Chapter 69: Razor, You Just Wait!
"We accidentally triggered a God Script left by Ging, which transported us into the tomb of King Zhenwu Veyrgo..."
In the end, Kai didn't spin a complete fairytale. He gave Razor a simplified, heavily edited version of their adventures on Ghost Soul Island.
In this version, he painted himself and Shizuku as simple freelance Hunters, just like the others, who had stumbled into the tomb by pure luck while on a job for the Ochima government. He casually mentioned finding Ging's message and meeting his student, Alan'tr'iel.
Razor had dismissed his two muscle-bound Devils, sending them off to guard the perimeter while he listened to Kai's story alone.
Ging was a Ruin Hunter. Razor knew that much.
But honestly, he didn't know much else about the man's life outside of Greed Island.
Razor had been a death row inmate, a man with a mountain of corpses in his wake. Ging had captured him, thrown him in jail, and then... offered him a job. He'd recruited him to be a Game Master for this insane, magical island.
Ging was strong. Terrifyingly so. He was the only person who had ever beaten Razor so thoroughly that he had no choice but to respect him.
Ging was also a genius lunatic. Only someone with his chaotic, visionary mind could have conceived of a game like Greed Island—and actually made it real.
But Razor's knowledge of Ging was frozen in time, from back when Ging was barely twenty.
Now, hearing from this boy that Ging had a student who was one of the richest men in the world...
Ging never stops moving, Razor thought, a hint of admiration in his stoic expression. As a Hunter... what is he chasing now?
Razor listened to Kai's tale about King Zhenwu without flinching. His face remained a mask of calm indifference. Experienced Nen users didn't wear their hearts on their sleeves.
Meanwhile, the two Devils were busy inspecting the unconscious Kortopi.
A Phantom Troupe member. An A-Class bounty head. Capturing him alive was worth billions. Their eyes gleamed with greed as they patted him down.
Shizuku watched them impassively.
They tore open Kortopi's tattered shirt and found it immediately: a black spider tattoo with the number 12.
"After we left Ghost Soul Island, we got on an airship to head to another continent," Kai continued his story. "But, just our luck, we ran into more Spiders. And even worse luck, there was a guy on board with a grudge against them who decided to blow the whole ship up. And the worst luck of all... we ran into that smiling creep you just ejected, Pariston Hill."
Kai pointed a thumb at the unconscious Kortopi. "The ship blew. The other two Spiders bailed. This guy was left behind. His ability lets him copy objects with his left hand. Thanks to him, we survived the crash. But I don't know if the other passengers have been rescued yet, or if they're still floating out there."
"You guys can keep him," Kai said, waving a hand dismissively. "Use him as a slave, turn him in for the bounty, whatever. But if you're planning to kill him..."
Kai paused, pretending to think. "His copies last 24 hours. But if he dies... I'm not sure if the copies vanish instantly. So, if you want to be safe—and decent—you should probably wait until tomorrow morning around 7:00 or 8:00 AM before you execute him."
Razor stood with his hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable. "If I recall correctly," he said, his voice deep and rumbling, "you said 'Ging's student sent me with a message.' I've heard the story. Where's the message?"
The Phantom Troupe are mass murderers. Killing them is a public service. The sooner his head rolls, the better...
Kai blinked. He wisely decided not to say that out loud.
Razor himself was a former mass murderer. Saying that to his face would be like insulting a monk in a temple.
"Can you just... not use that magic card on us?" Kai asked, trying a different tact. "We have a boat. We have legs. We can leave on our own. We don't need your help..."
"If it were up to me," Razor said calmly, "I'd invite you to the island's town for a drink. But it's not."
"Even the Game Masters are bound by the rules," he explained, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Entry and exit to Greed Island must be done through the proper in-game channels. Anyone else is an Invader. And Invaders... must be removed. To play the game, you must follow the rules. Don't you agree?"
As he spoke, he raised the ELIMINATE card again.
The Azian Continent! Kai stared at the card's description text, mentally screaming. Kakin territory!
"I really, really can't go to the Azian Continent!" Kai said, his face dead serious. "I have a condition... a disease... If I go there, I'll die."
Really? Shizuku looked at him, surprised.
Kai reached over and pinched her cheek, turning her face away. She blinked innocently.
Razor lowered the card slightly. He looked at the three birds perched on Shizuku's shoulders—the grey sparrow and the two crows.
"I can send you somewhere else," he said. "But first... answer one question. That Spider over there. Was he under your control?"
Kai hesitated. How much should he reveal?
But before he could answer, Razor pulled another card from his pocket.
"Using spell..." he muttered, and then slapped the air in their direction.
FLASH!
Instantly, Kai and Shizuku were enveloped in a blinding white light.
"RAZOR!"
Kai screamed, glaring through the glow. Beside him, Shizuku raised Blinky, ready to strike.
"YOU JUST WAIT—!"
Kai's threat was cut short. With a twin WHOOSH, the two balls of light shot into the sky and vanished, teleporting them away.
Razor stood alone on the beach.
'Since they weren't with the Spider...' he thought.
He walked over to the unconscious Kortopi, his mind working.
'Earlier, the boy slapped his forehead. That must have been the release trigger.'
'He released his control the moment I pulled out the ELIMINATE card.'
'The only explanation is that the boy, Kai, already knew the rules of Greed Island. Otherwise, he wouldn't have believed the card's power so instantly.'
'But why release the Spider right then? unless... unless he knew that my spell would interfere with his control.'
'That boy... he knows exactly how the Game Master spells work.'
Razor's mind raced, analyzing the encounter. It wasn't that he had any designs on Kai; it was just the habit of a veteran Nen user. Analyze everything. Understand everything. Keep the mind sharp.
Smack. Smack.
Kortopi was slapped awake again.
He groaned, opening his eyes. But this time, instead of the terrifying child, he was looking up into the narrowed eyes of a towering, muscular man in a t-shirt.
(End of Chapter)