[130]: Pikachu

Back in the depths of the ocean, they encountered no more illusions this time.

However, they did notice something—fragments of shattered conch shells scattered across the ground.

When they first arrived, the conches on the platform were completely intact. But now, they had all been crushed into tiny shards.

Who did this?

Considering that only one person had remained conscious during the illusion, there was hardly any need to guess.

And when they recalled the hallucinations from earlier… a vague suspicion formed in their minds.

"Master, do these illusions have something to do with the conches?" Maro asked.

"More precisely, it's the music coming from the conches." Cyr stroked his chin thoughtfully.

The conches themselves weren't harmful. The real issue was the music they preserved. Combined with the notations carved into the totem, it had induced their hallucinations.

The Hunter world did have music with strange effects…

If he remembered correctly, there was a character in the original story who transformed after listening to a cursed song.

Or was it a curse itself?

That music had some name like… Dark Sonata? Dark Gospel? Something with "Dark" in it, for sure.

A name that obviously screamed connections to the Dark Continent.

And honestly, no matter which world you looked at, mermaids always seemed to be tied to singing in some way.

It was probably the same case here—mermaids used to sing frequently, and their voices had been recorded by these conches.

After all, even an ordinary conch could still echo the sound of the sea when pressed to an ear.

"I'd recommend you all shut off your hearing. We might encounter more sound-based obstacles later," Cyr said casually.

As for himself? He wasn't worried.

His Nen ability would remain active for the next twenty-four hours, making him immune to illusions during that time.

Without hesitation, Maro—who had absolute faith in his master—sealed off his hearing first.

Killua and Gon exchanged glances before following suit.

They had no means of dealing with hallucinations, so prevention was their only option.

——

Moving forward, they passed by the central sculpture and entered the latter half of the ruins.

There, they were met with a massive swarm of fish—organized, disciplined, and packed so tightly together that they almost formed a wall.

Dark blue bodies with white horizontal stripes.

Each fish was about 1.2 meters long.

Sharp teeth glinted as they patrolled around the grand palace up ahead.

No one doubted for a second that those jaws could snap through bone with ease.

The moment they tried to approach, the fish would immediately turn to stare them down.

But when they backed away, the swarm resumed its patrol routine.

The other three couldn't hear anything—

But Cyr could.

Faint, ethereal singing echoed from the palace ahead.

He couldn't make out the lyrics.

And because his Reversed Ace of Cups was still in effect, he was currently in a state of emotional nullification—

Meaning he couldn't feel any emotion from the song, nor be influenced by it.

Just… nothing.

However, judging by the surroundings, this music probably didn't have any particularly dangerous consequences.

Otherwise, the place should have been littered with corpses.

But the environment here was eerily clean.

Not a single body in sight.

Either the fish had eaten them all…

Or no one had ever made it this far, dying to earlier obstacles before they could reach this point.

——

"The fish are a problem. Who's taking care of them?"

Cyr turned back to the group and silently mouthed the words.

Even without sound, they could read his lips just fine.

Their eyes collectively landed on the dense school of fish ahead.

Cyr vaguely recalled that Killua's ability…

Wasn't it similar to a certain yellow electric rodent?

Electricity should work great underwater.

But had Killua fully grasped it yet?

"Killua, go. Electrocute them all." Cyr clapped Killua on the shoulder and waved him toward the fish like a true Pokemon master.

"…???"

Killua's face was a mess of confusion.

Electrocute?

Electrocute what?

HOW am I supposed to electrocute anything?!

His expression made it painfully obvious—he had no idea how to use this ability yet.

"Didn't you go through electric shock training since childhood?" Cyr reasoned.

"You're a Transmutation-type, meaning you can change the properties of your Aura. And since your body already contains electricity, you should be able to generate it too."

His tone was completely matter-of-fact, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

Killua blinked.

Maro was also a Transmutation user, but his ability involved condensing water vapor into ice.

Then…

Killua's eyes widened slightly.

Wait.

That actually made sense.

They had only been using the basics of Nen so far—nothing flashy, nothing unique.

But if he thought about it, he really could develop a special ability of his own.

After all—

Unless someone else had gone through the same electric shock training as he had, no one else could easily use electricity as a weapon.

That made it unique, right?

…But how exactly was he supposed to do it?

Killua raised his hand, experimenting cautiously as he thought through the process.

Within just a few minutes, faint sparks of electricity began crackling around him.

Standing nearby, Gon and Maro both flinched as a tingling numbness spread through their bodies, forcing them to take a few steps back.

It seemed that underwater, his range had increased slightly.

Cyr watched without much surprise at how quickly Killua grasped the ability.

After all, both he and Gon were officially recognized geniuses in the original story.

Main characters, after all—no matter how unrealistic their progress was, it was always justifiable.

"Let me handle this." Killua stepped forward toward the school of fish.

With every step, the electricity around his body grew more intense, spreading outward in crackling arcs.

Blue-white light flickered around him, accompanied by the sharp snap and sizzle of voltage.

Sensing his approach, the fish immediately turned toward him—jaws opening wide to reveal rows of razor-sharp shark-like teeth.

One after another, they lunged at him.

And just as they were about to reach him—

A blinding surge of electricity erupted, enveloping the entire school of fish.

The air filled with a deafening crackle as the current coursed through the water.

Within seconds, the entire school of fish was paralyzed—

And the ones closest to Killua had already charred black from the sheer voltage.

Even those watching from a safe distance could feel the faint tingling numbness in the water.

After all—water conducts electricity.

"Wow, Pikachu!" Cyr clapped his hands together.

The resemblance was uncanny, though the color was different.

Shame Killua didn't say the line.

"If you shout Pika—CHU! while using your ability, your power output will increase by several times." Cyr said with complete seriousness as Killua walked back.

"…Really?" Killua narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

He had a feeling—a strong feeling—that this guy was messing with him again.

And more importantly—

Why the hell would he shout Pikachu while using his own ability?

How could Cyr possibly know more about his power than he did?!

Nah.

He was definitely just screwing with him.

"That was amazing, Killua!" Gon's eyes sparkled with admiration as he stared at the electrocuted fish.

At the same time, a new determination burned within him.

Killua had already figured out the direction of his ability.

That meant he needed to hurry up and do the same!

He couldn't fall behind!

"What about me?" Gon turned toward the white-haired, blue-eyed boy beside him.

"What kind of ability do you think I'd have?"

Killua had figured it out thanks to Cyr's hint.

So maybe—

Maybe Cyr could help him too?

Cyr fell silent for a moment.

Then, with a completely deadpan expression, he said—

"…You're an Enhancement type. Just use your fists."

BLATANT STEREOTYPE.

That was absolutely, definitely a stereotype!

"Huh?" Gon blinked, utterly baffled.

He was already using his fists.

"Enhancement types can strengthen anything. Just focus on that." Cyr shrugged.

"Oh, and Enhancement is close to Emission. You could try learning that too."

Truthfully, Cyr didn't know much about Enhancement types.

But he did know a lot about Emission types—thanks to being familiar with Syd's abilities.

And since Enhancement and Emission were adjacent categories, it should work out fine.

Besides, in the original story, Gon's ability was based on his fists, right?

Something called Jajanken or whatever?

So really—

Wasn't this just a perfectly reasonable suggestion?

Come to think of it, he actually seemed to have a real knack for giving advice.

Maybe he was more suited to being a teacher than he thought.

°°°

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