HxH: Ryomen... Satoru?

At some point, the small animals in the forest began to flee in all directions, while birds flapped their wings silently, soaring into the sky.

Even the larger predators grew restless, running aimlessly like headless flies.

The forest became eerily silent—almost deathly still.

It was as if this calm heralded an impending catastrophe.

Even the magical plants rooted in the ground quieted down, acting like ordinary vegetation, utterly motionless.

A white-haired, blue-eyed boy sat casually beneath a tree. One leg lay flat, the other bent upward. His head hung low, his face obscured by the shadows cast by the leaves above.

Suddenly, he pushed against the ground with one hand, rolling several times to avoid an unexpected projectile.

As he looked up, he saw several playing cards embedded deeply in the ground, more than halfway buried.

A red-haired man appeared, his movements seemingly unhurried, yet so swift it seemed he closed the distance in mere flashes, stopping just ten meters from Cyr.

"…Such a delicious fruit," the man said, his exaggerated grin stretching unnaturally wide. His deep, raspy voice betrayed a certain excitement.

"Tch." Cyr straightened up and clicked his tongue in irritation.

"Play with me, won't you?"

"Hahaha… HAHAHAHA—" Hisoka laughed, arms crossed, his entire body trembling with glee.

Pink nen energy silently emanated from him, stretching like highly elastic chewing gum, moving at incredible speed.

The moment Cyr sensed that energy, he retreated without hesitation, simultaneously raising his left hand. A formless slash burst forth.

The strike collided with the pink nen, severing it cleanly. Hisoka's face lit up with a thoughtful expression.

"You can see my nen… and even cut it…"

"Heheheh…" Hisoka chuckled again, his voice low and full of sinister delight. "You seem… even tastier now." He ran his tongue over his upper lip.

At the same time, even more pink nen tendrils extended from Hisoka, stronger and denser than before.

An invisible pressure blanketed the area within a hundred-meter radius.

Cyr frowned, his figure leaping into the air as he snapped impatiently, "Don't treat me like one of your farm apples!"

As his words fell, several more slashes shot forth.

The normally invisible nen collided with Cyr's formless strikes.

Due to the unique properties of Hisoka's nen—soft and elastic like rubber—no sound was produced when the two forces clashed.

But this time, the slashes failed to cut through.

'Can't slice it?' Cyr furrowed his brow.

Ah, so elastic things are harder to sever with sharp attacks? No…

It was because Hisoka had strengthened his nen.

The potency of any attack, after all, depended on the user's energy output.

Cyr's current strength was heavily restricted. Without the ability to open a domain or use other offensive techniques, he was limited to relying solely on his current skill set. His capabilities felt incomplete.

Hisoka stood still, his hands raised, manipulating the tendrils of nen with his ten fingers.

"Very good… so very good… heheh—" The energy around Hisoka grew denser, his aura intensifying by the second.

Cyr raised his head, choosing not to dodge further and instead swiftly increased the distance between them.

The area was saturated with Hisoka's nen, visible through Cyr's Six Eyes as an overwhelming swarm of pink energy tendrils.

Disgusting.

"Blue." Cyr raised his hands, dark blue cursed energy condensing in front of his palms.

"Maximum Output."

The orb grew rapidly in size, pulling nearby objects—including Hisoka's embedded playing cards—into its gravitational field. The powerful force even caused their hair to stand on end.

"Get lost!" Cyr hurled the orb toward Hisoka's position. The resulting explosion blasted a massive crater into the ground, erasing all traces of the nen lingering in the vicinity.

Even the surrounding trees were reduced to nothing but bare roots.

But there was no sign of Hisoka in the pit.

Gone. He's fast…

The life energy that represented Hisoka darted rapidly through the forest, concealed by the trees as he continuously changed positions.

Locking onto him was impossible.

This guy really is a nightmare to deal with.

Cyr raised his hand and unleashed another attack.

Wherever Hisoka's life energy appeared, Cyr sent a blast of Cleave or Blue flying toward it.

Within a radius of three hundred meters, trees fell one after another, yet Hisoka remained agile, his presence constantly flitting around.

A faint sound broke through the chaos.

Drip—

Fresh blood splattered onto the ground in crimson droplets.

Cyr panted, wiping a nosebleed from his face with the back of his hand.

I can't keep playing this game of skill-spamming with him. My energy reserves are going to run dry.

If I hit empty, I won't even be able to fight anymore.

And… watching his movements with Six Eyes nonstop… it's exhausting my brain.

"Your eyes… they seem quite special."

A voice suddenly sounded behind him.

At the same moment, a tremendous force struck Cyr from behind, sending him hurtling into the air.

In mid-air, Cyr curled his body and spun to dissipate the force of impact, landing gracefully back on the ground.

Once again, Hisoka's figure vanished.

This guy really excels at hit-and-run tactics, huh?

The life energy representing Hisoka continued to flash around the battlefield, never staying in one place for long. Every location he passed was marked with traces of his pink nen.

It wasn't just distracting—it was outright revolting.

Yeah, no doubt about it. A nen user's strength is all about combat experience and strategy.

And Cyr was painfully aware that his combat experience didn't measure up to Hisoka's.

Dozens of pink-tinged playing cards imbued with nen shot toward him again.

Cyr dodged the attacks with a series of agile leaps, each movement carrying him farther across the battlefield. Their skirmish expanded across an increasingly larger area.

"What are you using to track me? What exactly do your eyes see?"

Hisoka's voice echoed suddenly behind him, his approach completely silent yet unnervingly swift.

But this time, Cyr was ready. Without looking back, he released a burst of Blue mid-spin, disappearing from his original location in an instant.

Once again, Hisoka's energy signature vanished.

A war of attrition, huh?

This isn't good.

"Is it nen? Are you tracking me using nen?"

Hisoka's low, raspy voice taunted him, sticking to Cyr like a shadow, relentless in his pursuit.

Cyr didn't bother responding, vanishing again to reappear at a safer distance.

With his dwindling energy reserves and limited attack methods, he knew a prolonged fight would only tilt the scales against him.

"Are you a rat? You're pretty good at running away. I'm sick of it already."

The white-haired boy's face remained impassive, but his words were razor-sharp.

Meanwhile, his Six Eyes stayed locked on Hisoka's movements, refusing to let up.

Drip…

Blood continued to drip steadily from Cyr's nose.

He wiped at the blood absentmindedly before collapsing onto the ground.

The energy darting through the forest froze.

Hisoka, who had been thoroughly enjoying himself, was momentarily stunned by the sight of his "little apple" bleeding from the nose and fainting mid-fight.

It was as if the climactic fight had reached its peak, all the tension building to an explosive finale—only for the performance to be cut short abruptly, leaving Hisoka stuck in frustration.

He even hesitated, tempted to step closer and examine the situation.

After all, Hisoka took great interest in nurturing his "chosen ones."

"Ah, there you are," Cyr muttered as his eyes suddenly snapped open.

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