Chapter 159: Sorry… I Don't Remember
Haze withdrew his Nen ability ...
the ghostly mist that had been swirling throughout the palace.
The eerie green fog slowly dispersed,
and everyone's vision cleared, revealing the scene before them.
Devastation.
Everywhere.
The plaza was littered with corpses and blood;
some puddles had already begun to harden.
In the distance, groups of gangsters wandered aimlessly like headless flies.
Only after the mist faded did they finally see the full extent of the battle ...
and David, head of the Field family.
Most of the gang members didn't recognize Haze or Field Lily.
They only knew David.
Some had heard rumors that the Field family had a crippled relative,
but none had seen him before.
Most of the powerful leaders of the Mafia were already dead.
Those who had not entered the banquet hall were mostly
mid- or low-level bosses.
Haze and Illumi also saw Hisoka's body lying on the ground.
Haze took the lead, walking toward it,
with Illumi following closely behind.
When the surviving mobsters saw David and the Shadow Beasts,
they immediately ran toward them for protection.
Some also noticed Kurapika and Chrollo.
David stepped forward to explain the "situation" to his subordinates ...
of course, with some deliberate modifications to the truth.
"Just one strike…"
Haze knelt beside Hisoka's corpse.
Illumi observed coolly.
"Chrollo really is ruthless."
Haze smirked.
"He's not dead yet."
Illumi raised an eyebrow.
"Not dead? Impossible."
From the look of it, Hisoka was completely lifeless.
Illumi didn't even need to touch him to know there was no pulse.
But Haze was sure of one thing ...
if Hisoka were truly dead,
his soul would've appeared in the mist.
Yet Haze hadn't sensed it.
So… he hadn't died in that explosion after all?
Was his post-mortem Nen actually sustaining him?
Even Haze found it incredible.
He was certain that Hisoka's Nen was keeping him alive ...
but how it was doing so was still a mystery.
After all, Hisoka had always possessed post-death Nen potential;
even in the original story, he had done the same.
Illumi crouched down and examined the wound.
"The bleeding has stopped… strange."
He studied it for a moment before murmuring:
"His Nen naturally has adhesive and regenerative properties.
It can mend burns, even reattach limbs.
But it's not true healing ... it's like gluing things back together.
A disguise.
Still… if his Nen control is precise enough,
he might be able to reconnect blood vessels temporarily ... like a living bandage."
Haze smiled faintly.
"Exactly."
Illumi stroked his chin, skeptical.
"If that's the case, it would take immense focus and time.
Even if he were alive, I doubt he could maintain it for long.
And if it takes too long… he'll die before it's done."
In short ...
if Hisoka's Nen was still active,
he was locked in a desperate struggle against death itself.
A sudden boom thundered behind them.
Illumi turned.
"Ah… looks like a fight's broken out."
Haze looked too.
In the distance, Kurapika lashed his chains like an iron whip,
striking again and again at Chrollo.
Unlike the composed Chrollo who had fought Hisoka earlier,
this one was frantic ... dodging, blocking,
barely managing to keep up.
Kurapika's control over his chains was inhuman ...
flexible, fast, and lethal beyond imagination.
Every strike shattered the stone tiles beneath them,
leaving massive craters.
If any of those hits landed cleanly,
Chrollo would've been destroyed instantly.
Chrollo used his coordinate-switching ability again,
appearing behind Kurapika for a surprise attack.
But even attacks that had wounded Hisoka
bounced harmlessly off the golden aura surrounding the boy.
After several exchanges,
Chrollo realized the horrifying truth:
his attacks couldn't even scratch the blond youth.
Kurapika wasn't using flow,
wasn't manipulating his Nen between attack and defense.
He simply maintained perfect balance ...
a constant 50% attack and 50% defense ...
and even that was more than enough to completely overwhelm Chrollo.
What terrified Chrollo most
was not just Kurapika's Nen…
but his body.
For someone so slim,
his physical strength, reflexes, and reaction time
were absurd ...
far beyond what Nen alone could provide.
"This isn't ordinary Nen…" Chrollo realized.
"This is something… else."
He analyzed rapidly while fending off another barrage of chains.
Even fighting Hisoka hadn't been this exhausting.
Sweat drenched his shirt as he desperately looked for an opening.
Finally, he saw one ...
and struck Kurapika in the ribs.
There was a loud crack ...
the boy's bones fractured.
But the Nen barrier around him didn't break.
The damage barely slowed him down.
Before Chrollo could retreat,
a chain wrapped around the blond boy's arm and glowed faintly ...
healed. Instantly.
Chrollo's heart sank.
That was definitely Nen ...
and a perfectly developed one.
This boy… was terrifying.
It wasn't training.
It was the pure manifestation of Nen's evolution itself.
He hadn't felt this powerless since facing Haze.
Every stat ... reaction, defense, speed, strength ...
was superior.
"…Power like this doesn't come free," Chrollo said with a calm smile.
"Tell me, did you develop this ability… just to kill me?"
Kurapika's crimson eyes glowed.
"Not just you.
All of you… all the Spiders."
Chrollo chuckled bitterly.
"I see. Do we… know each other?"
Kurapika's expression hardened.
"You've seen these eyes before, haven't you?"
Then Chrollo understood.
Scarlet eyes ...
the Kurta clan.
He remembered.
But his reply was chillingly calm.
"Oh… your family? They died by our hands?
I can see the hatred burning in your eyes.
I know that feeling well.
But…"
He smiled faintly.
"Sorry. I truly don't remember what they looked like.
We've killed so many.
If you describe them to me ... maybe I'll remember."
Kurapika froze.
Chrollo's tone was almost gentle,
but his words were knives.
"In this world, weakness is the original sin.
Your family was weak.
You were weak.
You lived because you weren't there.
If you were, you'd have died too.
So don't blame us ...
blame yourself for running away."
Kurapika trembled.
The calm vanished from his face, replaced by raw fury.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"
He roared and charged.
Haze turned away.
Kurapika… was his own student.
Even if Chrollo still had the power of his Nen ability,
even if his inherited enhancements still lingered,
he could not defeat Kurapika.
Kurapika's ability was absolute ...
designed for one purpose:
to kill the Spiders.
Against the Phantom Troupe,
he was invincible.
The stronger Chrollo became,
the stronger Kurapika's chains would tighten.
Of course, the cost was immense.
Each use consumed part of Kurapika's life.
But against the Spiders,
he would always be stronger.
Unless his life-force itself gave out…
he could not lose.
Haze knew this.
Since the moment the Phantom Troupe had entered the Field estate,
he had never intended to let Chrollo walk out alive.
He simply wanted to see ...
how long could a spider still crawl
after losing its head?
Or perhaps…
was the "leader" truly irreplaceable to the Spider?
(To be continued in the next chapter.)