Of course, it was impossible!
Whether it was Nen abilities placed on a person by others or Post-Mortem Nen fueled by intense resentment…
Removing or purifying them was always a prolonged battle, requiring time to gradually wear them down.
If someone had just purified the Post-Mortem Nen in the coffin, there would have been visible signs.
For example, if the exorcism method involved a Nen Beast, then before completing the purification, the Nen Beast would remain present, always accompanying the Exorcist.
Alternatively, if someone absorbed the Post-Mortem Nen into themselves, clear physical symptoms—such as tumor-like growths—would appear on their body until the purification was complete.
The common trait between these methods was that the majority of an Exorcist's aura would be concentrated either on their Nen Beast or the afflicted body part.
But when Tessa looked at Moro, he showed no abnormalities whatsoever.
"Sambika, was he the only one here?"
Suppressing her shock, Tessa lowered her voice and asked.
Still stunned, Sambika instinctively responded,
"Yes, only Moro has been here the whole time."
The researchers who worked at this underground virus lab had already been killed by Moro.
The victims of human experiments had been relocated to the mansion after receiving treatment.
As for Hisoka, he had left long ago out of boredom and was nowhere to be found.
After confirming this, Tessa spoke again in a hushed tone:
"Ask him."
"Alright."
Sambika took another careful look at the coffin.
The eerie black aura that had been present before was completely gone.
Amazed, she turned toward Moro, who was sitting at the table, and asked softly,
"Moro, the Post-Mortem Nen on the corpse is gone…"
"Really?"
Moro immediately displayed a look of surprise, followed by a confused expression.
"How did it disappear?"
Cutting off Sambika's words, he immediately deflected with a question of his own.
Sambika shook her head,
"I don't know. I was going to ask you."
"I have no idea either. If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have even noticed it was gone."
Moro propped his face up with his hand and casually suggested,
"Maybe it's because you developed the antiviral serum. That could have fulfilled some hidden condition for its disappearance. You know how some spirits lingering in this world only move on once their last wish is granted."
"That makes sense!"
Sambika suddenly looked enlightened, as if she had just discovered the truth, and turned excitedly toward her master on the phone screen.
However…
What she saw was Tessa's expression darkened with frustration.
"Sambika, you actually believe that nonsense?"
Right now, Tessa wanted nothing more than to reach through the screen, grab Sambika's face, and force her to look carefully at that boy's expression.
"Uh…"
Hesitation flickered in Sambika's eyes.
Seeing this, Tessa rubbed her temple forcefully and sighed,
"Sambika, let me talk to him directly."
"Okay."
Sambika obediently walked over and held the phone toward Moro.
Moro looked at the woman on the screen.
She appeared to be in her forties, her features carrying a strict, serious demeanor.
What caught Moro's interest was the red tattoo on her face—a red snake-like vine winding through a diamond-shaped pattern—which stood out significantly.
"My name is Tessa. I am Sambika's master and an Exorcist."
Tessa's voice came through the phone.
Moro gave a slight nod to the screen and responded simply,
"Moro."
"I've heard about you from Sambika. Thank you for helping my foolish disciple."
Referring only to the virus lab mission, Tessa expressed genuine gratitude.
Moro, however, didn't accept it.
"Sambika helped me too. It was mutual."
"…"
Tessa paused for a moment, then dropped the small talk and got straight to the point.
"Moro, I have a question for you. Are you an Exorcist?"
Without waiting for permission, she fired the question directly, reflecting her strong-willed personality.
Faced with this, Moro answered without hesitation,
"No."
Tessa's gaze shifted slightly.
She continued,
"Was it you who removed the Post-Mortem Nen from the coffin?"
"No."
Moro's response was just as calm as before.
Tessa didn't push further.
Instead, she simply thanked Moro again for helping Sambika.
Then, using the excuse that Sambika needed to check on the recovering patients, she had her leave the underground lab.
Moro watched Sambika walk away.
Only when she disappeared around the corner of the tomb corridor did he retract his gaze and look down at the Wheel of Time on the back of his hand.
Whenever he had absorbed Nen from artistic relics, there had been no discomfort, but the energy charge rate was slow.
Especially after reaching the second ring, the process had become significantly harder.
Yet, he hadn't expected that absorbing Post-Mortem Nen would instantly boost his energy bar from 8% to 19%.
Of course, in exchange, the absorption came with a violent mental backlash—an overwhelming force trying to crush his consciousness.
It had also forcefully embedded certain information into his mind.
The information felt like glass shards lodged into his thoughts—not painful, but unsettling.
If he tried to focus on them, they would transform into fragmented memories.
In those fragments…
He saw a vast, barren land stretching endlessly.
Gray. Cracked.
A place of deathly silence.
Yet, in the middle of this desolate wasteland, there was a single sprout—no bigger than a palm.
It was the only living thing in this land of death.
Despite the lack of wind, the sprout swayed gently.
With each movement, a jagged slit would appear on its vibrant green leaves, forming what resembled a sinister smile.
Some kind of force allowed it to drain the land's remaining vitality…
Until a shadowy figure approached and plucked it from the ground.
The jagged smile disappeared instantly.
And then—
The barren wasteland burst into life, covered in lush greenery, as far as the eye could see.
No more gray. No more cracks.
Moro took a deep breath and forced himself to stop thinking about the memory.
As his focus shifted away, the fragments receded into the depths of his mind.
"Extracting vitality, huh…"
Muttering to himself, Moro raised his hand.
A glowing green Flying Star materialized—its energy core faintly tinged with an intense emerald hue.
It felt as if the information embedded into his very soul had naturally altered his ability's properties.
It was no longer just a tool for release and manipulation—
It had gained a new transmutation-based characteristic.
"More complex, huh? I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
Moro stared at the deep green glow within his Flying Star.
Complexity…
That was always the defining trait of Specialist abilities.
"He's lying. Tch, so young, yet he doesn't even flinch."
Back in the mud-brick house, Tessa frowned at her phone screen.
She wasn't surprised he kept it hidden.
But one thing was clear—
She needed to keep her foolish disciple as far away from him as possible.
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50 Powerstones? (5 Bonus Chapters)
20 Advance Chapters: patreon.com/milezen