Focusing intently on the ink-like density of the Death Aura, Akira recalled what he knew about it.
The Death Aura, or the lingering will of the dead, typically forms when a person will is too strong after death—perhaps a desire for revenge or an unwillingness to die—causing their ordinary aura to become aggressive and invasive, as if it had been corrupted.
This concept sounds somewhat similar to the zombie trope in horror movies. If a person dies with a lingering grudge, their corpse may transform into a zombie. But the Death Aura utility far surpasses that of a mere zombie.
The scene in the story that most vividly depicts the Death Aura is the duel between Hisoka and Chrollo at the Heaven Arena.
This part hasn't been animated yet and only appears in the manga. During the match, Chrollo turned the surrounding audience into human bombs.
Although Hisoka wasn't completely killed by the explosions, the continuous blasts caused oxygen deprivation. Thus, Hisoka ultimately died from lack of oxygen.
After Chrollo assumed Hisoka was dead and even had his body removed by the staff, something miraculous happened.
A Death Aura began performing CPR on Hisoka heart, and it actually revived him. It turned out that before his death, Hisoka had left a portion of his Nen in his heart, using his intense willpower to drive the post-mortem Nen to perform CPR in his dying moments.
It was said that this was an experiment by Hisoka, and he wasn't entirely sure it would save him.
At the time, I couldn't help but marvel at Togashi boundless creativity—how he managed to bring Hisoka back to life in such a way.
In other words, post-mortem Nen could also be understood as a type of negative ability, contrasting with ordinary Nen.
Thinking of this, Akira had a sudden flash of insight.
He immediately had Gardevoir stand by his side and use a skill against the post-mortem Nen ahead. In the Pokémon games, this skill could only be learned through a Technical Machine (TM). But for Pokémon born from Nen abilities, all skills they could master would directly appear in their skill list, ready to be used.
This meant that any move the Pokémon could learn could be executed immediately.
Safeguard!
A translucent sphere completely enveloped Gardevoir, as if it were encased in a giant bubble. At the same time, the post-mortem Nen in front of Gardevoir seemed to encounter a natural predator, rapidly retreating and scrambling away, eager to distance itself from Gardevoir.
The post-mortem Nen further away, however, remained largely unaffected.
Akira stared at the post-mortem Nen, which was retreating like a defeated army, and understood. In the Pokémon world, Safeguard's effect was to prevent status conditions. From this perspective, post-mortem Nen could, in a sense, be considered a type of status condition.
This meant he could also play the role of a Nen Exorcist? Well, perhaps half a Nen Exorcist. A Nen Exorcist could remove Nen effects from a person, while Safeguard prevented post-mortem Nen from affecting someone in the first place.
One was a cure, the other a prevention. After a Nen Exorcist intervention, the Nen would disappear entirely, whereas Safeguard merely repelled the post-mortem Nen, as evidenced by how it retreated rather than vanished.
Akira also realized the importance of Safeguard. If post-mortem Nen was a status condition, what if someone used a Nen ability to inflict a status condition on him? Would Safeguard still be effective against it? Although he hadn't tested it yet, his intuition told him it should work.
Wait a minute... If Safeguard could prevent post-mortem Nen, then...
Could Heal Bell remove it?! Gardevoir could also learn Heal Bell. Akira quickly opened the skill panel to check.
Heal Bell: Removes all status conditions from the entire team (based on the user's judgment of who counts as a teammate), including but not limited to post-mortem Nen, curses, and other negative effects.
Now, the title of Nen Exorcist was undeniable! One Safeguard for prevention, one Heal Bell for removal—double protection! No one could question his status as a Nen Exorcist now...
If Akira remembered correctly, in the world of Hunter x Hunter, while Nen users were far fewer in number compared to ordinary people, there were still quite a few of them. But Nen Exorcists were the true rare breed!
Throughout the anime and manga, only three Nen Exorcists were ever mentioned.
One was the Black guy who appeared in Greed Island and removed Kurapika Nen from Chrollo. Another was a rabbit-like Chimera Ant named "Shidore."
The last one never made an appearance—she was an elderly Nen Exorcist working for the Hunter Association. Nen Exorcists, being such rare talents, were highly sought after wherever they went!
To test it out, Akira had Gardevoir use Heal Bell on the Death Aura.
The beautiful melody, materialized through aura, transformed into musical notes on a staff, floating forward in an undulating motion.
When the Death Aura encountered the notes, it was like snow meeting the warm sun, gradually melting away until it completely disappeared. The area where the Death Aura had been now appeared as if it had never existed, leaving a conspicuous gap.
After a while, the Death Aura behind them "belatedly" moved forward to fill the void.
"Gardevoir," Gardevoir softly spoke to Akira beside her, sensing the consumption of her aura.
"Does Heal Bell consume more aura than Safeguard? But that's to be expected."
After confirming that both techniques were effective, Akira had Gardevoir cast Safeguard on him as well. Ignoring the "Danger Ahead" sign nearby, the two of them proceeded forward.
As expected, with every step Akira took forward, the Death Aura retreated a step back.
Akira felt like Tang Sanzang from Journey to the West, safely enclosed within a protective circle. And this circle even moved along with him.
Akira and Gardevoir steadily made their way deeper into the ruins.
Wherever they went, the Death Aura dispersed!