Chapter 45: Killua's Father and Grandfather
"I accept," Uvogin spat, along with a mouthful of blood. His beast-like eyes were burning with a fire of excitement and challenge, as if he weren't facing banishment, but a brand-new battlefield.
As Uvogin's rough, firm voice faded, the hovering [Book of World Resonance] erupted in a brilliant light. The soft glow became a tangible, liquid-like torrent, completely swallowing Uvogin.
The ancient pages flipped wildly, coming to rest on a blank sheet. Dark ink, as if alive, began to flow across it, tracing every stroke of the name "Uvogin," engraving his very existence into the rules of the contract.
At the exact moment the name was complete, Kyle's cold, formal voice cut through the light, like an ancient incantation:
"Resonance Contract: Death Banishment."
Kurapika clearly felt a tsunami of Aura explode from Kyle. This power was far beyond what he normally showed. It was as if his entire reserve was drained in an instant, compressed, and poured without reservation into the pillar of light surrounding Uvogin.
Fed by this immense energy, the light twisted and warped, forming a complex, luminous portal. The other side was not a physical place, but a deep, empty void that pulsed with a chilling, unknown energy.
Uvogin, on the brink of death, had no strength to resist. His massive body was easily swallowed by the light, like a stone dropping into a deep pool. He vanished without a trace, his wild aura gone as if it had never existed.
In the next second, Kyle, who had just been pulsing with power, completely deflated.
His face was as white as paper, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He staggered and, without any care for his image, collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air, not even bothering to move a finger.
Kurapika, seeing this stark contrast, and recalling the shocking scene, finally let his own tensed-up heart relax. A faint, exhausted smile touched his lips.
He rushed over, his voice filled with genuine concern. "Kyle, are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah," Kyle waved a hand, his voice raspy with exhaustion. "Just... completely drained. I... I had no idea... forcibly banishing a Nen user like Uvogin would cost that much Aura. I was almost completely emptied..."
"This was your first time using that ability?" Kurapika asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Kyle admitted with a weak smile. "I only figured it out less than a month ago. It's still a beta version... lots of bugs and instability."
He paused, then explained further. "Even though it uses the Book, 'Death Banishment' is still a voluntary contract, an equal exchange. To get a bigger 'return' from them... I need to add more restrictions."
Just as Kurapika was about to ask more, a violent wave of dizziness hit him. His vision blurred, and his body swayed, nearly collapsing. The backlash from his overuse of Emperor Time was hitting him full-force now that the fight was over.
Kyle, though exhausted, reacted instantly, forcing himself up to catch Kurapika.
"Kurapika!?"
Kurapika shut his eyes, pressing his temples. After a few seconds, the spinning sensation faded. "I'm fine," he said, his voice weak. He looked around the desolate battlefield. "Right... where are Gon, Killua, and Leorio?"
"Oh, them?" Kyle smiled. "If I know Leorio, he's probably snoring back at the hotel. As for Gon and Killua... they're probably training, trying to figure out how to surpass me."
The two supported each other as they slowly left the clearing, their low voices filling the night as they began to refine their rough plan, adding details and filling in the gaps.
Meanwhile, at the Phantom Troupe's hideout...
The air in the abandoned building was thick with silence and the faint smell of blood.
Pakunoda's lips were pressed thin. Machi toyed with her Nen threads. Nobunaga restlessly polished his sword. The loudest, most boisterous voice—Uvogin's—was missing.
Chrollo Lucilfer, the leader, sat on a piece of rubble, his head bowed, his expression unreadable.
Even without confirmation, as the hours passed, Chrollo understood the worst had happened. Uvogin was dead.
The realization was a cold snake tightening around his heart. His face remained calm, but in the depths of his eyes, a cold, murderous rage was quietly gathering, like the still, dark ocean before a hurricane.
Based on Uvogin's earlier reports about the Chain User, and the Mafia's current high-alert status, a new, far more destructive plan was forming in his precise, mechanical mind.
He would make the entire Yorknew Mafia pay for Uvogin's death.
Back at the hotel...
Kyle dragged his leaden feet into his room. He was beyond exhausted—mentally and physically. He didn't even bother to take off his coat before he collapsed onto the bed, falling instantly into a deep, heavy sleep.
The next night. The Mafia's heavily guarded auction building.
After the mysterious theft of the auction items on the 1st, security was now at its absolute maximum. Men in black suits were everywhere, snipers were hidden in the shadows, and the air was tense.
In a soundproofed secret room, a dozen men and women radiating cold, murderous intent had gathered. They were the top-tier assassins, hired by the Ten Dons to hunt the Phantom Troupe.
Kurapika, as a Nostrade bodyguard, was among them.
His eyes quickly scanned the group, landing on two figures in the corner: a tall, severe-looking man in a traditional kimono, and a smaller, elderly man who looked harmless but had the eyes of a hawk.
Zeno Zoldyck. And Silva Zoldyck.
Killua's grandfather and father.