Chapter 48: The Milsy Wetlands (Part II)
"It's fine," Osren said with a calm smile, waving off the group's concern. "Just a small matter. I'll catch up soon."
He had planned to explain further, but the world around them suddenly began to change.
A faint, silvery mist — delicate as spun silk — began to curl up from the swamp, spreading quietly across the ground.
Thin tendrils thickened into clouds, drifting in slow, ghostly waves until the entire Milsy Wetlands were swallowed in a sheet of white.
Within moments, it was as if a veil had been drawn over the world.
The air grew cold. The horizon vanished.
"Fog…" Osren whispered, taking a steadying breath.
The others quickly noticed too. Visibility dropped to barely a meter. Even Gon's sharp eyes and Osren's trained senses couldn't make out Kurapika and Leorio's shapes behind them anymore.
The real trial had begun.
Many examinees assumed this was just another endurance test — another long, grueling run to wear them down before reaching the second phase.
But they were wrong.
This wasn't a simple marathon.
The fog was part of the trap.
The Hunter Exam was never merciful, and this stage was no exception. In the mist-shrouded swamp, where direction and distance lost meaning, danger hid in every ripple and shadow.
"Osren?" Gon called out, raising his voice when the figure ahead began to blur.
"I'm fine!" Osren shouted back. "Stick to the plan — stay alert and move as we discussed!"
"Gon, let's move to the front," Killua said after a moment of thought, glancing at the thickening fog. "It's safer there."
"Yeah," Gon agreed. "If we lose sight of the examiner, that'll be bad."
Killua frowned slightly, his tone sharpening. "That's not the main issue. The real problem is Hisoka."
"Huh?" Gon blinked. "Why would we need to stay away from him?"
"Because," Killua said grimly, "that guy's patience has run out. I can smell it. He's been holding back since the last test, but now that the fog's here… he won't resist any longer."
His voice was flat, almost detached — the voice of someone who had seen this kind of killing intent before.
"He's going to hunt," Killua continued, eyes narrowing. "This mist is perfect cover. I bet he'll use it to start killing people."
Gon looked at him, genuinely confused. "But how do you know? You're sure?"
Killua's lips twisted in a faint, humorless smile. "You're wondering how I can tell, right? It's the smell."
"Smell?" Gon echoed, puzzled.
Killua nodded, his silver hair faintly glinting through the fog. "When someone's about to kill… the air around them changes. Their blood, their breath, even their heartbeat — it carries a scent. Hisoka's bloodlust stinks stronger than anyone I've ever met."
Gon's brow furrowed. The concept was foreign to him — using scent to detect intent. For him, the world was still straightforward: people were good or bad, not something in between.
Killua sighed softly. "He and I… we're the same kind of person."
Gon blinked, startled. "Really? You don't seem like him at all."
Killua chuckled, a trace of melancholy in his tone. "That's because, unlike him, I've learned how to hide it. To disguise it. Just like that Human-Faced Ape earlier."
He tilted his head back, gazing up into the endless white mist. "You'll understand one day, Gon."
For a moment, the fog seemed to close in tighter, muting all sound.
Somewhere in the distance, a faint scream echoed — sharp, brief, and then gone.
The hunt had begun.
Osren faintly caught fragments of Killua's words through the mist, but there was no chance to respond.
"Kid," he thought with an inward sigh, "you're too naïve. Your cover was blown ages ago."
"Osren! Kurapika! Leorio!" Gon's voice echoed through the thick fog, loud and clear despite the muffling air. "Killua says it's safer to move up front!"
Because of the dense mist, their spacing had stretched wider and wider. Within moments, several other examinees had slipped between them — some deliberately, some by accident.
It was the Hunter Exam, after all. No one here was going to politely make way for the kids out of "respect."
Still, Gon's loud voice carried far enough for everyone to hear.
The others' reactions varied — Osren couldn't see their faces, but he imagined a mix of confusion and determination. He, however, barely managed to keep his footing as the mud beneath him gave way. His foot slipped, and he nearly fell flat on his face.
"Too slippery… perfect place for an ambush."
Meanwhile, several of the savvier participants — hearing Gon's shout — quietly increased their pace, quickly overtaking Killua's group.
Killua noticed immediately. His expression twitched, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple.
"Great," he muttered under his breath. "Now we've got a herd."
The fog distorted everything — sound, distance, direction. All he could do was listen to the heavy steps splashing past them and curse internally.
"Idiots!" Leorio's frustrated shout echoed from somewhere behind. "If I could run faster, don't you think I already would?!"
"Just… try!" Gon yelled back, his tone more encouraging than commanding.
He trusted Killua's instincts — and his own gut — that something bad was coming. Whatever it was, staying behind wasn't an option.
Leorio groaned but still forced his legs to move faster. His lungs burned, but the urgency in Gon's voice pushed him forward.
Killua, running at the front, glanced back at Gon's shouting form and shook his head in disbelief.
"This guy has zero sense of competition," he muttered. "Even in a death trap, he's worried about everyone else."
Kurapika's sharp eyes flicked through the fog. "The mist's getting thicker," he warned, tension edging into his usually calm tone.
"Yeah," Leorio agreed between gasps. "Can't even see the people in front anymore…"
And it was true — those who had been just meters ahead were now gone, swallowed whole by the swirling white. Only the faint splashes of running feet remained.
Kurapika's hand twitched near his chain as his instincts screamed danger. "If we lose visibility like this, we'll be separated. But staying close to that man might be worse."
He had caught a fleeting glimpse — a pale silhouette gliding through the fog like a phantom. Hisoka.
Even a second's sight of him had raised goosebumps across his skin.
"I'd better keep my distance," he muttered, lengthening his stride.
"Hey–yo! Hey–yo!"
Leorio's strange rhythm broke the tension for an instant. He was panting heavily, chanting under his breath as if to keep himself moving.
Kurapika shot him a sidelong glance, equal parts exasperated and amused. "And of course, I can't just leave you behind," he said dryly, keeping pace beside him.
But as the two pressed forward, the real danger began to creep in.
The fog thickened — and within it, something moved.
A faint sound — "chii-chii, juu-juu" — echoed through the haze. Then came the fluttering.
Moth-like creatures emerged from the mist — dozens, then hundreds, with translucent wings that glimmered faintly blue.
And with them came wisps of strange, shimmering smoke.
"Kurapika! Leorio!" Osren's voice rang out from somewhere nearby, sharp and urgent. "Don't breathe the smoke! Cover your noses — and don't touch the moths!"
Both turned instinctively. Though they couldn't see him clearly, the tone in Osren's voice carried unmistakable authority.
Kurapika reacted instantly, pressing a sleeve over his nose and veering away from the cloud of insects.
Leorio followed suit, copying the movement almost on reflex.
They barely made it in time.
The examinees around them — those who hesitated, who didn't hear or react fast enough — began to collapse, one after another.
Bodies hit the ground with dull thuds, the air thick with the sweet, cloying scent of the moths' poison. Within seconds, dozens lay unconscious, faces pale, eyes rolled back.
Leorio's breath came fast, muffled behind his arm. "That was… close."
Kurapika nodded grimly. "Too close. If we hadn't listened—"
They didn't finish the thought. Both instinctively scanned for Osren, but he was already gone — vanished into the mist.
For a moment, they considered following him. But with no visibility and no idea how far the poisonous swarm extended, it was too risky.
"Let's keep going," Kurapika decided.
"Yeah," Leorio agreed. "And next time, I'm not questioning anything that kid says."
The two surged forward once more, the fog swallowing their silhouettes.
Behind them, the tranquil beauty of the Milsy Wetlands was gone.
The swamp had shown its true face — predatory, venomous, alive.
And for every step the examinees took forward, another unseen threat was waiting in the mist.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in that same haze, Osren ran quietly, scanning the ground.
He'd noticed something strange earlier — a sign hidden near the tunnel's entrance.
Now, with the chaos as cover, he finally had the chance to investigate.
Every step he took was deliberate, his eyes flicking from the mist to the mud, searching for what he knew was buried here.
Everything was unfolding exactly as planned.
---