Chapter 158: Revenge Is Forbidden!
"Master."
While they spoke, David and Lily approached with four surviving Shadow Beasts.
"Hm."
Haze turned around and acknowledged them with a faint nod.
He paid no real attention to the Shadow Beasts themselves ... only gave a few quiet instructions to Owl.
As for the rest, it was up to them.
If they wanted to die, so be it…
Unexpectedly, however, besides Owl, three others had chosen not to fight ... less arrogant than the rest, unwilling to face the Phantom Troupe head-on.
Haze had assumed only Owl and Worm would survive, yet now Porcupine and Bat had joined as well.
These two had once participated in the assault against Franklin, so they understood the Troupe's horror better than anyone.
Sick Dog and the other one, on the other hand, had nearly died at Franklin's hands back then, and still believed themselves brave… Typical fools.
"Is it over?"
Owl looked toward the thick fog, from where faint sounds of battle still echoed.
He couldn't see anything ... but he knew someone was fighting Spider in there.
Owl remained calm.
He had respected Haze deeply ever since the hospital incident; the swirling Phantom Mist and Haze's flawless control of the battlefield no longer surprised him.
Worm had also witnessed Haze's terrifying power firsthand.
Porcupine and Bat, however, were different.
They had only seen Haze injured in the past ...
and now, as they looked at him again, they could hardly recognize the man before them.
That piercing gaze alone filled their chests with invisible pressure, making their hearts pound uncontrollably.
Silently, they thought following Owl had been the right choice.
Otherwise, they'd already be corpses.
"Hm… Hisoka and Chrollo."
Haze nodded slightly.
"Heh…"
Owl chuckled quietly.
One real, one fake ... two spiders fighting to the death. Interesting.
The Shadow Beasts under Owl also noticed Machi and Quirk standing not far away, glaring at them.
But without Haze's command, none dared to move.
Judging from how things were unfolding, everything was going according to his plan.
Several of the Shadow Beasts had learned through Owl that, after this incident, the Field Family would soon control every major underworld syndicate in existence.
However, such a massive restructuring couldn't happen overnight ... doing so would trigger chaos.
Owl assumed the Field Family would soon reappoint the Ten Dons, choosing only loyal confidants.
Then the new Elders would each be assigned to manage different territories…
The Field Family would rule from the shadows, unseen yet absolute.
The Mafia would undergo a revolutionary purification and unification.
Haze closed his eyes again.
Through his ghost's shared vision, he could see the scene clearly ...
Hisoka was surrounded, slaughtering endless waves of gangsters who charged toward him under Chrollo's control.
There were too many of them.
Group after group arrived, unaware of what was happening, their foreheads and skin branded with the Mark of Humanity ... the Nen seal that turned them into Chrollo's puppets.
Meanwhile, Chrollo's Transfer Student ability allowed him to disguise himself, and the phantom mist obscured vision ...
from the shadows, he attacked whenever Hisoka's guard slipped.
Each time Hisoka left an opening, Chrollo struck with precision,
then vanished again ... teleporting through coordinate exchange or blending into the mob.
Before long, Hisoka's body was soaked in blood; he could barely stand.
Though his Nen power had intensified, the energy drawn from his life force was fading.
His vitality was running out…
Finally, Hisoka fell to his knees, unable to fight any longer.
At that moment, Chrollo seized the opportunity.
Materializing behind Hisoka, Chrollo drove a sharpened wooden shard ... picked up from the ground ... straight into the back of Hisoka's neck.
The tip pierced through his throat, a bright red stream splattering out.
Hisoka's pupils widened.
Disguised as another man, Chrollo gently caught Hisoka's collapsing body, almost as if cherishing his dying breath.
He whispered softly into Hisoka's ear:
"This… is the end of your life."
Then he let go.
Thud.
Hisoka's corpse fell to the ground, spreading a crimson pool across the floor.
His expression froze ... eyes wide open, full of lingering hatred.
Chrollo slowly stood up, canceled his transformation, and returned to his true form.
He stepped out of the mist, back into the open plaza.
Haze opened his eyes.
"That assimilation ability again… can it alter matter itself?" he murmured, analyzing calmly.
Even if Hisoka had been utterly drained, it would have been difficult to pierce him fatally with a mere wooden stick ...
unless, like before, Chrollo had reinforced it with Nen, transforming it on contact.
In short… Hisoka's death wasn't unjust.
He hadn't lost in skill ... he'd lost to Chrollo's diversity of Nen abilities.
A fighter with many techniques can adapt and improvise endlessly ... making them nearly impossible to defend against.
Hisoka, by contrast, relied on a single Nen ability.
Though he used it with creativity, its pattern could still be read.
Moreover, Chrollo's Nen had been further amplified by Candy Bean.
"Captain!"
Quirk shouted joyfully, seeing Chrollo victorious.
Chrollo's white shirt was shredded and blood-stained, but compared to Hisoka, he looked almost composed.
"Can we leave now?"
He looked toward his two remaining comrades of the Phantom Troupe, then calmly turned to Haze.
"Of course."
Haze nodded, hands still in his pockets.
Chrollo glanced at Machi and Quirk.
They walked toward him ...
but just as the three were about to move together,
the air suddenly burst with pressure, the shockwave rippling through everyone nearby.
A dark shadow flashed past.
It was Haze's hand ... extended, then withdrawn in an instant.
The calm that Machi had just regained froze again.
Beside her, Quirk's head exploded like a watermelon, scattering blood and brain matter across her pale face.
Her delicate body trembled uncontrollably; her complexion turned ghostly white.
That suffocating terror ...
the sense that death could strike at any second, from a power utterly beyond their reach ...
was unbearable.
Under that overwhelming force, resistance was meaningless.
Chrollo had expected this; his expression didn't change.
Seeing Machi frozen, he stepped forward, lifted her gently into his arms, and looked straight at Haze.
"Now… can we go?"
Haze smiled faintly and nodded.
But just as Chrollo turned to leave ... he froze.
Not far away stood a blond youth, his clothes drenched in fresh blood, his eyes glowing crimson.
It was Kurapika, who had just killed Duan.
"I made a deal with Hisoka," Haze said calmly.
"I won't touch Machi. As for your victory, I'm willing to let you go as a reward.
However… he didn't make that deal.
I won't intervene ... but whether he lets you leave or not depends on you."
Kurapika said nothing, his murderous aura intensifying.
Chrollo chuckled quietly, closing his eyes.
He didn't recognize the boy ... but the killing intent rolling off him was unmistakable.
"Machi…"
After a brief pause, Chrollo opened his eyes again, gazing down at the woman in his arms.
"Hm?"
Her color slowly returned.
"Go first. I'll cover you."
"Put me down," she whispered after a moment, realizing who stood before them.
Her tone softened.
The meaning was clear ... she wanted to fight beside him.
"Between you and me, only one of us can survive," Chrollo said quietly.
"If I'm not mistaken… that's the man who killed Barov, Kurapika, and Duan.
Quirk is dead. The Nen that hit me earlier has faded… I'm not at full strength anymore."
A cold wind swept through the plaza as the two men stared each other down.
"Go," Chrollo told her firmly.
Machi stepped between them, shaking her head.
"You can't stop him… You'll die in minutes. There's no point trying to buy time.
Leave him to me. Go find Uvogin and Nobunaga ... carry on the will of the Phantom Troupe."
As the chain-wielding boy approached, Chrollo gently pushed Machi aside.
"Remember this," he said softly.
"When you find them, tell them… this is my final order: no revenge."
Haze and the others heard his words clearly.
Haze couldn't help but admire Chrollo's calm composure ...
a true leader, displaying the full poise of a Specialist.
"Go!"
Chrollo's voice was low but firm.
Machi's eyes reddened; she bit her lip and vanished in an instant.
(End of Chapter)