Hunter x Hunter : Germain Joins The Hunt

The battle within the "Ancient Labyrinth City" continued.

Boom—

A behemoth-like shield-armored dragon, decapitated and with its short tail severed, relentlessly charged at Germain, unfazed by its injuries.

A typical fatal wound was no longer enough to kill this beast.

It wasn't until Germain managed to slice open a gap in the "Brion" beneath its unarmored underbelly, releasing a cloud of spore-filled black mist, that the creature finally lost its energy source.

The parasitized shield-armored dragon collapsed to the ground like an airship making a hard landing, leaving a long, bloody track in its wake.

The parasitic spores surged forward like the dust of an explosion, wave after wave, quickly closing in on Germain.

From behind, Shizuku, holding the "Blinky," called out a warning: "Germain, we need to retreat."

"Wait," Germain said, conjuring a flamethrower and aiming it at the spore-filled black mist. "Let's see how effective fire is."

The flamethrower roared, spewing fire into the dark mist. The spores crackled and popped like kernels of popcorn.

At the same time, they came to life, twisting mid-air, transforming into the gaping maw of a beast, ready to devour Germain.

Germain shifted the flamethrower's nozzle, sweeping the fire across, stopping the advance of the black, gaping mouth.

Moments later, all the parasitic spores had been incinerated by Germain's flames, leaving behind a layer of grayish-black ash, as if the ground had been carpeted in soot.

Germain walked back to Shizuku. "Flames can't burn through the shield-armored dragon's shell or the 'Brion' shell, but they are effective against the spores."

"Burning them is like torching a nest of cockroaches. Just be sure none escape and climb onto you," he added.

"But," Shizuku adjusted her black-rimmed glasses with a scholarly air, "doesn't this drain a lot of your Nen? The flames consume your Nen, not fuel."

"It's fine. My Nen reserves are still plentiful. As long as I don't keep burning continuously, it's manageable," Germain replied.

He wasn't lying or putting on a brave front—it was true. Up to this point, he and Shizuku had taken down a total of five monsters together.

Both Germain's "physique" and "Nen capacity (Endurance)" surpassed the "Champion Level," reaching 103 points and 104 points respectively. 

This achievement granted him the "Champion's Aura," replacing his former "Master's Aura."

With the "Champion's Aura," Germain's Nen capacity made him the top Nen user across the Six Continents, and his physique allowed him to withstand and reduce more "pressure." 

For instance, the "pressure" from the "Ancient Labyrinth City" was reduced from 3 points to just 1 point. 

This meant that the "Champion's Aura" cut 7 points of damage each time he experienced "pressure damage."

Despite his physique and aura capacity reaching the "Champion Level," Germain's overall combat power remained at the "Master Level." 

This was because most of his physique and Nen capacity had been rapidly increased by his Nen ability rather than through natural training or spiritual insight. 

It was as if he was wearing an oversized coat that did not match his natural build.

Germain removed the "Tomb Raider's Hood," allowing him to better make eye contact with Shizuku. The two of them walked in the same direction, conversing as they went.

"I actually tried using the 'Blinky' to absorb the entire 'Brion' or its spores just now... but it didn't work. I couldn't fool myself. They are alive."

"Bisky told you to try, didn't she?"

"Yes, she said, 'You can think of them as dead,' and suggested I give it a go... But they're definitely alive. Just now, they even changed direction and came at us, actively attacking us."

"I see."

"You think so too, right? Anyway, I can't make the 'Blinky' consume living things... but I can absorb the remains after cutting off the parasitic 'Brion.'"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you so fixated on not letting the 'Blinky' devour living beings?"

"It's my 'Vows and Limitations,'" Shizuku replied, eyes widening in surprise at Germain's question.

"What was the reason behind making such 'Vows and Limitations'?" Germain decided to dig deeper into the topic.

"Hmm..." Shizuku tapped her chin thoughtfully, then answered, "Now that I think about it, it might be related to something that happened when I was young in Meteor City."

"What happened?"

Germain pondered for a moment. "Think about it—we're always short on food and water in Meteor City, right? Once, I snuck into someone's house to steal some food. I searched for a long time, but in the end, I realized they didn't have anything to eat either."

Germain's expression darkened as he started to guess what might come next, but he still asked, "And then?"

"Then I heard screaming from the other room. When I looked in, I saw them cutting open their own child to eat."

Shizuku blinked her eyes slightly, but her expression remained unchanged.

"I can never forget the way those parents looked at me," Shizuku continued.

"Did they want to eat you too?" Germain asked.

"No," Shizuku said, shaking his head. "Their eyes looked just like those of the dead bodies you see lying in the streets. They glanced at me once, then went back to what they were doing as if I wasn't even there."

Germain fell silent.

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