With coins engraved with Star Mark Divine Script handling the guidance function, this could greatly reduce the impact of Deceptive Shooting Star's Limitation, allowing the Vow effect's power to be unleashed more simply and brutally.
But the number of Star Mark coins was limited...
Even so, what needed to be done now was to suppress the enemy with firepower, ensuring Kurapika could be smoothly retrieved by Chimera.
Just as the explosion triggered by the Shooting Star erupted, Morrow immediately gathered aura in his palm again.
In an instant, a glowing green Shooting Star flew from his hand into the air.
As long as Chimera can take Kurapika away, I can find an opportunity at any time... Huh!?
Morrow's expression suddenly changed as he saw a blue energy blast pierce through the dust and smoke from the explosion.
"Gazelle Steps"
Morrow arched his body with his toes pressed against the ground, then abruptly pushed off, his figure darting sideways several meters like an arrow released from a bow.
The energy blast swept past where he had been standing.
Stabilizing his posture, Morrow waved his hand and threw several activated Star Mark Divine Script coins toward the smoke-filled area.
If he couldn't use the Star Mark Divine Script coins to guide the Shooting Star before it returned, then when facing powerful opponents, the Shooting Star hovering in the air would come back toward him, which would only create trouble for himself.
Several Star Mark Divine Script coins spun rapidly as they flew toward the smoke that had been pierced open like a tunnel.
Meanwhile, the Shooting Star in the air, now doubled in size, split into several streams again and, guided by the Star Mark Divine Script coins, descended diagonally toward the smoke like falling meteors.
But just as the Star Mark Divine Script coins were about to enter the smoke, what seemed like gravitational force appeared out of nowhere, slamming the coins heavily to the ground.
As the coins hit the ground, the split Shooting Stars in the air, which had been diving with trailing light, were abruptly pulled by the coins' guidance and violently crashed down toward where the coins had fallen.
Boom!
The ground exploded violently, with shockwaves carrying dust and smoke sweeping outward in all directions.
What was that just now...?
Morrow's pupils contracted slightly, unable to clearly see what had knocked down the coins.
Only when the coins hit the ground did he faintly catch a glimpse of a fleeting, subtle fluctuation.
Before Morrow could ponder further, the smoke suddenly parted.
Marione burst through the smoke, her figure shooting like an arrow toward Chimera and Kurapika, who were about to converge in the sky.
Her leap into the air was extremely fast.
Moreover, before she emerged from the smoke, there was neither any movement like pushing off the ground for momentum nor any buildup of Nen fluctuations; clearly, she had been thrown out with astonishing arm strength by Beyond.
This method of not creating any noise somewhat extended Morrow's reaction time.
'...'
Seeing this, Morrow's gaze sharpened.
If Marione were allowed to intercept Chimera and Kurapika, the subsequent escape would become even more difficult.
Thinking this, Morrow had to make a decisive move.
His original plan was to wait for Chimera to retrieve Kurapika, then use the combined technique of "Deceptive Shooting Star" and "Astral Step" to break away from Beyond and Marione in an unexpected way.
But now, to stop Marione, he had no choice but to use the "Astral Step" ability prematurely.
This also meant he would be left with a one-minute cooldown vacuum period for his ability.
But things had come to this!
"Astral Step"
Morrow's figure vanished into thin air.
The next instant, he materialized directly in Marione's flight path.
Seeing Morrow blink into view, Marione showed no emotional fluctuation whatsoever. As if by instinct, she cleanly redirected the assault originally aimed at Chimera and Kurapika toward Morrow instead.
Yet Morrow's initiation speed surpassed hers.
Propelled by surging Nen, he utilized the Emission-type property of his aura to drive his arm forward, landing a heavy punch squarely on Marione's face.
Clang!
Struck in the face, Marione instantly burst into a shower of sparks, then plummeted toward the ground at an even greater speed.
Morrow remained suspended mid-air in his punching posture, his body tilting forward as momentum carried him downward.
—--
Above him in the sky, Chimera, seeing Morrow being dragged toward the ground by inertia, was about to turn and pursue when he abruptly met Morrow's sweeping gaze.
"Don't mind me."
Grasping Morrow's intent, Chimera hastily abandoned the thought, shifting his body slightly to allow Kurapika to land securely on his back.
Kurapika barely steadied himself, the edges of his pupils glowing crimson as he entered his full-powered Emperor Time state.
Clatter...
The sound of rattling chains arose.
With a tense expression, Kurapika hurled his chains toward Morrow.
Whoosh!
The Dowsing Chain rapidly extended through the air, accurately coiling around Morrow's waist.
Kurapika's strained face relaxed slightly as he prepared to pull Morrow up.
"Release it!"
But just then, Morrow's urgent voice pierced through the night wind, reaching Kurapika's ears.
Though he didn't understand why Morrow wanted him to release the chain, out of absolute trust in Morrow... Kurapika unhesitatingly canceled the Conjuration state of the Dowsing Chain.
He was neither sentimental nor hesitant, only decisive.
Yet it was still too slow.
—--
Below, even before shouting for Kurapika to release the chain, Morrow had abruptly sensed impending danger.
So, mid-air, he decisively activated his Starlight Convergence ability.
In an instant, his Nen shattered into a sky full of starlight, and simultaneously, he called out for Kurapika to release the chain.
The moment his words faded, within the domain of Starlight Convergence, he detected the intrusion of a violent force, heading straight for him.
But the reality unfolding before his eyes showed no trace of this brutal power.
Nevertheless, relying on the warning from the starlight, Morrow instantly slapped his left palm through the air.
Crack!
Nen erupted from his palm, striking the atmosphere and propelling his hovering body sideways.
At that moment, the violent force grazed past Morrow's side.
Morrow narrowed his eyes, his pupils contracting sharply as he seemed to perceive a slight distortion in space.
Rip!
Before he could react, half of his clothing instantly shredded like confetti, exposing his arm and flank to the air, both now covered in dense, scratch-like bloodstains.
It was the residual effect of that unknown attack!
It had forcibly shattered the Ten that Morrow could barely maintain in his starlight state.
As pain shot through his arm and side, the ensuing impact blasted Morrow toward the ground.
And though Kurapika had immediately canceled the Dowsing Chain wrapped around Morrow's waist, he was still a fraction too slow, causing him to be yanked down by the force.
At the critical moment, a whip-like shadow shot straight toward Kurapika. It was Chimera's tail, coiling around Kurapika's falling body like a frog's tongue before immediately and decisively flapping its wings to soar into the sky.
Kurapika gazed at Morrow, who was about to hit the ground, his crimson-glowing pupils trembling violently.
He knew Morrow could rely on the Star Mark on Chimera to utilize the abilities of "Deceptive Shooting Star" and "Astral Step" to escape the battle.
That was precisely why he needed to quickly distance Chimera from the combat zone.
'...'
In the deathly silence, Kurapika gritted his teeth tightly, then re-conjured his chains, lashing them toward Chimera's back above.
Using his chain ability, he swiftly returned to Chimera's back, then crouched down and patted its back twice with his left hand.
Chimera naturally understood what to do, flying away vigorously while casting a worried glance downward.
—--
At this moment, Morrow's figure plummeted like a meteor.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, Morrow's body slammed heavily into the ground. The impact sent clouds of dust billowing into the air, while shattered grass blades mixed with gravel scattered in all directions.
To withstand the landing impact, Morrow promptly withdrew his Starlight Convergence ability.
But he had already confirmed that the vanishing attack earlier came from Beyond's ability.
So the moment his body hit the ground, Morrow activated Starlight Convergence once again.
In an instant, brilliant starlight spread outward, following the scattered gravel and grass fragments.
—--
Mid-air, numerous stars shattered without warning.
Again, that invisible attack violently invaded the starlight, targeting Morrow within the dust cloud.
At the edge of the starlight, Beyond stood like a towering pagoda, motionless, merely looking down at the freshly dispersed dust.
The next moment, the dust cloud dissipated abruptly.
It appeared to have been scattered by a fierce, invisible aura force.
Boom!
As the dust dispersed, another deafening sound erupted from the ground.
A massive fist imprint suddenly appeared in the crater.
Morrow had already reacted in advance, hastily retreating from the crater before the invisible attack landed.
Had he been any slower, taking such a powerful attack while in Ten state would have certainly resulted in severe injury, unconsciousness, or even death.
Completely lacking any trace phenomena typical of 'attacks'. If not for Starlight Convergence's ability to detect subtle changes...
Morrow quickly glanced at the huge fist imprint in the crater, his expression shifting slightly as he rapidly retreated backward, putting as much distance as possible between himself and Beyond.
An invisible attack, without any aura fluctuation, yet possessing such power...
What kind of ability is this?
With grave concern, Morrow stole a glance at the sky.
Seeing Chimera had flown far away, he felt slightly relieved.
55 seconds left...
Counting down Astral Step's cooldown time, Morrow could only retreat at maximum speed.
Uncertain about Beyond's invisible attack ability, Morrow didn't dare casually dismiss his Starlight Convergence.
Thus, within his limited aura amount, he condensed a Deceptive Shooting Star in his palm and threw it straight backward.
Whoosh!
The Shooting Star skimmed low through the air, suddenly halting a hundred meters away.
Morrow's toes tapped rapidly, his figure sweeping backward like a swallow, landing steadily on the stationary Shooting Star. As he settled into position, the Shooting Star suddenly lifted his body and shot toward the sky.
However, a brilliant blue energy wave streaked through the night, accurately striking the Shooting Star beneath Morrow's feet.
Boom!
The collision of two energies erupted in an explosion.
Morrow was instantly thrown off balance and sent tumbling downward.
But he quickly adjusted his posture mid-air and landed steadily on the ground.
Without Astral Step to coordinate...
Morrow frowned as he glanced at Beyond, and further away, Marione, thinking to himself: Trying to escape under their watchful eyes using Shooting Star alone is simply impossible. I can only buy time for now...
Never mind how much intel they had on his abilities; just the fact that they'd seen him and Kurapika traveling via Shooting Star earlier meant they wouldn't just let him ride one to escape now.
With this thought, Morrow immediately turned and ran without hesitation.
He needed to widen the combat distance first. Until Astral Step's cooldown was over, he had to avoid direct confrontation as much as possible.
Morrow remained calm and knew exactly what to do next.
—--
From behind, Beyond and Marione saw this and naturally gave chase.
One got away.
Marione looked up at the distant sky where Chimera had already shrunk to a black dot.
When she first saw Chimera, she had thought of that intensely dark black line and the Nen bullet Morrow had initially fired into the sky.
But she never imagined the Nen bullet was meant to summon that magical beast.
Even so, she and Beyond had been confident they could keep Kurapika behind.
What surprised her more was how quickly Morrow reacted, managing to knock her down in such a manner.
Beyond's gaze toward Morrow was filled with interest. Hearing Marione's words, he swiftly shifted the blame: "It's all because you were too slow to react. You couldn't even dodge an attack like that."
"!!!"
A stream of data flashed in Marione's eyes, and her AI-synthesized voice carried a rare hint of irritation: "It was your attack speed that was too slow! That chain-user gave you an opening, but you failed to capitalize on it!"
"Is that really how it was?"
Beyond stared intently at Morrow's retreating back, grinning widely.
Marione was taken aback.
After being struck down from the air, she had only barely seen Kurapika wrap his chains around Morrow's waist.
At that moment, based on her understanding of Beyond's ability, she had expected Beyond to also knock Morrow down, causing both him and Kurapika to fall.
But the outcome differed from her expectations.
Only now did she realize.
"Your attack... he dodged it?"
Marione's mechanical face showed no change in expression.
But the thought that Morrow had evaded Beyond's ability sent a shock through her system.
She possessed targeting and evasion systems supported by overclocked computational power, yet they were utterly useless against Beyond's ability.
That ability was like an intangible rule, or perhaps a form of telekinetic control; it could directly interfere with physical systems yet left no warning signs.
It was as if... the attack itself moved through another layer of space, only returning to reality at the moment of impact, or within a specific range, revealing traces of its existence.
"Exactly. His ability is quite special; he can actually 'sense' my attacks directly. Truly..."
Facing Marione's inquiry, Beyond laughed heartily: "It's been too long since I've encountered such an interesting opponent."
Nothing External to the Mind
An acquired Specialization-type ability of will.
As the saying goes, mind and matter are one.
Mind cannot exist apart from matter, nor matter apart from mind.
Firm conviction and unwavering determination can gradually strengthen the power within one's heart under the influence of Nen.
This formidable inner power, through the manifestation properties of Nen, can form a phenomenon where absolute will intervenes in reality.