A pleading look flashed in Teradein's eyes.
Standing behind him were the only two lights of hope he had left.
Kite — the disciple of Zodiac "Boar" Ging.
Shoot — the disciple of Zodiac "Monkey" Morel.
If even these two couldn't take down the massive, sphere-like monster in front of them, Teradein knew he didn't stand a chance.
Kite adjusted his soft blue cap, making sure the sea breeze didn't blow it off his long silver hair.
He ignored Teradein's anxious gaze and calmly turned his head toward Shoot.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is the Guardian Beast of Salé-Salé — the deceased Eighth Prince of Kakin."
It had been less than thirty minutes since the BW1 ship set sail, and already there had been multiple murders.
In under two weeks, two princes from the Kakin royal family had died — one of them being the Eighth Prince.
Prince Salé-Salé, known for his hedonistic lifestyle, had already awakened his Guardian Beast before his death.
However, he lacked any understanding of Nen and was never even aware of the beast's existence.
Guardian Beasts are creatures born from the Kakin royal family's ancient Seed Urn Ceremony.
Only those who participate in the Succession War and offer at least a drop of blood to the Seed Urn can create one.
The Guardian Spirit Beast was similar to a Nen Beast—but there were key differences.
Unlike Nen Beasts, they would never attack each other. They wouldn't harm people who possessed a Guardian Spirit Beast themselves.
Most remarkably, they could even defy their host's will. If their host tried to commit suicide, the beast would act on its own to prevent it.
In short, just as the name suggested, a Guardian Spirit Beast was a creature that would protect its prince at any cost.
Each beast possessed strange and mysterious abilities designed solely for that purpose.
The Eighth Prince's Guardian Spirit Beast, for example, would release a smoke-like aura that subtly influenced the minds of those nearby.
Anyone caught in the smoke would find themselves inexplicably drawn to the prince, their feelings of affection and admiration multiplying without reason.
Even more dangerously, those affected would begin spreading this influence to others.
Like a chain reaction, more and more people would start to admire the Eighth Prince, completely unaware they were being manipulated.
Ordinary people stood no chance—they couldn't even see the beast.
But Kite and Shoot, seasoned Nen users, saw through the illusion instantly. They didn't walk into the trap.
Later, after the Eighth Prince was assassinated, Kite and Shoot were assigned to investigate the case.
Working together, they eventually tracked down the killer.
As they suspected, the culprit turned out to be a Nen user.
That made sense.
No ordinary assassin could get close to the prince—not with the Guardian Spirit Beast constantly watching over him.
Unfortunately, before they could extract any information, the killer committed suicide. He died without revealing who had ordered the hit, or who else might have been involved.
Not that Kite or Shoot were too eager to dig deeper. They already had a good idea who was behind it.
It had to be one of the other princes.
And exposing the mastermind wouldn't necessarily be the smartest move—not in this power game.
But now, seeing that same Guardian Spirit Beast again…
Kite frowned.
The Eighth Prince was dead.
So why was the beast still here?
"Why is it still alive... and attacking living people passing by?"
Hearing Kite's words, Shoot froze for a moment. Then he nodded slowly in agreement. "Yeah... I remember that too. But now, it's gotten way stronger... I—I..."
Kite noticed the hesitation in Shoot's voice. His stance was slightly withdrawn, a hint of fear creeping in as he faced the monster.
"It's okay, right? You can still fight?"
Of course, if given the choice, Shoot wouldn't want to fight.
But the situation was far beyond the point of making easy decisions. It was clear now—there was no escaping this strange, sphere-like creature chasing them.
And besides... when he stepped onto the BW1 with his teacher, Shoot had already made a decision. He would become braver, tougher—like that night when he stood his ground against Youpi.
So he answered, "It's fine. Let's do this."
Only then did Kite summon his Crazy Slots—a weapon that looked like a metal rod topped with a clown's head.
When the clown spins and stops on a number, it conjures a weapon with that number's ability.
The clown spun its tongue with a low gurgle, finally stopping on the number 2.
A long, wickedly sharp scythe appeared in Kite's hands.
"Not bad," Kite said, clearly satisfied with this weapon. "Shoot, I'll go in head-on and draw its attention. You try to take its mouth—any one of them."
"Got it." Shoot replied instantly.
Floating beside him were three severed arms and a birdcage—his Manipulation-type: Dark Inn.
By causing damage, he could lock one of the creature's mouths inside the birdcage.
They both understood the same thing—if the white smoke came from those mouths, then taking the mouths would weaken the creature.
So finally, under Teradein's repeated pleas, the two joined the fight. But by then, most of Teradein's men had already fallen.
Kite's scythe was called "Silent Waltz."
Every sweeping arc of the blade cut through the puppet-like monsters controlled by the white smoke like a grim reaper harvesting lives.
Shhhk! Shhhk! Shhhk!
The puppets fell like marionettes with their strings cut, collapsing one by one, sliced clean in half at the waist.
Thanks to Kite's early warning, Teradein and his few remaining subordinates ducked just in time to avoid being caught in the deadly swing that could've bisected them as well.
Before they had time to be surprised, they saw Shoot step on one of his own severed hands.
"Hand Flight."
Shoot shot through the air, flying toward the floating, orb-like monster.
At the same time, Kite swung his scythe over and over again, sending out slash after slash to draw the creature's attention.
The monster dodged the attacks—but in that moment, Shoot managed to snatch one of the creature's many mouths.
Maybe it was this move that finally enraged it.
It had no intention of giving the two of them a second chance.
Just as Kite and Shoot were about to repeat their tactic, the monster suddenly unleashed a terrifying aura—something far beyond what they had felt before. It struck their hearts like a heavy hammer.
Teradein and the others felt their hearts pound wildly, as if they might burst from their chests at any moment.
Everyone's faces twisted in fear, sweat pouring down like rain.
Kite and Shoot weren't doing much better.
They were both engulfed in an overwhelming pressure—especially Shoot, who was closer. He could barely breathe.
He wanted to keep fighting, to launch an attack, but in the end, he couldn't withstand the pressure. He fell from the sky and landed next to Kite.
"This… is bad," Kite said grimly. "Just from its aura alone, it's already stronger than Ging…"
"A guardian beast left behind by a dead prince… and its strength has reached this level? There's no way that's normal… It's being fueled by the Post-mortem Nen…"
Kite tightened his grip on the scythe.
"I cut down those puppets… but their bodies were just empty shells. Their hatred was already taken—absorbed by this thing."
"And it's not even in its final form yet."
"It's going to get even stronger…"
Shoot was breathing heavily, a bead of sweat the size of a bean sliding down his forehead.
"So, this means now is the best time for us to kill it. Otherwise, it will only get harder to deal with later," he said.
"Exactly," Kite replied.
A wave of anxiety washed over Shoot. This was like a replay of the Chimera Ant disaster.
The monster before them was the same nightmare — the Ant King and his Three Royal Guards.
Almost instantly, both of them turned around in surprise.
They sensed multiple auras approaching rapidly.
Being attacked from both front and back at a time like this would leave them no chance to survive.
But the arrival shocked and delighted them.
It was none other than Knuckle, Menchi, Buhara, and Sanbica — friends they hadn't seen for a year and a half!
*******
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