"I have never seen this man before."
Menchi looked at the wounded person's face.
At that moment, the injured man seemed to regain a bit of consciousness and opened his eyes.
"Koshiro?"
"The Fallen One—we've found the Fallen One!"
"To the west."
"Go west."
"Hurry!"
Koshiro's pupils contracted when he heard the voice.
"Gray?"
Menchi turned to look at Koshiro.
"Koshiro, do you know him?"
"I do. He's a newly arrived freelance Gourmet Hunter—I've only met him once before."
Without hesitation, Menchi made a decision.
"Buhara, head west!"
"Got it."
Buhara changed course and surged westward at high speed. At the same time, Menchi took out her phone and sent out a text message. She gripped the cursed silver coin in her hand tightly.
"He's close."
"I can feel it now."
"That Fallen One seems to be on the move."
"No... he's stopped again."
Menchi frowned.
Finally, a darkened region of the sea appeared in everyone's line of sight.
Ron looked over and saw that the entire patch of ocean seemed to be dyed with ink—pitch black and reeking of a foul, decaying odor. Normal sea life dared not approach, but beneath the surface, strange creatures swam—completely unlike ordinary fish and radiating an aura of rot and decay.
A lone figure stood atop the water.
From other directions, several teams from Gourmet Paradise were also converging on the location.
Ron focused on the figure. From behind, he looked like a young man. But just then, sensing the arrival of Ron and the others, he turned around—and when his face came into view, even Ron couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly.
Half of the man's body looked like that of a youth, but the other half resembled that of an elder—no, not even an elder, but a withered corpse. There was no sign of flesh or blood, just skin clinging tightly to bone.
The stark contrast between the two halves formed an utterly grotesque image. The youthful half emitted the aura of a typical Nen user, while the withered half gave off a dense, deathly Nen. The two energies were distinct, yet both were powerful—at the level of A-rank Nen users, and even among A-ranks, they could be considered top-tier.
"Stronger than the Three Hounds, the Four Beasts, and the Six Herds... even stronger than Hisoka's aura capacity. Of course, he might not be stronger than Hisoka just because he has more aura"
"Not sure how he compares to Oster though."
Ron's expression turned grave.
Three teams in total had surrounded this figure suspected to be the Fallen One. However, apart from Ron, only one A-rank Nen user was present in the other teams. Menchi, Buhara, and Koshiro were all B-rank Nen users.
Given this situation, taking the enemy down would not be easy.
"It's him!"
Menchi's expression grew tense.
"That's the Fallen One! That half-face matches the photo Senior Linne showed me exactly."
The other two teams visibly relaxed when Menchi's team arrived—the Fallen One's oppressive aura had been too overwhelming.
"You found me?"
The Fallen One looked in Menchi's direction.
"Can anyone tell me how?"
Even though he was surrounded, he showed no signs of panic. He didn't believe Ron and the others posed any threat to him.
No one answered.
Menchi exchanged glances with the other two team leaders.
The next moment, she took out her silver coin and poured a large amount of aura into it. A blinding white light erupted from the cursed silver coin, shooting into the sky. The two other team leaders did the same.
Three beams of light illuminated the entire sea.
The Fallen One narrowed his eyes.
"Linne's aura! So that's how it is!"
"You used the counter-contract curse coin to trace me, didn't you?"
"No wonder you found my location. But was it worth it, Linne?"
"Do you really want to kill me that badly?"
His face darkened, his mood clearly turning foul—so dark it seemed it could drip water.
"Even so, do you all truly believe you can kill me? Back then, I was stronger than you. If not for that incident, I never would've been this weakened."
"And now, I've found a new path."
"Just wait."
"Soon, I'll be back at S-rank. And then I'll settle everything!"
"Starting with these lackeys you sent!"
The Fallen One sneered coldly.
At that moment, the sea below began to churn, as though boiling. The creatures beneath the surface began to stir.
Splash!
A figure burst from the sea.
It was only then that Ron clearly saw what these creatures looked like.
They weren't simply fish. They were hybrids—part fish, part human. The two had fused into monstrous forms.
Among them, Ron even recognized a familiar face—it was one of the freelance Gourmet Hunters hired at the plaza not long ago to search for the Love Sardine.
Now Ron understood what fate had befallen some of those Gourmet Hunters. Likely, some had become like that middle-aged man—sent out to spread cursed silver coins. The others had turned into these monsters.
Those cursed coins continued to draw in more people. It was a self-replicating plague. And with contracts embedded in them, the Fallen One could reap immense returns from this cycle.
The fish-men lunged toward Ron's group.
Sally materialized a sniper rifle, took aim, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A shot struck a fish-man midair, but it only left a faint white mark on its body—the creature's defense was exceedingly high. Sally's pupils contracted. She hadn't expected this.
Judging by its aura, the fish-man wasn't particularly strong. If it were a regular Nen user of the same level, that shot would have caused severe injury.
The airborne fish-man glared viciously at Sally, its body twisting midair as it altered its trajectory and charged toward her.
But just before it reached the ship—
A massive hand came down and slapped it away.
It was Buhara.
Boom!
In an instant, the fish-man was knocked flying.
Ron took out the Six-Harmony Sphere. A flash of lightning crackled quickly in his palm.
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