"Oboro!!"
"I know you're here!"
"You can hear me, right?"
In a dimly lit bedroom, Benjamin lay on the bed, his once-powerful frame now frail and wasted. He roared with what little strength he had left, his face contorted with resentment. Despite his efforts to shout, his voice emerged as little more than a rasp the voice of a man who had been ravaged by illness for far too long.
Since having part of his soul severed and imprisoned, Benjamin's body had deteriorated steadily. Now, he couldn't even perform the most basic functions without assistance; servants had to help him eat and use the bathroom. For someone as fiercely independent and prideful as Benjamin, this dependency was unbearable torture.
Each day passed in a haze. He slept for more than ten hours at a stretch, his periods of wakefulness growing shorter and shorter. He could feel his vitality ebbing away like water through cupped hands. For the past two weeks, he'd been calling out to Oboro, desperate for a response.
But Oboro never answered.
"I followed your request!" Benjamin's voice cracked with desperation. "I made the appointment with Salesar and the princess! The failure of your plan has nothing to do with me. I fulfilled my promise to you Give me back my soul!" The words were ones he had repeated countless times before.
Over the past two months, the royal family had brought in numerous Nen users, including various types of Nen removers. All had proven useless. There was no cure for his condition.
Even attempts with healing Nen abilities had failed to restore him. A master of nen exorcism, renowned for removing Nen effects, had examined Benjamin's condition thoroughly before delivering his verdict.
"Prince," the specialist had said, "strictly speaking, the damage you sustained wasn't caused by someone inflicting an ability on you. That's why removing nen abilities won't work. A part of your soul was physically taken away. The soul is the most fundamental energy of life. To heal this, you need someone whose Nen abilities specifically relate to the soul, and who has reached a certain level of mastery. To be blunt nothing but soul-manipulation abilities will have any effect, whether they're removal techniques or healing abilities."
After delivering this grim assessment, the specialist had departed, leaving Benjamin to stare after him with desperate, unwilling eyes.
Soul. Soul-related abilities
As a Nen user himself, Benjamin understood a fundamental truth: the more complex the structure of a Nen ability, the greater the difficulty in developing it. Most practitioners wouldn't waste time and energy creating abilities beyond their reach such endeavors were doomed to fail.
Finding someone with soul-related Nen abilities would be far more difficult than locating a Nen remover. Ordinary people simply couldn't master such esoteric applications of aura.
Surely there existed special individuals with such capabilities somewhere in the world, but finding them would take time the very thing Benjamin had in shortest supply. If Oboro continued to ignore his pleas
He might truly be dying.
After shouting himself hoarse, the eldest prince succumbed to exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.
"Your Majesty."
The private soldiers who had been guarding Benjamin turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. Recognizing King Hui Guo Rou, they bowed deeply.
"Are those people from yesterday still unable to help?" Hui Guo Rou asked, walking slowly forward with his hands clasped behind his back. He gazed at his son's pale form on the bed.
Over the weeks, Benjamin had lost considerable weight, his once-powerful frame now a shadow of its former self.
Private soldier Li Han shook his head at the king.
"Hmm"
Hui Guo Rou's expression remained unnervingly calm neither anxious nor panicked. He simply raised a hand to his chin, his thoughts hidden behind impassive eyes. Without another word, he turned and walked away.
"It's useless!"
Across the palace, in Beyond's residence, a hunter with healing nen abilities was attempting treatment. Wearing white gloves, he pressed his hands rhythmically against Beyond's abdomen.
The whirlpool-shaped wound showed no sign of healing under the influence of his Nen.
"This is beyond my ability," the man exclaimed in frustration.
After so much time, Beyond's abdomen no longer resembled normal human flesh. It looked as though it had been torn apart by a high-speed drill, the skin mottled with black and purple bruising.
The Nen user couldn't fathom what kind of damage could have caused such an injury.
"Hehehe that was an extraordinary ferocious beast," Beyond said with a grin, sitting on the bed with his sword in hand. "Wounds from its bite aren't easily healed!"
The room was crowded with thirty or forty members of the private team Beyond had assembled. Some had arrived in Kakin only after his confrontation with Oboro.
He'd summoned them because no one could predict whether the Fells family might take action against the Kakin royal family in the future. Having additional strength was never a disadvantage.
"Although the wound from this punch doesn't look extensive" said a man dressed in white with a hemp rope tied around his waist. He leaned down to examine Beyond's injury, his eyes wide with amazement. "If it hit other creatures, not just bones but even flesh and blood would be pulverized! Ordinary people would die instantly, their bodies obliterated! To be honest, you are worthy of respect! Only someone of your caliber could take such a blow and escape with only this scar."
His words were laced with genuine admiration.
"Isn't the damage worse than what appears on the surface?" another person asked, stepping forward.
"Absolutely," nodded the first man in white. "It may look insignificant to our naked eyes, but that's only because the person who was attacked was" He pointed at Beyond. "His extraordinary physical resilience masks the true severity. If you wanted to repair this damage completely using Nen, it would take an average person several years, perhaps even a decade. It's impossible to heal all at once."
His assessment plunged the room into silence.
"Don't worry" Beyond waved dismissively, exuding a domineering aura. "Oboro's attack contained no lingering Nen effects, but it was devastatingly powerful. His punch was pure physical force! He wanted to defeat me through raw strength alone. Soon, my abundant vitality will heal this injury, though it may leave a scar."
"You two inhuman monsters!" someone exclaimed in awe.
"Those qualified to venture to the Dark Continent are all aberrations who stand at the pinnacle of our world," another commented. "There's no need for such surprise."
"Within the Association, Oboro has rarely displayed his true power or undertaken many assignments. Because of his status as a Three-Star Hunter, everyone knows he holds a special position and possesses great strength but outsiders remain ignorant of the extent of his abilities. He's shrouded in mystery."
"Indeed, most people's understanding of his Nen abilities and power level is still based on information from years ago."
"I truly didn't expect this"
"The Fells family has made no move after all this time. They must have abandoned their designs on the Kakin throne, right?"
The hunters present had aligned themselves with Beyond partly for money and promised rewards, but more importantly because they shared his ambition to explore the Dark Continent. Though none matched the strength of Beyond or Oboro both personally monitored by Chairman Netero they knew that as long as Netero remained in power, they couldn't act freely.
Their common goal was clear: Netero must step down.
Then, according to their plan, they would use Kakin's resources to breach V5's defenses. Initially, they might only send a small expedition, but once the process began, the breach would only widen. Eventually, all of them would reach that forbidden land.
Beyond had been to the Dark Continent before, giving him valuable experience that could reduce casualties among their ranks.
Therefore, nothing could be allowed to happen to the Kakin royal family before their plans were announced to the world. Even if the cunning King Hui Guo Rou tried to use them as vanguards against the Fells family that was a price they were willing to pay.
"Just a reminder," interrupted a woman with messy black hair obscuring her face. "According to my investigation, the Fells family has unified the underground organizations across several continents, stabilized their position, and re-established the Dons. This news hasn't spread widely yet."
She continued, her voice dropping lower. "There's another interesting development. The mafia has increased their involvement in business ventures across several V5 countries. In the past two weeks, their transaction volume has spiked dramatically, all in major projects. Every territory except Kakin and a few isolated nations has seen their influence grow."
"V5 gave the Fells family the green light? Have the mafia become so powerful?" someone asked incredulously.
In the past, despite their widespread presence, criminal organizations couldn't significantly influence national economies. Their activities were peripheral at best, especially regarding superpowers like V5.
Yet now they were apparently sitting at the table as equals. It seemed unbelievable.
"Ha ha!" Beyond laughed sardonically. "It's just a tactic used by those in power. Throw the Fells family a few scraps, and with their limited vision, they'll be satisfied."
He grew more serious. "Pariston sent word that Oboro already knows about the Chimera Ants and is aware of our plan. However, he shows no intention of informing the Association. Apparently, he's also waiting for Netero to step down so he can claim the Chairman position. Given his reputation and support within the Association, he's certainly the strongest candidate."
"What should we do?" someone asked, looking to Beyond for guidance.
"Let him have it!" Beyond replied with casual confidence. "If he wants to be Chairman, so be it. With his personality, if he takes that position I'm certain he won't allow himself to be controlled by V5."
His eyes gleamed with anticipation. "It's time to reform the Hunter Association's system. Based on that alone, he truly is the most suitable candidate."