Mutual Deception

By the lake at the center of the island, the calm surface of the water refracted a shimmering beauty beneath the sunlight. Two or three birds chirped from the branches along the shore, and through the crystal-clear water, schools of brightly colored fish could even be seen below.

If not for the clown-dressed figure standing beneath a tree, anyone would have considered this the perfect place for a relaxing vacation.

Unfortunately, the intense killing intent erupting from his body instantly frightened every animal in the vicinity away.

"Heh, you finally came."

Hisoka ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes gleaming with undisguised excitement and anticipation.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Allen flexed his limbs as he cracked all ten of his fingers.

Obviously, finding Hisoka on this island overflowing with primitive wilderness was no challenge for him at all.

Whether it was Track Humanoid Creature or Lupos's nose, which was even keener than a dog's, either could easily lock onto the other man.

What was more, Hisoka had made no effort whatsoever to hide his presence.

Not only had he not concealed it, he had continuously released killing intent as if he were afraid others would fail to find him.

At that moment, Allen was no longer in the playful mood he had been in before. He became completely serious, and his previously calm aura surged forth like floodwaters bursting through a dam.

"It's fine! I told you, you were worth waiting for. Besides, it doesn't matter if you bring your pet along. If I remember correctly, the two of you are one entity, aren't you?"

As he spoke, Hisoka shifted his gaze toward Lupos, who had already entered a state of alert.

Clearly, he had figured out how the trap he had set last time had been seen through.

"If necessary, I will. Can we begin now?" Allen asked with a smile.

He did not feel nervous just because his opponent had noticed Lupos's little trick.

More precisely, so what if he knew?

Could Hisoka possibly give up on attacking him and go straight for Lupos instead?

If he did, he would soon realize just how foolish it was to attack a Beastmaster Hunter's pet.

Leaving aside the fact that a pet could be revived through skills after dying, activating both Coercion and Wild Rage would be enough to give him a taste of hell.

Combined with Lupos's unique Nen abilities—Shadow Wolf Pack—the battle could be ended within five seconds.

"Of course! Let the game begin!"

As the last word was blurted out, Hisoka immediately launched the first attack.

This time, he did not recklessly charge in. Instead, he moved swiftly while rapidly flinging an endless stream of playing cards, no one knowing what tactic he was plotting.

Against these attacks meant to harass and obstruct his vision, Allen likewise did not reveal his abilities. He merely borrowed Shadow Energy from Lupos and turned every card into something resembling withered leaves.

However, where Hisoka could not see, Allen's other hand was silently infusing his Transformation-type Nen into the air. He then concealed his aura with In, and finally used Manipulation abilities to send that air around Hisoka's body, allowing it to enter through his breathing without notice and cling to his fragile, sensitive lungs, trachea, and throat.

At the same time, Hisoka was doing something similar on the other side.

Since he already knew that Lupos would use Gyo to observe his Nen and somehow pass the information to Allen, he decisively shifted the focus of his deception from the human to the Shadow Wolf King.

False Swipe!

A skin-like substance created through Nen that could imitate any thin object according to the user's imagination, such as tattoos on skin or altered words and drawings on paper.

Most importantly, this ability could not be seen through with Gyo, because it was materialized rather than mere aura.

Using the visual obstruction from the card attacks and the cover provided by angles, Hisoka successfully created a dummy completely indistinguishable from himself where neither Lupos nor Allen noticed.

Unlike an ordinary dummy, its surface was covered in a skin made with False Swipe, while its interior was filled with the rubber-like Stretchable Love. Its feet were connected to the original body by adhesive Stretchable Love for control.

In this way, a lifelike puppet was completed.

However, because Stretchable Love would vanish the moment it left his body, Hisoka knew he had only one chance. He had to risk being crippled by a single blow and use Zetsu to conceal his aura, creating the perfect ambush.

But he had not noticed that while he was concentrating on deceiving his opponent, his lungs had already inhaled a large amount of air wrapped in Transformation-type Nen.

At a single command from its owner, that air would instantly become liquid at -192°C.

In a brief instant, it could destroy the fragile respiratory system, causing a person to slowly suffocate to death in unimaginable agony.

"If I'm not mistaken, that cluster of black-purple Nen bullets in your hand can't move too far away from your body, can it? That's why you only use it as a defensive measure instead of an offensive one." Hisoka suddenly pointed out what he believed to be the flaw in Allen's Nen abilities with absolute confidence.

Of course, this was merely his speculation.

And his true purpose was to draw his opponent's attention, preparing for the next stage of his deception.

"Oh? Are you sure?"

A strangely shaped bone bow that radiated an extremely sinister and evil aura appeared out of thin air in Allen's hand.

The next second...

He directly molded the Shadow Nen bullet in his hand into the shape of an arrow, drew the bow, and fired it.

Whoosh!

The black-purple energy arrow struck a tree trunk just one step away from Hisoka at incredible speed.

Bang!

Sssss—

A massive hole was blasted straight through the middle of the trunk, which was thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around!

But that was not even the most terrifying part!

The most terrifying part was that Shadow Energy was rapidly corroding the entire tree around the hole.

Before long, the tree quickly withered and died, then revived in an extremely twisted and diseased state, presenting a shocking sight beyond the power of words to describe.

Sensing that unusual aura, Hisoka became even more excited. The corners of his lips curled into a beautiful arc. "Hey! Hey! Hey! This isn't something ordinary Transformation or Emission can accomplish. Just what did you add to your Nen?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Allen replied meaningfully.

Without a doubt, he had completed every part of his setup just now and firmly held the key to victory in his hands.

All that remained was to enjoy Hisoka's performance, then detonate the remote-controlled "bomb" lurking inside his body when he believed he had won.

It has to be said, Allen truly had a rather twisted sense of humor sometimes. He intended to give his opponent hope first, then crush that hope with his own hands and enjoy the reaction when the other man plunged into the abyss of despair after such extreme highs and lows.

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