I'm Really Not A Nen Exorcist (HxH Fanfic)

'The city inside the ruins probably still contained the living armors controlled by Post-Mortem Nen, as well as the head-holding human statues. If these ordinary people entered, they were walking straight into a deathtrap.'

As Moses thought of this, suddenly, a neutral voice that was hard to tell whether it was male or female came from behind him.

"It's their choice."

Hearing this sudden voice, Moses had no intention of turning around. Instead, his attention immediately focused on the unknown creature hanging upside down on the top of the cave.

The reason why he didn't turn around and respond was that-

There was nothing in behind him, as he had already placed a shadow clone hidden elsewhere, which can see his current location.

Although the voice came from behind, the reality was just that.

At the same time, Moses could feel the gaze of the unknown creature upon him.

"…"

Looking at the unknown creature in silence, Moses remained vigilant.

The last time they had met, the creature hadn't shown any hostility and had even gifted him its eyeball. However, circumstances had changed since then, and it didn't hurt to be extra cautious.

The unidentified creature hanging upside down on the cave ceiling is Mammon.

He gazed at Moses, who was hiding in the corner, and a hint of surprise appeared in the depths of his obsidian eye.

Mammon was surprised to see Moses here and was determined not to let him interfere with his important feeding.

"Don't do anything. This is not a request, but a notice."

Mammon's voice once again reached Moses's ears, but this time, it's filled with a stern warning.

Moses's eyes narrowed, and he was now certain that this group of people were brought by the unknown creature, and that they might have been subjected to suggestion-based Manipulation Ability.

There are an unknown number of living armors and head-holding human statues in the ruins. Sending these people in was like feeding them to the wolves.

But this matter seemed to be very important to this unknown creature, enough for it to specifically warn him not to interfere.

"What exactly are you? And why are you doing this?"

Moses refrained from acting rashly, and instead lowered his voice, speaking into the air in the unknown creature's direction.

He wasn't sure if the unknown creature could hear him, but he figured it was worth asking in hopes of gathering more information.

And not only could Mamon somehow send his voice directly to Moses, but he could also hear Moses's low voice from a distance.

"I am an outsider. All I did was give them a chance to make a choice."

Mammon's voice echoed in Moses's ears.

'A choice...?'

Moses furrowed his brows slightly, then glanced at the group of people entering the ruins from the corner of his eye, and vaguely understood something.

'The so-called 'chance' likely referred to bringing these people to the ruins. Now, these people are faced with two choices.'

'One was to focus on escaping. If they chose this, they might experience the same outcome as last time. Once the time was up, everyone would be transported out.'

'The other option is to go inside the ruins and explore. Although they would have to constantly face the threat of living armors and head-holding human statues, there is also a certain chance of finding valuables.'

'On the surface, it seemed like a choice between these two paths, but...'

"But you 'control' them."

Moses said as he met Mammon's gaze.

'Judging from the drastic change of this group of people's reactions, it was obvious that they had been influenced by a Manipulation-Type Ability.'

'Since they were being controlled, why bother dressing it up as a choice?'

"Hoh…"

Faced with the facts pointed out by Moses, Mammon responded with a sneering chuckle.

But perhaps thinking of Moses's special identity, he still responded:

"It's not me who controls them, it's their greed and desire."

"…"

Moses fell silent, and his eyes changed slightly.

Greed and desire...

Based on this answer alone, Moses was able to combine the previous judgment and come to a conclusion that was quite close to the truth.

'It is undoubtedly a suggestive-type Manipulation Ability.'

'Using greed and desire to induce these people to make choices, while also using greed and desire to cover up various potential crises.'

'The real question is-'

'Why go through all this trouble?'

'If its goal was simply to kill these people, it could have done so directly.'

Moses had witnessed the overwhelming aura of this unknown creature.

'Just based on the sheer volume of its Aura, it could easily unleash significant combat power.'

'As for these group of people, except for that fat Nen User, if this unidentified creature wanted to, it could kill them all with a mere flick of its finger. So why take the long way around?'

'There must be a specific reason and motivation behind such a deliberate act.'

Moses pondered in silence.

At the top of the cave…

Mammon glanced at the people who had already walked into the ruins, then spread his wings and flew straight towards Moses.

Noticing Mammon's movements, Moses became secretly alert.

Ken.

Without caring about being noticed by the fat Nen User, Moses immediately released his Aura to the maximum, surrounding his body in a tight protective layer.

Mamon, however, paid no attention to Moses's defensive posture.

As an outsider, he had always followed his principles and had never actually killed a human.

What he has always done is nothing more than allowing human beings to more freely indulge in their own nature.

"Your human nature has always been like this. Do you wish to deny it?"

Mammon slowly landed several meters in front of Moses, with no emotion on his smooth and pale face.

Moses stared at Mammon, but didn't answer. Instead, he asked a question of his own, "What about you? Do you want to deny the fact that you used your ability to influence them?"

"I don't deny it, but I simply sped up the process. In fact, they should thank me."

Mammon folded his wings neatly behind him, and calmly continued:

"I've given them a valuable opportunity. Those drowning in vanity and buried in debt may use this chance to find enough wealth to repay what they owe. Those addicted to gambling and have nowhere to go may be able to use this opportunity to regain their lives. Do you understand?"

"…"

Moses certainly understood.

'What controls this group of people is not this unknown creature, but the urgent circumstances and their own greed and desires.'

'Yet, at the same time, it was this unknown creature that created a situation that allowed this group of people to be manipulated by those very forces.'

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a scream echoed from not far away.

Without needing to send a shadow clone to investigate, Moses knew that someone had fallen prey to an attack by either the living armor or the head-holding human statues.

Mammon paid no heed to the scream, instead keeping his unblinking gaze on the now-silent Moses.

From beginning to end, Mammon's aura had not shown even a trace of malice. Even when discussing the grim fate that awaited the ordinary people, there had been no ill intent in his words.

Mammon's only aim seemed to be preventing Moses from interfering with his feeding process. However, he was also quite curious about how Moses had returned to the ruins.

"How did you get back here?"

"The same way as last time."

Moses didn't bother hiding anything, though his response was a bit evasive.

But Mammon, fully knowledgeable about the mechanics of the ruins, saw through Moses's answer. His obsidian eye glinted with human-like surprise.

"You activated the 'Pipeline'? Does that mean you've learned 'Contract'?"

'Contract...?'

Moses was slightly stunned.