HunterxHunter: I Became Stronger After Death

Kill the Third Princess…

The prince whom Moor served had only one directive: accomplish the mission while preserving their lives.

If the task proved impossible, their top priority was to ensure their survival.

Moor didn't try to decipher the prince's deeper motives. He simply interpreted the prince's orders from his own perspective:

Only by staying alive can I continue to be of value as a pawn.

Moor was willing to be a pawn, as long as he could bring greater value to the prince.

But as his companion Aida had pointed out, while the prince didn't want them sacrificing their lives for a single mission, the two of them didn't want to disappoint him either.

Killing the Third Princess was critical.

To achieve this goal, Moor had already decided to offer up his heart when inscribing the divine glyph.

If there was a way to survive, both he and his companion would certainly choose it.

They wanted to continue following the prince, to witness him ascend the throne at the top of the ladder of power.

But there was no choice.

Standing in their way was the Hunter Association's Zodiac Twelve, experts specializing in combat.

Without the resolve to risk their lives, how could they overcome such an obstacle and complete the mission?

Thus, when "Cicada Husk's Moment" was activated, whether through posturing or bluffing, Moor's only purpose was to confuse or mislead Kanzai's judgment—casting him adrift in murky waters and buying precious time.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Kanzai had given a shockingly precise estimate of the remaining time.

Even a delay of a few dozen seconds would have sufficed, yet Kanzai had nailed it.

When the 60 seconds elapsed, all Moor could do was live a few more seconds—every second of his survival would increase his companion's chances of success.

If there was one regret, it was failing to provoke Kanzai into inflicting more severe injuries before activating his ability.

But this, too, had been beyond his control.

Without using basic Nen defense upon taking a hit, he wouldn't have been able to fulfill the conditions for activating his ability.

The real problem was that Kanzai, aware of potential traps, had suppressed his instincts in his hurried counterattack and avoided targeting critical areas.

If not for the second contingency plan—to have his companion forcefully break into the room and compress Kanzai's reaction time—dragging Kanzai into the Nen space would have been nearly impossible.

No wonder he's one of the Zodiac Twelve.

This compliment from Moor was sincere, though it came with an inner apology to his companion.

Sorry, Aida… If only I could have split some of this damage with him, your survival rate after completing the mission would have been much higher.

While Moor had accepted his sacrificial role, he firmly believed his companion would succeed.

He lowered his gaze briefly before raising his eyes to look at Kanzai.

"Tiger of the Twelve Zodiacs," he began, "based on the intel I have, you should be an Enhancement-Type. But after fighting you, I've realized you're nothing like I expected."

"You think all Enhancement-Types are just mindless brutes who charge forward recklessly?" Kanzai replied, his face expressionless, silently counting the seconds in his mind.

"Isn't that the case?" Moor retorted.

Most of the Enhancement-Types he'd encountered relied on their high attack and defense to act fearlessly.

That's why, when working with his companion, he found Enhancement-Types the easiest to deal with—one calculated strike and they'd be caught off guard.

"Did an Enhancement-Type eat all your rice or something?"

Kanzai detected the disdain in Moor's words, his eyes narrowing slightly as he finished counting 60 seconds in his head.

The Nen space hadn't disappeared…

At least he didn't have to worry about the counterattack ability tied to "damage sharing."

With his assessment complete, Kanzai ended their conversation abruptly and charged toward Moor with resolute speed.

In that moment, his not-so-imposing frame exuded an aura akin to a tiger's fierce descent.

Confronted by Kanzai's sudden offensive, Moor finally saw the quintessential traits of an Enhancement-Type in him.

"Even without redirecting all my visible aura to the divine glyph, there's no way I could block that…"

One glance was enough for Moor to sense the disparity in direct combat—a gap that was typical of Enhancement-Types and notoriously troublesome.

But Moor had no intention of engaging Kanzai head-on. He focused his aura into his legs, turned, and sprinted, maximizing the distance between them.

Unfortunately, the mechanics of the Nen space locked the activity range in place.

He couldn't jump off the airship or play hide-and-seek.

I can hold out for one or two minutes!

Moor kept running, avoiding conflict.

The ability tied to "Cicada Husk's Moment" required him to deal damage to his enemy within 60 seconds, so he had invested heavily in mobility.

At full speed, he managed to evade Kanzai for now. But if Kanzai caught him, it would likely end in a single, fatal blow.

Thus began a chase across the upper deck of the airship.

The involvement of Nen gradually shifted the psychological dynamics between the two.

Now, it was no longer Moor who was desperate—it was Kanzai.

Though Kanzai's victory was practically assured, he still had to consider the safety of his client, Morena.

"This guy's Nen ability… is it really this strong?"

As Kanzai pursued Moor, the passing time made him increasingly aware that Moor's ability worked far differently than he'd anticipated.

The 60-second mark passed, yet the Nen space remained intact, confirming that the "damage sharing" mechanism had ended.

By Kanzai's calculations, the Nen space should dissipate within 30 seconds at most.

But the expected phenomenon didn't occur.

Frowning deeply, Kanzai realized something was amiss.

What he didn't know was that Moor had already resigned himself to death, dragging things out to buy time for his companion.

At the 38-second mark of their chase, Kanzai finally found an opening and delivered a Nen-enhanced punch to Moor's back.

In response, Moor pivoted abruptly, raising his left arm and channeling all his visible aura into a defensive barrier.

Bang.

Crack!

The punch shattered Moor's left arm on impact, sending him flying backward. His arm suffered a complete, compound fracture.

"You want to know how long this Nen space will last?"

Taking advantage of the distance created by Kanzai's strike, Moor fell to the ground, paying no mind to his injury. He answered his own question:

"Exactly 300 seconds. From the moment you stepped inside, you had no chance of protecting the Third Princess."

"…"

Kanzai was alarmed but didn't respond, instead charging forward like a tiger again.

Moor grinned mockingly despite his injuries.

Both his arms were useless now, but he was confident he could hold Kanzai off for another minute.

That would be enough.

But just as Moor thought this, the golden hue of the surrounding area suddenly faded, retreating like a receding tide.

"Hmm?!" (x2)

Both Moor and Kanzai were stunned by the abrupt change.

As the yellowish aura dissipated, they found themselves in their original positions, with one new figure standing in the hallway leading to the entrance.

"It's him!"

Kanzai recognized the figure as the young man who had hidden his Nen capabilities during boarding: Moro.

Moro scanned the scene, his gaze briefly resting on the faded divine glyph on the wall, now devoid of aura. A painting once hung there.

"Looks like my judgment was correct…"

Turning his attention to Moor, whose aura was steadily diminishing, Moro said calmly, "Destroying the divine glyph may not provide any advantages, but it can at least create disadvantages for the 'disturbers.'"

"You…!"

Moor stared at Moro in disbelief, shocked by this unexpected variable.

Raising a hand slightly, Moro glanced at Kanzai and said seriously, "Terrorists are the worst. Let me deal with him."

"!"

Kanzai barked, "You're a goddamn genius."

Without hesitation, he turned and dashed into the room.

The vast resting area was now left with only Moro and Moor.

For 20 advanced chapters: https://www.patreon.com/c/Ely225