The malice wrapping around his entire body poured out like a dam bursting.
Hisoka was stunned for only a split second—then burst into uncontrollable laughter from his shattered chest.
"Ha… hahaha—Hahahahaha!"
His head, limbs, torso, even each finger began radiating a brilliant pink aura of Nen.
Branches, tree trunks, and shrubs nearby snapped and cracked, drawn toward him as if sucked into a raging vortex.
Everything spiraled into chaos, hurling toward Germain in a furious storm.
"We've already missed the best chance for a true death match," Germain said calmly, lifting the Sacred Moonlight Sword in one hand, and gripping a broken hunter badge fragment in the other—one that greedily absorbed the surrounding resentment.
"Now… it's all too late."
Boom!
The slash of the crescent blade tore through everything without mercy. The Hunter's Badge devoured every trace of malice in the air like a ravenous beast.
Hisoka was practically immortal. He could be blown to pieces and reform endlessly. He could even transform into someone else entirely.
But now… he could clearly feel it.
That power—the very force that had once belonged to him—was abandoning him without hesitation, rushing into Germain's embrace.
What a bunch of naughty kids...
Then, he heard a sharp, blood-curdling scream from Morena.
The woman suddenly lashed out from behind, swinging her thorned rose whip toward Germain.
She hadn't evolved to the same state of Resentment-bound existence as Hisoka, and so, the Hunter Badge's effect didn't target her directly.
But she understood one thing very well—if Hisoka fell, she'd be next.
If Hisoka kept getting weaker, it was only a matter of time before he lost his immortality and died.
And when that happened…
She'd be the one facing this monster alone.
That was a fate she could never accept.
Morena had always been fond of Hisoka—his style was far too similar to hers, a perfect match for her taste.
First, we take down Germain.
The rest can wait.
That was what Morena thought.
Several of Illumi's Nen needles had pierced her skin, but unexpectedly, they had no effect at all.
His usual lethal control ability—his signature move—failed completely. He couldn't manipulate this madwoman.
It felt as though a higher force had cut off his influence entirely.
Morena's thorned whip lashed out, aimed straight for Germain's face.
Her strategy of attacking Germain together with Hisoka was sound in theory—but Germain's sheer presence shattered any hope of making up for the power gap through tactics alone.
Germain didn't even look back.
He swung his sword.
Boom—!
A wave of blue energy exploded forth.
Morena wasn't immortal.
She only realized the speed and destructive power of the slash when it struck her head-on—far beyond anything she had imagined.
She suddenly understood: Germain was still holding back.
He was gradually increasing his strength—matching their level and adjusting as needed.
It was his usual habit.
His enemies were rarely just one or two people—there was no point wasting effort unnecessarily.
Just like now—Hisoka and Morena were merely two of many opponents he would meet on this road.
If anything set them apart, it was that they were stronger than most.
And that Hisoka and Germain had a connection.
Nothing more.
Splurt—
Morena's peach blossom eyes flew wide open in shock.
She let out a sharp cry.
In the next instant, the rose petals around her shattered and burst apart, scattering like pink dust in the wind.
Her dazzling figure was completely consumed by the blade wave—erased from existence.
Illumi blinked slowly, watching the target that had originally been his vanish under Germain's single, devastating strike.
His hands, still clutching his gold needle, lowered quietly at his sides. No one knew what he was thinking.
Hisoka didn't even need to look to know how it ended for Morena.
He simply took advantage of the one and only opportunity Morena had created—to attack.
For a long time, he had kept his pink aura hidden beneath the ground. Now it burst out violently, tearing through the earth with a pop pop pop.
Every thread of aura shot toward Germain, wrapping tightly around his body.
Then, with all his might, Hisoka pulled—trying to rip Germain apart.
But it was like trying to tear apart a mountain.
The aura didn't budge him at all. Not even a little.
Germain lowered his head slightly to glance at the aura, then lifted his eyes toward Hisoka.
He took a single step forward.
And just like that, every thread of pink aura snapped and crumbled away.
Their adhesive properties meant nothing to Germain's body.
Hisoka's head drifted in the air like a ghostly flame, his brain spinning at high speed, searching for any way to turn this around.
Germain continued walking toward him, patiently waiting for the Hunter Badge to fully strip away Hisoka's immortality.
Hisoka racked his brain, squeezing out every last thought—but still couldn't come up with a way to close such an overwhelming gap.
Backed into a corner, he couldn't help but laugh.
And he truly did laugh.
Right now, he felt like Pokkle, who had just learned Nen and then blindly ran into Neferpitou—one of the Chimera Ant King's Royal Guards.
Couldn't win in a fight.
Couldn't escape.
Missed the chance to take a hostage.
In other words, this really was "the end of the line."
His game, his thrill, his carnival—it was all coming to a close.
He had always known that his version of "happiness" would end someday.
He just never thought it would be today. Or end this abruptly.
Was he satisfied?
No.
Not at all.
What a shame.
With my current strength, I couldn't even force Germain to go all out...
To die like this... it's far too disappointing.
Once again, he let out a maniacal laugh.
His crazed laughter echoed endlessly through the jungle.
Then, without a shred of fear, he lunged straight at Germain.
The "Hunter Badge" had already absorbed enough resentment.
Germain raised his heavy Sacred Moonlight Sword—
And with one sweeping motion, unleashed the very blow that had once ended Hisoka's life!
BOOM—
The slash wave, shaped like a crescent blade, carved a semi-circular crater into the earth.
Everything within its path was devoured, crushed, and scattered into oblivion.
Hisoka—was completely erased from existence.
The "Hunter Badge," having absorbed the last trace of Resentment, bestowed upon Germain a final reward:
A set of clothing, named after Hisoka's own Nen ability—
"Texture Surprise":
A lightweight outfit that drapes over the body, capable of effortlessly transforming into any attire you've ever seen before.
After the battle, Germain turned around—
Only to see Kastro and Meleoron staring back at him, stunned yet visibly relieved.
They hadn't expected it.
To them, both Hisoka and Morena were terrifying opponents.
And yet, after facing Germain, they had died so quickly.
Too quickly.
So fast, in fact, that neither of them had fully processed what had just happened.
Illumi, however, remained silent, his gaze dark and distant.
"What's the matter? Regretting his death?" Germain said, for once cracking a rare joke.
"You should've told me earlier—I would've at least saved you a 'souvenir.'"
Illumi shook his head slowly.
"Hisoka's dead. I admit, I'm a little sad," he said quietly.
"But the mission's complete. That makes me happy. So I guess it balances out."
Then, his tone turned more serious.
"To be honest with you... I always planned to one day take back temporary guardianship of Killua from you. But now, it seems... I won't get that chance."
He retracted all his Nen needles, sliding them back into his clothes.
Then he lifted his head and met Germain's eyes.
"My father is right. Our family truly should establish a friendship with you, just like Maha great-grandfather did with Chairman Netero. This would benefit our family."
"If Killua grows under your guidance, and can truly take on the responsibility of becoming the future head of the Zoldyck family, I will support him and withdraw from the competition."
Both Illumi and Milluki had intentions to compete with Killua for the future head position of the family, though Milluki's intentions weren't as obvious as Illumi's.
Germain remained noncommittal on the matter.
After all, whether Killua wants to become the head of the Zoldyck family in the future depends entirely on his own wishes.
Germain had no interest in interfering with Killua's decisions in this regard.
*******
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