Chapter 40 - Chapter 40

"Because that armor was conjured."

However, in terms of impact intensity, Juliana was significantly stronger than before.

Previously, Juliana was merely flesh and blood. But now, what collided with Kyler's puppet was armor.

"Boom!"

A huge sound echoed.

Kyler's puppet was immediately sent flying.

Then, Juliana charged toward Kyler.

Kyler's pupils contracted. "Damn it! Come back!"

He saw his puppet, which had been sent flying, stabilize itself and desperately rush back toward him. But it was too late. Juliana's fist had already landed on Kyler's body.

The referee raised his arm, signaling that Juliana had scored an attack point.

Kyler's puppet lunged at Juliana. However, it was knocked down by Juliana once more. This time, Kyler's puppet was injured even more severely, leaving pools of blood on the stage.

"Can puppets and nen beasts bleed?" Ron recalled the nen users he had seen in the original story. "Nen beasts definitely do not. My nen beast, Kite's nen beast, and Knuckle's nen beast all do not bleed. As for puppets, unless they are made from living beings. Could it be that Kyler's puppet is a living being? What is Kyler's ability? Is it similar to Knov's spatial abilities? Does he usually hide the puppet in space and bring it out for battle? But if that's the case, why does Kyler only have one puppet?"

Another massive collision echoed. Kyler's puppet flew out of the arena, and this time, the injuries were worse than any before. A large amount of blood seemed to dye the nearby ground red.

Juliana approached Kyler. She gripped Kyler by the throat and tossed him out of the arena.

"The winner… Juliana!"

"Congratulations to Juliana!"

"Juliana has achieved ten victories, qualifying to challenge the floor master!"

"Let's congratulate her together!"

A roar of cheers erupted. As for Kyler, it seemed that everyone had forgotten about him.

Ron looked at Kyler, who was lying on the ground. Then he glanced over at Kyler's puppet on the other side.

Suddenly, Kyler's puppet raised its head. Ron's pupils shrank sharply, his expression frozen. Then, Ron's face turned very grim. Because Ron saw it. The face that the puppet revealed seemed to be a combination of canine and human features. It had long black hair on top. As Ron looked over, Kyler's puppet also noticed him.

"Big brother…"

Ron recalled a scene. In his past life, he had read a manga called **Fullmetal Alchemist**, which featured a special alchemist who, in order to maintain his national-level alchemist title, forcibly created a chimera. (T/N: xd I swear I didn't read ahead.)

That seemingly gentle and cultured middle-aged man had actually fused his daughter with a dog. She had become a chimera. That image was something Ron would never forget. And now, the same thing was happening right in front of him.

Kyler's new puppet revealed Lena's expression; its eyes were identical to Lena's, and the special features of its body were likely derived from the dog that had been with Lena. Ron recalled the times he had spent with Lena. If it were a stranger, he might not have felt such strong emotions. But Lena was different. They had become quite familiar. They had formed a friendship. Lena was naturally kind and adorable.

Ron had even considered whether to let Lena join his team. Since he wasn't the heir to the Zoldyck family, he would eventually need to form his own team. He couldn't always rely on the Zoldyck family's strength. That wouldn't be appropriate. The Zoldyck family wouldn't agree to that either. If the rules established over hundreds of years were changed, then those rules would no longer be rules, which would be detrimental to the legacy of the Zoldyck family. Ron himself didn't want that either.

But Ron hadn't anticipated that such a thing would happen. He never expected that Kyler, who seemed so normal, would do something like this.

"To act in such a way toward his own daughter is truly extraordinary."

Having lost four matches, Kyler had lost the right to continue living in the Sky Arena. The audience began to exit in succession. Some staff members approached Kyler to prepare to take him to the hospital. As for Kyler's puppet, no one paid it any mind.

Ron hesitated for a moment before walking over to Kyler's puppet. He could tell that even though Lena had turned into this monstrous form, she still had feelings for Kyler. When the staff took Kyler away, Lena seemed eager to follow him. But due to her severe injuries, she couldn't move at all.

"Lena…" Ron looked at her now, his gaze complex.

"Big brother, is my father okay?"

"Do you still care about him now?"

Lena forced a smile. "After all, he is my father."

Seeing Lena's smile made Ron's feelings even more complicated. "I don't know."

Ron shook his head and said, "I can't be sure about his condition. Let me take you back; you need treatment because you're not in good shape."

"But…" Lena still wanted to insist for a while, but the staff had already taken Kyler away. The Sky Arena did a decent job in this regard. They wouldn't just abandon Kyler and leave him to fend for himself. Of course, the bill still had to be paid by Kyler himself. As a contestant from the 200th floor of the Sky Arena, he wouldn't lack for money.

Ron brought Lena back to his room. "Lena, can you take off your hood?"

Lena hesitated for a moment, then raised one hand—no, more precisely, one claw—to pull the hood back. The outer cloak fell away. At that moment, Ron could almost see Lena's full appearance. She bore features that combined both human and canine traits. It was strikingly similar to the little girl from **Fullmetal Alchemist** that Ron remembered.

"Big brother, do I look very ugly now?"

Ron fell into silence; he didn't know how to answer that question. Lena seemed to notice his emotions and took the initiative to comfort him.

"Big brother, I'm fine. There will be a way to resolve this."

Ron said, "Why don't you sit here for a while? If you want some snacks, they're over there. I'll make a phone call."

After calming down, Ron thought of a problem. The tragedy of that little girl in **Fullmetal Alchemist** was irreversible. But that didn't mean that Lena's situation was also beyond hope. That was alchemy. Here, it was nen.

In this world, there existed a very special profession among nen users: the Nen Removalist. They could remove nen from others. Ron recalled that in the original story, among those persecuted by the Bomb Devil on Greed Island, one of them was a Nen exorcist who had not collaborated with Gon and the others but had instead removed the Bomb Devil's nen by himself. Additionally, the nen that Kurapika had placed on Chrollo was also removed.

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