Whether it's a fat sheep or someone you truly like, neither is easy to find.
The stall owners here can only set a price that lets them score big.
Hearing that, Kaxia didn't waste words.
He simply flipped the tags on several items.
After checking the prices on the back, he finally picked up the metal object he'd noticed earlier that carried Nen.
It was a piece of metal carved with an ugly, unknown head, looking like some evil god.
Using Gyo, he could sense a fair amount of Nen on it.
These objects imbued with Nen are usually infused accidentally by Nen Users—or special talents—under unusual conditions.
Some are outright born of grudges or left behind after an Ability User dies.
"Garoka Evil-God Statue—850,000 jenny and it's yours."
Seeing Kaxia flip every tag, the middle-aged boss figured he was serious and paid closer attention.
Kaxia didn't have much concept of money.
Whether the metal statue was worth 850,000 jenny, he had no idea; nor did he know any so-called Garoka Evil God.
Still, what might be a loss for others was nothing to him.
After all, the cash had been "kindly donated" along the way.
Without a care, Kaxia bought the metal statue.
Under the middle-aged boss's smiling gaze, he left the stall and wandered among the nearby booths.
Then he slowly exited the Flea Market.
He'd already secured his prop; no need to stay. Better go hunt for the blood of powerful creatures first.
"These stinking rats."
"Why do they insist on courting death?"
"Perfect timing—scum like you should know plenty."
Leaving the Flea Market, he clearly sensed several gazes tailing him.
Kaxia knew exactly what was up.
In an alley near the Flea Market.
When two reckless thugs entered, Kaxia struck, dragging them deeper in.
The lookouts outside were stunned, wanting to give chase yet daring not—lacking the strength.
They could only quickly report upstairs that they'd been spotted.
"Any powerful Demonic Beasts around here?"
He dislocated the two punks' limbs, making them wail for mercy.
Watching their terrified faces, Kaxia released them and asked calmly.
"I—I don't know, I know nothing."
"Let me go…"
"I was wrong…"
"Wrong answer."
One punk struggled and begged; Kaxia casually stomped, ribs snapping, sending the thug into a mess of tears and snot.
"Your turn—hope you get it right."
Kaxia turned to the other man.
He felt neither pity nor restraint for such people.
"I—I…" The second man wasn't faring much better.
But under Kaxia's stare he still spilled what he knew.
He rattled off everything, true or false.
A small-time punk like him listened to bragging every day.
He knew a few things others didn't: several locals loved raising Demonic Beasts—some kept powerful hounds that had attacked people before.
There was also a Slaughterhouse where strong Demonic Beasts appeared, plus a Rare-Beast Auction House—not here, but one in the city center.
Might be worth checking out later.
For now, Kaxia's target was the nearby beast-keepers.
He put the two out of their misery and headed for the rich district.
"Nearby" still meant quite a walk.
Before he arrived, an unexpected snag cropped up.
Probably because of the earlier intel leak.
Now the streets were riddled with checkpoints.
Not just vehicles—pedestrians were searched, rooftops had several binocular-toting watchers.
Kaxia had to pause and weigh whether to risk barging through.
Before he decided, someone chose for him.
Whoosh—
A Nen Bullet suddenly burst from above.
Luckily, the instant he sensed Nen, Kaxia instinctively twisted aside.
He'd stayed on guard in case anyone tracked him down.
That sidestep let the Nen Bullet graze past.
A split-second slower and he'd be bleeding.
"Hehahaha, finally found you—my luck's in."
"You slippery brat, just like your dead old man—took forever to track down."
A tall, skinny, dark-skinned figure popped into view overhead, staring at Kaxia.
Mahaka identified his target, grinning triumphantly.
He kicked off the walls and dropped beside Kaxia.
"Looks like I found you first—the bounty's mine."
"Dead old man?"
Kaxia hadn't cared much at first.
But those words grated; however slight, he still felt something for the father he'd never met.
"Kid, behave and I'll let you join your—" Mahaka sneered.
He'd killed Kaxia's father; this boy was nothing to him.
In his eyes Kaxia was just a stack of cash.
He never finished—wind suddenly shrieked.
A whipping aerial kick slammed into Mahaka's right side.
He threw up an arm on instinct—useless— and was hurled away.
Bang.
Mahaka's head swam; only constant Nen defense kept his skull from exploding.
"You bastard—"
He roared and lurched up.
The words barely left his mouth before a Nen Bullet arrived.
Bang.
Kaxia had instantly condensed and fired his Nen.
Decent power.
Why waste time listening? Strike when you can.
Hit twice in a row, Mahaka panted, too rattled to speak.
He looked a wreck, blood seeping where the Nen Bullet had broken his defense.
Not fatal, but definitely hurt.
He stared at Kaxia, stunned—as if he'd never seen anyone so shameless.