HunterxHunter: I Became Stronger After Death

For a moment, Moro didn't know what to say.

If circumstances allowed, he really would have wanted Biscuit to roll far, far away.

He hadn't expected her to catch on to his intentions so quickly.

Experience really does come with age.

Moro sighed inwardly, then pretended to look confused, just about to say something—

But before he could speak, Biscuit glared at him, then turned and left without another word.

She had already guessed what Moro was about to say.

It was nothing more than his usual opening line: "A cute girl like you…"

Normally, such words should have been flattering and delightful, but coming from Moro's mouth, they felt like poison, making her completely uncomfortable.

Moro watched Biscuit's retreating figure and let out a small sigh of relief.

Then, under the guidance of the auction staff, he went to pay for and retrieve the crimson poultry knife he had won in the auction.

"Whether I absorb its Nen or not depends on my will. Not bad."

Holding the crimson poultry knife, Moro could feel its heavy, solid weight in his hand.

More importantly, he didn't have to worry about his Age Ring ability automatically absorbing the Nen on the blade.

Though he hadn't tested it yet, Moro firmly believed that a Nen-infused poultry knife would be sharper than a regular one. Since he intended to use it as a weapon, absorbing its Nen was out of the question.

"Very nice."

Moro gave the poultry knife a casual swing, clearly fond of it.

Then, remembering his main objective, he sheathed the knife into its custom scabbard, made from the hide of a wyvern.

After securing the knife, Moro headed straight toward Buyer #56.

Buyer #56 was an elderly man with graying hair, yet he looked full of energy.

Beside him stood a young man, about the same age as Moro, with a rigid and serious demeanor.

"Hello."

Moro approached the elderly man.

The old man turned toward him, just about to speak, when the young man beside him cut in first—

"What do you want?"

His tone was cold, his demeanor guarded, radiating a clear "stay away" attitude.

Moro glanced at the young man, then ignored him completely.

Instead, he met the old man's inquiring gaze and spoke solemnly:

"The execution blade you purchased carries the lingering malice of the dead. If an ordinary person touches it, their body and mind will suffer."

"Oh? You're an exorcist?"

The old man's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Moro paused for a moment.

Exorcist…

Right—people who didn't understand Nen often mistook phenomena caused by post-mortem Nen as spiritual activity.

And Nen users with the ability to remove Nen, in their eyes, were known as spiritualists or exorcists.

Moro immediately played along:

"Yes. If you don't mind, I can help cleanse the execution blade of its malice."

Worried that the old man might refuse, Moro quickly added:

"It's free, and it won't take much of your time."

"Hmm…"

The old man hummed thoughtfully.

The young man beside him furrowed his brows, barely holding back his urge to drive Moro away.

After a brief moment of consideration, the old man nodded toward Moro:

"Then, I'll trouble you with this task."

The young man's eyes widened in disbelief.

Grandfather actually agreed?!

How could someone around his age possibly be an exorcist?!

A few minutes later, the three of them moved to a private guest lounge.

With the old man's approval, the auction house staff brought over the execution blade.

Up close, the chilling aura coming from the sword was palpable—even just looking at it from a distance made people uncomfortable.

"Please, go ahead."

The old man gestured toward Moro.

Although he wasn't a Nen user, he had some ability to perceive spiritual presences.

He couldn't see them clearly, but he could make out vague black mist-like figures.

So when Moro mentioned the lingering malice, the old man had already believed him.

Under his gaze, Moro suppressed his excitement, walked up to the execution blade, and gently placed his hand on it.

With a single thought, the dark aura covering the blade was instantly sucked into the tattoo on the back of his hand.

At the same time—

Moro's mind was forcefully flooded with memories of countless executions.

He experienced the anguish, despair, and resentment of those who had been beheaded…

But even more intense than the emotions was the visceral sensation of being beheaded.

…Not that it mattered to him.

Moro pulled his hand away and casually glanced at the energy gauge on his Age Ring ability—

It had jumped from 26% to 34%.

"Not bad."

Previously, after exhausting himself hunting down five Nen-infused objects, he had only managed to convert 6% of energy.

Yet this one execution blade, despite its seemingly weak Nen, had given him a whole 8% increase.

Post-mortem Nen really does provide stronger energy.

Moro smiled, then turned to face the old man with a serious expression.

"It's done. I've cleansed the execution blade of its malice."

Honestly, even if the old man kicked him out for being a fraud, Moro would have still considered this a win.

But to his surprise—

"Incredible!"

The old man looked at him with amazement.

"This is the first time I've ever seen an exorcist purify malice so effortlessly."

The young man, who had been fuming with anger, was just about to berate Moro—

But upon hearing his grandfather's words, he froze in shock.

—Grandfather… are you senile?!

He had seen exorcisms before, and never had one been this fast and simple!

His mind was filled with disbelief.

Meanwhile, Moro…

He had ignored the young man's presence entirely and now looked at the old man with mild surprise.

"You can see malice?"

After all, only those who could see it would know that he had truly purified the blade.

But the old man was clearly just a normal person…

"I can see a little."

The old man nodded slowly, then looked at Moro with respect:

"May I have your contact information?"

"Uh…"

Ten minutes later.

The old man and the young man left, taking the execution blade with them.

Moro remained in the guest lounge, a pleased smile on his face.

What a pleasant surprise.

Not only had he absorbed a significant amount of energy, but the old man had insisted on paying him 100 million as a reward.

More importantly—

That old man was the curator of a private museum.

He had promised to contact Moro whenever he needed exorcism services.

That meant a stable source of post-mortem Nen energy.

Moro glanced at the 34% energy gauge on his hand.

Once I deal with the Death Node, I might as well take up this profession. Easy money, and free Nen energy.

Just then—

Creak—

The guest lounge door suddenly swung open.

Biscuit walked in, giving Moro a curious, scrutinizing look.

The moment he saw her, Moro did something rare—

He rolled his eyes.

This woman…

Her earlier dramatic departure had just been a smoke screen.

She had secretly stuck around to spy on him.

And with her level of skill, Moro hadn't even noticed.

Unless, of course, she had harbored killing intent toward him.

"So you can exorcise Nen too?!"

Biscuit grinned, eyes gleaming with interest.

"And post-mortem Nen, at that… Huh. You look like it was nothing to you."

"It wasn't easy. It felt like getting my head chopped off ten thousand times."

Moro sighed.

Biscuit sucked in a sharp breath.

Then, she looked at him like he was some kind of mythical creature.

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