At this moment, the Rotten Life Blade no longer resembled the bone blade it had been before. Its hilt now looked almost wooden, while the blade itself seemed metallic—completely smooth. Nothing remained of its original appearance.
To an outsider, it would seem like any ordinary sword, but Ron knew that, after its evolution, the Rotten Life Blade's abilities were definitely far stronger.
Ron gripped the hilt and channeled aura into it. Then, aiming at the young man, he slashed. A dim light appeared on the blade and shot toward the young man at high speed, latching onto him in the next instant.
A swarm of insect eggs materialized on his body, exactly as when Ron had used the Rotten Life Blade before—yet now there was a difference: the eggs stirred the moment they attached.
A plump white figure emerged from one egg and began wriggling on the young man's body. Its movement speed wasn't extremely fast, but it was definitely quicker than before, and it was absorbing aura far faster than previous versions.
"This absorption rate is pretty good!" Ron glanced at the Rotten Life Blade in his hand, satisfied with its post-evolution effects.
Meanwhile, Natsu, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, and Killer Queen continued their relentless attacks. The young man's injuries piled up, but aura kept emerging around them to heal him. Even so, the restoration had slowed noticeably. Ron watched the young man, a suspicion surfacing in his mind: this opponent's strength didn't seem fixed but instead was determined by the strength of whomever he faced.
Ron had noticed something earlier: once the Rotten Life Blade awakened, the young man's aura spiked.
As Ron had suspected, the young man's aura rose again the moment Lampent showed up.
"Confirmed," Ron muttered. "That's how it is—his power grows in response to me. Still, if the Phantom Troupe members are all fine, I will be too. Even if his power keeps adapting, there has to be a way to defeat him."
Ron commanded Lampent to vanish, but the young man's aura didn't weaken at all. Ron's face grew taut.
"So that won't work… once an ability shows up and disappears, his power doesn't drop. But each time he's injured, he leaks some deathly aura. The Rotten Life Blade absorbs that. He can replenish his aura, but not the deathly aura. Then let's fight at full power until we reach the limit!"
Having worked that out, Ron didn't rush.
"The Rotten Life Blade can cancel out most of his recovery. I'll let the other Nen Beasts attack at full strength. And I'll join in too."
He issued orders to the Nen Beasts.
A dark red claw wrapped around the young man, locking him in place. In the next moment—
A massive maw clamped down, snapping his body in two. Natsu seized his upper half, and Hanma Baki grabbed his lower half.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Natsu unleashed flames in front of him. Ron raised his hand, aura converging in his palm.
The projectile flew toward the lower half of the young man's body. Killer Queen charged in.
A baseball bat slammed down, followed by a silent explosion. Ron gripped the Rotten Life Blade and slashed again.
Once more, aura surged from the ground, trying to heal the young man. But just then, Natsu abruptly crouched.
With a sudden crouch, Natsu used all his might to leap upward. Flames roared from behind him, increasing his speed and height.
Hanma Baki clapped his hands together.
In the blink of an eye, Natsu and the young man exchanged places. The aura couldn't catch up to the young man immediately, and the Nen Beasts below, together with Ron, seized the chance to renew their onslaught.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Flames billowed into the sky.
The moment it struck, a massive sound echoed through the air. The surroundings near the young man were in tatters, and it looked like he'd finally reached his limit.
The young man's body burst apart, releasing an overwhelming amount of deathly aura that buzzed around like headless flies. The Rotten Life Blade quivered in Ron's hand, drinking in all that aura. The young man's body was completely destroyed. The aura on the ground, having lost its target, vanished beneath the surface once again.
Suddenly, a mass of red aura appeared before Ron. He instinctively stepped back, but the red aura followed him no matter how fast he moved.
"It doesn't seem hostile…"
At Ron's thought, Hanma Baki stepped forward and touched the red aura. It instantly entered his body, bathing him in a red glow. A stream of information poured into Ron's mind.
"A reward? A trial?" Ron raised an eyebrow. "So this young man wasn't just a monster meant to block outsiders, but a trial for those who enter? A test for the Kurta clan's descendants?"
"But then why was I chosen? I'm not from the Kurta clan. There weren't any other intruders…"
Suddenly, Ron looked toward the crystal ball in front of him.
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