NOVEL WEB Chapter 5: Demise
After his initial encounter with Vance, Larry had spent the past week holed up in his hotel room, focusing entirely on training. He knew from the start that Vance had no intention of following through on his promise to deliver an ID. The biggest clue? Larry had never even given him a name. No ID could be made without a proper name or photo. But rather than confront him right away, Larry decided to bide his time and focus on mastering Gyo, which allowed him to see Nen and detect hidden threats.
Through relentless practice, he had finally achieved a basic level of proficiency. He could now observe aura with clarity and even distinguish minor fluctuations in aura flow. Sitting cross-legged on his bed that evening, Larry had chuckled to himself. "You really thought you could fool me, huh? Some people just don't think big enough." And now, standing in the casino, Larry could see it clearly—the difference between him and Vance.
The fat man saw only wealth and revenge, while Larry was looking far beyond that, toward the bigger picture. His lips curled into a smirk. "So... where's my ID, Vance?"
Vance' face twitched at Larry's casual tone. "Hah! Forget about that! You're not leaving here alive!"
The tall, thin man stepped forward, his cracked skin seeming even more unnatural under the dim casino lights. Larry remained unfazed, cracking his knuckles lazily. "You sure about that? You spent all your money hiring this guy, huh?"
Vance' smug grin widened. "You bet I did! And he's gonna tear you apart!"
Larry shrugged. "Well, I hope you got a refund policy, because you're about to be disappointed."
Before Vance could react, a pink, ethereal glow suddenly filled the room. A ripple of aura spread outward as Gardevoir materialized beside Larry, her elegant form standing gracefully in the eerie casino light. Vance' jaw dropped, his face draining of color. "W-what the hell is that?!" His voice trembled, eyes wide with disbelief. He had seen it before, dismissed it as nothing more than an illusion—some trick of projection or clever deception. But now, faced with the undeniable reality of the creature before him, cracks formed in his denial.
Deep down, he should have known. The signs were all there—how it moved, how it reacted, how it cast a presence that couldn't be faked. Yet he had chosen ignorance, clinging to the belief that it wasn't real. Now, with Gardevoir standing right before him, that illusion shattered completely. The thin man instinctively took a step back, his eyes widening in shock as he sensed the sheer power radiating from Gardevoir. Larry dusted off his jacket and gave a lazy smile. "You thought I walked in here without a plan? I was just giving you a chance to do the right thing."
The tall man's expression darkened. "Tch... I don't know what that thing is, but you're not leaving here in one piece!"
With a flick of his wrist, dark tendrils of Nen swirled around his fingers, preparing for an attack. Larry, unfazed, gave Gardevoir a small nod. "Let's wrap this up quickly, shall we?"
In the blink of an eye, Gardevoir's eyes glowed an intense blue. The casino trembled under the force of her psychic power as an invisible wave shot toward their enemies. Vance screamed as he was lifted off his feet, flailing helplessly in mid-air, while the thin man braced himself, struggling against the crushing force pressing down on him. Larry crossed his arms and smirked. "I told you, Vance—you were never big enough to handle me."
The casino was in shambles, the air thick with tension and dust. Vance lay sprawled on the ground like a pig awaiting slaughter, his eyes wide with terror. Every fiber of his being screamed for him to run, yet his body refused to move. Hozan, the so-called Nen user he had hired, was crumpled on his knees, crushed under the immense psychic pressure radiating from Gardevoir. "How… how is this possible?!" Hozan gasped, his face twisted in agony. The overwhelming force had rendered him completely powerless, his once confident demeanor shattered. His entire body trembled, sweat pouring down his cracked skin as he struggled to breathe under the suffocating weight of Gardevoir's presence.
Larry stood there, watching the pitiful display with an amused smirk. "Hey, what happened?" he taunted, his voice dripping with mockery. "Weren't you the one who said you'd crush every bone in my body?" He took a step closer, his eyes gleaming with cold amusement. "Come on. Crush me. I'm right here."
With each word, Gardevoir's pressure increased, pressing down on Hozan like an invisible mountain. The former thug, once so full of bravado, could only grit his teeth in pain, his body shaking violently as he fought to stay conscious. Before Hozan could muster a response, Larry sighed dramatically and waved a hand. "This is getting boring. You don't even have the strength to fight back." His expression hardened. "Gardevoir, finish him."
Hozan's eyes widened in pure terror. A chilling sense of doom crawled up his spine—his body's instincts screaming that death was imminent. He tried to move, to resist, but under Gardevoir's crushing aura, he was completely paralyzed.
In an instant, the world around him went black. As Gardevoir withdrew her psychic aura, Hoss's lifeless body slumped to the floor. His previously tensed muscles went limp, and his expression was frozen in a mix of shock and despair.
The thin Nen that had held his broken body together dissipated instantly, and the cracks in his skin deepened. With the last of his aura gone, Hozan's fragile frame collapsed like a broken doll. His limbs detached unnaturally, his body falling apart piece by piece, resembling the aftermath of a shattered porcelain figure.
Larry watched the gruesome scene unfold with mild interest. 'So that's what was holding him together..'. he thought. It seemed the aftermath of his failed Nen baptism had left him more damaged than it first appeared. His thin veil of Nen had barely been enough to keep his fractured body intact. In the end, the man who had boasted about crushing Larry had been the one crushed—both physically and mentally.
A small notification popped into Larry's mind, signaling Gardevoir's gained experience. However, the progress bar barely budged. Larry clicked his tongue in annoyance. "A D-rank, huh? Barely worth the effort." He turned his gaze to Vance, who was still lying on the floor, trembling uncontrollably. The once-arrogant gang boss was reduced to a shivering mess, his beady eyes darting around in desperation, searching for a way out of this nightmare.
Larry stepped over the remnants of Hozan without a second thought and walked toward Vance, his footsteps echoing in the silent casino. "Your turn," Larry said coolly.