Not weak speed, and unparalleled intensity… this was the power Shalnark was currently displaying.
However, Law knew full well that this kind of strength was as fleeting as fireworks.
If Shalnark's total Potential Aura could sustain a state of Ken for two hours, then right now, he was compressing that time down to three minutes, two minutes, or even one minute...
Trading the quantity of two or even three hours for a few minutes of quality.
It was like directly smashing a water-filled vat, letting all the water pour out at once… brutal and unreasonable.
So, the drawbacks were obvious: it lacked endurance.
Law could knock Shalnark down head-on, or he could seize an opportunity to pull out the antenna on Shalnark's body. But he chose the easiest method… evasion.
Avoid Shalnark's attacks, using [Instant] to create distance.
Shalnark turned around and attacked again, and Law once again evaded with effortless ease.
As long as he didn't attack or counter, the risk of being hit would be minimized.
What needed to be done next was simple: wait for the moment Shalnark's energy was exhausted.
In the Autopilot Mode, Shalnark was equivalent to an unconscious puppet, mindlessly following the command to eliminate the enemy. The Autopilot would not deactivate until the command was completed.
Moreover, the method he employed was direct assault… straightforward, without any fancy techniques. Relying on that powerful Aura layer, he didn't need to worry about taking damage himself.
With such formidable power, if the enemy he encountered wasn't particularly fast, the outcome was usually instant death.
Tragically, the person he faced was Law.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Every time Shalnark charged, he left a large crater in the road.
In less than ten seconds, the entire wide road had been utterly destroyed.
"Fifteen seconds, sixteen seconds... twenty seconds."
Law even put away Shin. After patiently waiting for twenty seconds, he finally saw signs of Shalnark's golden Aura sputtering out.
"A brainless ability," Law suddenly stopped.
Ahead, Shalnark transformed into a golden beam, coming straight at him.
Law remained unmoved, standing there watching calmly.
The golden beam began to disintegrate from the tail end, as if infected by a corrosive virus. The golden Aura surrounding Shalnark's body also began to crumble step by step.
In that instant, Shalnark's Potential Aura was finally completely depleted. Countless blood vessels burst across his body, instantly covering him in blood… a truly miserable sight.
Although the Aura had vanished, the forward momentum remained.
After the Autopilot Mode was deactivated, Shalnark's eyes gradually regained focus. First, he frowned at the pain wracking his entire body, then felt immensely fatigued. Finally, shock and confusion filled his eyes.
The flow of time seemed to slow down at that moment.
Shalnark knew he was airborne and flying forward.
But why was Law standing right ahead? Why was he completely unharmed? Why were there no signs of battle on him?
His own injuries were unlike anything he had experienced after using Autopilot Mode before, and he couldn't feel any Aura within his body.
'Could it be... that the Autopilot Mode was maintained until the limit and then forcibly ended?'
'How was that possible? Previously, battles ended in an instant. Even against Law, shouldn't he have been injured?'
Shalnark had no idea what had actually happened. His vision was filled with Law's figure, as he had no energy left to notice the utterly destroyed surroundings.
At this moment, Shalnark's airborne body resembled a ragged doll.
Law reached out, grabbed Shalnark by the neck, and helped dissipate his forward momentum.
"Pfft."
Shalnark absorbed part of the impact force, spitting out blood. However, Law blocked it with his Domain, splattering the blood back onto Shalnark's face.
"Confused?" Law smiled, looking at Shalnark's bloodied face.
A pained expression appeared on Shalnark's face. In his slightly blurred vision was Law's smiling face. Those clean, dust-free clothes were incredibly glaring.
His neck was being choked, making breathing increasingly difficult.
Excruciating pain wracked his entire body, and he couldn't muster any strength or Nen.
'Right, the limitation of the Autopilot Mode... was that it wouldn't stop until the enemy was killed. If it didn't stop, I would be defeated and die without the enemy even needing to act.'
'But... the opponent now was completely unharmed.'
"In pain?" Law continued to smile.
Even if his neck wasn't being choked, Shalnark wouldn't have had the strength to speak.
However, even if he couldn't speak, he could still hear. And the words Law was speaking now sounded like the mocking taunts of a victor.
"Frustrated?"
The third sentence was like a sharp blade piercing his gradually failing heart.
Of course he was frustrated. Absolutely frustrated.
But was there any chance to catch his breath?
In this endless darkness, was there even a sliver of light?
"But what can you do about it? Who told you you're too weak."
"Don't worry, the other Troupe members will join you soon."
The voice in his ear was like a cold blade.
Shalnark's pupils constricted to pinpoints. At this moment, with death so near, his emotions peaked at their highest point.
Crack.
Without giving Shalnark any chance to vent, Law directly twisted his neck.
The light instantly faded from Shalnark's eyes, his head lolling limply to the side.
Law released his grip. Shalnark's body collapsed to the ground like a broken doll. The bat-shaped phone fell out but didn't immediately vanish.
Law looked at the phone, his eyes holding a hint of anticipation, while he shook his blood-stained hand, separating the blood and flicking it onto Shalnark's corpse.
The phone's screen flickered on and off, as if it were about to lose power any second.
A few seconds later, wispy black smoke began to rise from the phone's screen.
Seeing this, Law's lips curled slightly upwards.
The deliberate, taunting words weren't entirely useless.
As for Post-Mortem Nen or anything like that... as long as Shalnark didn't die during the Autopilot Mode, it was nothing to worry about.
…
Gold Cup Road E.
The edges of Kurapika's pupils were faintly red. The fury and killing intent in his chest were hard to suppress.
Clatter.
With a lift of his hand, the sound of chains rang out.
Franklin had no interest in Kurapika's identity. Expressionlessly, he raised his hands, his fingertips dropping away to reveal hollow, gun-like openings.
[Double Machine Gun!]
Countless blocky Nen Bullets suddenly enveloped Kurapika from all directions.
Kurapika flicked his wrist slightly. A chain extended from his ring finger, its end attached to a small, exquisite diamond-shaped shield.
[Guardian Chain]
A surge of Nen erupted from the shield, forming a semi-transparent Aura Wall that spread out in front of Kurapika.
The countless blocky Nen Bullets struck the Aura Wall, instantly shattering into points of light without even causing a ripple.
That was Kurapika's Guardian Chain. It formed a crystalline wall using Emission-type Nen properties, but it also incorporated Enhancement and Transmutation properties.
Amplified by the effects of [Emperor Time], the composite Nen achieved its maximum effect, allowing it to easily block Franklin's Double Machine Gun.
Moreover, the reason for choosing the detached Emission-type was to neutralize the damage while also avoiding the impact force.
Seeing his Nen Bullets have no effect, Franklin's expression immediately turned grave. For the moment, he couldn't discern Kurapika's Nen Type.