Crisis X Seeing Through

Why—

Why was Uvogin of the Phantom Troupe here?

And he had even transformed into Saixin. This was clearly a targeted operation.

Moro's pupils trembled as he watched Uvogin dispel his transformation ability.

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Moro's mind.

He confirmed that Uvogin had come specifically to cause him trouble.

Which led him to think of Saixin's situation, as well as the possibility that other Phantom Troupe members were nearby.

And the worst-case scenario was that the Phantom Troupe had acted as a group—and had happened to see him as prey.

But—

What was their motive and reason?

Moro had never had any dealings with the Troupe.

Had they acted on a whim, or perhaps set their sights on his antique shop?

That was unlikely.

Not to mention the value of the antique shop, which did not even rank among the notable businesses in Yorknew City. With the Phantom Troupe's style of daring to steal every item from an auction house, why would they care about his antique shop?

On a whim?

Even less likely.

If it had truly been a whim, they would not have gone out of their way to target Saixin first, much less use such a more cautious method as transformation.

They had clearly planned this in advance, intending to ensure the operation succeeded without fail.

And among the Troupe, the person who would insist on such an approach...

Chrollo Lucilfer.

The worst possibility.

That was enough to show that, aside from Uvogin, the Troupe members coming after him included at least Chrollo, as well as Pakunoda, who was always at Chrollo's side.

This was dangerous...

But this was precisely when he needed to stay calm.

Why was the Phantom Troupe coming after him?

There was no point getting to the bottom of that right now. What he needed to consider was how to escape this predicament.

Moro suddenly stepped back. As he passed the visitor's desk by the entrance, he grabbed an ashtray.

Amid the wind and rain.

Uvogin saw Moro's action but paid it little mind. Even after his disguise had been exposed, he was in no rush to attack.

He had failed to carry out the leader's arrangement, but the outcome would not change.

"Hm?"

Uvogin suddenly raised his eyelids.

A muffled bang came from inside the antique shop. Immediately afterward, every light in the store went out, plunging it into darkness.

Only then did Uvogin realize that Moro had grabbed the ashtray in order to destroy the circuit breaker as quickly as possible.

But what use was that?

Uvogin still did not move, standing amid the wind and rain.

Inside the pitch-black antique shop.

Moro looked toward the back door and could clearly feel a surging, violent Killing Intent, utterly undisguised.

He was blocked in.

Moro let out a long breath.

From Uvogin's methods, he had inferred that Chrollo and Pakunoda were most likely nearby, but there were obviously more than just three of them...

With no intention of meeting the Killing Intent at the back door, Moro calmed himself as much as possible, then walked out of the antique shop.

In that brief span of time, three more people had appeared on the street.

The man at the front had short black hair, a purple cross tattoo in the center of his forehead, and dark, unfathomable eyes. Beneath his calm expression lay a faint hint of cold detachment.

The person on the left was a tall, voluptuous blonde woman. Her features were cold and striking, though her hooked nose ruined the overall effect.

The person on the right was a blond, baby-faced young man with emerald-green eyes and a smile covering his face.

Chrollo, Pakunoda, Shalnark.

Several distinctive features of their appearances allowed Moro to recognize their identities at a glance, and his heart sank.

With his hands in his pockets, Chrollo looked at Moro as though he were gazing upon a dead object devoid of any meaning to life.

Beside him, Shalnark rested one hand on his hip and smiled. "Very alert, and very decisive. It seems he knows about us..."

"Control him first."

Pakunoda crossed her arms, lifting her ample chest.

Chrollo silently raised his right hand, channeling Nen into his palm.

Watching Chrollo gather Nen, Moro's eyes darkened, his voice utterly devoid of emotional fluctuation.

"The Phantom Troupe... you certainly think highly of me. But there has never been any direct or indirect contact between us, has there?"

Chrollo's eyes remained still as dead water, and he said nothing.

The other Troupe members showed no intention of answering either.

Not answering...

Moro took a deep breath and desperately considered opportunities to escape.

At that moment, Chrollo used his Nen ability.

"Master of Stealth."

As Nen surged, a book marked with a red palm print appeared out of thin air in his right hand.

Rustle...

Amid the pounding rain, the book's pages turned by themselves.

When the pages stopped, Chrollo conjured a monocle linked to a Golden Chain in his left hand.

The moment Moro saw the monocle Chrollo had conjured, a flicker of change passed through his eyes. He did not know whether to feel relieved or enraged.

That monocle was Saixin's conjured ability.

Now that Chrollo had stolen the ability, it meant Saixin was still alive.

But given the Phantom Troupe's way of doing things, even if he was alive, his fate was surely miserable...

Holding the monocle, Chrollo did not put it on.

"Not yet."

He spoke slowly, stopping Uvogin, who was about to make a move.

Originally, Chrollo had intended to use the act of conjuring the monocle to affect Moro's state of mind, thereby creating an opportunity to guarantee Moro's capture alive.

Strangely enough...

There was not a trace of surprise or confusion in Moro's reaction.

When a companion's ability was used by someone who had come to cause trouble.

Even if one's mind was incomparably steadfast, one should at least show the confusion expected of a human being.

Yet the Moro Chrollo saw displayed none of the reactions one might expect—shock, surprise, confusion. Instead, there was...

Relief?

What was he relieved about?

The possibility Chrollo could think of was that, the instant Moro saw the monocle, he had realized that its original owner was still alive.

Then the prerequisite for making such a judgment was knowledge of Chrollo's Specialist ability, Master of Stealth.

That was very interesting.

"Moro... as you said, there has never been any direct or indirect contact between us."

Chrollo stated this conclusion with certainty, then a trace of inquiry appeared in his eyes.

"Yet your reaction is telling me something—you understand my Nen ability."

It was neither a question nor a guess.

It was a final verdict.

Hearing Chrollo's words, Shalnark, Pakunoda, and Uvogin all revealed surprised expressions.

"..."

Moro fell silent, somewhat surprised as well.

From that fleeting change when he saw Saixin's ability, Chrollo had noticed the clue and confidently reached a final conclusion.

This was Chrollo Lucilfer.

Moro suppressed the turmoil in his heart while resisting the urge to look at Pakunoda.

If there was still a chance to escape, then it lay in...

Information.

Moro could almost certainly conclude that Pakunoda had used her memory-searching ability on Saixin, prying out information concerning him.

And that information contained one false detail.

That was...

In Saixin's understanding, I am an Enhancer.

But in truth, I am an Emitter.

The opportunity lay there.