The corridor changed as they walked deeper. Metal brackets appeared on both sides, spaced at regular intervals, connected by yellow-and-black caution tape. The setup looked professional. Clinical. Like a museum protecting priceless artifacts.
The tape repeated the same words over and over: Blanchett Company. Blanchett Company. Blanchett Company.
Someone had already claimed this place. They just hadn't told anyone about it.
"There's writing on the walls," Shizuku said, stopping.
Liam and the others looked past the protective barriers. Flashlight beams swept across the stone surface, illuminating deep gouges. Scratches. Carvings. Chaotic and overlapping, like someone had gone at the wall with a blade for hours.
"Those aren't words," Menchi said, studying the marks. "They look more like sword slashes."
"They wouldn't put up protective tape for random scratches," Liam said. He activated Gyo, concentrating aura in his eyes. The scratches lit up, faint traces of Nen clinging to them like residue. "Yeah. There's aura in those marks."
"I've seen something similar on valuable antiques," one of Dago's crew said, stunned. "But those were just normal scratches."
Dago stared. "How is there aura left in wall carvings?"
Liam explained absently, still studying the marks. "Skilled artists sometimes leave traces of their life energy in their work. Even if they're not conscious Nen users. The energy seeps in unconsciously. To people without Nen, those pieces just seem... special. Like they have a unique presence. To us, they're glowing."
Menchi raised her phone to film.
"Use photos," Liam said. "Not video."
"Why?"
"If you capture Nen in a video, anyone with Gyo can see it. Photos are safer. We need evidence for Slohe, but I'd rather not broadcast every detail to the Hunter Association."
In the manga, Gon and Killua had watched footage of Hisoka's fight in Heaven's Arena. With Gyo active, they'd been able to see his Nen constructs moving on-screen, clear as day. Video was a liability.
"Can't they see it in photos too?" Shizuku asked, curious.
Liam shrugged. "I don't know. But we need something to show the bald guy, or he'll refuse to pay. Photos are less risky than video."
"Bald guy?" Menchi grinned. "You're going to get us in trouble."
The group moved deeper. More carvings appeared. Abstract patterns. Shapes that might've been paintings but were too warped to identify. All of them glowed faintly with residual aura, ancient and faded but still present.
The tomb wasn't large. Several interconnected corridors spiraled inward, eventually opening into a central chamber. The main burial room. It was significantly more spacious than the halls, and when they shone their flashlights across the walls, everyone activated Gyo and stared.
Text covered every surface. Wild, flowing script. Sharp. Aggressive. Like someone had carved the words with a knife while screaming.
Liam's literacy in the Hunter World's written language was... borrowed. Stolen from his accusation of Musse, incomplete, and unreliable. He stared at the manic carvings for a long time, barely able to make out scattered words. World. Why. Hahaha. Fragments. Nonsense. The mental state of whoever had written this must've been dire.
But like everything else in the tomb, the text retained lingering traces of aura.
"This is insane," Dago muttered, holding up his phone to take pictures. "Who could leave this much Nen behind?"
"Aura that's lasted for hundreds of years?" another Hunter whispered.
"Is this really... the ancient king of Kakin?"
They exchanged nervous glances, swallowing hard.
The flashlight beams flickered. Dago's crew suddenly yelped, stumbling backward.
Liam spun, hand already charging a spirit-gun. Then he saw it and relaxed.
In the center of the chamber was a glass enclosure. Transparent walls on all sides. Inside, scattered across the floor, were dozens of toys. Stuffed animals. Building blocks. A rubber ball. And in the middle, sitting upright, was a white fox doll.
"What are you screaming about?" Liam said, irritated. "They're toys."
Menchi leaned closer, squinting. "Is that fox a doll?"
Shizuku nodded. "It is."
Click.
The entire tomb flooded with light.
Everyone flinched, blinking against the sudden brightness. Overhead fluorescent tubes hummed to life, illuminating every corner.
"Why didn't you turn on the lights?" A voice, amused and casual.
On the opposite side of the glass enclosure, a blond man in a three-piece suit stood by the wall, hand still on a light switch. Alain Dreyfus Blanchett. Behind him, Babimyna stepped through a doorway, expression grim, Gyo already active as he studied the carved text on the walls.
Liam spotted the switch behind the glass door. Of course. Modern tomb with electricity. Why not.
Menchi and Dago tensed, confused. Alain introduced himself again, gesturing to the chaotic script covering the chamber.
"These are the writings of an ancient king of Kakin," Alain said. "From four hundred years ago."
Babimyna's expression didn't change. Alain continued, walking slowly around the glass room.
"When we first found this place, we thought it was the tomb of King Wangu. We were wrong." He smiled faintly. "It's built like a mausoleum, but he used it as a retreat. A private sanctuary. When he was angry, or couldn't solve a problem, he'd come here alone. Carve his thoughts into the walls. Vent. Scream into the void, basically."
Alain gestured at the densely packed script. "Hundreds of years later, King Wangu is dust. But this place remains."
Liam raised a hand. "King Wangu?"
Dago explained, tone respectful despite the circumstances. "The legendary king from the textbooks. Wangu Hui Guo Rou. The True Martial King of Kakin. He almost unified the entire Azian Continent four hundred years ago."
Babimyna said nothing, his attention fixed on the ancient carvings.
Shizuku listened intently, her gaze following the script. Liam doubted she'd remember any of this tomorrow.
"What's past is past," Alain said, loosening his tie. "As you can see, most of what King Wangu left behind is difficult to decipher. But some of it describes Nen abilities. Which is why this place can't be opened to the public."
He looked at Babimyna. "What I can guarantee is that the hidden danger you're worried about, Haku, the lingering grudge toward Hui Guo Rou, will not threaten the royal family again. As long as the royal family doesn't provoke him first."
Inside the glass enclosure, a pale shadow flickered. The white fox doll moved.
It picked up a rubber ball with its front paws, turned, and stared at the people outside. Its empty, glassy eyes fixed on Babimyna.
"What did you do to him?" Babimyna asked, wary.
"Something within my abilities," Alain said. "Reincarnation isn't easy to achieve. The consciousness called Nasubi Hui Guo Rou is long gone. What's left is just a fragment of grudge fused with a Nen beast. We made a vessel for him. Now he lives in the doll. He won't bother the royal family anymore."
The white fox bit the rubber ball, then released it. It bounced across the floor, echoing in the silent chamber.
Babimyna was silent for a long moment.
Dago and his crew shifted awkwardly. We really shouldn't be hearing about royal family secrets, should we?
"How do we leave?" Dago asked quickly.
Alain pointed toward a wall. "There's Nen script near the exit. Same method as the entrance."
Menchi pocketed her phone. "We should go."
Liam nodded. "I'm fine with that. Shizuku?"
Shizuku was still staring at the walls. "Hm? Oh. I'll follow you."
"Then let's get out of here."
Babimyna walked to the exit script, pressed his hand against it, and dissolved into white light.
Liam stepped forward to do the same.
Something tugged on his pant leg.
He looked down. The white fox doll had left the glass enclosure. One paw gripped his pants, holding him in place.
White mist surrounded the doll. The pale ghost's form was barely visible, overlapping the fox's body.
Alain looked genuinely surprised. "That's rare. Haku seems to like you."
"I'm loved by everyone," Liam said, crouching to pat the doll's head. "Right, Menchi? Shizuku?"
He turned back to Alain, grin widening. "Mr. Blanchett. You said 'we' found this tomb. The other person was Ging Freecss, wasn't it?"
He pulled his Hunter License from his pocket, holding it up. Menchi did the same, flashing hers with a smile.
Alain's expression softened. "That's right. Mr. Ging is my teacher."
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