In this pitch-black cave, where ordinary people couldn't even see their own hands, a series of mournful weeping notes suddenly echoed.
Anyone who heard it would feel their hair stand on end.
If not for the oppressive atmosphere, if this weren't the Dark Sonata, it might have been praised as an exceptionally refined piece of music.
After all, it was a composition by the Demon King—not only did it possess unimaginable power, but it was also hauntingly beautiful.
But the reality was that no one wanted to, nor could they, enjoy this melody.
"That's… the sound of a harp!" Pyon pricked up her ears, listening carefully before confirming the source.
"A harp, huh…" Akira murmured to himself.
The Dark Sonata was divided into four movements.
He had already obtained the Violin Movement, leaving the Harp, Flute, and Piano Movements remaining.
It seemed this time, the Harp Movement had appeared.
He wondered what the Reward of the Harp would be.
The Flute took one health in exchange for a special ability.
The Violin took one soul in exchange for power.
So what about the Harp?
Akira glanced at the wyvern skeleton shrouded in Death Aura beside him. Recalling the white bones he had obtained earlier, a vague thought flickered through his mind.
***
As before, a dense wave of Death Aura surged forth right after the music.
The inky Death Aura seemed to take shape, twisting into bizarre, distorted musical notes as they flew through the air.
The oppressive aura from the countless Death Aura made it hard to breathe—just looking at this scene was suffocating.
Suddenly, a figure leaped out from Akira shadow, its purple-black form exuding an even more intimidating presence than the Death Aura.
Yet, Pyon and Satotz didn't panic.
Instead, they looked relieved. Because standing before them was none other than Gengar, whom they had met long ago in the Moros Ruins!
They both knew well that Gengar possessed the ability to devour Death Aura.
Sure enough, Gengar turned its back to them and opened its gaping maw toward the incoming Death Aura.
A sharp glint flashed in its crimson eyes and in an instant, the countless Death Aura twisted together like a vortex.
The intertwined Death Aura spiraled straight into Gengar mouth.
The endless stream of Death Aura was nothing more than an all-you-can-eat buffet for Gengar.
Not only that, but Gengar also casually sucked in the Death Aura clinging to the surrounding bones.
As it feasted, Gengar experience points steadily rose.
Seeing that Death Aura were completely blocked by Gengar, Pyon and Satotz finally relaxed. This was the most terrifying aspect of the Dark Sonata.
Being able to stop these Death Aura already reduced its danger significantly.
But Akira didn't think so.
With the Violin Movement as a precedent, Akira believed the Dark Sonata couldn't possibly be this simple.
What puzzled him the most were the bones scattered everywhere.
The cave they had entered wasn't just home to the skeletal remains of that beast—bones were strewn all over the ground.
This place was clearly a graveyard for countless creatures.
From subtle details, one could discern their time of death.
Some were ancient bones, coated in an extremely dense layer of Death Aura.
Others had only recently turned into this state—right beside them lay what appeared to be the corpse of a spotted mole.
The Death Aura on it weren't abundant, but it was clear that as the flesh was consumed, the Death Aura grew thicker.
It had likely died shortly before they teleported here.
Akira had deliberately left the Death Aura on this one, wanting to observe it closely. The most intriguing part was how the Death Aura devoured flesh.
Aura was life energy that emanated from the body, intrinsically linked to one physical form.
So, it wasn't entirely surprising that Death Aura could consume flesh, right?
Yet Akira felt it wasn't that simple.
The speed of consumption was too fast and the devoured areas emitted an eerie white glow. Moreover, they had seen before—neither the people affected by the Violin Movement nor the Devil Cicada flesh had been consumed.
This was likely an effect unique to the Harp Movement.
"Found something?" Noticing Akira staring at the mole corpse, the other two also turned their attention to it.
Countless Death Aura wriggled like maggots, frantically "gnawing" at the mole's body—a sight that sent chills down their spines.
A few moments later, the Death Aura finished consuming the last bit of flesh on the mole.
All that remained was a skeleton, covered in Death Aura.
"Hm?" Akira eyes sharpened, as if sensing something and he fixed his gaze intently on the mole remains.
A strange entity emerged from the mole's body, taking the form of the creature living appearance.
Yet it floated eerily in midair, emitting faint, unsettling green phosphorescence.
In the pitch-black surroundings, a creeping sense of dread arose.
"Is this... a soul?!" Pyon face paled slightly at the horrifying sight, her voice a hushed exclamation.
The ghostly green glow cast an uncanny light on the trio's faces.
"So it's a soul after all."
Only upon witnessing this did Akira finally understand the meaning of 'Sacrifice' and 'Reward' in the harp movement!
Sacrifice the flesh, gain the soul!
In other words, the price was the consumption of the body, while the reward was existence in the form of a soul.
This also reminded Akira of the Nen ability used by the bald ninja, Hanzo.
On The Succession Contest arc, he had employed his Nen ability—known as "Hanzo Skill 4".
He could create an exact replica of himself using Aura, transferring his consciousness into the duplicate.
This doppelganger could move freely and even phase through space.
Though called a doppelganger, its full name should be "Soul Doppelganger."
Judging by its effects, it essentially granted an out-of-body experience akin to soul projection.
The world of Hunter x Hunter did indeed acknowledge the concept of souls—Jed had sold his soul to the Demon King in exchange for resurrection.
Yet no one could have guessed that the harp exchange would be the exact opposite of the violin.
The violin granted physical power at the cost of the soul.
The harp granted spiritual power at the cost of the flesh.
So what of the remaining piano movement?
Would it be the inverse of the flute effect?
Could one trade special abilities for health?
That remained unclear—it was possible, but not certain.
As Akira pondered, the mole's soul stirred anew.
The soul seemed unaware of what had happened, gazing around in confusion. The group could tell it retained self-awareness—the soul was under its own control.
But this autonomy didn't last.
Suddenly, the Death Aura clinging to the mole's bones surged toward its soul. The soul appeared to scream, yet no sound escaped.
Everything happened in an instant.
By the time Pyon and Satotz reacted, the mole's soul was already fully under the Death Aura control.
Its once-lively eyes now held only emptiness and numbness.
"Possessed?"
"Then the next step is... attacking us?"
No sooner had Akira spoken than the mole's soul drifted toward the trio, its sharp claws gleaming ominously.
The soul was no longer pure—its eerie green glow now mingled with tendrils of black Death Aura.
Its speed in this spectral form far surpassed that of its living body!
In the blink of an eye, the soul lunged at them, its first target being— Gengar, who was still absorbing the Death Aura!
Clearly, this was the Dark Sonata's doing.
Seeing its Death Aura continuously devoured by Gengar, it had directed the mole's soul to attack.
The soul strength had likely been enhanced—its movements were unnaturally swift.
Faced with the charging soul, Pyon and Satotz first instinct was to retreat.
As Nen Users, their foremost rule was never to act recklessly against an unknown ability.
In the world of Hunter x Hunter, abilities come in all shapes and forms, each more bizarre than the last.
Any kind of effect could manifest in an ability.
Thus, intelligence plays a crucial role in battles between Nen Users.
The immediate priority was to evade the soul attack and then proceed cautiously, step by step, to uncover the soul's abilities.
Akira thought the same, but merely retreating wasn't enough—he had to test the soul's capabilities.
It was said that Ghost-type Pokemon were transformed from souls, so would using a Ghost-type skill be effective?
"Gengar!"
A surge of dark purple Aura erupted from Gengar body, resembling Death Aura even more than actual Death Aura.
The shadowy Aura instantly condensed into a basketball-sized sphere in front of Gengar, countless currents of Aura swirling within.
Ghost-type skill—Shadow Ball!
With Gengar S-class strength, it could effortlessly create a Shadow Ball several times larger than this.
Considering the surrounding environment, Gengar opted for a smaller one.
The Shadow Ball shot straight toward the mole's soul.
The moment it made contact, the expected explosion didn't occur.
Instead, the soul and the Shadow Ball seemed like fire and water, canceling each other out. But the mole's soul was clearly weaker than Gengar Shadow Ball.
After only a brief resistance, the soul completely dissipated.
"BOOM!"
Unhindered, the Shadow Ball flew straight into the cave wall.
The shockwave was about to stir up layers of decayed dust within the cave.
Akira casually waved his hand and the restless dust settled back into silence.
"It seems the underground rocks are fairly sturdy." Akira gaze swept over the large hole blasted by Gengar as he murmured.
Given that the cave hadn't collapsed under Gengar small Shadow Ball, it was already quite impressive.
"It can actually hit souls?" Satotz couldn't help but exclaim, his curled mustache trembling in astonishment.
Beside him, Pyon was also surprised, but after a moment, she quickly regained her composure.
After all, it was Akira who had acted.
He was practically the embodiment of the word "miracle"—there seemed to be nothing in this world he couldn't do.
Unconsciously, Pyon was beginning to shift toward Menchi perspective, filled with boundless confidence in Akira.
Meanwhile, Akira was reflecting on the moment the soul had been attacked.
Though the reaction had been odd, one thing was certain: Ghost-type moves were effective against souls.
He wondered if moves of other types would work as well.
At the same time, he had a hypothesis about the nature of soul attacks.
If it was a soul attack, then the damage likely wasn't physical—it was probably a direct assault on the soul itself.
The more he pondered, the more Akira realized how extraordinary the Dark Sonata was.
Each movement possessed unique abilities and Death Aura could manipulate affected creatures.
"Since we can attack souls and the music isn't working, this should be resolved easily." Satotz stroked his curled mustache, the tension in his expression gradually easing.
"Resolving it shouldn't be a problem." Akira words were still cautious.
With Marshadow lurking in his shadow, even an army of souls could be effortlessly crushed.
"But we might face more souls than we expect." Akira glanced at the scattered bones on the ground, uttering words that sent a chill down Satotz spine.
He had overlooked one thing.
If souls emerged from those corpses... Didn't that mean every skeleton represented a soul?
How many skeletons were here? He couldn't count.
They were everywhere! And few were intact—most were just a claw here, a skull there.
After so many years, it made sense that numerous creatures had been corrupted by the Dark Sonata.
But that also meant they might soon face an unimaginable horde of souls!
"Regardless, let's keep moving forward for now." The appearance of the mole soul had revealed the abilities of the Harp Movement, further piquing Akira curiosity.
Just how many souls would be waiting where the Dark Sonata lay?
According to Marshadow, the depths of the cave housed a fairly large space where an extraordinarily high number of souls had gathered!
As a Ghost-type Mythical Pokemon, Marshadow 'En' could also sense the presence of souls.
The Dark Sonata had likely gathered these souls around itself.
Such manipulation must have had a range limit—it couldn't be too far from its main body. If Akira and the others hadn't appeared, that mole soul would probably have eventually drifted toward the cave's depths as well.
If their estimation was correct, they were advancing toward the Dark Sonata, while the Dark Sonata was waiting for them to arrive.
Then, it would use all the souls to wipe them out in one fell swoop!
Unfortunately for it, Marshadow had already thoroughly scouted the situation there.
The Dark Sonata wasn't the hunter—it was the prey!
Gengar led the way, devouring the incoming Death Aura like spicy snacks.
Perhaps the Dark Sonata intended to lure them in and eliminate them with its army of souls. Even the music had grown fainter and the Death Aura drifting toward them weren't as intense as before.
The distance wasn't far to begin with and with the trio and Pokemon moving at a steady pace, they soon reached their destination.
"So this is it..." Satotz couldn't help but murmur in a low voice at the sight before him, which exceeded even his expectations.
What first caught the trio eyes was the cave filled to the brim with an army of souls!
The spacious cavern was filled with floating souls of various creatures—from small snakes and rodents to massive draconic beasts, every kind of soul imaginable was present.
They even spotted what appeared to be the soul of the land dragon they had encountered earlier.
After years of accumulation, the Dark Sonata had amassed an entire army of souls!
The originally pitch-black cavern was now illuminated by the eerie green glow emitted by the souls!
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