Chương 76: The Price of Arrogance

The seven deadly sins. Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. In another world, people called them the seven deadly sins: flaws said to live in human nature from birth. For many people, those sins might never fully reveal themselves. After Oss's baptism in Meteor City, Aren's mentality had already begun to change. Immortal vitality. An aura reserve that rose every moment. Both made him increasingly prideful.

In the end, Aren had been a winner in his previous life, but he was still only an ordinary person. Even if he had been the richest man in the world, he would still have been mortal. Anyone who had never held supernatural power could never truly understand how intoxicating it felt. Holding another person's fate in his hand. Reducing everything to dust with a flick of his fingers. In his previous life, a small handgun would have scared Aren into raising both hands over his head.

Now, facing dozens or hundreds of machine guns and RPGs, he only sneered.

'Trash toys.' The stronger a person became, the less awe they felt toward the world. After that, Aren kept meeting weaklings. Not one could touch the corner of his clothes. The abilities he developed were also nearly invincible in theory. So he naturally became inflated. He grew prideful. And he grew lazy. The old Aren, at least, had been willing to spend an entire month without sleep to develop Limitless Technique. Asking the current Aren to do that would only earn an eye roll.

He would roll his eyes and ask whether lying down was uncomfortable or whether teasing Neon was not fun anymore. No one could defeat him for now. There was no reason for him to suffer. By the time the Chimera Ant King appeared, more than ten years would have passed. Even if Aren did nothing, his aura reserve would climb past ten million and perhaps approach twenty million.

If the estimates Aren remembered were anywhere close, Meruem after absorbing Shaiapouf and Menthuthuyoupi might have reached roughly three million aura units. Even if Aren stood still and used no ability, Ken alone might prevent Meruem from breaking his defense. Unless Meruem absorbed Netero and obtained something like the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva. Netero's aura was estimated far below that, yet with the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, he could still injure pre-rose Meruem slightly.

If Meruem obtained that kind of combat amplification, perhaps he could break Aren's Ken. But that assumed Aren used no abilities at all. The moment Aren used Nen abilities, the fight would end. With that kind of future in mind, he felt no need to work hard. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. And now Silva's appearance had become a brutal slap in the face. Aren's pupils contracted to pinpoints as Silva's knife-hand stabbed toward his throat.

He wanted to activate Limitless Technique immediately. His awareness could not keep up. His brain sent the signal, but his body had not reacted yet.

'Limitless...' Silva's hand pierced his throat before the ability could appear. Blood flooded upward and sprayed from Aren's mouth. His artery had been pierced. His throat had been torn open. Years of experience told Silva that the silver-haired boy before him could not be saved. He pulled his hand free and shook the blood from it.

"Illumi, this is what not to do." Silva turned toward Illumi, who had remained outside the door.

"Nen users possess power far beyond ordinary people, but that power comes from Nen, not necessarily from the body itself."

"In other words, if they cannot activate Nen, they are no different from ordinary people."

"Nen is not always passive. Most of the time, it must be used actively."

"The simplest and most effective way to assassinate a Nen user is to kill them before they can react." Illumi nodded thoughtfully.

"I understand." After confirming that his son understood, Silva began walking toward the door. The mission was complete.

"Hey." The voice came from behind them.

"You came in the middle of the night, stabbed me in the throat without saying a word, and now you plan to leave without a word. Isn't that a little rude?" Aren, who should have been dead, sat up slowly on the bed and spoke in a calm tone. His voice was flat, but the anger in his eyes was about to spill out. That anger was directed at Silva. And at himself. Silva's appearance had made Aren's previous pride look like a joke. He had thought he would test the Zoldycks' level.

Instead, they had successfully killed him once before he even noticed. He had not sensed Silva enter the room. He had not known the assassin reached his side. It was humiliating. Pitch-black aura spread from Aren like thick ink. In an instant, it stained the entire room, then rushed outward. Hearing Aren's voice, Silva's eyes widened in shock. He immediately retreated from the room and stared at the boy sitting on the bed in disbelief. The malice coming from Aren made Silva's instincts flare like a threatened cat.

He had never felt such concentrated evil. But before that, he had to confirm the situation.

'Did I fail?' No. The artery had been pierced. The throat had been torn open. He had felt the strike land.

'His ability?'

'Enhancement-type self-healing?'

'Or a Conjuration-type substitute?' Silva looked at the blood still covering Aren's neck. His mind raced. There was no wound left. If this were ordinary Enhancement-based recovery, it should not have healed so completely in such a short time. Then he was probably a Conjurer using some kind of body-substitution or revival ability. If that was his ability, his combat strength should not be too high.

'Then why had he not continued pretending to be dead or taken the chance to ambush?'

'Did he have some unknown trump card that made him certain he could win?' Silva was confused because Aren had sat up and spoken instead of choosing the most efficient option. As an assassin, Silva's thinking was always quick and efficient. He did not do unnecessary things. Silva could not understand that Aren was simply venting.

'Until I understand his ability, I cannot attack carelessly.' That was how an ordinary Nen user might think. Silva was not ordinary.

"Illumi, move back!" Silva shouted. He stretched both hands out to his sides and condensed two massive purple Nen spheres, each wrapped in arcs of lightning. Illumi instantly retreated like a shadow. Aren's expression did not change as the huge Nen spheres flew toward him. He raised his right hand and extended his fingers slightly. Limitless Technique. Space rippled before him. Silva's Nen spheres stopped in midair.

"Go back." Aren pushed his palm forward. The two spheres seemed to receive a new order. They reversed course and shot back toward Silva. Silva's eyes narrowed.

'Reflection.'

'Transmutation shaping Nen into repulsive force?'

'Or was he some kind of Specialist?' There was not enough information. Silva's muscular body became impossibly light, slipping between the two Nen spheres. As he dodged his own attack, another ripple passed through space. Aren suddenly appeared directly in Silva's path. Both of Aren's hands were wrapped in The Hand. Killing intent flashed in his eyes, and his right hand swept toward Silva's head. From the moment Francis Evans warned him that the Zoldycks might come, Aren had never intended to kill them.

At most, he wanted to meet them and test himself. In the future, he still had a theory he wanted to test with Nanika. That theory involved an ultimate Nen ability he wanted to develop, but he did not yet believe he could complete it by himself. Nanika's wish-granting might help. For that reason, unless absolutely necessary, Aren did not want to make the Zoldycks his mortal enemies. Not because he was afraid. Only because it did not serve his interests. Nanika was a so-called all-purpose wish machine.

That alone was worth trying. If he killed Silva here, Killua and Alluka might never be born. Nanika might disappear from the future entirely. Even if Zeno had come instead, Zeno's death might still affect Silva. If losing his father made Silva lose the mood to have more children after Killua was born, Aren's future plans could collapse. Then Aren's plans would be ruined. So from beginning to end, he had not planned to kill a Zoldyck. As for making the Zoldycks abandon the mission, the method was simple.

Power decided everything.