The warehouse creaked as a piece of ceiling gave way and slammed to the floor, sending up a cloud of dust and splinters.
Feitan wiped a cut from his cheek and turned to the two crumpled bodies at his feet.
"Too slow," he muttered.
Shalnark sat cross-legged nearby, panting. He glanced up and spoke.
"I told you to let me prepare before running in..."
Feitan rolled his eyes. "It's not like it would have changed anything."
"It would've saved me some stress," Shalnark said, brushing some ash off his sleeve. "But hey, who doesn't love a little surprise?"
A scream echoed from another room, then abruptly cut off. Phinks emerged moments later, brushing dust off his jacket. His calm expression didn't match the blood on his knuckles.
"You guys finished? I tried asking my guy some questions while fighting, but he didn't answer..."
The rest of the building was chaos. Broken chairs, shattered lights, bullet holes, and pools of blood scattered across the floor.
Pakunoda and Franklin walked out of a back hallway, looking a bit roughed up. Uvogin trailed behind them, his boots crunching broken glass. Nobunaga followed, sheathing his blade with a quiet click.
Franklin stood near a collapsed wall, arms folded. "Any of your guys know Hatsu?"
"Ours didn't, I think they were beginners like us..." Shalnark said.
From above, Chrollo's footsteps echoed down the metal stairway. He moved silently, coat fluttering slightly as he stepped down to join them.
Behind him, Machi stepped down the stairway. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes scanned the room, catching every detail. A small smear of blood ran along her sleeve, though whether it was hers or not was unclear.
"It's done," he said.
Phinks raised an eyebrow. "What about Loki? Does he need help fighting the boss of these guys?"
"He should be fine. Did any of you guys get any information?"
Shalnark and Feitan glanced at each other and spoke up.
"From what we got, it seems like these guys hire a lot of mercenary groups to do their work. These guys are just the main dealers."
Chrollo nodded once, but his gaze lingered on the debris-littered hallway. His eyes, usually unreadable, held a quiet calculation. He ran a hand through his hair, slow and deliberate, before finally saying, "Let's move out."
Uvogin let out a loud yawn. "About time. I was getting bored."
"You're always bored," Nobunaga said, elbowing him lightly.
"Yeah, well, watching you swing a sword around for twenty minutes after I was finished isn't exactly interesting," Uvogin retorted.
Nobunaga's head was instantly covered in black lines.
***********
Outside, Loki leaned against a burnt-out car, with his hands in his coat pockets. Ash clung to his clothes, and a faint line of blood had dried along his mask.
His eyes scanned the horizon while faint smoke curled from behind him as he waited.
"Hello, my friends! Happy hunting, I hope?" he asked curiously as the group approached.
Machi was the first to step out into the fading light, ahead of the others. She didn't speak, only tilted her head slightly as the calm wind brushed past. Her hands were in her pockets, but her posture stayed alert, eyes narrowing at the burnt husk of the car ahead.
"Not too bad..." Phinks muttered, stretching his neck with a loud crack.
"How was it?" Chrollo asked.
"He was strong. I had a lot of trouble with him..." Loki said, slightly exhausted.
Shalnark frowned.
"You serious? What was his ability?"
"He was a Transmuter who made his body mimic a spring. He could store all the energy I sent at him. The only reason I beat him was because it burned too much of his aura."
Feitan looked intrigued. "So he took damage and reflected it?"
"More like he absorbed pressure and exploded out. Had to force him into overuse."
Pakunoda looked at him. "Did you find anything out?"
Loki clenched his fists slightly before releasing them. The information he got after torture didn't ease his anger.
In truth, it made his anger stronger. A cold, bitter thought pulsed behind his mask.
'No wonder the Phantom Troupe slaughtered the Kurta Clan... It wasn't just for the money.'
Loki didn't feel satisfaction from learning new information. Only a hollow ache and a slow-burning rage.
Loki's eyes turned cold. "The people who did it have already left. They left at dawn, just after we started heading over here."
Feitan looked up. "Who was it?"
Loki paused. "The Kurta Clan."
The air went still.
Even the distant hum of wind through the hollowed buildings seemed to
fade.
Shalnark tilted his head. "Never heard of them."
"They're from the north-east, a small but tight-knit tribe. They are known for their eyes that glow red when they are emotionally unstable. But apparently... they have been taking jobs outside to raise some money."
Everyone's teeth grit at the news.
Chrollo broke the silence. "I assume they're long gone."
"Apparently, they were working as mercenaries trying to make some money. According to the information I know, they have multiple trained Nen users. Some of them are extremely talented as well..." Loki replied.
Saying this, Loki's thoughts drifted to Kurapika, who was able to wipe out multiple members of the Troupe in the future.
'We can't let that happen again. I'll make sure we get everyone this time around.' Loki thought with a fierce look in his eyes.
Phinks's fists clenched. "So what! Are we just going to let them get away with this..."
"We won't... We know who they are now." Chrollo said.
Everyone glanced at Chrollo after hearing this.
Machi shifted slightly, her jaw clenched. She didn't say anything, but the tension in her stance said enough.
Even Uvogin looked uncharacteristically serious, and Nobunaga rested his hand on his hilt with a twitch of frustration.
"Just because we can't beat them now doesn't mean we won't be able to in the future. I'm guessing they were doing this to make money for their tribe, so we can always just go to the home of the Kurta clan."
Everyone's eyes brightened slightly.
"So what do we do then?" Pakunoda asked.
Loki glanced at them all, then looked back toward the trail of smoke from the ruined warehouse.
"Now we get stronger and make sure we're never this weak again."
Chrollo nodded slightly in agreement while Uvogin cracked his knuckles, visibly eager to get stronger.
"Loki's right... At this point, he is the only one who has fully created his own Hatsu. We all need to create our own Hatsu while continuing the basics." Chrollo said before glancing at the rest of the group.
"I can help you all and explain everything I know," Loki chimed in.
Franklin crossed his arms. "How long do we train?"
Loki looked up at the clouds. "Until we're strong enough to take what we want... and right now, I want revenge."
Feitan smirked.
"We in Meteor City always take what we want and when we want."
Phinks grinned as he punched the palm of his hand.
"Hahaha.... That's right! We always take what we want!"
Loki smirked beneath his mask as he straightened himself.
"Let's head home then and get started. I personally don't want to wait too long to give some comfort to Sheila and Sarasa."
Everyone nodded slightly with a serious look on their face as they began to head home.
'Don't worry, Sheila, Sarasa... Soon I'll send that whole clan to hell to comfort your souls!'
Loki thought with a crazy look in his eyes that everyone else seemed to mirror.