Heart-wrenching Pain
Oboro felt his spirit and body being torn apart bit by bit
A tremor that originated from the depths of his soul pulsed through him. Ghostly fire was already burning on Oboro's arms, a clear sign of spiritualization taking place. As he pulled, a broken soul was wrenched out of Jed's body.
This wasn't the soul as Oboro understood it in the conventional sense. Similar to what happened with Prince Benjamin, Jed's soul had transformed under the influence of Nen into an almost visible phantom. Unlike the transparent souls floating in the ghost fog, Jed's was extremely small only about half a meter long and the spirit body wasn't nearly transparent, but rather a mottled, shallow black substance.
In the center of the soul glowed a "nucleus" the size of a fingernail. It was the very "source" of Jed's life.
"The fact that you can be affected by my Nen ability and touched by me means you are indeed in the realm of souls," Oboro said, looking at the energy in his palm with a satisfied smile.
Beneath him, Jed's body collapsed to the ground, gradually vaporizing until it disappeared completely. Along with the huge Rakshasa, they all dissipated into the wind and snow.
"Hehe"
"Hehehe"
Oboro couldn't contain his joy, a hint of triumph breaking through his usually calm demeanor. It wasn't the life-and-death struggle he had envisioned. There was no tit-for-tat fighting, no desperate battle Jed, who had proven somewhat challenging even for Netero to handle, had just died right before Oboro's eyes.
Crash, crash
A strange metallic sound echoed through the air. Several ghosts, each holding a lantern tied to a chain, emerged from the mist and floated toward him.
The Lantern of Rig.
Oboro reached out and opened the small valve of the lantern, guiding Jed's soul into it. When the lantern held no soul, it remained unlit extinguished until filled. Every soul in this fog had to first be transformed by the Rig's Lamp before it could be integrated into the ghost fog and controlled by Oboro. The duration of this process depended entirely on the intensity of the soul's thoughts after death.
Previously, the lantern had contained a part of Prince Benjamin's soul. Now that Benjamin was dead, the lamp had been empty until now.
After placing Jed's soul inside, strange phenomena began to occur. The Rig's Lamp suddenly exuded a black, resentful force, trembling left and right in the air while making an eerie creaking noise.
Oboro stared at the dim light emanating from the lantern, his expression intensely serious. This was the most critical step.
He couldn't merge the curse with Nen. Not only him likely no one in the world could accomplish such a feat, as these were two fundamentally different energies. But if the curse could be transformed by his Nen ability while retaining its essential characteristics, then he would achieve success.
An ability to break the rules themselves.
After what felt like an eternity, the Riggle Lantern gradually calmed, and the curse emanating from it showed signs of receding. Seeing this, Oboro finally released the breath he'd been holding.
He knew it was done.
Now, he just needed to wait for this soul to be completely transformed, though the progress seemed frustratingly slow.
After a moment, Oboro withdrew his Nen ability and stepped into the prison area, now reduced to ruins from the Rakshasa riot. He noted with relief that both Netero and Killua's breathing remained steady they were fine.
"What was that?"
As he drew closer, he saw that Killua wore a dazed expression, staring skyward and muttering to himself. Netero sat cross-legged nearby, the cell that had held him captive now collapsed around him.
Killua's stunned muttering stemmed from what he had just witnessed the incredible sight of countless ghosts rushing toward the cursed Rakshasa. The sheer number of ghosts under Oboro's command, coupled with the towering Rakshasa, had created a battle scene beyond comprehension for someone who had only recently awakened to Nen.
Only Netero seemed unfazed, his sharp eyes tracking Oboro as he approached. Seeing the expression on Oboro's face, the old Hunter knew immediately that what Oboro wanted was already in his possession.
"Those ghosts are they your ability?" Killua asked, looking at Oboro with a mixture of fear and vigilance.
"Yes," Oboro replied simply. He saw no reason to deny it he'd already encountered several members of the Zoldyck family before.
"So fast" Killua's agitation grew upon receiving confirmation. He had expected Oboro to battle with Jed for at least a while After all, the pressure Jed had exerted was extraordinary. The power of the curse, so different from Nen, had made it exceptionally difficult to guard against.
"He wasn't truly powerful just lucky enough to survive until now," Oboro remarked dismissively.
"Lucky?" Killua couldn't believe his ears. "This guy captured the Hunter Association Chairman You casually call that luck? You're just trying to hide your own pride."
"A bit hypocritical" Killua added under his breath.
Netero smiled, not the least bit offended. He nodded, seeming to regain the vitality of a mischievous child. "Yes, Killua is right. The enemy was extremely frightening."
He leaned closer to them both. "You must keep what happened here a secret I'm already old I don't want word to spread and be laughed at"
Oboro glanced at the old man. Still putting on a humble act
In truth, it would have been easy for Netero to defeat Jed. The Chairman had trained for a lifetime, yet still couldn't fully detach from worldly concerns or overcome the barriers of human nature. Who could maintain perfect calm from beginning to end when they had formed meaningful connections throughout their life?
When facing Jed, Netero hadn't had the heart to kill. He was soft-hearted.
"In your eyes, I've always been hypocritical It's not like we just met," Oboro said, turning to Killua with an amused expression. "By the way you don't seem to have made much progress with your training. Why so embarrassed? Shouldn't you be thanking me for saving your life?"
"..." Killua remained silent.
"An impolite kid is easy to dislike," Oboro added.
Killua's face flushed red. He turned his head away with an indignant snort.
Oboro stepped forward to Netero's side, prepared to help remove the constraints of resentment binding him.
"It's useless. I've tried everything" Killua quickly interjected, realizing Oboro's intention. "I don't know if this man is dead or not. He clearly has no breath, but he seems to still have some signs of life and is protected by resentment. The effect of this restriction is very strong I can't even move his body"
"Any restrictions and oaths are closely related to the person themselves," Oboro explained. "No matter how strong the effect, it's impossible to exceed the limit of one's own life. General restrictions and oaths are essentially rules that overdraw the self or the future, using life as capital the only bargaining chip."
"Although resentment and Nen are different, the underlying logic remains the same"
As he spoke, Oboro pulled his hand from his pocket. Mist rose from his palms, followed by ghostly fire that transformed his limb into something more spiritual.
"Wing and Bisky probably didn't teach you and Gon the details about restrictions and oaths, did they? Learn them well you may be able to use such knowledge in the future."
Oboro's arm moved like a sharp blade, ignoring the protective layer of resentment surrounding the body and stabbing directly inside. Under Killua's shocked gaze, Oboro extracted a ball of soul fluorescence that had nearly disappeared.
"This is all that remains of his soul," Oboro continued, speaking in the tone of an experienced mentor. "It's in a broken state and has been dissipating for a long time"
"The soul is intrinsically tied to spiritual will. This tiny fragment is all that remains, just enough to keep the constraints functioning"
As he spoke, the soul fragment was absorbed by the mist enveloping Oboro's hand. Immediately, the curse binding Netero broke, black curse energy drifting away like burnt ashes on the falling snowflakes.
"The body is dead, the soul is gone this is true death, and so the vows and restrictions no longer exist. For ordinary people, retaining residual thoughts after physical death is nearly impossible This is the prototype of the afterlife, something we should strive to understand better."
After finishing his explanation, Oboro raised the corner of his mouth and looked at Killua. "Do you understand now?"
Killua swallowed hard. With his intelligence, he naturally grasped the concept. But he also realized something crucial that post-death thoughts weren't something everyone could interact with. Only someone like Oboro could contact others' souls in this way.
Furthermore, whether dealing with Nen or curses the soul seemed more important than the physical body. It was the core!
Physical death could come and go, and thoughts might persist after death but if the soul died first, leaving only a physical shell, then it was truly over.
"Why are you showing off?" Killua finally regained his composure, coughing unnaturally before continuing. "If I wanted to know about this kind of thing, I could always find out on my own" He snorted again, desperately trying to salvage what remained of his dignity.