Chapter 39: Attack x Sound

Nen. Only Nen can counter Nen.

This is common sense.

When an enemy potentially possesses an interception-type (counter-type) ability, responding with Manipulation-type abilities is the optimal choice.

However, both Kanzai and Thalia are Enhancers.

Still, the high fault tolerance naturally possessed by Enhancers can actually compress the risk of probing to an absolute minimum.

Therefore, what truly gave Kanzai a headache was neither the enemy's bluff masking a hidden agenda, nor the potential interception-type ability the enemy might have already primed, but rather...

The restriction of having to shoulder the client's safety, combined with the current environment where there was no retreat, felt utterly binding and restrictive.

Hearing Saph's declaration at this moment, Kanzai did not feel that the problem was solved effortlessly; in fact, he wanted to roll his eyes, but he held it in.

It sounds easy enough to say not to worry about whether she lives or dies...

If the commission failed, his hard-earned reputation would be completely ruined.

Kanzai remained silent, acting as if he hadn't heard Saph's words, fixing his gaze on the bedroom door as though his sight could pierce straight to the epicenter of the aura.

"I have already submitted a statement to the Hunter Association confirming that the commission has been successfully completed."

Saph's voice suddenly came from behind him, causing Kanzai to freeze slightly.

"What?"

He couldn't help turning his head to look at Saph, only to see her holding her smartphone and gently shaking it.

Saph's expression remained as calm as water as she said indifferently, "You should be receiving the commission completion confirmation message very soon."

"..."

Kanzai was stunned for a moment, and immediately afterward, he felt his phone vibrate gently.

Pulling out his phone to check, he indeed found a confirmation message stating the commission was complete, along with the notification of a massive bounty transfer wired directly into his account.

"Aren't you afraid I'll just run away?"

Kanzai looked up, giving Saph a strange look, as if he were meeting this former client all over again.

Saph put down her phone, completely unconcerned by Thalia's anxious expression nearby. A hint of a smile appeared on her cool face: "The assassin gave you a choice of two options, so I'm giving you a choice of two options as well. Even if you choose to run, I will accept that outcome with equanimity."

She even consciously avoided using the word "escape" in her phrasing...

Because there was no need for any so-called reverse psychology.

This was Saph's decision, stemming from the depths of her heart.

"Tch."

Kanzai put away his phone. Since a noble princess dared to place her own life on the gambling table, he had no reason to act timidly anymore.

As for running away...?

Are you kidding me?

That was an action that would only stain the identity of a professional hunter; he'd rather force himself to copy research papers ten thousand times than ever do such a thing.

"Thalia, keep her safe."

Leaving behind these words, Kanzai pushed open the door and stepped out.

Outside was a corridor only three meters long, and at the end of the corridor lay a spacious lounge area furnished with sofas.

Kanzai had just stepped out of the room when he spotted a man standing in the lounge area.

The source of the aura was precisely this man.

"Yo, you're out."

The man was none other than Moore, offering a rather flippant smile.

Kanzai took two steps forward, the Nen on his body surging visibly to the naked eye: "You seem quite leisurely..."

"Scary, scary."

Seeing Kanzai release an aura far superior to his own, Moore still maintained a flippant smile on his face, but his heart was already overflowing with a sense of crisis.

An interception-type spatial ability, coupled with pre-prepared Nen-inscribed runes...

Even with such preparations, Moore still lacked sufficient confidence.

The reason wasn't entirely because Kanzai was one of the Zodiacs, but rather because the intensity of Kanzai's manifested aura was simply too overwhelming.

Seeing it with one's own eyes at close range was far more persuasive than any rumors.

"If I get hit by your attack, I'll die on the spot, won't I?"

Moore also released his maximum manifested aura output, though a portion of the Nen had to be dedicated to the runes, leaving his total volume at less than 50% of Kanzai's.

Yet this massive gap, apparent at a single glance, could not dictate the outcome of this battle.

Because the bizarre and myriad nature of Nen would introduce far too many unknown variables into the fight.

Kanzai looked at Moore expressionless and took a step forward.

Judging solely by the gap in manifested aura volume, he could certainly knock Moore out with a single punch.

However, under the premise that the opponent might possess an interception-type Nen ability, he could not possibly pour all his offensive power into a single initial exchange.

When dealing with interception-type (counter-type) abilities, the absolute taboo is going all-in right from the start.

Even if one could instantly annihilate the opponent, triggering the conditional switch might result in dealing a thousand points of damage to the enemy while suffering eight hundred yourself.

Let's test out the ability type first; it might not necessarily be an interception-type ability anyway. At worst, it's just one extra probing step...

Kanzai calculated silently.

Fights between Nen users in the first round were mostly dominated by probing, much like cautiously feeling one's way through a thick fog.

For someone in Kanzai's current predicament, if he had a fully revealed map (intelligence), he wouldn't need to be overly cautious to this extent.

The battle was poised on a knife-edge, ready to erupt at any second.

Yet at that exact moment, a deafening roar suddenly echoed through the entire airship.

The sound came from the room directly behind Kanzai.

Kanzai's pupils constricted. The instant he heard the noise, he understood that someone had used the brute-force method of smashing through the ceiling to break directly into the room where the client was located.

"Huh?"

During the extremely brief window where Kanzai was shaken by the booming crash, Moore capitalized on the information asymmetry. With a sudden flash, he arrived at Kanzai's side, pulled out a long, pointed utility knife, and thrust it straight toward Kanzai's carotid artery.

This was clearly a pre-arranged plan designed specifically to snatch this opening overflowing with chilling murderous intent.

Kanzai reacted. Stimulated by the dense murderous intent, he reflexively executed a defensive counterattack.

Yet the moment after he threw the punch, a bad feeling washed over him.

Bang!

The punch, lacking precise control due to the haste of the moment, struck Moore's outstretched elbow with overwhelming momentum.

Crack.

Accompanied by a gruesome sound, Moore's body was sent flying backward through the air, his arm—lacking sufficient defensive reinforcement—suddenly shattering into compound fractures.

Then Kanzai saw Moore smile.

This bastard... had set up a double insurance!

Kanzai's gaze sharpened, and immediately afterward, he saw the surrounding environment ripple like water for a fraction of a second.

The lounge's walls, ceiling, and sofas were all still there, but they had been stained with a layer of antique yellow.

Simultaneously, a sharp pain shot through his arm, causing it to drop limply to his side.

Kanzai glanced quickly at his right arm and instantly understood the reason.

It was indeed an interception-type ability, capable of equally distributing the damage inflicted, and a spatial-type one at that.

This is troublesome...

...........

Bang!

A massive crash suddenly rang out.

As Moro walked down the corridor, he could still feel the slight tremor of the ground beneath his feet.

"A flagrant attack, huh."

Glancing back in the direction of the noise, it was clearly coming from Kanzai's location.

Fortunately, he wasn't too close, otherwise he would have been sucked into the mess by now.

Moro withdrew his gaze, arrived at the passageway outside the cockpit, and then came to a halt.

"En."

The Nen lingering on the surface of Moro's body instantly expanded outward like light ripples, passing through the floor, walls, and ceiling in a spherical formation to probe into the interior of the cockpit.

"Oh?"

As his En swept through the captain's cabin, Moro keenly detected an anomaly.

Despite such a massive commotion, including being touched by his En...

The people inside showed not the slightest reaction of panic.

"Controlled?"

Moro thought to himself quietly.