Oboro channeled his breath through the advanced breathing technique, pushing his internal organs to the limit. The desire to kill the old man burned within him again, this time he would find a way to prevent the resurrection.
He had already tried to destroy the ritual skull, but found it futile. The artifact possessed extraordinary durability, resistant to both his physical strength and nen. Breaking it quickly wasn't possible. Oboro theorized that it was probably protected by the rules of the ceremony and would only become vulnerable after the ritual was over.
His body temperature rose as cold determination filled his eyes. He moved with such blinding speed that the Bozwa tribal elder couldn't follow him, only catching glimpses of a dark shadow rising in front of the stone warriors before exploding into powder the next moment. The massive stone constructs tried to crush him with blows and punches, but none could land.
His fighting ability has reached a level that can overwhelm anything within his reach.
No wonder he said he wanted to kill me," the elder thought.
Though startled by Oboro's display, the old man quickly regained his composure. He was invincible during the ritual. Death had no meaning.
Boom!
The nearby stone warriors followed the shadow, but their bodies exploded before they could attack. A wave of compressed air surged out, whipping the elder's hair and eyebrows as shards of stone and dust filled the air. With practiced calm, he used his telekinesis to reassemble the shattered warriors and leaned back to retreat.
But before he could blink, Oboro's face appeared less than twenty centimeters from his own.
"It's useless. Every death at this level of power only makes me stronger than you," the elder sneered.
Oboro remained silent. His hand shot forward, razor-sharp nails slicing the air with impossible speed. Only a sharp whistle marked the attack before blood gushed from the elder's neck, a clean cut that left his head hanging by a thread of flesh.
However, the wound healed at a rate far exceeding previous resurrections, instantly returning to its original state. The elder's enhanced abilities, especially his increased telekinetic power and energy reserves, meant that even with the breathing technique, Oboro couldn't dispatch him as easily as before.
Oboro had studied the differences in resurrection and healing speed, but this was beyond his expectations. Even decapitation resulted in immediate regeneration.
"Hahahahahaha Each death speeds up my reformation, evolves me further. In this ceremony, I am a god!" The Elder's scattered pupils blazed with renewed intensity as he made his arrogant declaration.
The time between death and resurrection had shortened drastically. Each subsequent kill would lead to an even quicker resurrection. Soon it might not even take a second.
I must act in less than a second,' Oboro realized. Mental and physical recovery requires a split-second pause, like a server reconnecting. I must strike at the moment when his consciousness reawakens but his strength is weakest, forcing a disconnect.
The challenge was that each death would compress that window further. A second now, but what about next time? Milliseconds? Faster than neural transmission?
Could he make it?
Failure meant death. The ritual would continue until all Bozwa victims were consumed. He had to kill the target nearly ten times in a row.
The difficulty was enough to cause despair.
A thought flickered through Oboro's mind, but he pushed forward without hesitation, there was no other choice.
His arm shot forward like a spear at the elder.
Bang!
What happened next made Oboro's mind go blank for a moment.
The elder's hand wrapped around his wrist with crushing force.
"You just killed me." The sinister words reached his ears as he looked up at the elder's face, now twisted into a demonic visage.
With a sharp crack, the elder released his grip. For the first time, Oboro's legendary physical strength failed him. His Iron Shirt technique, normally as resilient as steel, crumpled like paper.
The Elder's strength had increased at least tenfold, each evolution more terrifying and all-encompassing than the last.
Pure, overwhelming power.
Without technique or finesse, the Elder's raw physical power now far exceeded Oboro's own.
Before he could process this realization, his vision swam. There was no pain, no sensory feedback, his brain seemed to shut down like an unplugged computer. His body only trembled.
He had become ordinary.
A cracking sound reached his ears.
His gaze drifted to his chest, his thoughts growing distant. The blow hadn't penetrated, but his torso had collapsed inward like mud hit by a stone.
Something leaked from his eyes, mouth, and nose.
'Blood?
I must look pathetic right now.
I can't let Hisoka see me like this.
A stream of absurd, almost amusing thoughts drifted through his rigid mind, not fear or panic at the approach of death.
"You're right! I just want to live, people are selfish. After the ceremony, I could go to the royal city and face that bastard king. Even if I die in the end, and the Bozwa tribe ceases to exist, at least we'll have our revenge! But only a fool would choose this path. I can still live for a long time.
The elder, Ike of the Bozwa tribe, lifted Oboro's broken form by the arm and hugged him with satisfaction as he watched the life fade from his opponent.
Though they were only inches apart, Oboro could no longer make out Ike's words. He only vaguely registered the arrogant face that swam in front of his fading vision.
The world of the Hunters is truly too dangerous.
I achieved so much, but it wasn't enough. Even though I tried so hard.
So this is what death feels like. I should be scared, but why am I so calm?
I failed miserably as a time traveler.
Even at the door of death, Oboro found himself mocking his own fate.
"I can be resurrected after death, but can you? Humans must always pay the price for their ignorance and recklessness!"
Like a last ray of light piercing the darkness, Oboro's senses suddenly sharpened. He heard the elder's last taunt with perfect clarity.
Then he was tossed away like trash.
The stone warriors below raised their weapons, speared Oboro's broken body, and lifted him into the air.
'Resurrection?
Too bad, no equipment or hero draws, and I used rune skills twice in a row. Otherwise, I'd still have one life left.
With this last thought, the darkness claimed Oboro's consciousness completely.
Ike surveyed the stone warriors scattered across the ground, reveling in the endless power that surged through his body. This boundless power intoxicated him, giving him a feeling he'd never experienced as an ordinary Nen user; he felt for the first time that he truly looked down upon everything, as if he were the creator of the world.
But this godlike power was only the effect of the ritual, destined to disappear after the ceremony.
He could only enjoy it within this limited window.
"Too weak," Ike looked dismissively at Oboro's corpse.
Though he couldn't deny the man's strength under normal circumstances, their first encounter would have ended in Ike's immediate death, since such powerful individuals were almost no longer a threat to him.
It felt great.
As Ike basked in his triumph, a distant commotion caught his attention. Looking up, he saw two figures forcibly breaking through a sealed entrance.
Hisoka and Kaki had arrived.
"You didn't run away?" Ike stared at Kaki in mild surprise before smiling. "Excellent, you two should provide some entertainment."
The moment they entered the underground chamber, Hisoka and Kaki saw Oboro suspended in the air, impaled by the stone warriors' weapons. Blood dripped from his body in bright crimson streams.
His life force was almost gone.
"Dead," Kaki's eyes went wide as he collapsed to his knees, feeling as if he had fallen into an icy pit.
They had rushed here as fast as they could but were still too late.
Hisoka's expression froze.
Then darkness crept over his features, his eyes filled with murderous madness as he stared at the elder.
His teeth ground together, making a terrible sound.
Although Hisoka clearly felt the overwhelming pressure of the elder, he didn't care.
His fruit had been plucked.
And not just any fruit, but the one at the very top of the tree!
All this time, Hisoka had suppressed his desire to harvest the 'Oboro' fruit because it was different from all the others!
Oboro's existence could push Hisoka's own potential even further, make him stronger, he had wanted to see how powerful Oboro could become, what heights he could reach under such pressure.
Then, when everything was perfectly prepared, they would give the most magnificent "performance".
One that would belong to him and Oboro alone.
In the end, it didn't matter if one of them died.
Oboro's fruit held a value and significance that no other could replace.
Watching Oboro grow from unripe potential to full maturity had been exquisite, making the anticipation of his eventual "taste" all the more intense. While others were mere side dishes, Oboro was the main course.
Two people growing stronger together
Even if Oboro had been the only fruit on the whole tree, it would have been enough!
Hisoka's fantasized stage, his dream of tasting the 'Oboro' fruit, shattered at that moment!
He released his aura without restraint, only one thought remained: kill the old man.
Kill the bastard who ruined his 'dream'!
Kaki, watching from the side, was horrified by Hisoka's transformation. The man before him had become something completely different, like a demon incarnate.
Whoosh!
Hisoka charged forward like a rabid beast, straight for Ike.
He destroyed every stone warrior in his path, and even when their weapons hit him, he didn't dodge.
Though his attack seemed reckless, he was actually optimizing for speed, his instincts warning him that his opponent was far superior.
He had to create openings.
At the most desperate moments.
Bang!
Hisoka's face twisted in disbelief as the elder materialized beside him without warning and delivered a kick to his lower abdomen.
Blood sprayed from Hisoka's mouth as he was thrown backwards like a broken kite, flying even faster than his attack before crashing into the stone wall.
Ike slowly lowered his foot. He had held back his strength, not wanting to kill his opponent right away.
He wanted to play, to continue basking in this overwhelming power.
This madman's strength was roughly equal to the one he'd just killed.
A suitable toy.
"And the other one?"
The elder's gaze fell on Kaki, who was still kneeling at the entrance of the cave.
A stone warrior leapt skyward, landing above Kaki before slashing downward with his sword, splitting him in two with a single blow.
Crash.
A hole exploded in the stone wall as debris rained down.
Ike watched the ground calmly. A telekinetic force had anchored his feet, preventing him from moving.
"Was that your reaction from earlier?"
Understanding dawned on the elder.
Hisoka used his nen ability to pull himself forward, slicing through the air as if he were flying, his speed even greater than before.
But as he approached, the cards were ready to strike.
Effortlessly, Ike broke free of the nen bond and slammed his palm into the back of Hisoka's head, driving his entire upper body through the stone floor into the earth below.
"Hahaha!"
The elder's laughter echoed with wild joy.
Though badly wounded, Hisoka had already raised an arm and slashed at the enemy's knees with a card before his body could be pulled from the ground.
But Ike simply stepped on his palm.
The elder stepped back a few steps and said mockingly: "Go on, show me what you can do.
Time crawled by. In less than ten minutes, Hisoka had been knocked down several times, but no matter how many times he was hit or how much the elder mocked him, he always got back up.
Even Ike had to admire his toughness.
Although Hisoka and Oboro seemed similar, Hisoka seemed to have even more willpower.
But everyone has limits.
Including Hisoka.
After all, he was only in his early twenties and already badly injured.
After one last desperate fight, he collapsed.
This outcome was only possible because Ike had toyed with his opponent. Otherwise, Hisoka would have met the same instant death as Oboro.
"You and him are the so-called geniuses, right? I know that beyond East Gorteau, there are many like you, blessed with talent and insight far beyond ordinary people, progressing at a frightening rate. It's truly enviable."
Ike leaned forward, grabbed Hisoka's red hair and pulled him up from the ground.
Though exhausted and covered in wounds, Hisoka remained conscious as he heard the elder's words, his half-closed eyes flashing with naked contempt.
This caused Ike's expression to darken.
"The weak are pitiful," Hisoka's lips barely moved as he forced the words out.
The elder felt stung by the mockery.
He began to crush Hisoka's skull between his fingers.
"Game process error!"
"Cannot repair!"
"Game crashed!"
Sudden, disjointed sounds broke the subterranean silence.
Ike's attention snapped to the source. A button with a human face flickered in and out of existence, struggling to manifest itself but failing each time.
Finally, it dissolved into pixels and scattered.
"Hm?"
The elder started, throwing Hisoka aside to stare at the corpse that should have died long ago, still pierced by weapons.
Only then did he notice that the body had stopped bleeding.
"Welcome your death."
As Hisoka crumpled to the ground, he witnessed a ball of postmortem energy erupt like a flame, radiating an ominous aura.
As his eyes began to close, a familiar figure shrouded in black misty aura fell to the ground, several broken weapons still embedded in his body, and slowly stood.
Hisoka saw the man's eyes blazing crimson like torches.
He whispered softly, his heart racing with excitement at the sight, though his physical condition was too poor to properly express his "joy".
Hisoka closed his eyes in contentment.