Chapter 162: Death Nen Entity
The system interface flashed frantically:
[S-Rank Trait Plunder Successful: "End Shadow Killing Array"]
[This is a fragment of an ancient Hunter's ultimate skill, possessing high-frequency instant kill ability, cooldown: 10 minutes]
[Current energy value recovered to 96%~]
Riku stood in the center of the shattered stone hall, panting for a moment, looking down at the scattered fragments of Hunter badges beneath his feet. He knew—these Death Nen Entities might have once been true Hunters, only to be... abandoned by "that thing" during some expedition.
Although their abilities were incomplete, they brought him highly valuable trait enhancements. He needed these to face the true ultimate enemy—that "Will Projection" from the Dark Continent.
However, just as he steadied himself, the system popped up a new alarm:
[Emergency Warning]
[Descent of a Higher-Tier Nen Organism Detected]
[Estimated Existence Level: ???]
[Target Coordinates: Arena Island Core Control Tower]
"It's not over yet?" Riku spat out a mouthful of bloody froth, electric light climbing all over his body again.
He looked back up the passage, towards the direction of the Control Tower.
Gon, Killua, Biscuit, List, and the others all looked up at the sky. They saw the swirling dark door in mid-air, and unknowingly, a bloody rift had opened within it!
A terrifying existence draped in a tattered cloak, its head wrapped in a mask, with Nen flame wings on its back, slowly stepped out from the bloody rift, its figure resembling an ancient deity.
It had no eyes, yet it "saw" everyone. In the next moment, its mouth split open, and a wave of consciousness rang out emotionlessly in everyone's minds:
"Executing 'Vanguard Clearance Program'... Target: All living entities."
Riku sneered. Activating his Lightning Core to the fullest, a phantom resembling a Thunder God appeared behind him.
He said softly, "System, record—the hunt begins."
The figure that stepped out of the dark rift stood in the void. The bloody Nen flames spread like wings behind it, and the oppressive feeling covering the sky felt like death descending. It possessed no physical body, yet seemed heavier than any tangible object.
Gon clenched his fists, Killua's lightning surged, and Biscuit subconsciously stepped in front of the two. Riku, however, merely took a step forward.
His Lightning Core vibrated gently, awakening all the plundered traits within his body. Light gathered in his palm, and the system interface fully expanded!
[Target Identification in Progress...]
[Name: Unidentified Dark Vanguard Entity (Suspected Dark Continent Will Extension Entity)]
[Status: Incomplete Lifeform / Nen Hosted State]
[Level Assessment: ???]
[Plunderable Trait Privilege: Condition-Triggered]
"System, what's the trigger condition?"
[Hint: Requires three consecutive hits to the core parts before the target's "Consciousness Node" disintegrates]
[Additional: Target possesses multiple camouflage cores. Each hit will force a refresh of the trait adaptation]
Riku's gaze narrowed slightly. He knew he couldn't fight this head-on, and even less could he afford to waste a single strike.
And the opponent clearly wasn't giving him any extra time.
That bloody figure shifted sideways a step, and the void around it shattered like a mirror. It uttered no syllable, yet seemingly pronounced a death sentence upon everyone directly through a mental wave!
—In an instant!
It raised its palm, and an earth-shattering "Nen Flow Strike Wave" blasted forth! A blood-red, spiral-structured Nen bullet shot straight for Riku's head at supersonic speed!
Riku stomped his foot, lightning patterns flashing violently, and he instantly vanished from his spot, leaving only an afterimage that shattered in the air. In the next instant, he appeared above the enemy, the Lightning Core in his right fist compressed to the absolute limit!
"Ash Flame Lightning Core: Sky-Dropping Fall!"
BOOM!!!
The fist shadow descended, popping layers of air like glass. But the blood shadow showed no reaction, merely turning its body slightly. A crimson shield phantom appeared, completely blocking the fist's momentum!
"First strike—failed?" Riku's pupils shrank, and the system quickly prompted:
[Failed to hit the "Core Nen Barrier"]
[Adaptation failed, plunder path invalid]
"Lightning Flame: Chain Leap Step!"
He forcefully switched his footwork, instantly ejecting five Lightning Step clones, surrounding the blood shadow from all directions, while simultaneously activating the fused trait "End Shadow Killing Array."
Every clone harbored the intent of high-speed severing. Ash-blue slashing lights crisscrossed in the air, attempting to force out its weakness.
Xiuh—!
In a flash, the blood shadow clapped its hands together, abruptly raised its head, and the two bloody flame wings behind it exploded—
"Life Judgment: Cleansing Verdict."
A silent slash abruptly appeared.
Before anyone could react, several crimson rifts had already torn the five Lightning Step clones to shreds! Riku's main body narrowly retreated half a step, the armor on his chest torn open with a shocking gash.
[Warning: Lightning Core structural integrity dropped to 83%]
[Trait "Combat Backtrack" has entered cooldown]
His expression was grim. Every one of the opponent's attacks seemed to precisely calculate the limits of his reaction time, even... seemingly able to read his future movements!
"An enemy like this... requires breaking the stalemate."
Riku gritted his teeth, activating the "Privilege Residue: Data Rewrite" trait!
Lightning covered his left eye, and a data-vision emerged. On the opponent's movement trajectory, a series of probability clues were generated, three of which were highlighted as the locations of the "Nen Delay Core"!
"Found you."
In the next moment, the Lightning Core throughout Riku's body burst, firing rapid succession of "Thunder God's Wrath: Triple Thrust Slash"!
He no longer clashed head-on with a lightning fist, but transformed his fists into palms, fingers like blades. Every strike followed the data trajectory, accurately slicing towards those three core parts!
The first attack was blocked by a slanted shield, the second attack deviated from its trajectory, but the third strike—
Squelch—!!!
His knife-hand pierced the opponent's chest, the sharp edge of the Lightning Core breaking through an extremely weak Nen defense!
The blood shadow's movement stagnated!
The system popped up a highlighted window:
[First hit on a Consciousness Node!]
[Plunder privilege activating...]
[Trait Analysis Successful: S-Rank Trait · "Mirror Barrier Synchronized Reaction" (Copies and delays the image of the opponent's moves)]
"Good stuff!"
Riku immediately initiated trait fusion, nesting and splicing it with "Combat Backtrack." The system prompted:
[Trait Fusion Successful: S+ Rank · Phantom Mirror Consecutive Breath]
Description: Can read the opponent's subconscious reaction within the next 0.8 seconds of their movement, automatically anticipate, and execute derivative movements at 2x speed.
"Let's see how you dodge now!"
He struck out with both palms simultaneously, dual lightning shadows synchronizing, actually forcing the blood shadow to retreat briefly!
And that momentary retreat was precisely marked by the system—
Second Core—Back Pivot!
"Lightning Slash: Backlight World-Severing!"
Riku spun his body around, transforming into a lightning blade slashing down at high speed!
This strike tore through the illusory cloak on the blood shadow's back, the lightning flame cutting directly into its black "Nen Core Node"!
BOOM!!!
The system shook violently:
[Second Core hit!]
[Plunder privilege upgraded!]
[Unlocked Hidden Trait · "Reverse Authority: Fate-Judging Chapter (S+ Rank)"]
"This ability..." Riku's mind reeled. That was a rule-level skill capable of "forcibly interrupting the target's active Nen skill casting"—extremely rare!
But before he could try to activate it, the blood shadow's aura suddenly surged!
Several bloody seams instantly cracked open on its chest, arms, and head. Countless crimson fluid streams hung down like cables, weaving into a blurred face—
"The third core... is hidden within the Nen aspect's 'shell'?"
A crazy conjecture surfaced in Riku's mind: this guy's true core wasn't its physical structure, but the possessing "shell will"!
"System, can you track that structure?"
[Can activate "Eye of Bizarre Construction (Unstable)" once]
[Activate?]
"Activate!"
Blood light abruptly appeared in his left eye. The illusory space deconstructed within his pupil, and the internal structure of the blood shadow unfolded as a Nen-constructed body.
Riku saw the third core—it was a small "circuit" hidden beneath the Nen grid of the head.
"If I don't act now, another wave of killing moves is coming."
Riku suddenly compressed all the plundered traits within his body temporarily into the Lightning Core. The system prompted:
[About to activate Ultimate Skill "Lightning Severance: Divine Might Mirror World Fall"]
He tilted his head back, lightning flames rising all over his body, a force of ten thousand钧 coursing through him. The phantom behind him actually transformed into a four-armed Thunder God, six Nen rings slowly rotating!
"Sever Nen! Crush Soul!—Break!!!"
His Thunder God phantom dive-bombed with a crash, carrying the critical hit of all traits—striking head-on at the blood shadow's head!
Rumble!!!
That patch of space completely collapsed. The bloody flames instantly twisted, turning into a shattered Nen light structure, like residual ash in the wind, scattering in mid-air.
The system prompted frantically:
[Target "Dark Vanguard Entity" completely defeated!]
[Third Core successfully destroyed!]
[Plunder Successful!]
[Acquired Trait: EX-Rank · Domain Guidance · Dark Sacrificial Right (Single-use)]
The surroundings quieted down, and the twisted rift in the air gradually closed.
Riku stood on the residual battlefield, his Lightning Core trembling slightly. The system prompts finally popped up slowly:
[Current Plundered Traits: 102]
[System Level Increased to: Lv4]
[Unlocked Extended Function: Trait Armament · Fusion Soul Core]
And simultaneously, deep within the earth, that soon-to-be fully awakened Dark Continent Nen essence... also gazed upon him for the first time.
Riku exhaled softly, chuckling in a low voice:
"Dark Continent... have you finally noticed me?"
Riku stood in the ruins. The air was exceptionally still, as if all battle and chaos had been suppressed to the limit. However, he knew clearly in his heart that this was merely the calm before the storm.
The void before his eyes slowly dissipated, and the blood shadow's figure completely collapsed and vanished. The system prompt sounded like background music:
[Target "Dark Vanguard Entity" has been completely destroyed]
[Plunder Successful: EX-Rank · Domain Guidance · Dark Sacrificial Right (Single-use)]
[Current Plundered Traits: 103]
[System Level Increased to Lv4]
[Unlocked Extended Function: Trait Armament · Fusion Soul Core]
The system's new function caught Riku's attention. He was already accustomed to the mode of trait plundering, but this new system function, "Trait Armament · Fusion Soul Core," signified a new breakthrough.
"Fusion Soul Core?" Riku muttered softly. The system did not explain in detail, but that vague power quietly infused into his body. He knew deeply that this was absolutely not a simple enhancement of trait fusion, but a completely new mode of energy guidance—perhaps allowing the traits he controlled to achieve effects surpassing their original settings.
He didn't think too much about it, but cast his gaze towards the closing dark rift.