Alex enters the familiar abandoned building and sees the same mountains of rubble as last time, as he walks inside.
However, one key fact has changed.
Immediately, he feels the presence of several incredibly strong Nen users ahead of him.
[Secret Quest Completed:
Mission: Return to the hideout of the Phantom Troupe before Noon on August 31st.
Reward: —
Time Limit: 11:59 AM August 31st.
Failure: All friendly ties severed with the Phantom Troupe, Lost Reputation with Shalnark.]
Seeing the secret quest complete right in front of his eyes, Alex has all the confirmation he needs. He does his best not to sigh in relief.
Good... not too late and nothing has changed. I feared the events with Jason might have damaged my standing. I feared they wouldn't accept me, or even fear me. Looks like they didn't figure out it's me. At least... they're not letting that on.
As he approaches the figures sitting in the dark, he immediately spots Shalnark standing up and walking over to him, as if he had been waiting.
"Welcome back, my friend," he says, smiling kindly. "Finished your business? What were you up to?"
"Sure, sure, finished it," Alex replies, speaking casually. "It wasn't much... just the usual hustling, you know? A bit of that... a bit of the other things... and stuff, you know?"
That could have come out a little better....
"Why do you even talk like that?" Menchi says from behind. "We ate, we handled some business deals at the auction and in the market, and that's it. Also, you do not need to justify yourself."
Not bad. Good reaction, Menchi. Exactly as planned.
"Sure," Shalnark says as he, Alex, and Menchi walk forward together, stopping right before Chrollo, who stands on an elevated stone platform, calmly looking over all the other Troupe members.
Next to himself, Alex sees all the Troupe members gathered... except for a certain jester who hasn't shown up yet.
Why isn't he here? He should be... this is bad. I'd rather have him where I can see him instead of waiting to ambush me.
"I see you've still managed to show up on time... I was slightly worried," Chrollo mutters, his voice low and controlled.
"Oh? Was the boss worried about the newcomer? I say, why do we even need him then?" Alex hears a loud, challenging voice from his left, immediately recognizing Uvogin, who swiftly approaches, towering over Alex.
"Because apparently he wants to have skilled people on his side that are capable of more than just punching things... and stuff... and people, I'd assume," Alex counters, looking bored, his tone deliberately casual. "You don't seem to fit the bill, barbarian."
"..."
"Can't disagree with the newbie on that," Feitan says, snickering.
Feitan... the torture specialist. Possibly one of the strongest Troupe members aside from Chrollo and Hisoka.
"Indeed," Franklin adds, grinning widely.
Damn, the guy looks insane right in front of my eyes. Frankenstein's monster... and those twin machine guns of his are honestly awesome.
"You are bold... I wonder if you'll be alright?" Nobunaga, the swordsman wielding a katana, says from behind, crossing his arms.
As hinted at, Uvogin laughs and activates Ren without hesitation.
Alex casually activates his own Ren in response and still doesn't budge even an inch.
He wants to test me. Should have expected this. Since Chrollo doesn't interfere... I need to deal with him.
"I'll play with you, as long as this doesn't turn into a dick comparison contest. I'm not into men," Alex replies, smirking slightly.
Suddenly, without any warning, Uvogin gathers his Aura into his fist and strikes at Alex, using his Hatsu Big Bang Impact, albeit only with less than half of his total Aura.
Fucker! This crazy bastard is going right at it. Don't think I'll just take it because you have your little friends surrounding you!
Having expected something like that, Alex immediately reacts and instantly draws his [Skullflame Shield R2], uses Ko, and slams it against Uvogin's fist before he can fully extend his arm.
The moment of impact sends a vibration through the shield, its surface trembling slightly. It takes just a bit of damage, but not only does it withstand the attack, but it also counters him, the spikes and fire crashing into the fist.
However, to Alex's surprise, and frankly, shock, the shield suddenly glows in an infernal red, its effect activating on its own before spewing a large wave of dense, fiery magic straight at Uvogin, whose eyes turn wide in shock.
You have dealt 15 damage to Uvogin.
Hellfire Blast activated:
You have dealt 122 damage to Uvogin
You have caused burn
"AAAAAAAAAAHH!" Uvogin yells as he's engulfed in flames, rolling around on the ground while screaming in agony, the flames burning incredibly hot.
137 damage... this guy is tough, but even he doesn't seem to have more than 600 to 1000 HP, even with special skills. This was too much, fuck!
Shit... Arcus, activate!
"Sorry about that," Alex mutters as he's surrounded by orbal energy, casting Tear onto the burning Uvogin. The wave of watery orbal energy not only heals him but also puts out the flames almost instantly.
You have healed Uvogin for 138 HP
You have cured burn
As he does so, he notices Feitan, Phinks, and Nobunaga, his Katana partially drawn—standing nearby, carefully observing his actions without interrupting, but ready to intervene in a split second.
"Sorry, I'm bad at holding back," Alex says, smiling weakly. "You'll be fine though, right? Didn't think you'd be this frail... like a thin candle, just waiting to be extinguished, or in this case, lit ablaze."
"That's quite... philosophical, Alex, though I don't believe I've heard these words from you before," Shalnark says, laughing lightly as he approaches with both hands raised. "No need to fight... Uvo, this was your fault. Just drop it, okay?"
"You..." Uvogin says slowly, his voice low before suddenly rising into a roar. "I want to fight you to the death!!"
"Not fair, if that's the case, I wouldn't have healed you!" Alex complains, staring at Uvogin in annoyance.
Fucker! Drop it already.
"I can't accept that either, ❤️" Alex hears another voice from the side, one that immediately makes his skin crawl.
"Jewel?" he instinctively wonders.
It wasn't Princess Jewel, Soulmate!
"Sir Knight, I spared you two years ago... and look how you've ripened. How can I let others tear into you first? ♠️" A familiar yet deeply unsettling voice asks.
Alex looks around but doesn't see anyone at first. Then, suddenly, another silhouette appears within the dark building, standing atop a mound of rubble, and a few cards are flicked through the air, landing between Alex and Uvogin.
"Queen of hearts?" Alex asks as he picks up the one directly in front of him. "Always liked clubs more."
"Oi, Hisoka!" Uvogin roars. "Don't interfere."
"Stop," a sudden, quiet yet forceful voice echoes through the building, instantly shutting everyone up.
"You can challenge and kill each other after our business is done. Hisoka, sit down—you are late," Chrollo says in an icy, controlled tone.
"Alright... sorry, boss," Uvogin says, stepping back reluctantly. "For now, you pass... not bad..." he mutters, rubbing his head.
"Fine... ♦️" Hisoka replies, his eyes full of regret, hovering on Chrollo, before briefly switching to Alex, as he smiles at him in a sickening sweet way.
Fucking freak... I need to kill this guy.
"More importantly..." a woman says. "He seems to possess rather rare abilities."
Suddenly, Alex notices Pakunoda walking up to him. Despite her large, signature nose, she still looks like a hot, voluptuous office lady.
She stretches out her hand toward Alex.
"Sorry," Alex says, shaking his head. "I'm taken... more than you might know, and I can bear."
"Paku... no need for that," Chrollo says calmly. "Your abilities are without question. Though while we don't care about your private issues... I fear you owe us an explanation."
Chrollo then tosses a page of printed paper toward him, adding Aura so it becomes heavy and sharp. Alex catches it and takes a look, noticing a couple of pictures of him fighting Teal'c, along with a faint figure battling in the sky on a mysterious platform. While Alex himself can't be clearly seen in the latter image, his fiery shield is unmistakable, immediately exposing him.
"What do you want to know? I was after that fucker for a long time, and he approached me. I had to kill him and his goons. Aside from that... I'm not expecting any other distractions," Alex replies honestly.
"That was you?!"
"Impressive."
"What a strange Hatsu."
Uvogin, Nobunaga, and Shizuku comment respectively.
"As for my... reason... you see, I'm not so much of a Weapon or Beast hunter... I hunt something else entirely. I'm afraid I can't tell you more. But what I can tell you," Alex says, approaching Pakunoda and touching her shoulder. "At this time and in the foreseeable future, I don't intend to attack or target the spider."
"As her eyes widen," Alex steps back and smiles. "I hope that's enough. My skills are yours... as for what I'm after... though I can't tell you details. I need to hunt certain people and are after certain items. When I spot something, I'll tell you. Until then, I don't want anything. If nothing shows up, I'll simply accept some cash. Is that acceptable?"
Hisoka is not a spider... He is not part of the Troupe...!
I let her know... all I can do.
Chrollo just nods at him before calmly speaking. "Any... distraction could turn out fatal. The reason I even allowed Shalnark to invite you is that my initial estimates about this situation in Yorknew feel wrong. More abilities are required, and a talented Conjurer like yourself is more than welcome. Especially because you can take care of yourself, which most conjurers simply can't."
He knows?!
"I can sense something mysterious in the air... something strong enough to even threaten us," Chrollo explains vaguely.
But he still wants to go ahead?
"Why are we even here, boss?" Machi asks, wearing her traditional martial arts Gi, her hair tied neatly into a ponytail, while Shizuku, in her usual black sweater, simply stands there, silently staring at him.
"It's simple... we take items in the underground auction," Chrollo explains.
"Which ones?" Shalnark asks.
"Ancient texts?" Machi wonders. "Because the chief likes books."
"No, I'm thinking games," Feitan intervenes. "There will be multiple copies of the most expensive game ever for sale."
"Wouldn't it be logical to take precious metals and gemstones?" Nobunaga suggests.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Alex intervenes. "Good call there. And weapons and armor...
JEWELRY! Princess Jewel demands Jewelry!
"... and Jewelry!" Alex reluctantly adds.
"Did that spider just talk? ❤️" Hisoka asks, smiling.
This creepy Peasant can hear Princess Jewel?
No... he's just strange. Maybe has hallucinations.
"Everything..." Chrollo interrupts the banter. "We're taking everything that's up for auction."
"Are you serious, Boss?" Uvogin asks, for once speaking with reason instead of acting purely on instinct. "The world's Mafia conducts the underground auction. If we rob them, we'll have the entire Mafia on our backs. Boss!"
"Are you afraid?" Chrollo asks, not even slightly altering his calm expression.
"I'm excited!" Uvogin yells. "Give us the orders, boss... now!"
"There are variables at play... a lot of Hunters and mysterious strangers present in Yorknew... but I'll allow it. Kill them all! Every person who interferes or sees us."
[Secret Quest Offered:
Mission: Join the Troupe and rob the underground auction.
Reward: ???, ???
Failure Condition: Abandon the mission, disobey clear logical orders, or openly work against the Troupe's interests.
Failure: All friendly ties severed with the Phantom Troupe, Lost Reputation with Shalnark. Potential conflict with the Phantom Troupe.]
[Secret Quest Accepted]
Not even a choice? Looks like it's time to do this.
Seeing all the Troupe members moving as they approach Chrollo to hear the details, Alex decides to already wear his [Jack's Spare Silvery Mask], hoping to shield his identity from being exposed.
"This is crazy..." Menchi mutters quietly, despite already being aware of the situation.
Princess Jewel is excited! She will steal all the gems and jewelry!
-------------------------------------------------
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