The interior decoration was quite dazzling. Many masterpieces of brushwork hung on the walls. Luxurious furniture was placed here and there, emitting a pleasant wood fragrance.
The woman who entered wore a somewhat Japanese-style kimono. Her eyelashes were long and slender, her eyes quite similar to Illumi's, her nose also somewhat narrow and long, with two curled strands of hair hanging by her ears.
Judging from the quite stable Aura flowing from the woman, she was undoubtedly a master.
"They've already taken action, truly impatient."
Beyond looked at the approaching woman and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.
As Netero's son, there were naturally similarities in appearance… his eyebrows, eyes, and nose seemed carved out.
However, Beyond still had highly distinctive features.
There was an 'X'-shaped scar on his face, descending along both sides of his nose. His eyebrows were thick and rugged, and he sported a dense Guan Yu-style beard.
The woman approached and knelt beside Beyond. Her lips were habitually slightly upturned, maintaining a courteous, gentlewoman's smile.
Lifting her fair, slender arm, the woman gently picked up the wine pot and poured wine for Beyond.
Clear wine poured from the spout, steadily falling into the small, exquisite cup without a single drop splashing.
Beyond downed the cup's contents again in one go.
At this moment, the woman, while pouring, asked, "Will you disregard it?"
"Of course, this matter has nothing to do with us." Beyond looked at the sunlight streaming through the window and said, "The old man is practically a cripple now. Rather than dragging out a miserable existence, it's better if he dies."
As he spoke, Beyond pressed a hand against his chest and said, "That person doesn't want to wait, actually, I'm the same. But a 'Condition' like this is a huge nuisance."
Conditions based on Nen, conditions based on emotions, conditions based on identity… whichever type, they were all the same.
He hadn't wanted to wait for a long time, but he could only wait and wait some more.
"You're selectively ignoring a certain possibility," the woman poured wine for Beyond again.
"Am I? Hahaha."
Beyond burst into hearty laughter, completely unconcerned.
He knew what possibility the woman was referring to… nothing more than Netero possibly recovering to his original state. But regardless of the outcome, it wouldn't affect his patience.
To go to the Dark Continent fully prepared, he, and everyone in his team, were willing to wait.
Of course, from the superficial, hypocritical standpoint of a son, he naturally didn't want his father to die like this. But from the inner, genuine standpoint, he wouldn't feel any sorrow-related emotions about Netero's death.
He even wished Netero would simply pass away.
"Everything is ready, all we need is a favorable wind to set sail."
Beyond suddenly muttered to himself.
The woman merely smiled without speaking.
…
Kakin Empire, Capital Palace, King's Bedchamber.
The current king, Nasubi Hui Guo Rou, sat cross-legged on the bed, his left elbow resting on a low armrest.
The armrest seemed a characteristic of Kakin Empire… anyone sitting cross-legged would use this kind of armrest to slightly lean their body to the left.
Nasubi had a chestnut-style haircut, not much hair. His face was full of horizontal flesh, his eyes small, his eyebrows slender, connecting to his nose. A flowing mustache adorned his upper lip, and like most kings, he had a body of fat.
He wasn't alone in the bedchamber. A man in military uniform, with a strong build, thick eyebrows, and a broad nose, stood to one side, not looking around.
This man was Nasubi's personal bodyguard. Being able to perform guard duties inside the bedchamber likely meant he was among Nasubi's most trusted inner circle.
At this moment, reflected in the peripheral vision of the man's unwavering eyes was a grotesque, ferocious-looking Nen Beast standing quietly behind Nasubi.
The Nen Beast was over three meters long, its body structure close to a spider's, with ten jointed arms covered in barbs, but its hands were no different from a human's.
If one ignored the hand parts, they resembled fly legs.
The front of the Nen Beast's abdomen was covered with twelve pairs of women's breasts, varying in size, hanging down on left and right sides.
The Nen Beast had a human head and face, positioned centrally below the breasts on both sides.
It was a horse-like face with a pair of exaggerated protruding ears, black long hair on both sides. The eyes were round and full. The nose and mouth were connected into one… a vertically open, deformed mouth full of sharp teeth.
A long tongue, like that of a hanged ghost, extended from the deformed mouth, its tip less than a palm's distance from Nasubi's chestnut-head hair.
The Nen Beast stood expressionlessly behind Nasubi, its vertical mouth continuously open. Nasubi's Nen, like smoke, kept flowing into its mouth, as if it were feeding or replenishing nutrients.
To an outsider, this scene might look like some unknown creature harming the king.
However, as a trusted confidant, the robust man knew a thing or two about the Nen Beast's existence. He knew it was the Kakin King's exclusive Guardian Spirit Beast, so naturally, he showed no reaction.
[Guardian Spirit Beast]
In the distant era of warring states, numerous small countries existed side by side. Wars between them were constant, with countries being annexed at any moment.
Kakin Empire was originally one of these many small states. The first-generation king, inspired by [Gu Poison], conjured a strange pot that could generate [Guardian Spirit Beasts].
From then on, Kakin Empire gradually grew strong, eventually becoming a major power dominating a continent.
After the first king's death, due to a strong desire for his descendants to prosper endlessly, the conjured strange pot was passed down, becoming a traditional artifact of the Kakin Empire's royal family.
Those with royal blood simply needed to drip blood into the pot to generate a Guardian Spirit Beast to protect themselves.
The spirit beast fed on the host's life energy. Its form and abilities were influenced by the host's essence. Since the spirit beast was generated through the strange pot, it wouldn't act according to the host's will.
That Guardian Spirit Beast with numerous breasts was actually a Nen Beast, exuding an Aura that kept strangers at bay. It possessed a deep sense of time's precipitation, giving a quite dangerous feeling.
As the host, the Nen emanating from Nasubi couldn't be underestimated either, clearly bearing traces of being honed over time.
The Guardian Spirit Beast's natural duty was to protect and assist the host. Though not controlled by the host, it undoubtedly possessed a special Nen Ability.
And the host would inevitably become a Nen User, also developing their own unique Nen Ability.
Thus, it was equivalent to one person possessing two Nen Abilities… this was the basic information.
At this moment, Nasubi, while diverting Nen to feed the Guardian Spirit Beast, narrowed his eyes in contemplation.
Beyond concluded that Nasubi sent people to eliminate Netero because he was impatient. In fact, Beyond was wrong.
Nasubi wasn't unwilling to wait… he couldn't wait any longer.
"Not much time left..."