse energy has a tremendous 'contaminating' effect on the spirit. It transmits negative clarity and will to a greater extent than Nen, making it difficult for ordinary people to resist.
Once invaded by curse energy, the mind will change, showing signs of assimilation… For most people, their willpower is not honed to an extremely stable degree, making it easy for curse energy to amplify their inner darkness, thus turning them into puppets.
Netero now understood why Jed had been resurrected…
Jed had awakened this curse energy early on… and along with all the descendants of the Shadow, they possessed the talent to use resentment. It must have been some surviving descendants who used this energy to resurrect Jed. In other words, his old friend before him was not a living person… but an energy aggregate.
Like Nen abilities, it generated some humanoid entities…
Carrying the will and emotions of everyone's darkness and resentment, like Nen, resentment also amplifies personal thoughts and carries a certain purpose… Jed's 'revival' was similar to a curse ability, and then by absorbing the energy of each person in the increasingly powerful team after his revival, he became what he is now.
The characteristic of the ability.
This point is also different from Nen.
If more and more people are contaminated by 'resentment,' then Jed will become stronger…
As for Grusia… this was once the country where the 'Shadow' clan and their descendants lived. Back then, to ensure control over the 'Shadow' group and prevent them from disobeying, V5 confined all their relatives in a deep mountain forest in Grusia.
Treating these descendants as hostages… V5 had long ago judged that Jed, as the leader, might be unruly.
Although confined, the relatives of the 'Shadow' lived well… until V5 prepared to eliminate the 'Shadow.'
Netero killing Jed back then was out of necessity.
It wasn't just the pressure from V5, but during the 'Shadow's' subsequent missions, due to years of immersion in slaughter, Jed's disposition had become twisted. He would often involve innocent people in his actions, purely to satisfy his desire for killing.
This also included the influence of curse energy… Therefore, Netero finally had to take drastic action.
It is worth mentioning that V5 did not personally eliminate the 'Shadow'… With just a simple word, they mobilized the military forces of Grusia's high-level officials to eliminate them.
"Don't rush, it'll be your turn soon…"
Jed's cold voice echoed in the prison.
"It seems… neither V5 nor the Association… wants to save you, the Great Chairman."
Jed continued, "I will upload the footage of your death online in its entirety for the whole world to see… Since the Association doesn't intend to reveal the truth of that year, then… I will be the one to unveil the truth of the past."
Jed's rebirth was to give 'Shadow' a clean slate, to acknowledge their contributions and existence.
This was the original intention of his revival.
Not simply revenge.
Jed knew very well that there were many people in the Association who knew about 'Shadow.'
But despite repeated threats, no one from the Hunter Association had come forward to make a statement, which was different from his expectations.
During this period, the team members controlled by curse energy continued to grow and began to operate in various regions, capturing personnel related to the Hunter Association… Jed didn't believe that the Hunter Association would remain indifferent.
If killing Netero still left the Association unmoved, it could only mean one thing… that in the years since his death, Netero had achieved nothing, and his tenure as Chairman had been a complete failure.
"It's been a long time… Jed, the current Hunter Association is not the same as when you and I were around."
Netero said meaningfully.
"Don't you feel it's tragic? Don't you regret it?" Jed slowly turned his head, looking at the old man sitting in the dark cell. "You've served them diligently for all these years, and what's the result? They don't take you seriously at all. Even if you die… it doesn't matter, they can just find someone else to replace you."
Jed was referring to V5.
In his opinion, the Association's inaction was because V5 had given the order… to ignore the threat of 'Shadow.' As for Netero himself, he could die.
"Hey!"
At this moment, a commotion came from a cell opposite Netero.
Someone shouted at Jed.
It was Killua.
He had also been captured and imprisoned here.
There was nothing he could do. After obtaining his Hunter license, Killua had intended to leave… but then things changed, and he was no match for Jed, so he could only surrender.
Despite being a prisoner, Killua didn't seem nervous at all. Instead, he had a smile on his face, hands behind his head, and walked to the iron bars. "Is the old man reminding you? Didn't you hear?"
Jed glanced at Killua.
Killua lowered his hands, rubbed his nose, and chuckled, "There are terrifying guys in the Association… He's not the only monster. You're making such a big scene now, you probably won't live much longer. Maybe a monster is already on its way…"
"Monster?"
Jed let out a cold laugh.
"Yeah, a terrifying monster…"
Killua nodded mysteriously.
"You don't believe me?"
"If you don't believe me, fine… You'd better pray it's not that monster who comes. If it's someone else, maybe your fate will be a little better. But if it's him… tsk tsk tsk, that would be miserable." Netero naturally knew who Killua was referring to.
Killua was even covering his mouth and chuckling as he spoke, seeming somewhat gloating.
It felt like even though he was captured, he was on vacation.
He had been beaten quite a bit these past few days, but no matter what torture or torment, it was all the same to Killua, he was used to it.
These people would send videotapes of their torture or killing of Association members to the Association headquarters, but it wasn't Killua's turn yet.
Killua was initially very nervous, even thinking of escaping at any opportunity, but all attempts failed…
Because this curse energy, which was incompatible with Nen, was beyond his understanding.
He discovered that if he used 'Zetsu' with curse energy, even 'En' couldn't detect its presence. This indicated… that curse energy had some special properties, including the characteristic of corrupting the mind, making Nen users susceptible.
But later, his little brain figured it out… The Association was eerily calm, likely brewing a major move.
If it were a normal rescue operation, there would at least be some signs.
After all, Netero, as the Chairman… couldn't be imprisoned here for long.
So, a big shot must have personally intervened.
And the gloating… was because Killua really wanted to see if Jed could make Oboro stumble, if it really was Oboro who came.
"What kind of monster have I not killed… Which one are you referring to?"
Jed said indifferently.
"The kind you haven't seen…"
Killua said lightly, then comfortably walked back into the shadow of his cell and lay down.
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