Chapter 50: Spider Extermination (Part VII)

Chrollo had never expected Hisoka to be so difficult to deal with.

He had originally thought he could quickly finish him off and then go support the Spider members, but now it seemed that if he were even the slightest bit careless, he could be caught by his opponent and devoured alive.

This mad dog!

The massive fifth-floor banquet hall had long since been reduced to ruins, and both men had exhausted all their skills in a life-or-death struggle.

Hisoka continuously plastered [Bungee Gum] across the surrounding terrain, huge boulders, sharp fractured steel bars, the ceiling, and the curtains—everything and anything usable was under his control, at his beck and call. At the same time, relying on the powerful elastic properties of his Nen (rubber), he could move, dodge, and pursue at ultra-high speeds.

At this moment, Hisoka pulled himself up to the ceiling, suddenly kicking out both legs in mid-air. Through his Nen, his toes yanked on a sharp steel pipe and a stone cone hidden in a distant spot, hurling them fiercely toward Chrollo.

Chrollo held his book in his right hand and rapidly flipped through several pages, while a vortex-shaped tattoo appeared on the palm of his left hand. Shortly after, black smoke poured rapidly out of the tattoo.

After the steel pipe and stone cone crashed into the black smoke, they vanished completely. Chrollo gently waved his left hand, and the black smoke immediately condensed into a large number of sharp, long, pillar-like shapes, identical in form to the steel pipes that had just been swallowed up.

With a wave of Chrollo's left hand, the black smoke spears shot rapidly toward Hisoka on the ceiling, and the dense rain of spears riddled the ceiling with holes in the blink of an eye.

However, Hisoka had already used his Nen a step ahead to pull himself to a safe location. He likewise waved his arm, yanking the tattered curtain on the main stage of the banquet hall far away through the air, causing it to unfold and fly toward them.

Chrollo retreated at breakneck speed while raising his left hand and clenching it fiercely. All the black smoke spears at the top of the ceiling detonated simultaneously, causing a massive amount of rubble to crash downward. The curtain that had just flown over was instantly smashed into tattered, shapeless shreds, revealing a huge boulder hidden beneath it.

Seeing the opening, Hisoka simply used his Nen to grip the distant giant boulder with both arms, hurling it fiercely at Chrollo like a shotput.

Chrollo exerted force through his feet, forcibly changing his direction of retreat to narrowly avoid the direct impact of the boulder. Just as he raised his left arm to block the flying debris, Hisoka appeared right behind him.

A cold glade flashed, and the bizarrely shaped Bian-style knife slid out from Chrollo's waist, lightly grazing Hisoka's incoming right fist and shearing off three fingers.

Though the lethal poison smeared on the blade had been cleansed by the Nen flames of absolute sovereignty, the sharpness of the Bian-style knife was still not something a mortal flesh and blood body could resist.

However, Hisoka's sneak attack was not a complete failure; three fingers traded for a golden opportunity! He whipped out his right leg and swept it fiercely into Chrollo's left flank, sending the latter stumbling sideways.

It's not over yet!

Hisoka's kicked-out right leg was not retracted; his toe had already adhered his Nen to Chrollo when he struck him just now. You can't run away!

[Bungee Gum—Maximum Speed Retraction!]

Hooking his right foot back fiercely! Chrollo's momentum as he flew out was instantly halted, and he was pulled back at high speed toward Hisoka's position!

The muscles on Hisoka's left arm bulged, and a heavy punch smashed viciously into the flying Chrollo!

Bang!

Chrollo was struck by the immense force and slammed heavily onto the ground. Hisoka prepared to pull him up and hammer him with another punch, but grabbed empty air. Chrollo used the impact to execute a ground roll, narrowly avoiding Hisoka's high-speed downward stomp. Only a piece of clothing coated in [Bungee Gum] fluttered in the air.

Looking at Chrollo, who had retreated to a safe position, Hisoka did not pursue him. Instead, he raised his right palm and looked at the missing fingers: "This is a bit troublesome. I can't use my right hand for precise Nen manipulation."

"Mutually exclusive."

Chrollo clutched his left lower abdomen and slowly stood up. The two blows from Hisoka just now had hit him hard, fracturing several ribs.

The two men were about to resume fighting when they suddenly stopped in their tracks at the same time.

Within the dark banquet hall, two new figures had appeared at some unknown point.

Heather sat leisurely on a massive boulder, looking like a spectator, while Kurapika stood not far beside him, his pants and shoes below the knees entirely missing.

"Don't mind us, continue."

Seeing both men turn their gazes toward his side, Heather waved a hand: "Shall we switch people, Hisoka-san?"

"If you dare to interfere with the duel between Chrollo and me, even if it's you, I will never forgive you!"

Hisoka's tone was as slick as a venomous snake, and it was evident that he was entirely serious.

Heather crossed his arms and drew out his words: "Then please make it quick! Didn't I say so before? If you haven't managed to finish off Chrollo by the time I take care of all the other members, don't blame me for kill-stealing. I'll give you three more minutes!"

Chrollo frowned slightly: "...Are you saying the others were all killed by you?"

"BINGO~"

Heather snapped his fingers: "You guessed it, but unfortunately there's no prize."

Watching the three hunters glare at him with predatory eyes, Chrollo let out a soft breath and asked, "...That Mind-Severing Blade, was the divination fake? Was it swapped at the cafe?"

"Correct."

"Previously, I was guessing that failing to steal Neon Nostrade's Nen ability was because she concealed part of the divination ability from me. Now it seems that was also your handiwork?"

"Guessed right again. It seems the new weapon's [Protective Seal] is very effective against petty Nen thieves like you."

"Illumi betrayed me?"

"You guessed wrong this time. The eldest young master is exceptionally persistent about his bottom line as an assassin, but I used his life and a massive fortune to buy out the Zoldyck family head's action. Take a guess, out of your four members stationed at the southern suburb base, how many are still alive right now?"

Buzz. At this moment, Heather's phone vibrated. He picked it up, took a look, and broke into a smile:

"The two Zoldyck family heads are indeed formidable; the photographs of the four Phantom Troupe members' heads have already been transmitted over. Now the Phantom Troupe is down to just you, Chrollo Lucilfer."

"...Outmatched in intelligence. I lost and it's not unjust."

A faint sorrow lingered on Chrollo's face, but the astonishing Nen aura around him continued to grow stronger:

"However, I won't just sit here and wait for death. The three of you, come at me together. Let's see how many of you I can drag down with me before I die."

Heather merely waved a hand, looking utterly bored:

"I'm not the type who must personally execute his enemies with his own hands. As long as the enemy is thoroughly dead, I don't really care about the process. Hisoka-san, I'll give you three minutes; when the time is up, step down obediently and let someone else swap in."

"Next is my turn." The chain on Kurapika's right hand materialized anew, evidently fully repaired by the [Egg of Light] along with his wounds.

Heather sat comfortably on the boulder with his arms crossed: "Tch, then I'll go last."

A book bearing a blood-red handprint on its cover appeared in Chrollo's right hand. Silently, he met the gazes of Heather and Kurapika, and facing Hisoka—who wore a manic smile and assumed a fighting stance—he began the final battle of his life.

Dong... Dong... Dong...

In the distance, a muffled, distant bell chimed, sounding like a death knell played for the spiders.