"What fate awaits us?"
Worry, fear, and unease filled the air.
Only a very few individuals, either because of their boldness or resignation, managed to focus their attention on the battle taking place in the arena.
"It's about ti to end this!"
Dominica looked at Cook.
One by one, pillars of earth rose from the ground, trapping Cook's movents.
At the sa ti, a massive block of hardened soil ford high above, plumting straight down.
"Bang!"
Cook's body was pinned beneath the weight.
Dominica stepped forward, moving to Cook's side.
In his hands, a massive axe ford, constructed entirely from earth.
With a swing, Dominica brought the axe down heavily toward Cook's neck.
"Shk!"
In an instant, Cook's head flew off.
In midair, Cook's eyes were wide open, his mouth agape, as if voicing an unyielding resentnt.
anwhile, his body continued to twitch violently, still animated by instinct, flailing in an attempt to attack Dominica.
But it posed no threat to him.
Under Dominica's relentless strikes, the body was soon crushed into fragnts.
"Battle over!"
Words appeared in the air above the arena.
Dominica turned to Crawford.
"Crawford, isn't it? Now I can answer your question."
"The reason I wasn't worried about my safety and instead questioned your plans is simple: I was never concerned about my life from the beginning."
"You can't threaten ."
"Just like the Nen users from Taris back then."
"Freaks, pests like you—your only fate is failure."
"Death and defeat are the only outcos awaiting you."
"Struggle all you want. Fight as hard as you can. It won't change the result."
"Even with four of you, so what?"
"Compared to proper Nen users, you're leagues behind."
"Just a bunch of rushed rejects."
Crawford's expression darkened even further, as if a storm cloud was about to burst.
"Dominica, what are you so smug about? Without that thing, you'd be long dead! Relying on external tools—is that what you call real strength?"
"As a so-called genius, aren't you ashad to depend on such crutches?"
Dominica replied calmly.
"But I have it, and I can use it. What are you going to do about it?"
"Only the weak look for excuses beyond themselves."
"At the core, it's because you're all too weak."
"Not just the four of you."
"This includes all of Taris."
A beam of light enveloped Dominica, returning him to the contestants' area.
anwhile, the arena began repairing itself at a visible rate.
A countdown appeared above the stage.
Dominica was granted 30 minutes of rest.
Crawford glared at Dominica grimly before turning to Charlotte.
If this were to proceed as a gauntlet match, Charlotte would be the next combatant.
As a B-ranked Nen user, Charlotte was weaker than Shusuke Ito and Crawford, but due to her unique abilities, Crawford had chosen Cook as the initial sacrifice.
"Charlotte, did you get a clear view of Dominica's ability?"
Charlotte nodded.
"How confident are you?"
Charlotte hesitated.
Although she had observed Dominica's techniques and Cook had managed to wear him down to so extent, that didn't an she felt confident about defeating him.
In fact, after witnessing Dominica's overwhelming strength, Charlotte's confidence had only dwindled further.
"Crawford," she muttered.
Shusuke Ito leaned in, lowering his voice.
"This arena protects the contestants' area, but not the audience seats. Charlotte, you can use that to your advantage—plant the Seed of Death Nen in the audience."
Charlotte's eyes lit up.
Nen users from Taris specialized in two areas:
1. Using the Seed of Death Nen to quickly create monsters that wreaked havoc among ordinary people.
2. Cultivating monsters over the long term to serve as a personal source of power.
Though hastily created monsters had obvious flaws, they could still act as useful tools.
With their massive aura reserves, these creatures were tough and durable.
Having one as support would make Charlotte's situation much easier.
She could use the monster as a shield while focusing on offense.
The thought quickened Charlotte's heartbeat.
"If this works, I might actually have a chance to win."
"Dominica has already been weakened by Cook."
"As long as the monster can hold off Dominica's attacks, I might find an opening to defeat him."
---
The spectators in the audience were unaware of the impending catastrophe.
None of them realized how quickly their demise would arrive.
The countdown ended.
Dominica stepped forward.
On the other side, Charlotte did the sa.
Two beams of light descended upon Dominica and Charlotte, teleporting them onto the stage.
Like Cook before her, Charlotte imdiately activated her ability, integrating the power of her cultivated monster into her body.
Greenish scales appeared across her skin, resembling those of a lizard or snake.
Charlotte's speed was extraordinary—far greater than Cook's.
Ron's eyes narrowed.
"She's only a B-ranked Nen user, but her performance is much stronger than Cook's."
This reminded Ron of a mber of the teor Beast gang—their leader.
That Nen user, always impeccably dressed in a suit, initially displayed abilities typical of a B-ranked user. But their combat skills and experience far surpassed others of the sa rank.
When their restrictions were lifted, they instantly rose to the level of an A-ranked Nen user.
"However, Taris' Nen system doesn't work that way. It's unlikely they've developed similar abilities."
"More likely, Charlotte's ability has significant flaws."
Facing Charlotte's rapid attacks, Dominica adopted a similar strategy as before: defense first, observe, and then counter once he had analyzed her abilities.
The Taris group had information on Dominica, but Dominica had no specific details about their abilities.
"Her speed is impressive, her strength slightly weaker than Cook's. But her claws and teeth have been altered. Her attacks might carry additional effects—poison, perhaps."
While evading and observing, Dominica analyzed her moves.
"To limit her speed, I'll use this."
Dominica clapped his hands together.
The arena floor trembled as stone pillars erupted from the ground, covering the arena. In this environnt, speed would be severely restricted.
Charlotte's senses were also affected.
Now, Dominica took the initiative.
While Charlotte struggled to locate Dominica, he could easily track her movents and launch surprise attacks. She was forced to rely on her reflexes to dodge, which wasn't always successful.
"Bang!"
A sharp stone struck Charlotte, dislodging so of her green scales.
The impacted area caved in, revealing damaged flesh.
Charlotte didn't glance at her injuries but quickly moved away from her original position.
"Shk!"
A sharp earthen spike erupted from the ground where she had just been standing.
Had she hesitated even a fraction of a second longer, it would have impaled her.
Charlotte panted heavily, her eyes filled with vigilance.
Suddenly, an unusual aura erged.
Charlotte's eyes glead.
"Finally, it's ready."
The mont she stepped onto the arena, Charlotte had planted the Seed of Death Nen among the audience.
On the surface, it appeared that she was fighting with all her might, but in reality, she was stalling for ti, waiting for the hastily created monster to appear.
Now, with the monster's arrival, Charlotte believed she had a real chance of defeating Dominica.
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