Killing the Third Princess...
The prince whom Muse served had only asked them to complete this task as far as possible while ensuring their survival.
If the mission proved impossible, their primary goal was to preserve their lives.
Muse didn't bother speculating about the prince's thoughts. From his own perspective, he interpreted the prince's orders as
Only by staying alive could he better fulfill his role as a pawn.
Muse was willing to be a pawn that could bring greater value to the prince.
Yet, just as his companion Ada had said, while the prince didn't want to see the two of them lose their lives for a single mission, they themselves were even more unwilling to disappoint the prince.
Killing the Third Princess was crucial.
For this purpose, when inscribing the Divine Script, Muse had already resolved to offer his heart.
If they didn't have to die, neither he nor his companion wanted to.
They still wished to follow the prince, watching as he ascended the throne at the top of the steps.
But there was no helping it...
The obstacle standing in their way was a member of the Hunter Association's Zodiac Twelve, specializing in combat.
Without the resolve to stake their lives, how could they overcome this obstacle and complete their mission?
So, after activating "Molting Moment," whether it was putting on an act or bluffing, Muse's only goal was to disrupt or mislead Kanzai's judgment, keeping him uncertain in the muddied waters and prolonging the time he was restrained.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned; Kanzai even managed to guess the exact time limit.
Even a few dozen extra seconds would have been better, but he had been pinned down precisely.
So once the 60 seconds were up, every extra second of survival counted...
The longer he stayed alive, the higher the chances of his companion succeeding.
If there was any regret, it was that before activating his ability, he hadn't managed to provoke Kanzai into inflicting more severe injuries on him.
This, too, was unavoidable.
If he didn't use the most basic aura defense when struck, the conditions for his ability wouldn't be met.
But the most critical factor was that Kanzai had been cautious beforehand, suppressing his instincts during his hurried counterattack and avoiding his vital points.
If not for the second safeguard, having his companion violently breach the room to compress Kanzai's reaction time, they truly wouldn't have been able to drag Kanzai into the Nen space immediately.
Truly worthy of the Zodiac Twelve.
This praise, Muse genuinely meant, while silently apologizing to his companion in his heart.
Sorry, Ada... If I could have drawn more damage from this guy, your chances of survival after completing the mission would have been much higher.
Even as Muse prepared to sacrifice himself, he firmly believed his companion would succeed.
His eyelids lowered briefly before he raised his gaze to meet Kanzai's.
"Zodiac Twelve, Tiger... The intel I have suggests you should be an Enhancer, but after fighting you, you're nothing like what I expected."
"What's that supposed to mean? You think Enhancers are all reckless brutes who charge in blindly?"
Muse retorted, "Aren't they?"
Every Enhancer he had encountered relied on their high offense and defense to act without fear.
So when working with his companion, his favorite opponents were Enhancers; they were easy to trap.
"Did Enhancers steal your rice or something?" Kanzai detected the disdain in Muse's words toward Enhancers, his eyes widening slightly as he concluded the 60-second count in his mind.
The Nen space hadn't disappeared...
At least he didn't have to worry about the Counter-type ability effect of "damage sharing" anymore.
With the 60-second conversation phase over, Kanzai decisively acted on his judgment, charging fiercely toward Muse ahead.
In that instant of attack, Kanzai's not particularly robust frame erupted with a momentum akin to a raging tiger.
Muse, who bore the brunt of it, finally saw the hallmark traits of an Enhancer in Kanzai.
Even without diverting aura output to the Divine Script, there's no way to block this...
With just one glance, Muse sensed the gap in direct combat, the very aspect that made Enhancers so troublesome.
But he had never intended to face Kanzai head-on. Gathering aura in his feet, he spun and sprinted, immediately extending the distance Kanzai needed to cover to attack.
Unfortunately, the Nen space's mechanics had fixed the range of movement...
He couldn't jump off the airship, nor could he play hide-and-seek.
I just need to hold out for a minute or two!
Muse focused solely on fleeing and avoiding combat.
Because of the ability trait of "time of molting," which required dealing damage to the enemy within 60 seconds, he had invested heavily in mobility.
Now, by devoting everything to evasion, he managed to stay out of Kanzai's grasp for the moment. But if caught, he would likely be killed in one strike.
Thus, Muse and Kanzai began a chase across the upper deck of the airship.
—--
Though Kanzai's victory was all but assured, he still had to consider the safety of his client, Safira.
Is this guy's Nen ability... really this potent?
As time slipped away during the pursuit, Kanzai realized Muse's ability mechanics were exceeding his expectations.
If the Nen space hadn't disappeared after 60 seconds, it was almost certain the "damage sharing" mechanism was gone.
After that, the Nen space should vanish within another 30 seconds at most.
Yet the expected outcome didn't occur.
Kanzai's brow furrowed.
He didn't know Muse was already stalling with the resolve to die.
At the thirty-eight-second mark of the chase, Kanzai finally found an opening, lashing out with a fist wreathed in dense aura toward Muse's back.
Facing the attack, Muse suddenly turned, raising his left arm and channeling nearly all his aura output into defense.
Boom.
Crack!
The punch landed on Muse's left arm.
The devastating force sent his body flying backward, his entire left arm shattering into pieces on impact.
"Want to know how long this Nen space will last?"
Using the distance created by Kanzai's strike, Muse landed from mid-air, completely disregarding his ruined left arm as he answered his own question:
"A full 300 seconds. Understand now? From the moment you stepped in here, you could no longer protect that princess."
"..."
Kanzai's heart lurched, but he ignored Muse's words, erupting once more with tiger-like speed as he lunged for the kill.
Muse's face twisted into another smirk.
Though both arms were useless now, he could probably stall for another minute at most.
It was enough.
Just as Muse was thinking this, the yellowish hue around them suddenly receded like a tide.
"Huh!?" x2
The abrupt change left both Muse and Kanzai visibly startled.
—--
As the yellowish color completely faded, the two found themselves still in their original positions. The only difference was the appearance of a new figure standing in the corridor leading from the rest area to the entrance.
"It's him!"
Kanzai looked at the person and recognized him as the boy who had concealed his identity as a Nen user during boarding.
This boy was none other than Morrow, who had come to investigate the situation.
Watching as Kanzai and Muse's bodies materialized out of thin air, Morrow glanced at the Divine Script on the corridor wall behind him, which had now lost its aura sheen. That spot had originally held a portrait.
"Seems my judgment was correct..."
Morrow shifted his gaze to Muse, whose aura was gradually withdrawing into his body, and calmly stated, "Destroying the Divine Script may not bring benefits, but at the very least, it can create disadvantages for the troublemaker."
"You...!"
Muse stared in disbelief at Morrow, this unforeseen variable that had appeared out of nowhere.
Morrow lightly raised his hand, casting a glance at Kanzai as he earnestly said, "I really can't stand terrorists. Leave him to me."
"!"
Kanzai exclaimed loudly, "You're a fucking genius."
With that, he turned without hesitation and rushed into the room.
The spacious rest area was now left with only Morrow and Muse.