Quickly acquiring information through observation, and then using the least amount of information possible to determine the opponent's ability type, characteristics, and fighting habits and style—these are the fundamental qualities a proficient Nen user must possess, as well as the rules they must abide by in combat.
This is because the abilities that Nen can create are simply too vast and ever-changing!
Rashly going for the kill without knowing the opponent's ability could easily result in being dragged into hell by a post-mortem Nen that grows stronger after death.
As someone who had followed Togashi-sensei's "illustrated novel" right up until the final hiatus, Allen knew that in the later Kakin Empire's "Succession War," Second Prince Camilla had created the terrifying Nen Beast, "Cat's Name," which uses the post-mortem Nen becoming stronger as its activation condition. It can crush the killer and convert them into a life-energy-like substance to be drunk by the host, achieving an incredible feat like resurrection.
Therefore, when facing a Nen user with unknown abilities but possessing a certain level of strength, Allen tends to first confirm whether the opponent's ability type falls into the category of completely illogical, rule-based Nen.
What's more, he was already interested in Zebulun's powerful self-healing and recovery ability, and planned to seize it.
Thus, the two exchanged blows dozens of times in the cramped space. It was almost always Zebulun on the offensive, while Allen passively defended and dodged, occasionally using a thrown Thorium Arrow to restrain the Ghoul's increasingly reckless and frantic actions.
Bodoro also seized the opportunity to take the victim out of the dangerous room, draped a jacket over her, and comforted her in a low voice: "Relax, don't be afraid. You are safe now."
"Sa... safe?"
The woman cautiously raised her head, her eyes filled with pain, panic, and terror.
"That's right. You've been saved. Now just stay here and wait for the police and ambulance; I've already called them."
With that, Bodoro got up, intending to jump up to the second floor to observe Allen and Zebulun's battle up close.
As a prime example of a straight-laced, steel-hard man, a perpetual bachelor who had been single for over fifty years, he had no concept of cherishing and pitying women in his mind. He was simply saving her out of an innate sense of justice.
But just as he gathered Aura to his feet to boost his jumping power, he suddenly sensed an unfamiliar flow of Nen surging from the woman beside him. He quickly turned around and found that the woman, who had been stripped of large patches of skin all over her body, had somehow awakened her Nen ability without a teacher.
No!
She hadn't just awakened her Nen!
She had also Materialized an oddly shaped doll that looked somewhat like an oversized cartoon rabbit plush toy.
The moment this oversized rabbit embraced the woman from behind, all the patches of skin that had been stripped from her, as well as the teeth that had been pulled from her mouth, all grew back in a matter of seconds.
"A recovery-type Nen ability! Is it a Conjuration type or an Enhancement type?" Bodoro's eyes widened in shock.
Having systematically trained in Nen, he knew better than anyone else how arduous and dedicated the process of learning and training was, from first sensing the existence of Aura to gaining a specific ability.
But this woman?
She had just awakened, yet she instantly gained a complete ability, and judging by its effect, it was quite impressive.
"This… what is this? My wounds are all healed?"
The woman clearly couldn't comprehend the scene before her. Staring at the oversized plush doll embracing her from behind and her smooth, restored skin, her face was filled with intense confusion and bewilderment.
"This is the power called Nen! Come on, since you're now an awakened user, let's witness a battle between Nen users together."
Bodoro pulled her up from the ground, then stomped his feet with great force, instantly leaping from the street into the fiercely fighting room on the second floor.
Allen, who had his En active the entire time, undoubtedly detected their approach. He kicked the flailing Zebulun away, then turned around, frowning as he asked, "Why did you bring the victim back?"
"My apologies, she is no longer an ordinary person, but an awakened Nen user. According to Association rules, we can't simply hand her over to the police or a regular hospital," Bouldro explained with some helplessness.
"A Nen user?"
Allen was momentarily stunned by the remark, but he quickly noticed the oversized rabbit plush toy constantly hovering around the woman, and he nodded shortly thereafter.
"Alright, I understand. Be careful. Zebulun's ability is very strange. Based on my observation, he possesses at least rapid regeneration, all-around physical reinforcement, and the ability to accelerate his Aura recovery by devouring flesh and blood. Most importantly, his teeth and claws are coated with some kind of toxin. What specific toxin it is, I'm not yet clear."
"I know! It's a super-powerful neuro-paralyzing toxin! If it breaks the skin and enters the bloodstream, the body immediately becomes paralyzed for anywhere from ten seconds to half a minute," the woman suddenly interjected.
"Oh? You've seen him use it?"
Allen subconsciously glanced at Zebulun, who was quickly climbing up from the ground and frantically stuffing raw, bloody meat from the refrigerator into his mouth.
"Yes! Be... because the meat he's eating right now is the corpse of the last victim he captured and tortured to death. To be precise, that refrigerator is entirely filled with human flesh." The woman spoke the chilling truth in a slightly trembling voice.
"I see! What a disgusting ability! But with a slight modification of the rules, it should still be somewhat useful. For example, changing the consumption of human corpses to protein-rich meat, and for instance, removing the physical transformation and reinforcement, while doubling the speed of bodily recovery..."
The moment the words left his mouth, Allen immediately pulled out the Ancient Bone Bow and took aim at Zebulun, who was frantically gnawing on the chunks of flesh. Without hesitation, he infused all his Nen into the Thorium Arrow and then gently released his fingers.
BOOM!
Accompanied by a deafening roar, the arrow instantly pierced the "Ghoul's" chest, completely shattering his upper body, while the liquefied air rapidly froze the cells that were attempting to constantly divide and regenerate.
Ultimately, the crazed and pathological wanted criminal was turned into an ice sculpture that was slowly losing cell vitality, and his proud, powerful recovery ability became useless.
"Vaelstrasz. Devour him."
Seeing that all the prerequisites for stealing the Nen ability were complete, the Red Dragon immediately appeared in its physical form, opened its gaping maw, and swallowed the target, turning him into a cocoon.
Feeling the alarming resentment contained within Zebulun's cocoon, and the large amount of negative emotions drawn from the victims, Allen was grateful for the first time that he had created the Red Dragon as an intermediary Nen Beast for storage, rather than directly absorbing the stolen Aura and abilities himself.
Otherwise, if he absorbed just two more cocoons like this, he would either go completely insane or become a pervert just like them.
It was clear that Zebulun had been continuously strengthening his Nen through this extremely twisted method, which was no different from how the Greed Island "Bomber" trio strengthened their Nen by continuously killing people.
Unfortunately for him, the most troublesome part of his ability, his self-recovery, was countered by the ultra-low temperature produced by the liquefied air.
Otherwise, even Allen would have had to expend considerable effort to kill the guy. He would have at least needed to first drain Zebulun's Aura and then stop him from quickly recovering his depleted Aura by consuming corpses.
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You can read the ahead chapter on Patr-eon if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]