Three decapitated corpses lay sprawled across the rough masonry floor of the ancient castle. Warm blood pooled beneath them, thick and dark, seeping steadily into the deep cracks of the stone.
Genthru's head was nowhere to be seen, having been violently separated from his neck by the roaring chainsaw Shizuku had conjured. The other two heads, severed with surgical precision by Machi's invisible Nen threads, had rolled away to rest against the cold wall. Liam stepped forward, the heavy soles of his boots clicking against the floor. He nudged one of the heads with his toe, rolling it over to inspect the face. Both men wore eerie, frozen smiles, their pupils clouded and vacant. Machi's technique was mercilessly clean.
Behind Liam, a trembling Captain Sabazushi stood at attention. The beret-wearing security chief wiped cold sweat from his brow as he delivered his report.
"...these two took every game console from the cellar," Sabazushi explained, his voice wavering. "They planned to send them off to the auction. The man who called himself Genthru gathered us together and detonated an explosion right in front of us. He killed one of our men on the spot, just to prove a point. Then he explained his supernatural ability. He called them bombs, planted them on us, and used them to hold us hostage."
"Why didn't they blow you up immediately to silence you?" a voice suddenly asked.
It was Shizuku. But the real Shizuku was sitting quietly by the arched castle window, staring blankly out at the night.
The fake Shizuku blinked, realizing the mistake. The disguised figure reached down and pulled open the tiger-skin skirt fastened around their waist. As the garment hit the stone floor, it rippled and expanded, taking the shape of a massive, pale tiger. Lumos padded forward, leaving Kurapika standing in his true form.
Sabazushi stared, completely stunned by the transformation. He had worked at this castle long enough to witness his fair share of supernatural oddities. He knew, for instance, that dozens of people had walked down into that mysterious cellar, yet he rarely saw anyone return. As the man in charge of the castle's security, he also knew there were nowhere near enough supplies down there to sustain that many people.
Lumos lowered his massive head, sniffing at the bloody remains of the three Bombers. Liam stepped in the tiger's path, holding up a hand.
"Ah, Lumos. I would prefer you not eat this," Liam said, gently pushing the beast's snout away.
Kurapika brushed a lock of blond hair from his face, his brow furrowed in mild annoyance. "There was absolutely no need for me to step out of the car looking like Shizuku, was there?"
Liam reached out, scratching Lumos under the chin. He offered Kurapika a casual smile. "It worked out perfectly. Honestly, if you just put on a black wig, you could pass for Shizuku without any transformation at all."
Bisky let out a short, mischievous laugh, her eyes crinkling. "He is quite the pretty young man, isn't he?"
Menchi rubbed her arms, shivering in disgust. "Ugh. I am getting goosebumps just listening to you two."
Sabazushi forced himself to look away from the giant pale tiger, choosing to focus entirely on Kurapika's earlier question. "I am ashamed to admit it," the captain said, clearing his throat, "but the three Bombers may have overheard some sensitive information from us. They learned that Mr. Liam had recently received a massive amount of funding from Mr. Battera."
Kurapika gave a slow, understanding nod. That was how the captain had bought his life. The Bombers had been lured by the prospect of hundreds of billions. They had chosen to wait for Liam and the rest of the group to return to the castle so they could claim the ultimate prize. Instead, they had walked directly into their own slaughter.
With Jaku acting as an aerial scout, catching Liam in an ambush was practically impossible. Kurapika himself had no idea how many ordinary animals under Liam's control were currently roaming around with unremoved Star Marks. If someone told him that every mouse, bird, and insect they had passed during their airship and car ride was a spy, Kurapika would not have been surprised in the slightest.
"You did well, Captain Sabazushi," Liam said, turning his attention back to the officer. "We will handle the disposal of the bodies. Take your men and get some rest. We can discuss the remaining details later."
Sabazushi hesitated, his feet planted firmly on the stone. "What about the bomb?"
He reached awkwardly behind his shoulder, gesturing to his back. The conjured explosive device was still clamped tightly to his skin, its ominous ticking synchronized with his own racing heartbeat. He had less than an hour left.
Liam smiled, his expression calm and reassuring. "Go back to your quarters. Tell your men to get some sleep. When you wake up and check your back, you will find that the bomb is gone."
Sabazushi gave a stiff nod, finally turning on his heel to leave. In truth, just standing in the same room as these people made his chest feel tight. The three terrifying Bombers who had effortlessly tortured his well-trained mercenaries were now nothing more than decapitated meat on the floor, slaughtered without breaking a sweat. The pink-haired woman leaning against the wall with her arms crossed was particularly intimidating. She hadn't said a single word, but her cold, needle-like stare felt like physical pressure against his skin. Sabazushi hurried down the corridor, relieved to be excused.
In a hidden dimension completely invisible to the captain, a pale figure floated silently behind him. It was a Taoist nun, her wide robes and long sleeves drifting weightlessly in the air. Strapped to her back was a black sword inscribed with glowing sacred characters. She followed Sabazushi like a shadow.
Her task was simple. She would absorb the Nen bomb attached to him, simultaneously saving his life and recharging her Yin Nen Sword. It was the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone.
Back in the room, Liam crouched down, systematically rummaging through the bloody pockets of Genthru and his accomplices. He pulled out their cell phones, thick leather wallets, and a few loose items, dusting off the grime. He glanced over his shoulder at Shizuku and gave a slight nod.
Shizuku understood perfectly. She raised her right hand, summoning her vacuum cleaner with a dull hum of energy. She gripped the handle, flipped the heavy switch, and pointed the nozzle at the mess.
"Blinky," she instructed in a flat tone. "Clean up these three bodies."
Blinky let out a mechanical roar, its mouth opening wide. A violent, swirling suction force erupted through the room. The heavy corpses of Genthru and the other two men were lifted from the stone and dragged into the vacuum's gaping maw. Blinky did not stop there. It sucked up the thick pools of blood, pulling every last crimson drop out from the deep cracks in the masonry. Outside the window behind Shizuku, a sudden rustling sound echoed through the night air. Genthru's missing head flew in through the open archway, caught in the vacuum's unrelenting pull, and vanished down Blinky's throat in a single gulp.
Machi watched the display with quiet interest. She studied the bizarre, conjured vacuum cleaner, running the tactical possibilities through her mind. If the Phantom Troupe had someone with an ability like that, their cleanup operations would be endlessly easier, regardless of the mission.
Liam stood up, tossing the dead men's phones and wallets in his hands. "They were planning to send all those Greed Island consoles to the Yorknew Auction House," he mused, the plastic and leather smacking lightly against his palms. "Once they sold, the payment would have likely been wired straight into their personal accounts." He looked around the room. "So, does anyone here have the skills to..."
Menchi crossed her arms, letting out a heavy, irritated sigh. "Listen, mister billionaire. Why are you still obsessing over pocket change?"
Liam raised his eyebrows in feigned shock. "Thirty Greed Island consoles count as pocket change to you? I had no idea Miss Food Hunter was so incredibly wealthy. Besides, those are my consoles. I am not going to just let them slip away for nothing. It leaves a very bad taste in my mouth, imagining all that money sitting in an auction house, only to be transferred to three dead men."
Bisky watched the two of them start to bicker. She shook her head with a weary smile and snapped her fingers loudly, instantly cutting off the argument.
"Give it a rest, you two," Bisky said, waving a hand toward Rock Bird. "Leave the financial tracking to me. I know a Hacker Hunter who is exceptionally good at this exact sort of thing."
Liam immediately tossed the phones and wallets over to her. Bisky caught them with ease.
"Perfect," Liam said, his smile returning. "Handle the money however you see fit, Bisky. I just hated the idea of perfectly good resources going to waste. Where are the rich people now? Do you honestly think I care about this pocket change?"
Manipulation: [Four] [Mastery]
Emission: [Three] [Proficiency]
Enhancement: [Two] [Excellent]
Transmutation: [Two] [Excellent]
Conjuration: [One] [Good]
Specialization: [Five] [Extreme]
Total Aura: 47,222, rising...
Death Energy Stock: 13, refining...
The night air outside the ancient fortress was as cold as deep water. Liam sat alone in the quiet solitude of his room, the thick stone walls muting the wind outside. Finally away from the chaos, he closed his eyes, taking a long, steady breath to center himself. It was time to process everything he had gained over the past few days.
If he took the massive pool of death energy he had accumulated and refined every last drop of it into raw aura, his overall strength would undoubtedly surge to an entirely new tier. He was closing in on Morel's monstrous aura reserves.
A soft, ethereal glow illuminated the stone floor. The Taoist Nun slowly materialized from the shadows, her wide robes draping elegantly around her. She held the black Yin Nen Sword gently in her hands. The thirty-three sacred characters etched into the blade thrummed with fresh power, fully charged from the absorbed Nen bomb.
Liam opened his eyes, studying his Nen beast in the dim light. His gaze shifted to her left sleeve, the space that housed her Universe in the Sleeve ability. Slowly, his eyes drifted to her right sleeve, the pocket designated for storing talismans.
He let the tactical possibilities turn over in his mind. With the Nun's talisman storage ability, Liam had the freedom to design entirely new Nen techniques spanning all the different categories. It didn't matter how complicated the execution was. As long as he took the time to painstakingly craft the talismans during his quiet, everyday life, his Nen beast could carry them indefinitely. It was the perfect solution to the pig brain overload dilemma. In the heat of a chaotic battle, trying to instantly switch between vastly different, complex Nen abilities often led to mental stalling, a fatal lag in reaction time caused by insufficient memory capacity.
It was true that a human brain had its limits, but he had effectively built himself an external hard drive.
He could prepare everything in advance. Plug and play.
That left him with one glaring question. He still had completely untapped potential within the Conjuration category. What should he do with it? He warned himself not to get too wild or overly imaginative. Creating something entirely detached from his current skill set would require far too much mental strain. It would be infinitely more efficient to develop a Conjuration ability that shared common ground with his existing techniques.
He closed his eyes again, sinking deep into meditation as the night dragged on.
After a long night of focused practice, Liam's death energy stock had settled at 11, and his total aura capacity had broken past 50,000.