Pairo opened his eyes again, his Scarlet Eyes still active. Looking at everyone, he said, "I... I might know what kind of price I need to pay to activate this state."
An instinctive realization? Kevin had to admit—there were profound secrets hidden within the Kurta's eyes.
"What price?" Rosana asked, unable to hide her worry. She knew Kurapika and Pairo were determined to seek revenge, and the Scarlet Eyes state would undoubtedly be a powerful weapon. If they frequently entered this state, what would happen if the price was too high? Her heart was full of concern as she silently prayed it wouldn't be too heavy.
Pairo's next words shattered her hope.
"It's lifespan. Every time I activate the Scarlet Eyes state, more of my future lifespan is consumed. I can't determine the exact exchange ratio, but it's definitely not small. I guess... a vague feeling—maybe entering this state for 1 second reduces future lifespan by 1 hour. And I can feel my mental and physical strength accelerating in consumption. If I maintain this state too long, I might faint from exhaustion."
Silence fell over the room. Neon, who had been listening quietly, widened her eyes and unconsciously covered her mouth. Such a price was simply too great.
Kevin also fell silent.
Undoubtedly, this price could be considered top-tier. What was being paid was precious lifespan, and the ratio was extremely exaggerated. What's more, you couldn't calculate exactly how much lifespan you had left. What if you only had a few years remaining? Repeated use could very likely lead to sudden death. Lifespan couldn't be quantified, making the price unpredictable.
There were 3600 seconds in an hour. Entering the Scarlet Eyes state for 1 second consumed an hour of lifespan—a shocking ratio of 1:3600. This was still Pairo's current perception. The specific details would depend on his own deeper understanding.
But Kevin had to admit, from a certain perspective, this price wasn't completely unbearable. In combat, this was undoubtedly a powerful trump card. When winning under normal circumstances seemed impossible—or when a huge price had to be paid anyway—entering the Scarlet Eyes state to turn the tide wasn't a bad option. Compared to dying on the spot, consuming future lifespan was obviously easier. Facing death now versus shortening some future lifespan—most people would make a choice.
However, the power came with a price. If one became accustomed to this power and overestimated their strength, leading to reliance in every battle, they would accelerate lifespan consumption and hasten death. Because of the Scarlet Eyes, the Kurta were inherently an emotional race—it was easy for them to fall into this situation. The disadvantages were numerous.
To make this a trump card rather than a death sentence required sufficient rationality and firm willpower. A balance needed to be found, and only the user could grasp it. Very difficult. Not everyone could do such a thing.
At this moment, Kevin finally understood why the Kurta, despite their strength, chose seclusion and why their population was so small. This Scarlet Eyes state—whether gift or curse—was enough to lead this ethnic group to destruction in intense conflicts. Suddenly, previous questions seemed resolved.
"In the Scarlet Eyes state, the first stage of my eye ability succeeds instantly. That means, as long as someone looks into my eyes, they will definitely be marked by me," Pairo continued. As he spoke, he closed his eyes.
Kurapika quickly stepped forward and placed his hand on Pairo's shoulder. "Wait, Pairo, this—"
Pairo opened his eyes and interrupted him. "I know what you want to say, but this is necessary, isn't it? You understand—this is an absolute trump card. At least we have to master it, at least we have to know what it can bring. Perhaps we won't necessarily use it in the future, but we must figure it out and understand it. This is both a curse and a gift—something we must bear. So be rational. At least for us now, this is a gift, a gift given to us by our clansmen!" Pairo's voice rose.
His words silenced Kurapika.
Rosana stood nearby, watching the two, her eyes full of pain, lips tightly pressed, yet not knowing how to dissuade them. She couldn't stop them from using this ability, just as she couldn't stop them from seeking revenge.
Pairo closed his eyes again. He was still in the Scarlet Eyes state and had to quickly figure out all the changes to avoid paying too great a price. He knew this state required a high price, but he didn't feel it was a curse. To him, this was a gift—a powerful weapon for achieving revenge. This made him firmly believe he had the ability to avenge his clansmen.
He was willing to bear the so-called price.
He re-established the connection with Kurapika's eyes. On the surface, there seemed no difference, but Pairo could feel that his modification of the other party's vision had become more hidden, faster, and smoother. Other than that, there seemed no other obvious changes.
Is that all? If that's all, it doesn't match the price at all.
After thinking for a moment, Pairo operated again. Kurapika looked ahead, and suddenly, a small stone flew out of nowhere. He knew this was an illusion created by Pairo, so he didn't dodge.
"Ah, oh!" Kurapika suddenly cried out in pain, took two steps back, and reached up to rub his forehead. "It's real?" he exclaimed in surprise.
The feeling of the stone flying, the pain of it hitting his forehead, and the slight pain on his forehead now all indicated that this stone was real—not a mere illusion.
Kevin stood by and watched all of this quietly. He saw Kurapika recoil a few steps, as if hit on the forehead. And indeed, a red mark appeared in the center of Kurapika's forehead, as if struck. Based on his past experience and rich imagination, Kevin quickly roughly understood the changes in Pairo's ability in the Scarlet Eyes state.
Good heavens—this isn't getting too ridiculous, is it? Kevin was a little disbelieving. If this were true, then this Nen ability would be too fantastical, too abstract.
At this moment, Pairo's face showed a very bright smile. Obviously, he was well aware of the changes in his eye ability.
"Kurapika, look at me," Pairo said. Kurapika turned to look at Pairo, who still had his eyes closed at this time. Then, he saw a slit appear on Pairo's clothes, as if cut by a sharp blade. Pairo's sleeve also showed signs of tearing.
Kevin keenly noticed this scene. The cut marks on Pairo's sleeve made him widen his eyes. Can it get even stronger?
Immediately after, in Kurapika's eyes, small scratches appeared on the back of Pairo's hand.
Suddenly, the state broke, and Pairo opened his eyes. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he breathed heavily. His eyes returned to normal.
"Ha! Haha! Hahaha!" He laughed while panting, joy overflowing. He looked at his arm with a shocked expression. Besides the damage to his sleeve, small scratches also appeared on the back of his hand.
"How did I teach you? Can't even control your own emotions?" Kevin's voice came sternly, displeasure evident in his tone. After knowing the price the other party had to pay, he decided to strengthen willpower training for the few of them. They had to master the balance within it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be long before they all died from exhausted lifespan—not a situation Kevin wanted to see.
Pairo immediately put away his smile, closed his eyes, and after a long while, calmed his emotions and let his eyes return to normal. He lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Uncle."
Kevin just sighed and gently patted Pairo's head. "I know. I've always known that hatred is deeply buried in your heart. Gaining enough power for revenge makes you excited. This is normal and indeed worth being happy about. But I hope you won't be carried away by excitement, blinded by arrogance, and even more, don't let revenge affect your thinking."
Pairo nodded and gave a heavy response.
Only then did Kevin smile and pat Pairo's shoulder. "Alright, tell me about your gains. Look how happy you are."
Pairo's face bloomed with a smile again. Since the annihilation of his clan, he had never been as excited as now. He said excitedly, "It's too amazing! Though the price paid is huge, the harvest also exceeds imagination."
He described the changes in his eyes under the Scarlet Eyes state. "Besides being able to modify the scene the opponent sees, I can also turn the modified false scene into reality. Of course, this consumes a lot of physical strength and Nen, and currently, I can only change some subtle situations. But as long as my physical strength and Nen continue to increase, when they reach enough, I can change more reality. Not only can I change what the marked person sees, but I can also change other things the marked person sees." Of course, he couldn't achieve this change through his own vision—he had to rely on the marked person's vision. "Achieving such a change requires high concentration, so I must simultaneously steal the opponent's eyes to do it."
Pairo added this necessary condition.
Hearing the changes in Pairo's ability, everyone present was surprised. This indeed became too incredible.
Kevin couldn't help but complain, "This is too outrageous—you can even modify reality?" Given time, if Pairo's ability developed to its peak, he might even be able to take someone's life in the blink of an eye through another person's vision. To be honest, before this, Kevin felt that Pairo's original Specialization Nen ability wasn't considered powerful.
Thinking about the Specialization Nen abilities Kevin knew, and then looking at Neon—who possessed an outrageous ability like predicting the future—one could understand why he thought this way. Compared to predicting the future, stealing the opponent's vision and performing a certain degree of illusion modification on what they saw was indeed within the understandable range. It couldn't even be considered very powerful. It could only be described as ordinary.
Neon's ability had a unique numerical beauty, while Pairo's original Nen ability could only be said to have a decent mechanism—how much power it could exert depended on the individual's ability. But under the Scarlet Eyes state, Pairo's Nen ability undoubtedly possessed a unique mechanical beauty. Of course, the corresponding price paid was also very huge.
Kevin crossed his arms and sighed. "Today, I've truly seen what a powerful Nen ability is. But I still say the same thing: your future is full of infinite possibilities. Don't waste your potential and future just for revenge—it's meaningless."
He pointed to himself. "With my help, you don't need to rely on the Scarlet Eyes state at all, and you will definitely be able to achieve revenge. Therefore, I hope you understand that you have a bright future. Don't stake everything on revenge. Those bastards are not worth it."
Hearing Kevin's confident words, the few people were somewhat stunned.
Kevin smiled, ignored them, and walked straight out. "I'm going out for a bit. Wait for me here for a while. There's something I think it's time to return to you."
Under the three people's confused gazes, Kevin returned shortly after leaving. He was holding a safe. Something resembling bandages was wrapped around the safe, and the bandages were densely inscribed with special characters.
Kevin walked up to everyone with the safe.
"What's inside?" Neon ran over, squatted beside it, and asked curiously.
Rosana seemed to have guessed a little.
Kevin didn't speak but silently removed the bandages wrapped around it one by one, and then opened the box.
As the box opened, Kurapika and Pairo could no longer hold back—their Scarlet Eyes instantly activated.
"Control your emotions!" Kevin reminded them again, frowning.
The two gasped for air, taking deep breaths continuously, trying to stabilize their emotions and let the Scarlet Eyes state gradually fade.
Inside the box was a transparent glass jar wrapped with thin bandages. The thin bandages inside, like the large bandages outside, were inscribed with strange characters. These were divine characters—something Mori had learned and helped him with. This made Kevin wonder if he should learn it too. Originally, he didn't want to, but since Mori was learning it, he had to learn it.
In the high-grade liquid of the transparent glass jar, a pair of scarlet eyeballs quietly floated. That's right—these were the eyes that Mito had finally entrusted to Kevin.
Neon took a look. She had to admit these eyes were indeed beautiful, but her expression carried a hint of disgust. Having spent so much time with Kurapika and the others, she deeply understood the pain they had experienced and the root cause of that pain. Therefore, looking at these eyes, despite their beauty, she was filled with disgust. It was precisely this kind of beauty that brought them unbearable suffering.
Kevin took out the glass jar, placed it on the table, and looked at Pairo. "You should be able to feel it. I think you probably know whose eyes these are."
Pairo nodded silently. Of course, he knew. "These are—these are Father's eyes."
Kurapika looked at Pairo in shock. He hadn't known this before, and Pairo and the others hadn't told him later.
Pairo couldn't help but recall the scene of their escape that day. He had always known these eyes were in Kevin's hands but had never actively brought it up because he didn't know how to face it. Moreover, Kevin had never given them to him, so there must have been a reason—which is why he had never asked. He didn't expect that at this moment, Kevin would suddenly take out the eyes.
"The reason I sealed them up like this is that this pair of eyes has turned into an evil artifact."
"Evil artifact?" Everyone looked confused. They couldn't understand how their clansmen's eyes could turn into evil artifacts.
Kevin nodded heavily and said with a serious expression, "While you've thought about so many things today, I'll tell you everything at once."
"This way, I won't have to bring it up repeatedly later, triggering unpleasant memories each time—that would be counterproductive."
Next, he briefly explained Post-mortem Nen to everyone. Though it was their first time hearing this novel concept, everyone listened attentively with furrowed brows, easily connecting it to their own experiences. Thus, it became clear why the eyes had turned into evil artifacts—the resentment condensed from pain and suffering they had endured.
Fortunately, after multiple emotional fluctuations before, they could now control their emotions better. Otherwise, they'd probably be red-eyed again.
"Having understood Post-mortem Nen, I think you understand why these eyes have become like this. I've had in-depth contact with such things before, so I can frankly tell you that these things are extremely harmful to ordinary people."
Kevin paused. "By the way, I have some good news for you. I saw your clansmen's eyes at an auction in the city where I was after the exam, and I can confirm that those eyes are also in this state."
Hearing this, the three grew a little excited.
Kevin raised his hand to signal them to calm down. "Don't worry. These are usually publicly auctioned. If you need to in the future, it will be easy to track them down. Though saying this might not be appropriate, the value of these eyes is indeed very high, so rest assured—they will all be properly preserved."
The three nodded, their emotions gradually calming. As long as they could get them back, that was good.
"Furthermore, I have some good news to tell you. For you, this should be considered good news. If every pair of eyes carries resentment, then without doubt, everyone who buys them will suffer a backlash from the eyes and pay the price for their actions." Though this didn't sound like a good thing, for the Kurta, it was undoubtedly a huge comfort.
Kevin continued, "Now, use [Spirit] to observe. You should be able to see a faint black Nen floating around the eyes."
The three used [Spirit] as instructed and, as Kevin said, saw the Nen emanating from the eyes.
"Now, this thing is returned to you. Keep it safe. However, I guess you might choose to destroy it, letting it return to your father's side." Kevin said, looking at Pairo.
Pairo looked at the eyes, reached out and gently touched the transparent glass, and nodded slightly.
At this moment, the Nen on his body surged unconsciously, and a pair of butterflies flew out from him.
What the hell?