It was late at night, and the empty streets were only illuminated by the faint moonlight on the stone pavement.
Akira walked into the casino with his hands in his pockets, as carefree as if he were returning home, showing no signs of caution.
The Gardevoir ready to emerge from within him was his confidence in daring to come here! Gardevoir combat prowess aside, its ability to protect his life was top-notch. As long as they didn't encounter an enemy far surpassing Gardevoir strength, escaping with the help of Teleport would still be a piece of cake!
After scanning the surroundings, Akira gaze quickly locked onto the two figures standing right in the center of the hall.
One was tall, the other short; one was fat, the other thin. The short and fat one was naturally their acquaintance, Pierce, who was now looking at him with a smug expression.
As for the other tall and thin man, he was a complete stranger, seemingly unremarkable, with a prominent hooked nose that made him look anything but trustworthy!
Using "Gyo," Akira could clearly see a wisp of smoke-like energy naturally dissipating from the top of Pierce head. Ordinary people who couldn't control their Nen would have their life energy slowly leaking away from the top of their heads.
Pierce wasn't the main concern; he was just an ordinary person. What was more important was the tall and thin man beside him, whose head showed no signs of life energy leaking. Instead, his Nen aura clung tightly to the surface of his body, indicating that he was a Nen user!
Akira noticed that the exposed skin of the tall and thin man looked abnormal, like shattered glass, covered in cracks. The only reason Akira could think of for such a condition was - Baptism!
The term "Baptism" first appeared during the Heaven Arena arc, where people who reached the 200th floor would encounter Nen users. Some low-level Nen users, lacking in strength, could only challenge ordinary people. When these ordinary people reached the 200th floor, they would be struck by the malicious Nen of these scum.
Only a very few with high talent or good luck could seize this opportunity to awaken their Nen. Most, however, would suffer severe physical damage, either dying or being left permanently disabled! But those who survived might still be able to use a bit of Nen.
This was the so-called "Baptism"!
"Hahaha, kid, your time is up!" Pierce, seeing Akira striding in so boldly, couldn't help but laugh mockingly. His laughter caused the fat on his face to jiggle, making his already ugly face even more uglier. The tall and thin man beside him glanced at Pierce but said nothing.
"I knew you weren't simple, so I went out of my way to spend a fortune to hire this gentleman!"
"Just wait for your death—this is the price for humiliating me that day!"
As he spoke, Pierce eyes flashed with a hint of pain. Hiring a Nen user wasn't cheap. Especially after losing all his money at the casino to Akira, this was adding insult to injury. But Akira had to die! Not just to vent his anger, but also to protect his reputation.
In Pierce eyes, everything that happened that day was Akira humiliating him, even though Akira hadn't done anything - Pierce had tripped on his own and knelt down to beg for mercy.
"Clap, clap, clap, a petty man remains a petty man~ I was too lenient with you that day. If only you had just done your job properly, now my poor Gardevoir has to deal with trash again." Akira clapped sarcastically while speaking in a regretful tone.
If this guy were on Earth, he'd definitely be a top-tier drama queen.
"You..." Pierce was about to say something, but the tall and thin man beside him stopped him.
"Enough with the nonsense. I don't have time to waste here," the tall and thin man said coldly, pointing at Akira. "Kid, don't think you're invincible just because you used your aura to intimidate a few ordinary people."
"I don't even need to get close to you to crush you. Of course, to satisfy my employer request, I'll take my time torturing you."
"I'll crush every bone in your body and let you die in agony!" As he spoke, the tall, thin man grinned, revealing a bloodthirsty smile that made him look even uglier. Those who survive the baptism often develop twisted personalities.
After his words, streams of white aura began to seep out from the cracks in the tall, thin man body. The sparse aura gradually formed a massive, white, swirling hand above his head, which shot straight toward Akira.
Just as it approached Akira, a pink aura in the shape of an arrow shot out. The arrow, moving at incredible speed, shattered the white hand effortlessly into the air.
Seeing that Akira was still standing unharmed, the tall, thin man face twisted in disbelief as he asked: "How are you still fine? You should've been crushed by now!"
"Huh? Wait... why is your attack so weak?" Hearing this, Akira frowned and shot back at the tall, thin man.
Akira didn't waste any more time and immediately activated the appraisal function, targeting the man.
Name: Hoss
Strength: D
Nen Ability: None
Akira couldn't help but facepalm and let out a bitter laugh. It seemed he had been too cautious. He had thought that Hoss, being someone who had undergone the baptism and still had all his limbs intact, might have some decent strength. But who would've thought... his strength was only at D-level, and he didn't even know how to use "Nen," nor had he developed any aura abilities.
That aura hand wasn't even a real nen ability—it was just a concentrated burst of aura thrown at the enemy.
"Kid, you..." Hoss on the other side was about to say something, but Akira had already had enough.
"Shut up! You're just a failed product of the baptism, and you're still spouting nonsense!"
Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared as Gardevoir unleashed her full aura, releasing an overwhelming pressure that surged toward the two men.
In Akira eyes, Gardevoir now resembled a blazing sun, radiating blinding light! The release of aura stirred the surrounding air, and the entire casino felt like it was caught in a storm. Chairs and tables were overturned, and lightweight chips flew everywhere.
Hoss was forced to his knees under the immense pressure, while the other man, Pierce, was even worse off—he was flat on the ground like a pig waiting to be slaughtered.
"H-how is this possible! How can you be this strong!" Hoss face was filled with terror, his face contorted under the immense pressure as he gritted his teeth and spoke.
With a full two major tiers of strength difference, Gardevoir mere aura pressure was enough to keep Hoss from even lifting his head.
"Oh, why are you kneeling? Didn't you say you were going to crush every bone in my body?"
"Urgh! M-Muh!"