Chapter 29: How Could He...

The Nen aura surrounding one’s body reflects the thoughts and emotions of the user through its fluctuations and form. Similarly, the bizarre and varied Nen abilities themselves serve as a direct mirror of the user's personality and past experiences. This is a latent, inextricably linked connection.

Conversely, once the presence of Nen becomes prominent, it amplifies the strengths and weaknesses in a user’s character, as well as their fundamental values. The good become better, and the wicked become more depraved. Therefore, those who disregard human life will, without any psychological resistance, view their own kind as nothing more than ants.

The prime example of this in the original work would be those infected by Morena’s "Love Letter." Their singular goal is to kill. Consequently, when they commit murder, they feel not even the slightest psychological ripple. In their eyes, the lives of their peers are nothing more than points to be gained for leveling up. The existence of Nen only serves to make their viewpoints and methods even more unshakable. Thus, in a background heavily influenced by this power system, most Nen users are devoid of any bottom line or restraint when committing evil.

The opponent before him, baring his killing intent on the ring, was undoubtedly the type who revels in slaughter. A person like this, once they awaken their Nen ability, is destined to possess a type that increases their lethality. Moro had no interest in Tagore’s character or history, nor would he bother to condemn him for his actions. He had confirmed only one thing: the moment Tagore bared his killing intent, he had defined this match as a life-or-death struggle.

No longer intending to speak, Moro stood in the designated position at the referee's signal. Then, Moro released his Nen to its maximum extent. For a moment, the aura surrounding him flickered gently like flames. In contrast, Tagore, standing on the opposite side, poured pure, unmasked killing intent into his own aura.

The aura released as a result deeply affected the referee. As an ordinary person who did not understand Nen, the referee felt as if his throat were being gripped by an invisible force when faced with this killing-intent-laden pressure. He was unable to speak for a time, and sweat broke out on his face in an instant. If not for his professional ethics, the referee would have wanted to turn and flee immediately. He felt as if Tagore were a tiger with bared fangs, ready to tear into anyone nearby indiscriminately.

"Mr. Referee, surely you heard what the contestant Tagore just said," Moro said calmly. "I choose to accept Tagore’s proposal for a death match. Therefore, this match has become a fight to the death, and there is no longer any need for the referee to remain on the stage."

"Right, right..." The referee felt as if he had been granted an amnesty, but he did not immediately step off the ring. Instead, suppressing the terror in his heart, he looked with great difficulty toward Tagore on the other side, intending to confirm as per procedure.

Tagore did not even look at him, coldly saying, "Get lost."

The referee immediately scrambled off the ring.

At the commentary desk, the young and beautiful female announcer received the information and shouted with excitement: "What! Contestants Moro and Tagore have initiated a death match on their own! This means the match has devolved into a duel of life and death, no longer restricted by any rules. Only one person can survive on the ring; the death of the opponent is the only condition for victory!!!"

The announcer's voice echoed throughout the venue. The audience, already excited for the duel, felt a certain gene within them activated upon hearing it was a death match, and they all erupted into frantic cheers. The volume was so great it nearly blew the roof off.

On the ring, as the referee stepped down, Tagore could not wait to launch his offensive. He held his fists vertically in front of him, taking quick, small steps to press toward Moro. The space on the ring was limited, and Tagore closed the distance quickly. Without testing his opponent, he struck a jab directly at Moro’s face with a posture of absolute confidence.

A sharp, piercing sound cut through the air; the white fist was so fast that only a blurred image remained. Moro, having been on guard, stepped back in time. While dodging the jab, he intended to focus on defense first to observe Tagore’s attacking style.

However, at that very moment, an invisible strike hit Moro’s cheek.

With a dull thud, Moro was struck. A visible, jellyfish-shaped wave of energy rippled from his cheek, and he stumbled as he stepped back.

"His aura... it extended."

At the moment of the strike, Moro saw the Nen on Tagore’s fully extended fist expand and lengthen in the blink of an eye. It was this suddenly extended aura that had struck his cheek like a fist. Moreover, judging by the sensation of the impact, this was not a conventional aura manipulation attack. If it were, it could not have had such power, given that their Nen defense levels were not significantly different.

The aura... must have been imbued with the property of impact. It was a Transmutation ability.

Moro stumbled backward, bracing his right foot against the ground to steady himself. At this moment, various sounds erupted from the audience—screams, cheers, and roars. The spectators could not clearly see Tagore’s actual punch; they only saw that after the brief exchange, Moro had clearly dodged the fist, yet was still hit. This intuitive result was the very reason they had bestowed upon Tagore the title of "Sonic Punch."

On the ring, Tagore, having landed the first blow, did not give Moro a chance to adjust and pressed forward again with short, quick steps. Just as Moro steadied himself, Tagore was already upon him, his jab—loaded with killing intent—aimed directly at the vital points of Moro’s upper body.

Faced with Tagore’s relentless pursuit, Moro did not allocate much Nen to build a defense for his upper body; instead, he funneled the majority into his legs.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Suddenly, Moro pushed off with his toes, his body leaping backward as lightly as a gazelle. Then, the moment his heels touched the ground, he pivoted, propelling his body to change direction at high speed.

Tagore’s continuous jabs struck empty air. When he realized this, he did not pull back his fist but instead followed through with a bent elbow, striking toward Moro, who had landed to his side. The aura imbued with the property of impact extended along his elbow at that moment, cutting toward Moro like an arm-blade.

However, Moro was still one step faster. His body traced a semi-circular path across the ring, maneuvering to the other side. Tagore’s pursuit missed, and he stopped at the edge of the ring, frowning slightly. He had just forced Moro to the edge; if he had seized the opportunity, he was confident he could have knocked Moro out. Unfortunately, Moro had used his footwork to dodge.

In the stands, the woman with the long ponytail who had been defeated by Moro in the preliminaries suddenly widened her eyes in shock. "How could he... my 'Gazelle' footwork? And... he’s so fast!"

The footwork Moro had just used was exactly the technique she had employed during the preliminaries. She never expected to see Moro use it here! But the problem was not just that the Gazelle footwork had been learned; it was that the explosive power and speed Moro demonstrated with the footwork were levels beyond what she could currently achieve. The long-ponytail woman was left in disbelief.