In the capital of the Saherta Union, a gaunt old man sat in the seat of honor. Next to him was a young man wearing a crown, looking slightly ill at ease. Standing before them was a lone figure.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. Greetings, Senior Salona."
Pariston, dressed in a yellow pinstripe suit, wore a practiced smile—one that instinctively put the old man on edge.
"You're Pariston from the Hunter Association's Twelve Zodiacs, the Rat?"
"That's correct."
"Why has someone from the Hunter Association come here to the Saherta Union?"
Salona already knew why Pariston had arrived; Pariston had sent some information ahead of time. Otherwise, Salona—an S-Class Nen user from the royal family—would not have shown up. Even so, Salona felt displeased at the intrusion.
"The Chairman asked me to visit. Word has it that someone in the Saherta Union is secretly studying certain forbidden parasites. The Fiora royal family is also quite concerned," Pariston explained.
Salona's eyes narrowed.
"Parasites? I've never heard of that. If the Hunter Association has found something, you could simply inform our royal family. Why come in person? Besides, this is an internal affair of the Saherta Union. It's hardly the business of the Hunter Association or the Fiora royal family, is it?"
Salona already knew of Oster's activities, but from his perspective, it amounted to a minor matter: just some people getting killed. He didn't regard civilian lives as important. But rather as resources just like any other, and it was normal for these "resources " to be used.
Indeed, parasites were sealed and forbidden ages ago, largely because of the grave threat they posed. If unleashed, they could spread like a plague—worse, even, than conventional epidemics. They were more troublesome than the Taris Kingdom's Nen users. That was why parasites had been banned for so long.
Few people even knew they existed now, not even someone like Zeno.
Pariston himself hadn't known of them until Netero handed him certain responsibilities; only then did he learn. Immediately, Pariston became intrigued. From the data Ron provided, he realized Oster might have made progress in researching these parasites. That was further underscored by the investigation report on Gegus. However, Pariston also knew that acquiring critical information wouldn't be easy—not with his personal strength or influence alone. So he hadn't come here by himself.
Salona, for his part, lacked the full picture. What truly upset him was that the Hunter Association seemed to be meddling in the Saherta Union's affairs at all. From the perspective of many Nen users, the Hunter Association is a large organization; but from the vantage of the V5 nations, it's just a messy conglomerate—one that generally answers to V5's directives.
Even though Netero was powerful enough to shift the dynamic somewhat, the rest of the Association carried little weight with V5.
So Salona regarded Pariston's arrival as that of a lower-ranked subordinate presuming to interfere in his domain. It was unacceptable.
Still smiling, Pariston said, "Senior Salona, the Hunter Association is also here at the request of other V5 member states, not just the Fiora Kingdom. Minbo, Ochima, and Begerossé have all expressed concern over the parasite issue. Their envoys have already arrived."
Salona's face darkened. The involvement of several other V5 members was an entirely different matter from the Hunter Association alone. Such a level of interest could only mean one thing: Oster must have achieved significant success in his parasite research. And Salona was the last to find out—after not only the Hunter Association but also the other V5 nations.
"Damn you, Oster," Salona thought angrily. "The parasites belong to the Saherta Union, yet now those other countries will get a share of the spoils—maybe more than just a share."
He glared to the side.
"Where is Oster? Bring him here at once."
A figure promptly hurried off.
*
In another part of the city, the battle continued. The bunny-girl could hold out no longer. Under Zeno's assault, she finally went down. His "Dragon Head Strikes" slammed into her again and again until she was flung against the wall of a nearby building.
Boom!
She crashed into the wall, embedding partway inside it.
Crack!
The dragon aura snapped downward, shattering the bunny-girl's spine and crushing her organs. Her life force vanished almost immediately.
Seeing this, the swordsman could wait no longer. He launched an attack on Silva, but it was a hasty move with no real chance of success. His slash hit empty air, carving a deep trench in the ground where Silva had been, yet Silva now stood behind him.
Two spheres of aura gathered in Silva's hands, radiating crushing pressure.
Boom!
When Silva's fist pounded down, the resulting aura explosion slammed the swordsman onto the ground.
Splurt!
He coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, and his life was snuffed out in an instant.
Meanwhile, Largin's movements grew heavier and heavier as he faced off against Natsu. Even the simplest actions had become difficult.
"Slap!"
"Position Swap!"
Caught off-balance, Largin suddenly found himself right in front of Sasuke, who clamped him in a tight grip. Natsu, on the other hand, ended up high in the air, flames blazing in each hand.
In the next moment, those twin flames merged into a brilliant gold.
"Fire Dragon's Radiant Blaze!"
A golden fireball plummeted toward Sasuke and Largin below.