Chapter 68: The Wounded Spider
Shortly after Haze departed, a figure rushed onto the scene.
Upon seeing Phinks' body, his eyes froze in shock, his limbs stiffening.
Then, he approached his fallen comrade.
For a moment, the Knight's mind went blank—but his strong mental fortitude quickly restored his composure. He took a deep breath and began examining Phinks' wounds... Then he rose and surveyed the battlefield.
The scorching sun kept the desert's temperature blazing high. The air around him seemed to warp from the heat, distorting light and shadow...
Phinks' blood had already dried.
"Judging by the footprints, there were three... two of them Phinks and Aldama, and the other one... him?" The Knight paused, the face of the man in the suit flashing in his mind.
From the look of the scene, the fight had been intense—and consequential.
The problem was that only Phinks was dead.
The other two had vanished.
Phinks was dead... It was a hard fact for the Knight to accept. No matter how he looked at it, the examiner wasn't Phinks' match. Moreover, Phinks wasn't stubborn like Ugin—if his opponent's Nen ability had tilted the balance too far, he would have chosen to retreat easily.
Unless... someone else had intervened.
In a two-on-one, the man in the suit's ability—judging by both Phinks and himself—was relatively superior.
But even if two people joined forces, killing Phinks wouldn't be easy.
The battle had ended quickly; the Knight hadn't arrived immediately, and the time gap was less than fifteen minutes.
Phinks died in such a short span...
"Enhancement..." murmured the Knight coldly, staring at the bloody hole in Phinks' chest.
He hadn't witnessed the fight, so all he could do was infer... He had no idea how Phinks truly died. What puzzled him most was that even if the man in the suit had followed them, he'd likely been just observing—not intervening. There was no conflict between them, much less hostility.
Besides, stepping into a battle of such intensity required immense skill—or it would be suicide. No one would do something so reckless.
"But, knowing Phinks' personality... he probably provoked that third person." The Knight's mind spun as he muttered to himself. "With Phinks' abilities, he still should've been able to escape... unless something happened that made escape impossible—something that didn't even let him react. He... died instantly."
As he said that, the Knight's heart trembled.
Phinks, as a Nen Enhancement user—though not as strong as Ugin—was still one of the Brigade's top fighters.
Could that examiner, Aldama, really be that powerful?
If the Knight had to choose between misjudging the strength of the man in the suit or Aldama, he'd bet on the latter. After all, Aldama had displayed some of his ability earlier, leaving a fierce impression.
Another possibility was... the third person following them wasn't the man in the suit, but an associate of Aldama—a fellow Hunter Association member, possibly even stronger.
After all, it was common for someone to secretly observe and evaluate candidates during the Hunter Exam.
Having noticed Phinks' strange behavior, this observer could've followed him.
Neither Phinks nor the examiner might've realized it...
That would explain it—a sudden appearance of a being far beyond Phinks' level could have determined the outcome.
Still, the possibility seemed too slim... So where had the man in the suit gone?
Would such a demanding project as the Hunter Exam require a Hunter of that caliber to remain hidden?
It didn't make sense.
The Knight's thoughts grew muddled.
"Had we been targeted long ago? Unlikely... Phinks and I decided to take the Hunter Exam on a whim, and no one else knew... nothing could've leaked."
If that were the case, the enemy wouldn't have spared him—they'd have waited for him to appear.
After thorough analysis, the most probable cause seemed that Phinks had been careless, and Aldama had seized the chance.
Even so... the Knight didn't quite believe it.
"Was it a surprise attack... or a difference in telepathic ability?"
"The examiner's strength clearly surpasses that of the man in the suit, so the first is more likely! Phinks' death was caused by Aldama... The man in the suit might not have that kind of ability—or motive. Still... even if he didn't interfere, he must have witnessed everything and knows exactly what happened."
The Knight fell silent, gazing into the distant horizon.
Judging by the traces of evaporated blood, the killer was likely badly wounded. The man in the suit had just left after watching the fight... Should he pursue him?
The Knight quickly dismissed the thought. Aldama had likely already reported the incident to the Association.
No one could predict how the Association would handle this, and with Phinks' death, the Knight's own life was in danger.
And there was always the chance of being discovered...
We have to leave first.
Cancel the Hunter Exam!
Beep, beep, beep...
After a brief pause, the Knight looked down at Phinks' body, sorrow flickering in his eyes. He turned and walked away quickly, taking out his phone.
Soon, the call connected.
"Phinks is dead," the Knight said bluntly.
"The killer is a Hunter named Aldama from the Association—he was the examiner for the first round of the Hunter Exam. I wasn't there, so I don't know the details... Besides the main culprit, there was also a candidate. But the situation is... complicated. I can't find the witness."
"Return," said the voice on the other end calmly.
"Understood."
After a short exchange, the Knight hung up and disappeared into the endless desert.
The air was scorching, but his heart was frozen.
His journey had ended prematurely.
Elsewhere, in a small, gang-controlled ammunition factory, a fierce gunfight was raging inside a warehouse under the blazing sun.
Inside the vast space, corpses littered the floor... Two figures rampaged like tigers among sheep, slaughtering the gangsters in a frenzy.
The storm of bullets and blades proved useless against these two monstrous fighters.
The air was thick with the stench of blood.
One clapped his hands, smashing every thug nearby into pulp...
The other, flashing a cold gleam from his blade, moved with fluid grace—cutting his foes apart piece by piece.
In a corner of the warehouse, several intruders watched the carnage with detached indifference, unmoved, as though their two comrades were more than enough to handle the gang.
The leader of the Brigade, Chrollo, sat perched atop a crate of firearms, one leg crossed over the other, lowering his phone slowly.
"Still no car? Why are Franklin and Feitan taking so long?"
Machi asked calmly, leaning against the wall, hands behind her head, glancing toward the warehouse door.
Pakunoda, standing near Chrollo, raised her silver pistol and fired at anyone who dared to approach.
Lowering the smoking barrel, she rested one hand on her hip and turned toward the leader.
"That Knight—what happened?"
"Phinks is dead," Chrollo said quietly.
As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone's expressions changed.
The atmosphere froze.
"The Knight wasn't with him when it happened. This outcome... is probably his fault," Chrollo said slowly, his hands buried in the pockets of his coat.
"The identity of that man..."
"We already know," he continued. "Let's wait for the Knight to return."
Chrollo's eyes were calm.
The room fell silent; each member's expression shifted visibly at the news.
They were Spiders—and they would do anything to get what they wanted.
No one could stop them...
They were thieves, killers, and proud of it.
Their strength—and their code—were absolute.
They refused nothing... and no one could take from them.
Because once the Spider seeks revenge—
—it delivers death.
(End of Chapter)