"Sure enough… compared to crystals formed from ordinary people, those drawn from a Nen user's blood are far more tempting—and far more potent."
Vega casually tossed the blood-red crystal in his hand, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
The moment he made contact with Jackal Lek earlier, Vega had used Phantom Severance to break through his Nen defenses. Then, he activated the vampiric powers of his Phantom Beast ability—draining every last drop of blood from Lek's body.
That's why Jackal Lek had aged in an instant—his flesh shriveling, his vitality collapsing, leaving behind a husk barely resembling a skeleton.
Now, all the life essence that had been in Lek's body resided within Vega's hand.
This crystal was more than just a trophy. If someone could fully absorb and digest it, they could theoretically inherit most of Lek's power in an instant.
But Vega knew better.
Even with the Vampire Fruit's unique ability, complete digestion of another's life force was impossible—and frankly, Vega found the very idea distasteful.
He believed that feeding endlessly on the life energy of others would inevitably taint his own. When you consume another's essence, their existence begins to bleed into your own. Like staring into the abyss and finding it staring back.
The Chimera Ant arc came to mind. The Queen had gained emotion from consuming too many humans, and some of her children even experienced flickers of memories from past lives. That kind of contamination was exactly what Vega wanted to avoid.
He had no need to feed on others. With his enhancement system, experience points alone were enough to rapidly evolve his strength, refine his techniques, and grow exponentially.
Still, just because he wouldn't consume life energy didn't mean he wouldn't create it.
These life crystals had tremendous potential. Swallow one, and your life force would surge. And if your life energy was strong enough… awakening Nen wasn't just possible—it was inevitable.
After all, that's how the Chimera Ants worked. Born from high-energy consumption, they possessed incredible strength from the moment they opened their aura nodes. Neferpitou had awakened Nen at birth. Kite's reborn body had strength comparable to a top-tier Hunter.
This reinforced Vega's belief: with a strong enough physique, explosive growth was guaranteed.
If his subordinates could safely consume these life crystals, they could awaken their Nen and evolve into powerful assets far more rapidly.
"It's a brilliant ability," Vega mused, tossing the shimmering red crystal from hand to hand. "And the results are exactly what I hoped for…"
Still, these artificially condensed life crystals seemed… impure.
"I doubt ordinary people can absorb them safely. Too much might lead to rejection… maybe even death. After all, even blood transfusions need compatibility. Swallowing someone else's life energy outright? That's another level entirely."
It was clear: testing would be required.
Vega rubbed his chin, a thoughtful gleam in his eye. If the tests went well, these life crystals could become a rare and invaluable resource—one he could reserve for the Ten Rings, his elite combat unit in the Pengellet family.
That way, they wouldn't suffer the same fate as today—losing three members just fighting some scavenger-class Nen users.
But first, it had to be safe. Vega didn't want to burn through precious operatives due to unstable enhancements.
As he thought this, Kevin entered the room.
Without much thought, Vega tossed the glowing red crystal to him.
He wiped his hand with a tissue, casually cleaning off the lingering energy.
Kevin caught the object midair, only to pause as he examined it—his eyes widening slightly.
The red crystal pulsed softly in his palm, giving off a strangely sweet scent.
He looked to Vega, puzzled.
He was sure Vega hadn't brought anything like this when he entered—so where had this come from?
More confusing, Kevin found the crystal enticing. Visually alluring. Aromatically pleasant. And inexplicably… appetizing.
He had the sudden urge to swallow it whole.
Vega observed with amusement as Kevin swallowed hard a few times, struggling to fight the urge. He had no intention of letting Kevin actually ingest it—just wanted to watch his instincts wrestle with temptation.
After all, Kevin had always carried himself with perfect discipline. Aside from that one early misstep—when Vega first provoked the Ten Elders—he rarely showed emotion.
Seeing him so visibly shaken was a rare treat.
Eventually, Kevin managed to avert his gaze, forcibly suppressing the impulse.
"Master… what exactly is this crystal?" he asked softly, his voice tinged with curiosity and restraint. "Why does it smell so… intoxicating?"
He glanced toward the desiccated corpse nearby. "Also—what happened to the leader who raided our casino? Did he escape?"
"I can issue a bounty if needed," he added seriously. "We need to make an example of anyone who dares touch Pengellet territory."
Vega shook his head. "No need. He didn't run."
He gestured toward the crystal in Kevin's hand.
"I used a special ability to extract all of his blood and condense it into that."
Ke Luoke froze. "Wait… this is made of blood?!"
He nearly dropped it in horror.
Vega chuckled. "Careful. That thing contains all of Jackal Lek's life force. If someone were to devour it, their power would spike dramatically. It might even awaken Nen in someone without it."
Ke Luoke's eyes widened.
"This thing… really has that kind of power?"
Excitement sparked in his expression. "Master! If we mass-produce these for the Pengellet family, we could—"
Vega held up a hand, smiling. "I said it should work. We haven't tested it yet. No guarantees."
"Besides," he added, "this one was made from a Nen user. The ones we harvested from the Mornoe family's foot soldiers are just regular people."
"Come on. Let's test it out."
Vega turned toward the exit, Kevin trailing behind him.
Their next destination: the Pengellet headquarters, where the captured members of the Mornoe family's clean-up squad awaited.
They would serve a new purpose now—not as enemies, but as test subjects.