For Kanzai, Morrow's sudden appearance was nothing short of a pleasant surprise.
Without Morrow's intervention, Kanzai would have been forced to waste precious time in the Nen space, even if his own safety wasn't at risk. And right now, time was of the essence; it directly concerned the safety of his client.
In that brief moment, Kanzai shifted his focus to Safira in the room, accepting Morrow's suggestion to leave Muse in the arena for Morrow to handle.
Before making this decision, Kanzai had felt a flicker of concern.
After all, he had fought Muse before. Even disregarding the troublesome mechanics of Muse's Nen ability, the level of Ryū Muse displayed in close combat alone proved he was no pushover.
But then Kanzai remembered that Muse's arms were now useless, and his hesitation vanished. He agreed to let Morrow deal with Muse.
—--
For Muse, however, Morrow's sudden appearance was nothing short of a nightmare within a nightmare.
He had schemed meticulously, even staking his own life, all to trap Kanzai in the Nen space for as long as possible.
Even an extra minute would be enough. At the very least, another thirty seconds...
With this conviction, Muse believed he could face death with peace after fulfilling his purpose. Yet all of it was ruined by Morrow's abrupt interference!!!
Rage, resentment, disbelief, a tangled mess of emotions twisted Muse's face.
He was supposed to accept death with dignity after serving his purpose. That was how it should have been!
"You... deserve to die!"
Muse's bloodshot eyes burned with fury, all traces of his earlier arrogance and composure gone.
At this point, stopping Kanzai was already a delusion. Even killing Morrow seemed impossible, because his aura was rapidly receding; in another second, he would be forced into Zetsu.
This was the price of time of molting's failure.
Morrow noticed Muse's aura output vanishing within seconds and immediately concluded that Muse was suffering from a Limitation backlash. There was no other explanation.
When Muse's aura completely disappeared, the phrase "unexpected windfall" flashed through Morrow's mind.
I came at just the right time.
Ignoring Muse's twisted, murderous glare, Morrow raised his hand and condensed a Nen bullet the size of a ping-pong ball. In his eyes, any Nen user capable of holding their own against a combat-specialized member of the Zodiac Twelve couldn't be weak; this might yield a massive amount of experience.
Muse was now in Zetsu, devoid of aura. He couldn't see Morrow's aura output, but he could still sense danger.
"I'll kill you!!!"
With nothing left to lose, his final act was a desperate, suicidal charge. His arms hung limp at his sides as he rushed at Morrow like a vengeful demon, his face contorted with fury.
Morrow responded by casually flicking the Nen bullet toward him. What would have been an insignificant attack in Muse's eyes now felt like an unstoppable mountain crashing down.
Splat!
The Nen bullet struck Muse's head, the overwhelming force instantly obliterating it. With a heavy thud, a headless corpse fell to the ground.
Morrow maintained his stance, arm still raised from throwing the Nen bullet, then casually glanced at the back of his hand.
Lv. 7 → Lv. 18
The sudden surge in level left him momentarily stunned.
Did it just… jump to Level 18?
Before he could process it, the aura output swirling around his body abruptly expanded by a noticeable margin. This was the immediate benefit of the rapid level increase.
Morrow slowly widened his eyes; not only had his aura output level risen, but his total potential aura had also visibly grown.
Before leveling up, his endurance in intense battles lasted only about five minutes.
Now?
At least ten minutes!
Did I just… luck into this?
Feeling the changes from the upgrade, Morrow stared in astonishment at the headless corpse on the ground.
For him to leap from Lv. 7 to Lv. 18 in one go, just how high must this Nen user's potential level have been? There was no way to know now.
One thing was certain: at his current strength, he would never have been able to defeat this Nen user in a fair fight. No wonder it felt like he had stumbled into a windfall.
But then Morrow reconsidered. Securing this kill was the result of his own decisions and actions, step by step.
If he hadn't rushed to the cockpit immediately, if he hadn't picked up on the clues despite the lack of information, if he hadn't decisively moved toward Kanzai's location…
Then he wouldn't have destroyed the Divine Script along the way, nor would he be reaping this "bountiful harvest" now.
True, there was an element of luck involved, but he had seized the opportunity.
Morrow clenched his fist, quietly savoring the exhilaration of such a massive level boost.
An eleven-level leap, how much training time have I just saved?
Just as Morrow was reveling in his fortune, the headless corpse suddenly emitted a pitch-black aura.
"Hm?"
Alert, Morrow immediately turned his gaze toward it.
The dark aura detached from the mangled neck, floating upward like a will-o'-the-wisp, radiating an ominous presence.
"Post-Mortem Will…?"
Morrow's pupils contracted as Muse's twisted, furious face, filled with killing intent, flashed through his mind.
When Nen users die under extreme emotions or lingering grudges, their aura can persist, driven by their unresolved will. Such Post-Mortem Will usually targets the killer.
This was Morrow's first time encountering such a phenomenon. Watching the black, wisp-like aura fly toward him, he braced himself as if facing a deadly threat.
He had no experience dealing with this. The only thing he could think of was the Tree Rings tattoo on his hand.
If the tattoo could absorb aura attached to Nen-imbued objects, could it also absorb Post-Mortem Will? If there was no way to avoid it, he had no choice but to try.
Yet just as Morrow prepared to defend himself, the will-o'-the-wisp-like Post-Mortem Will veered past him, streaking straight toward the room where Kanzai had gone.
Morrow turned his head, watching as the lingering will flew toward the room, an inexplicable emotion rising in his chest.
Whether in life or death, he could keenly feel Muse's killing intent directed at him. Logically, the Post-Mortem Will born from such hatred should have dragged him down without hesitation.
But instead, it had a clear destination: the room. Morrow understood the reason in an instant, casting a somewhat complicated glance at the headless corpse on the ground.
Rather than venting his dying rage and killing intent, the original objective had been more important.
What kind of obsession could drive someone to this extent...