Spreading "Nen" to such an extent is by no means something an ordinary Nen ability can achieve.
Only Nen strengthened by death possesses such power.
This view might be overly absolute.
But it is one of the perspectives Morrow holds.
Thus, when Kanzai mentioned the Dark Sonata movement, Morrow immediately realized. The essence of the movement must be an incredibly powerful Post-Mortem Will.
As for how the Third Princess of the Kukan'yu Kingdom transferred the cost, Kanzai had no idea, and Morrow had even less basis for speculation.
"Her name was Eve, wasn't it? That woman…"
On the way to their destination, Morrow sketched the woman's image in his mind, vaguely recalling her striking appearance and long silver hair.
Before long, the group arrived before a building with tightly shut doors.
Morrow glanced up at the relief above the wooden door, and through the hollow gaps he seemed to see wisps of black mist seeping out from within.
This wasn't something visible to the naked eye but rather a near-hallucinatory sensory phenomenon.
Even standing at the entrance, they could feel the ominous aura emanating from the building.
Accumulated bit by bit…
Morrow thought to himself.
Through the door, he could almost picture the scene inside.
Beyond the dense presence of Post-Mortem Will, he also noticed the Divine Script carved beneath the threshold.
These Divine Scripts extended to both sides, stretching all the way to the ends of the walls, seemingly encircling the entire building.
Unlike the Divine Scripts on the stone tablet he had seen earlier in the lotus pond, the edges of these scripts emitted a faint glow of Nen, clearly serving some purpose.
Nenze, noticing Morrow's focus on the Divine Script, asked, "Does Master Morrow know of Divine Script?"
"A little."
Morrow withdrew his gaze and answered honestly.
Hearing this, Nenze explained, "This is Divine Script I arranged. It can slightly suppress the Post-Mortem Will on the "victims" inside the building. However, this is merely a temporary solution at best, only delaying their time of death."
"I see. It sounds much like a barrier. I didn't expect Divine Script to have such uses."
A flicker of surprise crossed Morrow's eyes.
This existence, which in the original work had only revealed the tip of the iceberg and seemed more like Ancient Script, appeared to have found broader application in this country.
Nenze spoke slowly, "In the field of Divine Script application, barriers are indeed one aspect. In our nation's history, there was once a profession known as Barrier Masters, though they are now exceedingly rare. Divine Script is ultimately a cumbersome and difficult art, and few today bother to study it."
Morrow grew curious.
Barrier Masters…
This reminded him of the ninjas of Jappon and the Ninjutsu used by Hanzo in the original work.
Whether Barrier Masters or ninjas, the abilities they displayed were fundamentally derived from the Nen System.
The Barrier Masters active in the history of the Kukan'yu Kingdom were likely products of the ingenious fusion of Divine Script and Nen abilities.
However, as the Nen System gradually matured, auxiliary methods like Divine Script, which were extremely difficult to master, lost their practical value.
Take barriers, for example. As long as a Nen user clearly understands their own Nen type and leverages its innate advantages, they can relatively easily create Conjuration abilities similar to barriers. Perhaps the early Nen users of the Kukan'yu Kingdom did not have a clear understanding of Nen types.
This led to some Nen users who were not of the Conjuration type attempting to master barrier techniques.
This inefficient method of practice inadvertently elevated the auxiliary value of Divine Script.
Conversely, as practice methods became more efficient, the presence of Divine Script diminished accordingly.
"Let's focus on the task at hand," Kanzai reminded from the side.
Nenze nodded at Kanzai, then stepped forward and pushed open the wooden door.
Creak...
The wooden door slowly swung open, and the Divine Script beneath the threshold dimmed.
—--
Inside was a spacious hall, nearly devoid of furnishings.
On the red brick floor lay numerous people with black, carbonized substances emerging on their bodies.
Each of them emitted black Nen Threads, floating like smoke in the air.
Morrow's gaze swept across the room, estimating roughly three hundred people.
He also noticed scattered fine particles resembling ashes on the ground.
Those were likely traces left behind by the victims after their deaths.
"After being afflicted by the Nen, it seems even their emotional expressiveness was stripped away. The only thing remaining was a faint instinct for survival," Nenze remarked, his eyes quickly scanning the ashes on the floor, where living people had lain not long ago.
Before Kanzai sought out Morrow, there had already been many victims.
Neither he nor Kanzai understood the mechanism behind the spread of this Post-Mortem Will, nor did they possess the ability for Exorcism. Thus, they could only watch helplessly as one victim after another died silently.
Though Kanzai had the will, he lacked the power to change the situation.
Moreover, Kanzai believed this matter was connected to him, which had left him physically and mentally tormented over this period.
Morrow subtly observed the reactions of Kanzai and Nenze, seeing deep regret on their faces. He also recalled the exhaustion Kanzai had been unable to conceal earlier.
Strictly speaking, Kanzai and Nenze were good people.
With this thought, Morrow strode over to the nearest victim.
As Nenze had said, these victims had lost their emotional expressiveness, lying on the ground as quietly as logs.
Only through their eyes could one glimpse the faint remnants of their will to survive.
However, this state actually facilitated Morrow's Exorcism process.
Morrow crouched down and touched the victim before him.
In an instant, the black carbonized marks on the victim's body vanished at a visible rate, transforming into a wisp of black Nen that was absorbed into the Tree Rings tattoo on the back of his hand.
The Exorcism was complete.
Morrow stood up and moved to another victim.
Touch, absorb the Post-Mortem Nen...
As he absorbed more and more Post-Mortem Nen, the energy of the second ring visibly increased.
Though the intensity of the Post-Mortem Nen from each victim was not high, the sheer numbers made up for it.
Fortunately, Tree Rings energy did not suffer from diminishing returns like leveling abilities.
Otherwise, no matter how many victims filled this hall, he would only gain negligible energy.
By the wooden door, Kanzai and Nenze watched as Morrow effortlessly stripped the Post-Mortem Nen from the victims as if it were child's play, their expressions gradually growing numb.
It was too simple. Too effortless... The troublesome problem that plagued them was as simple as brushing away dust in Morrow's hands.
Morrow paid no attention to Kanzai and Nenze's reactions, focusing solely on absorbing the Post-Mortem Nen.
As he absorbed more and more Post-Mortem Nen, the energy of the second ring gradually surpassed 60%...
Yet within the hall, there were still many victims left unprocessed.
Twenty people, roughly 1%... Calculating this way, the total should be about 15% energy, huh...?
Suddenly, a flood of information surged inexplicably into Morrow's mind.
To be more precise, it was an abrupt, sharp ringing sound.
Though the noise only echoed in his mind, it felt like countless tiny needles scraping frantically against his eardrums, the stabbing pain piercing deep into his soul.
Morrow froze abruptly, his expression shifting slightly.
Noticing Morrow's unusual state, Kanzai's eyes narrowed with Gyo as he urgently asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Give me a moment."
Morrow raised a hand to stop Kanzai from approaching, closing his eyes as he struggled against the sound that now seemed to be attacking his very soul.
So violent, so aggressive...
Could this even be called music?
The Sonata of Darkness...