With no time to think, instinct drove Heibula to unleash his Nen aura, a wild, surging killing intent mixed within it, lashing out frantically.
This was his usual tactic. Until he met that hunter, no matter how experienced a warrior or martial artist was, as long as they were enveloped by his Nen-infused killing intent, they would lose the ability to fight back.
'What?'
Dia, still in mid-air, was enveloped by the killing intent. His body involuntarily stiffened, but the vibrating Ripple managed to shake off the effect.
However, that momentary pause gave Heibula an opportunity.
Heibula's right fist shot out like a spring, but not towards Dia. Instead, it struck the wall beside him!
Boom!
A small crater appeared on the wall, with cracks extending outward from it. The reactive force sent Heibula flying like a cannonball.
The airborne Heibula narrowly avoided the surprise punch; Dia's Ripple-charged lunge missed its mark!
Heibula flipped several times in the air to disperse the force before landing precariously. He immediately turned back, on guard.
Only now did he have a moment to carefully observe his enemy—a tall young man who looked to be in his early twenties. He still couldn't detect any sign of the other party releasing Nen.
But what was that golden electric current?
Could Nen be transformed into other forms of energy?
His surprise attack having failed, Dia turned to see his opponent had already adopted a defensive stance, so he did not advance rashly.
The failure of his attack was due to his oversight of a crucial ability of Nen users—Nen intimidation, a baleful aura.
When an ordinary person faces the killing intent of a Nen user mixed with their aura, even a battle-hardened warrior would be frozen with fear, unable to move. They could even be scared to death!
If it weren't for the miraculous nature of his Ripple energy, which had actually blocked the opponent's Nen attack, he likely would have been in grave danger from the first exchange.
This served as a loud wake-up call for Dia. Even having read the original work, forgetting details could greatly diminish his intelligence advantage.
'A Nen user, he hasn't conjured a weapon, nor does he intend to fire Nen blasts. Is he a Transmuter or a Manipulator?'
Dia grew more vigilant, beginning to analyze the enemy before him. He hadn't used his time stop during the initial attack for fear that his opponent might have some kind of counter-type ability. It seemed now that he didn't.
"Hey, you're not a hunter, are you? Is it worth risking your life like this for that little bit of bounty?"
Heibula couldn't stand the stalemate and spoke first, his hand simultaneously starting to reach for his waist.
Dia remained silent. Speaking would disrupt his breathing, and Ripple energy required constant breathing to be drawn out.
Without the protection of the Ripple, he would be instantly controlled by the opponent's killing intent.
However, based on their brief encounter, and comparing it to the descriptions of Nen users in the original work, the enemy before him was clearly very crude in his use of Nen.
At the same time, Dia saw Heibula's subtle movement towards his waist. There was likely some kind of weapon hidden there.
'I can't let him get it!'
Dia made a snap decision and pressed forward without hesitation.
If the opponent was an Enhancer, he would be even more difficult to deal with after getting his weapon!
Seeing this, Heibula knew his plan for a surprise attack had failed. He made no further attempt to conceal it, quickly pulling his weapon from his waist—a baseball!
During one of his past escapes, he had dreamed of the baseballs he had touched countless times as a pitcher.
When he woke up, he found that he was actually holding a baseball in his hand!
He named it—[Magic Ball]!
Heibula lowered his head and focused. He suddenly turned sideways, lifting his right leg high, his body tensing like a drawn bowstring, continuously accumulating power.
His right hand, holding the ball, twisted back behind his head. The next moment, like a steel whip breaking free from its restraints, the ball was released from his fingertips!
Purple Nen enveloped the baseball, causing it to streak through the air like a venomous snake, revealing a cold glint as it struck viciously at Dia!
As for Heibula himself, he bent his knees slightly and pushed off backward, preparing to create distance.
Dia stared intently at Heibula, showing no intention of dodging the incoming baseball, and charged straight ahead:
'Time, stop for me!'
[The World]!!
The world in Dia's eyes suddenly halted, losing its color. Billions of raindrops hung suspended in the air, forming a cold, immense, and oppressive curtain.
The baseball was abruptly frozen in mid-air.
A thrown projectile, is that person an Emitter?
The golden Stand, [The World], appeared out of thin air and casually knocked the suspended baseball aside with a single punch.
Dia charged forward with full concentration, the baseball not slowing him down in the slightest.
Outside of the stopped time, Heibula saw Dia charging head-on, completely ignoring the attack coming at him. Only one thought filled his mind—
'At this distance, with the speed of my ball, with the power of the [Magic Ball], he's dead! I've won!'
But before a smile could blossom on Heibula's face, a figure suddenly appeared to his left, causing his expression to freeze completely.
The emotionless face of Dia came into view, his cold eyes making Heibula's pupils shrink!
'What happened? How did he get here? Where's my ball?'
Dia had no intention of giving him time to react. Twisting his waist and hips, with a peculiar breath, golden Ripple energy frantically converged on his left fist.
Dia threw this ultimate punch without hesitation!
[Golden Yellow Ripple Overdrive]!
This heavy punch, the most powerful in the Ripple Overdrive arsenal, tore through the air as Dia ruthlessly smashed it into Heibula's waist!
In that split second, Heibula only had time to swing his left arm to block his side.
Bang!
Heibula instantly felt as if he'd been struck by a giant sledgehammer. His entire body doubled over violently, like a cooked shrimp, and was sent flying into the air.
The incredible pain made Heibula's mouth fly open, but no sound came out.
Dia followed through with the momentum, sinking his shoulder. His right arm, like a gathering storm, shattered the raindrops it carried as he unleashed a ferocious uppercut from bottom to top, aimed straight at the airborne Heibula, who had yet to recover his balance!
Finish him while he's down!
Sensing the scent of death, Heibula's adrenaline surged, his brain working frantically. At the last possible moment, he roared in his mind:
'[Magic Ball], return to me!!!'
The baseball, which had just been thrown by Heibula and was still flying through the air, seemed to hit an invisible wall and shot back towards Dia at a speed far exceeding its initial velocity!
Dia hadn't expected the baseball to be able to return, and its return speed was even faster than its initial throwing speed!
The baseball tore through the rain curtain with a fierce wind, narrowly grazing Dia's fist and causing his sure-hit punch to miss!
'No! He's not an Emitter!'
Dia suddenly realized his earlier judgment was flawed. The fact that the enemy hadn't immediately conjured a weapon during their first encounter had led him to misjudge.
The act of directly throwing a projectile was also very similar to an Emitter.
But for a pure Emitter to make the baseball move in such a trajectory would require profound skill.
Because although Emitters were next to Manipulators on the Nen chart, it wasn't their native category. Judging by the enemy's speed and strength, his Nen was likely not capable of such manipulation.
There were two explanations—he was a Conjurer, and that was a baseball with a special ability!
Or he was a Manipulator, simply controlling the baseball.
Dia leaned towards the former, because if he were a Manipulator, why not control an iron ball or some other ball, instead of a cloth baseball?
So, he had conjured the baseball in advance, making others mistake it for a real one!
But in reality, it was a conjured weapon with a special ability.
When the enemy dodged his pitch and had their attention diverted, he would then control the baseball to attack from behind!
'Kurapika used a similar line of thinking in the manga. I didn't expect some random wanted criminal to have such tactics.'
It couldn't be that he conjured the baseball and then didn't know how to dismiss it, so he just maintained it, right?
Dia's heavy punch missed, breaking his balance. He realized the best opportunity to finish him off had passed.
The baseball had only grazed his fist, so his right hand wasn't seriously injured.
Dia forcefully reined in his momentum, taking a few steps forward to barely regain his balance.
Even so, he believed that after taking that blitzing punch, even a Nen user would be in a bad state right now