Chapter 200: The Goals of All Factions… The Next Banquet!
The Fourth Prince noticed that Theta in his precognitive dream had begun to move.
He thought to himself, "If my assumption about this ability is correct, then in ten seconds, the real Theta should mimic the same action."
Then the Fourth Prince watched as Theta picked up a water glass and approached him.
"Next, I'll test Theta's reaction. According to my hypothesis, only I can alter my precognitive dreams."
"In ten seconds, I would be distracted by the sound of the shattering glass, breaking my Zetsu state. But if I maintain Zetsu instead, how will Theta respond?"
"If she perceives the altered future version of me, then the words she speaks in the precognitive dream should become words of praise for me."
Soon, just as the Fourth Prince had seen in the precognitive dream, Theta shattered the water glass, summoned the guards, and delivered the exact same lines.
This meant that Theta was actually seeing the Fourth Prince from the precognitive dream.
"Heh heh heh, just as I thought. Theta still sees the me from the precognitive dream, completely unaware that I've changed the future. In other words, by closing my eyes and activating Zetsu, I can gain a ten-second advantage."
The Fourth Prince closed his eyes again.
Through the precognitive dream's vision, he saw Theta throw a Nen sphere at him.
The Fourth Prince thought, "Let me try opening my eyes and speaking to her. If I maintain Zetsu and close my eyes again, will it trigger another instantaneous ten-second precognition?"
So the Fourth Prince opened his eyes. Gazing at Theta before him, he thought, "Theta currently sees me with my eyes closed, which means the ten-second time offset has been reset."
The Fourth Prince, now with open eyes, attempted to ask Theta, "Little Theta, what do you think of me?"
But Theta showed no reaction.
Because Theta was still seeing the Fourth Prince from the precognitive dream, who was practicing Zetsu with closed eyes, while the real Fourth Prince had already opened his eyes ten seconds earlier.
"Heh heh heh heh, this is truly fascinating." The Fourth Prince couldn't help but laugh aloud.
"This ability is incredible. As long as I maintain Zetsu, I can continuously activate it. Let's keep testing to find its limits."
The Fourth Prince closed his eyes once more.
This time, in his precognitive dream, he saw a vision concerning his life and death.
In the vision, Theta directly drew a handgun from her waist.
"Hey, hey, hey, Theta, what are you planning to do?"
Theta, holding the pistol, slowly approached the Fourth Prince and raised it, aiming at his head.
"No way... Theta, why?"
Though the Fourth Prince understood what Theta was about to do, he couldn't comprehend her motive.
The next moment in the precognitive dream, Theta shot him directly in the head.
The intensely shocking image jolted the Fourth Prince awake from the precognitive dream, just as the real Theta had reached him.
The Fourth Prince hastily dodged, narrowly avoiding the fatal bullet.
Lying on the ground, the Fourth Prince stared in stunned silence at Theta, who was firing at empty air. Breaking into a cold sweat, he thought, "I almost forgot—in Theta's eyes, I'm still standing there. That means she'll believe she actually hit me!"
At this moment, the Fourth Prince who had just escaped death felt no fear, nor even the joy of surviving a disaster. Instead, he was in an extremely excited state.
"Hehehe, this is the ability destined for me who will rule over all!"
In that life-and-death moment, the Fourth Prince had no time to maintain his Zetsu state, and his corresponding precognitive dream ability was also lifted.
Returning to real time.
Theta stared at the empty ground, completely bewildered.
In her memory, she had clearly killed the Fourth Prince. There should have been his corpse lying in a pool of blood before her.
Then guards from outside the door rushed into the room upon hearing the gunshot, aiming their weapons at Theta, who quickly raised her hands.
The Fourth Prince appeared behind Theta and spoke to the guards: "This is just part of my training. I'm fine."
Meanwhile, Theta felt cold sweat running down her back the moment she heard the Fourth Prince's familiar voice.
The Fourth Prince was quite satisfied with Theta's reaction.
"Hehehe, she's scared, she's scared. It's normal to be confused in this situation. You probably can't figure out what exactly happened," the Fourth Prince thought while looking at Theta.
"As for why you wanted to kill me, I'll ask you slowly after tomorrow's banquet," he mused internally.
Out loud, he said: "You should rest for a while, little Theta. You've been keeping your nerves tense, haven't you?"
But it wasn't just due to mental tension.
Theta's current condition was a hundred times worse than that. Having attacked the Fourth Prince, she was now suffering punishment from his Nen beast, the high-heeled centaur.
With both her spirit and body receiving double blows, Theta directly fainted into unconsciousness.
Watching Theta being supported away by other guards, the Fourth Prince thought:
What needs to be prioritized right now isn't why Theta wanted to kill me, but rather the details of my own ability.
I have a premonition that my troublesome siblings will definitely do something during this banquet.
Therefore, to deal with them, I must completely master my ability before then!
I've already confirmed that this ability can be used continuously. The only remaining issues are the time required to activate Zetsu and the technique for maintaining Zetsu over extended periods.
If I can't perfect these two elements, I won't be able to unleash this ability's true value.
This is what makes a true genius—the moment they grasp an ability, they already understand the direction they need to grow.
In terms of sheer monstrous talent, he might even surpass Hisoka.
If the Fourth Prince's ability was merely precognition, while still terrifying, it wouldn't be so unbeatable.
The truly frightening aspect of the Fourth Prince's ability is that after his precognitive dream ends, he can choose to experience events in the space in a state invisible to others, while everyone else sees only the false reality of an unchanged future.
Without understanding his ability, fighting against him is almost impossible.
With only one day left until the next banquet, who knows to what extent he might grow.
...
Second Prince's residential area.
A young man with long golden hair took a photo from his coat pocket, glanced at it, his eyes filled with nothing but cold indifference.
"From the day I learned why I was born, I have watched you every day. To hasten your journey to the underworld, I will surely curse you to death—all for the Second Prince's ascension to the throne and this nation's prosperity."
This man was Moswana, a private soldier of the Second Prince, and the photograph in his hand was unmistakably that of First Prince Benjamin!
The special curse unit within the Second Prince's private forces consisted entirely of outcasts.
In the Kakin Kingdom, outcasts—the lowest social stratum—were forbidden from becoming public officials or military personnel. However, Second Prince Camilla granted all outcasts the opportunity to serve as her private soldiers.
She even established special zones within her private territories, granting them status and rights equal to those of military personnel.
Thus, this curse unit, composed entirely of outcasts, held absolute loyalty toward the Second Prince, willing to sacrifice their lives unconditionally.
In their hearts, only Second Prince Camilla's rise to power could overthrow this system.
The curse unit's daily task involved carrying targets' names, photographs, and personal items (such as clothing) to curse the intended individuals.
The longer the duration and the closer the proximity to the target, the more potent the curse would become.
The ideal scenario was for the curse to activate upon the caster's death, preferably through suicide in the target's presence.
Their ability, named "Guide to the Underworld," would rapidly drain the cursed individual's energy upon success, with the strongest curse capable of causing death within mere hours.
Moswana looked at his companions, each assigned to a specific prince of Kakin.
"The timing is set for tomorrow night's banquet," Moswana stated gravely.
"We are fully prepared and resolved!" the entire curse unit responded in unison.
Their eyes shone with purpose, for they knew what they were fighting for!
.....
Meanwhile, with the Third Prince.
Ding dong!
Another coin materialized out of thin air and clattered to the floor.
As his guard picked up the peculiar coin, the Third Prince thought to himself: The Guardian Spirit Beast produces one coin daily, yet these seem to hold no immediate value in my hands.
Once I ascend the throne and distribute them to the citizens, their effects may finally manifest. Given their low production rate, they can hardly serve as common currency.
For now, I can only speculate about emblematic or reward functions—but if that were all, there'd be no need for Nen Ability creation.
Thus, the Third Prince concluded these coins must possess extraordinary power to warrant Nen generation, though presently he could do nothing but wait.
While he intuited this ability would eventually affect all citizens of Kakin, for now it was merely a faint ripple.
He understood clearly: in the ongoing succession war, it would likely prove utterly useless.
The Third Prince's gaze gradually deepened with determination.
"Very well. I shall navigate this succession war according to my own design and survive to claim victory. Only one who masters both light and darkness can become the true sovereign—this inheritance battle is the perfect stage to demonstrate my power of shadows!"
Rising from his seat, the Third Prince commanded:
"Prepare for departure."
Then the Third Prince went out and headed towards the area where Onior, the leader of the Xi-Yu family, was located. He entered his room alone.
"Long time no see. How have you been lately?" the Third Prince said, looking at Onior, the Onion Head, who was seated on a luxurious sofa.
Onion Head muttered, "The doctor keeps nagging about what I can't eat and what I shouldn't eat. It's so annoying. I'll live however I want."
As he spoke, he stuffed a chicken leg into his mouth.
"The Succession War has begun. Some of our brothers have already died," the Third Prince said.
"Is that so? My brother Nasubi also experienced a Succession War in his time. He was the only survivor among the participants. At this point, there's no turning back, is there?" Onion Head said calmly.
Then the Third Prince brought up the topic he was most concerned about.
"The Guardian Spirit Beasts have become the key to the Succession War. Do you know any related information?"
Onion Head spread his hands, somewhat helplessly. "I don't know. How would someone like me, who doesn't have legitimate inheritance rights and is just a secondary participant, know about such things?"
The Third Prince pressed further, "The Guardian Spirit Beasts are related to a supernatural ability called Nen. What about that?"
"Doesn't ring a bell. But among the young people under me, there are indeed a few who can use extraordinary powers. And they've just recruited members of the Phantom Troupe, who I hear are also experts in this field."
Onion Head looked at the Third Prince and continued, "Are you worried about tomorrow's banquet? That group happens to be coming to the first floor as well. I'll have someone bring them up right away. We've already reached an agreement with them. I looked into it—the person they're targeting is currently assisting the Twelfth Prince. He's a troublesome enemy."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Father," the Third Prince said before turning and leaving.
After the Third Prince left, Onion Head immediately called Henry, the young master of the family.
On the other end.
After hanging up, Hinrigh thought to himself.
"The situation is more serious than we anticipated. The new leader of the Heil-Ly family is far more insane than we imagined—it's practically a massacre. She's ordering her subordinates to kill people everywhere, and we have no idea why."
"Could it be a rebellion by the secondary participants? If so, then I understand. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those who've been hiding in the shadows all along to exact their revenge. If the mass killings are just a rehearsal for the real operation, then it all makes sense."
"If that's the case, then tomorrow's banquet might be when they make their move."
Hinrigh looked up at Chrollo and the others standing before him and said, "We've found the person you're looking for. I'll personally take you up now."
"Thank you for your trouble," Chrollo said with a smile.
...
Fifth floor of the Black Whale, Cha-R family stronghold.
Someone who didn't know the meaning of death had come again.
A black crack suddenly appeared in the door leading to the upper floors in front of Feitan and the other two. At the same time, a sinister chuckle echoed from behind the door.
"This doesn't seem like your Troupe's style."
As the voice spoke, a pair of hands reached out and widened the crack in the door. A single eye appeared before the three Troupe members.
"With your abilities, you could wipe out the Cha-R family in an instant, then break down this door and slaughter all those corrupt wealthy people upstairs, couldn't you?"
"Aren't you being too principled by acting this way now?"
"How disappointing..."
As he spoke, his movements continued, having already torn a large gap in the door that revealed his head.
This person was none other than the Heil-Ly family member with the crescent-moon face, Luini, who had previously provoked Feitan and the others at the Cha-R family warehouse.
"What kind of idiotic idea is killing everyone? Are you living in the last century?" Shalnark patted his forehead in disbelief.