Chapter 65: Sharks
BOOM!!!
A sudden explosion rocked the edge of "Pariston Island."
A mass of the Pariston-corpses on the perimeter were blown apart by Kai's Divine Flick, turning a patch of the ocean water a gruesome, murky red with blood and gore.
Pariston Hill watched this with keen interest. He stared at the mangled remains of "himself" floating in the bloody water, and Kai could have sworn the man's eyes were practically sparkling with delight.
Sick bastard, Kai thought.
From inside the wrecked airship, a chorus of terrified screams erupted.
Shizuku turned. A survivor had crawled to the edge of the jagged breach in the hull, looked out, and seen the hellscape below: an endless sea of dead, identical blond men, and now, blood in the water. Their legs gave out, and they fainted on the spot.
"Look what you did. You scared them to death," Kai said, glancing at Pariston. He turned to Shizuku. "I'm going to go check on our Spider friend. You hold down the fort inside. This is starting to feel like a disaster movie; let's try not to add any more bodies to the count."
"Okay." Shizuku nodded. She stepped carefully over the Pariston-corpses and headed back into the wreck.
Pariston, whistling a jaunty tune, followed her as if he were strolling through a park.
...
Kortopi woke up to the sensation of being slapped.
Smack. Smack. Smack.
"Hey. Wake up. You up yet? Hey..."
Kortopi groaned, his vision swimming. His body felt empty, hollowed out.
He opened his single visible eye. A boy was looming over him, hand raised for another slap. Seeing Kortopi awake, the boy smiled. "Finally. Get up. Time to work."
"You..." Kortopi's voice was a rasp. He remembered. Kicking Chrollo. Using his Hatsu against his will.
"You controlled me on the ship," he croaked, glaring at Kai through his hair. "You're a Manipulator."
Just like Shalnark.
But when? When had he been hit?
"Are you deaf?" Kai ignored the question completely. He activated the Star Marker on Kortopi's forehead. "I said, get up."
Kortopi's body obeyed instantly. He scrambled to his feet, his limbs moving against his will, and followed Kai toward the gaping hole in the fuselage.
As they walked, Kortopi finally got a good look at their surroundings.
This kid... he had used Kortopi's ability to create a "safe landing" from thousands of meters in the air. Even if the method was insane—using countless copies of Pariston Hill to create a fleshy crash pad—it had worked. Most of the passengers were alive.
Kai, walking ahead, was deep in thought.
He remembered a key detail about Kortopi's Hatsu, Gallery Fake. The copies acted as En.
In the Yorknew City arc, when Kortopi copied the fifty skyscrapers, he could sense anyone who entered them. He could also track the location of the original item by touching a copy.
So, Kai's original plan had been to force Kortopi to touch the wrecked airship (the "original") to locate the copy-ship Chrollo and Machi had escaped on. And then use the En function to see if they were still inside.
But Kai had decided against it.
His Star Marker controlled the body, not the mind. He could force Kortopi to use the ability, but he couldn't force him to tell the truth about what he sensed. Kortopi could lie.
And more importantly, giving that order would reveal a critical weakness of Kai's ability: that he couldn't read minds or control will. It was better to keep his cards close to his chest. Kortopi was still useful; no need to kill him yet.
Besides... even if Chrollo and Machi came back, so what?
They were in the middle of the ocean. "Pariston Island" was occupied. Where would they land?
A massive airship approaching would be a sitting duck for Kai's Divine Flick.
In this situation, Kai felt confident he could hold his own.
...
Inside the ship, Shizuku stood guard by the "entrance" (the hole in the wall), Blinky resting on her shoulder. The chaos among the survivors had settled into a terrified murmur.
For these normal people, the day had been a rollercoaster of horror. The explosion, the crash, the sea of corpses... and then the "miracles." People who should have been dead were walking around, healed by a few slaps from the scary girl and the boy.
They looked at Kai and Shizuku with a mix of awe and deep, primal fear.
"What do we do now?"
"Has anyone contacted rescue?"
"The signal is dead. Phones aren't working..."
"Where are the Phantom Troupe? I heard they were here! I'll kill them!"
"I was crushed... I was coughing blood... how am I fine now?"
Dozens of survivors huddled together, casting fearful glances at Shizuku. She ignored them, her eyes fixed on Pariston.
The blond man was leaning against a bulkhead, watching the survivors with amusement. He had noticed. Many of these people should be dead or dying. Yet they were fine.
Kai had removed the Star Markers immediately after healing them, but Pariston was smart. He suspected a healing ability. But he hadn't yet connected it to Kai's Manipulation...
"This can't be... how..."
A flight attendant stumbled out of the crew rest area, her face pale.
Her colleagues rushed to her. "What's wrong?"
"The count... it's wrong," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Someone is missing."
"Maybe they fell out during the crash?" a passenger suggested grimly.
"I saw some guys running toward the kitchen earlier!" another man hissed. "Hoarding food, probably..."
"It's useless," the flight attendant said, shaking her head. She looked at Pariston and Shizuku, forcing a desperate smile. "Sir, Miss... you are Pro Hunters, aren't you?"
"Sorry," Shizuku said. "I'm not a Pro Hunter."
Pariston raised his hand, flashing a dazzling smile. "Ah, neither am I! And even if I were, none of you could afford my fee. I'm quite expensive, you know!"
The attendant's face fell. The passengers glared at Pariston. We're all in the same boat, you jerk!
The attendant continued, her voice breaking. "I've searched everywhere. It's the sisters. They're gone."
"Sisters?" someone asked. "Oh! The ones who looked like mother and daughter? The little girl was so energetic..."
"Her name was Xiaoyun," Kai said, walking in with Kortopi trailing behind him like a zombie. "Shizuku, we saw them, remember?"
"No," Shizuku said.
"We did. The little girl was begging her sister to buy her milk. They had a fight about it..." Kai trailed off, seeing Shizuku's blank expression. He reached out and pinched her cheek. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."
A question mark appeared over Shizuku's head.
The flight attendant started to cry. If they were gone... they must have fallen.
"Haha! Look who's here!"
Suddenly, a group of about twenty men swaggered into the cabin. They were carrying armfuls of food and supplies looted from the galley. They had snuck off to hoard resources while everyone else was panicking. Now, seeing the situation stabilized, they returned, smug and well-fed.
Two minutes later.
They were all kneeling in a neat row in front of Kai, their faces bruised and swollen. They had surrendered all the stolen goods—including three uninflated life rafts.
"Those are the only rafts on the ship!" the flight attendant screamed at them. "What is wrong with you?!"
The crowd surged forward, furious. A lynching seemed imminent.
Kai watched, bored. Typical disaster movie tropes.
"Hey! I have signal!" someone shouted, holding up their phone.
"Quick! Call for help!"
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Pariston nudged Kai. "Look outside."
Kai turned. Through the hole in the hull, he saw the patch of ocean he had bloodied with his attack.
Fins were cutting through the water.
Sharks. A frenzy of them, drawn by the Pariston-chum.
Pariston smiled. "It seems your ability works on animals, too. Can you control any living thing? Haha, I'll have to be careful! But you're a bit weak... I doubt you could catch me off guard."
Kai ignored the taunt. Getting angry at a troll like Pariston was exactly what he wanted.
"Ah," Shizuku said suddenly, poking Kai in the back. "Kai. Rock Sparrow..."
"Ah." Kai froze.
The three birds. They were still locked in their cabin on the airship.
"Totally forgot about them..."
(End of Chapter)