At the starting point, Ronin and Neon waited as Kurapika and the others stepped through the portal and into the game.
Kurapika had no idea Ronin had already tracked the three Phantom Troupe members inside, but one look at that cocky grin told him everything he needed to know.
"Score big?" Kurapika asked, pulling Ronin into a quick hug.
"Yeah." Ronin let go, only for Shizuku to step in and hug him too. He hugged her back without missing a beat. "Found the Troupe's trail. Three of them. Perfect little training run."
"Three? That's right at the edge of what we can handle," Kurapika said. "You didn't tip them off?"
"Not a chance."
Kurapika nodded. "Hisoka still not in the game?"
"Nope."
"Figures. If Hisoka was inside, Angel's Breath would've been collected already." Kurapika had spent every free hour outside memorizing every spell card and running every scenario he could think of.
He knew the drop locations weren't impossible to crack. Once he found the right spot, his manipulation skills would let him test every possible trigger until something stuck.
Only with Hisoka gone would the Troupe be moving this slow on Angel's Breath.
And Hisoka was probably out hunting Scarlet Eyes right now. Who knew how many pairs he'd grabbed already.
"Even without him, they're close to finishing the set," Ronin shrugged.
He didn't give a damn if Lev got healed. Hell, he'd rather fight the guy at full power, rage maxed out, ready to burn the world down.
Kurapika caught the look in Ronin's eyes and knew exactly what he was thinking.
"The real problem isn't the healing," Kurapika said. "It's whether they slap on a Leave card the second they're fixed and bail out of the game."
The whole group stood together now.
Ronin pulled the Accompany card from his book, locked the destination on Masadora, and activated it. The team shot into the sky like rockets.
The game had changed fast.
Players felt real pressure in the air. Battera's hired muscle was cleaning house, wiping out useless deadweight who weren't helping anyone beat Greed Island.
Then there were the random attacks—straight-up terrorists grabbing spell cards and specified pocket cards from anyone they crossed.
Everyone knew the first group was Battera making moves. The second bunch? Pure chaos.
Survivors who'd run into them knew the truth: the card grabbing was just a side hustle. These psychos weren't here to clear the game.
What they really wanted? All forty spell cards.
Especially the way they'd camped the only spell card shop in the game had every player pissed off.
Genthru was one of the players feeling the heat.
He'd entered three years ago, still green with Nen and hungry for real fights.
His two best buddies, Sabu and Bara, came in with him.
When Genthru decided to infiltrate other groups for clear cards, he split from the other two for a while.
But the three of them had built their Nen ability together: Sound of Life.
Their ultimate combo. Hit the right conditions and you slap a timed bomb on someone. Strong enough to blow anyone to pieces.
But now, before Genthru could even make a name as the Bomb Devil, some other crew had gone full psycho mode collecting cards. It pissed him off.
Especially since they'd killed some of his own organization members.
His crew was people he and Nikens had recruited one by one. Every single one carried good specified cards.
Now those people were dead and the cards were gone. Same as if the killers had robbed him directly.
In a small cave, the less-than-ten members of the organization huddled together.
Nikens looked rough—tired eyes, weathered face. He spoke first. "We need to lay low. Those killers don't leave witnesses. Anyone who's crossed paths with them is a target."
They'd started by robbing the spell card shop in Masadora, but word was they'd hit Dulias too, robbing and killing. Nikens was worried.
He'd worked hard building this crew. They weren't the strongest fighters, but each had a skill and knew how to farm cards. He didn't want them all wiped out by these maniacs.
Genthru's eyes swept the group. He pushed his triangular glasses up his nose.
When Nikens finished, Genthru stood up before anyone else could jump in.
"Has anyone here actually run into those three killers?"
Two guys hesitated, then stepped forward.
"I got robbed at the Masadora shop," one admitted, face red.
That meant his specified pocket cards were gone.
Genthru nodded. He'd expected as much. No one else spoke up, so he kept going.
"Sorry to say it, but once you cross those guys, you become their personal supply depot."
The room went quiet. Everyone got it instantly.
But they still didn't see where he was headed.
Genthru saw the confusion and laid out his plan.
"My call is we pool every card we have on one person. That person goes dark—no more activity, just hide somewhere safe. I've got a feeling those three killers won't stick around long. Hell, clearing the game might not even be their goal."
"I don't know how long they'll stay," Nikens added. "But someone's already rounding up players to hunt them down. Still, I agree with you. Can't let two years of work go to waste."