Nen can only be countered with Nen.
This was common knowledge.
When facing an enemy who might possess a Counter-type ability, employing a Manipulation-type ability was the optimal choice.
However, both Kanzai and Taliya were Enhancers.
That said, the high fault tolerance inherent to Enhancers could minimize the risks of probing to the lowest possible degree.
So what truly troubled Kanzai wasn't the enemy's bluffing or their potential Counter-type ability lying in wait, it was...
The Limitation of ensuring the client's safety, combined with the current no-retreat situation, which together left him utterly constrained.
Hearing Safira's declaration now, Kanzai didn't feel the problem was solved at all. He even wanted to roll his eyes, but he held back.
Saying not to worry about life or death was easy...
If the mission failed, his hard-earned reputation would be ruined.
Kanzai remained silent, pretending not to have heard Safira's words, his gaze fixed intently on the door as if his vision could pierce straight to the epicenter of the aura.
"I've already submitted a report to the Hunter Association stating that the request has been successfully completed."
Safira's voice suddenly came from behind, causing Kanzai to stiffen slightly.
"What?"
He couldn't help but turn to look at her, only to see her lightly waving her phone twice.
Her expression remained as calm as still water as she said indifferently, "You should receive confirmation of the request's completion soon."
"..."
Kanzai was momentarily stunned, then felt the faint vibration of his phone.
Pulling it out, he saw the confirmation message for the completed request, along with the notification of the massive payment transferred to his account in real time.
"Aren't you afraid I'll just run?"
Kanzai looked up at Safira with a strange expression, as if seeing his former client in a new light.
Safira set her phone down, paying no mind to Taliya's anxious expression beside her. A faint smile surfaced on her cool features.
"The assassin gave you two choices, so I'll do the same. Even if you choose to run, I'll accept that outcome without complaint."
She even deliberately avoided using the word "flee"...
Because there was no need for any kind of provocation.
This was a decision Safira had made from the heart.
"Tch."
Kanzai pocketed his phone. If the noble princess was willing to stake her life on this gamble, then he had no reason to hold back either.
As for running...?
What a joke.
"Taliya, watch over her."
With those words, Kanzai pushed the door open and stepped out.
—--
Outside was a narrow corridor, only three meters long, leading to a spacious lounge area furnished with sofas.
The moment Kanzai left the room, he spotted a man standing in the lounge.
The source of the aura was this very man.
"Oh, you're finally out."
The man, Muse, smirked with a hint of frivolity.
Kanzai took two steps forward, his aura visibly surging around him. "You seem pretty relaxed..."
"Scary, scary."
Seeing the overwhelming aura Kanzai unleashed, far surpassing his own, Muse maintained his smirk, but internally, his sense of danger was skyrocketing.
A spatial Counter-type ability, augmented by pre-prepared Divine Script...
Even with all these preparations, Muse still couldn't muster enough confidence. The reason wasn't entirely due to Kanzai's status as one of the Zodiac Twelve, but rather the overwhelming intensity of the aura output he displayed.
Seeing it up close with one's own eyes carried far more conviction than any hearsay.
"If I took one of your attacks head-on, I'd die instantly, wouldn't I?"
Muse also unleashed his maximum aura output, though part of it was being channeled into the Divine Script, leaving his total amount at less than 50 % of Kanzai's.
This glaring disparity was obvious at a glance, yet it couldn't determine the outcome of this battle.
Because the myriad peculiarities of Nen introduced too many unknowns into combat.
Kanzai stared expressionlessly at Muse as he took a step forward.
Judging purely by the gap in aura output, he could certainly knock Muse out with a single punch.
But assuming his opponent might possess a Counter-type Nen ability, he couldn't possibly go all-out in their first exchange.
When dealing with Counter-type (or Retaliation-type) abilities, the worst mistake was betting everything on the initial strike.
Even if he could instantly kill his opponent, triggering the ability's conditions might result in severe mutual damage.
First, test what type of ability it is; it might not even be Counter-type. Just an extra step of probing...
Kanzai calculated silently.
In battles between Nen users, the first round was mostly about probing, like carefully feeling one's way through fog.
For Kanzai in this situation, if he had full intel (a complete "map"), he wouldn't need to be this overly cautious.
The battle was about to erupt.
But at that very moment, a sudden deafening explosion reverberated throughout the entire airship.
The sound came from the room behind Kanzai.
Kanzai's pupils contracted slightly. The instant he heard it, he knew someone had violently breached the ceiling to storm directly into the client's room.
"Huh?"
In the briefest moment when Kanzai was distracted by the explosion, Muse exploited this information gap. In a flash, he appeared at Kanzai's side and thrust a long, sharp fruit knife toward his carotid artery.
This was clearly a premeditated plan, to seize this fleeting opportunity brimming with lethal intent.
Kanzai reacted. Stimulated by the dense killing intent, he instinctively countered with a defensive strike.
But the moment his fist flew out, he inwardly cursed.
Bam!
His hastily thrown punch, unable to control its full force, landed on Muse's extended elbow with overwhelming momentum.
Crack.
A sickening sound followed as Muse's body was sent flying backward, his insufficiently guarded arm instantly shattered into a compound fracture.
Then Kanzai saw Muse smile.
This bastard... set up a double-layered trap!
Kanzai's gaze sharpened as he noticed the surroundings ripple like water for an instant.
The walls, ceiling, and sofas of the lounge area remained intact, only now tinted with a yellowish hue.
Simultaneously.
Excruciating pain shot through his arm as it went limp, hanging uselessly.
Kanzai glanced swiftly at his right arm and immediately understood the reason.
It was indeed a Counter-type ability, one that evenly distributed damage, and a spatial-type at that.
Troublesome...
Boom!
Another tremendous noise abruptly erupted.
—--
Morrow, walking down the corridor, could still feel the faint tremors in the floor.
Quite the brazen assault.
He glanced back toward the direction of the noise, clearly coming from Kanzai's vicinity. Fortunately, I didn't get too close, or I would have been caught up in it by now.
Morrow withdrew his gaze and moved to the corridor outside the cockpit before stopping.
"En."
The aura enveloping Morrow's body instantly expanded outward like light patterns, passing through the floor, walls, and ceiling in a spherical shape, allowing it to probe into the cockpit.
"Hmm?"
As En swept through the captain's quarters, Morrow keenly detected something unusual.
With such loud commotion, including being touched by En...
Yet the people inside showed no signs of panic.
Are they being controlled?
Morrow thought to himself.