Chapter 179 Beautiful Woman
With two members eliminated, only seven remained.
After the young Nen User's death, another page in Law's book turned black. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed that the total number of blackened pages had reached 99.
Inside the hall, the flickering flames of unknown origin cast eerie shadows, while the faint scent of blood lingered in the air.
The sound of the harp rippled through the silence, prompting the group to stay on high alert and retreat several dozen meters.
The overwhelming black Nen emanating from the palace seemed to weaken as they moved away, gradually receding and eventually disappearing.
But such changes did not lower everyone's vigilance.
Who was playing the harp? What was the source of that powerful Aura? Was it Post-Mortem Nen?
Not only had it forcefully controlled its targets, but it also seemed to temporarily enhance them at the cost of their life force, which is different from the effect of the Sonata of Darkness in Law's knowledge.
The Sonata of Darkness, which distort the player and listener's appearances and takes the life of the player, functioned on the principle of wishes and sacrifices. After paying the corresponding price, they can get the corresponding reward.
If this harp melody was indeed a solo piece from the Sonata of Darkness, then its effects were distinct from those of other instruments. In other words, each solo piece might possess unique abilities.
The flute solo mentioned in the original book, as well as this suspected harp solo in this situation, both have incredible abilities.
If a single solo could wield such influence, one could only imagine the unimaginable consequences of a full ensemble performance.
Law stared at the silent palace with complicated thoughts. Before he actually saw it, he was not sure that this melody was the Sonata of Darkness he saw in Verdin's memory.
A moment after the powerful Nen disappeared, the sound of the harp gradually slowed down and weakened, and finally returned to silence.
With the unsettling Nen gone and the music stopped, the only sound left in the hall was the steady breathing of the remaining people.
No one knew what the final, altered melody had intended to do. But as nothing happened, they were left in suspense.
Whether it was intended as a warning or a show of force, the bodies of Vincent and the two fallen members remained as grim reminders.
"Law, do you think you can handle that Nen?" Uncle Bill asked in a deep voice. One of his arms was red and swollen, and it hurt when he moved. Although moving it hurt, he could still manage with some effort.
"No." Law replied bluntly.
He believed in the white smoke font very much, but the Nen he had just witnessed was too strong. Coupled with the strange transformations of the two just now, it was not something he would face recklessly.
After hearing Law's answer, Uncle Bill suddenly became conflicted. Although he was very unwilling, he had already begun to think about retreating.
Instead of risking their lives for the final treasure chest, they could search the ruins outside for valuables. That alone might yield enough to make the trip worthwhile, without the risk of losing their lives.
On the other hand, Aya and Luby, as well as Mark, who had a broken arm, also harbored similar thoughts.
Money is indeed good, but they needed to stay alive to enjoy it. If Law can deal with the strange Nen and the sound of the harp, that wouldn't hesitate to continue. But since he said he can't, stepping into the square palace might mean sharing the fate of their fallen teammates.
Just being touched by the black Nen will cause them to lose consciousness without any resistance and become a controlled puppet. It was the most domineering and dangerous application of Manipulation-Type Nen Ability they had ever encountered.
Precisely because they had seen it before, the fear that arose in their heart begun to outweigh their greed.
"I don't want to continue." Mark suddenly announced.
After a brief silence, Aya gritted her teeth and added, "This place is too weird, and we don't even know if there's anything valuable inside. Let's just search for valuables outside and be done with it."
"We are here to make money, but we have to know our limits."
After Mark and Aya expressed their opinions, Luby lowered his head slightly, then raised his head slightly after a while and said in a deep voice: "For the lifelong happiness of countless beautiful women in the future, this handsome guy has to step back too."
As he spoke, he turned to look at Uncle Bill and continued, "Uncle Bill, don't forget our code of conduct."
Only do things within their capability, caution above all else.
Uncle Bill nodded slowly, struggling with the decision.
Over his lifetime, he had encountered many tempting opportunities, but most of them concealed hidden dangers. Therefore, when taking on an opportunity, he had learned to walk away when the risks outweighed the rewards.
He had watched countless opportunities slip away before his eyes before, but he never regretted it.
The only thing he felt unwilling to give up was the square palace in front of him.
There were plenty of rational arguments to convince himself to give up, but deep down, he couldn't reconcile with it. After all, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Seeing the four people express their intention to give up, Biscuit, who had been taking it easy throughout this operation, had an ambiguous attitude.
She had come here for the gems, but this place didn't resemble a tomb at all. Not to mention whether there were gems in the square palace, just the eerie harp sound and the black Nen were enough to make her wary.
With more than half of the group choosing to quit, Law still didn't want to give up. However, he had no reason to persuade Uncle Bill and the others, unless he could eliminate the unknown Nen inside the square palace himself.
"It seems your ambition only reaches this extent."
At this time, Atomu, who rarely spoke, sighed, and the tone of his voice was obviously different from his previous simple and honest tone.
"What did you say?"
Mark glared at Atomu, and Uncle Bill and the others also turned to look at him.
"I don't think... I have a speech impediment, do I?"
Atomu smirked coldly. Suddenly, he took several strides to the side, stopping beside a massive stone pillar. He stretched out his hands and wrapped them around it.
"Hah!"
With a low roar, he forcefully tore down the towering stone pillar, which was at least two meters in diameter.
Boom…
A lot of rubble and dust fell from above. Although a stone pillar was missing, the palace remained unaffected.
As the others watched in confusion, Atomu's body surged with Aura, and a portion of it was wrapped around the stone pillar in his hand.
Biscuit's eyes narrowed when she saw this. It was a very familiar technique, Shu.
No one knew what Atomu intended to do, but before they could react, he hurled the massive stone pillar straight toward the square palace.
At that moment, Uncle Bill and the others who had already decided to give up suddenly felt their heartbeats quicken. They could only watch as the stone pillars rotated several times in the air and were about to fall on the palace.
"Are you crazy?" Mark shouted angrily.
Atomu was too lazy to pay attention to him and just stared at the palace.
Boom!
When the stone pillar wrapped with Aura hit the roof of the square palace, the ground of the entire palace suddenly shook.
Whether due to the sheer destructive force of the thrown stone pillar or the palace's ancient structure, the impact collapsed the entire front half of the building.
Dust clouds billowed into the air, accompanied by the constant sound of falling debris.
Looking at this scene, Uncle Bill and the others, who were about to complain to Atomu, involuntarily shut their mouths, because in the dust cloud in front of them, a human figure and the black Nen they had felt before slowly emerged.
Although they hadn't seen anyone yet, just based on that black Nen, Uncle Bill and the others felt nervous.
"It doesn't matter whether it's a human or a ghost. As long as it uses Nen, victory or defeat will be determined between us." Atomu looked at the humanoid figure emerging from the dust cloud, his tone steady and resolute. He is confident in his approach.
Law looked at Atomu in surprise, but wasted no time activating Ren, covering his body in a defensive layer of Aura while keeping a sharp eye on the mysterious figure in the smoke.
'Could it be that… a Nen User was playing the harp solo in the palace? Or was it a Manipulator?'
As the dust cloud slowly dissipated, a beautiful woman holding a harp walked out of it. Behind her, the black Nen surged and fluctuated like sound waves, coalescing into the vague outline of a humanoid figure.