The Masked Man's arrival, along with the [Core Energy], entered the sight of Ginta and the others.
The structure of the helical crystal and the naked human atop it, whose face was obscured by white hair, were all eye-catching elements.
Yet, in less than a second, Ginta and the others' gazes were firmly locked onto the Masked Man.
"What powerful Nen..."
Ginta stared blankly at the Nen emanating from the Masked Man.
To give an analogy, if Ginta's maximum Manifested Aura was compared to a firefly, then the Masked Man's visible aura was like a light bulb.
The difference was evident.
Mizaistom's expression was grave, and the faces of the two elite combat-type Hunters were also very grim.
In battles among Nen Users, opponents with such astonishing Manifested Aura were the hardest to deal with.
Speaking of which, was that masked individual even human?
Their gazes swept over the Masked Man's lean torso, incidentally noting the towering helical crystal he held as if carrying a chick.
It was hard to imagine this individual could be a member of Beyond's team.
In fact, they couldn't yet confirm the Masked Man's origins either.
At the very least, they didn't think he was from Beyond's side.
The main combat personnel responsible for the rear were all highly alert to the Masked Man's movements.
The Masked Man approached the edge of the combat area and stopped.
The three white swallowtail butterflies didn't emerge, having once again transformed into patterns on the smooth mask.
"Not weak, but troublesome, must be dealt with..." The Masked Man said in a tone devoid of any emotion.
Ginta and the others, focusing their attention on the Masked Man, all heard his words.
However, it was in a language they didn't recognize, so they had no idea what he was saying.
But at that moment, a sudden change occurred, catching Ginta and the others off guard.
The copper mechanical lifeforms that had been swarming toward them earlier actually ignored their attacks and all turned to attack the Masked Man instead.
Their actions were particularly frenzied.
If copper mechanical lifeforms could make sounds, this passage would likely be filled with angry roars loud enough to lift the ceiling.
The copper mechanical lifeforms continuously pouring in from the branch passages no longer lunged at Ginta and his group but attacked the Masked Man who had just arrived.
"..."
Ginta and the others watched this scene in silence, feeling puzzled.
But this was... good, right?
Just as they thought so, what happened before their eyes made their expressions drastically change.
The three white swallowtail butterflies materialized from the mask, slowly fluttering around the Masked Man.
And the large number of copper mechanical lifeforms that had gathered and pounced on the Masked Man almost simultaneously disintegrated.
Massive wreckage carrying energy crystals clattered to the ground, creating a deafening noise.
The Masked Man simply stood there, making no movement, yet cleared the surrounding copper mechanical lifeforms...
"Did you see that?"
Mizaistom's eyes shimmered with the unique glow of Nen, his expression exceptionally grave.
Ginta nodded heavily, also using Gyo to cover his eyes. Like Mizaistom, his expression was very serious.
If their reactions were like this, it was even more so for the two combat-type teammates.
While using Gyo, they clearly saw countless fine Nen Threads connecting the white swallowtail butterflies and the mask.
The number of Nen Threads was staggering, tangled together, leaving many irregular gaps.
However, the arrangement, which seemed like a messy tangle of lines, gave a strange sense of order.
But that sensory impression wasn't the main point. It was that the process of the Nen Threads destroying the copper mechanical lifeforms was too effortless.
Although the copper mechanical lifeforms' defenses weren't exceptionally strong, they weren't that weak either.
Yet those hair-thin Nen Threads simply floated over and disassembled the copper mechanical lifeforms, not just one or two, but a whole group.
"It's vibration."
Cheadle, who had somehow arrived at the rear of the team, gave the fundamental reason why the Nen Threads could easily disassemble the copper mechanical lifeforms.
"Vibration?"
"Think of it as an extremely minute amplitude but very high-frequency tremor. Because of that, those Nen Threads have such destructive power." Cheadle's eyes were filled with gravity as she looked toward several branch passage entrances.
After the copper mechanical lifeforms in the area were cleared by the Masked Man, more continued to pour in nonstop.
However, the newly arriving copper mechanical lifeforms showed no interest in them, instead targeting the Masked Man with clear intent.
This phenomenon puzzled them and also left them feeling no joy at all.
Compared to the ability displayed by the Masked Man, they'd rather face the copper mechanical lifeforms.
"Although I don't quite understand, that guy clearly isn't someone to mess with. Since the copper mechanical lifeforms are all drawn to him, why don't we speed up our breakout?" Ginta suggested.
Cheadle didn't speak. Her eyes behind her glasses were fixed on the helical crystal the Masked Man held.
'What exactly is that thing?'
'Is that a human on top?'
'Alive or dead?'
Faintly, relying on her sharp thinking, Cheadle felt the reason the Masked Man attracted the hatred of the copper mechanical lifeforms might be related to that helical crystal.
However, the crystal looked very similar to the sea urchin-shaped crystals in the safe zones...
Just then, another large group of copper mechanical lifeforms fell outside the Masked Man's safe distance.
The clearing efficiency was truly terrifying, completely overshadowing the entire team's efficiency. This also indicated that the copper mechanical lifeforms in the underground ruins posed absolutely no threat to this individual of unknown origin.
Realizing this, Cheadle's heart sank. She didn't pin her hopes on using the copper mechanical lifeforms' animosity toward the Masked Man to their advantage.
The priority now should be direct confrontation with the Masked Man.
"I'll go discuss with the Chairman..."
Cheadle's words were cut short as she saw the Masked Man, having just cleared the copper mechanical lifeforms, take action.
The Masked Man merely flicked his hand, and several black shadows abruptly entered Cheadle's line of sight. Instantly, her pupils contracted sharply.
"Watch out!"
Ginta pushed Cheadle aside.
After pushing Cheadle away, in the limited time that followed, Ginta initially intended to dodge the black shadows thrown by the Masked Man, but he quickly thought of his teammates behind him.
If he dodged, the consequences would be unthinkable.
In that split second, Ginta made a choice.
He strained to discern the trajectories of the several incoming black shadows, then condensed his Nen, covering his body and arms with a thick layer of Nen Defense. Afterward, he transformed into a shield, standing in front of the team.
The black shadows were the Masked Man's nearly twenty-centimeter-long fingernails.
With just a flick of his hand, they detached from his fingers and shot toward Cheadle and the others.
Just as Cheadle was pushed and stumbled several steps, just as Mizaistom raised a yellow card, just as the two combat-type teammates barely managed to take defensive stances-
The three incoming fingernails, in a triangular formation, pierced into Ginta's arm and chest.
They went straight through his arm, into his body, then emerged from his back as several-centimeter-long spikes, dripping with blood.
Ginta only grunted. In his wide-open eyes, deep confusion appeared.
The condensed Nen Defense was so easily breached.
"Ginta!"
Seeing the incoming nail spikes pierce through Ginta's body, Cheadle couldn't help but cry out.