Meteor

Under the force of a violent collision, the front of the car was heavily crumpled, practically fused with the roadside tree.

Thick white smoke billowed from the mangled hood, faint flickers of flames visible within.

1,200 meters away, on a slope near the roadside.

A man in camouflage lay prone behind the slope, a sniper rifle mounted before him.

"Continue."

A cold voice echoed through his earpiece.

At the command, the sniper adjusted his aim toward the smoke-shrouded, deformed car. Estimating the location of the driver's seat, he pulled the trigger.

Crack.

A silenced bullet shot out, leaving a fleeting trace of fire in its wake. It tore through the night and hit the smoke-covered car precisely.

Another shot, then a third, and a fourth.

The sniper reloaded with precision, firing round after round until his clip was empty.

Although the thick smoke obscured his view, the sniper relied on experience to pinpoint his target. Confident his prey was still trapped in the driver's seat, he felt assured of his shots.

Reloading, the sniper refrained from firing again, instead observing the burning car and its surroundings through his scope while awaiting further orders.

Boom!

Suddenly, the car exploded in a fiery eruption.

Flames shot skyward, propelling thick smoke even higher as the heatwave flattened nearby grass.

Several meters away, behind a large tree.

Moro leaned against the trunk, a sharp, cold glint in his eyes. His body was covered in grime and soot.

Thankfully, his nen aura had shielded him. Charging through the suffocating smoke and breaking through the passenger door had left him unscathed by sharp debris or shattered glass.

Under cover of darkness, Moro darted into the roadside woods, hiding behind a nearby tree to observe the sniper's response.

When the sniper fired repeatedly at the car, Moro confirmed his temporary safety.

Still, he dared not move recklessly, wary of immediately revealing his position.

Calming his frayed nerves, Moro thought back to the near-death moment.

"What just happened?"

Flashes of uncertainty crossed his mind as he replayed the events.

When the first bullet pierced the night, he had sensed something—an inexplicable, primal warning.

Moments before the windshield shattered, a spark of intuition ignited in his mind, compelling him to tilt his head just enough to avoid what would have been a fatal shot.

Given his current nen level, even with Ten to reinforce his defense, he couldn't have withstood the sniper's bullets.

And in such a surprise attack, activating Ko to concentrate his aura in time was impossible.

The only way to survive was to dodge the bullet entirely.

The issue, however, was his hardware.

His aura capacity and the intensity of his Ren weren't strong enough to endure the power of a sniper rifle.

If his hardware were sufficient, he wouldn't need techniques like Ko; his aura alone would deflect such attacks.

As things stood, Moro realized he'd prefer facing a nen user in close combat rather than dealing with the distant threat of a sniper.

In some ways, snipers were deadlier than opponents like Zazan.

It was a harsh reality Moro had to accept.

He touched his earlobe, finding blood.

Without that fleeting moment of awareness, he would have been dead.

Exhaling deeply, Moro pushed his shock aside and let a steely resolve take its place.

"If I don't eliminate that sniper…"

The constant threat of being locked on would severely restrict his movements.

If there were other enemies, his situation would become even more perilous.

The only silver lining was that the sniper seemed to be operating alone.

If there were two of them, Moro might already be dead or gravely injured.

"At least a kilometer away…"

The sniper's repeated shots, taken without regard for exposing his position, had provided Moro with a critical piece of information.

But even knowing the sniper's location didn't solve the problem of how to reach him.

The greater the distance, the higher the risks.

If Moro chose to retreat, he risked exposing his back to the sniper.

And if more enemies were lying in wait, any decision—whether advancing or retreating—could worsen his predicament.

This was the crux of the problem.

While confirming the number and position of enemies was crucial, Moro had another option.

Patience versus boldness.

Confirming enemy positions would take time—time Moro didn't have.

Every passing second increased the unknown risks.

The worst-case scenario was the sniper relocating, compounding the pressure on Moro.

Instead of prolonging the standoff, Moro resolved to eliminate the sniper swiftly.

The sniper's confidence in openly revealing his position gave Moro a brief window of opportunity. He couldn't afford to hesitate.

"I only have one shot at this."

Closing his eyes, Moro mentally mapped the terrain.

He visualized the surrounding trees, the burning car, the winding road, and the distant slope.

Piece by piece, he eliminated obstacles along a potential trajectory, finding the best path forward.

Seconds later.

Moro's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly with nen.

"Fraudulent Star."

Raising his hand, he adjusted his angle. Bright nen energy gathered in his palm, forming a fist-sized projectile.

Whoosh!

The projectile shot forward, weaving through the trees and halting midair a hundred meters away.

At the same moment, Moro bolted from behind the tree, positioning himself in a pre-planned spot.

As the glowing star expanded and flew back toward him, Moro tilted his head at the last moment, letting it pass mere millimeters from his face.

The star's radiant light streaked past his eyes and accelerated, tearing through the forest canopy like a meteor.

Fraudulent Star: Phase Two – Returning Swallow.

This enhanced state doubled the star's speed and power, but came with a cost—any miscalculation could result in Moro injuring himself.

Yet if Moro perfectly timed his dodge, the star would bypass its usual range limit and maintain its full power, no matter the distance.

By exploiting this nen vow, Moro extended the star's reach far beyond its normal 100-meter range.

The glowing projectile shot forward like a meteor, hurtling toward the sniper's position.

Meanwhile, on the slope.

The sniper noticed Moro's sudden movement.

Locking onto his target, the sniper steadied his aim, exhaling slowly as he prepared to fire.

But just as he was about to pull the trigger, his scope was flooded with blinding light.

"What the—?!"

The sniper instinctively looked up.

An instant later, the slope erupted in a fiery explosion.

The shockwave, mixed with flying debris, engulfed the sniper entirely.

His body was flung backward, riddled with holes and torn apart, lifeless before he hit the ground.

Elsewhere.

A brooding young man watched the explosion from a distance, his face twisted in disbelief.

He had seen the glowing projectile streak across the kilometer-long expanse, landing with devastating power.

"That kind of range… and still such force?"

Pulling off his earpiece, now filled with static, the youth's shock gave way to hesitation.

He glanced toward Moro's location.

Even for an emission-type nen user, maintaining stability and power over such a distance is nearly impossible.

For a moment, he debated whether to approach.

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