Chapter 150: The Game in Progress (Part 2)
The Field Family residence had become a battlefield.
At the palace entrance, armed gangsters stormed in, attempting to suppress the chaos. Yet as soon as they appeared, they were ambushed by a group of hypnotized Nen users. Despite their fierce gunfire, all they achieved was adding more corpses to the pile.
Blood ran like rivers across the marble floor… Mafia leaders lay dead, each with a different frozen expression.
The stench of blood was overwhelming. Barely thirty minutes ago, this elegant venue had been filled with music and laughter now, only deathly silence remained.
Even the Field Family's servants and attendants had been slaughtered.
The body count was impossible to determine at a glance.
"Your ability really comes in handy," said Quartz, a man with a birthmark across his cheek, as he glanced at Duan, who stood calmly amid the pool of blood.
Quartz had only exploited the chaos to eliminate isolated Nen users he hadn't even broken a sweat.
Most of the Ten Dons' private armed forces had perished in internal conflict after being hypnotized.
Duan's Nen ability "The Solitary Hypnotist" could be used in two progressive ways.
The first required knowing the target's real name.
The second relied on observing their actions: it would subtly manipulate the target's subconscious.
If the victim managed to break free, the ability would lose effect.
But if not… they would become a puppet, bound entirely to Duan's will.
In the distance, by the palace gates, the fierce fighting continued fewer than ten hypnotized Nen users were annihilating waves of armed gangsters. But there was no longer any need to intervene.
To any outsider, it was shocking: the ruthless underworld forces, once feared worldwide, were utterly helpless against these few.
Of course, that was only because the Ten Dons had been caught off guard.
Had they known of the Phantom Troupe's arrival, things might have gone very differently.
Even if their own troops were weak, the simple act of hiring assassins or elite Nen users could've caused real trouble for the Troupe.
That was why Chrollo had lowered his guard with Hisoka.
If Hisoka had warned them… the Field Family wouldn't have fallen so easily.
"They should be done by now, right?"
Duan's cold gaze fixed in the distance, ignoring Quartz's compliment.
With the leader and his team's strength, it wouldn't take long to finish the Shadow Beasts.
"Feitan sent a message the Ten Dons are dead. But they still haven't found David or Field Lily," said Quartz, glancing at his phone.
"Hisoka hasn't moved either… and it seems Kubi and Pedrolev haven't found them yet. This palace complex is massive. Even moving fast, it'll take time. A moment ago, David was still talking on the big screen… which means he's still here. They can't escape, only hide."
"I'll go help them. Be careful," Quartz said after analyzing the situation, before leaving swiftly.
Because of his Nen's limitations, Duan had to stay behind to maintain control of the hypnosis if he left, the spell would break.
The Palace Garden
In the secluded back garden, a ferocious battle unknown to outsiders quietly came to an end.
The six Shadow Beasts, full of confidence and ferocity, had learned a harsh truth:
they were nothing but a joke before the Phantom Troupe.
The fight between Machi and Leech was the best example.
Leech had mocked Machi for her delicate appearance yet the small woman in front of him possessed strength and explosive power that dwarfed his massive, bloated frame.
Leech's countless attacks never once struck their target; Machi dodged them effortlessly.
As the fight went on, he realized her control over Nen and her raw aura intensity were far beyond his expectations.
Despite his vast battle experience and caution toward her Nen threads, he still fell victim to them.
The entire fight lasted less than three minutes.
Machi had hidden several silk threads with her Invisibility technique.
Using her agility, she looped a thread around Leech's arm without him noticing.
When he turned to counterattack, attempting to strike from behind ...
His arm was severed mid-swing.
The wound didn't even slow him down; his massive hand lunged toward Machi.
But just as he reached her, Machi twisted gracefully, her slender arm snapping upward to seize his wrist with a vice-like grip.
"Huh?" Leech gasped.
He tried to break free and failed.
Though his mutated Shadow Beast physique gave him monstrous strength, Machi's hand felt like an iron clamp. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't move.
He had no idea that in the Phantom Troupe's arm-wrestling ranking, Machi held sixth place, above Chrollo himself only behind Feitan.
In terms of raw physical strength, she was one of the strongest members of the Spider.
Holding the Shadow Beast effortlessly, Machi raised her free hand, her index finger twitching slightly ...
In an instant, Leech screamed in agony as blood sprayed everywhere.
He finally noticed not only was his severed arm tied with Nen threads, but his entire body had been ensnared in invisible strings that tightened violently, slicing through flesh and muscle.
"You… are you really a woman?" Leech croaked, his face covered in blood and threads.
He stared at her in disbelief.
Machi said nothing. Her eyes were cold, emotionless.
The next second, Leech's mouth opened wide he tried to spit something at her.
But he was too slow.
With a sharp pull of her fingers, Machi tightened every thread and with a sickening snap, the Shadow Beast was torn apart, his body shredded into ribbons.
"Hmph."
The battle was over. Machi exhaled coldly as the glowing threads retracted into her fingertips.
Turning her head, she saw her teammates' fights were also ending.
The most arrogant among the Shadow Beasts Sick Dog had fought two-on-one… and was still completely overwhelmed by Chrollo.
Now, the dying Sick Dog lay on the ground, his head pinned under Chrollo's boot.
The leader's clothes were slightly torn, showing signs of struggle but he was otherwise unscathed.
Nearby, Chrollo had already attached an antenna to another wounded Shadow Beast, converting it into a puppet.
Meanwhile, Shizuku was smashing her vacuum cleaner weapon, Blinky, against another Beast's skull.
Despite her innocent appearance and glasses, she was utterly ruthless cracking open her enemy's head like a melon.
It was over.
No wonder the Shadow Beasts were indeed powerful.
In numbers, they could threaten a single Phantom Troupe member.
But one-on-one, they stood no chance.
Chrollo crouched down, asking the dying Sick Dog where David and Field Lily were hiding.
The beast mumbled weakly through blood and foam unintelligible.
Chrollo listened quietly.
"Feitan's killed the Ten Dons."
Reading the message on his phone, Chrollo smiled faintly.
Then, with one firm stomp, he crushed Sick Dog's skull, ending it instantly.
The last surviving Shadow Beast had been turned into one of Chrollo's puppets for future use.
"Even the Shadow Beasts don't know where they are…" said the Swordsman, stroking his chin.
"The Ten Dons and the Field Family were separate entities," Chrollo added calmly.
"At the very least, the Elders weren't aware of the Field Family's full plans."
"None of the remaining ones attacked either… So where are the last four Shadow Beasts? Was that man with glasses one of them? Where did he go?" Machi asked.
"It seems David and that woman knew everything," the Swordsman chuckled.
"From the Zoldyck exhibition to Haze's message, this was the best choice they could make in such short time. Their next move will be to escape and those four remaining Beasts will fight to protect them."
"But it's strange," Machi muttered. "Weren't the Shadow Beasts supposed to obey the Ten Dons? Why do these four seem to work specifically for the Field Family?"
Beep-beep-beep.
Suddenly, the Swordsman's phone buzzed.
Everyone turned.
"It's Hisoka!" he said, checking the screen.
"He's found the targets but the situation's tricky. Aside from the Shadow Beasts, there's another expert involved. Peerless and Kubi are the closest they're already there."
"Where?" Chrollo demanded.
"Seems to be… a dark room."
"Let's go."
With Chrollo's command, the five of them took off, carrying the puppet Beasts with them.
Behind them, the battlefield was left littered with shattered flowerbeds and mangled corpses of the Shadow Beasts.
On the other side, following Hisoka's coordinates, Pedrolev and Kubi entered another palace.
Strangely, the palace doors were wide open, and the inside was pitch black unlike the other brightly lit halls.
Corpses lay scattered across the floor, their vital organs pierced by playing cards.
Pedrolev and Kubi froze as they spotted a figure standing in the shadows a few meters away then relaxed.
It was Hisoka.
He leaned casually against a wall, flicking a card between his fingers, smirking.
"What are you doing here? Where are the enemies?" Pedrolev asked, confused, his body wrapped in bandages.
They had assumed Hisoka was already in battle.
"Take a look," Hisoka said with a grin, pointing into a dark corridor.
"They're inside. Their defense is too strong I can't take them alone, so I fell back. They're hiding in a secret room, probably scheming. I stayed here to keep them from escaping. You came just in time."
With that, Hisoka moved aside.
Pedrolev and Kubi, without hesitation, advanced down the corridor together.
"The Swordsman said there are four Shadow Beasts left, likely with the target. The three of us should be enough," said Pedrolev.
Neither of them noticed that Hisoka had slowed his pace, falling subtly behind.
"By the way, Hisoka," Kubi asked suddenly, "you said there was another expert. Who is it?"
Hisoka draped an arm over each of their shoulders, leaning between them with a twisted grin.
"Don't you see?" he whispered. "He's right in front of you."
At that instant, a pair of glowing scarlet eyes flared in the darkness.
The rattling of chains echoed through the corridor.
"!!!"
"Hisoka!!"
Pedrolev and Kubi reacted instantly.
A Nen-forged chain lashed out like a whip, striking directly toward Pedrolev.
He had no time to think about Hisoka he barely dodged in time.
Kubi was left alone.
He tried to counterattack but as a support-type member, his strength was far below Hisoka's.
Before he could react, Hisoka ripped off Kubi's arm with a single motion, then kicked him hard in the gut, sending him crashing into a distant wall.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Before Kubi's body could even slide down, Hisoka used Nen to glue his limbs and torso to the wall completely immobilizing him in what looked like a cocoon of elastic gum, leaving only his head visible.
Turning away from him, Hisoka faced the approaching figure in the corridor Kurapika.
"I just did you a favor. Remember that," Hisoka said with a grin.
Kurapika ignored him, his crimson eyes blazing as he stepped into the light.
He shed his tribal cloak, revealing beige combat attire beneath.
Lifting his chained right hand, he faced the Spider before him.
Instead of shouting threats, he began reciting an ancient Kurta funeral prayer a song for the dead.
"Hisoka… you betrayed the Phantom Troupe."
"You'll die horribly."
"Chrollo won't forgive you."
Pinned against the wall, the helpless Kubi spat the words through clenched teeth.
Hisoka tilted his head slightly, smiling back.
"Really? Wouldn't that be more fun?"
Kubi froze speechless.
This lunatic…
He wasn't joking about fighting the Phantom Troupe.
He meant it.
A madman.
(End of Chapter)