Va out a strangled whimper, his body trembling like a leaf in the wind. He didn't dare meet Larry’s gaze, his fear so intehat his entire body was drenched i. "Please... I-I didn’t mean it!" Vaammered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I-I'll do whatever you want! Money... power... I-I get you anything!"

  Larry crouched down in front of him, resting his elbow on his knee as he studied Vah an expression of mild curiosity. "You know," he mused, "I never really wao e back here. But you made me, Vance."

  The gangster swallowed hard, his throat bobbing visibly. "You could’ve just handed over my ID, and I would’ve been on my way," Larry tinued, his voice calm yet ced with undeniable menace. "But no. You had to get greedy. And now look at you—pathetic."

  Vanelt on the o floor, his round, sweat-soaked face twisted in pure terror. His eyes darted between Larry and the mutited remains of Hozan, strewn across the floor like a grotesque jigsaw puzzle. The gangster had seeh before—but never like this. The sight of a human body falling apart, piece by piece, left an indelible mark on his already fragile mind. Larry’s voice cut through the thick tension like a bde. “Where’s my identification?”

  Vance' pupils shrank in horror, his body trembling untrolbly. In his panic, he stammered, “I… I-I… I didn't… I mean, I—”

  Larry’s expression didn’t ge. He had expected this. If Vance had somehow mao obtain the ID after spending the past week hunting for hired muscle, that would have been a real surprise. "I'll give you one hour," Larry said, crossing his arms over his chest. "If I don’t have my ID by then… well, you’ll end up just like him." He didn’t o eborate—both of them kly who he meant. And so, exactly one hour ter, Larry stood in the o, flipping through a freshly printed ID card. It tained all the necessary details: name, gender, and a fabricated birth address vely set within Yarudo City.

  A satisfied smile pyed on his lips as he pocketed the card and turo Vance, who was still kneeling before him. "See? Wasn’t so hard, was it?" Larry’s tone was light, almost friendly. "Pressure really brings out effi people."

  Vance, despite his exhaustion, forced a shaky smile. "Y-you're right, sir… I-I should have do earlier…" Desperation was evident in his eyes. He was willing to give up anything—money, influence, whatever it took to save his own skin. "Sir, please," Vance croaked. "Take all my assets, just spare me…"

  Larry gazed at him for a long moment before sighing. "Alright, fine. I five you."

  Vance blinked in disbelief, uo prehend his sudden ge of fortuhen Larry turned and walked toward the exit, his hands casually in his pockets. Vance' face lit up in sheer relief. ‘I'm alive!’ He almost wao cry. But his joy was short-lived.

  The moment Larry’s foot crossed the threshold of the o, Vance colpsed to the ground. His lifeless body y motionless, face frozen in an expression of foolish hope, his blood slowly poolih him. "I said I five you," Larry murmured without looking back. "But I never said I wouldn't kill you." Dusting his hands off, Larry turo Gardevoir. "Nice work. Let’s get out of here." With a graceful nod, Gardevoir vanished bato Larry’s aura. As he stepped into the moonlit street, he stretched his arms with a satisfied grin. "Now... let's go see what this world really has to offer."

  ***

  Yarudo City—an unremarkable urban sprawl located in the heart of the Eurubian ti, within the borders of the Uates of Sahelta. Despite its ck of hy features, the city saw a steady stream of travelers flowing in and out daily. The reason? The infamous Karym Ruins, a site shrouded in mystery. In fact, Yarudo City itself had been built around the ruins, capitalizing on their eerie reputation to attract adventurers, researchers, and thrill-seekers alike.

  Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows of his hotel suite—the oh the best view in town—Larry gazed out at the sprawling ruins in the distance. "So, these are the Karym Ruins... ‘The Land of Death,’ huh?" he mused, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. "The s."

  To the ordinary eye, the ruins appeared to be nothing more than an unusually rge, crumbling relic of the past. Dusty stoructures, rowation, and remnants of an a civilization long fotten by time. But uhe scrutiny of Larry’s Gyo-enhanced vision, airely different picture emerged. A dense, oppressive cloud of deathly aura swirled ominously around the heart of the ruins. The sheer tration of ive aura was staggering—Larry could practically feel the chilling i radiating from it, like an invisible force seeking to e anyone foolish enough to veoo close. It was like staring into an endless abyss of darkness, a vortex of malice that threateo swallow everything whole.

  The Karym Ruins were divided into two distinct zones, f a near-perfect circle when viewed from above. The Outer Zone, devoid of any Need hazards, had been transformed into a bustling tourist destination uhe trol of the V5, the coalition of the world's five major nations.

  It was a carefully curated attra, filled with marked paths and informational dispys, allowing sightseers and amateur adveo marvel at the a architecture without the slightest clue of the true dahat y beyond. Vendors lihe pathways, selling tris and supposedly "geifacts," while tuides spun eborate tales of the ruins’ history—most of which were heavily sanitized for publiption.

  In stark trast, the Inner Zone was a pletely different story. This forbidden area, shrouded in yers of oppressive death aura, was strictly off-limits to the general publily lised Nen users with special permits were allowed entry, and even among seasoned ruin explorers and treasure hunters, few dared to venture deep inside.

  The further o, the more intehe aura of malice became, turning the very air thick with an unseen but unmistakable sense of dread. Those who uimated the danger often found themselves swallowed by the ruins—o return. Rumors had it that no one had ever reached the ruins' core. A strange phenomena appeared as one go deeper, the dense death aura start draini an arming rate and crushing the will of even the most experienced hunters.

  Larry's eyes remained fixed on the swirling darkness in the distance as he let out a thoughtful hum. "This world has no she of ruins like this," he muttered, recalling his knowledge from the Hunter x Hunter universe. "Given how vast the tis are... it’s no wonder so many remain unexplored."

  The Karym Ruins were just one of many sites scattered across the ti, remnants of fotten civilizations that once flourished in the distant past. As he stood there, Larry felt a subtle shift in his mind. The Pokémon breeding progress bar within him crept forward ever so slightly. A gleam flickered in his eyes. "Well, well... it looks like the ruins are already w their magic."