Shusuke Ito looked down at the ground.
Dominica was driving at an incredible speed, racing down the road.
Wendy continued channelling her aura into the book-shaped Nen tool.
Ron, meanwhile, sat with his eyes slightly closed, resting to recover his energy.
In the previous battle, Dominica had handled most of the fighting. However, Ron and Wendy had also contributed to some extent.
In terms of recovery, Ron was at about 90% of his full strength—an excellent condition for a Nen user, but still not quite perfect.
The Zoldyck family philosophy was to minimize any chance of failure. Even when facing weaker opponents, they always gave their all, leaving no room for mistakes. A lion doesn't spare its strength when hunting a rabbit.
Suddenly, the arrow displayed on the book-shaped Nen tool turned a vivid red.
"We're almost there!"
A city appeared on the horizon.
Dominica didn't slow down; instead, he drove straight into the city.
The arrow on the book-shaped Nen tool glowed an even deeper red as they approached their target.
"Be careful," Dominica warned.
Both Wendy and Ron nodded.
Dominica continued driving, following the direction indicated by the arrow. Ron noticed something peculiar: their destination wasn't in the city center. Instead, they were heading toward the outskirts, specifically the area near the airship station. The distinctive architectural style left no room for doubt.
"Dominica, that guy is probably trying to escape," Ron pointed out.
Dominica pressed down harder on the gas pedal. "I figured as much."
Soon, the airship station came into view.
A large airship was already taking off. A young man stood at the entrance of the airship, looking outside. He seemed to notice Ron, Dominica, and Wendy, smirking mockingly at them.
Dominica's expression darkened.
He slammed the brakes, bringing the car to a sudden halt.
At this point, Nen users could move faster and more flexibly on foot than by car.
But just as the three prepared to act, a massive shadow lunged toward them from above.
The shadow slammed down heavily on the car, crushing it completely.
Before the shadow landed, three figures had already leapt from the vehicle.
Ron, Dominica, and Wendy now stood in three different positions.
The scene felt oddly familiar to Ron.
"This reminds me of a moment in the original story," Ron thought. "When Owl, the Shadow Beast leader, ambushed the Phantom Troupe by landing on their car, crushing it completely with his ability."
"But the Phantom Troupe reacted quickly."
"Four members escaped in time, except for Nobunaga."
"Nobunaga couldn't escape because he was sitting in the middle of the backseat."
However, this wasn't an issue for Ron and his team.
"Dominica, what's the plan?" Ron asked, turning to him.
The situation called for a decision. Should they pursue the Nen user from Taris or deal with the monster in front of them?
Ron shifted his gaze to the creature.
It was a massive fish—but not an ordinary one. This fish had human legs, allowing it to move freely on land without any environmental limitations.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear this wasn't a fish at all. It was composed of human bodies—a grotesque amalgamation of people fused together. The countless "scales" covering the fish's body were actually human heads.
Dominica stared intensely at the airship overhead.
"Let's take care of this monster first."
"There are no other Nen users here."
"The disgusting thing about Nen users from Taris is how they operate. They use the seeds of Death Nen, killing large numbers of people to create artificial monsters."
"These monsters are extremely destructive."
"They kill humans and then draw power from the dead, making themselves stronger."
"If we leave now, this entire city will turn into a city of death."
"This is why our Fiora Kingdom despises Nen users from Taris so much."
"Years ago, tens of thousands of our people were killed by these monsters. Even members of our royal family weren't spared."
"The book-shaped Nen tool has already locked onto his location. He won't escape."
Dominica withdrew his gaze from the airship.
"Ron, Wendy, I'll handle the big one. You two take care of the smaller ones."
"Yes," Wendy replied.
But Ron didn't agree immediately.
"Dominica, let me try."
"The big one?" Dominica raised an eyebrow.
Ron nodded firmly. "Yes."
"These monsters are destructive, but their strength seems limited to their massive aura reserves. I have a way to counter that."
These so-called monsters looked terrifying, with overwhelming aura reserves that could easily intimidate ordinary Nen users. It was similar to when Knov experienced terror upon sensing Meruem's immense aura in the original storyline—so intense it instantly broke his spirit.
But through observing Dominica fight the monstrous girl earlier, Ron had realized that these Death Nen creatures weren't as invincible as they seemed.
Nen is inherently fair. Whatever is gained must be earned.
As alchemy says: equivalent exchange.
While Taris Nen users were undeniably skilled at creating monsters, these creatures weren't unbeatable. If they were, Taris would have already dominated the world.
Instead, they were hunted down by the Fiora royal family and other Nen users, reduced to fugitives.
This proved that they had flaws and weaknesses.
Ron hadn't yet identified the weaknesses of Taris Nen users themselves, but he had gleaned some insight into the weaknesses of their artificial monsters.
Additionally, they were in a city—a perfect battleground for Ron.
With Chii's unparalleled hacking abilities, Ron could exploit the city's extensive surveillance network, leaving no blind spots. Meanwhile, he could locate his enemies' weaknesses with ease.
Dominica hesitated for a moment.
Though he had previously encountered members of the Zoldyck family, Fiora's royal family didn't know much about their methods.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Dominica spotted something in the distance.
A massive balloon floated into the sky.
The balloon was grotesquely shaped like a human head. Dangling from the bottom of it was a human body, struggling desperately against the noose tightening around its neck.