"These sand scorpions—what's their weakness?"
Aside from sand, there was nothing else in this desert. But since the sand was their habitat, it clearly couldn't be their weakness.
Ron spotted some cacti and had Akutagawa approach.
A dark-colored claw easily chopped one down, spilling fresh green juices and a faint, crisp scent. Yet the sand scorpions showed no reaction.
Machi glanced in Ron's direction and frowned.
She couldn't fathom Ron's actions.
All of a sudden, the sun overhead grew even fiercer. The desert's temperature soared rapidly. The heat made the sand scorpions visibly sluggish—they seemed to detest the blazing sun and looked as if they wanted to slip back into the sand, yet they hesitated because of Machi's presence.
Ron quietly tossed a piece of cactus toward Machi. Startled by the movement, the scorpions collectively abandoned Machi and disappeared beneath the sands.
Do the monsters fear them?"
Yet her instincts told her that wasn't the real explanation. In the Phantom Troupe, Machi was known for her keen intuition. Even before learning Nen, she was one of the few who could perceive aura. But lacking any better theory, she tentatively accepted the cactus idea.
Ron merely waved a hand—neither confirming nor denying.
Neither spoke further, and they continued onward.
The desert stretched on, seemingly endless, until eventually, a giant pyramid-like structure rose into view. Two gates loomed in front:
One, decorated with complex patterns in vibrant colors, primarily blue.
The other, simpler in design, primarily red.
Ron walked up to the blue door and gave it a shove. It opened easily, though he didn't go in yet. Instead, he turned to look at the red door.
Machi tried pushing it—nothing happened.
"Want to switch?" Ron suggested.
Machi nodded, then headed for the blue door; it opened with a push. Ron switched to the red door, which still wouldn't budge.
Seeing this, Ron confirmed his suspicion.
Machi also harbored a guess of her own. She looked at Ron and asked, "Chances are what comes next is going to be more dangerous than anything we've faced so far. For now, we don't have any conflict of interest."
Her intuition backed up that conclusion, so she voiced the proposal.
"Sure," Ron agreed. "The red door is probably meant for the Kurta Clan themselves, while the blue door is for outsiders. There's bound to be a difference in what lies ahead.
"My Nen Beasts can scout, so I'll handle reconnaissance. You take care of most of the fighting."
Machi had no objections. She'd roughly gauged Ron's aura, and he'd likely done the same with hers. Machi didn't think his power surpassed hers, and sending a Nen Beast to scout was safer in general—if it was injured, it could be repaired with aura. Ron was offering part of the workload, so Machi would handle the rest.
They simultaneously pushed open the blue door and entered, finding a small chamber inside.
A mechanism clicked. The floor sank in one spot, revealing an opening. Something was poised to emerge.
Both of them backed away, splitting left and right.
A figure rose into view. Not really a person, but more of a mummified corpse. Its clothing had rotted away, its muscles shriveled to nothing—skin clung tightly to bone, making it look like a walking skeleton. An ominous aura emanated from it, yet wasn't exactly deathly. There was something else mixed in.
"Judging by Nen-user standards, it's around C-level," Ron thought, eyes flashing.
Machi twitched her fingers.
A strand of Nen thread shot out, instantly binding its arms and legs, turning it into a "human stick."
A low, guttural sound rumbled from the corpse's throat, followed by a puff of strange smoke spewing from its mouth. The smoke moved as if alive, forcing Machi to retreat.
Ron gave a silent command:
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Natsu ignited his fist and hurled a flaming punch at the smoke. In an instant, the flames burned it away, and Ron heard countless shrill screams.
Machi twitched her fingers again, sending another strand of thread toward the corpse's head.
"This thing's defense is crazy," Ron remarked, glancing between Machi and the mummified creature.
Although Machi's Nen threads were primarily developed for stitching wounds rather than combat, she was still a B-level Nen user, and her offensive potential was hardly weak. Yet the corpse shrugged it off without even a scratch.
"Its defense might be stronger than Uvogin's—and it's only about C-level aura. That's how Nen balances things out. If it's using so much aura to shield itself, its offensive strength is probably limited to that one smoke attack. It shouldn't be too hard to find a weak spot and finish it."
"I'll deal with the smoke. You look for its vital point."