[128]: Nen Ability
In front of the towering, hundred-meter-tall statue, the group looked as small as fish swimming nearby.
"…What kind of magical beast is this?" Killua swam upward, observing the bizarre sculpture from above.
"Could this be the legendary Fishman Tribe?" Maro speculated.
"Fishman Tribe? There's a race like that?" Killua frowned, looking confused. "Why have I never heard of it?"
"No idea. I just made it up." The blond youth stared at the statue, his tone flat.
Killua & Gon, who almost believed him: …
Beneath the strange statue stood a perfectly square stone pedestal, covered in empty seashells. At the very bottom of the platform, a series of mysterious totems were etched into the stone.
The design resembled both ocean waves and musical notes, encircling a winged creature—whether it was a snake or a fish was unclear. Strange concentric patterns surrounded it, something about them oddly familiar…
Cyr stroked his chin in thought for a long while before speaking. "Don't you guys think this looks kinda like the one on my tongue?" He stuck out his tongue slightly, revealing part of a symbol.
It wasn't the full contract mark, but even half of it was enough to show a clear resemblance.
"You… like tattoos as much as that fatass likes figurines," Killua muttered, eyeing the markings on Cyr's tongue.
Having tattoos on his body was one thing, but even his tongue?
It reminded him of that one guy back home who filled an entire room with anime girl figurines—equally insane levels of obsession.
"…Just answer me, does it look similar or not?" Cyr asked lazily.
"Are you saying your tattoo has something to do with this pattern?" Gon examined both the floor engraving and the symbol on Cyr's tongue with curiosity.
"Maybe they come from the same place," Cyr shrugged.
Something as inhuman as that statue? Definitely felt like something that would come from the Dark Continent.
"Same place?" Gon looked like he was about to ask more, but Cyr didn't give him the chance.
"Listen." He pressed a finger to his lips, signaling them to stay quiet.
At that moment, the subtle sounds of ocean currents and sea creatures moving suddenly amplified hundreds of times.
A deafening roar—so loud it seemed to reverberate inside their heads.
From above, a massive crimson-red octopus emerged from the depths, descending rapidly toward them.
It was nearly as large as the statue.
It had hundreds of writhing tentacles, each lined with countless suckers.
And within each of those suckers, pitch-black eyes blinked, staring hungrily.
The creature's tentacles extended with terrifying speed. With just a single, lazy swipe, one of them was already upon them.
"Dodge—!"
The group scattered, barely evading the strike.
The massive tentacle smashed into the statue, splitting it cleanly in half with one devastating blow.
A whirlpool formed as seawater surged violently, dragging them toward the monster.
In the ocean, resistance was futile. Fighting against the water was like fighting against the entire world itself.
Like a monstrous black sun at the bottom of the sea, the creature thrashed wildly.
Tentacles whipped and coiled without restraint, destroying everything in their path. Ancient ruins crumbled, reduced to a wasteland of shattered stone.
"What the hell is this thing?!" Killua cursed as a tentacle whipped him across the water, sending him flying dozens of meters.
Gritting his teeth, he managed to stop himself from being flung even further. If he hadn't reinforced his body with Nen in time, that hit alone would've sent him flying hundreds of meters.
Then, from the corner of his eye—
A flash of green.
Someone was tumbling through the water at high speed.
"Gon—!" Killua immediately swam after him.
"I'm fine, Killua!" Gon finally managed to stabilize himself after rolling through the water several times. Clutching his arm, he called out.
And then—
A voice rang through the ocean.
"Cursed Technique Reversal—Red."
A brilliant crimson light ignited the darkness of the deep sea.
Like a burning sun plummeting from above.
The glow expanded, illuminating the pitch-black depths of the ocean.
Yet, when this grand-scale attack landed on the monster, it was as if a stone had sunk into the sea—without causing so much as a ripple. Instead, it infuriated the creature.
Its thick, lengthy tentacles began to lash out with even greater force. It even abandoned all the others, focusing solely on Cyr.
In an instant, hundreds of tentacles shot forward, weaving into a net.
Cyr immediately activated Blue, vanishing from his original position just as the net closed in on itself.
Had he remained there, he would have been ensnared—squeezed tight in the monster's crushing grip. He might not have escaped unscathed.
But what truly surprised Cyr was that Red had absolutely no effect on this creature.
Its skin wasn't even scratched.
Even at one-quarter power, Red should have done something.
Was this thing really that strong? Or had his cursed energy weakened, making his attacks ineffective?
"Hey, if we can't win, let's retreat!" Killua shouted.
The words came out instinctively.
When facing an enemy they couldn't defeat—when victory wasn't 100% certain—the best option was to avoid the fight.
"Retreat? No way in hell." Cyr curled his lips into a smirk, his eyes ice-cold as he stared at the rampaging monster.
Killua had an implanted needle from Illumi—his fear of strong opponents was understandable.
But if Cyr turned back now…
That would mean admitting defeat.
And he wasn't about to concede to some damn monster.
He had never lost—not in competitions, not in anything. He was always number one.
"I'm going to kill it."
Cyr unsheathed his spear, took a single step—
And in the next instant, he was right in front of the monster.
A clash of extremes.
One towering hundreds of meters tall.
The other merely 1.7 meters.
A stark contrast—like a human standing before an ant.
But this time, the giant was the monster.
Red had failed. Dismantle and others couldn't sever the creature's limbs.
Even his spear had no effect.
Every technique he tried—none of them worked.
"Sir… we should leave."
A blond youth appeared at Cyr's side, eyes filled with concern.
He seemed utterly unfazed by the thrashing tentacles around them. His only focus was the boy standing before him.
"You too? You want me to give up?" Cyr's gaze locked onto him before he suddenly chuckled.
Maro? Asking him to give up?
Maro, who worshipped him like a diehard fan?
The kind of lunatic fan who'd believe his idol was innocent even if he got thrown in jail, irrefutable evidence be damned?
No way in hell Maro would say something like that.
"I see."
Cyr sheathed Tennimu, as if conceding.
But in reality—
His hand reached out toward empty space.
"Wheel of Law—"
A deep-blue roulette wheel materialized before him.
"Draw."
The wheel spun on its own, whirling rapidly before shooting out three cards.
Upright High Priestess
Reversed Ace of Wands
Reversed Ace of Cups
Then—
A fourth card, randomly drawn: Reversed Sun.
And finally—
The fifth card, freely chosen.
"I choose Upright Moon."
Cyr reached out and caught the card as it flew toward him.
Upright Moon and Upright High Priestess—activated together.
In the blink of an eye—
The entire world shifted.
The colossal octopus-like beast was gone.
The ruined, crumbling structures?
Perfectly intact.
A faint melody drifted through the water. The musical-note-like totem beneath the statue shimmered softly.
Gon.
Killua.
Maro.
All three stood frozen in place—motionless, like statues.
Everything that had happened—
Had been an illusion.
From the moment they first laid eyes on the strange totem—
They had already fallen into the hallucination.
That's why none of his techniques worked.
Because in reality, his body had never moved.
He hadn't activated any cursed techniques at all.
But his Nen Ability—Wheel of Law—was unaffected by illusions.
Even within the hallucination, a mere thought was enough to activate it.
As expected of his Nen Ability.
°°°
If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon
Link: Patreon/Moziel