Carefully observing the dark, inky Death Nen, Link recalled the information he knew about it.
Death Nen—the Nen of the dead.
It typically forms when a person dies with a strong will, such as an intense desire for revenge or an unwillingness to die. The ordinary Nen energy becomes corrupted, turning into something aggressive and malevolent.
This concept felt a bit like a horror movie's depiction of zombies, when a person dies without having fully expressed their resentment, they could transform into a zombie.
However, the use of Death Nen goes far beyond that of simply becoming a zombie.
The most famous scene in the story involving Death Nen is during the fight between Hisoka and Chrollo in the Sky Arena.
This moment hasn't been adapted into the anime yet but appears in the manga.
During the match, Chrollo transforms the surrounding audience into human bombs. While Hisoka doesn't die outright, the series of explosions causes him to suffocate from a lack of oxygen.
So, Hisoka ultimately dies from the lack of oxygen.
However, when Chrollo believes Hisoka has died and even has his body removed by the staff, something miraculous happens.
A Death Nen emerges from Hisoka's heart and begins a kind of CPR, effectively bringing him back to life.
It turns out that before his death, Hisoka had left some of his Nen in his heart, which, upon nearing death, was revived by his intense willpower to perform a sort of "Nen CPR."
It is said that this was an experiment by Hisoka, and he wasn't sure whether it would truly bring him back to life.
When Link first read this, he couldn't help but marvel at Togashi's creativity, he managed to bring someone back to life using such a unique method.
In other words, Death Nen can be considered a form of negative Nen, the opposite of ordinary Nen.
Suddenly, Link had an idea. He immediately called Shanaido to his side and had her use a skill on the Death Nen in front of them.
This skill could only be learned through a move tutor in the games, but for Pokémon born from Nen abilities, all the skills they could learn appeared directly in their skill slots, ready for immediate use.
In other words, any move that Pokémon could learn was now available.
Mystic Guard!
A semi-transparent sphere enveloped Shanaido completely, like she was surrounded by a giant bubble.
At the same time, the Death Nen in front of Shanaido, as if encountering a natural enemy, began to retreat rapidly, trying to get as far away from her as possible.
The Death Nen further away showed less of an effect.
Link watched as the defeated Death Nen retreated hastily, and he understood immediately.
In the Pokémon world, Mystic Guard is a skill that prevents a Pokémon from being affected by abnormal statuses.
It seemed that Death Nen could be classified as an abnormal status of some kind.
Link realized that, in a way, he could play the role of a Nen Exorcist.
No, more accurately, he was a half-Nen Exorcist.
A Nen Exorcist removes Nen that has already affected a person, whereas Mystic Guard simply prevents Death Nen from affecting someone.
One is for healing, the other is for prevention.
After being handled by a Nen Exorcist, the Nen should disappear entirely, whereas Mystic Guard merely repels the Death Nen, which is evident from how the Death Nen didn't vanish but simply retreated.
Link recognized the importance of Mystic Guard. If Death Nen was considered an abnormal status, what if someone used a Nen ability on him that added an abnormal status?
Would that be classified as an abnormal status and be effective?
Though Link hadn't tested it yet, his intuition told him it could work.
Wait...
If the Mystic Guard can prevent Death Nen, then...
Healing Bells should be able to remove Death Nen!
Shanaido could also learn Healing Bells, so Link immediately opened the skill menu to check.
Healing Bells: Removes all abnormal statuses (as judged by the user) from the team, including but not limited to Death Nen, Curses, and other negative effects.
With that, the title of Nen Exorcist was practically in the bag!
One Mystic Guard to prevent, one Healing Bells to remove, double protection!
No one could question his role as a Nen Exorcist now...
If Link remembered correctly, Nen users, while far fewer in number than ordinary people, still made up a part of the population in the Hunter x Hunter world.
But Nen Exorcists? They were truly rare!
Having watched the anime and read the manga, Link remembered that only three Nen Exorcists had ever been mentioned!
One appeared on Greed Island, a Black man who removed Nen from Chrollo.
Another appeared in the Chimera Ant arc, a rabbit-like ant named "Shina."
The last one had never appeared, but was a Nen Exorcist old woman working at the Hunter Association.
Such rare individuals would be sought after no matter where they were!
To test it out, Link also had Shanaido use Healing Bells on the Death Nen.
A beautiful melody turned into tangible Nen, transforming into musical notes on a staff that floated forward, rising and falling.
When the Death Nen encountered these notes, it was like snow melting in the warm sun, bit by bit, it dissolved until it was completely gone.
That area, which had once been filled with Death Nen, now looked like it had never been touched by it at all, creating a clear gap.
After a while, the Death Nen in the back seemed to "realize" what had happened and moved forward to fill the space.
"Shanaido." Shanaido, feeling the drain on her Nen, softly spoke to Link.
"The consumption of Healing Bells is greater than Mystic Guard, but that's normal."
After confirming that both skills worked, Link had Shanaido cast Mystic Guard on him as well. Ignoring the "Danger Ahead" sign, the two continued forward.
As expected, when Link moved a step forward, the Death Nen moved a step back.
Link felt like he was the monk from Journey to the West, encircled by a protective barrier, a perfect sense of safety.
Not to mention, this circle followed him wherever he went.
Step by step, Link and Shanaido moved deeper into the Harim Ruins.
Wherever they went, the Death Nen retreated!