Hisoka's No. 4 spot in the Phantom Troupe had been taken over by Kalluto Zoldyck. Even so, there were still three empty seats waiting to be filled.
"Really? Fine by me."
Ronnel waved his hand casually, then turned to leave.
"Now that everything's settled here, I'm heading to the Kakin Empire to scout out the situation. Catch you all later~"
With that, his figure vanished down the corridor.
Shalnark and the others didn't react much. Only Machi kept her eyes on Ronnel's departing back, her expression slightly complicated.
Chrollo, lounging on the sofa, watched the news playing on the television as a familiar prophecy echoed through his mind:
"The aria of deep sleep will compose the melody of the spider's end..."
"By now, the prophecy should have already come to pass..." he thought.
Pondering, Chrollo flipped open The Bandit's Secret. The ability hadn't vanished yet.
"Could the prophecy have shifted without us noticing? If I have Shalnark run more divinations, maybe we can pinpoint the change..."
Suddenly, Chrollo froze.
One of the pages—originally holding the ability [Lovely Ghostwriter]—was completely blank.
"Was that little girl, Neon, killed? Or... was she erased?"
...
Elsewhere, at the Nostrade family estate.
"Thank you, sir, for helping our family with such a major problem... cough!"
In the grand mansion, Light Nostrade clutched the arm of a dark-skinned man in traditional green garb, his voice trembling with gratitude. However, his body was frail, his complexion pale, and he couldn't stop coughing.
"Take the boss to rest," said Ross to the bodyguards in black suits, who helped the weakened Light Nostrade out of the room.
Beside him, Lisa also nodded politely to the Nen exorcist they had hired.
"Thank you for helping remove our young lady's affliction."
"No big deal. It was just a standard transaction~"
The man gave a dismissive wave, smiling in that smug, money-hungry way.
He was the same Nen exorcist the Phantom Troupe had once brought to Greed Island to remove Chrollo's curse.
"Please accept this small token of thanks."
Ross handed over a bank card. The man took it without hesitation, grin widening.
"Well then, I won't say no~"
Before leaving, he glanced toward the hallway and gave a warning:
"The Nen beast I conjured to remove the affliction—unless the one who placed the ability undoes it, or Miss Neon meets the exact conditions for removal—it will continue to cling to her."
Inside the room, a Nen beast nearly identical to the one he'd created in the past to counteract the Bomber's curse now crouched silently on Neon's bed.
As for Neon herself—either out of fear or disgust—she had already fainted on the spot.
After all, she was a sheltered heiress. There was no way she'd opt for such a painful method to be freed from her curse.
Even if she were willing, the drawn-out process was something Light Nostrade simply didn't want to wait through.
And so, this bizarre scene had unfolded.
Once she woke up, she'd surely cry again, and the estate would be thrown into chaos once more.
...
After seeing the exorcist out, Ross and Lisa quickly called Kurapika.
"Hey, boss. Miss Neon's curse has been removed..."
Ross gave a full report.
He and Lisa had been transferred to the Nostrade family, thanks to Ronnel's puppet Kay Taylor's recommendation. Thanks to their reliable skills, they'd earned Kurapika's trust.
Both of them had grown weary of, or perhaps terrified by, the brutal and unpredictable nature of the outside world. Preferring a quieter life, they took on the role of managing internal affairs for the Nostrade family—essentially house stewards.
Handling external negotiations and business? That was left to Kurapika's former teammates: Melody, Basho, and Linssen.
"I see. You two did well," Kurapika replied after listening carefully.
"At first, the young lady was demanding to go to the Dark Continent. I figured that once we removed the Nen from her, Light Nostrade would keep her close again. He'd certainly take extra precautions after everything that's happened.
He won't let her run off so freely again."
"But I wasn't expecting that Nen beast to appear. Looks like she won't be going anywhere for a while."
"How you calm her down when she wakes up... I'll leave that to you."
"We understand."
Just thinking about what was coming, Ross felt a headache coming on.
Over the past few days, he'd gotten a very clear picture of his young lady's temperament. But what could he do? Orders were orders.
"By the way, where's Melody? Get her on the phone for me. I couldn't reach her earlier. I've got something important to discuss."
Kurapika was seated before her computer, scanning over files.
On the screen was detailed information about the bodyguard recruitment drive for the Kakin royal succession war.
...
Meanwhile, aboard an airship flying from Heavens Arena to the Kakin Empire—
Ronnel sat with one leg crossed over the other, intrigued by Chrollo's earlier suggestion that the Phantom Troupe might come together again to steal the Kakin Empire's royal treasures.
With the troupe now entangled in the Dark Continent expedition, it wouldn't be surprising if they got pulled into the succession war too.
"I wonder how this'll play out," he mused.Sounds fun~
As he relaxed, Ronnel reached into his space backpack and took out two tiny vials—each containing a drop of blood taken from Chrollo and Hisoka during their fight at Heavens Arena.
He absorbed both drops.
Hisoka's Nen abilities: Bungee Gum and Texture Surprise.
Bungee Gum could transform aura into a sticky gum-like substance, adhering to opponents and restricting movement. The longer it stretched, the greater the recoil force. But if it extended more than ten meters from the user's body, it would snap.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)