"Because of extremism." Gotoh put away his coins, saying calmly, "In the past, when I followed the master on missions, I heard him say that people who get fixated on things are especially terrifying. They only believe in their own way, so they are often purer than ordinary people. If they do good, it's great good. If they do evil, it's great evil. Once they awaken Nen... the more extreme, the stronger; the more paranoid, the crazier. The friends they make are often much the same..."
"Just like Meritonio and this guy..."
'The law of pervert aggregation... Like attracts like, opposites repel... Is that what it means?'
Roy released Hisoka, slowly calming down. A flash of inspiration crossed his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it. He stood still, frowning in thought. Just then, an evening breeze blew, peeling back Meritonio's face, revealing his true appearance.
The boy paused, then walked towards him. In Meritonio's already vacant pupils, he saw his own reflection.
'"Iron-Stained Bipolarity"... can infuse "aura" with "magnetism" to exert tangible pressure on others... Meritonio... because he wanted to attract people, the Nen ability he [Refined] was, in essence, "magnetism"!'
'Or rather, every object with "mass" has a magnetic field. The force created by manipulating this field is magnetism. And the "sun" also has a magnetic field, solar flares, and can also "attract" and "repel," achieving the effect of controlling a magnetic field!'
Roy's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He felt like he had grasped something. Inspiration struck. He tried to visualize the "sun" in his mind, infusing his "Nen" with magnetism by imagination, imitating a magnet... He reached out and grabbed at Meritonio. A few fallen leaves trembled, then struggled, and finally flew up, grasped firmly in his hand...
[Hint: "Nen" property change +10]
[Remark: "True Meaning of the Sun", current level (lv1: 11/100)]
[Expression: Magnetism. (Remark: Host can inject magnetism into "Nen" to achieve the purpose of manipulating others' magnetic fields. Control strength is determined by level.)]
[The higher the "Nen" "Strength", the wider the control range, and the stronger the target of control...]
The corners of the boy's mouth turned up. He clenched his fist. The leaves were crushed to dust. As he opened his hand, the wind caught the dust and scattered it into the distance.
Today's "performance" was finally over... He grabbed his cane sword and said without looking back, "Let's go."
In the dark night, master and servant left the alley, hailed a taxi, and with a stomp on the gas, sped away from the scene...
Tap, tap... About ten minutes passed.
After Roy left, a set of light footsteps emerged... From the night, a new "Roy" walked out. His eyes were empty. He stepped over Meritonio's bisected body and walked expressionlessly towards Hisoka...
A chilling laugh suddenly came from within the wall, drifting eerily to his ears: "Friend, would you mind giving me a hand? My head's stuck in the wall, it's a bit stuffy..."
Illumi seemed to agree. He stared at him silently for a long moment, then stepped forward, flipped his hand to reveal a "Nen needle," aimed it at Hisoka's chest, and thrust it in. "Don't worry. You won't be stuffy once you're dead."
"Hehehe... That is indeed a good method, but ◇..."
BOOM! Hisoka swung his fist, wrapped in "aura," and smashed the wall. He pulled his head out. In the next instant, he used [Gyo] to dodge Illumi's incoming "Nen needle" and retreated two steps. He looked at him strangely and smiled...
"You are not 'him'... but you're disguised as 'him' ◇..."
"Let me guess, hmmm, you have a crush on 'him'... so you're attacking me out of jealousy?"
Hisoka's eyes narrowed into crescents, his gaze burning as he looked at Illumi... Illumi, in his silence, felt his shoulder-length black hair float back, like a cat that had just had its tail stepped on. He instantly bristled!
Swish... swish... Without a word, he flung several more "Nen needles." They were fast and ruthless, every single one aimed at Hisoka's vitals!
Hisoka smiled "happily." "Hehehe... Looks like I guessed right ¤..."
He reached into his pocket and also threw several "aura"-wielding playing cards, which collided with the "Nen needles"...
Ding ding ding ding... The sound of metal clashing echoed continuously in the cold night, lingering for a long, long time...
Vroom...
The taxis in Gaslan are as wild as Gaslan's magic...
On the way back to the airport.
Roy flicked his fingers, pulling coins through the air, back and forth between himself and Gotoh, familiarizing himself with the "magnetism" property.
The taxi driver uncle kept stealing glances, praising, "Amazing, little brother! Your trick of pulling objects from thin air looks just as good as that... what's-his-name's 'Air Swimming.' If you performed this, you'd definitely make a lot of money..."
"It's Meritonio." Gotoh collected the coins Roy tossed, equally surprised. 'When did the young master learn this trick?' It was just like that Meritonio, a trace of "attraction" wrapped in his "aura."
"Right, right, that Meritonio," the driver slapped his head. "Look at my memory... I was planning to take my daughter to see him in a few days, and I already forgot."
"Then you've lost your chance."
Screech! They arrived at the airport. Roy flicked his finger, and several coins flew towards the driver. The boy opened the car door without looking back. "Keep the change."
He got out of the car with Gotoh and turned to enter the terminal.
The driver scratched his head, perplexed, then stomped on the gas and drove off, leaving behind a cloud of black smoke that smelled of gasoline.
Beep—
They passed through security.
It was almost time for departure to the Z Bheel Republic. Compared to their time in Bato, the waiting hall in Gaslan clearly had more strangely-dressed individuals.
Someone was wrapped head-to-toe in bandages, with only a pair of eyes showing... Someone wore a turban, a cobra coiled around their neck... Someone carried a bow and arrows, with several colorful feathers stuck in their headband... Someone was built like a bear, bare-chested, revealing powerful, bulging muscles... And someone else, dressed like a ninja, was doing one-handed handstand push-ups with a bald head...
"These should all be candidates going to take the Hunter exam. Anyone who signed up is allowed in."
Gotoh found an empty seat with Roy. He noticed his young master staring in a certain direction for a few extra moments and discreetly followed his gaze... In the row of seats opposite them, on the far right, sat a quiet girl.
She had beautiful blond hair, tied up simply with a hairpin, and wore a distinctive ethnic outfit. She was quietly holding a book, reading intently... Other than being pretty, there seemed to be nothing noteworthy about her.
"Young master, do you know her?"
Roy shook his head. It wasn't 'know,' it was 'recognize.'
The girl's unique ethnic costume—a blue top and white pants—was too distinct. Plus, she occasionally reached up to adjust her glasses, as if very concerned about her eyes... Roy was certain: she was from the Kurta clan, possessing the "Scarlet Eyes," one of the "Seven Most Beautiful Colors in the World."
"Hello."
Perhaps sensing Roy's gaze, the girl's beautiful eyes moved. She smiled politely at him... then went back to her reading.
Judging by the title page, it seemed to be a travelogue.