Chapter 87: I Order You to Die!

Auren, no longer hesitating, kicks the door in.Inside, the entire room is filled with thick fog, rolling along the floor and clouding the air like a suffocating veil.

He immediately activates Zetsu, once more nearly completely vanishing from sight.

Carefully, Auren inspects the people in front of him, through his hatsu, which acts similarly to En. The conference room is quite large and spacious for what it is, but still, it’s only a conference room, with a single door serving as both entry and exit.

They are trapped… or are they trying to trap me?!

At the front, two men stand ready. One of them wears something that resembles a massive suit of armor wrapped around his body. The other grips two pistols, holding them steady as if waiting for the slightest movement.

The two men in the back do not move, only standing still, but Auren can already feel it—

Their Auras.

All four are Nen users, and not mere beginners either. Each one carries the weight of at least a capable Nen user.

“I can’t see him! Even with Gyo?!” the smaller man with the pistols suddenly screams, his voice echoing through the mist.

“Shut up. Do the usual,” another, apparently elder man, commands coldly, his voice coming from the far end of the room.

Hiding in Mist doesn’t fully block Gyo or En, but it requires a strong, experienced user to see through it, and even then, it’s still hard to spot me. But it does make spotting and detecting me far more difficult, especially for those with weaker Auras. The real danger is if my enemies are far superior to me. If that’s the case, then continuing Zetsu makes me extremely vulnerable. The solution? Train. Train. Train! If I strengthen my Aura even more, then no one will ever be able to see through my hatsu, and the risk of using Zetsu will be manageable. I’ll become a true demon in the mist, a phantom able to kill everyone trapped inside.

It’s time to begin.

Auren pulls out several throwing knives, silently distributing his focus towards his targets. He spontaneously drops his Zetsu and instantly switches to Ren, activating Limitless Waters, changing his Aura into one resembling a chaotic storm of water. The first three knives leave his hand with only a modest amount of Aura from being applied through Shu, but the last one—he channels all his Aura with Ko into it, pouring lethal strength into the blade as he hurls it straight at the man wielding the two pistols, targeting the chest—the easiest point to strike.

As Auren’s Aura violently spins around the throwing knife, it feels like he has just thrown a knife weighing more than himself. HE instantly knows that if it hits, only the strongest Nen users will be able to survive. He instantly switches back to Zetsu, just as his knives hit their targets.

Not to his surprise, the armored man casually shrugs off one of the knives with a loud, metallic clang.

The two figures in the back manage to dodge as well, though perhaps one suffers a shallow injury. But the man in front—the one holding the pistols—screams, a tragic howl tearing from his throat.

Despite the pained scream, Auren catches another sound and quickly slips back into Zetsu. He notices the pistols have clattered to the ground.

This one is down!

He draws Eternity and steps forward—only for the armored man to yell and suddenly charge at him, barreling forward with brute force.

The man rushes straight out of the room, charging directly at Auren.

But instead of retreating or meeting him head-on, Auren smiles mischievously. He jumps towards the ceiling, and then downwards, thus bypassing him easily, and continues to dash inside the room instead, his body moving lightly as he activates Rhythm Echo, creating multiple illusions of himself with every step. An ability that works even without Nen, splitting his image across the fog like ripples in water.

He rushes straight toward the others—until a voice echoes through the room:

“I order you to stop your approach!! You are forbidden from taking another step toward me or attack me!!”

For some reason he cannot explain, Auren’s feet immediately halt. The images of himself vanish, and his body stiffens, frozen in place.

“I order you to cease your Hatsu! Remove the fog!” the same voice groans, sharper this time, sounding stressed.

And against all reason, Auren obeys. His fingers snap almost involuntarily, and the fog vanishes in an instant, clearing the entire room in one sweep.

The scene before him is revealed.

One person lies dead on the ground, a large hole torn straight through his chest.

In front of Auren, two men remain. One is an elderly man in a high-class suit, clutching a scepter. Blood pours from his eyes, nose, and mouth, yet he still manages to stand, though barely.

Next to him stands a younger man, wearing a flashy outfit and sunglasses. Despite his bold appearance, he looks shaken with fear and is trembling all over.

Auren tries to rush forward again—but his body refuses. Something holds him back, something unnatural. It feels as though he has forgotten how to run, as if the very command to move has been stripped away.

Behind him, Auren sees another man, this one covered from head to toe in a thick, heavy suit of conjured armor, making him resemble a knight. His entire body and face are encased in steel-like plates, with only the smallest slit left open around his eyes.

A knight?! His Hatsu conjures a suit of armor… even his head is covered in a weird helmet with only a tiny opening for the eyes. Enhancer or Conjurer? Maybe the former.

“I—I can’t!” the older man yells, voice trembling with strain, more blood gushing out of his mouth. “I already overdrafted! After only two orders… He’s too strong! I can only use one more or—”

Without hesitation, Auren floods the room with his full Aura, cutting the man’s words short.

Instantly, he feels his legs responding again, regaining a slight degree of control. The man in front of him bleeds even more heavily now, his face tightening as though he is desperately holding his breath.

Wait… when he gave the order, he said only towards him! Why make that distinction? Wouldn’t a simple order to stop moving altogether be far more efficient? That choice seems strange, almost too specific. It’s disadvantageous for him, so it must have a reason behind it. Which means…. There must be a steep price for every command, so he used a less restrictive command to save Aura. He stopped my approach, forbade me from drawing near him, and then even forced me to stop my Hatsu! These are still powerful orders, but look at him—he’s already on the verge of collapsing, no wonder he is so stingy with his orders.

He requires Manipulation and Conjuration to make this work, and some amount of Emission as well, since his ability reaches me without physical contact. Of course, the limitations must be immense. His condition proves it! His Hatsu will collapse in moments, and then so will he.

“KILL HIM NOW, WELLER!” the younger man screams suddenly, panic rising in his voice as he glances at his elderly colleague, who has already fallen to one knee. “DO IT NOW! Dunur, I’ll pay you one billion afterward and heal you! YOU NEED TO DO IT!”

The old man groans, his hand shaking as he lifts his scepter again.

Despite the growing panic inside him, Auren forces himself to remain calm and concentrate, his thoughts racing fast.

He can only use it once more… but once is enough. If he orders me into Zetsu, then I’m finished. Even a simple Ko attack would tear me apart while I’m defenseless! What should I do?! Wait—he only forbade me from approaching and attacking him. That doesn’t stop me from turning around and leaving! No… not fast enough. I need something better. Wait a minute… an order only works if the one being ordered actually hears it!

Acting without hesitation, Auren tears a tissue from his pocket in half and shoves the pieces violently into his ears, wincing as pain shoots through them.

I still can’t approach the old man. That means the young one standing beside him is safe as well. Not hearing him now doesn’t erase the previous order… but at least he can’t control me with another.

His Aura, modified by Limitless Waters flares as he activates Ren, charging straight at the armored man instead.

The knight-like figure steps forward with grim confidence, as though certain of victory. He conjures a massive mace and swings it sideways with all his might.

Auren smirks. With a single, fluid step, he slips past the clumsy strike. Limitless Waters, enveloping Eternity in a swirling force of Aura, like a violent whirlpool wrapping itself around the blade. Auren drives it straight into the tiny opening in the visor, piercing deep into the man’s skull, killing him.

For the briefest moment, Auren sees the man’s eyes widen, shifting from arrogant confidence to absolute terror—then blood bursts out of the slit as Eternity’s swirling Aura forces it to spray across the room.

The armored body collapses.

Auren wastes no time. Free to move again, he sprints toward the old man clutching his scepter. The elderly Manipulator is already half-collapsed, unable to resist, his Hatsu no longer working.

Auren’s empowered blade slashes towards him, and his head is separated by such force that it gets blown away.

Only the boss is left! I need that guy alive!

The younger man in the flashy outfit drops to his knees, screaming words Auren cannot hear, his voice silenced through the tissue in Auren’s ears.

Without the slightest hesitation, Auren kicks him squarely in the face, then grabs him by the collar. His grip tightens around the man’s throat until his body goes limp, fainting from lack of air.

Three corpses and one unconscious hostage lie next to him.

Auren pulls the now bloodstained tissue from his ears, groaning.

My ears are killing me… I nearly destroyed my own eardrums, but at least I captured the one most likely in charge of the operation. Though it seems he isn’t the brains behind it. The old man was finished already, so this was the only viable hostage. He at least controls most of the finances, so this is probably a decent choice for a hostage.

Suddenly, his phone buzzes. Machi’s name flashes across the screen. Surprised, Auren answers.

Before he can even speak, her voice cuts through—screaming:

“Auren! Can you talk?! I need help!!”