Everyone dodged if they could. If they couldn't, they used their own abilities to knock the creatures away — but made sure not to kill them.
The difference in threat level between the "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell" before and after death was night and day.
Soon, the path ahead was cleared.
Just as the exploration team was about to safely break through the creature-infested area, Germain noticed something strange.
He caught sight of a "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell" swaying its head, and without hesitation, it viciously bit into another of its own kind!
Shhhk—
It tore the other's head clean off and spat it on the ground.
Then, more and more of the serpents started doing the same.
They suddenly began turning on each other — a self-slaughter eerily similar to what the team had seen among other species these past days. The cause, however, was different this time.
Like a domino effect, more and more of the serpents died one after another in rapid succession.
It wasn't just mutual killing — it looked more like assisted suicide.
As the serpents died, strange black smoke leaked from their burst cysts, and everyone watching felt a heavy chill deep inside.
Sure, we weren't the ones killing them — but that didn't matter. They could kill each other!
And that still triggered their "Death-Revenge Nen Ability"!
Even worse — just one serpent had died at Ging's hands before, and that alone had caused chaos that night.
Now over a dozen had died in a row, and the number kept growing!
Ding-ling, ding-ling, ding-ling—
That eerie chime echoed repeatedly, signaling the troublesome events that were about to unfold.
Black mist surged and tangled through the forest, like storm clouds swallowing the sky.
With more than a dozen serpents sacrificed, the creation of the "False Ones" had become even faster!
Pfft— pfft— pfft— pfft—
Black mist churned as several figures emerged, each one taking the shape of a different human.
As expected, their appearances were modeled after characters from the "Dark Dungeon" game — something Germain was all too familiar with.
But in order to immediately "produce" these combat-ready "False Ones," the Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell had sacrificed its ability to alter Germain and the others' memories and perception.
This allowed Germain and the rest to quickly tell friend from foe.
Thanks to the chaos from two nights ago, they were a bit more composed when facing the "False Ones" this time.
Still, they knew the situation wasn't looking good.
They had to eliminate these "False Ones" as quickly as possible — or their numbers would only grow.
The four of them jumped into action.
Germain and Ging moved separately.
Bisky and Shizuku worked together to fight the incoming "False Ones."
Soon, four figures surrounded Germain from all directions.
They were: Disma the Highwayman, Quincy the Occultist, Picotte the Vestal, and Buddy the Houndmaster.
Buzz—
A strange hum echoed, and suddenly, a dark red mark from the "Occultist" appeared on Germain's arm.
Germain had just been marked as the primary target for all four enemies.
But in the very next moment, the Occultist was shocked — even after marking Germain, it didn't weaken his aura defense at all.
That's not how this is supposed to work!
What the Occultist didn't know... was that Germain's "Champion Physique" was so strong, he was practically a monster among monsters.
That tiny debuff? Germain didn't even feel it.
Still, as long as the marked spot was hit, it should deal decent damage.
That's what the "Occultist" thought—what all the "False Ones" thought too.
Bang—
The "Highwayman" raised his flintlock pistol at close range. Smoke puffed from the dark barrel as the bullet shot straight toward the mark on Germain.
But the strange recoil threw him backward a full two meters before he could steady himself—proof of just how powerful that close-range shot was!
Yet Germain raised his Cleaver and casually swatted away the scattered bullets like they were nothing.
Clang—
Sparks flew, vanishing in an instant.
Then, as if he had time to spare, Germain dodged the white-furred dog unleashed by the "Houndmaster."
It was like the power of that close-range shot… was no different from any regular gunfire.
Cold sweat ran down the "Highwayman's" face.
Now he hesitated—should he charge in again for another close-range shot, or stay back and provide cover fire?
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…"
The battle-type "Vestal" muttered a prayer under her breath.
She raised a spiked mace, and a beam of yellowish light fell on Germain. It looked like she was using her Nen ability to try and stun him.
But Germain's "Champion Physique" and the runic patterns on his chest fully resisted the curse.
Just like the earlier mark from the "Occultist," he didn't even notice the curse had been cast.
The "Vestal" swallowed hard.
Even in those false memories where she was excommunicated for lusting after a man—she hadn't felt this kind of fear.
Something was seriously wrong.
This man… was terrifying.
But the four "False Ones" didn't give up. They were still trying—still looking for Germain's weak point, anything they could break through!
The "Occultist" raised his hand, and several evil tendrils surged up from the ground, aiming to coil around Germain like ropes.
But Germain vanished like lightning.
The tendrils missed completely.
That should be enough.
Germain had more or less gauged their combat levels.
The "Highwayman" was "Master Class." The "Houndmaster," "Vestal," and "Occultist" were all "Elite Class."
After a few moments of testing them out, he was sure—none of their Nen abilities were anything unexpected or worth special attention.
Which meant—it was time to end this.
Boom—
A loud explosion rang out—deafening!
The "Occultist," who had lost sight of his target, panicked and thought Germain was charging at him.
But when he turned his head in a panic, he saw that the "Vestal" had been blasted away by Germain's Firearm.
With just a casual pull of the trigger, Germain's shot had the devastating power of point-blank range—yet with none of the recoil you'd expect.
The "Vestal" flew back like she'd been hit by a cannonball.
A gaping, terrifying hole appeared in her chest as she hit the ground. Her body twitched twice, then stopped moving. It was clear—she wasn't going to survive.
Sure enough, black smoke from self-immolation began rising from the "Vestal's" lifeless body.
The other "Fakes" were all stunned, but none of them dared ease up on their assault against Germain.
In a battle like this, even the slightest hesitation meant death.
The "Highwayman" suddenly lunged forward, slashing at Germain with a short blade.
Bullets didn't work—so he had to try close combat. He wanted to see if his knife, which caused "continuous bleeding," would make a difference.
The "Highwayman" went all in. He had to try everything he could think of.
At the same time, the "Houndmaster's" baton came down hard on Germain, glowing with a dazing yellow light.
His white-furred dog also leapt in to attack.
If it had been an ordinary Nen user, they probably would've died right there from the chaotic ambush.
But this was Germain.
********
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