HunterxHunter: I Became Stronger After Death

The mission to cure the villagers was successfully completed.

For Sambika, this was an unpaid job that came with a certain degree of risk.

But, as she had said before—curing the villagers was the best reward she could ask for.

However...

Things did not go as expected.

The antiviral serum had been developed, but the source of the virus still needed to be dealt with.

Thus, Sambika had no choice but to turn to her mentor, an Exorcist, for help.

"Sambika, I have to disappoint you," came the reply from the other end of the phone.

"I don't know any Exorcists who specialize in purifying Post-Mortem Nen. In fact, Exorcists with such an ability… can be counted on one hand."

After a brief silence, Sambika's teacher gave an answer that left her feeling disheartened.

"And another thing—stop ignoring what I've told you before. The fact that you cured the villagers, free of charge and at personal risk, is already more than enough. Don't take on burdens beyond your abilities."

"But, Master…"

Standing by the window of a mud-brick house, Sambika gazed at the sky, which had already begun to darken.

"That Post-Mortem Nen is directly linked to the virus."

"Sigh…"

At an ancient ruin far away, Tessa, an Exorcist, let out a deep sigh into her phone.

She was helpless against her disciple's stubbornness.

Though, in truth, she did admire this rare and precious quality in Sambika…

"Sambika, Post-Mortem Nen carries overwhelming negative energy. I can't purify it, but I can suppress its expansion through sealing techniques. That's the best compromise we can make. As for completely removing it… don't even think about it."

"Even if you did find an Exorcist capable of purifying Post-Mortem Nen, they would still refuse."

"Why…?" Sambika was confused.

"You foolish girl."

Tessa sighed.

"Because of the risk involved, of course."

She knew how her disciple thought.

And she also knew that Sambika probably didn't even consider this to be a major risk.

But for Exorcists, every removal of a Nen ability required careful and thorough evaluation.

Assessing risk was a fundamental skill for all Exorcists.

If an Exorcist attempted to remove something beyond their ability,

the consequences were usually catastrophic.

And in terms of danger, Post-Mortem Nen was one of the worst possible targets.

That was one reason why Exorcists typically preferred sealing or weakening Post-Mortem Nen instead of removing it entirely.

Only when absolutely necessary would an Exorcist take the risk and absorb it into themselves.

That was one reason…

But there was an even more important reason.

When Exorcists transferred Nen onto themselves, if they failed to remove it completely,

then even if they managed to suppress it, their ability to exorcise Nen would be permanently crippled.

If they couldn't remove the Nen currently attached to them…

Then they couldn't remove any Nen at all.

Because of this,

even if an Exorcist encountered benign or neutral forms of Nen—

such as Nen embedded in a legendary sword by a master craftsman,

or Nen left behind on a blade by a lifelong swordsman—

they still wouldn't dare to remove it.

Not because it was dangerous,

but because doing so might permanently cost them their ability to remove Nen in the future.

Thus, no Exorcist in their right mind would willingly remove such forms of Nen unless there was a compelling benefit.

Tessa didn't bother explaining all of this in detail.

She simply said:

"In short, I'll help you. Start a video call—I need to assess the strength of this Post-Mortem Nen first."

"Understood, Master!"

Sambika smiled.

Then, as she continued chatting with Tessa,

she headed toward the underground laboratory.

Meanwhile…

Moro had just finished his call with Argou.

Even before storming the facility,

he had given Argou instructions.

The most important task?

Hack into the underground lab's database and seize control of its entire digital system.

However, to avoid leaving any traces,

Argou had deliberately delayed hacking in until Moro had secured the situation.

Because of this, the research facility's security forces likely managed to report the attack before they were eliminated.

Moro wasn't concerned about that.

He was fully masked with a gas-proof respirator,

his identity completely hidden.

Of course…

In a world where intelligence gathering could be utterly ridiculous,

the only way to avoid being tracked would be to pull off a "Jin Freecss"—

completely erasing one's existence.

Moro wasn't expecting to remain undetected.

If anything…

He actually hoped that the Menu Organization would send more assassins like the one with the "Fireplace Manifestation" ability.

At any rate, in this whole mess—

Hisoka, who didn't bother concealing himself at all,

was definitely going to be the primary target of revenge.

Putting away his phone, Moro returned to the coffin.

He held a small vial—the antiviral serum developed by Sambika.

"Let's test this out."

Gazing at the corpse and the black Post-Mortem Nen,

Moro thought to himself:

Risk vs. Reward.

He had already made his decision.

So—

he acted without hesitation.

Moro reached out…

And grabbed the black Post-Mortem Nen.

In an instant—

The smoke-like Post-Mortem Nen began swirling,

as though being sucked toward Moro's hand.

Under his sharp gaze,

the dark aura was rapidly absorbed into his Chronos Mark.

The green energy meter on his Chronos Wheel—

jumped from 8% to 19%.

At the same time…

Moro's mind was suddenly flooded with information…

Just like before—

when he focused on his Chronos Mark,

information had naturally appeared in his mind.

But this time—

Alongside the information—

came an explosive surge of overwhelmingly destructive emotions.

Moro's brows furrowed deeply,

but he remained unshaken.

All those countless simulated deaths he had experienced—

had unknowingly built a mental shield that protected him from being overwhelmed.

Not long after…

Sambika arrived at the central underground chamber.

The first thing she saw was—

Moro, casually sitting at a table,

studying the Scarlet Eyes he had taken earlier.

"Moro."

She called out.

Moro glanced up and nodded at her.

At that moment, Sambika's phone was still on video call with Tessa.

And—

the camera just so happened to capture Moro on screen.

Tessa's eyes narrowed, scrutinizing him.

She had already heard Sambika mention Moro multiple times.

But right now, the Post-Mortem Nen was more important.

So, she urged Sambika to show her the coffin.

Sambika hurried over…

but when she looked inside—

She froze.

The Post-Mortem Nen was completely gone.

Through the camera, Tessa also saw the empty coffin.

However—

she noticed something Sambika didn't.

Faint traces of lingering black Nen…

The leftover remnants that usually remained after an Exorcist purified Nen.

This meant…

Someone had already removed the Post-Mortem Nen.

And the only person here before Sambika arrived…

Was Moro.

Tessa instantly realized the truth.

If Moro really was the one who did this…

Then—

How is that even possible?!

Her face slowly shifted into pure shock.

"…This… doesn't make any sense!!"

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