Auren stares at Kite—multiple wounds across his body, blood staining his clothes—after fleeing and defending for almost the entire fight. Unable to stay in the air any longer, Kite drops back down to the ground. His face twists as he lands, his legs almost buckling, struggling to absorb the impact from landing.
It feels good to have the upper hand… but this fight is essentially meaningless.The only reason I'm enjoying this fight is to test myself… and I don't even need to do that.
"Isn't this enough?!" Auren yells, his voice echoing through the hall. "Take the damn legal route and stop this. What's the use in killing them? You're not stopping the root problem! There will always be poachers—there will always be people trading poached goods. Don't be naive!"
He points Eternity slightly towards him, continuing to drain Aura, but mostly doing it to signal strength and determination.
"Expose them legally if you can. Use the press. Set an example… get rid of the poachers! Why are you so insistent on actually killing these collectors?!" Auren continues yelling.
"Some things…" Kite says, breathing steady despite his injuries, voice undeterred, "can't be explained by logic. Especially if you're just an outsider without any personal stake."
His eyes harden, now filled with hatred.
"They've committed the most atrocious deeds, and I have proof—video proof. The poachers are often criminals or destitute people. They have no choice, and the only reason they commit these deeds is that people like them pay them. I am not someone who likes to get angry or behave like that. I like to stay cool and in control, and while your words sound reasonable... I can't take a step back, or my entire path as a Hunter would be worthless."
Kite's eyes turn soft for a second.
"Animals are often purer and more deserving of life than humans. I still agree a human life takes precedence in most cases, but the things they have done, Auren… I'll do my best and pay any price to prevent future atrocities, and I'll claim all their blood-sullied trophies back."
"Arrogant…" Auren mutters.
Fine then.I gave you so many chances.I'll beat you down… and as long as you're alive, I might save you afterwards… and make you owe me for the rest of your life.Just try your best to survive.
Auren drives Eternity into the ground and conjures two fresh water arrows. The amount of Aura he pours into them is immense. Their size continues to grow until he fires at Kite.
He fires one to the left and one to the right, sending them far away from Kite's position, curving both in wide arcs so they're able to strike him from the sides.
Then Auren yanks Eternity back up and follows with four more water slashes, forcing Kite to deal with pressure from multiple angles at once.
However, as Auren moves, he sees the familiar clown appear before Kite.
"You need me again?!" Crazy Slots cackles. "Hahaha! It looks like things are going bad for you! If luck isn't on your side, this could be it! Now let's see what you get… Eight!"
The number 8 flashes in the clown's mouth.
A large, sturdy whip appears in Kite's hand, with the clown positioned at the back of the grip.
"Bad spin…" Kite mutters, sighing, as if annoyed at his own luck.
Still, he reacts instantly. He snaps the whip into motion and spins it around himself, the crack and swirl forming a tight defensive ring—a moving shield that seemingly doesn't leave easy openings.
Auren doesn't hesitate. He adjusts with split-second precision, manipulating the two arrows so that they arrive at the exact same moment as his slashes. Finally, four water slashes and both water arrows converge on Kite.
In a single second, every single one of Auren's attacks lands together, and a thick cloud of Aura rises around him like steam.
However, Auren knows immediately that his attacks failed.
He still hears the buzzing, whipping sound, and a soft breeze rolls toward him through the "steam."
As the loose Aura is slowly sucked back into Eternity, Auren sees Kite still standing—still surrounded by the spinning whip, its motion calm and seemingly undeterred.
This Hatsu… it seems defensive in nature. That's unexpected. Realistically, a whip shouldn't be able to block that many attacks—two water arrows and four water slashes.
I can't brute force this… and there's no reason to. I need to think about what I know and act calmly and rationally. Eternity lets me win drawn-out fights, so there's no reason to make a mistake just because I'm too lazy to use my head.
Kite is a full-on Conjurer. He's decent at combat, but his Nen category is far removed from Enhancement. The different slot rolls I know could provide some clues. The carbine he used earlier is easy to use, with a great amount of control, but relatively weak. He can also conjure that scythe that unleashes a terrifying area attack, creating a 360-degree slash around him, but it can't be used in any other way. However, to compensate, it's probably one of the most devastating attacks I know... probably strong enough to kill even people like Netero if they would just take it head-on.
There is also that mace… but I don't know much about it. Anyway, in summary, the more powerful his conjured weapon is, the more restrictions it has. Also, despite Kite constantly complaining about his spins, he always seems to get the most appropriate weapon for the situation.
He just casually used his whip to block a few truly strong attacks with a lot of Aura behind them. Either the weapon is purely defensive… or there must be some other condition. No, both should be the case. He must be paying a price for that kind of defensive power, even if his weapon can only defend.
Also, if he had drawn anything else, he would've been screwed. He would've taken my attacks head-on and could have even died.
Now… I need to take a closer look.
Auren uses Gyo and stares at Kite and his conjured weapon.
He studies the whip first and detects a large amount of Aura in it.
That's as expected… but that doesn't help me out in the least.
Then he looks at Kite. Despite observing him carefully, he spots nothing unusual—nothing that stands out. But as he keeps staring, he notices something important.
Kite's Aura has already significantly weakened in strength and intensity from his display when he entered the room.
A price… for that absolute defence. What would be appropriate?
What would a Nen user like Kite choose?
Not something like life expectancy, especially if he has no active control over his weapons. It also shouldn't be free. A whip capable of this kind of defence must demand something.
The most reasonable price would be… Aura. Meaning the more he uses it, the weaker he becomes.
That means I'm not losing out if I keep attacking him. In fact, with Eternity recycling some of the Aura I use as it gets pulled back into it, I should keep my distance and continue to attack like earlier. That also gives me time to watch for another weakness or opening.
Before I employ my main tactic… I need a failsafe.
Auren creates a swarm of small water arrows, along with a few spheres of dense water. Then he uses Emission to push them toward Kite from multiple angles.
Kite's whip blocks them easily. But as the projectiles burst, a cloud of fog blooms and briefly envelops the space around Kite in a dense field of steam.
Using that cover, Auren quickly creates a water clone. He uses In to hide it as he controls it, sending it in a wide path around Kite. It rushes to one of the restaurant's pillars and lies in wait directly behind him, ready to strike on Auren's command.
Perfect!
As the fog thins and disappears, Auren smirks. He reaches into one of the many pockets on his pants and armoured clothes, pulling out a handful of generic throwing knives.
Time to test what Grunah taught me!
He applies a generous layer of Aura—using Limitless Waters to give it the properties of high-pressure water, similar to what he did with Eternity earlier. Then he makes a comically wide throwing motion, looking almost like that now-dead Phantom Troupe member who liked throwing baseballs.
It might look silly, but as long as Kite stays defensive, this is the most effective and dangerous attack I can use—and it conserves Aura.That whip might only be able to block Aura and not real physical attacks… it's worth finding out, and this way I get maximum power and speed.
As the knife flies towards him, Auren carefully watches his opponent.
He shouldn't be able to block it.It's too fast, and it has too much weight and Aura in it.This isn't a purely Aura-based attack like earlier.
Kite, however, doesn't panic. He keeps spinning his whip, and the knife crashes straight into his defence. However, as soon as it makes contact, the knife loses all momentum and hovers in the air.
Auren watches the throwing knife get repelled cleanly, looking shocked, losing all momentum as if it hit an invisible wall.
"Huh?" Auren mutters.
Now I'm sure… that whip is special. This is some kind of special ability.Still… let's continue.
Auren continues throwing more knives. Each throw is focused purely on power, each knife further enhanced by Limitless Waters.
Kite—calm and collected—starts running toward Auren, still maintaining the whip's rotation.
Auren smiles and backs up, keeping up the pressure, while maintaining his distance.
He empties his pockets, throwing knife after knife.
With each throw, Auren feels Kite's Aura growing weaker and weaker, while his own is barely drained.
When he throws the last knife, Kite finally gives up chasing him. Sweat pours down his face, but he still barely manages to block it.
"Isn't this enough?" Auren asks. "You're almost out of Aura."
"How could you guess my Hatsu that easily?" Kite asks, breathing hard. "Despite seeing it for the first time, you've figured out exactly how to handle my weapons. This is quite surprising."
"Your Hatsu has great versatility and utility," Auren says. "You can conjure a set of strong and diverse weapons. The luck component is probably included to drastically raise the effectiveness in exchange for losing control."
He lifts Eternity slightly as he speaks, tone matter-of-fact.
"Your gun was easy to use, but it wasn't that powerful. Your whip—being able to stop my strongest attacks—has to have a strong drawback. So you being forced on the defensive, and losing most of your Aura just by blocking, isn't surprising."
Auren's eyes grow cold.
"I'm sorry. You might be a strong, versatile Hunter, but as a Conjurer focused on conjuring weapons with a lot of utility, you simply can't compare to me in a straight duel. I've focused everything on combat, and I own a weapon superior to the ones you can conjure. How can I lose?"
He doesn't sound smug. If anything, he sounds almost disappointed.
"When two equally skilled Nen users—an Enhancer and a Conjurer—fight using direct, honest means, the Enhancer comes out on top. The moment you decided to turn this into a straight fight, with no tricks, you had already lost. You must know that."
Especially since I knew about your abilities... I guess I can't fault him for that.
Auren holds Eternity forward and walks toward his opponent.
"Anyway, don't force me. I gain nothing by doing this to someone I respect. Just take your students and leave."
"If you respect me…" Kite asks, staring him down, "then why are you protecting these people?"
"A Hunter fulfils his mission," Auren answers without looking away. "I've been hired, and I'll do what I must."
"So do I," Kite says, Crazy Slots appearing once more.
"A third time?" the clown taunts him. "You almost look like you're ready for your grave. Just give up already and stop annoying me. Let's see what you get this time, this might be your final chance… 2!"
Suddenly, a terrifyingly large scythe appears in Kite's hand, looking like it came straight from the Reaper himself.
"Auren…" Kite asks, expression solemn now, "Are you really this determined?"
Don't tell me he…
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