Sent flying like a baseball, Heibula collapsed on the ground. He propped himself up with his right hand and spat out a large mouthful of blood.
'My left ribs and left arm are almost completely broken...'
He felt as if his internal organs had been knocked out of place.
If that second punch had connected, his heart would have likely been blown to pieces on the spot!
Having been nearly taken out in a single blow, Heibula had no thoughts of retaliation. His will to fight had been crushed in just one exchange.
The terrifying ability to stop time had undoubtedly brought Dia a tremendous victory!
'This guy... is too strong... I absolutely can't beat him!'
This kid before him, with no discernible Nen aura, was a formidable enemy unlike any he had ever encountered!
Stronger than the hunter he had killed with a sneak attack from his [Magic Ball].
That immense power, combined with that strange instantaneous movement—one more time and he would be completely finished!
Recalling those terrifying eyes, like a man-eating tiger's, Heibula made an immediate decision—run!
Running at the first sign of trouble was the reason he had evaded capture for so many years.
'[Magic Ball], hold him back for me!'
Heibula roared in his mind. If [Magic Ball] could just entangle him for 3 minutes... no, just 1 minute!
Looking at the sewer manhole cover in the distance, Heibula gritted his teeth and used his one good arm to desperately push himself up.
That place... as long as I can reach that place!!
Out of the corner of his eye, Dia saw Heibula limping away, trying to escape, and instantly realized his opponent's intention.
Voom!!
The [Magic Ball], glowing with a purple Nen aura invisible to Dia, sliced through the air, letting out a piercing shriek as it spun and hurtled towards the just-rebalanced Dia once more.
This time, its speed and force were even greater than before. It seemed the baseball gained speed and power with each return.
Dia knew that if he wanted to kill the wanted criminal before he escaped, he had to deal with this dangerous baseball first.
'No, I can't possibly give chase while dealing with this thing. I have to destroy it!'
Dia calmly calculated the cooldown time and distance in his mind, gathering red Ripple energy in his left hand.
Dia dodged some of the baseball's impacts, but for others, he could only block with his hands. Although painful, the damage wasn't severe.
The cooldown had about ten seconds left. Dia gritted his teeth and held on.
Now! [The World]!
The world in Dia's eyes instantly turned gray and white, and the [Magic Ball] abruptly froze in mid-air.
The time stop would only last for half a second. Dia didn't hesitate, reaching out with his left hand and grabbing the baseball!
[Crimson Ripple Overdrive]!
Intense heat erupted from Dia's hand. The leather baseball was instantly ignited, its surface burning away in a fraction of a second!
Without any further action, Dia suddenly bent his knees, and the next moment—
Boom!
Dia's entire body, like a spring compressed to its limit, suddenly released. He shot forward as a blur, the concrete ground beneath his feet exploding!
Outside of the stopped time.
Heibula had already covered a significant distance. Seeing the manhole cover just within reach, he was ecstatic.
'I've made it! I've survived! Once I've recovered, I'll come back and kill everyone...'
Thud!
A fist, crackling with golden electricity, suddenly struck the back of his head from an impossible distance, instantly shattering most of his skull!
'He dealt with my [Magic Ball]? In less than a minute? How did he do that?'
All sorts of questions filled Heibula's chest, but he would never have the chance to know the truth.
Splat!
A corpse with half its head shattered fell to the ground. Behind it stood Dia, who had just retracted his fist.
The dark night rain continued to pour down, washing over the enemy's body.
Seeing the corpse, which couldn't be any more dead, Dia finally let out a breath of relief.
He lowered his head, panting heavily, his hands, which had blocked the baseball's repeated impacts, still trembling.
To finish off the enemy with that final punch, he had used the special technique taught to him by Baron Zeppeli—the Spring Punch!
By dislocating and extending his joints, he could temporarily increase the length of his arm.
In the end, he managed to kill his opponent from behind just before he could escape into the sewers.
Dia soon felt himself calm down.
He stood up straight, tilted his head back, and let the heavy rain wash the bloodstains from his body.
His victory was actually a stroke of luck. His opponent was clearly not a master of Nen. Although he had some combat sense and street-fighting smarts, he lost his courage instantly when faced with the completely incomprehensible ability to stop time.
If, after being sent flying, he hadn't been scared witless and focused only on running, but had instead tried to fight back with his ability, he might not have died so quickly.
Furthermore, if he had been more proficient in the use of Nen at the time, able to turn a simple Ten into the more defensive Ken, Dia's first punch during the time stop might not have caused such severe damage.
Even during the initial surprise attack, if he had had the courage to seize the moment Dia was frozen and launch an attack, the outcome of the fight might have been uncertain.
Ultimately, the Ripple that Dia had learned was still far inferior to Nen in terms of destructive power.
The world of Hunter x Hunter was full of truly strong individuals, many of whom were far stronger than the man he had just faced. Relying on the Ripple alone, he would likely struggle to even break through the defenses of powerful Nen users in the future!
'To establish myself in this world, I must learn Nen as quickly as possible.'
'It's time to leave this place,' he thought.
The rain began to subside. Dia threw the gruesome corpse into the sewer, disposed of his torn raincoat, and quickly left the scene.
A few days later.
The midday sun beat down mercilessly on the traveler.
In front of the small restaurant, a long-distance bus was parked crookedly under the blindingly white sun.
Dia was saying goodbye to Ian and his daughter.
Before leaving Raya Town, Dia had privately gone to the police station. By identifying Heibula's body, he had received a handsome bounty.
To avoid trouble, Dia chose to make a deal with Sheriff James: the credit would go to him, and the reward money would go to Dia.
At this moment, Charlotte's eyes were filled with tears as she shouted for Dia to come back and visit often.
Ian silently helped him carry his luggage onto the bus.
"Alright, the bus is about to leave. You should get on."
Ian placed a large hand on Charlotte's head, signaling her not to be willful, while urging Dia on in a steady tone.
"Okay, Uncle, take care of yourself. You too, Charlotte. Watch the news more often."
"Okay—and this, Big Brother Dia, take this."
A sullen Charlotte responded in a drawn-out tone, magically pulling out a bulging white plastic bag filled with some steamed buns.
"They were just steamed... they're still hot."
Dia smiled, took the bag, turned, and got on the bus, waving for them to go back.
He had just randomly found a window seat when he felt the bus suddenly jolt. The engine let out a dull roar, and the scenery outside began to move backward.
Through the bus window, Dia could see from afar that by the old, small restaurant, a small figure remained stubbornly rooted to the spot.
Charlotte waved continuously until the bus became a distant black dot, no longer visible.
Seeing this scene, Dia suddenly felt a more tangible sense of reality in this world.
It was as if an NPC from a manga had suddenly stood up, alive and real, having grown flesh and blood.