Uvogin, however, wasn't paying him any attention. He turned back toward Larry, completely unfazed. "Hey, you, Larry, was it? Give me a bit to recover first. I still want to fight you," he said, as casually as if he were asking for a warm-up round at a tournament.
Larry tilted his head slightly, an amused smirk playing on his lips. "Are you sure?"
"Of course! I heard you're pretty damn strong, so I, " Uvogin's voice cut off abruptly. A split second later, his entire body froze in place. For the first time in his life, he felt something he had never known before.
A suffocating aura exploded into the air, rolling out in waves from Larry as two immense sources of Nen flared into existence behind him. One glowed an ominous gold, the other a deep, burning orange.
The ground beneath them cracked under the sheer pressure, hard rock fracturing as if it were made of brittle glass. And then, he saw them. Two figures, standing silently behind Larry, radiating a presence so overwhelming that it crushed the air itself. S-Class monsters.
Uvogin was a beast of a man himself, standing over two meters tall, but in front of these two… he felt small. No, worse than that, he felt insignificant. They weren't just strong. They were on an entirely different level, standing on a peak he could never reach no matter how much he fought or trained.
His breath hitched. He wanted to say something, but his throat had dried up. The raw, instinctual survival instinct buried deep in every living creature screamed at him to run, to escape while he still could.
The figures behind Larry stared at him with cold, emotionless eyes, looking at him the same way a person might look at a fly buzzing around their food.
In the past, others had cowered in front of Uvogin, terrified of his strength, overwhelmed by his raw, unrelenting power. But now…Now, he understood what it was like to be on the other side.
This is Larry?
Uvogin's fingers twitched slightly, but his arms felt like lead. A thick layer of sweat coated his skin, and when he finally managed to force his eyes away from the two entities looming behind Larry, he realized something. His body was drenched. Cold sweat.
Larry watched him with mild interest, his earlier smirk fading as he lost interest. He lazily waved his hand. "You can handle the rest, Kurapika."
Uvogin didn't respond. For the first time since the fight started, he wasn't thinking about his friends coming to rescue him. He wasn't thinking about whether they would track him down or break him out.
All he could think about was one thing. Run. Run as fast and as far as possible. Because this wasn't an enemy the Phantom Troupe could afford to fight. This was something else entirely.
But no matter how much he wanted to move, he couldn't. His body was already paralyzed, the powerful nerve toxin coursing through his bloodstream keeping him locked in place.
The chains wrapped around him, tighter than before, suffocating and unbreakable. This wasn't just some random binding technique. This was Judgment Chain, Kurapika's Hatsu, a vow bound by an oath so absolute that breaking it meant death.
Uvogin struggled weakly, his body screaming at him to do something, anything, but he was helpless. The tip of the chain gleamed in the moonlight, sharp and merciless. "Go to hell and repent!" Kurapika roared, his rage-filled voice the last thing Uvogin heard.
Kurapika's blazing red eyes were filled with unrelenting hatred as he drove his chain straight into Uvogin's chest, piercing his heart in one decisive strike. The impact was brutal, there was no struggle, no last-minute resistance.
His once-powerful heart came to a sudden stop. A thin trickle of blood seeped from the corners of his mouth, and his massive frame sagged forward as if the very life had been drained out of him in an instant.
The night fell into eerie silence.
Kurapika stood there, breathless, his body trembling slightly. He had waited years for this moment, the chance to finally take vengeance with his own hands. And now, after so long, it had finally happened. A wave of emotions crashed over him, memories of his fallen clan resurfacing, their screams and suffering echoing in his mind. His eyes stung, and before he realized it, twin streams of tears slipped down his cheeks.
But this was just the beginning.
Uvogin was only the first. The blood debt of the Kurta clan had yet to be fully repaid.
Standing behind him, Larry watched the scene unfold with a small, knowing smile. Unseen to Kurapika, the final blow that ensured Uvogin's immediate death had come from Gardevoir's silent attack, delivered in perfect synchronization with Kurapika's strike. This was Kurapika's revenge, but Larry made sure he got the full experience he deserved.
Just as the tension began to settle, Larry's voice cut through the night. "Alright, you've been following us long enough. Isn't it time you came out?" His tone was calm, but the words carried weight, breaking Kurapika out of his daze
.
Kurapika turned sharply, gripping his chain. "Is it the Phantom Troupe?" He assumed they had been discovered and that the enemy was already making their move.
But what emerged from the ground was not what he had expected. A figure slithered up from beneath the earth, its face twisted in an ugly display of fanaticism. "As expected of Lord Larry… You're as sharp as ever."
Kurapika's eyes narrowed. "The Shadow Beast… Earthworm."
Compared to the fierce and deadly squad that once worked under the Ten Dons, only Earthworm remained, the rest either dead or captured. His body was in rough shape, several large bullet wounds riddled his flesh, each the size of a walnut.
Yet, strangely, there was no blood. The holes in his body were slowly closing as if being stitched together from the inside. He was using his muscle control to stop the bleeding and regenerate, but it was clear he was hanging by a thread. His Nen aura was weak, a mere shadow of what it once was.
Larry's expression barely changed as he stared at the creature before him. "Why are you following me?" His voice was indifferent, almost dismissive, like someone entertaining an unwelcome guest.
If it had been a beautiful woman staring at him with such devotion, maybe he wouldn't have minded. But this? This was just unpleasant.
"I want to follow you, Lord Larry!" Earthworm declared with complete sincerity, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
A long pause followed. Larry blinked once. Then again. "...Huh." He glanced at Kurapika, who was looking just as lost. Then, with a resigned sigh, he rubbed his temple.
In the end, Earthworm didn't get what he wanted.
Larry had no interest in keeping someone around who was weak, unremarkable, and, let's be honest, ugly. However, instead of outright rejecting him, he saw an opportunity. He sent Earthworm back to his position as a Shadow Beast, using him as an informant.
As someone still technically within the underworld hierarchy, Earthworm could relay valuable intelligence when needed. And just like that, the desperate assassin agreed to become a 'glorious' spy. Whether it was a matter of survival or simply blind devotion, Earthworm convinced himself that it was all for the sake of Larry.
With Uvogin's body buried without much ceremony, Larry and Kurapika returned to their hotel, their mission for the night complete.