Ivan's thigh muscles suddenly tensed.
As his powerful legs bent slightly, they released a burst of force that launched his body into the air.
The warehouse's first floor was more than seven meters high, easily enough for Ivan to leap over the obstructing Pat and land directly in front of Zalan.
Pat had considered many possibilities.
But the one thing he hadn't expected was Ivan choosing to simply jump over his head.
Where did he get that kind of confidence?
Pat's eyes had already transformed into yellow reptilian slits.
His head had become rounder, his body hunched forward, and a thick brown tail extended from his back.
Powerful dinosaur legs slammed against the ground, propelling his body upward in response.
Something was wrong.
A flash of despair crossed Pat's eyes.
He had realized exactly what was wrong.
The dinosaur he was turning into wasn't the same species as Ivan's velociraptor.
Instead—
He was becoming a herbivore.
A Pachycephalosaurus.
The fist he instinctively swung was suddenly much shorter than before.
He couldn't even raise it above his head.
And inside his open mouth—
There were no sharp teeth.
Ivan's choice had been deliberate.
He had chosen a transformation that eliminated every one of Pat's weapons.
Pat watched unwillingly as Ivan leapt over him.
Yet the spark of hope in his heart hadn't gone out.
Because he knew his partner still had a final move prepared.
Ivan cleared Pat—who was no longer a threat—and the moment he landed, he swung his claws toward Zalan, now only a short distance away.
But in that instant—
Ivan's heart skipped.
Because when his feet touched the ground, he felt something hard beneath his foot.
A toy dinosaur.
BOOM!
The explosion erupted beneath Ivan.
Just as his claws were about to reach Zalan, the blast hurled him backward.
Ivan clearly saw the mocking smile appear on Zalan's face from only a few meters away.
But that smile lasted less than five seconds.
Because while Ivan struggled to rise after being blasted away—
Another brown dinosaur suddenly leapt across the ground where Ivan had just been.
Under Zalan's shocked gaze, it smashed its head directly into him.
It was Pat.
Fully transformed into a dinosaur.
Ivan gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand.
His gaze dropped to his left foot.
It was mangled and bloody.
But he could also see the black death-Nen wrapped around his body surging toward the wound.
A strange itching sensation spread through his foot, while the pain rapidly faded.
It felt exactly like when his injured tail had healed earlier after Pat struck it.
He was being healed.
Ivan lifted his gaze again toward the area where the explosion had occurred.
The moment he had been blown away, he already understood Zalan's plan.
Using Pat as cover, Zalan had moved a toy dinosaur into Ivan's blind spot, leaving it hidden there.
This setup was clearly a form of teamwork between the two of them.
One attracted the enemy's attention.
The other laid the trap.
If Pat hadn't panicked because of the dinosaurization and been forced into desperate action, the next step might have been leading Ivan deeper into a minefield of hidden dinosaur bombs.
If that was the case, the toy dinosaurs probably also had the ability to burrow underground, otherwise they wouldn't be very effective against opponents with normal eyesight.
Additionally, the toys must have been using In—an advanced technique derived from Zetsu—to conceal their aura.
Meanwhile, the fully transformed Pat continued attacking Zalan relentlessly.
Zalan, being a Manipulator, clearly wasn't skilled in close combat.
After being knocked down by the first headbutt, he became little more than a rag doll being battered by the dinosaur.
Screams and pleas quickly echoed throughout the vast warehouse.
But the sounds didn't last long.
Because under Pat's continuous assault—
Zalan's body began to change as well.
By the time Ivan mentally commanded Pat to stop attacking, Zalan lay on the ground barely breathing.
And parts of his body had already begun transforming into a dinosaur.
This was the infectious effect of Scary Monsters.
"Who are you?" Ivan asked.
He didn't move closer.
Even now, he remained cautious of the toy dinosaur bombs that could be hidden somewhere nearby.
His enhanced dynamic vision came with a major drawback—his static vision was weak.
To him, the ground looked like nothing more than a flat background.
It was almost impossible to notice subtle abnormalities.
"Stop your ability!" Zalan shouted weakly.
He didn't want to become a dinosaur.
Even if he did love dinosaurs.
"You're not in a position to negotiate," Ivan replied calmly.
"Tell me who you are. What faction you belong to. Why you're here."
Three questions in a row.
Zalan struggled on the ground, trying to crawl away.
Hatred and fear filled his eyes.
"If you want to die, I can arrange that," Ivan continued.
"You'll just die at the hands of your companion… as a dinosaur."
Ivan had already reverted from his dinosaur form.
His left foot was almost fully healed thanks to the black aura.
"I imagine someone who loves dinosaurs would enjoy dying that way."
"No… I'll talk," Zalan said quickly.
He stopped struggling.
Because in his vision, Pat—the Pachycephalosaurus—had already stepped closer again.
If he hesitated even a moment longer, the next thing waiting for him would be another crushing headbutt.
Ivan waited patiently, though inwardly he was counting the seconds.
Zalan's expression twisted.
It looked like he was mentally preparing himself.
Or perhaps stalling for time.
Just as Ivan's patience began to run thin, Zalan suddenly glanced at his own arms—already shrinking into dinosaur limbs—and spoke rapidly.
"My name is Zalan. His name is Pat. We're both members of the Kasha Family. We came here searching for Judge Lyman, who was lured away. I told you everything—now stop your ability!"
Ivan nodded slightly.
He didn't detect any obvious lies.
Aside from their objective, he couldn't confirm whether the rest was true or not.
"How many of you came? How many Nen users are nearby? Who's leading the group?" Ivan asked again.
Another three questions.
Zalan's voice had already begun to change, turning hoarse and rough.
"I only know the leader is Deputy Patriarch Yituoku… the rest—"
His words abruptly stopped.
Because at that moment—
His head finished transforming into a dinosaur.
This time it wasn't a Pachycephalosaurus.
It was a Velociraptor, similar to Ivan's own form.
"Three minutes…" Ivan murmured.
"Slower than when Pat transformed earlier."
Was it because of the secondary infection?
He couldn't be sure.
Still, he silently recorded the timing.
According to the Stand statistics, Scary Monsters had a precision rating of C.
So variations in infection speed between individuals made sense.
Once Zalan completed his dinosaur transformation, the nearby toy dinosaurs immediately lost control.
Their hidden aura burst back into existence.
Using Nen, Ivan could now determine the exact locations of the toys.
He flexed his healed left foot and began walking toward the warehouse exit.
Five minutes.
That was how long it had taken for his injured foot to heal.
The death-Nen surrounding him didn't seem to diminish.
But some of the aura trapped within his body had clearly been consumed.
Ivan suspected this was because his aura nodes remained open, allowing some of his aura to be absorbed into the death-Nen.
Good stuff.
That was his conclusion about the death-Nen.
The ability to heal and restore the body was extremely rare—even in the Hunter × Hunter world.
The downside, however, was obvious.
The death-Nen surrounding him was far too conspicuous, impossible to hide for now.
It also provided almost no defensive capability.
Worst of all, it prevented his own aura from being released.
Which meant that even with Scary Monsters, most battles would force him to rely on constant evasion.
So sooner or later, he would have to make a choice.
Either learn to control the death-Nen…
Or remove it entirely.
Even if doing so would be painful.