The pale moonlight was far from sufficient to illuminate every inch of the Ancient Labyrinth City's Core District.
The shadows of countless colossal beasts overlapped, resembling moving mountain ranges.
Moments later, these beasts began to slow down, their massive forms coming to a halt. Slowly, they turned their heads—or what would be their heads, if they still had them.
Embedded in their bodies or hidden deep within were glowing Brions, parasites that had sensed something and issued commands.
The beasts moved in unison, turning their overwhelming presence toward a small figure cloaked in black, his robe fluttering in the night wind.
Germain's hood obscured his expression, but something faintly glowing broke through the darkness: his Nen Tank.
The Nen Tank was a forcibly conjured construct, visible to anyone who could perceive it. To avoid constantly revealing his location, Germain rarely allowed the Nen Tank to build up too much before dispersing it entirely.
But this time was different.
Earlier that evening, he had deliberately controlled and accumulated the Nen Tank's Nen. Now, it was time to unleash it all at once.
"Four Attribute Nen Tank – Conjuration-Type Nen Beast: Ominous Wraith!"
A vortex of Nen surged outward, twisting and warping into form around Germain. In the silent void, light and shadow intertwined, chaos gathered, and an immense force tore through the night sky.
Amid strange, rattling sounds, skeletal remains rose. Streams of flowing black fur swirled like smoke rising from scorched ruins, exuding a foreboding aura.
The beasts squared off against the Ominous Wraith, their standoff shattering as a deafening roar broke the stillness.
Crashing through the stone pillars obstructing their path, the beasts charged toward the Wraith!
The Ominous Wraith flexed its bony fingers. In its left hand appeared an oversized Cleaver's blade, and in its right, a Firearm.
As the beasts bore down on it with relentless fury, the Wraith remained steadfast, swinging the Cleaver with unyielding precision.
In an instant, faster than lightning, a divine radiance lit up the battlefield like thunder, only to vanish as quickly as it had come. When the light faded, the cleaved remains of one colossal beast lay split in two.
A massive winged beast descended from the sky, attempting to pin down the "Ominous Wraith." However, its efforts were thwarted as the barrel of a Firearm was pressed directly against its abdomen—
Boom!
The deafening explosion, akin to thunderclaps right by the ear, left the winged beast with a gaping hole in its abdomen. From this side, one could see the moon hanging in the sky through the cavity.
More giant beasts surged forward, surrounding and attacking it. Yet, they were repelled one by one by its cleaver-like blade and Firearm.
The "parasitic black mist" spat out by the beasts enveloped the "Ominous Wraith," but it was as harmless as light smoke, having no effect at all.
The beasts on the "Core Zone's Edge" were almost entirely drawn to the "Ominous Wraith," gathering one after another like a rising tide, threatening to completely overwhelm it.
Taking advantage of this chaos, Germain, Bisky, and Shizuku stealthily moved forward, blending into the shadows and dodging the flying chunks of flesh.
"How long can it last?" Bisky asked. "I can feel your Nen draining rapidly—all of it is being funneled into that nen beast."
Naturally, this was expected. If Germain didn't have "champion-level" reserves of Nen, he wouldn't have been able to sustain such a powerful nen beast for long.
Originally, the "Ominous Wraith" was a conjured nen beast designed for delivering fatal blows. However, the situation forced it to adapt, turning it into a "warrior-tank," continually asserting its presence and drawing enemy fire.
"It'll last long enough for us to cross this area and enter the 'Core Zone,'" Germain replied confidently.
Conjuration and Transmutation nen beasts had a notable advantage over Emission, Manipulation, and Specialist nen beasts—they didn't require constant control.
Manipulation nen beasts obviously required precise control. Emission and Specialist nen beasts, due to their similarities to Manipulation, inevitably shared this characteristic to some degree.
In comparison, Conjuration and Transmutation nen beasts required only basic instructions. How they carried out those instructions depended on the nen beast's own initiative.
As an expert in Transmutation nen beasts herself, Bisky understood this well and didn't waste time debating it further.
However, their stealth wasn't entirely unnoticed.
Under the moonlit sky, the ever-lurking "Night Stalker Shark" appeared.
It swayed its wings and tail, flying as though it had caught the scent of blood. Ignoring the chaotic battle between the "Ominous Wraith" and the "Brion Parasite Breed" below, it closed in on Germain's group.
The "Night Shark" had pitch-black, beady eyes that seemed to radiate a pure, unfiltered malice—like the kind born of innocent cruelty.
It noticed three shadowy figures sneaking through the shadows cast by the towering cubic stone pillars. These figures had gone unnoticed by nearly every giant beast in the area.
But not by the "Night Shark."
Its dark red gums parted, revealing jagged, interlocking teeth. It was just about to roar, just like it had earlier that morning, ready to expose the intruders' location to the entire labyrinth!
However, at that moment, a man's voice carried through the wind from nearby.
"Finally caught you."
The "Night Shark" turned its head toward the sound, only to see a streak of golden light rushing toward it!
In an instant, Ging's right hand, sharp as a blade, stabbed into the massive eye of the "Night Shark" with a sickening squelch. Fluid gushed out like a fountain as the beast let out a harrowing scream!
Laughing loudly, Ging dragged the enormous "Night Shark" with him, plummeting toward the ground of the "Ancient Labyrinth City" like a crashing fighter jet.
BOOM—
The golden streak tearing through the night sky, the distant explosion, and the sound of countless cubic stone pillars shattering confirmed one thing for Germain and the others:
Ging had already captured the "Night Shark," the culprit of the ambush, and was now battling it.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Germain and his group successfully broke free from the "Brion Parasites'" encirclement and reached the outskirts of the "Ancient Labyrinth City's Core Zone."
What lay before them was a dense forest of towering, reed-like plants that stretched endlessly into the distance. Most of these plants were as tall as the smaller cubic stone pillars, creating an imposing and majestic sight.
However, they were not the "Herb for All-illnesses" they sought.
The closer Germain and his group got, the stronger the scent became—so intense it overwhelmed the stench of blood and decay from the surrounding beasts. The aroma was oddly captivating, almost enchanting.
This fragrance came from deep within the "Strange Reed Forest," and at its heart stood a towering structure that reached into the heavens.
This was the tallest building in the entire city—the place Ging was truly trying to reach.
Germain, Bisky, and Shizuku stood at a distance, gazing at the towering structure. None of them dared step into the strange forest of reeds surrounding it, a place that seemed ready to consume anyone who entered.
They were still waiting for Ging.
Ten minutes later, Germain was reaching his limit. Maintaining the presence of the "Ominous Wraith" was draining his Nen rapidly, and he finally admitted to Bisky and Shizuku, "I need some time to recover my Nen."
"No problem," Bisky and Shizuku replied in unison.
With that, the distant "Ominous Wraith" suddenly disintegrated into white and black particles, scattering in all directions before vanishing completely.
Germain sat cross-legged on the ground, wasting no time as he focused on regaining his depleted Nen.
Shizuku reached into her card case and pulled out a card. She used it on Germain without hesitation.
"Activate 'Designated Card: Fragrant Maiden'!"
A girl resembling Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion was summoned. She was surrounded by vibrant red petals and sat beside Germain in a timid, duck-like posture.
The fragrance emanating from her long hair had a calming effect. It helped relieve stress and restore mental energy, albeit slowly and subtly.
Still, even a small boost was better than nothing. Shizuku used the card to aid Germain in recovering his strength.
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