Swamp Expedition
In the depths of the swamp, Kevin Carpenberg led the way.
"Follow me. I know where they are," he said, quickening his pace. The group followed closely, soon arriving at a mist-shrouded, gloomy region.
The surrounding vegetation was mostly low-lying, appearing and disappearing through the thick fog.
Upon entering the area, Monji and Buhara instinctively grew more alert.
At that moment, Kevin released his aura outward in a spherical shape. When it extended four meters from his body, it stabilized—this was the technique En.
Given his total aura pool and control ability, Kevin could have expanded it further, but this range was sufficient. Expanding En too much would consume excessive aura, and in an unfamiliar environment, that was dangerous.
Monji and Buhara were enveloped in Kevin's En, but clearly, neither of them noticed.
Their aura control and sensitivity hadn't yet reached the level necessary to detect En. It made sense—one had only been a Hunter for just over a year, and the other hadn't even reached that. Based on timing, they'd likely only just begun learning Nen.
"Something feels off," Monji murmured, sharp senses picking up a strange vibe she couldn't quite explain. She simply warned the others to stay alert.
"You're inside my En, no need to worry," Kevin explained calmly.
"En? I've heard of that technique… isn't it something that takes a long time to master?" Monji asked, confused.
It was a high-level technique that required both talent and time to learn.
Kevin just replied coolly, "Everyone has their own specialty, even when it comes to advanced techniques."
Who's the real Hunter here? Monji thought bitterly. She exchanged a look with Buhara.
"We're here."
Ahead, within the limits of visibility in the mist, a strawberry the size of a human head swayed slightly.
Suddenly, the fog was ripped apart—an attack came from the side, and a massive maw lunged toward them.
Monji deftly leapt out of the way.
But Buhara stood his ground.
With a shout—"Hey!"—he stepped back just enough to dodge, then grabbed the attacking creature's giant jaws with both hands. The enormous turtle's head pressed into his gut, leaving a deep indentation.
Then Buhara roared and heaved, lifting the entire turtle off the ground. It spun in the air and was slammed hard into the ground.
Boom!
The impact shook the mist, dispersing it somewhat.
Another turtle head lunged forward, but Monji, just descending from her jump, stomped down on its skull.
Somehow, she had several cleavers in her hand—her right hand gripping one tightly, clearly about to swing it.
"Hey! Don't kill them! Aren't you after the strawberries on their backs?" Kevin reminded her.
Monji halted her blade, scowled, then stomped the turtle's head into the ground instead—twice for good measure.
Like its comrade, the turtle was knocked unconscious.
"Tch, I thought it'd be tougher," she muttered as she hopped off the turtle's back.
Meanwhile, Buhara was holding his head in frustration.
"Damn it. A bunch of the strawberries got crushed."
Since the turtle had landed shell-down, the strawberries on its back had been smashed during the struggle—burst open like skulls, their bright red flesh and juice spilling out.
"Hah! The ones on mine are perfectly intact!" Monji boasted.
She approached the shell and examined the branch-like protrusions sprouting from it, each bearing a human-head-sized strawberry.
Kevin watched as they picked the strange fruit. He couldn't help but comment, "The more I look at these things, the weirder they seem. Seriously, strawberries growing on a turtle's shell? How does that even make sense?"
He walked over to one of the smashed strawberries. After confirming it wasn't poisonous, he popped a piece into his mouth.
"…It's actually really good," he admitted. It was surprisingly delicious—better than any regular strawberry he'd ever eaten. Sweet and tangy, juicy, and with a nice crunch.
And that was just one that had been squashed.
"Let's move," Monji called out.
Already done? Kevin stood and looked behind them. The turtle's shell was now mostly bare, only a few shabby strawberries remaining.
He glanced at Monji and Buhara—both of whom had empty hands.
Ah, of course. Could Monji be an Emission-type Nen user? Or did she have a powerful Emission-based Nen tool? After all, space-type abilities often belonged to Emission users. Other Nen categories had difficulty constructing space-related powers.
So that's her specialty, huh?
"You two are fast," Kevin said with a smile, brushing his hands off and leading the way again.
Monji and Buhara exchanged a glance behind him.
He noticed, huh.
Yeah, this guy wasn't ordinary.
We look like total newbies in front of him.
They communicated everything through a single glance.
On the way back, Kevin chose a slightly different path, hoping to discover other useful materials.
"Hold on," Buhara said suddenly.
He raised his head and sniffed the air.
"You smell blood?" Monji asked.
Buhara nodded. "It's human. I'm pretty sensitive to blood."
Kevin paused and sniffed as well.
"Let's check it out."
As the trio advanced, the scent of blood grew stronger—sharp and nauseating. Kevin expanded his En to an eight-meter radius.
Soon, they reached the source. The mist here was extremely dense, blindingly so.
Even as they approached the site of the massacre, Kevin's En didn't detect any dangerous creatures.
Still, they remained alert.
Then they saw it—a group of military personnel in combat uniforms, along with several individuals in special outfits, sprawled across the ground.
The entire scene was utter carnage. The corpses were ripped apart, limbs scattered, bodies mangled beyond recognition. Blood, gore, and entrails were everywhere.
Kevin's brow furrowed deeply, a wave of nausea rising in his chest.
He'd never seen anything so brutal. Regular killings couldn't compare to this—it was more like a slaughterhouse.
Buhara and Monji stepped back in horror.
"Wh-What happened here?" Buhara stammered, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Monji covered her mouth and nose, eyes wide with shock. "What kind of monster could've done this?"
Suddenly, a beeping sound came from nearby.
They turned to see Kevin already placing a call.
"Begel, something's happened. You'd better come take a look."
"…Yeah, it's somewhere between sectors C6 and C8."
"Right. I'll wait here. And make sure to leave enough defense behind at base—this situation feels really wrong."
He snapped a few photos of the carnage and sent them.
"Let's fall back a bit," Kevin said. "Better to let Begel handle this—it's technically his jurisdiction anyway."
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