Tear.
Pierce.
Paralyze.
Burn.
A violent mix of pain erupted simultaneously across Pariston Hill's body.
His consciousness collapsed in an instant—his mind going completely blank.
After several seconds of spasming, he lay motionless on the ground.
"How weak,"
Aoki Hiroshi glanced at him, shaking his head.
"So this is the level of a Twelve Zodiacs member… the Vice Chairman of the Hunter Association?"
"Barely stronger than one of the Royal Guards."
"Seems like I'm ready to face the Ant King."
With those words, Hiroshi withdrew his will from the Thunder Wolf.
Crack!
As his consciousness left, the beast's previously solid, powerful form began to destabilize—looking again like a child's crude scribble in black.
Even so, the black lightning still raged violently, and its grotesque shape was enough to chill the soul of any who looked upon it.
A hush fell across the entire forest.
Even the insects fell silent, holding their breath in fear.
Pop!
Suddenly, the wolf dispersed—dissolving into a cascade of electric sparks and vanishing into the air.
Hiroshi had retracted it.
Inside the woods...
Biscuit Krueger rushed over, worry in her voice:
"What happened? Did they retreat? Who was it?"
From her perspective, the time was too short for anything decisive—she assumed Hiroshi had only driven the enemy back.
After all, battles between Nen users were often intricate and layered with reconnaissance.
"It's over," Hiroshi replied calmly.
The haze faded from his eyes, and the oppressive aura he carried vanished. He exited his First Stage Gene Lock state.
Even more impressively, there was no backlash.
Thanks to consistent training, repeated activations, and regular massages from Cookie-chan, Hiroshi had completely adapted to the first stage.
If he stayed within a one-minute limit, there was no rebound at all. Even pushing it to the limit only required a 20-minute rest for full recovery.
"Over… as in he's defeated?" Biscuit couldn't believe it.
"Yeah. Just outside the forest," Hiroshi replied, giving her a look."You even know him."
Know him?
Biscuit's expression darkened instantly.
If it was someone she knew… that meant it was someone from the Hunter Association.
Someone had betrayed them—and colluded with V5 to assassinate Hiroshi!
"Let's go check on him."
Surprisingly, the target of this assassination patted her shoulder with concern and started walking out of the forest.
She quickly followed.
A few minutes later, they reached the base of the mountain.
Before they even got close, Biscuit's expression shifted.
She sensed a very familiar aura.
As they approached, she saw a young man with blond hair in a suit—
Pariston Hill, the Vice Chairman.
"YOU BASTARD!!"
Biscuit's voice shook with fury, her fists clenching audibly.
But her rage turned to shock when she scanned the battlefield.
The signs were clear—
Pariston had been one-shotted by Hiroshi's Thunder Wolf.
There were no signs of resistance. Only escape marks.
"Hiroshi, you've gotten stronger again?" she asked, stunned."That guy's not weak. He's incredibly slippery and dangerous."
"But by the looks of things… your Nen Beast took him down in one hit?"
"I didn't think your lightning was that strong..."
Sure, Hiroshi's wolf was powerful.
But Biscuit believed that, if she went all out, she could take a few hits from it.
And Pariston was at least on her level.
"While I was fighting, I had a sudden insight—it strengthened my lightning."
He raised his hand.
Crackle!
A black arc of lightning danced across his palm.
Biscuit's pupils contracted.
Just looking at the black lightning gave her an intense feeling of dread. It felt like staring into the maw of a savage beast.
"So you added Enhancement-Type too?"
She exhaled deeply.
"You really are a monster, Hiroshi."
"Enhancement, Transformation, Manipulation, Emission..."
"Four systems working together to create a beast so strong it can one-shot someone like me?"
"Forget the title. You're already the strongest Nen user alive."
Hiroshi only chuckled.
He didn't care for titles or reputation.
"Biscuit, get Cookie-chan. Heal him."
"Huh? You spared him?" she blinked."He's still alive?"
She checked and realized that Pariston still had a faint heartbeat.
His wounds had missed the heart, and he had instinctively entered Zetsu, making his presence vanish.
"Why did you spare him?" she asked."You should've finished him off. That's how we handle enemies."
"He's still useful," Hiroshi replied softly, his gaze thoughtful.
After defeating Pariston, he felt something—like he had received fate points or karma.
And at the same time, his time in this world had shortened.
It was like being a Reincarnator performing world-altering tasks and receiving rewards—only the more he changed the plot, the faster the world rejected him.
Without the protection of a central system or godlike anchor, Hiroshi's time here was limited.
"Before I go… I need to repay Netero and Biscuit for all they've done."
He owed them.
The 3 billion Jenny.
The 300,000 internal contribution points.
The fact that Biscuit showed up the very next day just to train him.
All the training, support, and massages—those weren't minor.
Perhaps Netero had expectations of him.
But Hiroshi could not—would not—respond to those expectations.
So he would repay them in another way.
"You want to interrogate him?" Biscuit guessed.She summoned Cookie-chan without further questioning.
Later that night... inside a mountain cave
"...I'm alive?"
Pariston opened his eyes slowly, looking around in confusion.
He scanned his surroundings and locked onto two figures nearby—
Biscuit Krueger.
And—
Aoki Hiroshi.
His pupils contracted in fear.
That terrifying black wolf beast was still vivid in his memory.
It took him a while to calm down before he slowly sat up.