No response came from behind the door.
Behind the tightly shut door, an eerie silence suddenly seeped out.
Odom's pupils shrank slightly, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
From the time he left the suite to go downstairs and then returned, only about two or three minutes had passed.
'What could have happened in such a short span of time…?'
Odom stared at the door with a serious expression, and after careful consideration, he decided to enter the room to investigate.
He turned the doorknob as quietly as possible, and strained his ears to catch any sound.
Odom then entered the suite very cautiously.
But none of the scenarios he had anticipated unfolded.
The empty suite showed no signs of any intruders, nor were there any traces of a struggle.
Everything was exactly as it had been when he left just minutes ago.
But Pariston, who should have been here, had vanished without a trace.
"A Teleportation-Type Nen Space Ability?"
Oddom meticulously inspected the scene.
Judging from the fact that there are no signs of a struggle, he believed that only a Teleportation-Type Nen Space Ability could achieve something like this.
Otherwise, given Pariston's strength, it would have been impossible for him to disappear so 'quietly'.
"Pariston… was this situation within your 'expectations'?"
Odom muttered to himself as he looked at the empty living room.
A disappearance with no traces left behind-
Pariston had vanished without a sound.
Under these circumstances, figuring out what had happened to Pariston would be anything but easy.
…
Digital World Transit Station.
Black-and-white pixelated grids stretched across the surroundings.
A soft white glow, emanating from an unknown source, illuminated every corner of the space, casting an unreal sheen over everything.
Pariston stood still, moved his eyes away from the floating Black Sword, and turned to look at Moses, who stood before him.
Just moments ago, while still in the suite, he had been directly teleported to the archives room of the Hunter Association by Black Sword.
As he braced himself for what might come next, he was abruptly teleported again, and this time, to this Nen Space bathed in a gentle white light.
Then he saw that the hiltless black sword emitting a crimson glow and Moses were also in this space.
Many things that were hazy before had now became clear.
The black sword that had attacked him in the unfinished building, although in a different form, was undoubtedly Moses's conjured weapon.
Having gone to great lengths to use the second stage of teleportation to send him to this Nen Space, it was natural that Moses had bad intentions towards him.
Facing Pariston's gaze, Moses said calmly: "Two-stage teleportation, specially prepared for you."
"What an honor."
Despite the dire circumstances, Pariston's smile remained unchanged.
'It turn out-'
'That very important missing piece of the puzzle is right here.'
'Then… would this place become my grave?'
Pariston thought calmly in his heart.
Moses looked at Pariston's smiling face, which was not affected at all, and did not care too much, nor was he in a hurry to take action.
Although Ickshonpe's Digital World Transit Station can 'invite' people in, it cannot restrict the invited people from wanting to leave.
So, in order to prevent Pariston from noticing this, Moses showed no haste in making his move.
"That thing in the building… was a Nen clone or something similar, right?"
Moses raised his right hand, signaling the Black Sword to come over, and said calmly: "If you want to explore the Dark Continent, then Nen Clone is an indispensable reconnaissance ability, but it's a pity... Beyond will lose a capable teammate today."
"Even if I'm gone, there will always be a second 'me'."
The smile on Pariston's face didn't falter. Naturally, he wouldn't admit that the Nen Clone Ability had nothing to do with him, nor did he show the slightest fear of death.
Moses understood the implication behind Pariston's words and shook his head, then said, "You are underestimating yourself. To single-handedly rise to the position of Vice Chairman of the Hunter Association, to orchestrate the existence of the 'Temp Hunters', and even plant that Monkey among the Zodiacs..."
At this point, Moses paused. He opened his hand and gently grasped the flying Black Sword, and then continued: "With your abilities, you're irreplaceable in Beyond's team, and this... is exactly what I want."
"…"
Pariston fell silent upon hearing this.
He knew that the Monkey Moses was talking about was Saiyu, and he also understood Moses's determination to kill him.
Presumably, in Moses's eyes, getting rid of him, who occupies an important position in Beyond's team, was the perfect act of revenge.
From this, it was clear that-
This man in front of him was indeed aware of the relationship between Netero and Beyond, as well as the limitation Netero had placed on Beyond.
That was why he had directly attributed the 'attack on Netero' to Beyond.
In that brief moment, Pariston pieced together the underlying reasons and sighed in his heart.
'If it weren't for that impatient king, things wouldn't have escalated to this point.'
'But if you think about it carefully, it was clear that this outcome had been unavoidable.'
This matter was, in itself, a deadlock.
If Netero doesn't die, their plan cannot be carried out.
If their plan cannot be carried out, then Nasubi would undoubtedly take action.
There were no other possibilities.
Because whether it is Nasubi, who ruled a superpower nation, or Beyond, who was willing to wait until the end of time, are both indispensable to this plan.
No.
It should be said that no one can replace them.
The world is vast.
But only those two could truly open the door to the New World.
'I'm irreplaceable?'
'It's not that I underestimate myself, it's that you overestimate me, Moses Isaac.'
'That plan… was never lacking in talent. What it lacked was the one who could decide to set sail and steer the ship.'
'Just like you, who dares to take advantage of the situation and go to the Dark Continent...'
'But opportunities like that are rare, and the price is far too high.'
Pariston thought silently in his heart.
He raised his eyes to look at Moses, with the same fake smile on his face, but his tone was surprisingly serious when he spoke:
"It was my own decision to send Saiyu to test you, and it was also my own decision to use the Nen Curse to attack Chairman Netero."
"…"
Seeing Pariston's sudden confession, Moses raised an eyebrow slightly but remained silent.
Pariston continued, "All of this was my own initiative. They have nothing to do with Beyond. If I just explained it like this, you obviously wouldn't believe me. So… let me put it another way."
As he spoke, Pariston carefully observed Moses's reaction.
Seeing that the other party was calm, Pariston abandoned any subtle tactics and continued calmly:
"Breaking the limitation wouldn't be difficult for Beyond. As long as he is willing to challenge Chairman to a life-and-death battle, Chairman will not refuse but will gladly welcome it… And the result of that battle would only be Beyond's victory."
"You seem quite confident in Beyond."
Moses's eyes were calm.
Pariston's eyes were equally calm, and he replied calmly: "I am just stating the facts."