Chapter 12: Both Sides Hurt
Hazestood up, and Illumi followed him.
They seemed to be on the same flight.
But without warning, Hazefelt a faint surge of Nen from behind.
As he began to react Illumi attacked.
His arm moved like a blur, launching a Nen-imbued spike straight at the back of Haze's neck.
With a sharp whoosh, Hazetilted his head slightly dodging as if he had eyes on the back of it. The needle whizzed past his scalp and pierced a nearby stone pillar, leaving a hole the size of a bullet.
That alone was enough to show how deadly the strike was.
Another whoosh
The sneak attack failed, and Illumi immediately launched more Nen spikes, aiming at Haze's vital points.
This time, Hazedidn't dodge.
Instead, he unleashed a fierce burst of Nen, wrapping himself in a defensive shroud. The spikes clattered against it, bouncing off with metallic sounds before falling harmlessly to the ground.
Slowly, Hazeturned around.
Behind his sunglasses, his gaze was cold and sharp.
"Hmm... So you're a Nen user after all."
Illumi, showing no hint of guilt for his sudden ambush, replied casually as though merely testing the waters, unconcerned with provocation or consequence.
Hazeflexed his fingers.
In the next instant, his large hand like a steel claw swung at Illumi's temple.
The strike generated a shockwave, the sound heavy and dull.
But it didn't connect Illumi's figure flickered and vanished.
An assassination technique!
The trademark skills of the Zoldyck family.
As a renowned clan of assassins, the Zoldycks trained in death techniques from childhood shadow steps, joint twists, serpent-like movements.
Killua shared some of these traits.
Illumi had started killing young, and countless lives had already fallen to him.
His combat experience was beyond comprehension.
Haze's pupils constricted.
Just as he was about to react, a shadow flashed behind him a glint of silver appeared, the sharp tip of the Needle of Mind Control inches away from his eardrum.
BANG!
At the last second, Hazeducked and twisted, driving his elbow backward into Illumi's lower abdomen.
For the first time, Illumi's expression changed.
He had been certain utterly certain that Hazecouldn't follow his speed. His eyes hadn't even registered his evasive movement, and yet, somehow he'd both dodged and countered.
Without showing pain, Illumi flipped back, putting distance between them.
He glanced at the tear in his clothes where the blow landed and muttered,
"Bone… cracked…"
Before he could finish, Hazelunged forward again, fingers like blades slicing toward Illumi's throat.
Illumi twisted his ankle midair, narrowly dodging.
Hazepressed forward relentlessly.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The hall erupted into chaos fists and kicks collided at blinding speed, sending nearby civilians fleeing in panic. A blonde woman even screamed.
To onlookers, the two appeared as streaks of shadow flickering, clashing, and vanishing faster than the eye could follow.
Steel chairs bent like plastic under their strikes.
One palm strike from Hazeshattered a stone pillar, debris raining down like bullets.
And yet… despite Haze's overwhelming presence, his attacks rarely landed cleanly.
Apart from that elbow strike, most of his blows were narrowly avoided.
Illumi's arms morphed into whip-like forms, striking from blind angles whenever Hazeapproached.
But to Illumi's surprise, even his most precise attacks failed to restrain the man Haze's sheer strength was monstrous.
A typical Nen user would have been crushed within seconds.
"Such physical resilience… and his Nen control he's reinforcing his body perfectly. He's combining coordination and defense through pure mastery. A martial artist, perhaps? And that dense Nen clearly using Hardening. A drawn-out fight would put me at a disadvantage…"
"His style is simple… but I can't take him down quickly."
The seasoned hunter made his calculation instantly.
By now, the entire area had been evacuated.
Footsteps echoed from afar a heavily armed security unit approached, shields raised and weapons ready.
Seeing this, Illumi decided it was pointless to continue. Not out of fear but because continuing would be tedious and expose his identity.
He couldn't afford that.
In a blur, his body split into five or six shadowy clones, moving ghostlike across the room.
"You're strong,"
spoke multiple Illumis at once.
Haze's ears twitched he could hear the voices but not tell which was real.
"You seem cautious of my methods… Have we met before?"
Illumi's tone was calm, yet his voice came from every direction.
If Hazecouldn't locate the real one within seconds, Illumi would easily escape.
In a fight between masters, even a breath could decide victory or death.
Hazesaid nothing.
A moment later, a business card flew toward him, stabbing into the floor like a knife.
Haze, watching nearby, hadn't even seen where it came from.
"Illumi Zoldyck that's my name."
"If you ever want someone dead, contact me. As a new client, you'll get a discount the harder the target, the smaller the discount."
"As Haze as you can pay… anyone can be handled."
"I don't know how you found me… but since I know who you are, that's enough."
"Farewell."
The Illumis scattered like startled rabbits vanishing in different directions.
Then BOOM!
The stone floor beneath Hazeexploded as his legs bulged with veins like coiled serpents.
In an instant, he launched forward like a cannonball, leaping several meters into the air.
He soared above one fleeing Illumi
CRASH!
A massive hand grabbed Illumi's head and smashed it into the ground with a thunderous impact.
The floor caved in, dust erupting everywhere.
Illumi's skull was pinned beneath Haze's grip his body trembled, unable to move.
His clones vanished instantly.
How?!
Illumi's heart raced. Once again, that terrifying sensation being read.
He was sure Hazecouldn't keep up with his speed or techniques.
If not for that freakish strength and unnatural sensitivity to aura, the man would've died Haze ago.
But how did he predict the real body so precisely when he couldn't even see him move?
"STOP!"
"STOP! You bastards do you hear me?!"
The security captain, sweating and pale, shouted with trembling hands on his gun.
"One more move and I'll shoot!"
Dust cleared.
Two figures came into view
The man in sunglasses straddled the other, pressing his head into the ground.
Illumi's neck twisted painfully under the pressure one more push and it might've snapped.
Hazewas bleeding, a metal needle embedded shallowly in his forehead, defying all normal posture as blood trickled down.
He glanced at the armed guards, then back at Illumi beneath him.
"Three… two… one."
And just like that he released him and stood up.
Both separated in silence.
Hazehad no intention of fighting to the death.
Killing a member of the Zoldyck family would only bring endless trouble.
Besides, while it looked like he had the upper hand he knew the truth.
If they'd gone all out… he would've lost.
Illumi's advantages were obvious speed, precision, experience, and deadly versatility.
He hadn't even shown his full Nen abilities.
It was clear Illumi had expected an easy win, only to be caught off guard by Haze's strength.
And now… they both knew the other's power.
Illumi never underestimated prey, yet Haze's disguise was flawless.
After a year and a half of harsh training, his aura control was impeccable.
He could dance among fireflies and sleep beside beasts that was how in tune he was with his surroundings.
His perception of Nen allowed him to track Illumi's presence no matter how faint.
Even when Illumi concealed his aura almost completely Hazecould still feel it.
Combined with his Iron Shirt and Vajra Finger martial arts, his body was a fortress.
Blood ran down his forehead, staining his shirt.
Illumi, meanwhile, stood with his abdomen bruised and half his face deformed.
Neither had escaped unscathed.
"Hands up! Don't move!"
The trembling captain edged closer, weapon ready.
But against two Nen users, the soldiers never stood a chance.
Before anyone could react, Illumi blurred appearing among the guards.
His fingers flicked, inserting Nen needles into their skulls one by one.
Their bodies froze instantly, faces empty.
Within seconds, the entire team had become puppets.
Even the managers who rushed in were quietly taken under control.
"Looks like it's almost time to leave…"
Illumi glanced at the hallway clock.
Then he handed a ticket to one of his puppets and walked toward the boarding gate.
"Attention, passengers… the incident at Gate 5 has been… resolved. Please… prepare your tickets… and begin boarding."
The announcement came from a trembling puppet administrator, drooling as he spoke into the microphone.
Haze, watching from afar, sighed in relief.
He couldn't afford another ticket and cooperating with security was out of the question.
If he missed this flight, he'd be stranded.
Illumi's "help" had solved that problem.
Haze took the ticket from a puppet woman with a needle in her hair and followed her onto the aircraft.
Shortly after takeoff
Every puppet under Illumi's control committed suicide.
The tragedy caused a brief stir in Gram City.
But on the chaotic Yubian continent, bloody incidents were a daily occurrence and the death tolls far worse.
Before Haze, the world forgot it ever happened.
(End of Chapter)