Carne Levare.
This was a celebration held every few years by the Kakin royal family.
The royal entourage would travel incognito to randomly selected villages to host banquets.
All villagers of the chosen village would be immediately categorized as either "entertainers" or "others."
Morena's mother was classified as an entertainer during one such celebration.
Over several days, she tirelessly "entertained" the royal family without rest, ultimately becoming a vegetable.
And Morena was thus born from her vegetative mother.
Children like her, born due to royal celebrations, were collectively called Carnival Orphans and were sent to underground hospitals that handled or traded human tissues.
There, the person in charge used scientific methods (genetic testing) to classify the Carnival Orphans as either "Second-Track Fakers" or "Flesh."
So-called Second-Track Fakers were those of royal bloodline without inheritance rights.
They were born to have their faces disfigured with blades, earning their right to survive.
Currently, the leaders of the two major Kakin mafia families, the Xi-Yu and Cha-R Families, are both Second-Track Fakers.
As for the so-called Flesh, they were existences systematically objectified.
In simpler terms, Flesh was nothing more than an item for others to use.
So compared to "Flesh," Second-Track Fakers were much luckier.
Carnival Orphans classified as "Flesh" had to fulfill their duty as "Flesh" if they wished to survive.
Just like those chosen as "entertainers" during the celebrations, Morena performed this role as "Flesh" for twenty years.
You gave birth to me without my consent...
"Squelch, squelch..." The sound of blood splattering as flesh was crushed.
Hurt me, doubted me, feared me... yet demanded I forgive everything...
"Crunch, crunch..." The sound of slender finger bones being chewed apart.
By what right... Kakin... deserves to be destroyed!
"Gulp, gulp..." The sound of a moist lump of flesh sliding down a throat.
This world full of trash... I hate you, I curse you...!
Morena's eyes slowly widened; no matter how fiercely her heart screamed, it could only manifest as a hoarse, wheezing breath like a broken bellows.
Flesh being devoured inch by inch, she felt no pain.
Because she had long grown accustomed to torments far deeper than this agony.
She was merely unwilling.
And found it laughable.
Once, she believed hatred and curses were nothing but the helpless wails of the weak.
She refused to be mere meaningless lamentation, which was why she instinctively discovered this power called "Nen" amidst her scarred existence.
This was the opportunity!
The chance to destroy Kakin, the chance to obliterate this cesspool of a world.
But in the end... was hatred and cursing all I could do?
The light in Morena's pupils gradually dimmed; no matter how unwilling she was, the aura of death, like darkness, slowly shrouded the light in her eyes.
Failed.
The final glimmer of light in Morena's eyes slowly extinguished.
Before her consciousness completely faded, she could still hear the sound of her own flesh being devoured.
What delicious food, so rich in nutrients...
Excellent, this way I can recover...
I can... survive...
The Chimera Ant Queen parted her blood-stained mandibles, revealing teeth indistinguishable from a human's, greedily devouring this nutrient-rich body.
—--
The death of one life form heralds the birth of another.
The liquid in the nutrient chamber quickly turned crimson.
Outside the chamber, several figures silently observed this scene.
"Once Chimera Ants fixate on the flavor of a particular food, they can hardly accept any substitutes. That's why they're also called Gourmet Ants."
"It doesn't matter. After all, 'Manipulation' can alter their perception. Nen abilities... are just that convenient, aren't they?"
"Indeed."
Within the bloody fluid, Morena's mutilated body had been almost completely devoured.
The group stared at the blood-filled chamber as if they could still see the dismembered corpse.
Until her death, Morena would never understand what exactly went wrong.
After all, she didn't possess Morrow's informational advantage, that "reader's perspective" originating from a higher dimension.
How could she have imagined that behind the Kakin royal descendants stood a world-class powerhouse who valued these existences more than the current Kakin Emperor himself?
The peculiar thing was, this world-class powerhouse possessed immense strength and a formidable team, yet he was willing to remain dormant for so many years, patiently pursuing a terrifyingly meticulous long-term plan without revealing any traces or flaws.
Truth be told, Morrow only had one informational advantage over Morena.
He knew that Beyond attached great importance to the upcoming Succession War, because one of the princes with inheritance rights was highly likely to be Beyond's own offspring...
Based on this alone, even if the risk was minimal, Morrow would treat it with utmost seriousness.
This was the fundamental reason he avoided direct confrontation whenever possible.
And events proved his decision correct.
The "unpredictability" of Nen was far too potent. In certain situations, you could never anticipate where it might manifest or what effects it might produce.
Take Sawa's "Twin Flower Crossing" for example, a Specialization ability with incredibly complex mechanics.
—--
"Vroom–"
In the deepening night, the roar of a high-revving engine pierced through the darkness.
Morrow had the accelerator pressed to the floor.
In the backseat, Kurapika leaned forward slightly, sensing something amiss, and turned his gaze toward Morrow in the driver's seat.
Keeping his eyes fixed on the road illuminated by the headlights, Morrow frowned slightly upon noticing Kurapika's attention.
"Morena is dead."
"Huh?"
Kurapika's expression shifted upon hearing this.
They had merely stolen some collectibles, including the Scarlet Eyes, without shedding blood, and hadn't made any additional moves.
As their information provider, Morena had always adhered to taking her time rather than rushing investigations.
That's why, after assuming the position of Heil-Ly Family head, she spent so much time locating Tserriednich's collection room, all to minimize risks as much as possible.
Even if Morena had been discovered by Tserriednich, she shouldn't have lost her life so quickly.
Kurapika felt perplexed.
Still watching the road ahead, Morrow said, "We can't rule out the possibility that Morena hired an Exorcist to remove the 'Star Mark.' She was ambitious and deeply understood the Nen system. Having an Exorcist in her team wouldn't be surprising."
"That possibility exists, but it's extremely low."
Kurapika glanced at Morrow's profile and speculated, "If Morena wanted to remove the Star Mark, she wouldn't resort to an Exorcist, which carries some strategic secrecy, for something that could be resolved by simply asking you to undo it, unless absolutely necessary."
"Sound reasoning."
Morrow suddenly looked up, meeting Kurapika's gaze through the rearview mirror, his tone growing grave. "So it's more likely that Morena is dead... in such a short time..."
"Exactly, that's what puzzles me the most."
Kurapika lowered his head slightly, his eyes thoughtful.
Having worked with Morena for a considerable time, he was familiar with her methods.
In his view, even if Morena had been exposed due to this incident and consequently broke with Tserriednich, she wouldn't have died so easily.
Lacking critical information, no matter how much Kurapika pondered, he couldn't pinpoint a clear direction.
But Morrow had an inkling of suspicion.
Morena's death was likely linked to Beyond.
That was why his tone had abruptly turned serious.
"She... might have done something unnecessary."
Morrow's brow relaxed slightly, but the gravity in his eyes remained undiminished.
Kurapika was taken aback.
Something unnecessary...
He knew nothing of Morena's ambitions and couldn't fathom what transgression she might have committed during this operation to warrant such a fatal outcome.
Though the reason eluded him, driven by vigilance, Kurapika quickly warned, "If Morena truly died because of this, the connection between her and us might have been exposed."
"Yes."
Morrow tightened his grip on the steering wheel and sighed softly. "If it were just torture, no matter how brutal, Morena probably wouldn't have yielded, but..."
"An intelligence-gathering Manipulation ability..."
Kurapika caught on swiftly, immediately considering this possibility.
Morrow glanced at him and nodded. "Right, that's the most troublesome scenario. But we're acting fast. As long as we rendezvous smoothly with Chimera, we can leave Kakin immediately."
Kurapika nodded in agreement.
Even if Morena had been coerced into revealing information about them through a Manipulation ability, given their speed and efficiency, and the fact that Morena herself knew nothing of their specific route, whoever killed her couldn't possibly pinpoint their location or movements in such a short time.
"Screech–"
The sound of tires braking sharply pierced the night.
Morrow had stopped the car.
Shortly after, Morrow and Kurapika stepped out one after the other.
"Use Nen to protect your clansmen's eyes."
Morrow reminded him while gathering a Shooting Star in his hand.
Morena's sudden death was a dangerous signal to him.
Thus, to reach Chimera as quickly as possible, he had to act on the assumption that their identities might be exposed, resorting directly to the Shooting Star, a move that easily revealed their presence and identity.
Moreover, it was uncertain how high Chimera was flying. If it was a straight flight, they might encounter numerous obstacles along the way.
But in this situation, it was better to act first!
—--
Somewhere in the wilderness, all was silent.
On a flat patch of ground, numerous tentacle-like red petals dissipated with the night breeze.
Beyond watched as the petals materialized from aura gradually faded and vanished, saying, "Sawa's 'event coordinates' are limited in number and can't be used continuously under high load. Just helping us shorten the distance and sending that woman away has nearly reached the limit."
"Understood."
Marione's golden twin tails swayed gently in the wind.
She looked up at Beyond's tall back, her pitch-black eyes hollow and lifeless, more like meticulously crafted glass beads.
"Give me a little more time. I'll complete the positioning soon."
Her voice was even more eerie, devoid of any human quality, as if synthesized by software.
Beyond didn't speak again.
Marione's Nen surged around her, and as she slowly raised her right hand, streams of data suddenly appeared in her pitch-black eyes, dense lines rapidly sweeping past like a blizzard.
The world she saw at this moment...
Countless slender rays of light shot densely from the ground toward the sky, almost covering Marione's entire field of vision.
These rays of light, like rainbows, came in various colors.
They emanated from everything Marione could see before her.
Some emerged from a small roadside stone, some from lush tree canopies or even a tender green sprout, and some from a tiny insect flying through the night.
Their sources differed, and so did their colors.
The stone's light was gray, the plants' light was green, the insect's light was black...
Nearby, the two slender rays from her and Beyond were deep red.
They emerged from above their heads, like flashlight beams shining into the night sky; straight but with fixed endpoints.
Marione scanned the array of slender, multicolored rays within her sight, data streams storming through her glass-bead-like eyes.
The countless colorful slender rays filled her vision, so dense they nearly obscured normal visual function.
Due to her ability's Limitation, she couldn't temporarily filter out irrelevant rays by color.
But it didn't matter.
Because red rays represented humans, and if the color was deeper, it could confirm a Nen user.
In such a wild area, humans were already scarce, let alone Nen users.
So, as long as she could find red presences among the infinitely extending dense rays, she could essentially locate the target.
Marione's outstretched right hand continuously shifted, pulling distant rays closer.
From using her Manipulation ability to extract intelligence data from Morena, to notifying Sawa to use her ability to send Morena to the secret research institute where the Chimera Ant Queen was located, quite some time had passed.
During this period, she had already scanned countless rays.
The only good news was that the area radiating from the "search starting point" was increasingly approaching uninhabited regions.
This also meant that the red rays representing Nen users would stand out more easily.
Finally, amid the countless rays of green, gray, black, orange, and other colors, Marione found two moving red rays.
This perfectly matched the intelligence extracted from Morena's mind: "two individuals."
However, in the farther distance, there was an extremely deep black ray.
And black represented life forms other than humans.
Lighter colors could indicate insects, while darker colors might represent ferocious beasts classified as dangerous species that pose life-threatening risks to humans.
But this was the first time Marione had seen such an intensely deep black.
Even magical beasts possessing intelligence and special abilities didn't show such depth.
Most importantly, the two red lines suddenly began moving at extreme speeds, and judging by their direction, they were actually approaching that extremely deep black light.
Marione reported the situation to Beyond at her fastest speaking pace.
"Noticed it already? Impressive."
Beyond grinned, then abruptly changed the subject: "Share the location with Sawa and have her confirm the nearest coordinates."
"Already shared."
Marione said flatly.
----------------
Bonus chapter @1200 power stones