Chapter 81: Hey, Machi
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Three figures descended through the night, encircling Mord at the center, each radiating terrifying amounts of aura.
Vroom vroom vroom————
The roar of a sports car came from the distance as an orange sports car sped toward them like the wind, finally executing a drift to stop some distance away from Mord.
"I wish you guys wouldn't just jump out of the car whenever you feel like it!" complained a golden-haired pretty boy as he stepped out of the vehicle.
The sports car had reached the outskirts of the abandoned old town, where terrain limitations prevented it from achieving maximum speed.
A few impatient individuals got off the vehicle early and rushed straight to the scene of the battle.
No one responded.
The atmosphere on-site grew increasingly tense.
Shalnark, the Drift King, glanced at the situation and spotted two bodies lying in a pool of blood inside a distant abandoned building. The smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by an icy, murderous intent.
What a grand spectacle.
Mord looked up. The ones he had just fought were Nobunaga and Franklin. Besides them, there were also Feitan and Machi.
Adding the late-arriving Shalnark and Shizuku who emerged last from the car.
Six people in total.
As for Uvogin, he had already charged into the building and was fighting Kurapika.
"Shalnark, Shizuku, go help Uvogin!" After giving the order, Franklin turned to look at Mord and said in a deep voice, "I never imagined we'd meet again under these circumstances."
"...Franklin, you know him?" Feitan stared intently at Mord, ready to strike at the first sign of movement from him.
Franklin nodded, glancing at Machi beside him, and explained, "He's from Meteor City, just like us. He's the boy Madou took in. When I went back to Meteor City to bring Shizuku away, I visited Madou and met him once. His name is..."
"Mord!" Machi trembled with rage.
"Well, well, Machi, long time no see."
Mord greeted her with a smile, but the sword in his hand remained firmly gripped.
"Why are you here?!" Machi lifted her head, glaring fiercely at Mord, her teeth clenched as she stared at that familiar yet unfamiliar face.
In contrast to Machi's anger, Mord appeared completely at ease.
"Hisoka hired me to help create an opportunity for him to fight Chrollo one-on-one. That's all."
"I would have loved to just sit back and watch the show. Think about it—both Hisoka and your leader are rare masters of our time. Their battle would have been spectacular. But you know how your comrades are—they immediately started threatening violence. I was just defending myself." Mord shrugged helplessly.
"We're fellow townsfolk, after all. I wanted to catch up with the bandaged guy—your aloof office lady can vouch for me."
Just then, Pakunoda emerged from the abandoned building, pointed at Mord, and loudly declared, "Bonolenov and Phinks were both killed by him. His physical skills are exceptional, and he's a master swordsman."
"He can transform his Nen into lightning, yet he can also use Conjuration abilities to change his weapon. Like the chain user inside, he's clearly a Conjurer-type Nen user, but his close-combat skills can overpower Enhancer-types like Phinks."
"Both of them are freaks. You must be careful."
"He's just a wet-behind-the-ears brat, yet his swordsmanship is no weaker than mine." Though their earlier clash had been brief, Nobunaga had already gained a clear understanding of Mord's sword skills.
"Maybe it's just talent." Mord chuckled, spinning the Zanpakutō in his palm, its blade glinting with a chilling light. "How about we call it quits? I have no grudge against you."
"You may have no grudge against us, but we have a score to settle with you." Feitan's voice was icy.
He and Phinks had been the closest of friends, and now he yearned to subject Mord to every torture technique he had ever learned.
While stalling for time with them, Mord quietly opened his character status panel.
[Name: Mord]
[Nen Ability Level: B-]
[Nen Ability: Zanpakutō]
[Awakened Attributes]:
["Pierce, Gonryōmaru!" – Can freely attach lightning damage during Nen ability attacks (Lv2: 2427/5000, can activate Shikai)]
["Smash, Gegetsuburi!" – Possesses overwhelming destructive power (Lv2: 823/3000, can activate Shikai)]
["Awaken, Benihime!" – Wields the power to reconstruct all things (Lv2: 650/?, can partially use Shikai abilities)]
[Enhancement Type Available Energy: 2200/100 (can extract related attributes)]
[Conjuration Type Available Energy: 2000/100 (can extract related attributes)]
...
After the trip to Jappon and the energy absorbed from slaughtering the gang members a few days prior, Benihime's attribute description finally appeared—the power to reconstruct all things.
The two available energy values for Enhancement and Conjuration types at the bottom of the attribute panel were obtained from killing Bonolenov and Phinks moments ago.
His personal Nen ability level had consequently reached B-.
Now Mord could confidently face any single member of the Troupe alone, and even in the worst-case scenario against Chrollo, he could retreat unscathed.
But being forced to fight 1 against 6 was truly putting him in a difficult position.
Benihime's currently usable abilities were completely unrelated to reconstructing all things, limited only to sword beam attacks similar to compressed energy slashes, which were insufficient to help him break through this deadlock.
Only two paths lay before Mord now.
One was to choose Gegetsuburi and see if reaching Lv3 could truly unlock the legendary Bankai.
The other was the already confirmed Gonryōmaru, though choosing it would mean wasting twenty percent of his energy due to conversion loss.
Mord's mind involuntarily conjured an image of Ōmaeda's lecherous grinning face.
"Machi, I can only apologize about your brother." Feitan drew the black umbrella from his back.
Countless Nen threads began appearing around Machi's hands, making her stance perfectly clear: "Even if you all don't move, I'll personally end his life myself."
Nobunaga deployed his En, concentrating all his focus on his next iaijutsu draw.
A drawing technique that could cut through anything.
Franklin aimed both hands at Mord, his ten severed fingers swaying chaotically in the wind.
Pakunoda also drew her gun.
Kortopi stood far away to avoid being caught in the impending battle.
The atmosphere grew so murderous that any ordinary person stepping into the area would have suffocated from the pressure.
In the distance, a battered and bruised Hisoka glanced toward the battlefield and declared, "You win tonight, Chrollo. We'll fight again another time."
Meanwhile, in the abandoned building, Kurapika was also locked in a desperate struggle, with no capacity to support Mord.
At this moment, everyone present unanimously believed Mord was doomed—everyone except Mord himself.
Faced with this binary choice, he finally made his decision.
He chose to become light!
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