In the bizarre and unpredictable Nen System, some abilities existed not to 'deal damage', but to bypass physical defenses entirely.
The sharp long sword in Saccho's hand struck Moses's head, but it failed to cut even a single strand of Moses's hair.
From the surface, it seemed Moses's Aura Defense had blocked the slash.
But in fact, Saccho's strike was never meant to inflict physical damage.
[Severing the Threads of Worry]
This is Saccho's second Nen Ability, which is to cut off the opponent's worries by delivering a slash to his opponent.
Since the target of the slash was the opponent's 'worries', the slash itself would cause no harm.
And because a person's worries resided in their mind, the ability would only activate if the slash struck the head, which is the condition for the ability.
This also meant that if Saccho's slash hit any part of the body other than the head, it can actually cause damage.
The existence of Vows and Limitations created countless possibilities, and will also form a close connection with various phenomena and mechanisms.
This is also one of the most amazing things about the Nen System.
With this slash, Saccho severed Moses's worries.
For an ordinary person, losing all worries would bring relief and happiness.
But everything had its limits.
In normal circumstances, being freed from worries would be beneficial.
But, in the heat of battle, where nerves were stretched taut, sudden relaxation would inevitably disrupt combat focus.
In that split second, Saccho waited for the 'result' to come out.
However-
The expected outcome did not occur.
Despite having his 'threads of worry' severed, Moses showed no change, neither in his Aura state nor his physical movements. His condition remained exactly as it was.
'What's going on...?'
The unexpected result made Saccho's pupils contract slightly.
Although Ginta had teamed up with Saccho for the attack, he was unaware of Saccho's ability. After seeing Moses mobilize his Aura in time to defend against their attack, Ginta immediately followed up with a second assault.
Without retracting his right fist, that was still against Moses's left shoulder, Ginta stepped forward suddenly, driving his left arm forward and punched at Moses's ribs.
But at that very moment, Mizaistom's restraint expired.
The transparent cubic space surrounding Moses vanished abruptly.
Without the restrictions of the transparent cubic space, Moses instantly regained his mobility.
Not far away.
The yellow card in Mizaistom's hand dissipated into motes of light.
'So soon...?'
Seeing that the imprisonment last only a second, Mizaistom was shocked.
He had used the yellow card to restrain countless people before, even Netero had been confined for over three seconds during their 'sparring'.
'Is it because of his Manifested Aura...?'
The only possibility Mizaistom could think of was that Moses's Manifested Aura was simply too overwhelming.
Before he could ponder further, the situation on the battlefield underwent a complete shift.
Moses, who had regained his mobility, suddenly raised his right hand, which is holding the Black Sword.
However, he had no intention of blocking Ginta's fist with the sword. Instead, he directly dismissed the Black Sword.
[Gyo: Phase Force]
The Manifested Aura that was taken back by the Black Sword was withdrawn and gathered into a condensed mass in Moses's raised right palm.
At this moment, Ginta noticed something was wrong, but by the time he realized it, the trajectory of his left fist, which was originally aimed at Moses's ribs, had already veered, and is now heading straight for Moses's right palm.
In that split second, even if Ginta noticed the anomaly, it was too late for him to adjust.
Just before Ginta's fist collided with his palm, Moses seized the fleeting opportunity and decisively deactivated the effect of the Gyo: Phase Force, then retracted his right arm downward.
This maneuver caused Ginta's fist, which was pulled by the Gyo: Phase Force, to swing past Moses's body.
Aiming straight toward Saccho, who had just attacked Moses moments ago.
"Huh-?!"
Saccho never expected that Ginta's fist would suddenly change direction and target him. He could only pull back the long sword slightly and hold it horizontally in front of him.
Clang!
Ginta's fist, which was filled with great strength, hit Saccho's long sword in front of him fiercely. The Aura of both parties suddenly exploded and dispersed in all directions like a storm of shattered snowflakes.
Saccho's block was too rushed, so he was unable to neutralize Ginta's power.
The massive fist smashed the sword into Saccho's chest.
The impact was like a sledgehammer, causing Saccho to fly backwards with his sword.
Just as Saccho didn't expect Ginta's fist to change direction and hit him, Ginta also didn't expect his fist to hit Saccho instead.
The abrupt outcome left both parties momentarily stunned.
To Mizaistom and Cluck, this scene looked as though Moses had used some unfathomable, esoteric technique to deflect Ginta's attack toward Saccho.
'But what exactly had happened...?'
They had no way of knowing, nor the time to think about it.
The abilities Moses displayed in actual combat far exceeded their expectations.
Realizing that ambushes alone were ineffective, Cluck made the most correct decision in this time-sensitive situation.
She once again threw three poison feathers at Moses.
Their trajectory wasn't aimed to hit him directly, but to force him to defend, buying Ginta time to retreat.
Moses instantly noticed the three feathers streaking from the darkness. His eyes flickered slightly, and he raised his hand to conjure his Black Sword, cutting off all the three poison feathers.
Seizing this momentary distraction, Ginta, who was unable to figure out the situation, opted for caution and leaped back to create distance.
And so, the combined assault from Cluck, Ginta, Mizaistom, and Saccho ended in failure, and resulting in Saccho being injured.
However-
Moses's counterattack was only just beginning.
"From the moment Botobai challenged me, I found it strange. But it was only after Gel attacked that I started piecing things together."
Holding the sword in front of him, Moses tilted his head to look in the direction where the poison feathers came from, raised his eyebrows and said: "But I still didn't expect... that half of the Zodiacs would be 'mobilized'. Speaking of which, I should be thanking..."
Before he could finish his words, Cluck's scream filled with shock and anger suddenly came out from the darkness.
"Gel, you...!"
The voice, filled with disbelief, echoed across the plaza.
Ginta, Mizaistom, and even the crouching Saccho turned their heads toward Cluck's position in confusion.
From the shadows, two figures slowly emerged and stepped into the edge of the light.
One was Cluck, and the other was-
Gel, who was supposed to be at the hospital getting her hand reattached!
'Let's not talk about why Gel appeared at this time-'
'Why was she attacking Cluck!?'
At this moment, Gel's left arm had transformed into a black snake, coiling around Cluck's body and sinking its fangs into her neck.
Cluck's scream cut off abruptly because the black snake had already sent venom into Cluck's body, causing her to lose her physical control, including the ability to speak.
"Gel, what do you mean by this...?!"
Seeing this scene, Ginta, Mizaistom, and Saccho all showed expressions of incomprehensible shock.
Just as they raised their questions, they heard Moses calmly finished his earlier sentence.
"That's right. The one I should thank the most... is Gel."
"…!!?"