Moses watched the video calmly.
The blurry, shaking footage, the rapid and fearful breathing...
This scene lasted about ten seconds before the filmer's piercing scream suddenly echoed through the video. Then, the camera angle shook violently and then fell to the ground, the lens freezing in place.
It is obvious that the filmer had dropped their phone or camera.
When Moses saw this, his eyes shrank slightly.
In the footage, a middle-aged man in a black windbreaker suddenly collapsed to the side, his face filled with terror directly facing the camera.
Then-
Moses watched as the man's face began to melt like a burning candle, slowly dissolving and dripping.
In just a few moments, the man's hair and facial features had dissolved into a smooth, flowing solid wax, and his entire body had noticeably shrunk, lying stiff and motionless on the ground.
If it weren't for the windbreaker still on his body, it would have been impossible to connect the pillar-like solid wax to the middle-aged man from before.
The video ended abruptly here.
'Is this one of the calamities...'
After watching the entire video, Moses's eyes showed a hint of astonishment.
He tapped the screen to exit the video interface, intending to ask Kanzai where he had gotten the footage.
"Huh?"
As he scrolled to the bottom of the chat room interface and was about to type, Moses suddenly saw a photo posted by 'The Omnipotent Magician'.
The Omnipotent Magician is Hisoka's ID in the chat room.
The photo he had just posted was a shirtless selfie of Hisoka's upper body.
"SuperUltraCuteGirl: !!!"
The moment this type of photo appeared in the chat room, a certain aunt who was obsessed with handsome men magazines immediately popped up.
Her first glance went to the abs, and without even looking at who the body belonged to, she reacted.
"IAmAGenius: Where did this narcissistic pervert come from???"
A few seconds later, Kanzai, who had already changed his ID back, also sent a message.
"IAmAGenius: Huh? What's going on with your body?!"
Soon, Kanzai noticed the strange details in the selfie and followed up with another question.
Seeing this, Moses clicked on the photo.
As the photo enlarged and became clearer, Moses saw that Hisoka's bare upper body had two red trumpet flowers growing in sensitive areas.
If that were all, Moses would have simply thought Hisoka's perversion had reached new heights.
However, in addition to the two red trumpet flowers on Hisoka's chest, there were also numerous thorny green stems deeply embedded in the muscles around his chest.
Additionally, there was a bulge on Hisoka's neck. Through the tight, slightly translucent skin, one could vaguely see the crisscrossing green and blue textures inside the bulge.
It was unclear what lay beneath the skin, but staring at it for too long gave a sense of physical discomfort.
The only part of Hisoka's upper body that remained intact was his abs.
"Isaac: Hisoka, what did you do? How did these things grow on you?"
After looking at the photo, Moses was startled and quickly typed a question.
"The Omnipotent Magician: They suddenly appeared last night, just like a rash from an allergy. It's quite interesting♤."
"Isaac: Oh, judging by your casual tone, it doesn't seem like a big deal."
"The Omnipotent Magician: How heartless♡. From what I've observed, these plants that suddenly appeared feed on Aura. As long as I open my Aura Nodes and release my Aura, these plants will grow rapidly."
"Isaac: What if you close your Aura Nodes?"
"The Omnipotent Magician: You've hit the nail on the head. Releasing Aura speeds up their growth, while cutting off Aura causes the plants to wither. In other words, as long as I keep my Aura Nodes closed, I'll be fine ♤."
"Isaac: No wonder you're so relaxed even with two trumpet flowers on your chest. Anyway... as long as you don't die, it's fine."
"The Omnipotent Magician: The real question is... why did this happen to me?"
"IAmAGenius: Did some Nen User sneak attack you?"
"The Omnipotent Magician: I'm certain I haven't come into contact with any Nen Users recently. It's just that I initially considered a certain possibility♤."
"IAmAGenius: What possibility?"
"The Omnipotent Magician: At first, I thought Moses did it♡."
"Isaac: ?"
"IAmAGenius: Moses, was it you?"
"Isaac: What do you think?"
"IAmAGenius: There's too little clues to make a conclusion, but Hisoka said it was you who did it."
"The Omnipotent Magician: I was just saying that casually♡."
"IAmAGenius:???"
"The Omnipotent Magician: Back to the original question, why did this happen to me?"
"Sanbica: Could it be some kind of calamity from the Dark Continent..."
Sanbica, who was usually silent, rarely voiced her opinion, though her tone seemed quite hesitant.
Following her comment, the group suddenly fell silent for a while.
"A calamity..."
Moses frowned and quickly typed a line of words on the screen.
"Isaac: Before entering the Pipeline, we underwent thorough full-body checks. Plus, we snuck in, so we didn't need the 'Gatekeepers' to guide us. Naturally, we didn't have to bear the disaster that the 'Gatekeeper' might have forced on us. Having said that... we can't rule out the possibility that it was a calamity brought back from the Dark Continent."
"·: If it was really a calamity, then why was Hisoka the only one who is affected? I'm curious..."
Shizuku also chimed in, but her concern wasn't for Hisoka's safety. Instead, she wondered why, out of everyone, only Hisoka had been affected?
After seeing Shizuku's comment, Moses and Hisoka were momentarily at a loss for words.
"IAmAGenius: Yeah, why is only Hisoka affected?"
Kanzai, on the other hand, was intrigued by Shizuku's question.
Moses shook his head slightly and moved his fingers to type in the chat box.
"Isaac: That's not important. Hisoka, until we confirm whether this thing is contagious, don't move around casually and keep your Aura Nodes closed."
"The Omnipotent Magician: What's in it for me if I do that?"
"Isaac: I'll take care of the thing on your body."
"The Omnipotent Magician: Isn't that something you should be doing anyway?"
Seeing Hisoka's reply, Moses was momentarily speechless.
'Indeed…'
'From every angle, I have the obligation to help Hisoka deal with any negative effects brought about by our journey to the Dark Continent.'
'But plants that grow by feeding on Aura... If they spread to ordinary people...'
Moses realized how dangerous this thing could be.
"Isaac: How about this? Regarding the fight we agreed on earlier... I promise to go all out until you cry 'mercy'. How does that sound?"
"IAmAGenius: ?"
"The Omnipotent Magician: Deal."
"IAmAGenius: ???"