Chapter 197: Chapter 197
"At this point, you're neither concerned for your life nor the lives of those two brats beside you, yet you're asking about my plan? Do you seriously think you can leave here alive?"
"I will tell you now, You won't leave this place alive."
"And I'm not going to share the specifics of my plan with you."
"All I'll say is this: those who oppressed Taris years ago will pay the price!"
"And you'll be the first!"
In the next instant, Shusuke Ito's figure blurred, appearing directly in front of Dominica.
"Invisible Hand!"
Crawford, Charlotte, and Cook all sprang into action, their attacks converging on Dominica.
Dominica was their primary target—the one they feared the most.
According to their plan, they needed to focus their combined strength on eliminating Dominica first.
As for Ron and Wendy?
Just a couple of kids. What threat could they possibly pose?
After killing Dominica, dealing with Ron and Wendy would be a trivial matter.
Thus, they allocated no resources to them.
"Ron, we need to contact the others," Wendy said.
"The others" referred to the Zoldyck family and the Fiora royal family.
However, it wasn't for reinforcements.
Given the distance, neither group could provide timely support.
Wendy was concerned about something else—Crawford's declaration of targeting all those who had harmed Taris.
"No need," Ron replied, shaking his head.
"We don't know their exact operational locations."
"Even if we send the message, it won't change anything."
"Besides, they already know this involves Taris. They'll make their preparations."
"And," Ron added, "this area is under signal jamming, so we can't send any messages out."
Ron had noticed this from the start.
The restaurant's electronic signals were completely jammed.
Ron, having kept Chii and Hanma Baki's abilities as his trump cards, had anticipated this and scouted the situation beforehand.
He had already confirmed the existence of a high-power signal jammer.
These devices required electricity to operate. Cutting off the power supply would disable them.
But for now, Ron saw no need to do so.
Chii had been stationed in another part of the airship ahead of time. All Ron had to do was issue the command, and Chii could relay a message to Hanma Baki.
The area where Chii was located was not affected by the jamming.
Meanwhile, Dominica faced the combined attacks of Crawford and the others without a trace of panic on his face.
As Shusuke Ito's strike neared, Dominica calmly pulled something from his pocket.
With a surge of aura, the item activated.
In the next moment, everything went dark.
Everyone felt a sense of vertigo.
But it lasted only an instant.
When the light returned, the surroundings had completely changed.
An invisible force formed walls around the group, separating them from one another.
The airship began to transform in a bizarre manner.
The restaurant vanished, as did the cabins and engine room.
At the center of it all, a massive arena appeared.
The arena was surrounded by spectator seats.
Beyond the spectator seats stood a thick, grey, shell-like wall, giving off an impression of impenetrable hardness. Breaking through it would be no easy task.
On either side of the arena were two designated areas.
One area contained Crawford and his team.
The other area held Ron, Dominica, and Wendy.
At that moment, a glow emanated from one of the spectators.
Dominica raised an eyebrow, then motioned with his aura.
The glowing figure appeared before Dominica.
"Will you stay in the audience to watch, or will you join us in fighting them? I don't sense the stench of those pests on you, so you must have some idea of what they've done."
Ron observed the man.
He was middle-aged, with a dishevelled appearance and a defeated demeanour, as if burdened by past suffering.
"I…" The man's eyes flickered with uncertainty.
Dominica said, "Then stay here for now."
Wendy quickly pulled out her phone and sent a pre-written message to the Fiora royal family.
Ron did the same, sending a message to Zeno.
Under normal circumstances, messaging wouldn't help—they wouldn't make it in time to provide support.
If danger arose, Ron planned to use Hanma Baki's abilities to escape.
But now, the situation had shifted once again.
The airship had transformed into a competitive arena, a change brought about by Dominica.
Since Ron and Dominica were on the same side, the transformation worked to their advantage, putting Crawford's team at a disadvantage.
"This doesn't feel like a Nen tool," Ron thought, "but more like a Nen beast."
"A portable Nen beast…"
"How rare."
Ron recalled a past mission with Silva, during which Silva had explained Nen beasts.
Most couldn't move, which was why Silva had sold the Temple Beast to the underworld instead of bringing it back to the Zoldyck estate.
"If it were portable, wouldn't it have been better to keep it at home?"
"No wonder Dominica has such confidence," Ron mused.
"With this trump card, it's no surprise he can stay calm."
Dominica glanced at Wendy.
"Wendy, explain the Coliseum to Ron."
"Understood." Wendy nodded and began to explain.
"The Coliseum is one of the Fiora royal family's most prized treasures—a portable Nen beast that, when infused with aura, merges with the surrounding environment."
"It transforms the area into a massive arena."
"The outer walls of the arena are highly durable."
"Inside, there's a spectator section, a fighting stage, and designated zones for combatants."
"Only Nen users can enter the combatant zones."
"And the most important rule of the Coliseum: battles on the stage must be one-on-one."
"They continue until one side dies."
"After each match, there's a 30-minute rest period."
Ron caught on to the most critical term: one-on-one.
Now he understood Dominica's confidence.
It came from this very rule.
Facing all four of Crawford's team members at once would be overwhelming.
But in a one-on-one battle format, everything changed.
In a one-on-one fight, who among Crawford's team could defeat Dominica?
Not a single one.
As a member of the Fiora royal family, Dominica excelled at endurance battles. Especially so because of his earth-consuming ability.
Even in a round-robin format, Crawford's team wouldn't necessarily overcome Dominica. (t/n round-robin format- each player or team competes against every other player or team; each contestant faces off against the other contestant in turn.)
This development had completely reversed the situation.
Crawford's team had gone from holding an overwhelming advantage to being placed at a significant disadvantage.
Crawford's expression darkened.
"A trump card like this?"
"No wonder, Dominica. Even knowing it's a trap, you didn't show the slightest sign of panic."
"As Fiora's genius, is this how you leverage your status?"
"Bringing something like this along—were you this afraid of us, the remnants of Taris?"
Crawford was visibly frustrated.