The Fallen lunged at Buhara and the others without warning.
Buhara had no time to react.
By the time he noticed, it was already too late.
Thud!
He was struck hard, his massive frame crashing down.
As a Gourmet Hunter, he was already at a disadvantage—and now, with two teammates down, the situation only worsened.
What made matters even more dire was the terrifying aura radiating from the young fallen one. No one dared approach him.
Only the A-rank Gourmet Hunter stayed at the front line, coordinating attacks with Tessia from a distance.
Tessia did manage to pressure the young fallen man—but it came with risks.
That eerie aura surrounding the fallen created a strong suppressive force, severely limiting the A-rank hunter's ability to fight effectively.
Even under normal conditions, the young fallen was stronger than an A-rank Gourmet Hunter.
And now, on top of that, the curse backlash from the silver coins was beginning to show.
Eventually, a weakness appeared.
The fallen struck cleanly.
The A-rank Gourmet Hunter was sent flying through the air, completely outmatched.
As the young fallen man prepared to pursue and finish him off—
A massive surge of aura erupted from Tessia.
Her form transformed.
"Dark Rage!"
A gigantic black claw materialized and struck toward the fallen, forcing him to retreat momentarily.
The A-rank Gourmet Hunter collapsed.
Sally grabbed the fishing rod next to her, flicked the line, and snagged the collar of the downed hunter, pulling him toward safety.
"You okay?" she asked, voice tense.
Menchi rushed over.
Pfft!
The Gourmet Hunter spat out a mouthful of blood.
"I'll live."
But he clearly wasn't fine. His injuries were grave.
Menchi clenched her teeth.
"Damn it. I didn't think even Linne-sama's preparations would be broken by this freak."
"I wonder when the others will arrive..." Her voice trailed off, eyes scanning the chaotic battlefield.
...
Only four of them remained.
Unknowingly, Tessia had become the core of the team.
Among the B-rank Nen users, she was by far the most capable.
Shizuku and Sally looked increasingly anxious.
Right now, it came down to two possibilities:
Either the fallen would focus his attacks on Tessia...
Or he'd regroup with the mummy fallen and launch a pincer attack on Kaizen.
Suddenly—
The A-rank Gourmet Hunter spotted a cursed silver coin lying on the deck.
It didn't belong to any of the current three teams.
It had come from a team the fallen had defeated earlier.
He picked it up. His eyes narrowed.
Menchi noticed. Her chest tightened.
"What are you planning?"
The Gourmet Hunter's expression was firm.
"If I use this silver coin on him, it might buy us some time."
"But—!" Menchi snapped. "You've already used one! No one knows what kind of backlash comes from using two. It could kill you outright!"
"That's still better than all of us dying," he said grimly. "This is the only path left."
...
His resolve was set.
He poured a massive surge of aura into the cursed coin.
A pale white glow erupted from it.
"Go!"
With a flick of his wrist, he launched the coin.
It moved on its own, homing in on the fallen just like the previous ones. Dodging was futile.
Thwip!
The cursed silver coin buried itself into the fallen's body.
Immediately, he staggered.
"Now!" Tessia's eyes flared.
A surge like thunder exploded across the fallen's chest.
His body was hurled backward—
Splash!
He crashed into the sea.
Bubbles erupted where he sank.
When he surfaced, his aura had weakened significantly.
Tessia and the others kept their distance.
The fallen's bloodshot eyes locked onto the A-rank Gourmet Hunter. Hatred radiated from them—nearly tangible.
"I'll kill you…"
"I'll kill all of you…"
"Linne!"
He screamed the name like a curse.
...
On the other side of the battlefield, the fallen had no clear read on the mummy fallen's situation.
But judging from their strength, things shouldn't have turned out this badly.
The young fallen was far stronger than this group.
And yet, the cursed coins had changed everything.
The thoughts imbued in the cursed silver coins belonged to Linne—an actual S-rank Nen user.
Even the complete fallen had been restricted by just three of them.
A complete fallen neared S-rank power themselves.
So one could imagine how intense Linne's aura had been when he created these coins.
Of course, the fallen knew the price Linne must've paid to do so.
The coins weren't made from ordinary silver.
They were forged from a rare, energy-laced silver mined from the Dark Continent.
Creating them required the fallen to split their body into two, revealing the true function of the cursed coins.
Even this single extra coin wielded by the A-rank hunter had massively weakened the young fallen—his strength dropped by more than two-thirds.
Now, Tessia's group had the advantage in numbers.
The fallen had no immediate countermeasure.
...
Menchi glanced between the fallen and the A-rank Gourmet Hunter, anxiety gnawing at her.
Before the mission, Linne had been clear:
"One cursed coin per person. No exceptions. The cost is too high. The side effects are severe. Never use two."
Menchi could already feel it.
The backlash had begun.
The Gourmet Hunter's body curled in on itself, wracked with pain.
He convulsed, muscles spasming.
His bones contorted, his skin twisted unnaturally.
Clumps of hair began to fall.
Crackling noises filled the air—
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)