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049 (Vol 2) HxH: Tombbound Power
🕑 Added 2025-02-14 06:00:11 +0000 UTCHis steps faltered slightly, his body trembling.
If not for the last traces of energy keeping him upright and concealing his wounds, he might not have even been able to stand. Even so, he couldn't stop the black-red blood dripping from the gaping wound in his chest.
The bleeding was slow, sluggish. Most of the injuries on Jed's body had been seared by the explosion—charred flesh, overcooked and brittle. Blood couldn't freely flow from something so thoroughly burned.
Even the hole in his chest was little more than a pit of scorched meat, its faint, sickly burnt scent hanging in the air. It was a sight that sent a chill through anyone who looked.
The sound of blood hitting the ground echoed in the eerie silence that followed the explosion.
"Ahem... ahem!"
A ragged cough suddenly broke the stillness. Behind Jed, the black smoke dispersed, revealing Netero's battered figure.
"Ahh, ahh, kids these days really know how to make a mess. What a ruckus! This is more powerful than a bomb—no, I don't even know how much stronger!~"
Though Netero wasn't as outwardly damaged as Jed, he wasn't exactly in good shape either.
The beard he had painstakingly grown had been blown to pieces. His hair, once neatly tied, was now scorched and cut into jagged, uneven sections.
His once-pristine white training clothes were stained with soot and scorch marks.
Still, he hadn't suffered any severe injuries. Though the blast had shaken him, the aura barrier that lifted him off the ground had absorbed most of the explosion's impact.
As Netero steadied himself, his gaze fell on Jed. Compared to his own sorry state, Jed was in far worse shape. His eyes softened, taking on a complex expression.
"Jed, you..."
"Ahem, that was more powerful than I expected."
From within the fading smoke, Ronnel's figure emerged.
Among the three of them, he was in the best condition. His face was untouched—no soot, no burns, not even a single smudge.
The only real damage was to his right sleeve, which had been blasted apart, leaving it in tattered shreds. His arm bore minor burns and explosion wounds, but nothing serious.
"I didn't think Little Flower would be this powerful."
Ronnel flexed his numbed arm, exhaling softly.
From the moment he had charged at Jed, he had already laid out his entire battle strategy.
When faced with the Rakshasa's incoming attack, Ronnel hadn't resisted.
Instead, just before it struck, he activated [Double], letting his clone take the brunt of the assault.
The one impaled through the chest by Rakshasa wasn't him—it was a clone.
Using the momentary opening that created, Ronnel moved closer to the streetlamp.
When Jed's fist, laced with hatred, came hurtling toward him, he released another clone of [Double].
Since his previous clone had been destroyed by Rakshasa's attack, he could summon a new one immediately.
Jed's punch struck this newly formed clone, allowing Ronnel's real body to leap upward, seizing the perfect moment to unleash his Tiger Bite Fist.
Jed's hastily formed aura defense was like paper before Ronnel's sharpened technique.
The Tiger Bite Fist cut straight through it, severing Jed's arm in one clean strike.
Immediately afterward, Ronnel followed up, fingers driving into Jed's chest.
Then came the explosion—a small, concentrated blast of gunpowder—sealing Ronnel's offensive maneuver.
[Double] + Tiger Bite True Fist + [Little Flower]. Two Nen abilities and one powerful strike were enough to bring this battle to a decisive end.
Ronnel had used Jed's own perception of Nen against him, throwing out two clones in quick succession. The psychological misdirection delayed Jed's reaction, allowing Ronnel to exploit the opening.
In truth, if he had wanted to kill Jed outright, he wouldn't have needed such an elaborate strategy.
A direct approach—summoning a substitute and using [Watcher in the Shadow] for a suicidal close-range strike—would have ended the fight much faster, leaving Ronnel completely unharmed.
(T/N: When the user's shadow links with an opponent's, both parties share sensory input—pain, touch, smell, etc.)
Or he could have used corpse poison, which would have likely dealt with Jed in moments.
However, Ronnel was uncertain about the interactions between aura and resentment. If Jed's hatred could sever shadow links, then [Watcher in the Shadow] would have been useless.
As for corpse poison—would it even work on someone like Jed, who had already returned from the dead?
Netero was still nearby. He had been forced into "Extreme" by the constraints of resentment and couldn't freely mobilize his aura to protect himself.
If Jed wasn't affected by the poison, then Netero would be the first to fall, and that wouldn't be a good outcome.
Besides, Ronnel had simply been curious to test the full power of [Little Flower].
Now he knew—it was more than satisfactory.
"That's it~"
Ronnel stepped forward, stopping a short distance from Jed. His expression was neutral, devoid of mockery or pity.
"Unfortunately, this attempt of yours has ended in failure."
Hearing those words, Jed slowly lifted his head, staring at Ronnel for a long moment.
Then, his lips twisted into a strange arc.
"Hahahahaha!"
A sharp, hoarse laugh burst from his throat, echoing high above Heavens Arena.
It was impossible to tell what emotions were mixed in—anger, resentment, sorrow, unwillingness. All of it blended into a single, chaotic outburst of laughter.
"Well…"
Netero let out a quiet sigh at the sound.
As someone who had once fought alongside Jed, he understood him well enough to know what that laugh truly meant.
