"You're awake."

Xiang Nan and Beishi immediately stepped forward and looked at Orban.

He slowly opened his eyes, locking eyes with them for a moment—then blankly scanned the hospital room.

Even though he was clearly conscious, he looked completely out of it again. His eyes were glazed over, empty.

Xiang Nan and Beishi exchanged glances. Neither of them brought up the mission.

"They're all dead… every one of them…"

It was Orban who finally spoke, muttering under his breath.

"You're the only one who made it out alive?"

Xiang Nan finally broke the silence. He knew that even though Orban had woken up, his mental state was hanging by a thread.

But some things, once they happen, can't be undone. As players, all they could do was accept it.

Before the ninth round of the Extinction Game began, Xiang Nan had already warned them. The mission was brutal. But Orban and Pigeon had chosen it themselves.

And now… they'd have to deal with the consequences.

Honestly, looking back, those guys from the Hunter Association who chose to quit being players… maybe that wasn't such a dumb move after all.

"Yeah,"

Orban's stiff gaze fell on the two of them as he muttered the name of the world: "Blue Exorcist."

Xiang Nan shot a look at Beishi.

Beishi looked just as confused.

For someone who usually knew his anime inside and out, this one was clearly outside his radar.

"Don't worry about the mission report for now," Xiang Nan said calmly. "Get some rest."

"…"

Orban didn't respond.

Xiang Nan and Beishi quietly left the room to give him space.

"Got anything?" Xiang Nan asked once they were in the hallway.

"I've heard of that world in passing, but I don't really know it… Think it used to be kinda popular," Beishi said, rubbing his chin, thinking back from an Earth-perspective.

"Well, he's awake. We'll know soon enough," Xiang Nan said. "No need to rush."

"Oh, right… you mentioned the new batch of intruders might drop into Yorknew City? The auction's still going, and it's pulling in attention from all over the human world. If chaos breaks out there, it's gonna be way worse than what happened in Zaban City during the Hunter Exam. And based on our analysis, Reincarnation Dimensions tend to appear about every six months—roughly the same cycle as the Extinction Games. But this one took nearly a year to show up… That probably means this batch of intruders is more dangerous. Stronger, too."

Beishi suddenly tensed up, face serious.

"Could be," Xiang Nan nodded.

"So what now? We're not in a position to get involved this time. Pigeon's dead, Orban's a wreck. There's only three of us left. Should we inform the authorities? Let the government step in?" Beishi emphasized his role, meaning Xiang Nan.

People like them—just regular citizens—would never be taken seriously. No government would mobilize troops just because of their word.

But if it came from Xiang Nan… that would be a different story.

"Don't bother."

Xiang Nan was cool as ever. "Gon and Killua—the ultimate protagonists—are already in Greed Island. For intruders, getting into that game is insanely difficult right now. Basically zero chance. Even if they unlock some hidden story path, it's gonna be almost impossible to complete. And they've got Biscuit with them… No worries about their clear rate. As for the others, Kurapika has already joined the Nostrade family. After the Yorknew arc, he's matured a bit. He's smart and careful by nature. It won't be easy for intruders to get close to him through the underworld. The only wildcard might be Leorio."

"So you're saying… we just let this Reincarnation Dimension play out on its own? Let them do whatever they want?"

Beishi's eyes twitched.

"The Zaban incident already gave the nations and the Hunter Association a serious warning, but they clearly didn't take it to heart. Fine. Let them experience firsthand just how devastating the multiverse can be. From what we've seen, some of the older, well-established worlds already know about the multiverse. They've accepted it. Otherwise, how could intruders become members of their countries and factions—fighting not just for their original world, but for a new cause?"

"Getting the main world to accept the multiverse is a step every world must face during its cycle. When players from our side can represent a kingdom or the Hunter Association on a multiversal battlefield—not just in the Hunter × Hunter world—that's when we'll know the time has come."

"Besides… whether it's the Hunter Association or V5, they're not as clueless about players and the multiverse as we might've thought."

Xiang Nan smirked.

He thought back to his meeting with Netero. And the high-ranking players hidden inside the Association—some of them had been in the Hunter world for a long time and interacted with story characters.

Take those few Extinction Level 8 players, for example. They had ties to Pariston.

And knowing Pariston, there's no way he hasn't already started digging into the secrets of the Nameless Town.

"Players like us need to grow too. If we're gonna survive multiverse competition, we can't do it alone. Everyone needs to adapt. The Zaban incident probably woke some of them up."

During their Hunter Exam, plenty of other players were involved. There's no way they hadn't noticed what the Placement battlefield really was—or what the arrival of intruders meant.

"So, let the world's factions deal with this mess themselves, huh…" Beishi finally understood Xiang Nan's thinking.

"Relax. It's only the second wave. I doubt they'll cause major damage to the Hunter world," Xiang Nan said—though his tone didn't sound too confident.

But let's be real: it was unrealistic to expect just a handful of players to stop every wave of intruders.

They weren't gods.

And sure, the first batch of players was relatively weak. But every new wave? More unknown variables.

Even if they managed to stop the first group, there was no guarantee they could block the second—let alone all the future ones.

"…Still, I plan to get involved this time," Xiang Nan added.

"First, killing intruders—aka players from other worlds—still earns us Sin Points. Not a ton, but it adds up. Eventually, we'll be able to use that to invade other worlds ourselves. The battlefield isn't just for intruders to take; it's a chance for us to fight back."

"Second, we need intel—how other worlds work, their energy systems, power structures. Right now, we're seriously lacking in that department."

"And lastly… I'm planning to use this Placement battlefield to take care of a certain rat once and for all."

"Pariston?" Beishi immediately caught on.

"You're really going after him? That guy's no joke… I'm just saying, it's a big risk. He's definitely annoying, but there's no need to rush. At least wait until we're—"

"No. He has to die. The sooner, the better."

Xiang Nan cut him off mid-sentence.

"…Alright. Just be careful. Out of the Twelve Zodiac, I'd say his danger level's right up there with Ging."