The swollen, cord-like tumors tangled together like messy wires gave off an exceptionally sinister visual impression.
To an ordinary person or a doctor, it would simply look like the man was sick.
But to the red-haired woman, this was a phenomenon caused by Nen.
"Are you confident?"
The man's low voice came through.
He was the boss of the Etanse Mafia Family, named Etanse Curie. The Etanse Family was one of the five major mafia syndicates that rose to power after the complete reshuffling of the Ten Dons' forces.
As the boss of Etanse, Curie was a Nen User. Before boarding the ship, he was hit by an enemy's Nen Ability related to [Insects], which grew stronger after death.
The effect of the Nen was the propagation of these pipe-like, cord-shaped tumors on his back. At dawn, noon, dusk, and midnight, these cord-shaped tumors would go mad with writhing. At those times, the intense agony would make Curie wish for death.
That kind of pain, if sustained for just a few days, could grind down a person's will, driving the victim to suicide to end the suffering.
But Curie, as the leader of one of the five major mafia syndicates, was no ordinary man.
With astonishing pain tolerance, he had endured this torment for a full month.
He had been searching for a Nen Exorcist, but then coinciding with the Kakin Empire's operation, Curie boldly made the decision to lead his syndicate onto the B·W.
He hadn't expected to find light after darkness… he actually found an Exorcist on the ship.
The red-haired woman chuckled lightly, raised her pale, slender hand, and gently stroked the vein-riddled cord-like tumor. "A trivial matter."
"Oh?"
Curie felt surprise and a hard-to-suppress excitement.
He had high pain tolerance, but being tortured like this every day was too much.
If this thing could be dealt with, it would be wonderful.
"If you can resolve it, I will pay you a satisfactory reward," Curie said, his tone containing faint anticipation.
"Pfft."
The woman merely smiled, then said, "I'm starting now."
"Alright."
Curie responded.
A gleam flashed in the woman's eyes. Her five fingers, painted with red nail polish, suddenly stabbed into the tumor.
Curie immediately grunted, his brows deeply furrowed, clearly enduring severe pain.
Four members of the Etanse Family in black suits were also in the room. Seeing the woman's action, they instinctively took a small step forward.
Curie noticed his subordinates' movement and waved a hand at them.
Seeing Curie's gesture, the four subordinates retracted their steps, calmly watching the woman's next move.
From their line of sight, they could only see Curie and the woman's backs. Curie was also facing away from her, so he couldn't see the expression on her face at this moment.
"Pretty good Nen. I'm quite satisfied."
The woman stuck out her tongue and licked a circle around her red lips.
"What did you say?" Curie heard the woman's muttering.
The woman didn't respond, continuing the exorcism. The red polish on her nails, like big red lanterns during the Chinese New Year, emitted a red glow.
The tumors on Curie's back began to writhe madly, causing Curie to suddenly bend over with low cries of pain.
"Good boy, it'll be over soon."
The woman's mouth curved into an exaggerated arc. Her eyes widened, pupils trembling rapidly in their sockets, revealing a barely suppressed excitement.
The writhing tumors gradually vaporized, turning into black threads of smoke that were sucked into the red nails, which in turn slowly turned black.
In a short while, the tumors disappeared. The pain Curie felt also vanished into thin air, and his furrowed brows relaxed.
"Success?"
Curie let out a long breath and asked in an excited tone.
The woman still didn't respond to Curie's words. Looking at her blackened nails, that slightly crazy and excited expression remained on her face.
Curie turned his head in confusion, then saw the woman's crazed expression and couldn't help but be startled.
"To be honest, after actually absorbing it, it's a bit disappointing."
The woman spoke words Curie couldn't understand, then turned and walked towards the four subordinates guarding the door.
The exorcism was complete. She was ready to leave, having no interest at all in the reward Curie promised.
The four subordinates looked coldly at the approaching woman, then glanced towards Curie. They did not move aside.
The woman stopped. By now, the expression on her face had receded. She looked back at Curie, who still sat on the bed, a dangerous glint in her eyes. She smiled and said, "Not letting me leave? Don't tell me you want to sleep with me?"
Curie noticed the light in the woman's eyes. After a moment's thought, he laughed loudly. "To be honest, I really have that thought."
The woman parted her red lips, revealing a pink tongue, then took a step forward. In a seductive tone, she said, "Then come on, take me."
Seeing this, Curie narrowed his eyes. He wasn't that kind of lustful man, but he hadn't expected a casual remark to provoke such a reaction from the woman. Just as he was about to speak, his pupils suddenly contracted.
In his vision, everything was suddenly stained red.
Thud!
A large hole was violently gouged out of Curie's face. He toppled over onto the bed in a kneeling position.
The woman stood before the bed, holding in her hand a piece of flesh and bone with attached skin. She had started killing over a mere disagreement.
This happened too quickly. The four mafia members guarding the door didn't react immediately.
A few seconds later.
Four more bodies were added to the room.
The woman walked out of the room with a bizarre smile and headed for the third floor.
After passing a corridor corner, the bizarre smile on the woman's face suddenly vanished. Like a Sichuan opera face change, it transformed into a somewhat pained and fragile expression.
She bent over, placing a hand on the wall for support. Her red hair hung down like willow branches, forming a curtain that trembled slightly.
"G-Get out... get out of me."
A difficult, faint voice echoed in the corner.
A moment later, the woman straightened up, her face pale. She murmured to herself, "I am... Elaine. I am not something else!"
…
B·W, 1st Floor, the 14th Prince's room.
At this moment, a grief-stricken, piercing cry from a woman reverberated through the room.
Outside the room, men in military uniforms stood expressionlessly, listening to the weeping coming from inside.
Several minutes later, the woman's cries subsided.
Another few minutes passed. Two soldiers, one after the other, carried a stretcher out.
On the stretcher lay a sealed body bag. Judging by the not very prominent volume, the deceased was at most an infant.
Half an hour later, the body bag was delivered to the room housing the fourteen [Coffins].
Nasubi watched calmly as the corpse of the infant Fourteenth Prince was placed into one of the coffins.
Whoosh!
A powerful Nen Flame ignited out of thin air on one of the circular patterns.
'The sixth.'
Nasubi's deep, dark eyes swept over the 'coffins' in the room.
A total of six Nen Flames were burning. That represented six princes' corpses lying in this room, and also six of his children.
Aside from the Fourth Prince who died before the Succession War began, the other five princes were losers after the war started. The flames that ignited after their deaths were much more vigorous than the Fourth Prince's.
Because the Fourth Prince died before the Nen Beast egg obtained from the pot could hatch. The other five princes lying in coffins died after their Nen Beasts had hatched and grown to a certain stage.
Therefore, the Nen Flames born from the deaths of the other five princes were stronger than the Fourth Prince's.
'One more month, Hui.'
Nasubi said to himself in his heart.