Bendot, the rejected former examiner, sat cross-legged in the confined space of the airship's prison, looking every bit the wild, furious man he was. As Ryusei and Hisoka entered the room—the setting for the third phase of the Hunter Exam—Bendot slowly raised his head.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Hisoka!" Bendot announced, his voice raw with hatred. He looked directly at Hisoka with a confident, almost delusional smile.
Ryusei next to Hisoka was entirely ignored by Bendot, deemed an ordinary person unworthy of attention.
"This year I am not participating as an examiner, but as an avenger," Bendot snarled, his confident smile twisting into a snarl of pure rage. "Since last year's exam… My goal is to kill you. This wound must be avenged this year!"
Bendot drew out a curved scimitar, and his expression became ferocious. Last year, he had served as an examiner and had been viciously attacked and severely injured by Hisoka, who was still just a candidate. The ugly scar across his face was a constant reminder of the humiliation. Only by killing Hisoka could the shame be washed away.
Ryusei quickly backed away from Hisoka's side, retreating toward the door to avoid the inevitable carnage. Although Bendot was vastly inferior to Hisoka, he was still a Nen user—a dangerous variable that Ryusei, without Nen himself, had no desire to engage.
"That just shows that you are incompetent as an examiner," Hisoka replied, a scornful smile playing on his lips. "This is what it means to fail to teach others and end up being hated!" Hisoka enjoyed others seeking revenge, provided they weren't too weak.
In his opinion, Bendot's strength was underwhelming, but at least he had trained for a year. Hisoka was mildly curious if this former examiner could offer even the smallest spark of excitement.
"Raving!" Bendot grew angrier at Hisoka's dismissive attitude. Last year, Hisoka had brutalized him with contemptuous ease. This year, Bendot vowed, would be different.
Bendot drew a second scimitar. The two blades began to spin rapidly in his hands, creating dangerous, shimmering halos.
"Be prepared for this!" he warned.
Ryusei couldn't physically see the Nen technique, but he instantly guessed it was related to the Emission-type techniques within the Nen system—sending out an aura. It strongly reminded him of the man in Heaven's Arena who used spinning tops as weapons, only this time, the weapons were far more lethal scimitars.
"Two-sword style?" Hisoka looked genuinely disappointed. After a year of preparation, Bendot had merely added one more blade. No surprise there.
But then, Bendot suddenly threw the two scimitars high into the air, simultaneously pulling out two more from behind his back.
"Infinite Four Swords Style. Watch out," Bendot boasted.
The two scimitars in Bendot's hands spun rapidly as he hurled them at Hisoka. Hisoka easily sidestepped the initial attack. Bendot wasn't surprised; he knew two spinning blades weren't enough.
But that wasn't his limit. Bendot swiftly caught the two scimitars he'd thrown into the air moments earlier. Then, he charged toward Hisoka with the newly caught blades. At the same time, the pair of scimitars Hisoka had just dodged curved back like boomerangs, flying toward him from behind.
This maneuver was unexpected. Even though Hisoka noticed the returning blades in time and tried to dodge, he was still grazed—once on the shoulder and once on the abdomen. The wounds were shallow, but they drew blood.
Ryusei observed with clinical precision. Bendot was clearly using Nen to control the blades, but he seemed limited to controlling only two spinning scimitars remotely at any given time. Their flight path was predictable—a simple curve—and they required manual throwing to initiate.
All signs pointed to Bendot having a poor grasp of Emission Nen, likely because it wasn't his natural affinity. He was walking the wrong path, leading to mediocre results despite a year of intense training.
Bendot, oblivious to Ryusei's analysis, was ecstatic to see Hisoka bleed. He was convinced his new technique was the key to victory. He threw the scimitars in his hands up again and caught the returning pair.
"It's not over yet!" he roared, hurling them once more at Hisoka. "Up, down, left, right, front, back—you have nowhere to escape. Countless sharp blades will cut you down from all angles. It's impossible to dodge this infinite attack. Struggle in pain, crawl on the ground… Then die, Hisoka!"
Bendot was in a frenzy of anticipation, visualizing Hisoka's inevitable defeat.
But Hisoka's playful smile had vanished. He was no longer interested in the game. This time, as the blades flew toward him, Hisoka didn't dodge.
He simply caught both spinning scimitars mid-air with his bare hands. The blades were instantly rendered harmless.
"It really is a pain to avoid them…" Hisoka said calmly, holding the useless weapons. "So I'll just take the blades." He calmly stared at Bendot. He had hoped for excitement, but this was merely pathetic. He had seen the fatal flaw in Bendot's technique the moment he used it, destroying any sense of thrill.
Seeing Hisoka casually hold the furiously spinning scimitars, Bendot broke out in a cold sweat. "Impossible… I spent half a year learning to catch just one…" he stammered in disbelief. "How could he catch them both so easily—on his first try?!"
Hisoka rotated the scimitars slowly in his hands, his evil grin spreading across his face. "What? This is easier than I thought," he sneered. "Thanks for all your pointless hard work." He then started walking slowly toward the terrified Bendot.
"Hateful!" Bendot screamed, realizing the completeness of his defeat, letting out a final roar of grief and impotent rage before Hisoka reached him.
Ryusei curled his lip. Hisoka was utterly ruthless. Ryusei doubted Hisoka had used Emission Nen to stop the blades—as a Transmuter, Emission was the least compatible category. Most likely, he used his signature "Bungee Gum" to instantly neutralize the blades' momentum.
The details didn't matter. The priority was the exam.
Hisoka, having finished his fun, rejoined Ryusei, and the two continued down the corridor. After passing through a short passage, a heavy stone door opened before them, revealing a massive room ahead.
A radio crackled to life, breaking the silence.
"Number 44, Hisoka. First place in the third exam passed."
"Number 123, Ryusei. Second place in the third exam passed."
"Time taken: six hours and forty-five minutes."
Compared to how quickly Hisoka could have completed the phase alone, their time was definitely slower, a consequence of being paired together in the prison and having to wait on various conditions to pass.