Moreover, this human-faced horseman was exceptionally powerful. According to the only colleague who brought Theta back to her room—and who also understood Nen—Salkov told her after she regained consciousness:
"The prince's Nen beast could have killed you outright. But even after you repeatedly lied to him, it didn't. That means it wants you to become something… inhuman."
"Don't take any more chances. The prince's Nen beast has fully matured. The fact that you failed to kill him is proof enough. Just give up. It's useless now."
Theta was silent for a while after listening to Salkov's frustratingly rational warning.
She knew it too—at this point, there was no turning back.
And maybe that was exactly why she felt even more anxious.
Who else could stop that deranged Fourth Prince now that he'd mastered such a twisted form of Nen?
Theta thought about it. Salkov thought about it. Even the Fourth Prince himself likely had the same thought.
Yet when Tserriednich checked his own body, he didn't notice the tiny insect on the back of his neck quietly siphoning a drop of blood.
Everything about him was under someone else's surveillance.
[Parallel Future]—a precognition ability? This thing's "bug level" is even more terrifying than Observation Haki's ability to foresee the future...
...
Ronnel was in a great mood, savoring the Nen ability he had just stolen from Tserriednich.
With this new power—combined with his [Hide and Seek] acquired from Knov, the reconnaissance potential of the [Deep Purple], and his [Beelzebub] clone—his ability to explore the Dark Continent would improve significantly.
It was a huge leap forward.
And with his own formidable strength, Ronnel was confident that even if he encountered even Don Freecss himself on the Dark Continent, he would stand his ground!
That said, the ten-second foresight ability, while strong, came with its own set of flaws.
Not only did it require "absolute" and closed eyes to activate—dangerous conditions in a live combat scenario—but even if one could foresee the future, it didn't guarantee survival.
After all, the future can only be predicted in brief windows. Emergencies don't wait for cooldowns.
If, for example, Theta had used a wide-range explosive instead of a pistol during her assassination attempt, even Tserriednich's ability might not have saved him.
Ten seconds of foresight is incredibly useful in life-or-death situations, but it's still a short time. It's not a silver bullet.
But for someone like Ronnel, that brief window was more than enough of an advantage.
As he was delving deeper into the time-space mechanics of the ability, messages came back from the Seventh, Tenth, and Eleventh Princes—about ten hours before the formal banquet.
Ronnel wasn't sure what mental gymnastics those three princes had gone through, but in the end, they all agreed to accept his protection.
With that, all of Ronnel's plans could finally start moving. Only one piece was missing.
...
In the cafeteria on the third floor—
Chrollo and the Phantom Troupe were gathered around a large table, calmly enjoying a meal.
At their feet lay the bloodied corpses of a mafia family from the Kakin Empire.
The thick stench of blood filled the room. Aside from the Troupe members eating and replenishing their energy, the cafeteria was eerily empty.
Everyone else had fled in terror. Even the cafeteria chef and the older woman in charge of cooking had retreated to a corner, trembling.
The so-called "Three Major Families" of Kakin had posed no real threat to the Phantom Troupe.
What a joke. Even the world-renowned Ten Dons and their Shadow Beasts had been annihilated by the Troupe. A petty country's gangsters were hardly worth mentioning.
As the Troupe quietly ate their fill, an uninvited guest suddenly appeared.
Everyone instantly released a surge of aura—but as soon as they saw who it was, that pressure began to dissipate.
"Ronnel! You finally showed up!"
Phinks, the Enhancer, leapt from his seat the moment he recognized the familiar black coat. His face lit up with excitement.
Others also reacted to Ronnel's arrival in their own subtle ways.
Machi's gaze lingered on him, unreadable.
Feitan clicked his tongue and looked away.
Kalluto and Illumi, seated at the far end of the table, each had different reactions—one curious, the other visibly cautious.
After all, Illumi hadn't forgotten the intense agony caused by Ronnel's corpse poison back at the Matar family estate. Detoxifying it had taken no small amount of effort.
"How's it looking up top?"
Chrollo asked plainly, gesturing for Ronnel to take a seat.
"No need. I have to head back to Room 330 shortly," Ronnel replied, his voice coming from a clone of the [Beelzebub]. "The succession war is turning bloody. A prince has already been killed. The second royal dinner is tonight. After that, the violence will only escalate."
Chrollo gave a slight nod. "So… can you get your hands on the royal family's treasure? The urn for the egg ceremony?"
"Give me a little time. It won't be a problem."
Once the other princes and the king were dead, and only the peace-favoring heirs remained, the urn would become a taboo item. At that point, taking it would be easy.
"Then I'll leave that to you~" Chrollo said. The result was all he cared about. The process didn't matter to him.
"Ah, speaking of which…"
Illumi finally spoke.
"We meet again~"
He stared at Ronnel. His voice remained cold and calm, but the tension around his body revealed his wariness.
Illumi would never forget the excruciating pain of that poison… nor the massive effort it took to cleanse it from his system.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)