Chapter 153: Hisoka's Game Begins!
A sinister, unsettling mist floated before them ... and what truly froze the blood of the Phantom Troupe members were the ghostly figures, seemingly alive, writhing and lunging toward them like worms.
Some crawled up their bodies, others tugged at their clothes, and still others circled around them, letting out chilling howls.
Yet, these spirits were incorporeal ... they posed little real threat. Their movements simply passed through flesh like smoke.
But… the scene was too unnatural.
A blurry, featureless ghost pressed its face against Pakunoda's eyes. Their gazes met ... or at least, it felt that way.
Even without eyes, she could feel its mocking laughter, its scorn… its cold fingers clutching her hair, tugging her toward the dense fog.
Move! Run!
That same thought flashed through every member of the Phantom Troupe.
Without waiting for Chrollo's command, they all knew what his orders had been:
If Haze appeared ... evacuate immediately.
They hadn't told Hisoka what they were really doing, already prepared for the worst.
Yet even so… this operation had seemed destined for victory.
Chrollo had made meticulous preparations ... covering every possible and impossible contingency.
Now, it was time to run.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Pakunoda's cheek.
The man standing atop the palace dome… was terrifying.
He surpassed every expectation ...
The difference in aura was unmistakable.
Even an ordinary person could feel it; for Nen users, it was overwhelming.
He was a being far beyond their reach.
Turning her head stiffly, Pakunoda saw her comrades also frozen ... each wearing different expressions, yet their trembling pupils betrayed their panic.
They were paralyzed by fear.
In the past, they had survived countless storms, their mental fortitude unmatched ... yet now, they found themselves utterly cornered.
In those few seconds, their minds spun through dozens of responses, and some even turned to flee instinctively.
But they didn't move ... because like her, their bodies wouldn't obey their minds.
I have to do something… to wake them up, she thought.
Then she saw Chrollo slowly close his eyes, as though accepting his fate ... and that sparked another thought.
No… I can't just stand here. My comrades need a signal ... a spark ... to wake them up.
A sharp sense of duty surged within her. Though she wasn't the strongest of the Troupe, she was the first to act.
She raised her silver revolver and aimed high at Haze, standing tall above the mist.
Bang!
The bullet tore through the air toward him.
She knew it wouldn't hurt him.
But that wasn't the point.
The gunshot shattered the suffocating stillness ... the ice around their hearts cracked.
In an instant, the Troupe regained movement, like frozen bodies thawing all at once.
Above them, Haze calmly lifted two fingers, a faint smile on his lips.
With a flick, he caught the bullet effortlessly ... smoke curling from his fingertips.
Pakunoda's shot had been the signal.
Chrollo and the others immediately turned and ran.
Pakunoda didn't even check if her shot landed. She spun around ... her timing perfectly synchronized with the others.
But the next instant ... time stopped.
Because Haze, standing on the dome ... had vanished.
No sound, no warning.
The next moment, he was simply there, among them.
He landed gently, one hand in his pocket, his shoes barely touching the ground.
The world of the Phantom Troupe dimmed into silence.
Everything froze.
Feitan, Chrollo ... all of them widened their eyes as Haze appeared.
Then ... his bare hand, dark as night, whipped through the air like a shadowed blade.
Reality itself split apart around him like torn paper.
Boom!
Pakunoda suddenly felt weightless ... and then came the agony.
She looked down to see her chest torn open, deep claw marks spilling bright blood.
She could even see her crushed organs ... her mind went blank.
The swordsman beside her stood still in combat stance, half his face missing ...
Then his head fell, eyes still blinking, watching as Pakunoda's blood splattered before him.
Feitan barely reacted ... he twisted aside, but couldn't avoid it completely.
From his left shoulder to his abdomen, his body split open ... a third of his torso gone.
"C… Captain…"
Before his head hit the ground, Chrollo saw his comrades motionless.
Then darkness took him.
It all happened in milliseconds.
When Haze finally set foot on the ground, blood erupted around him like fireworks ...
and the Troupe fell, one by one.
Everyone within his reach ...
even Chrollo's conjured Shadow Beast ... was obliterated.
With just his fingers, his Nen techniques, and his sheer force ...
the Phantom Troupe never stood a chance.
Haze had used Flash Step.
Out of six people, three died instantly.
Only Machi and Chrollo survived.
Feitan lay bleeding, paralyzed ... his life fading fast.
And Chrollo… hadn't even fought back.
It was too fast.
Machi hadn't even had time to flee before her comrades were dead.
Her mind went cold, her body numb ... fear flooding her soul.
Reality hit hard:
Before absolute power, escape was meaningless.
The ghostly figures swarmed like flies, drawn to the corpses ... wailing in ecstasy.
"Kill in my territory… and expect to walk away?" Haze said coldly, turning toward Chrollo with a faint smile.
Chrollo's body stiffened.
He stared at the bodies around him ... not with panic or fear, but with grim clarity.
Moments ago, he and Machi should have died too.
The reason they hadn't… wasn't mercy.
It was Hisoka.
Hisoka had insisted on a battlefield where no one else would interfere.
And Machi ... likely survived because of him.
To Haze, the Troupe's deaths were irrelevant.
From beginning to end, they were never a threat.
This wasn't vengeance ...
it was a game.
A game carefully planned long ago.
The Field Family had used the Troupe to wipe out the Ten Dons and the old Yakuza leadership.
This would allow Haze to claim the entire underworld.
If the Field Family had personally killed the Ten Dons, suspicion would have fallen on them.
But if the Phantom Troupe did it, and the Field Family publicly avenged them ...
their reputation would soar to legendary heights.
Now, with the Ten Dons dead and their networks leaderless,
the entire Yakuza empire would fall neatly into Haze's hands.
In short ... from beginning to end ...
everyone had been dancing to Haze's tune.
The deaths of the Ten Dons and the gang leaders had been bait.
Haze had let the Troupe celebrate their false "victory,"
believing they had destroyed his family and himself ...
only for him to reappear, bringing utter despair.
And at the center of it all ... was Hisoka.
If Hisoka hadn't played his role so perfectly,
the Phantom Troupe might have escaped their doom.
Chrollo turned toward him ...
but saw Hisoka staring, wide-eyed, at Haze.
Even Illumi's usually cold gaze widened in shock.
"So… neither of you truly understand Haze's power," Chrollo murmured.
Then, quietly:
"As long as I live… I'll grow stronger. Every death is a step forward."
He wasn't talking about himself ...
but the Spider as a whole.
He had realized something:
If he could kill Hisoka, maybe he and Machi could still escape.
Haze stepped closer, smiling slightly.
"Your composure is admirable," he said.
"Mind if I make some preparations?" Chrollo asked, glancing toward Hisoka.
Haze nodded. "Go ahead."
He raised a hand ...
and the swirling demonic mist parted, forming a clear path.
At its end stood a figure ... Quartz, arriving late.
"Is that him?" Haze asked.
"Yes. He was meant for you… but it seems pointless now," Chrollo replied calmly.
Quartz stared at the scene in disbelief ... Chrollo standing beside the very man who had massacred his comrades.
Machi stood blankly, trembling.
Feitan lay in a pool of blood, barely breathing.
"Let's begin," Chrollo said.
Though dazed, Quartz obeyed. He walked to the corpses, plucked a strand of hair from Chrollo, Pakunoda, and Shizuku, and placed them in his mouth.
He chewed ... and moments later, spat out several colorful candies.
Haze sensed his Nen weakening dramatically.
A specialist, he realized.
Chrollo took three candies and swallowed them.
"An enhancer-type support?" Haze asked with a grin.
Chrollo smiled faintly.
"I figured there was a ninety-nine percent chance he wouldn't make it here…
But if he did, he'd be my last resort ...
even if it cost my comrades' lives."
Haze chuckled. "How thoughtful."
He turned toward Hisoka. "Looks like you're in trouble."
Yes ... Chrollo's trump card against Haze…
was now to be used against Hisoka.
"Let's go," Chrollo said coldly, turning away.
He would find a place to settle this with Hisoka ...
a battle to the death.
The Troupe was finished.
Now, only the final act of Haze's grand play remained.
Hisoka grinned.
"Fine by me."
Haze smirked as they passed.
"Be careful. I won't save you."
"I didn't expect your power to reach this level," Hisoka said, pausing.
"I was looking forward to today's fight… but you always steal the spotlight."
"Watch closely," he said with a grin. "This next battle is my gift to you. I'll match your level ... raise the curtain for our finale."
"I doubt it," Haze said flatly. "You might die."
Hisoka chuckled silently.
He turned to Machi, trembling.
"Don't be so nervous. You're not yourself today. Got anything to say before your boss and I start?"
"Get… get out of my way!" Machi screamed ... her fear not for Hisoka, but for Haze.
She had always thought herself indifferent to life and death ...
but witnessing her comrades slaughtered in an instant shattered that illusion.
She trembled uncontrollably, tears streaming silently.
Haze ignored both her and Feitan, following after Chrollo and Hisoka.
Illumi followed as well.
The farce of the Phantom Troupe was over.
As for the rest of the palace ...
the spirits of the fallen Nen users no longer needed to be gathered manually.
The spreading mist consumed every lingering soul, absorbing them completely.
"Not bad," Haze murmured with a faint smile.
The Nen users around the Ten Dons, the Shadow Beasts, the Troupe members ...
all of them had become fuel for him.
The harvest was massive.
The boost in his power ... considerable.
A while later, a pale-faced Kurapika finally stepped out of the palace ruins.
Hisoka's game had only just begun ...
and his hunt for the Spiders… was far from over.
Kurapika's crimson eyes fixed on Feitan's dying body.
(End of Chapter)