Chapter 327: Troublesome Visitor—Pariston Disease

Auren stands frozen inside his penthouse apartment; the only noise he hears is created by Marsha and Jolt, who are busy putting away their things in one of the rooms in the back, along with the faintest sounds of wind and raindrops outside.

Before him, his five students are quietly meditating, not sensing anything: Killua and Leroute are training Zetsu, while Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio continue to open their Nodes at a comparatively brisk pace.

Walking silently to the window and onto the huge luxurious balcony, the city below him appearing at an unreal angle, Auren stares down from the insane height of his apartment, not bothered in the least. Using Gyo, Auren feels the faintest Aura around him, confirming what he’s sensing with his own eyes: a gigantic En bubble originating from the ground floor, so gigantic in size that it fully covers the entire tower, which is Heaven’s Arena, despite the tower being exactly 991 meters, almost a full kilometer tall.

They still don’t feel En, so only I caught it... the red flash certainly helped as well... 

They’ll have to increase their sensitivity. I’ll tell them later and show them how it feels by using En on my own... wait, no time for these things.

There is only one person I know of capable of this... but why would... she be here? Someone else?

I can’t leave like this... this place has its dangers, and I’m bound to have a few enemies... the five of them could become targets... or worse, Jolt and Marsha. I can’t leave them unprotected... even for a few hours. Though Killua could potentially deal with any ordinary 200th-floor Nen user, even if he still doesn’t know Ren himself.

Maybe someone is trying to lure me away?

Deciding to Conjure Eternity, the familiar sword appearing in his hands, Auren immediately performs another Conjuration, this time creating a Water Clone of himself.

Of course, since Auren is holding Eternity, the Water Clone also has it in its hands.

Its body is an accurate copy of Auren, but despite his progress has certain inhuman features on very close inspection, most importantly the faint light making its skin shimmer slightly, while the rain does not run down its body but instead simply gets absorbed into it. 

The clone walks inside, standing exactly in the same position where Auren stood before.

Can’t give detailed instructions... it has to be simple... but I also can’t allow it to go on a rampage... so how about...

Kill anyone forcefully entering this floor and trying to harm us.

Good enough.

Rushing to Marsha and Jolt, Auren simply states, “Do not leave the room; I’ve created a clone which is protecting you. Please take care of the little girl!”

He then gently hands the snake over to Marsha, the snake half asleep and softly crying out.

“Got it, Auren; we trust you,” Jolt replies, not worried at all.

“I’ll feed it some water and then some rice porridge,” Marsha says, smiling at the snake, which immediately brightens up, apparently knowing the meaning of the word water.

Just to make sure... full-power En!

Nothing...!

Can it really be...? I better make sure this isn’t some prank or strategy to lure me away.

Creating his own version of En, just over 300 meters in radius, an incredible achievement at the same level as Zeno Zoldyck, one of the foremost experts in the field, it is still hopelessly dwarfed by the foreign En Auren is picking up.

No one nearby; my floor and most of the Floor Master floors below are empty as well. Good.

Confident in his students’ safety, Auren returns to the balcony and fearlessly jumps downward, a dive from a height of almost a kilometer filling him with a sense of excitement.

Feeling the moist wind crashing against his body, Auren relaxes, the fall feeling almost a little too comfortable.

Can’t fall asleep...

Falling past floor after floor, Auren finally activates the special feature of his suit, transforming it into the familiar divesuit. He no longer shoots down vertically but instead glides down alongside the tower, creating a long, beautiful arc while using Zetsu to reduce his presence.

Reaching the ground, Auren once again uses En for a brief moment to detect the person using it, finally sensing them slightly away from the entrance, around the third or fourth level at the side of the building, which is not a real floor at all, since the ground floor is easily as tall as ten normal floors to accommodate the huge rings and surrounding areas. Instead, the third level is merely a small maintenance entrance and emergency exit, leading into the same level as if one would enter from the main entrance.

Far away from the crowd, Auren sees a lone person standing on a small terrace with just a door and a rusted railing, reaching to said floor, only reachable through ladders and the old door, of course, which doesn’t look like it’s opened all that often.

Landing skillfully, Auren recognizes a single familiar person, not wearing a dress or gown, but a simple, tasteful black coat and sunglasses, her long, straight blond hair reaching far down her back.

“... What... are you doing here?” Auren asks, still not understanding.

“... Rakshala?”

Instead of replying, Rakshala merely smiles and walks forward, giving Auren a gentle hug, yet mustering an unexpected amount of force as she tightly holds on to his shoulders.

“Why, of course I’m visiting you. I just told you I wanted to spend more time with you,” she replies nonchalantly, completely at ease.

“You... where are your escorts? Are they hidden?” Auren wonders, still in her embrace.

Didn’t sense them.

“Do you think I require protection?” she says, pretending to be offended.

Yes... I think you do. After all, you might be the world’s... no, only the lake’s most dangerous person.

“....”

“So... you are telling me you just wanted to visit me?” Auren asks, slowly breaking out of her hug and getting some distance.

“Of course,” she replies. “I also want to compete, naturally.”

Naturally...

“Why?!” Auren almost yells, completely bamboozled. “It makes literally no sense for you to do that. Even being seen in public is a risk... one you shouldn’t even consider taking! So why?!”

Smiling softly, Rakshala replies casually, ending her sentence with a mischievous grin. “Just to test myself, it’s not like I have any hidden motives... oh wait, maybe I do?”

... Is she serious?

“It’s most wonderful if you can combine the required with the desired. Business and pleasure, so to speak,” Rakshala muses. “The latter can even turn the former into something worth looking forward to. At least in this case, where it’s undoubtedly true. It’s nice to see you again.”

“... So you want to make the climb? Publicly? You might be recognized... you are certainly eye-catching enough, and you are smart enough to recognize that. I’d suggest stopping this madness now, before you actually catch the eyes of the wrong people... I don’t want you suddenly creating a huge war if people try to attack you.” Auren urges her.

“I’ll stay just for a couple of months... believe it or not, but I need the help of our beloved Vanessa. So at least until she’s here, I’ll stay,” Rakshala openly states.

Vanessa? I remember her specifically asking about her! She planned this when I was talking to her just a couple of days ago.

“Tell me what this is about... no bullshit lies!” Auren demands to know.

“I simply want to establish myself... first as a genius Martial Artist and Floor Master, afterwards with the help of our little Vanessa as a celebrity. With her, it will be child’s play, not that I’d shy away from a challenge either,” Rakshala says, rubbing her chin. “Perhaps this is a little too trifling after all...”

“Or do you think I’m not beautiful enough and will get overshadowed by Vanessa?” Rakshala says, acting like she’s disappointed, yet unable to hide a faint grin.

Is she completely messing with me now? Has the stress gone to her head? Is she insane?

“I don’t understand what you want to achieve; tell me,” Auren continues. “What do your looks have to do with anything? I can’t understand what you’re trying to do here.”

“If you can’t, then that’s on you; just pay close attention and you’ll surely find out,” she says, putting her hand on Auren’s head.

“For now, I’m just elated to spend some time with you, away from our family,” she continues.

“This isn’t a good time... you know who I have with me,” Auren argues, Kurapika’s face flashing before him.

“I might as well meet him,” Rakshala says. “As for my appearance....”

Grabbing her familiar visor and putting it on, hiding most of her face, Auren glances at it with skepticism. It is now adorned with golden decorations and even expensive gemstones embedded into it, making Rakshala appear somewhat noble and rich, despite the overall strangeness that obviously goes along with it.

“Are you staying in your new luxurious apartment at the very top?” Rakshala asks, looking up despite having her eyes covered by her visor. “It’s nicely decorated... and seems lively. Surely you can find some more room for a lonely woman without shelter?”

“Sure...” Auren mutters, not quite thinking through his reply.

When I’m with her... I always end up doing things that I wouldn’t have done on my own. I need to pay a little more attention to how I conduct myself.

“How kind, just as I’d hoped and expected. You certainly also have a little part to play, especially when our little celebrity idol is not here yet,” Rakshala says. “I’ll visit you when I’m done with my first fight. I’ll take it slow, starting from the 50th floor so I get as much exposure as possible.”

Exposure... sure, associating with me... openly, at least at this place, will surely lead to that. Vanessa would amplify that even more.

But why would she ever desire that?! If she looks like that, with her beauty and her mysterious appearance, with that visor, she’ll probably become a star.

“I’ll... go back up. I might have some enemies around this place, so I don’t want to leave the others alone. Please be careful as well,” Auren says, trying to leave and turning towards the door.

“I’m not worried; I’m under your protection, am I not?” Rakshala replies from behind, somehow frustrating him.

She’s changed. Is that how she is when she’s in a good mood? She’s a little playful, kindly worded. In reality, she’s a menace, and she seems to enjoy messing with me... I’m getting a sense of bad Pariston vibes from her. I hope she didn’t get infected by his bullshit antics.

I’ll find out what this is about; in the end, it changes nothing. In fact, it gives me an opportunity to find out more about her. Two can play that game.

After informing the Heaven’s Arena staff about Rakshala and returning to his room, Auren finds the group still meditating, his clone silently watching over them.

Stopping the Conjuration, Auren simply takes the place of the clone, nobody even noticing the change.

Continuing their training, Auren sees all three, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio, make quick progress, their Aura Nodes opening at a rapid pace.

At this speed, they’ll be done in two or three days at the latest. Since they’re motivated, maybe even tomorrow.

Finally, after a couple more hours, the silence is interrupted by a loud noise: someone loudly knocking on the entrance door.

This room... it has a doorbell... how can she even knock that loud? Nen...

The others, now with their eyes open, the loud noise having disrupted their focus they all stare at Auren. 

“...”

No choice.