Meanwhile, on the other side—
A powerful will to die surged from the fallen mummy.
Two potent waves of aura—both driven by the intent of death—rushed straight at Kaizen.
Kaizen narrowed his eyes slightly.
Gripping the hilt of the Rotten Knife tightly, he raised it.
Then, with a swift, horizontal slash, the blade cleaved through both death auras.
A strong gravitational pull erupted from the Rotten Knife's edge.
Both auras were drawn in immediately.
Split in half by the blade, they were consumed—every last fragment absorbed into the Rotten Knife, becoming part of its power.
Time passed.
Eventually, the spiritual storm faded.
These two death auras were the strongest Kaizen had encountered since learning Nen.
Far stronger than what he'd seen in Taris.
"The Rotten Knife has entered a dormant state."
"By devouring these two death auras, it's triggered the chance to evolve."
Kaizen was a bit surprised.
Back when he first encountered the Fallen, he had considered using the Rotten Knife to absorb their death state.
But he hadn't expected this—the absorption to push the weapon toward evolution.
"I wonder what level it'll reach after this... and what changes will come with it."
He couldn't help but look forward to it.
After dealing with the bodies of the fallen youth and the mummy, Kaizen headed toward the direction Tessia and the others had gone.
High in the sky, Altan hovered, scanning the area.
She soon located the group.
With a thought, Kaizen dismissed his summoned beasts.
The Hexflare Bomb and Rotten Knife were now sheathed at his waist.
He stepped lightly onto the sea's surface, speeding toward Kezester and the rest.
Not long after, the ocean returned to stillness—as if nothing had happened at all.
...
Tessia waved as Kaizen approached.
Menchi and the others turned to him as well.
"Kaizen, how did it go~~?"
"Handled," Kaizen replied, without going into detail.
Menchi's eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again.
"We didn't do too well over here... That guy escaped. After today, he'll definitely go into hiding—deep hiding. It's going to be hard to track him down again."
She clenched her fists in frustration.
"Let's head back first."
Kaizen still hadn't seen any of the reinforcements.
Not until they returned to Gourmet Paradise.
...
Halfway there, Menchi received a call.
"Kaizen, you're coming with us. Linne-sama wants to see you."
"Alright," Kaizen nodded without hesitation.
He'd been curious to meet Linne anyway. She had once fought alongside Zigg Zoldyck and shared a close connection with him.
Besides, to truly understand the full nature of Gourmet Paradise, meeting Linne was a necessary step.
"Tessia, Shizuku, Lisa—head back first."
"Yes."
"Yes, Captain."
Kaizen followed Menchi and the others.
Everyone except him looked worse for wear. Their battle with the Fallen had been costly—they hadn't gained the upper hand and had paid a steep price.
There had been casualties.
Kaizen's gaze locked onto a new figure among them.
A short, stocky individual wrapped in a heavy cloak.
He was certain this person hadn't been part of the team before.
And the aura they emitted—it was off.
Still, since Menchi and the others said nothing, Kaizen chose to stay silent too.
...
Eventually, they arrived at the fourth sector of Gourmet Paradise—the so-called "Mysterious Zone."
A towering structure stood there, isolated.
They entered and rode the elevator to the top floor.
Down a hallway, they reached a meeting room.
Menchi pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Inside sat an elderly woman—visibly aged, similar in appearance to Netero.
But her aura was far weaker than his.
Among the trio of Netero, Linne, and Zigg, Netero had always been the strongest.
And that hadn't changed.
Standing beside the elderly woman was a tall, formidable-looking woman.
"Linne-sama… we're sorry. He got away," Menchi said, bowing her head.
Linne's expression didn't change. She gave a small nod.
"Tell me exactly what happened."
"Yes," Menchi began.
"We were patrolling the ocean, using the cursed silver coin you gave us to track the Fallen. At first, nothing turned up."
"Then we found a seriously injured hunter—someone from another team—floating in the sea."
"They'd discovered the Fallen's location."
"Our three teams converged and surrounded him."
"All three of us used our cursed silver coins on him simultaneously."
"The coins entered his body and restricted his movements."
"But then, beneath the sea, a swarm of mermaid-type monsters appeared. Their defense was high, but their offense was weak. We could handle them."
"However... the Fallen suddenly split into two separate entities."
"At that moment, the restriction from the silver coins vanished."
"Kaizen engaged one half alone."
"The rest of us pursued the other."
"We're not sure what happened on Kaizen's end, but afterward, he told us he'd taken care of it. And I believe him."
"But our side failed—we let the other half escape."
"I'm sorry, Linne-sama."
Linne waved her hand dismissively.
"It's fine. What's done is done. Let the future take care of what's to come."
Then she turned to the cloaked figure.
"Mana. Did you forcibly use the cursed silver coins?"
The figure stepped forward.
"Yes."
As she spoke, she pulled back her hood.
Kaizen's pupils narrowed.
He recognized the name—Mana, an A-rank Gourmet Hunter.
But what he saw now was completely different from the woman he'd heard of.
Mana had once been known for her beauty.
Now she was short, round, balding in patches. Her face was puffy, her teeth misaligned.
Nothing about her resembled her former self.
She wasn't just unrecognizable.
She was hideous.
Kaizen's mind flashed to a certain someone...
A character who played a key role during the Yorknew arc...
------------
Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)