After a long separation, everyone reunited with a mix of surprise and joy.
They barely had time to catch up before they had to face the overwhelming pressure from the spherical monster in front of them.
The presence of the "Guardian Beast of Salé-Salé" was simply too strong.
Teradein was on the verge of breaking down.
He collapsed to his knees, hands clutching his head, sweat pouring down like rain.
He kept muttering under his breath, "Impossible, impossible, it can't be like this," as if he was witnessing something unbelievable.
Kite, Knuckle, Shoot, and the others had no time to worry about Teradein's state.
Their priority was to get past this monster alive.
Soon, they launched a grand battle against the "Guardian Beast of Salé-Salé."
Kite and Buhara attacked head-on, while Knuckle and Shoot struck from the sides and provided support.
Menchi harassed it from a distance, and Sanbica was there to assist and back them up.
They gave everything they had, their bodies covered in wounds, but still, they couldn't defeat the "Guardian Beast of Salé-Salé."
The white smoke the beast spewed not only manipulated minds, but was also as flexible and powerful as a reinforced version of Morel's "Deep Purple."
Every owner whose resentment (Post-mortem Nen) it absorbed was recreated by the beast through that smoke.
Though it couldn't replicate their Nen abilities, these puppets fought with skills very close to their original selves, and even coordinated with each other.
They were like dozens of released-type Nen beasts, causing huge trouble for Kite and the others.
The only hope left rested on Knuckle's ability, "Hakoware."
He had already attached the doll-like "A.P.R." onto the "Guardian Spirit Beast of Salé-Salé."
As soon as the "Guardian Spirit Beast of Salé-Salé" ran out of Nen, A.P.R. would transform into a "I.R.S.," forcing the beast into the state of "Zetsu."
In this Zetsu state, the Guardian Spirit Beast of Salé-Salé was nothing more than a massive sandbag, as big as a mountain.
But this plan was a last resort — it took too long to activate, and everyone present probably wouldn't hold out until then.
Sure enough, more and more members fell in the fight against Salé-Salé.
First, Buhara, who had taken the most damage, then Shoot, caught off guard.
Sanbica rushed to administer emergency treatment to them.
The few remaining subordinates of Teradein fought desperately to protect their fallen leader, but they couldn't survive long enough for Sanbica's aid — one by one, they died.
Suddenly, only Kite, Knuckle, and Menchi were left battling Salé-Salé.
The pressure on them doubled, and their goal shifted from winning to simply surviving.
Knuckle felt that suffocating sensation again — the same one from that night when facing Youpi — and this was after a year of significant growth.
The belief that had kept the three going until now came down to one thing: the message Knuckle had first told them — Germain and Shizuku would soon return here.
Since they weren't a match for Salé-Salé's Guardian Beast, their new objective became buying time until reinforcements arrived.
But Teradein, unaware of all this, had completely lost his mind.
Under the oppressive pressure of Salé-Salé's Guardian Beast, he trembled like a madman standing naked in a frozen wasteland.
Teradein truly became insane.
With a painful scream, he suddenly dropped to all fours and scrambled away like some frantic animal.
Right — as long as he got far away from here, anywhere would do!
Teradein's vision narrowed and darkened with panic, his limbs moving chaotically amid rapid, ragged breaths.
He didn't even notice that in front of him were the sea and jagged rocks.
Teradein just jumped forward, trying to find a sense of calm.
But in the next moment, with a sharp crack, he crashed onto the rocks hammered by the waves, his head smashing violently.
Kite, Knuckle, and the others didn't have time to stop him.
The pressure they were facing was no less than Teradein's.
They were already tense, so when Teradein suddenly acted, they couldn't react fast enough.
However, their minds were stronger.
They had held on this long without surrendering to the "Guardian Beast".
But they soon realized they couldn't last much longer.
Their Nen was almost drained, and their accumulated wounds made them look like walking corpses.
Buhara and Shoot gritted their teeth and tried to stand up to help Kite, Knuckle, and Menchi.
Sanbica, shy by nature and wearing a mask, changed completely when it came to treatment.
She became very strong-willed and tried hard to hold the two injured men down.
Still, Buhara and Shoot struggled fiercely, wanting to get up.
They could see clearly that Kite and the others were about to break.
If they didn't help, the whole situation would collapse.
Sanbica understood this too.
But the more she understood, the more anxious she became.
If she didn't let the two injured men go, Kite and the others might be defeated the next moment.
But if she let them go, with their injuries, they would surely become targets of the "Guardian Beast."
Being both a doctor and a Hunter, Sanbica found herself in a tough dilemma.
Luckily, she didn't have to choose anymore.
Boom—
At almost the same moment everyone held their breath, a wave of aura poured over their burning, dry bodies like a cold waterfall.
Kite, Knuckle, and Menchi, who faced the enemy head-on, along with Sanbica, Shoot, and Buhara behind them, all suddenly felt a white light swirling around their bodies.
Above their heads, a silver halo appeared!
The "Silver Halo of Virtue."
Those familiar with it recognized it immediately.
Even those who didn't know it could sense its benefits directly from the fullness of physical and spiritual energy radiating from them.
Their combat strength, stamina, and willpower all surged. Their Nen was restoring, and their wounds visibly healed before their eyes.
A few smoke Nen beasts charged again, but the newly empowered group, slightly stunned at first, quickly struck back together and almost effortlessly destroyed the beasts!
Slightly confused, they followed the sudden surge of Nen and looked up.
At the source of the "Silver Halo" was Germain, hovering midair, clad in flowing, pitch-black robes. His holy wings spread wide, and his spear's tip angled sharply forward.
He lowered his head and glanced at the group, then looked down imperiously at the "Guardian Beast."
In the next moment, Germain flashed like holy light, transforming his entire body into an arrow of light, shooting straight toward Guardian Beast!
Ever since Germain appeared, Guardian Beast sensed that something was terribly wrong.
It summoned almost all the smoke beasts, forming thick barriers to block Germain's advance.
But Germain's silver spear pierced through them one by one. The Nen bursting from it shattered the walls of smoke.
The smoke beasts tried to coil around and cloud his mind, but Germain easily brushed them aside with a wave of his hand, revealing his target clearly.
They had no control over Germain at all.
With a flick of his spear, Germain's weapon transformed into a streak of light, reshaping into a silver straight sword.
In his "Legend Form," he could almost effortlessly use Nen to create any weapon or armor he had ever seen.
Boom—
A white slash fell like a cross-section, instantly cutting the spherical shell of "Guardian Beast" in two!
"Guardian Beast" let out a piercing, agonized scream!
Having died a violent death, its lingering hatred erupted fiercely, unleashing an overwhelming ferocity, pouring all its malice toward Germain!
But Germain's black robe was like a vast ocean, able to contain the incoming stream of hostile energy.
Everything converged into a kind of gift—
"Guided Gas Bomb: Throw it out; it releases smoke that attracts creatures with willpower to attack it."
As Germain lightly landed, "Guardian Beast" dissolved into dust carried away by the wind. His black robe and silver-white wings faded away along with it.
The crowd watched as that breathtaking figure vanished.
The halos above their heads and the boosts on their bodies disappeared too.
For a long while, they remained immersed in the feeling left behind.
*******
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