Hunter X Hunter: I Got Stronger After I Died

Cort was inherently strong-willed.

Seeing Moro win the battle despite being at a disadvantage, he felt a surge of determination.

He had already made his declaration—so even if he had to die, he would drag his opponent to hell with him.

Behind his tenacity lay a growing madness.

Cort's eyes suddenly turned razor-sharp as he swung his paper fan to deflect Caleb's whipping kick.

Yet, unable to completely negate the force behind it, his arm was forcibly pushed aside, leaving an opening.

Caleb, still eyeing Moro cautiously from the corner of his vision, did not hold back. With ruthless intent, he aimed a vicious strike at Cort's exposed flank.

Cort gritted his teeth and pivoted on his foot, using his Shifting Limbs footwork to narrowly escape the punch.

Rip!

Caleb's fist struck nothing but an afterimage, yet the residual force shredded the sleeve of Cort's kimono.

Having missed again, Caleb refused to relent. He stepped into Cort's kill zone, launching attack after attack, each one targeting a vital spot.

Under the relentless onslaught, Cort was completely on the defensive, barely able to breathe.

"Damn it…!"

Panting from constant evasion, he bit his lip hard enough to nearly draw blood.

Being pushed back like this, unable to counter, made him feel suffocated.

But the more frustrated he became, the more it fueled his madness.

A glint of resolve flashed through his eyes as he redirected a portion of his aura to activate his ability.

At that moment, his defense wavered slightly.

Caleb's pupils shrank as he instantly noticed the opening. Without hesitation, he lunged forward and struck with full force.

Cort raised his left arm in a last-second block.

Caleb's fist connected directly with his weakly defended arm.

Boom!

Crack!

A sickening crunch echoed as Cort's forearm snapped under the force of the blow.

At the same time—

A wave of white paper, controlled by Cort's aura, surged forward like a constricting serpent and wrapped around Caleb's body.

Within moments, Caleb was swallowed by the swarm of paper.

Cort, having long discarded his wooden sandals, used his toes to tap the ground, gliding backward with the grace of a dragonfly on water to create distance.

His left arm hung limply at his side, utterly broken.

Yet, despite the severe injury, his expression remained unchanged.

For a Zoldyck assassin, subjected to electroshock training from birth, pain was nothing more than an afterthought.

"Reversal Dance."

With his right hand, Cort waved his paper fan, gathering the scattered paper pieces into a swirling mass.

At that moment, Caleb violently burst from the entangling paper.

The thin sheets, unable to even tear his clothes, fluttered uselessly to the ground.

Brushing them aside, Caleb rushed toward Cort, his aura sharp and overwhelming.

Cort remained calm, raising his fan above his head before slashing it downward in a half-arc motion, then swiftly back up in another arc.

The fan opened—wind swirled.

The collected paper soared into the air, forming a dense cluster above him.

Caleb barely spared it a glance before charging straight ahead, disregarding whatever trick Cort was preparing.

He threw another punch.

Cort tried to raise his fan in defense but was a fraction too slow.

Caleb's fist smashed through the fan's feeble resistance and struck Cort's abdomen with a brutal uppercut.

Boom!

Cort's small frame lifted off the ground like a ragdoll, spinning midair as blood sprayed from his mouth.

But as he was sent flying, the paper above came crashing down, swallowing Caleb once more.

Yet, just as before—

With a surge of aura, Caleb violently shook off the entangling paper, emerging completely unharmed.

Cort, meanwhile, crashed hard into the ground, tumbling several times before finally coming to a stop.

Cough, cough!

Bracing himself with one arm, he coughed violently, staining the grass beneath him with fresh blood.

His entire body trembled as he struggled to rise, blood dripping from his chin and soaking into his chest.

He looked like a broken doll.

"One more time… Just one more time, and I'll have my chance…"

Cort weakly raised his paper fan, turning his gaze toward Moro.

Moro had just taken a few steps forward when he caught Cort's look and froze.

Don't interfere.

That was the message in Cort's eyes.

Moro remained still.

Cort turned back toward Caleb, staring at the scattered paper swirling behind him.

For the first time, he went on the offensive, charging straight at his opponent.

"He's at his limit!"

Caleb, still rattled by Moro's presence, saw Cort's battered state and made a quick decision.

Screw it—he needed to finish this fight now.

The killing intent in his heart surged as he lunged forward.

In his blind focus on Cort, he failed to notice the tiny, ordinary-looking slip of paper lightly stuck to his neck.

As the distance closed—

Cort used the same baiting tactic as before, deliberately exposing a weak point to lure Caleb in while sending another wave of paper at him.

Caleb ignored the incoming paper and slammed his fist into Cort's weakened defenses.

Boom!

Once again, Cort was sent flying.

And once again, Caleb was engulfed in a mass of swirling paper.

"Serpent's Bite."

Mid-air, Cort's vision blurred.

But he kept his gaze fixed on the mass of paper around Caleb.

Splat!

A geyser of blood erupted from within.

Seeing it, a smile formed on Cort's lips. He no longer cared about his own impending crash.

Yet—

He never hit the ground.

Cort blinked in confusion and opened his eyes—

Moro had caught him.

"That was brutal."

Moro glanced down at Cort's bloodied face, his eyes filled with genuine admiration.

Cort let his head rest weakly against Moro's arm, caring about only one thing:

"…Did I… win?"

Moro didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he turned his head toward Caleb.

The man had broken free from the paper, clutching his throat, his face twisted in agony.

"Deep Cravings" had allowed him to ignore the effects of blood loss for now.

But he was already as good as dead.

"…Yeah, you won, Cort."

As Moro spoke, he casually tossed out a Falling Star.

The glowing projectile tore through the air—

Thud.

And punctured Caleb's heart.

His body froze.

Then, with a lifeless expression, he collapsed onto the blood-stained paper beneath him.

[Level 43 → Level 44]

Moro barely spared the corpse a glance before shifting his gaze toward the mansion, now shrouded in the darkness of the night.

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