Holding the black harp and wearing that familiar outfit, who else could it be but Stargie?
Moreover, she wasn't transformed from a mirror but was directly materialized by the Mender.
Thus, Stargie's eyes were normal, unlike the other replicas that had Ultraman-like eyes.
Law stood still, looking at the materialized Stargie with a rather grim expression, a sense of concern arising within him.
He couldn't be sure whether the Stargie before him was a fabrication of the Mender or created using Stargie's soul as a framework.
If it was the former, it would be manageable... if the latter, he couldn't act rashly.
"Bastard..."
The Nen around Law rippled with emotion, his furious eyes sweeping towards the Mender.
Stargie moved several steps to the left, blocking Law's line of sight to the Mender.
The Mender closed his book-like body and retreated a certain distance.
His graffiti eyes, betraying no emotion, quietly gazed at Law and Stargie.
He could have overwhelmed them with his vast Nen Reserves, yet he deliberately refrained, instead using only small tricks.
Whether out of playfulness or malice, no one could know.
Stargie's hand rested on the harp, her face expressionless as she stood there. Just like when they first met, her eyes were empty and lifeless, and a dangerous black Nen radiated from her body.
The dancing light fragments were silently stained black by that Nen, then shattered, like ink splashed into water, dispersing into ink rings.
Law frowned deeply, momentarily at a loss.
Better safe than sorry.
In this situation, he found it difficult to take action against the Stargie before him.
However, to subdue the Mender, he clearly had to get past Stargie first.
"Kuro."
Law assumed a defensive stance. After thinking it over, the only option was to have Kuro come out and keep Stargie occupied.
"I don't want to. Stargie's strength is terrifying... I'd be instantly killed!"
Before Law could even speak, Kuro seemed to guess what he wanted.
Have him deal with Stargie? No way. Sending him to fight Tonpa's replica would be more plausible.
In the distance, Tonpa stared gravely at his replica just a few meters away. The latter also stared gravely at Tonpa.
The Nen on both sides was extremely stable, yet neither showed the slightest inclination to take the initiative.
They simply gazed at each other, their bodies motionless, but their eyes darted around.
'The enemy doesn't move, I don't move!' Tonpa thought.
'The enemy doesn't move, I don't move!' Tonpa's replica thought.
'If the enemy moves, I'll dodge!' Tonpa thought.
'If the enemy moves, I'll dodge!' Tonpa's replica thought.
Tonpa's gaze was sharp as a blade... Tonpa's replica's gaze was cold as frost.
"Achoo!"
"Achoo!"
They sneezed simultaneously, their expressions changing drastically. Ignoring the splattering saliva, they quickly assumed defensive stances.
"Hmm?"
As if nothing had happened, they resumed their standoff.
'Damn it, who's badmouthing me behind my back?'
'Whatever, I have to painstakingly keep this idiot created from a mirror occupied right now.'
'In short, I absolutely must not drag the team down, even if it means going through fire and water!'
Tonpa stared intently at the replica, his brain cells working at maximum power, simulating every possible attack trajectory the replica might take in his mind.
'Hmph, worthy of being my replica. You can even find such tricky angles. However, against my ability, no matter how tricky your attacks are, you can't hurt me!'
Tonpa snorted coldly several times in his mind.
Meanwhile, Kuro, regarding Law's proposal, refused it with every fiber of his being.
Frankly, not to mention Tonpa, even fighting Ging would be better than fighting Stargie.
Her combat performance in so many battles had left a deep impression on him.
"You don't have a choice. Stargie is your responsibility. Remember, you must not harm her."
Law delivered his ultimatum to Kuro via mental communication.
"You're forcing a cat's paw. 'Must not harm her'? I'll be lucky if she doesn't tear me to shreds!"
"Less talk."
Having issued the ultimatum, Law couldn't be bothered to argue with Kuro. He flicked the back of his hand and threw Kuro out.
At that moment, Stargie suddenly moved.
The sound of harp strings, like a desolate wind over barren land, suddenly rang out, rippling the scattered light fragments into waves.
Nen carried within the harp music instantly materialized into over a hundred long spears, shooting towards Law and Kuro.
"Here it comes!"
Law's eyes narrowed. He reached out and caught Kuro in mid-air.
"?!"
Kuro's expression changed dramatically as he was thrown by Law.
A hundred long spears followed the harp music.
Kuro cursed under his breath, quickly switching forms, turning into smoke to slip through the gaps between the spears.
Meanwhile, Law had already dodged to the side, attempting to bypass Stargie and reach the Mender standing behind.
Stargie, however, ignored Kuro's existence. Her peripheral vision swept towards Law, her delicate hands moving like a rapid melody, instantly raising the tempo of the harp music several notches.
The hundred spears that had passed through Kuro suddenly dissipated into Nen, returning to Stargie's body at an almost teleporting speed.
Then, through the harp music, she wove layers of inescapable nets, clearly aimed at covering Law.
Just then, a barrage of black spikes pierced through the air towards Stargie.
The Nen flowing over the harp reflexively condensed into a shield in front of Stargie.
Ting, ting, ting...!
The spikes struck the shield, sparks flying, then rebounded to the ground.
The spikes were Kuro's hairs.
Fully aware of Stargie's strength, and knowing she was a long-range Nen User, Kuro didn't dare approach carelessly, resorting to long-range attacks instead.
However, the results were minimal.
Having blocked all the hair spikes, Stargie still disregarded Kuro, her target remaining Law, who was trying to get past her.
The Nen that had formed the shield returned to the harp, its rhythmic tempo steadily increasing.
Torrential Nen surged forth with the music, transforming into rapid melody wind blades, attempting to seal off all of Law's paths forward.
"Kuro."
Law raised an eyelid, very dissatisfied with Kuro's coasting.
Seeing Stargie pour most of her firepower onto Law, Kuro could only brace himself.
Mindful of the command not to harm Stargie, Kuro enlarged himself, got in close, and began harassing her.
After several harassments, he finally managed to divert some of Stargie's firepower.
With Kuro's containment, things became easier for Law.
After all, Stargie's firepower coverage was terrifyingly strong, and even simple evasion was no easy task.
Soon, Law broke free from Stargie's firepower blockade and charged towards the Mender, who was now close.
Watching Law charge, the Mender didn't turn another page, but instead raised his branch-like pen.