Two solid punches.
One punch to the face, one punch to the stomach.
With that, what little chance of victory Ging had left was practically shattered.
Under normal circumstances, even if Moses had gained a clear advantage, he would still have been wary of Ging's talent.
But thanks to the sealing effect of [Ready Player One], Moses at least doesn't have to worry about Ging pulling out any more trump cards. Nor did he need to consider how many offensive Nen Abilities Ging had mastered up to this point.
After all, under the debuff, Ging couldn't use a single one of his Nen Abilities. He could only rely on whatever random, unknown Nen Ability [Ready Player One] assigned him.
So in a sense, after using [Ready Player One], Ging had essentially discarded part of his own advantage.
Or perhaps the existence of this Nen Ability was inherently designed to counterbalance the Nen Abilities Ging had acquired throughout his journey.
As for why Ging had developed such an ability in the first place...
The only possibility Moses could think of was that Ging had always adhered to the philosophy of 'enjoying the journey'. Or maybe he was simply fond of the unpredictability that randomness brought.
Either way, Moses didn't care whether Jin could find enjoyment in this duel. His goal was to secure victory, no matter what.
That was why he absolutely couldn't let Ging touch that flame-like Aura...
'Ging, Ging, don't blame me for being ruthless. You're the one who started playing dirty from the get-go.'
Moses thought to himself in his heart, but did not stop shaking the Ring Chime. The soft chimes of the wind chimes continued as he closed in on Ging's landing point.
The current situation is very clear. As long as Moses didn't give Ging an opening, even if Ging had three heads and six arms, he'd have no choice but to accept defeat.
As the one at a disadvantage, Ging is well aware of this.
Against an opponent like Moses, his only chance to turn the tables lay in that unknown Nen Ability hidden within the flame-like Aura.
Thud-
Just before hitting the ground, Ging twisted his body and landed firmly on his feet with a heavy stomp.
"Cough…"
With his upper body slightly leaning forward, Ging coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The sharp pain radiating from his abdomen was like an alarm, constantly reminding him that he was seriously injured.
'Fortunately, this was a strictly 'friendship first' duel, otherwise, I would have been lying down by now.'
'He's charging at me again... The moment he gains an advantage, he really doesn't give me a second to breathe.'
Sensing Moses's Aura charging straight at him, how could Ging just sit there and wait for defeat? He dragged his injured body and immediately veered into a zigzagging path.
Touching the flame-like Aura is his only visible play, so any tactics or feints were meaningless now.
Moses was always aware of Ging's intention and mercilessly cut off any path that led toward the flame-like Aura.
Ding-ling-ling…
The sound of the wind chimes echoed incessantly as Moses shook it.
After hearing the sound of wind chimes, Ging concluded that Moses did not use the Ring Chimes's ability based on his body's free movement.
And that was precisely the most troublesome part.
If they clashed in close combat again, Moses could freely switch between three modes of 'using the ability', 'canceling the ability', or 'faking the ability'.
With this and Moses's already very formidable close combat ability, there is no way Ging can win.
So, to mitigate this obvious risk, the only thing Ging could do was plug his ears again.
No other choice…
The strength of Nen Abilities often lay not in the abilities themselves, but in the combat systems built around them.
As he plugged his ears, while Ging lost his hearing again, at least he could move his hands and feet freely.
'At least let me, a person who has fallen into the gutter, touch the prize...'
With a self-mocking sentiment in his heart, Ging focused solely on closing the distance to the flame-like Aura.
A sharp detour allowed him to cover more than half the distance in one go.
However, that was the farthest he could get under Moses's watchful eyes.
Whoosh-
Moses flashed forward, and appeared right in front of Ging with absolute confidence.
At this moment,
The Ring Chimes on Moses's right hand had vanished.
Before closing in, Moses had already toggled between using the ability and faking the ability twice, so he quickly realized that Ging had plugged his ears again.
That's why he simply dismissed the Ring Chimes when attacking, so that he can free up his dominant hand for combat.
After he got close, he punched Ging!
A furious barrage of punches, amplified by Aura, engulfed Ging.
Faced with Moses's relentless assault, Ging was like a small boat caught in a whirlpool. It was difficult for him to get out immediately, so he could only bite the bullet and meet the attacks head-on.
In an instant-
The two clashed mid-air once more.
Sparks of Aura scattered, and shockwaves erupted from their fists and elbows.
The plaza was filled with an oppressive, suffocating tension.
It's easy to imagine that if an average-level Nen User recklessly approached, they would likely be torn apart by the explosive shockwaves radiating from the clash.
The fierce collision lasted only a few moments, and Ging, who was seriously injured, fell into a disadvantage again.
After all, without using Ring Chimes, Moses could free up his dominant hand and took advantage of his overwhelming Manifested Aura.
If Ging's near-perfect mastery of Nen control, his injuries would have caused him to collapse almost instantly.
But even though Ging could barely hold his ground against Moses' onslaught thanks to his superior Nen control, the longer this dragged on, the more he would be pushed into retreat, and eventually, his defenses will crumble completely.
After all, because he lacked the support brought by Nen Ability, he could only compete with Moses in pure combat skills, amount Manifested Aura, and Nen control-
This was a desperate, no-retreat clash of blades.
And Ging was being pushed to the edge of the cliff by Moses.
If he didn't find a way out soon, it will only be a matter of time before he was defeated.
It might only take a minute, maybe even less than thirty seconds.
'What an overwhelming pressure.'
Ging wanted to break free of this situation as quickly as possible so that he could recollect himself.
However, it was obvious that Moses was determined to suppress him at all costs, and without access to his original Nen Abilities, Ging had no way to force an opening.
Otherwise, he would have had many ways to escape.
For example, with his Emission-Type Nen Ability, he could use his feet to inject his Aura into the ground, planting 'contact mines' on the ground.
Just by using this ability, he could have blown Moses away with these 'Nen Mines' while fighting and retreating.
Unfortunately, he couldn't use this ability now.
'There's no other way. If I'm going to lose anyway, I might as well trade injuries for an opportunity...'
Realizing the situation was growing increasingly dire, Ging knew he had to make a decision quickly.
After all, if he kept defending like this, not only would he fail to break free, but he might not even last a minute.