"Melody? She's a friend of mine. She's back to normal now."
Akira hadn't expected Cluck to know Melody, but considering her identity as one of The Twelve Zodiacs and a musician, it made sense.
"You know Melody as well?" At first, Cluck didn't react, but moments later, she grasped the key point in Akira words.
"Melody has recovered? How is that possible?" The feathers on Cluck headpiece swayed slightly as astonishment colored her fair face.
She knew Melody situation all too well—she had been severely affected by the Dark Sonata. Even alleviating a fraction of its influence would have been an immense challenge. At the very least, none of the Nen Exorcists within the Association could do it.
And yet, Melody had now fully recovered?
"Could it be...?" Cluck suddenly recalled Akira identity as a Nen Exorcist and a guess formed in her mind.
"That's right. I was the one who removed the influence from Melody." Seeing Cluck stunned expression as she stared at him, Akira went ahead and explained the process of healing Melody.
"I see. It's truly wonderful that Melody has recovered." After hearing Akira account, Cluck imagined Melody now able to appear before others without shame.
She felt genuine gratitude for her.
Moreover, with Melody experience as proof, Cluck grew even more confident in Akira ability to resolve the source of this incident.
***
As the group chatted idly, time flew by unnoticed—morning had turned to afternoon since their departure.
The ship, speeding relentlessly forward, had now ventured deep into the sea, reaching areas few dared to approach.
Suddenly, pure white feathers began fluttering down, drifting through the air before settling onto the deck. Looking up, they saw a flock of white pigeons flapping their wings frantically in the sky. They circled in a pattern that seemed almost preordained, tracing deliberate arcs above.
Others might not have understood what the pigeons were signaling, but Cluck knew immediately—danger was approaching. Her expression shifted slightly as she halted her conversation with Akira and the others.
Raising her right hand gently, palm upturned, she waited.
A white pigeon swooped down, landing steadily on Cluck hand, chirping rapidly in bird language.
After a moment, Cluck waved her hand, sending the pigeon back into the sky to maintain its vigil.
Even without Akira and his companion, this elite team was formidable. With two exceptional scouts among them, they were perfectly suited for a mission focused on gathering intelligence.
Cluck, who could control birds, was responsible for surveillance and information.
Morel Purple Haze Soldiers could manipulate smoke into humanoid forms. Like puppeteers, they could explore dangerous areas without risking themselves.
"A powerful school of fish is coming!"
"Likely no ordinary species." Cluck face turned grave, her earlier ease gone.
From the pigeons' senses, this school of fish posed a serious threat. The crew's safety aside, damage to the ship would be disastrous.
"Indeed, a large school of fish is approaching—and likely more than one species." Morel approached with his two apprentices, his massive pipe, usually wrapped in cloth, now fully exposed.
This was his way of signaling readiness for battle.
Under the sunlight, the meticulously preserved pipe gleamed with sharp reflections. Its material was unknown, but its sturdiness was unmistakable.
The six of them moved in unison to one side of the ship, lining up to peer outward. Beneath the azure surface in the distance, a massive dark shadow surged toward their vessel at alarming speed.
It stood in stark contrast to the calm waters around them.
That sprawling black mass was a school of highly aggressive fish!
As the school neared the surface, a few leaped out, allowing the group to glimpse their appearance. They were small fish, even diminutive by most standards. Their heads were pink, with a ring of orange fur around their gills, while the rest of their bodies were covered in yellow scales.
Fur on a fish was unusual—the dense growth around their gills made them look almost like lions.
Akira recognized them, they had appeared in the opening sequence of an anime.
According to the narration, they belonged to the category of "rare beasts."
Knuckle expression darkened as he clenched his fists unconsciously.
"Those are Yellow Lionfish—extremely dangerous!"
As both a Beast Hunter and the apprentice of Morel, a Sea Hunter, Knuckle was well-versed in rare aquatic species. But his perspective differed from most Beast Hunters due to his temperament.
While others sought to discover new species and marvel at exotic creatures, Knuckle became a Beast Hunter partly due to his natural affinity for animals and and partly to encounter more formidable creatures.
Fierce fish like the Yellow Lion Fish naturally fell within his knowledge.
"Individually, they aren't strong—in fact, they're quite weak."
"But they possess a unique ability: the larger their school, the exponentially their power grows."
"Thus, Yellow Lionfish usually travel in massive groups." After Knuckle brief explanation, the group had a general idea of what they were up against.
Only Akira seemed lost in thought. The way the Yellow Lionfish was described sounded eerily similar to the Pokemon, Wishiwashi.
The description of Wishiwashi was: "Though weak alone, when gathered together, they can exhibit power akin to a sea demon."
This was strikingly similar to the Yellow Lionfish special ability.
"The bigger the school, the stronger they are—and the one we're facing now is bizarrely huge!" Knuckle stared intently at the approaching swarm of Yellow Lionfish, a trace of wariness flashing across his fierce expression.
Against such a threat, a head-on clash was ill-advised; it'd be better to avoid them.
Unfortunately, the Yellow Lionfish moved too quickly—changing course now was impossible.
"Hmm?"
"What kind of fish is that?" Akira suddenly turned his attention elsewhere, spotting a group of bizarre-looking fish leaping in and out of the water.
But the distance between them and the ship was rapidly closing.
These fish looked even stranger than the Yellow Lionfish—slender overall, with thicker heads and tails, and an extremely thin middle section. Their tails, in particular, resembled the fletching of an arrow, making the entire fish look like a projectile.
The Arrow Fish propelled themselves by stretching their bodies, darting forward like arrows in flight.
"I've never seen that kind before, but they don't look weak either." Knuckle raised an eyebrow—this was his first encounter with such peculiar fish.
On either side of their ship, two different schools of fish were closing in.
Whether this was fortunate or unfortunate was hard to say.
"If we can't avoid them, we'll have to fight!" Morel swung his large smoking pipe with confidence.
Morel had a knack for facing difficulties with calm and self-assurance, always making the right decisions.
'Victory and defeat are common in battle—what matters is confronting them with absolute confidence and determination. That's what it means to fight with Nen ability.'
These were words Morel had once spoken.
"Right. If we cower before even reaching the mist, that'd be pathetic."
While they could always ask Akira for help—guaranteeing an easy resolution—none of them were the type to rely on others at the first sign of trouble.
Cluck gave a slight nod as surges of refined Aura enveloped her, causing her feathers to tremble violently.
This time, her Aura wasn't being used to control birds—her white doves were too weak, only suitable as scouts.
Cluck spread her fingers, palm facing upward, as concentrated Aura gathered in her hand, with more continuing to flow toward it.
The formless Aura rapidly took shape before their eyes, expanding swiftly from a small cluster.
One after another, massive seagulls brimming with vigor suddenly materialized. These were birds she had conjured from her Aura!
In truth, Cluck Nen ability belonged to the Emission category, specializing in shaping Aura into various avian forms.
Since Manipulation was adjacent to Emission, she had developed a branch of her Nen ability that required minimal Aura expenditure to control birds, conserving her energy.
Merely controlling birds naturally consumed far less energy than creating them from nothing.
Thus, Cluck only employed this technique during combat.
For different situations, she would carefully consider which bird species would be most appropriate.
To attack fish, seagulls were the obvious choice!
In an instant, lifelike seagulls emerged from Cluck hands. The newly born gulls flapped their wings like arrows shot from a bow, heading straight for the school of Yellow Lionfish with deadly precision.
Though their numbers were modest compared to the swarm of lionfish, this smaller quantity allowed Cluck to exercise finer control over each seagull.
While the lionfish were formidable in groups, stragglers could always be found on the periphery, despite their enhanced collective strength.
In one-on-one combat, the lionfish were no match for the seagulls. Their slender beaks gleamed coldly, appearing capable of piercing steel plates with a single peck.
Each strike claimed the life of one or more lionfish.
Seeing Cluck handling the lionfish swarm, Morel turned his attention to the approaching Arrowfish.
Morel suddenly raised his massive smoking pipe to his lips, took a deep drag, then began exhaling continuous streams of smoke. His Manipulation-type Nen ability allowed him to control the emitted smoke in various ways.
He could shape it into rabbit forms for reconnaissance or humanoid figures for attack. It even possessed mimicry properties, enabling the smoke to imitate others' appearances as decoys. His love for the ocean had trained him to develop extraordinary lung capacity, allowing him to exhale massive smoke clouds in one breath.
The white smoke swayed in the sea breeze yet refused to dissipate, instantly solidifying into humanoid figures.
The Purple Haze Soldiers—each smoke figure identical, vaguely resembling ninjas in appearance...
As the smoke continued pouring out, fifty Purple Haze Soldiers materialized on the deck in the blink of an eye. Surrounded by these smoke warriors, one couldn't help but feel an inexplicable sense of security.
While their maximum number could reach 216, complex commands became impossible beyond about fifty—Morel's limit for precise control. Against the swift Arrowfish, fifty was the optimal number to maintain control accuracy.
Being composed of smoke, the Purple Haze Soldiers were remarkably light. With powerful leaps from the deck, they reached the Arrowfish vicinity. Under Morel meticulous control, wisps of smoke separated from some soldiers, forming small floating platforms on the sea surface for footing and jumping.
This mastery of smoke manipulation was truly peerless!
The Purple Haze Soldiers seized moments when Arrowfish breached the surface, successfully defeating them one after another.
Arrowfish move forward by contracting their bodies, so they have a certain amount of hang time when flying through the air. This is when their movement speed is at its lowest, making it very convenient for the Purple Haze Soldiers to attack.
Things were progressing smoothly for Morel.
But for Cluck, it was not going well.
The original attrition tactic had been successful and the number of Yellow Lionfish was steadily decreasing.
However, the Yellow Lionfish were not so easily defeated—otherwise, their threat level wouldn't be so high. It seemed that once Cluck had reduced the Yellow Lionfish to a certain critical point, a great commotion erupted among them.
Countless Yellow Lionfish began converging toward the center, with not a single one straying outside the school. As they gathered, the aura they emitted grew increasingly intense, as if something enormous was being born.
Suddenly, an enormous Yellow Lionfish surfaced and viciously snapped up a large flock of seagulls!
Its ferocious appearance and overwhelming presence alone were enough to send chills down one's spine even from a distance.
"Tch!" Cluck delicate features twisted in frustration, a flash of anger crossing her face.
Just moments ago, she had seemed completely in control of the situation, but now the tables had turned. The massive lionfish wasn't a sudden appearance—it was actually countless smaller lionfish combined together!
This looked more like a Pokemon Wishiwashi school form.
Akira stroked his chin, deep in thought.
The lionfish swarm had bared their true "fangs"!
Once combined, their danger level skyrocketed, making Cluck seagulls utterly defenseless. Their attacks were ineffective, while every strike from the enemy could wipe out entire flocks.
With this imbalance, the battle had become completely one-sided.
Nearby, Morel was preoccupied dealing with Arrowfish, while Knuckle and Shoot McMahon lacked any long-range attack capabilities.
At this point, only Akira could intervene.
The next instant, a wave of pure malice erupted above the ship!
Centered around it, a dark aura rapidly engulfed the entire surrounding sea. Countless sea creatures trembled upon sensing this unrestrained, overwhelming malevolence. All living beings instinctively flee from danger, and under this terrifying presence, every creature fled at top speed.
Those closest to the aura—Morel and the others—felt it most intensely.
Their bodies stiffened involuntarily, an inexplicable sense of oppression weighing on them.
Morel pupils contracted as cold sweat beaded on his forehead under the pressure.
Slowly, he looked up.
What he saw defied common sense.
The creature seemed like the physical embodiment of "evil," radiating darkness from its entire being. Its draconic form bore three ferocious heads, its body composed of blue, black, and purple hues, floating effortlessly in midair.
Though it had wings, they remained still as it hovered silently above them.
"This is..." Morel throat moved as he struggled to speak, his gaze fixed on Hydreigon in stunned silence.
He recognized it!
That day, this creature silhouette had appeared behind Akira!
Which meant... this was one of Akira Nen beasts!
Cluck stared at Hydreigon in shock, also realizing it was Akira Nen Beast.
Only Knuckle and Shoot McMahon, having never seen Hydreigon before, panicked without recognizing it as Akira Nen beast.
For a moment, they were at a complete loss.
The lionfish swarm itself seemed on the verge of dispersing just from sensing this aura.
Snap.
With a flick of Akira fingers, three differently colored energy spheres materialized in Hydreigon three mouths. The powerful, fluctuating orbs rapidly changed shape as Aura poured into them, transforming into pillar-like formations.
Almost instantly, a massive tri-colored beam—composed of red, yellow, and blue—lanced toward the lionfish swarm. Contained within were searing flames, freezing ice, and crackling electricity.
The Normal-type move—Tri Attack!
"BOOM!!"
To everyone astonishment, the devastating Tri Attack struck the lionfish swarm directly, producing an earth-shaking explosion!
Within the blinding radiance, countless lionfish were utterly annihilated by the beam.
A towering geyser of water erupted skyward!
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