Chapter 106: Chrollo's Investigation
Chakra flowed back to Ronin's main body as the Shadow Clone was detonated upon contact with Theodore.
Simultaneously, the street erupted in a series of explosions.
The fanatics were detonating themselves.
Ronin glanced at the carnage. Seeing that Kurapika and the others could handle the survivors, he turned his attention back to Theodore's corpse.
Theodore's Post-Mortem Nen had manifested differently than in the manga.
In the original timeline, when Chrollo obtained The Sun and Moon, the post-mortem aspect meant the marks never disappeared once they were placed.
But here, Theodore's malice had mutated. His corpse had become a proximity bomb: anyone who touched it would explode instantly.
Furthermore, the marks that had disappeared upon the seal's activation had reappeared on the survivors, glowing with black, cursed aura.
Ronin suspected that anyone who touched these marked survivors might also be "infected" with a mark.
The corpse was no longer just a body; it was a high-yield tactical weapon.
Ronin twitched his fingers, his Chakra threads yanking Owl out of the Fun Fun Cloth bundle.
Owl, his eyes hollow and vacant, looked at Ronin as if he were staring at the Devil himself.
Ronin ignored him. With a flick of the puppet strings, he forced Owl to conjure a new Fun Fun Cloth.
Under Ronin's control, Owl draped the cloth over Theodore's explosive corpse. The body shrank instantly, vanishing into a small, palm-sized bundle.
Ronin stepped forward, picked up the bundle, and stuffed it into his pocket.
He then looked at the trembling Owl and, with a smirk, wrapped him back up in his own cloth and tucked him away.
Even with Shizuku now on the team, Ronin had no intention of releasing Owl.
Owl was a goldmine of information.
He had revealed that while the Ten Dons seemed like the ultimate authority of the global Mafia, their reach had limits. The V5 nations and places like the Kakin Empire were beyond their control.
He also clarified the nature of the Shadow Beasts. Their strength was inconsistent, and they specialized in various fields. More importantly, many were Demi-humans—discarded individuals from Meteor City.
The Ten Dons and Meteor City were inextricably linked. The Dons provided the resources and network, while Meteor City provided the specialized, ruthless labor.
These Demi-humans were notoriously cruel, preferring torture and interrogation over quick kills.
Ronin thought of Rabid Dog and Leech, but they weren't among the Shadow Beasts he had encountered yet.
According to Owl, the Ten Dons maintained a "Reserve List" of Shadow Beast candidates—like Mole, who had been guarding Raymond.
It seemed the turnover rate for Shadow Beasts was high.
The ones who attacked Ronin—Owl, Bat, Worm, and Slug—were familiar faces. If they had lived another three years, they would have been seasoned veterans.
But the most important takeaway for Ronin was locating where these Demi-human specialists were concentrated in Meteor City. So far, he hadn't seen any since arriving.
The battle on the street was winding down.
Despite the fanatics regaining their explosive abilities through Post-Mortem Nen, Kurapika's team adapted quickly.
Their strategy was simple: Range.
No matter how fanatical the chargers were, they were still ordinary humans. Against Nen users, they were fragile. Even a stone thrown by a Nen user using Shu could punch through them like a cannonball.
Kurapika used his chains to whip the chargers away, keeping them at a safe distance of several meters.
The only unpleasant part was the aftermath. Several fanatics who couldn't be killed in time detonated, showering the team in blood and gore.
Thankfully, they had Shizuku.
Once the last fanatic was neutralized, Shizuku summoned Blinky.
"Blinky, clean the team," she commanded.
The vacuum roared, inhaling the blood, the meat fragments, and the shredded rags from their clothes.
When they stepped out of the carnage, they looked as pristine as they had before the fight began.
The car was a total loss, but moving on foot allowed them to stay under the radar more effectively as Shizuku led them through the backstreets.
While Ronin's team moved toward Ryan's villa, a remaining Elder of Meteor City contacted Chrollo Lucilfer.
Chrollo had just left Nancha City.
The more he investigated the Kurta Clan, the more he realized they weren't just another ethnic minority.
The legends of the "Devil's Apostles" weren't localized to the Lukso Province. Similar rumors of "red-eyed demons" existed in several disparate cultures.
He hadn't found proof of the "Mandate" Artifact yet, but he had uncovered references to "Demonic Vessels" from a different realm.
The concept of a "Demon Realm" or "Underworld" was common in global folklore. In Meteor City, Chrollo had heard whispers of people selling their souls to demons for power.
He had tracked one such individual once. The ability displayed was indeed different from standard Nen.
It could still be explained as a specialized Hatsu, but the cost was inhuman.
To gain "Demonic" power, the man had traded his humanity. When he used his ability, he transformed into a literal monster—a giant, fleshy worm.
The physical change was a side effect of the deal. More importantly, his soul no longer belonged to him.
To become a demon in life, and be consumed by demons in death.
That was the essence of the trade. Most seekers were too desperate or too arrogant to see the trap until it snapped shut.
Did Ronin strike such a deal?
Chrollo couldn't be sure. But whether it was an Artifact or a Demon, he knew the price Ronin was paying was astronomical.
Regarding the Elder's request for help, Chrollo was initially disinterested.
But when he saw the dossier on Shizuku Murasaki, he felt a spark of interest.
A girl with a vacuum cleaner that can store anything? That would be a very useful addition to the Spider.
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