An Abandoned Safehouse.
Neon Nostrade lay unconscious on a dusty sofa, safely hidden away. Chrollo and Hisoka stood by a shattered window, studying a piece of parchment. Chrollo had just tested his newly stolen ability, [Lovely Ghostwriter].
The poem read:
An important part of the calendar is missing,
The forgotten months will be grandly mourned.
The chrysanthemum and the leaf, beneath the falling sun,
Wither and die together, lying beside the demon from another world.
The stage play has only just begun,
It will not end until the final dancer takes their bow.
The Magician and you will lose everything,
No one can stop the devil's whispers.
The only hope of survival lies in the East,
There, perhaps, is a sliver of life.
The two men stared at the verses in heavy silence.
"The chrysanthemum and the leaf? The falling sun? A demon from another world?" Hisoka murmured, his expression darkening. "The Magician, too..."
The fortune painted a grim picture.
"We will lose everything," Chrollo analyzed, his voice devoid of emotion. "The Magician is obviously you, Hisoka. The poem suggests we will lose our lives and our status. And our only hope is to flee East... away from this 'demon.' Will he wipe out my entire Troupe?"
Chrollo fell silent. He knew Neon's ability was absolute. It was this very power that had allowed the Nostrade Family to anticipate the Troupe's heist and move the auction vault in advance.
Except, it wasn't the Mafia who benefited from that prophecy. It was Ryker.
"Prophecies are fickle things. They are subject to change," Hisoka smiled, though the crescent curve of his eyes lacked its usual warmth. "If the future was absolute, she wouldn't have fallen into our hands."
Just as Chrollo opened his mouth to reply, his burner phone buzzed.
It was Phinks.
Chrollo felt a sudden, icy dread in his chest. He had left Feitan in charge. Phinks shouldn't be calling.
"What is the situation?" Chrollo asked.
"Feitan... is dead," Phinks' voice cracked, heavy with grief and rage. "He used his ultimate attack. He detonated himself to take the bastard down. Danchou... our losses are too great."
Other voices began filtering through the comms.
"Danchou... Feitan sacrificed himself for us."
"He shouldn't have died. He stayed behind so we could run."
"But at least... that monster is dead."
"We need to take revenge! Everyone connected to that kid! We send his friends and family to hell!"
The Spiders were mourning. They were mass murderers, demons to the rest of the world, but to each other, they were family. They had banded together because the world rejected them. If the world hurt one of their own, they would burn the world down.
Listening in, Hisoka felt a chill run down his spine.
He knew about Feitan's Pain Packer. He knew that if Feitan chose to self-destruct, even he wouldn't survive the blast radius. It was a terrifying power.
What a pity, Hisoka thought, briefly mourning the loss of a prime toy. My favorite unripe fruit was destroyed in the blast.
Hisoka glanced at Chrollo. If Ryker was truly dead, then Chrollo was the only toy left worth playing with. Hisoka subtly shifted his stance, preparing to draw a card.
But Chrollo wasn't listening to the comms. His eyes were locked on the notebook. He had summoned [Lovely Ghostwriter] again, and the Nen Beast was frantically scribbling new lines:
The fallen sun becomes nourishment for the demon,
When the laughter rings out, darkness falls.
What awaits them is absolute despair.
Chrollo's usual calm completely shattered. His eyes widened.
Anyone with half a brain could decipher this.
The fallen sun was Feitan's Rising Sun.
Nourishment for the demon. The explosion hadn't killed Ryker. It had made him stronger.
When laughter rings out... The moment the Troupe lowered their guard, believing the enemy was dead, Ryker would strike again.
Absolute despair.
Meaning... even if Chrollo joined them, they would all die.
Why? Chrollo thought, his mind racing. How can this be? Is this boy really a demon from another world? Is he so strong that the entire Spider cannot defeat him?
"Hmm?" Hisoka leaned over, reading the new lines.
Even the Magician was stunned.
Ryker survived Feitan's suicide bomb and came out stronger? That was impossible. It defied the fundamental laws of Nen. Unless... Ryker truly wasn't human. For the first time in his life, Hisoka felt a genuine pang of confusion.
"Run."
Chrollo's voice cut through the comms.
The chatter on the other end died instantly.
"Phinks. Everyone. The future I see... is one where we all die," Chrollo said, his voice trembling slightly. "Scatter. Run far away. Do not stay in Yorknew. Perhaps... we will find a sliver of hope in the East."
Silence. Then, absolute chaos.
"What?! Danchou, do you know what you're saying?! You want us to run like cowards?!"
"We're the Phantom Troupe!"
"That monster is dead! Why should we run?!"
"We should be hunting his friends! We should be taking revenge!"
"Danchou... explain yourself!"
The Spiders were furious. To run away when they thought they had the advantage was an insult to their pride. If anyone else had suggested it, they would have been killed on the spot. But this was Chrollo.
"The monster... is still alive," Chrollo said grimly. "The prophecy warns that when you relax, he will descend upon you. What awaits you is absolute despair."
Chrollo was a mass murderer who had wiped out entire cities. But he loved his Spiders. His role as the Head was to ensure the survival of the Spider, even if it meant amputating legs.
"No! Danchou! I won't run!" Phinks roared. "Uvogin is dead! Nobunaga is dead! Pakunoda is dead! Feitan is dead! We swore to live and die together!"
"If we stay together, we can kill him!" Franklin agreed.
"Running separately just makes us easier targets!"
"The Phantom Troupe has never been this pathetic!"
The comms exploded with rebellion.
Chrollo closed his eyes. He knew they wouldn't listen. He also knew that without the prophecy, he would be right there with them, leading the charge.
But the prophecy was absolute.
"I have warned you," Chrollo sighed heavily. "Survive, my friends."
He hung up.
According to the poem, if he stayed, he and Hisoka would lose everything. To save himself—and potentially rebuild the Spider later—he had to follow the prophecy. He had to go East.
"Let's go, Hisoka," Chrollo said coldly, turning toward the door. "The East."
"Are you just going to abandon them?" Hisoka asked, genuinely curious. Chrollo constantly preached that the Spider was more important than the Head.
"A temporary retreat for a future reunion," Chrollo replied, though his voice lacked conviction. He walked out.
Hisoka lingered for a moment, smiling mysteriously, before following.
The Badlands.
The surviving Spiders had regrouped.
The mood was toxic. In a matter of days, their invincible family had been butchered. And now, their Danchou had just ordered them to scatter and hide like rats because a poem told him they would all die.
"Bullshit," Phinks spat. "Even if I'm destined to die, I won't die hiding in a hole."
"But it's the Danchou's order..." Machi murmured, conflicted.
"I think we should listen to him," Shizuku said quietly.
"I'm not leaving!" Franklin growled. "Feitan and Uvo died fighting him. He's coming for the Troupe. If we run, we die tired. Why not fight back?"
Franklin still remembered his Nen bullets freezing in mid-air at the auction. He knew Ryker was a monster, but running felt wrong.
Bonolenov, wrapped in his bandages, nodded in agreement.
"I'll stay," Shalnark said, tapping rapidly on his phone. "Machi, Shizuku, Kortopi... you three leave. I've been digging into the Hunter Network. I found his identity. And his friends: Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio. If we can't beat him in a straight fight, we use hostages. A monster is only invincible until you find what he cares about."
The Troupe cared only for the Spider. They assumed everyone else had weaknesses.
"Since Feitan is gone, I'm calling the shots here!" Phinks declared. "Machi, Shizuku, Kortopi—get out of here! The fighters will stay and deal with this trash!"
"But..." Shizuku started.
Machi grabbed her wrist. "Let's go, Kortopi. In a fight against that monster, our Hatsu are useless. We'll just be dead weight."
"But we swore to die together..." Kortopi mumbled.
"If he really survived Feitan's blast, then even all of us together aren't enough," Machi said, her eyes narrowing. "We need to find someone stronger. We need outside help."
"Outside help?" The Spiders blinked.
As the most notorious criminals in the world, the Troupe had never needed help. They werethe apex predators.
"The Zoldycks won't take the job. They're friends with the kid," Shalnark analyzed. "The Hunter Association won't help us..."
They realized with a sinking dread that they had no allies. Who would go to war with a god-tier monster for a group of wanted terrorists?
"Meteor City," Machi said suddenly. "The leadership there changed recently. That new ruler... Sosuke Aizen. If we offer him enough, he might help us."
"To hell with the cost!" Phinks yelled. "Give him all our funds! Give him the whole damn city! Just get him to kill that kid!"
"Understood," Machi nodded. "Give me three days. I will bring Aizen to Yorknew!"
With a flicker of movement, Machi, Shizuku, and Kortopi vanished into the night, desperate to recruit the Lord of Hueco Mundo.
Read ahead with 30+ chapters now with daily updates!
Get 40% OFF for limited time only.
@patreon.com/Authorizz