Chapter 186: Destructo Disc
Ronin's Swamp of the Underworld didn't just target the Ant King.
Having analyzed Vanessa's abilities during their subterranean city trek, he knew
how to accommodate her. While the liquefied ground was a death trap for the
biological monsters, Vanessa's shadow-walking allowed her to navigate the mud as
easily as solid floor.
Mashur, meanwhile, remained outside the swamp's radius. His long-range Emitter
style dictated that he stay at a distance to maximize his bombardment
efficiency.
The battlefield evolved exactly as Ronin planned.
The sudden shift into muck had zero effect on Vanessa. Instead, it provided the
perfect cover for an assassination.
As the Lion-Ant struggled to fend off Mashur's relentless Nen bullets, Vanessa
transitioned through the shadows of the projectiles themselves, leaping into the
Lion's own silhouette.
Before the Guard could even register her presence, she rose from his shadow. Her
dagger flashed, severing the Lion's carotid artery in a single, clinical strike.
As the creature roared and lashed out in a violent reflex, Vanessa had already
submerged back into the shadow world.
Unless the Guard had an ability that could enter the shadow dimension or delete
the shadow itself, she was untouchable.
Mud sprayed as the Lion-Ant thrashed.
Blood geysered from his neck, his eyes turning a frenzied, dark red. He made no
attempt to stem the flow. Instead, he let out a roar that vibrated the very air.
He had noticed the shift in his own shadow. Vanessa, watching from below, felt a
prickle of unease. As she watched the falling blood, she saw something
impossible.
The blood wasn't hitting the mud. It was suspended in mid-air, beginning to
coagulate into sharp, crystalline needles.
He's not an Enhancer, Vanessa realized, her grip tightening on her dagger. He's
a Manipulator or a Transmuter.
Mashur's Nen bullets continued to explode against the Guard's hide, but the
falling blood was now forming a secondary defense. The crimson liquid flowed
upward, defying gravity to form a swirling web of gore that shielded the Lion
from the bombardment.
Vanessa noted that the blood was still tethered to the wound in the Lion's neck
by a visible thread of Nen.
Hematic Manipulation, she deduced. He's using his own life force to build a
fortress.
But what happens if I cut that thread?
In the distance, Mashur realized his standard bullets were being neutralized by
the blood shield.
He and Vanessa had operated together for years. He knew her current position was
high-risk. If the Guard found a way to "crush" the shadow or flush her out, she
would be defenseless against his physical might.
Mashur stopped firing.
He didn't rest. He began to gather a massive volume of aura between his palms.
Instead of a sphere, the energy began to flatten and compress. Arcs of
high-frequency aura buzzed around his hands as the construct took the shape of a
serrated, rotating disc.
The "whirring" sound of the spinning energy was so sharp it could be felt in the
teeth of everyone in the cavern.
A cutting-type Emission, Ronin noted, glancing away from the King. He saw the
King's eyes flicker toward Mashur, his predatory mind already attempting to copy
the new technique.
This was a move Ronin recognized from Dragon Ball: The Destructo Disc (Kienzan).
Mashur's version was rougher and denser than Krillin's, but the principle was
identical.
With a roar of effort, Mashur twisted his body and hurled the disc at the
Lion-Ant.
The Guard smirked. He had a simple solution to the shadow-assassin and the
incoming projectile.
He began to sink.
He forced his mass deeper into the mud. If he submerged entirely, his shadow
would vanish, and the intruder hiding within would be squeezed out into the
sludge.
As for the disc? Even if it broke through his blood-shield, it was aimed at his
chest. By the time it arrived, he would be safely beneath the surface.
But Ryan's logic was too simple.
"Release!" Ronin commanded.
He deactivated the Swamp of the Underworld. In an instant, the soil returned to
its solid, prehistoric state.
The Lion-Ant, caught mid-submersion, was now physically trapped in the bedrock,
his lower half encased in solid stone.
But Ronin wasn't done. He wove a one-handed seal while using his other arm
(protected by the Susanoo) to swat away a blast from the King.
Earth Style: Moving Earth Core!
The ground beneath the trapped Lion-Ant suddenly lurched upward. A localized
pillar of rock erupted, hoisting the Guard out of the earth and into the air.
The sudden elevation placed the Lion-Ant directly in the path of the incoming
Destructo Disc.
SQUELCH!
The blood-shield offered zero resistance. The disc passed through the liquid
defense like a hot wire through butter.
Even the Guard's reinforced chitin couldn't stop the high-frequency cutting
edge. The disc plowed through his chest, bisecting him diagonally.
As the Lion-Ant's body split, his blood lunged outward, trying to stitch the two
halves back together with threads of aura.
But a silhouette rose from his shadow. Vanessa.
Her dagger was wreathed in a long, needle-like spike of aura. With a single,
precise slash, she severed the Nen threads attempting to re-knit the flesh.
Then, with a brutal follow-through, she kicked the Guard's severed head.
The force launched the head, half a heart, and one arm into the darkness of the
cavern.
The Lion-Ant was dead. Team Ronin had claimed their first Royal Guard.
☆☆☆
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