Amori - POV
Amori watched in silence. The explorer had just left the city. He wasn't alone—more than five Nen users were with him.
"This is going to be more eventful than expected..." thought Amori.
Why had this guy decided to kill his teammates? A simple treasure couldn't justify such actions. Unless it was something else?
Anyway, the mission was clear: kill the explorer, not bring back the treasure.
He was carrying a huge box... not very discreet. Amori noticed several gazes on the group. He now understood why the man had hired bodyguards. Tonight was going to be intense.
After three hours of travel, night began to fall. The men seemed alert. Amori smiled slightly.
"Looks like things are finally picking up."
Explorer - Max
Max was exhausted.
"One month... Damn, it's been a month they've been chasing me!" he thought, glancing tiredly at his bodyguards.
Without them, he'd already be dead from exhaustion. But it was all worth it.
"With this treasure, I'm rich... No, more than rich!" he thought excitedly.
Sure, his bodyguards took more than 50% of the gold found, but he still had more than enough to live comfortably. Plus, there were the ancient relics, which would sell for a fortune. Not to mention... the map.
As long as he kept the map, he was winning. At worst, if they ran into a too-powerful enemy, his bodyguards would serve as shields.
Suddenly, one of them approached him.
— Guard: "Mr. Max, we're surrounded."
Max gritted his teeth.
— Max: "Then eliminate them like before, right?"
The guard hesitated before responding.
— Guard: "This might be more complicated this time. I sense a powerful Nen user among them..."
Upon hearing this, Max immediately activated his Gyo, scanning the surroundings. Quickly, he spotted the source of danger: a bearded man among the enemy group.
— Max: (murmuring) "Looks like these guys are better prepared than the last ones... But hey, my guys can handle it. At worst... hehe."
He turned to his bodyguards.
— Max: "Do whatever you want, but kill them. We have a deal, right? You get 50% of the gold, plus a final bonus."
The head of the bodyguards crossed his arms and smiled.
— Kevin (Head of Guards): "Yes, that's right. We don't intend to break our word, but... this might be tougher than we expected."
Max raised an eyebrow.
— Max: "What are you implying?"
Kevin remained unfazed.
— Kevin: "I'm wondering if other surprises like this will happen today... or after the battle... or even tomorrow. We still have three days to reach our destination. You don't want any accidents, do you? I wouldn't want my men to think they're dying just for some gold."
Max's blood boiled.
— Max: (furious) "What do you want? Don't beat around the bush!"
The guard smiled, as if expecting this reaction.
— Kevin: "We simply want a share of the antique items. Just five, at our choice."
The veins in Max's forehead bulged. He thought about killing his five bodyguards right then and there... But he knew he wasn't strong enough. They were all excellent Hunters, and their leader... He had never needed to intervene in previous fights.
— Kevin: "So, Mr. Max? What do you think of our offer?"
Max seethed, but he had no choice.
— Max: "Fine. Then kill them."
Kevin nodded and gave his orders.
— Kevin: "You heard the client, guys. Don't disappoint him! Eliminate our enemies quickly, and prepare for any other ambushes."
— Guard: "Yes, boss!" one of the men shouted as they immediately charged at the enemy. Three of them rushed toward the enemy, while Kevin stayed back, watching.
He fixed his gaze on the bearded man had spotted earlier.
— Kevin: (murmuring) "This guy is too dangerous for my men. I'll handle him myself."
The enemy leader, Eliot, turned his gaze toward him and smiled.
— Eliot: "I'll ask just out of politeness... Do you want to surrender? I assure you I won't kill you. We only want the man behind you, that's all. What do you say?"
Kevin stared coldly before laughing.
— Kevin: "You want me to believe you? The first thing you'd do is kill us all. Guys like you, I've seen dozens. Your favorite game is slow torture... A real sicko. I'm sure this axe has seen more use on innocents than on real criminals."
Then, he shrugged, smiling.
— Kevin: "But who am I to judge? I'm a piece of work myself."
Eliot shook his head with a sigh.
— Eliot: "I guess that's a no."
Without further delay, the two men unleashed their Nen and charged at each other.
Eliot threw a punch full of rage, but Kevin dodged and placed his hand on the ground. The earth beneath Eliot started to vibrate violently.
Surprised, Eliot activated his Ren to break free from the earth wrapping around his leg and retreated. But Kevin didn't give him time to catch his breath and launched a projectile of earth.
Eliot sliced through the attack with his axe.
— Eliot: (thinking) "If he'd blocked it, my leg would've been broken. He's trying to keep his distance... A Manipulation-type fighter? Maybe Emission? I just need to land one solid hit."
Eliot immediately got up and activated Shu to strengthen his axe before charging at Kevin, who was trying to distance himself, but wasn't fast enough. Eliot launched a Nen blade, then followed up with a series of devastating attacks. Kevin skillfully blocked the blows, but was hit on his arm and chest.
Without realizing it, his opponent was closing in on him, and he had no idea what kind of trouble he was really in.
When Eliot saw the blood, he charged forward without hesitation.
— Eliot: "You take a good beating, but how long can you last?" he said, while reinforcing his axe with Shu to prepare his final blow.
Suddenly, Kevin smiled.
— Kevin: "I've already won, idiot."
Eliot had a bad feeling.
But it was too late.
The ground opened beneath him. Before he could react, he fell into the pit. "Damn bastard." The earth quickly closed up, burying him alive.
His final scream of rage echoed in the night. His companions quickly retreated after his defeat, not staying out of loyalty.
Kevin stood up, sighing.
— Kevin: "Let the others run. It's not our priority. We'll stay here tonight."
But at that moment, an even more powerful aura than Eliot's spread throughout the area.
A voice rose from the shadows:
— ??? : "Zone REVERSE."
Suddenly, Kevin, Max, and their companions lost all control over their movements.
And a young man appeared, a smile on his face.