"Combat has three critical elements," Liam said, his voice steady in the quiet of the hotel room. "Time, place, and people."
Several days before the chaos truly began. The group had not yet left their initial safehouse. Liam stood near the center of the room, facing Kurapika, Shizuku, and Menchi. Silva Zoldyck was nowhere to be seen, keeping to his usual habit of appearing and vanishing like smoke in the wind.
Shizuku raised her hand slightly, like a student in a classroom. "The charity exhibition officially ends at ten at night on July fourteenth. The Phantom Troupe will absolutely make their move before that deadline."
"As for the location," Menchi added, leaning against the back of the sofa, "from a macro perspective, the battlefield is this entire casino city. But from a micro perspective, it is the exhibition building itself."
"And the people," Kurapika finished, his tone turning cold. "Naturally, that means the members of the Troupe." He paused, his gaze dropping to the floor. "And us. If we are the ones hunting them, my ability can help pinpoint them, provided I have actually seen the target recently."
He raised his hand and waved it through the air. A surge of Nen flared, the aura quickly condensing and materializing into his Dolphin Bookshelf. He reached into the glowing construct and pulled out the thick fourth volume, Revelations. "With this, I can track their exact locations."
Menchi watched the book materialize, resting her chin in her hand. "You and Shizuku are both Conjurers. Liam, are you exclusively recruiting Conjurer for this organization?"
Shizuku tilted her head, ignoring Menchi to look directly at Kurapika. "But if your goal is to find the Spiders, and the condition for your book is that you have already seen them, why would you even need the tracking ability? If you saw them, you already found them."
"I think what he means is that even if you only see something unconsciously, it still counts as having seen it," Liam explained with a faint smile. He lifted a hand, gesturing between his own eyes and Kurapika's. "Even if it is just a passing glimpse in a massive crowd, the image leaves a permanent impression on your subconscious. The human brain is like a camera that never stops recording. Because of that rule, our most efficient approach to finding them is to multiply Kurapika's eyes."
Shizuku and Menchi both grimaced at the exact same time. The mental image of Kurapika's head suddenly sprouting hundreds of blinking eyeballs was profoundly disturbing.
Liam chuckled at their expressions. He raised his hand and released a concentrated sphere of aura. Jade materialized in a gentle flash of light, her long sleeves flowing smoothly in the still air of the room.
Shizuku's face immediately lit up with understanding. "Oh. That is very clever."
"Where did that come from?" Menchi blinked, completely lost.
"Star Marks," Kurapika said calmly, setting the heavy book down on the table. "Since you are a potential member of the organization, you should already understand how his Nen ability works. As long as Liam provides me with his Star Mark talismans, I can use them to multiply my lines of sight across the entire city."
Days later, out under the blazing afternoon sun.
"Hey, Suzaku, I found a Spider," Liam's voice echoed clearly inside Kurapika's head.
Kurapika, currently disguised as the hulking Uvogin, continued walking down the crowded sidewalk without breaking his stride. Even though they were half a city apart, the Moon Mark on their rings allowed for seamless telepathic communication during daylight hours.
Kurapika focused his mind, tapping into the visual network. Three kilometers away, perched high on the shaded eaves of a convenience store, a small white pigeon suddenly swiveled its head. Beneath its wing, a rose-gold Star Mark pulsed with Nen. Following the precise directional coordinates fed to it by Liam's Rock Bird, the pigeon flapped its wings and took to the sky.
Guided entirely by the telepathic signal, the possessed pigeon soared over the rooftops and quickly spotted two distinct figures walking side by side down the street: a woman with messy pink hair and a wandering warrior sporting a topknot.
Machi and Nobunaga.
The pigeon's crimson eyes seemed to burn with quiet intensity as it banked silently, tracking them from above before following them down into a narrow, shadowed alleyway. Then, in a flash of blindingly fast movement, the connection went dark. The pigeon lost the targets completely.
Minutes later, after Machi and Nobunaga had walked away, the gruesome scene in the alley began to shift. The nearly diced remains of the white pigeon, scattered across the damp pavement in a pool of blood, slowly began to drag themselves back together. Flesh knit, feathers reformed, and the scattered, glassy eyes reignited with a fierce, fiery red light.
"Unbelievable," Kurapika thought to himself, the sheer shock of the sensation reverberating through his mind. "The Star Mark's regeneration ability is lightyears beyond anything normal. As long as the magical mark itself is not destroyed, it is like the boundary between life and death has been completely erased."
The reconstructed pigeon stood up unsteadily in its own blood, shaking out its clean white wings.
Kurapika had carried a Star Mark on his own body before, but he certainly had not been willing to commit suicide just to test the upper limits of its healing factor. Feeling the bird die and pull itself back together was an entirely different experience.
"So, do you regret giving up your personal Star Mark now?" Liam's voice teased through the mental link. "It is ridiculously useful. It is basically a set of built-in resurrection armor."
A few feet away from Kurapika on the busy street, the invisible Rock Bird landed on a mailbox and folded its stone wings.
"No," Kurapika replied through the link, his mental voice hardening. "On the contrary. Knowing exactly how powerful the Star Mark's regeneration truly is makes my choice to reject it even more meaningful. Denying myself that safety net strengthens my resolve. That sacrifice will make my flame of vengeance against the Spiders burn even hotter."
"Pointless posturing," Liam muttered aloud.
He glanced up from the street. High above, Menchi's brightly colored hair poked out from the open window of their high-rise hotel room.
Kurapika sighed, the heavy disguise shifting around his shoulders. "We need to find another place to stay."
Shizuku's voice chimed into the telepathic link, sounding genuinely curious. "Do you think Uvogin passing by this exact block was just a coincidence?"
"Who cares?" Liam replied, stretching his neck. "Let's just find a new hotel. Menchi has not been showing her face out on the streets with us, right? We can have her use her official Hunter License to arrange a secure booking somewhere else."
"Do you not have a license of your own?" Menchi's voice called down from the window.
"Technically, the one I use is borrowed. We are going to have to wait a few more months to actually get our own."
"Wait, you mean you are going to take the exam, not just get a license handed to you. Please understand there is a massive difference."
Later that afternoon, near the entrance of their newly booked hotel, Menchi stood on the sidewalk looking up at the sky. The weather was surprisingly nice for the desert city. While she casually bickered with Liam about the logistics of moving their luggage, she suddenly realized that the voice responding to her had completely changed in pitch and tone.
She turned around. The person standing next to her was no longer Liam. It was a heavy-set Black woman wearing a brightly colored sundress and a deeply sour expression.
Menchi stared at her for a long moment. "Just how many surveillance units are you currently using?"
"You should really say 'they,' not 'you.' I am not the only one doing this kind of thing these days," the Black woman said, her voice sounding entirely wrong coming from that face.
Suddenly, the woman threw her head back and laughed loudly. She spread her arms wide and lunged toward a tall young man walking past, who was entirely focused on the rap music blasting through his headphones.
"Hey! Alex, it has been a long time!" the woman shouted enthusiastically, grabbing the boy's arm. "Do you not remember me? I am your Aunt Susie!"
The young man ripped his headphones down, looking perfectly ready to shove the crazy stranger right onto the pavement. But before he could move, a faint glimmer of jade-green light flashed deep in his pupils. His aggressive posture melted instantly, replaced by a warm, completely artificial smile.
"Oh, Auntie! How have you been?" the young man replied cheerfully.
Menchi broke out in a cold sweat, her stomach twisting. "This is seriously creepy, you guys know that, right?"
"Really?" Aunt Susie and the young man named Alex answered in perfect, terrifying unison.
"It is like a zombie virus infection," Menchi muttered, wrapping her arms around herself. "Tell me there is an antidote for this."
She looked up and down the crowded street, her imagination running wild. She suddenly pictured the entire city crawling with thousands of innocent people, all secretly hijacked and controlled by Liam and Kurapika through the Star Marks.
Aunt Susie rolled her eyes, an entirely uncharacteristic gesture for the woman's face. "What kind of monster do you think I am?"
"They are completely disposable after we use them. It is a very eco-friendly system," the young man with the headphones added. He calmly stepped away from Aunt Susie, put his headphones back over his ears, and walked off in a completely different direction.
Menchi just shook her head, unable to deal with the casual horror of it all, and turned to leave.
As she walked down the street, a large brown goose flew low overhead, honking loudly. Menchi stopped, her eyes narrowing with deep suspicion. She pointed a finger at the bird.
"There is a restaurant in the biggest casino with an allegedly excellent chef. I think I should try it and see if—"
Before she could finish testing the bird, a passing taxi blared its horn. The goose squawked in genuine panic and frantically flapped away over a nearby roof.
"Guess not," Menchi mumbled, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
She kept walking all the way to the massive casino complex. As she approached the grand entrance, she suddenly stopped. Sitting near the valet stand was a scruffy stray cat. She narrowed her eyes again. She could have sworn she had seen that exact same stray cat sitting on at least three different street corners along her route.
"This absolutely has to be either Liam or Kurapika," she grumbled to herself.
She shook her head in sheer exasperation and pushed through the heavy glass doors, heading straight for the casino's restaurant. Liam had the absolute nerve to call Conjurers neurotic, she thought, when he was just as terrifyingly obsessive with his Manipulation abilities.
Deep into the afternoon, the heavy glass doors of the casino swung open, and Franklin, Pakunoda, and Yonger Hakel stepped out into the oppressive heat.
Although the white-haired little girl holding the cake did not register in the mental database of the surveillance cat watching from the alley, Franklin's towering, scarred appearance was far too distinctive to miss. Standing right beside the sharp-suited Pakunoda, the visual identification was absolute and undeniable.
Through the cat's eyes, the observer analyzed the new variable. So the little white-haired one is the newest member. Does that make her number four, eight, or twelve? And which of those specific numbers is Silva Zoldyck's actual target?
Omokage had originally held the number four spot. Kortopi had been number twelve, and the replacement named Bambie had also been killed shortly after joining. Shizuku, who was supposed to take the number eight spider tattoo, had been intercepted by Liam before she ever made contact with the group. That meant the current number eight had never actually been seen by their side.
The surveillance cat remained perfectly still in the shadows, its glowing eyes tracking Franklin and the women as they walked down the block.
Meanwhile, halfway across the city, the real Jaku utilized the A-ring Moon Mark to broadcast a direct message to Kurapika. "Suzaku, Suzaku, this is Tendo. I found another Spider. The location is near the central stadium. Send a bird over here quickly to get a visual."
Down by the sports stadium, Feitan and Phinks were strolling casually down the wide avenue. Feitan was noticeably shorter than the surrounding crowd, his face buried in his collar, while Phinks wore a brand new, crisp tracksuit. They had just finished watching a professional baseball game.
In a decorative flower bed running alongside the road, a small brown squirrel scurried up a tree trunk. It paused on a low branch, its eyes flashing a vibrant red as it glanced back at the two men from a safe distance.
"It is just my absolute worst luck getting paired up with you for this trip," Phinks complained, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "What do you think about that new Apple product launch happening downtown? If you want the tech so badly, why not just break into their corporate building tonight and take whatever you want?"
"I think it is significantly more interesting to actually buy it with money this time," Feitan replied, his voice muffled.
Miles away, on a quiet road cutting through a dense residential district, Absuo and Shalnark walked side by side. Absuo's red hair stood out sharply against the drab apartment buildings, while Shalnark typed casually on his phone, looking like a delicate college student.
Up in the canopy of a large oak tree leaning over the sidewalk, a row of six gray sparrows perched shoulder to shoulder. Suddenly, all six birds turned their heads in perfect unison, their tiny eyes glowing fiery red as they tracked the two Spiders passing below.
"I really do not care about the plan," Absuo said, a dangerous, breathless edge to his voice. "I am absolutely starving."
"The boss specifically said we are not to make too much noise before we officially act," Shalnark reminded him, not looking up from his screen.
"There are so many packed apartment buildings right here," Hisoka purred, his eyes scanning the windows. "One or two missing people will not attract too much attention."
Absuo pointed a long finger toward the closest residential tower, grabbed Shalnark by the sleeve, and pulled the blond man along with a wide, terrifying grin.
Evening fell, bringing a slight chill to the desert city. After a long, mentally exhausting day of managing the surveillance network, Liam collapsed face-first onto the plush sofa in their new hotel room. He rolled over, let out a deep groan, and casually grabbed a newspaper from the neat stack the hotel staff delivered daily. He held up the Yorknew Times and began to skim the front page.
"I honestly do not even know where to start complaining about this mess," he muttered to himself.
He flipped through the broadsheet pages quickly, the paper rustling loudly in the quiet room. Suddenly, he stopped and turned back a few pages, his eyes locking onto a specific article.
Shizuku walked out of the kitchenette holding a steaming cup of whatever bizarre drink concoction Menchi had just invented. She paused behind the sofa, glancing over Liam's shoulder to see what had captured his attention.
It was a detailed news report covering the Kakin royal family's highly publicized diplomatic visit to the United States of Saherta. The page was dominated by glossy photographs. There was a shot of the short, incredibly chubby King shaking hands with the Sahertan President. Below that were several smaller pictures of the accompanying Kakin princes visiting various local tourist attractions.
"The article says they plan to visit all five of the V5 nations on this tour," Shizuku noted, reading the headline. "This city is only their second major stop."
Liam scanned the text casually. The portly King looked harmless enough on paper. Then there was the First Prince, Benjamin, who looked less like a royal and more like a fierce, heavily muscled lion ready to rip someone's throat out. Beside him was the cold, regal Second Prince, Camilla.
Clearly, the Kakin public relations team knew exactly what they were doing, because Camilla's photos were given significantly more care and prime placement. In the largest shot, she was surrounded by smiling children of various ethnicities, looking exactly like a modern Madonna radiating a halo of absolute mercy and grace.
A soft click at the front door drew both Liam and Shizuku's attention. Jaku, perched on the lamp, turned its head.
Kurapika quickly entered the room, shutting the door heavily behind him.
"Why do you look like you have just been dragged backward through hell?" Liam asked, folding the newspaper in half and tossing it onto the coffee table.
Kurapika leaned back against the solid wood of the door and let out a long, ragged sigh. "I found another one and followed him. It was the Peeling Crusher from the Gyudondond Clan."
Liam sat up slightly. "Did you engage him?"
"No," Kurapika said, his voice tight with lingering frustration. "Silva was there in the shadows. He grabbed me and stopped me before I could summon my chains."
"He still has not found the specific target he wants to kill yet," Liam reminded him, echoing the same argument they had the night before. "You cannot go around alerting the Spiders to our presence without his explicit permission. Kurapika, you cannot let your anger scramble your brain. Your mission here is not to blindly charge at every single Spider you happen to see on the street."
Deep beneath the city streets, the air was thick with the smell of motor oil and damp concrete. The Peeling Crusher, Bonolenov Ndongo, walked slowly down the ramp into an abandoned underground parking garage. The flickering fluorescent lights illuminated the massive space where the rest of the Phantom Troupe had already gathered. They had been waiting for him for a long time.
"Someone was following me," Ndongo announced, his voice echoing off the concrete pillars. "I could feel them tracking me for blocks. I thought they were finally going to commit to an attack, but at the last second, they actually backed off."
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