Even though Ging had become a puppet in this state, who said puppets couldn't channel Nen, let alone thoughts and constraints?
Most masters who wield such power typically apply restrictions to their puppets. However, seeing someone like Ging impose restrictions and vows directly upon himself was rare—almost unheard of.
Ronnel stared at Ging's form in silence as the explosive aura emanating from him gradually stabilized.
"To cast away all hesitation… to retain only the minimum necessary for survival while embracing any backlash that follows—under these restrictions, the power derived from such a vow feels… intoxicatingly strong," Ging murmured, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous light.
He raised a clenched fist, seemingly marveling at his newfound strength. The aura around him, once violent and storm-like, suddenly calmed. Yet, it was the kind of calm that forewarned a storm's ferocity. Though Ging appeared composed, the restrained energy beneath his demeanor was palpable, like a dormant volcano ready to erupt.
Even the undead Bone Demons—mindless creatures driven purely by instinct—hesitated, sensing the immense danger emanating from Ging.
"What's wrong? Not coming any closer?" Ging taunted, a playful grin forming on his face. With one hand, he motioned to the largest Bone Demon at the front, gesturing mockingly. "Come on~!"
The Bone Demon, towering on the high throne, flinched. Its uneven steps caused cracks to spiderweb across the ground beneath its feet.
"How has this human gained such terrifying power?!" Overlord—the king of the Bone Demons—thought, his undead heart rattled. He couldn't ignore the ominous signs Ging's transformation heralded.
"Is this what humans call constraints and vows?" the thought echoed in Overlord's mind.
He had encountered numerous human adventurers over the decades—brash intruders who had wandered too close to his domain. Before ending their lives, Overlord had extracted all the knowledge he could from their minds, including details about Nen. Restrictions and oaths were concepts he had seen before: humans, when desperate, would gamble everything for a fleeting surge of power.
But those sacrifices were limited—they had to be. Humans often sought to escape, meaning they couldn't risk total annihilation. In Overlord's eyes, such efforts were laughable, mere desperation before death.
Ging, however, was different. His already immense strength, magnified by a terrifyingly absolute restriction and oath, rivaled the effects of the legendary Sonata of Darkness.
This wasn't desperation, this was pure dominance.
Overlord's icy-blue flames flickered with unease as he waved his hand. A cluster of Bone Demons shuffled forward. While some retreated, unwilling to face Ging's terrifying aura, the rest advanced reluctantly, compelled by their king's command.
The smarter ones in the group hung back, sacrificing the weaker Bone Demons to test Ging's limits. Their hesitation was understandable, the humans who had once intruded here were nothing compared to Ging.
A Sudden Shift in the Battlefield
Ging wasted no time. As the Bone Demons closed in, he moved. What had once been a chaotic siege quickly turned into a one-sided massacre.
Boom!
Ging's fist smashed through a group of Bone Demons, creating a shockwave that rippled outward in a fan-shaped arc. Bones shattered, scattering like debris, leaving a gaping void in their ranks.
He examined his fist, brushing away the ash-like residue left by the disintegrated demons. "Not bad," he mused, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Come on! Who's next?"
In a blur, Ging's figure disappeared, leaving behind only an afterimage. A moment later, the sound of shattering bones echoed from a different direction. The afterimage faded, revealing his true form in a new position.
With every attack, Ging's movements grew faster, stronger, and more precise. The explosive power coursing through him seemed to amplify every aspect of his body—speed, strength, reflexes, defense—all pushed to their absolute peak.
Observations from Afar
"Ging might actually be stronger than Blackened Gon now," Ronnel muttered, stroking his chin as he watched Ging wreak havoc. He dodged a stray fragment of bone that flew dangerously close to his face.
Gon's restriction and vow had forced him to accelerate his growth by over a decade in exchange for immense, short-lived power. It had been a gamble that left him crippled, but it had allowed him to confront the Chimera Ant King's Royal Guards with unrivaled ferocity.
Unlike Gon, whose simplicity and stubbornness drove him to sacrifice everything for vengeance, Ging seemed to revel in the raw power, pushing it to its limits without losing his focus.
Ronnel's gaze turned contemplative. "Gon's motives were pure, if not tragic. He bore the guilt of failing to protect Kite and sought redemption through an act of absolute resolve. Ging, though... this feels different. He's not just embracing the power—he's thriving in it."
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