"Hey, hey!"
Gelia looked at Kisho, whose face was full of sadness, and called out twice irritably to bring him back to his senses.
"Why did you suddenly make that face?"
"It's nothing, just thinking of some unhappy things."
Kisho replied to her.
"I've seen that kind of monster before, and I even killed one with my own hands. So?"
"One?"
Hearing this, Gelia showed a hesitant expression. She wanted to correct Kisho's wording, but after letting out a sigh, she said:
"Well, once they turn into that kind of thing, they can't really be considered human anymore."
Kisho: "…"
"I originally planned to take Miss Anida hostage and force Vervik to order the destruction of the drug factory."
Gelia said softly.
"But the guards around her are too strong, and with Captain Roy Kuhl, who can sense a target's exact location, my plan was very hard to succeed."
"I think… you just straight-up told me your plan like this. Isn't that a bit too bold?"
Kisho looked at Gelia, who was loudly plotting with him, black lines appearing on his face.
"It's fine. I already checked when I came—bodyguards are all stationed on the outermost perimeter."
Gelia looked completely unconcerned.
"If you wanted to report me, you would have made a move the moment you saw me, right?"
Kisho asked in confusion:
"But even if they're standing on the outside, as long as they use Nen, they can still hear us, right?"
"…About that, I'm afraid I can't tell you right now."
Gelia stared at Kisho.
"But in my opinion, your purpose for coming to the Bankro family shouldn't be just to act as Miss Anida's bodyguard—if it were for money, with your strength and age, what couldn't you do to make a ton of it?"
Kisho muttered softly:
"I really don't know what I could do to make money."
"Take assassination jobs on the dark web, fight in the T·L Arena, or get a Hunter license and use it as collateral—any of those could easily get you tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of Jenny."
Halfway through speaking, Gelia realized the topic had gone astray and said with black lines:
"…May I ask what your purpose is in coming to the Bankro family?"
Kisho was silent for a moment, then slowly rolled up his sleeve, letting Gelia see the red line on his arm.
When Gelia saw that blood-red line, her pupils suddenly contracted.
She stared at Kisho in disbelief.
"You too—"
She thought of her scumbag father, and of how such a bloodline had once appeared on that man's arm as well. Then all the tragedies had been drawn out by that bloodline, shrouding her entire family…
"I didn't."
Kisho cut her off, preventing her from losing control due to the familiar scene.
"It was contaminated accidentally—does this thing have an antidote?"
Gelia: "…"
"It does."
She said slowly.
"But only the people who modified the experimental subjects know how to prepare the antidote—because whether it's the raw liquid or the antidote, the materials required all need monster blood."
"…You saw it with your own eyes?"
Kisho raised an eyebrow.
"Another one of your Nen abilities?"
Gelia was silent for a moment, as if she had made some kind of decision.
"I did see it with my own eyes. I know you won't easily believe me, but—"
"If you agree to my condition, I'll show you my Nen ability."
Kisho said:
"Say what the condition is first."
Gelia took a deep breath, putting all her strength into every word.
"Kill everyone involved in producing the raw liquid, and everyone who creates those kinds of monsters. Not a single one left."
"Okay."
Gelia: "…?"
She looked at Kisho in shock.
"You're not even going to think about it?"
Kisho smiled at her, then spoke decisively and without hesitation:
"No need to think. Because that's my goal too."
"Alright, then."
Gelia looked at Kisho, stood up, and casually picked something up from the table.
She stared at the object in her hand as her unknown Nen ability activated. Her pupils slowly became vacant, then suddenly refocused.
She looked at Kisho and asked him:
"What am I holding?"
Kisho didn't know why she was asking, but still answered:
"A book."
Gelia suddenly smiled.
"Look again?"
Kisho: "…"
His expression changed abruptly. Without any warning, the book in Gelia's hand turned into a water cup that had been on the table.
"The extreme of a liar."
Gelia said softly.
"My Nen ability can only be used on myself, or on an inanimate object smaller than one cubic meter."
She continued softly:
"If I believe it is something, then in the eyes of others, it will be that something."
As she spoke, she placed the cup back on the table.
"Just now, while activating my Nen ability, I hypnotized myself, imagining it as a book. The 'anchor' to break the hypnosis was your answer—the word 'book.'"
Kisho: "…I said 'book,' your hypnosis lifted, you stopped believing it was a book, so—"
Gelia continued:
"So my Nen ability automatically lifted."
Kisho understood.
"Using it on yourself means that if you hypnotize yourself into believing you're a mass of invisible air, or that you're just an ordinary person without Nen—"
Gelia nodded.
"In your eyes, I would be a mass of air, or an ordinary person who can't use Nen."
Kisho: "…That's terrifying. What kind of bizarre Nen ability is this?"
"It's very dangerous, and not as easy to use as you imagine."
Gelia was extremely serious.
"If the hypnosis fails midway, or if it can't be lifted by a properly set 'anchor,' I'll remain trapped in the Nen ability forever."
Kisho said:
"Clearly possessing Nen, but because you firmly believe you're just an ordinary person, you'll never be able to use it again."
Gelia nodded.
"There's no Nen ability that's powerful without needing restrictions."
"…That's true. Every Nen ability has restrictions, so starting from the restrictions is also a way to counter a Nen ability—"
"For example, next time you meet someone who takes out his book, just don't respond no matter what—yeah, that might work."
"I'll keep watching Vervik and Roy."
Ignoring Kisho, whose gaze had started drifting again, Gelia said:
"Since we've decided to cooperate, if I find anything, I'll come tell you—hopefully our shared goal can be achieved a bit faster."
Kisho replied:
"Yeah, hopefully."
Gelia smiled at Kisho, and then her figure vanished from his sight without any warning.
...
On the other side, in Vervik's study...
"Are you sure?"
Vervik was still sitting on his sofa, leisurely flipping through his newspaper.
Jitt stood behind the sofa, respectfully reporting an astonishing discovery.
"It's confirmed."
He bent forward.
"Although we don't know whether that boy called Noah Barton was originally an experimental subject left outside, or whether he gained the abilities and traits of an experimental subject by killing one in the laboratory."
He straightened up, adjusting his glasses that reflected a cold gleam.
"But I contacted the laboratory and conducted experiments on experimental subjects devouring each other."
Vervik put down the newspaper, the tail of his words lifting slightly.
"And the results?"
"The experimental subject that killed its own kind did show an increase in the unknown energy in its blood."
"And the experimental subject that died at the hands of its own kind indeed showed the same empty-shell phenomenon that Captain Roy Kuhl reported."
"I see."
After hearing the report, Vervik let out a low chuckle. He stood up, looked at Jitt, and spoke with a hint of encouragement:
"So, tell me your thoughts?"
"Yes."
Jitt bent forward.
"This subordinate believes that compared to ordinary experimental subjects, 'Noah' can maintain rationality and thus has higher research value."
"His Nen ability also far exceeds that of youths in the same age range—although it's still unclear whether this is due to him having traits similar to experimental subjects, but—"
Jitt said seriously:
"Compared to being the young lady's bodyguard, this subordinate believes he could create far greater value in experiments."
Vervik nodded.
"Do as you suggest. Add him to the accompanying personnel list for the itinerary one week from now."
"Yes."
The room was brightly lit, the window reflecting Vervik's ambition and desire.
He looked at his own reflection in the glass beyond the window and spoke indifferently:
"You can start looking for new playmates for Anida."
"As for Noah, once we return, just tell Anida that this person unfortunately died in the line of duty."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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