Only now did Germain notice— the beast had never used its left arm before.
A quick glance told him why.
Though the beast was already gaunt, its left arm looked disturbingly unnatural.
Most of the rust-red fur had fallen off, revealing shriveled flesh— as if all the blood had been drained from it.
It was hard to believe this was a living creature's limb.
The limp, withered arm posed no real threat.
Germain didn't even acknowledge it.
Instead, he drove his Sacred Moonlight Sword forward—
With a sharp thrust, the blade pierced straight between the beast's eyes, its blue radiance cutting deep.
Flipping mid-air, Germain landed steadily on the ground.
The beast, its strength completely drained, collapsed.
Like a crumbling mountain, it first slammed into the rock wall, creating a deep dent.
Then, along with falling debris, it tumbled over the edge of the cliff— vanishing into the abyss below.
Not long after, Germain learned the true name of the rust-red, long-haired beast from his Hunter Badge—"Bloodthirsty Claw Beast's Resentful Memory."
He turned back and saw that the small path he had taken had been destroyed by the massive impact of the Bloodthirsty Claw Beast's fall, leaving a three-meter-wide gap.
However, to a Nen user, such an obstacle was meaningless. Germain could easily leap across it.
Of course, turning back was not an option for him now.
Germain continued his ascent toward the mountaintop. This time, he didn't put away his Sacred Moonlight Sword—he knew the fight might not be over yet.
His far-reaching En had detected multiple large life signatures, not just the Bloodthirsty Claw Beast he had slain earlier.
Upon reaching a more open area at the peak, Germain finally understood why that beast had fought so desperately to block his path.
This was its nest—or at least, a temporary one.
More than a dozen medium-sized Bloodthirsty Claw Beasts lay sprawled across gray stone slabs and patches of yellow-brown grass. Each one had its eyes eerily shut.
What was strange was that despite the sheer intensity of his battle earlier, there was no way these beasts hadn't heard the commotion.
Yet, none of them reacted. Even as Germain stood just twenty meters away, they showed no signs of movement.
It was as if they were in a deep, collective slumber. Their massive, emaciated bodies were curled up, motionless, their eyelids never even twitching.
Why?
The question surfaced in Germain's mind.
Then, he noticed something disturbing—these creatures bore the same sickly symptoms as the one he had just fought, but in a far more advanced state.
Parts of their bodies had withered, shriveling like dried bark. Some had entire lower halves that had visibly shrunken—as if something had drained them of their very essence.
Germain's "En" swept out in a radial pattern, quickly confirming the area. There was no sign of the wolves pretending to nap, using it as a trap to lure enemies.
Though it seemed unbelievable, these Bloodthirsty Claw Beasts were actually sleeping, and they appeared to be sleeping soundly, with no sign of waking up.
The Bloodthirsty Claw Beast he was fighting was the only one awake, assigned to guard the pass. Unfortunately, its desperate struggle couldn't stop the intruder.
Even so, among the Bloodthirsty Claw Beasts here, there were several "Master-level" ones, and the rest were "Elite-level." If they all woke up and attacked together, it would be a tough battle for Germain.
But they remained asleep, foolishly exposing their weaknesses to him.
Since the Bloodthirsty Claw Beasts had no intention of stopping him, Germain didn't have any reason to randomly massacre the entire group.
He decided to conserve his strength and Nen, as the road ahead was still long.
However, he was indeed curious about why these Bloodthirsty Claw Beasts were lying here so still.
Only one Bloodthirsty Claw Beast was patrolling. How would they defend against enemies?
Germain walked past the fallen Bloodthirsty Claw Beasts, their bodies forming mounds of flesh. Their breathing could be heard clearly around him.
Seeing them sleep so peacefully gave Germain a strange feeling, as if he was no longer in a Steep Mountain Range or some dark corner of the continent.
However, when Germain's "En" swept across the area again, he sensed something wasn't right.
There was Nen nearby that didn't belong to the Bloodthirsty Claw Beasts.
No, more accurately, it was coming from underground.
Germain quickly retracted his "En" and, in a state of "Zetsu," hid behind one of the Bloodthirsty Claw Beasts still sleeping deeply.
The rest was a test of the hunter's patience.
The owner of that almost imperceptible Nen seemed very cautious. Upon sensing Germain's "En," they immediately stopped moving.
About ten minutes passed before he could no longer sense any nen from Germain. Only then did he start moving again, like a mouse creeping out.
Germain waited for a while, listening to the rustling sounds. Slowly, he peeked out from beside the Bloodthirsty Claw Beast, carefully looking ahead.
In front of the Bloodthirsty Claw Beast's head, there was a hole about the size of a well opening. From the hole, a long, vine-like tentacle slowly emerged.
The tentacle swayed in mid-air for a moment, sensing the temperature and humidity like a snake flicking its tongue. After a bit more swaying, it extended towards the Bloodthirsty Claw Beast's head.
With a soft "pffft," like a successful connection, Germain focused his gaze. He saw the tentacle inserted into what seemed to be an existing hole in the Bloodthirsty Claw Beast's head.
Immediately after, Germain noticed a visible blue light arc flashing a few times at the connection.
The Bloodthirsty Claw Beast, still in deep sleep, didn't feel any discomfort. Instead, it snored peacefully.
A few minutes later, Germain noticed the skin and flesh beneath the rust-red fur around the creature's waist and abdomen had sunk in, revealing a bark-like texture.
It seemed they willingly slept here. It was rare to see a Bloodthirsty Claw Beast patrolling alone.
Germain quickly moved forward.
The tentacle reacted, pulling out with a "pop" from the Bloodthirsty Claw Beast's head. As it tried to retract into the hole, Germain grabbed it.
With a powerful tug, Germain pulled both the tentacle and the creature behind it out into the sunlight outside the cave.
It was a subhuman monster, with a body and limbs similar to a human. Its head was like a shuttle, but its tongue was a tentacle, the one Germain was holding.
It had just extended its tongue into the Bloodthirsty Claw Beast's head, draining its life while providing the creature immense pleasure in return.
"Human-Keeping Beast · Pap," capable of "exchanging pleasure for life," was as simple as what stood before him.
Is pleasure really that important?
For different people, this question holds completely different meanings.
In the original storyline, during the Chimera Ants' subjugation war, Gon sacrificed his future, with the mindset of "I don't care if I die like this," and fought Neferpitou.
Soon after, in an incredibly short amount of time, Gon's strength rose to a level far surpassing Neferpitou's.
He indeed killed Neferpitou and even defeated Neferpitou while in a state of Post-mortem Nen.
However, after that, his body began to shrink and wither, much like the Bloodthirsty Claw Beasts before him, and even faster than them, causing his life to rapidly fade away.
If it weren't for the various medical instruments keeping him alive, he wouldn't have lasted until Killua and Alluka arrived.
A similar dilemma was then in front of Gon.
Was revenge on Neferpitou really that important?
Yes, at least for Gon at the time, it was extremely important, far surpassing his own life.
The Bloodthirsty Claw Beasts, these fierce creatures, actually came to the entrance of a cave where the Human-Keeping Beast Pap roams, just to act as "blood bags" for the ultimate illusionary pleasure. It was almost like...
Sad, like drug addicts hooked on their cravings.
They no longer cared about their species' survival on the Dark Continent. They had come here, simply to feel that fleeting moment of joy, that dreamlike bliss, for even just one more second.
And the Human-Keeping Beast Pap, caught by Germain, was only at "Elite" level, yet it easily dominated a "Master-level" monster.
It seemed that the Dark Continent wasn't necessarily a place where only the strong survive, at least not in the simple, traditional sense.
The Human-Keeping Beast Pap struggled violently in Germain's grip, stretching its limbs, trying to embrace Germain, and engaging in a frantic "French kiss."
Germain naturally rejected it, responding with a sword strike, intending to kill it on the spot.
But as the Sacred Moonlight Sword struck its flesh, a blue arc of light appeared once again, flashing and surging toward Germain.
A numbing sensation spread from his hands upward. His body, which had been aching from the disdainful armor, relaxed slightly, and his tense mind felt as if it was about to dissolve.
This sensation... it almost felt impossible to escape. It was exactly what he needed right now.
With the Human-Keeping Beast, Pap, he could continuously use the Contempt Armor, as if there were no side effects at all…
Why not spare its life? It could easily become my assistant…
Germain suddenly exerted force and pierced the Human-Keeping Beast, Pap, with a sword. The blue light immediately shattered it into pieces, leaving nothing behind.
He panted heavily.
No side effects?
What was I even thinking just now?
I almost decided to give my own life to this Human-Keeping Beast, Pap, just to trade for physical and mental comfort.
It seems the torture and the tempting pleasure of the Dark Crown caused him to hesitate for half a second.
But in the end, he decided to abandon the easy path in front of him, choosing the harder but right road instead.
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