Chapter 58: Similar Yet Distinct Worlds

In the corner of the underground parking lot, Hesser tossed the one-armed Shintaro Miki onto the concrete floor and said in a breezy tone:

"It seems you know quite a bit about me, so I won't waste words. Talk."

Shintaro Miki shrank back as he looked up at Hesser, then lowered his head, trembling uncontrollably from head to toe: "...T-t-talk about what?"

"Talk about anything you like. Tell me just how much you know about me, explain your Nen ability, and tell me where you really came from."

Hesser removed his glasses, his undisguised malice manifesting like tentacles reaching out from the pitch-black night:

"Shall we follow the formal procedure, or do you want to start talking right away? I've only just learned some interrogation techniques, so I can't guarantee you'll still be in one piece after the full routine."

Shintaro Miki shuddered even more violently. This was that face! The single most terrifying face in the entire world!

Seeing Hesser reach a hand out toward him, Shintaro Miki shrieked in panic: "I'll talk! I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll talk! I'll tell you everything, and I swear I'll only tell the truth! Please, have mercy, don't kill me!"

There was no need for Hesser to resort to torture. Shintaro Miki spilled everything he knew in a chaotic rush. Thank goodness his memory had undergone an extraordinary enhancement after transmigrating; otherwise, he never would have been able to keep up with Hesser's erratic, scattershot line of questioning.

Ten minutes or so later, Hesser rubbed his chin thoughtfully and fell into a deep contemplation.

First of all, he could be certain that this fellow was a transmigrator, but the world he originally came from was not Hesser's home world at all—at best, it was an extremely similar parallel world.

The history of many nations bore a distorted resemblance to Hesser's world, and several major historical turning points were completely different. The so-called supernatural powers were so absurd they left Hesser speechless; what kind of third-rate web novel setting was this supposed to be?

Yet, according to this guy, 'himself' had appeared in their world and turned everything upside down? While it certainly sounded interesting, Hesser's most beloved parents were ordinary people. For their sake, Hesser was willing to cast aside all supernatural abilities just to live as a completely ordinary mortal; how could he possibly become a cold-blooded, merciless demon king who treated human lives like grass?

Though their appearance and abilities were nearly identical, Hesser would never acknowledge that creature as himself.

Was it a 'projection'? A 'clone'? Or perhaps a corrupted future version of 'himself'?

Hesser looked at Shintaro Miki and asked, "You've read Hunter x Hunter, right? How far along was the manga?"

"Uh, it finished..." Shintaro Miki said cringingly, not even daring to raise his head to look at Hesser.

"Finished? That old fox actually finished drawing it?" Hesser's eyes widened abruptly. "Tell me about the plot after the Dark Continent arc in detail!"

Shintaro Miki looked up in confusion, giving Hesser a cautious glance. "The Dark Continent arc? Th-there's no such thing."

"Ha?" Hesser's expression turned ominous, looking very much like he might crush Shintaro's dog brain at the slightest disagreement.

"It's true! How could I ever dare to deceive Your Excellency Hesser!"

Shintaro waved his hands frantically in terror, slipping back into his native tongue: "Teacher Togashi serialized this manga until 2012, and then it ended! Gon finally finds his father, Ging Freecss, and the story draws to a close with the Chimera Ant arc."

"...What was the ending of the Chimera Ant arc?" Hearing the other use Japanese, Hesser switched to Japanese as well.

"Chairman Netero takes the Zodiacs along with him to engage in a fierce battle against the Chimera Ant King and his four royal guards, which ultimately ends in a victory for the Hunter Association." Shintaro answered honestly.

That wasn't right. In the manga, Netero had explicitly taken only a few relatively unremarkable support-type Nen users like Morel along to ambush the King, purely to enjoy a long-awaited 'challenge'. How could he possibly have brought the entire Zodiac lineup for an overwhelming, crushing assault? And where on earth did the King get four royal guards?

Let's approach it from another angle.

"...You know Killua, right? How many siblings does he have?"

"Killua has... an eldest brother, Illumi, a second brother, Milluki, and a younger brother, Alluka—ah no, Kalluto."

"What's inside Killua's head?"

"...B-brains?"

Hesser frowned. In the manga Miki had read, there was no such thing as an All-Knowing entity (Ai/Nanika), nor was there any needle implanted in Killua's head by Illumi to manipulate his memories.

After asking a few more questions about the plot and characters, Hesser grew increasingly certain that the manga this fellow had read was roughly the same as the earlier parts Hesser knew, but began to diverge wildly right after the Greed Island arc concluded.

The question now was: was the transmigrated world Hesser currently inhabiting the version he had read, or was it the version Miki knew?

Hesser suddenly asked out of curiosity, "By the way, what new works did that old fox Togashi put out after finishing this manga?"

Shintaro tried to recall. "After finishing Hunter x Hunter, Teacher Togashi announced his retirement and spent his time peacefully at home playing mahjong and video games. On the other hand, his wife, Naoko Takeuchi, went on to publish several sequential medium-length manga related to Sailor Moon."

"Even in another world, Naoko Takeuchi still married that old fox; poor Takehiko Inoue... What about One Piece? Has it ended? What on earth is the One Piece treasure?"

"Y-Your Excellency Hesser, I don't know which manga you're talking about... Or are you referring to a novel or an anime?"

"Forget it." Hesser waved his hand helplessly. Using his Nen to monitor Miki's heartbeat and blood flow, he could tell the fellow hadn't lied once from start to finish.

Amidst his lingering terror, Shintaro was also filled with a trace of curiosity. This so-called Lord Hesser before him wasn't nearly as cold and ruthless as the rumors suggested; if anything, he was a bit gossipy and chatty? Was this the true face of the [Demon King Hesser]?! Shintaro felt that even if he were thrown back to his original world, he could make a fortune purely off this exclusive insider information.

Hesser simply sat down beside Shintaro Miki, tossing out casual questions here and there, to which Shintaro replied with growing deference.

Upon learning the effect of Shintaro Miki's Nen ability, Hesser let out a low whistle. That really was a powerful Nen ability tailor-made for a transmigrator. If one had read the manga, they would undoubtedly possess a vast amount of intelligence on powerful Nen users. When the time came, by finding an opportunity to tap someone on the shoulder or shake their hand, there was a genuine chance of acquiring a few powerful and loyal subordinates. After all, among the six Nen categories, aside from the bizarre effects of Specialist abilities, Manipulation was by far the most unreasonable. Take Shalnark's 'Target of Manipulation' ability, for instance—if one were struck by that manipulating antenna, even Hesser would be powerless to resist and would simply be reduced to a puppet. Of course, that assumed Hesser wasn't wielding the Absolute Sovereignty or hadn't summoned the Light Egg, two divine artifacts that utterly countered the Manipulation category.

"I'm not too familiar with Japanese transmigration tropes, but in Chinese web novels, transmigrators usually get some kind of golden finger or leveling system. Do you have one?"

Just as they were having a pleasant chat, Hesser suddenly threw out that question.

The flattering smile on Shintaro Miki's face stiffened involuntarily, and his heartbeat accelerated a fraction.