"The
first one is for your leader."
The dirigible
aircraft in Ringon airport took off. It carried six passengers: the pilot,
Leorio, Kurapika, Melody, Chrollo and Pakunoda.
At the
first sight of the woman wearing a blazer and a short skirt, Melody was sure
that there would be no blood bath inside the zeppelin. She was certain that no
Genei Ryodan members followed Pakunoda on her way to the airport. It was
also clear to her that the woman came alone to save her boss and had no
intention to fight. The remaining concern was Kurapika. Did the Kurta notice
the difference between Paku and the other members of the troupe?
Kurapika
stood a meter apart from the chained leader of the Phantom Troupe. He sent
his judgment chain floating in the air, ready to pierce Chrollo’s heart.
"Two
conditions," Kurapika continued.
While the
Kurta was discussing his terms, the constricted young man couldn't help but
feel worried about what was going on with the spiders. He wanted to speak, but
the chains which covered his mouth prevented him to do so.
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| "Two Conditions" - Kurapika |
“Paku, look
closely. Pay attention to the chain user.” He hoped that his thoughts would
reach Pakunoda. “You must be able to see signs of weaknesses. He will do
anything to save his friends!”
“The first
one will be, no usage of Nen is allowed.” Kurapika was sure about this rule.
The next condition made her stop and think for a moment.
“I couldn't beat the spiders with this. Even if I killed their leader, they would just go
back like nothing happened.” He said to himself. “My top priority is…”
He
remembered the last time he saw his platinum blonde-haired friend Pairo. “I don’t
want to lose a friend anymore… I must save them!” An image of Gon and Killua
appeared inside his mind. He missed them suddenly. The excitement to see them
again urged the scarlet-eyed boy to state the last condition.
“Communications of any forms with a member of Genei Ryodan are not allowed.” Kurapika concluded.
“Do you
agree with all of these conditions? Please tell me if you do and I will pierce
your leader with the blade of my judgment chain.” He directed the question to
Pakunoda.
“Okay.” The
woman said without hesitation which astounded Chrollo.
Before he
could think of anything, the head of the Spider felt a sudden pain inside his
chest as if he has been stabbed by a sharp object. Kurapika’s chain that was
made out of Nen was invisibly wrapped around Chrollo’s heart with its blade pointed
straight to the pumping organ. It was ready to perforate the heart and rob him
off of his life once he broke any of the conditions set by the surviving Kurta.
“She’s
still the same.” Chrollo was disappointed. “Could it be because of that?”
He
succumbed again to another highlight of his past.
Beside its
unsightly environment and dust-filled air, Meteor City gave birth
to the Phantom Troupe. It started with seven members being led by Chrollo
Lucilfer. Other members include Nobunaga, Machi, Feitan, Franklin, Pakunoda and
the late Uvogin. They were young and they had just discovered their abilities
back then.
The Phantom
Troupe might be known as a group of thieves but they were an important asset
for Meteor City. They acted as support for the underworld and did philanthropic deeds
for the sake of the city and its inhabitants.
“Being the
strongest Nen user and the most important part of the organization, the limbs
are blindy following its head.” This was the belief that Chrollo tried to bust.
He wanted it to be clear that his orders were more important than his life.
“If I died,
one of you will just have to replace me. Spiders must live on.” This was only
one of the few noble lines that came out of his beautiful lips.
“While we
are waiting for orders from the Mafia head, we will focus on adding more
members to our group.” He added.
“Danchou!”
Nobunaga called. “The mafia sent us something.”
The plan
was short-lived. Once the orders from their clients came in, they need to keep
themselves busy.
“What does
it say?”
“We need to
take care of some people.”
Assassination
was just a part of their job. They have gotten themselves used to it but this
new job was totally different from their previous assignments.
“These
people are Nen users like us. Do you think we stand a chance against them?”
Pakunoda asked.
“This is
the perfect opportunity for us to grow stronger. I would like to see the
results of our Nen training,” Chrollo replied. “Is there something wrong Paku?”
“Nope, I’m
fine with it.” The teenage girl tried her best to look strong and untroubled.
Deep inside, she was worried. Not just for her sake, but for her friends as
well.
“Just remember
what I’ve said earlier,” replied the Phantom troupe leader.
“Okay.”
“It says
here that we need to finish this task as soon as possible.” Nobunaga called
their attention.
“No problem.
We just have to pick one target at a time. Let’s see if one of us can handle
him alone.” Chrollo had decided on it.
“Jero
Pysgodu, what a name!” Nobunaga picked the first target for the team.
“Okay.” Chrollo
ended the conference. They prepared for the travel as fast as they could.
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"Spiders must live on!" - Young Chrollo Lucilfer
|
Victorique
was a huge city from the South. It didn't have much bodies of water as the city was situated at the center of a big
island.
The troupe
arrived at night ready to strike the target. They all looked good on their
black jumpsuits. Chrollo wore a black student’s uniform to emphasize that he
was the leader of the group. Without wasting any time, they went ahead to their
target’s mansion. The mafia sent two freelancers who were Nen users as well
to accompany them.
As they
move closer to the place, they became more cautious of each step that they
made. Upon reaching the gate of the mansion, the troupe entered on their Zetsu
state and checked for people manning the property. Machi, Franklin and Nobunaga
were left on the borderline to serve as a lookout while the remaining guys went
inside. They would block possible reinforcements to prevent the group from getting trapped.
Feitan went
ahead and climbed the walls of the gate. He beheaded three guards posted nearby
and checked to see if everything was clear. He threw out a hand gesture
signaling the others to come inside.
The nearest
entrance of the house was still a few runs from the main gate. After a number
of steps, they were ambushed by a battalion of uniformed guards. They all wore
tuxedos and covered their eyes with dark shades. As the moon continued to
shine, the ground was bathed with blood. Uvogin with his immense strength took
out numerous men in black while ignoring the gunshots that tickled his
stone-hard skin. The untouchable Feitan on the other hand was able to decapitate
several guards in a heartbeat.
They
presumed that they have been detected as more and more men with rifles came out
from the mansion.
“Leave them
all to me,” Uvogin asked them to continue the mission without him.
“They are
too many. We can kill them but we need more time. Go ahead to finish the
mission and I’ll accompany Uvo.” Feitan seconded the big guy.
“Let’s
rendezvous inside the mansion after that.” Chrollo gave his orders.
Pakunoda
brought out her revolver and fired while trying to reach the main door of the
mansion. Chrollo who led the way snapped the heads of those who would
get in his way. The other two Nen users from the mafia group were running along with them. The
pale-faced guy wearing a gray jumpsuit conjured a duplicate version of him
which acted as a decoy to confuse the pursuers. The smaller guy with a striped
jacket and a bandana kept on throwing marbles and pebbles on enemies who were
firing at long range.
“Hurry,”
the conjurer whose name is Sholt called out. He commanded his duplicate to disappear
and the aura that was released earlier came back to him at that instant.
“Last one.”
Pelt threw out an enhanced stone to a sniper that was hidden on one of the second
floor windows.
The four of
them were able to enter the mansion from the main door. A well lit room of red
and yellow welcomed the assailants. There was a gray-haired man standing at the
center of the room and looked as if he was expecting the infiltration. His dark
skin looked even darker with his indigo shirt and black pants. He was also
carrying a bowl which appeared to hold something that moves very fast. It had
no water but the two silver-colored fishes are contented to swim inside of it.
“Welcome to
my humble abode,” the old man stated. “It has been a very long time since I had visitors.”
“Pakunoda,”
Chrollo whispered softly to his ally. At first sight, he was able to estimate
the amount of hazard that they were on. “This man is dangerous. Those things
inside the bowl should be avoided. Don’t make a single contact with it.”
“Okay.” She
reloaded her revolver with bullets and aimed it to their target.
“Your mafia
heads are dirt bags. I should have known from the start that they’ll stab me at
the back when the time comes.” Jero Pysgodu continued.
The guy
wearing a gray jumpsuit suddenly attacked from Jero’s back. Another guy of the
same outfit appeared a few meters in front of the old man ready to throw a
lethal chop.
“Indoor
Fish,” Jero immediately sent out the fishes inside the bowl. It became bigger
as it transformed to its normal size which was the same as that of a human. The
first swam to the guy at his back while the latter opened its mouth and tried
to devour the Sholt at the front.
To protect
his ally, Pelt threw some enhanced marbles to the two fishes. Both were hit but
it didn’t stop the fishes from attacking Sholt. Both bodies of the conjurer were
hit by the attack. Sholt’s aura from Jero’s behind vanished into thin air as
the original Sholt was bitten by that scary fish.
Pakunoda
was stunned because of the horrible sight. The duplicate was gone and Sholt’s
torso floated in the air. The lower part of his body was completely devoured by
the old man’s fish. Surprisingly, the unfortunate Nen user was still alive and appeared
to not feeling any kind of pain.
“What kind
of skill was that?” Chrollo asked.
“They are a
pair of conjured fish that survives a closed room. He will feel it when the
fishes are gone. Death comes instantly afterwards. Be thankful of me for
granting you a painless death.” Jero laughed at the remains of Sholt.
Pelt went
berserk and hurled a lot of things at the direction of the fishes and its
master. The old man was fast enough to
dodge the marbles while the Indoor Fishes turned their direction to the
enhancer.
Pakunoda
fired her first shot at Jero but the white-haired man evaded it effortlessly.
“He was
incredibly fast.” Chrollo thought to himself.
Their
target disappeared from his original place. Pakunoda was surprised that the old
man appeared on her left side and was about to land a punch on her face…
(to x be x continued)
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| Genei Ryodan vs. Indoor Fish |
