Inside the living room of the suite-
Odom had just set down his phone after ending a call. He then looked at Pariston, who had just stepped into the foyer, in surprise.
"What happened?"
Odom stood up from the sofa, his brow furrowing slightly.
Pariston showed the usual sunny smile on his face and said seriously, "I got played."
"Played? What do you mean?"
Odom was taken aback for a moment, then quietly put the kitchen knife back into his sleeve.
After a brief few seconds of interaction, he temporarily ruled out the possibility that the Pariston in front of him was an imposter.
Because, aside from appearance, Odom felt that there was nothing wrong with the Pariston in front of him, whether it was his Aura or his Nen State.
Pariston looked at Odom, who was slightly stunned, and sighed: "The other side already knows our plan, and..."
Before he could finish his words, Pariston suddenly stepped forward, his palm forming a palm blade as he thrust toward Odom's chest.
Faced with Pariston's sudden attack, Odom's expression changed and he immediately leaped backward.
At this moment, he couldn't help but wondered why Pariston was attacking him.
'If this was a Forced Manipulation-Type Ability, then Pariston wouldn't be acting so normally.'
'But if it is a Suggestive Manipulation-Type Ability, it shouldn't have such a strong effect.'
'Damn it…'
'What the hell happened in those few minutes!?'
Odom looked solemn and he pulled out the kitchen knife hidden in his sleeve.
If he hadn't maintained at least a minimal level of vigilance, he might have already been impaled through the chest by Pariston.
Pariston's strike missed, but instead of adjusting his stance, he continued to attack Odom.
Seeing Pariston's relentless assault, Odom became even more worried.
[Gyo]
The pointed kitchen knife in his hand was surrounded by a layer of condensed Aura. Odom swung his arm, carving a shallow arc of blade light in front of him while preparing to activate his Nen Ability.
However-
What happened next left Odom utterly shocked.
The arc of blade light he released was intended to slow down Pariston's advance.
However, Pariston simply rammed his left shoulder into it.
Crack-
The kitchen knife swung out and immediately cut into Pariston's shoulder blade.
Because Pariston had set up an Aura Defense at his shoulder blade in advance, Odom's kitchen knife failed to cut off Pariston's shoulder directly, but got stuck instead.
But this result is not accidental, but inevitable.
In an instant, Pariston had assessed the difference in their offensive and defensive capabilities, and thus concentrated just the right amount of Aura in his shoulder.
The purpose was to ensure that Odom's kitchen knife would pierce his defense but get lodged in his shoulder blade.
Such level of combat awareness and precise judgment are the most powerful aspects of the Kyoka Suigetsu.
The effect of its ability is that it not only makes it impossible for others to discern whether the target was being controlled-
It also allowed the controlled target to fight at 100% of their full strength while retaining their consciousness.
But what was even more terrifying was-
Under Kyoka Suigetsu's influence, the controlled target would blindly sacrifice everything to accomplish a single task.
Just like Pariston at this moment-
He ignored the injury on his shoulder, not caring about further aggravating the injury, and forced his body forward so that he could hit Odom in the abdomen with his other hand.
Bang!
Odom was hit in the abdomen and suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body bend like a shrimp as he was sent flying backward, crashing into the TV mounted on the living room's wall.
Crash-
Fragments of the TV screen and its internal parts suddenly shattered and flew everywhere.
Pariston's reckless, self-destructive attack left Odom stunned.
However, it was also from this moment that Odom knew that the Pariston in front of him was himself, but it was very likely that he was controlled by some kind of Manipulation-Type Ability.
But Odom couldn't fathom what kind of Manipulation-Type Ability could so perfectly preserve the controlled target's combat prowess.
And what kind of limitations are needed to make the words and actions of the person being controlled appear so natural.
Just when Odom became certain that Pariston was under some terrifying Manipulation-Type Ability's effect, he saw Pariston attacking with all his might.
Odom's expression darkened, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. He suddenly broke away from the shattered TV behind him, and then pulled out a kitchen knife from his other sleeve.
He had no space to prepare his Nen Ability, but Odom was confident he could handle a controlled Pariston with pure Nen Techniques and combat skill.
The source of this confidence lies in Pariston's earlier reckless, self-sacrificial behavior.
"Pariston, don't blame me for being too ruthless..."
A sharp light flashed in Odom's eyes. He twisted his feet and slid to Pariston's left side in an instant like a boneless fish.
This angle exploited the weakness created by Pariston's injured left shoulder.
Odom swung the kitchen knife toward Pariston at point-blank range.
"Huh?!"
However, when the kitchen knife hit Pariston's already injured and immobile left shoulder, Odom's pupils shrank violently.
'Why did I hit the injured left shoulder again? It was already unable to move!'
Before he could process the thought, Odom suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.
Looking down, he saw Pariston's hand had pierced straight through his torso.
"Ugh…"
Blood gushed from Odom's mouth, and he stared at Pariston's smiling face with wide eyes.
"Damn it…!"
The sudden and strong sense of death pressure made Odom pull back the kitchen knife and stab it straight towards Pariston's heart.
Squelch!
A spray of blood splashed into Odom's eyes, instantly dyeing the world in front of him red.
"What… am I doing?!"
Odom suddenly snapped back to reality, but the sudden loss of strength made him stagger and collapse to the ground.
He immediately raised his head and looked forward, only to see Pariston lying on the ground with a knife stuck in his chest.
Just now-
Pariston had used his ability to redirect Odom's attack to his already injured left shoulder, and then pierced Odom's chest with his other hand.
But this strike had deliberately avoided Odom's vitals.
The purpose is to give Odom enough energy to fight back.
And so, this scene unfolded.
The Eye of Sight that was blooming on Pariston's body also quietly faded away at this moment.
As the Kyoka Suigetsu was lifted, Pariston, who was on the verge of death, regained his true consciousness.
"So... the last... piece... of the puzzle... is..."
Pariston, who regained consciousness, understood everything in an instant.
In his fading moments, Moses's figure flashed through his mind.
'I had been completely outplayed.'
Glancing at the critically wounded Odom from the corner of his eye, Pariston felt a sense of powerlessness rising from the bottom of his heart.
But now, he could no longer tell whether it was the weakness of his body-
Or the collapse of his spirit.
'What a-'
'Terrifying man.'
The light in Pariston's eyes quietly faded.
…
On top of the Hunter Association's Headquarters.
Moses' brow twitched slightly as he heard Perception's voice from the depths of his consciousness.
[Your [Gyo: Phase Force] +1]
[Your Conjuration Correction Rate +8%]