Deceptive Flying Stars

Half a year.

That was how long Moro had been learning Nen.

In terms of technique, manifested aura volume, and even potential aura volume...

Moro was far inferior to the veterans facing him. Worse still, he lacked experience in Nen combat.

He—

Had never really pursued anything.

If he had to name something, it was to live well, eat well, and sleep well.

So he never went looking for trouble. He simply earned money to repay Molena while quietly refining his Nen ability.

As for fighting, he had sparred with Saixin a few times as an Enhancer.

But that had only amounted to minor scuffles.

Now, with his life on the line, would he regret not spending more time improving his strength?

Moro had no regrets. Or rather, he had no spare thoughts to consider such things.

He only knew... that he had to rely on his Nen ability to find a sliver of survival in this near-certain death trap.

But before using his Nen ability, he needed to create an opening—

During the brief silence, Moro's thoughts raced.

Chrollo had stopped Uvogin out of curiosity, but Moro did not think Chrollo would patiently wait for his answer.

After all, Pakunoda's memory-searching ability could pry out every secret once they captured him alive.

And even if he directly revealed the name of Chrollo's Nen ability and the Vow and Restriction attached to it, he probably still would not be able to break Chrollo's concentration.

So how could he make use of this limited chance to speak?

What words could strike directly at the minds of the people before him?

Faced with a life-or-death crisis, Moro's brain cells burned wildly.

Then, a name naturally surfaced—

Sarasa.

The owner of that name was the catalyst for the Phantom Troupe's formation, as well as a lingering wound in Chrollo and the others' hearts.

"Sarasa."

Without the slightest hesitation, Moro loudly spoke the name that had long been buried deep within Chrollo, Pakunoda, and Shalnark's hearts.

The street. Wind and rain.

A name that should never have appeared here struck Chrollo, Pakunoda, and Shalnark's minds with overwhelming force.

Why did this boy know Sarasa's name?

The moment that doubt arose, Moro moved.

"Deceptive Flying Stars"

Moro held both hands level, gathering an egg-sized fluorescent green Nen Bullet in each palm.

The fluorescent green Nen Bullets immediately flew from his hands, shooting straight toward the somewhat dazed Pakunoda and Shalnark.

Strike the opening!

In an instant, the fluorescent green Nen Bullets reached Pakunoda and Shalnark.

However, Uvogin, who had shown no reaction at all to the name Sarasa, shoved Shalnark—the one closest to him—aside at the critical moment, allowing him to evade the oncoming Nen Bullet.

Almost at the same time, Chrollo, whose composure was extraordinary, steadied himself at the last moment and reached out to yank Pakunoda over.

Both fluorescent green Nen Bullets missed.

At the same time.

Moro was sprinting wildly toward one side of the sidewalk.

The person guarding the rear exit...

Judging from that surging, violent Killing Intent, he had to be a special assault member of the Phantom Troupe.

So before that person showed himself, Moro would never voluntarily head in that direction.

The only escape routes left to him were the two sides of the sidewalk!

He quickly glanced back at Chrollo's group.

Deceptive Flying Stars had missed...

In the end, he was still not proficient enough with Hatsu to release his ability faster.

But he could not deny that, in this brief minute of contact, Moro had truly realized just how exceptional Chrollo was.

Those famous, named characters from the original work were all difficult to deal with.

Moro withdrew his gaze. Even though Deceptive Flying Stars had missed, he was not disappointed in the slightest.

His Deceptive Flying Stars had a second stage...

"Sorry."

On the empty street, Shalnark came back to his senses, his brows knitting slightly.

Uvogin gave Shalnark a strange look, then turned toward Moro, who was sprinting through the rain, and took off after him.

Chrollo's gaze turned icy. With a flash, he overtook Uvogin, his body tearing through layers of rain mist as he chased after Moro.

Shalnark and Pakunoda soon steadied themselves as well.

Their doubts remained, but once they captured Moro alive, every question would be answered.

They followed close behind.

Ahead.

Moro looked back again at Chrollo and the others pursuing him directly.

"Almost there..."

Calculating the timing in his mind, Moro raised his right hand and prepared to receive the returning flying stars.

His Deceptive Flying Stars ability was a combined Emission and Manipulation ability, with an attack range of only one hundred meters.

Once the flying stars reached their maximum range, they would freeze in midair for one to five seconds.

Before releasing them, Moro could set exactly how many seconds they would remain still.

Once the set pause ended, the flying stars' power, speed, and size would all double, after which they would reverse course and home in on Moro along a target-seeking trajectory.

The doubled power of the extended second stage was the Vow effect of this ability.

The Restriction that came with it was—

The returning flying stars would also injure Moro.

In other words, if nothing else blocked the flying stars, Moro would have to evade them or take the hits head-on.

The reason Moro had imposed such a Restriction was the Annual Rings on the back of his right hand.

Covered by the Annual Rings, the entire back of his hand was as hard as a Black Tortoise shell...

That was why he could use the back of his hand to knock away the returning flying stars.

Having calculated the timing, Moro abruptly shifted his position without warning.

Amid the unending sounds of wind and rain, two faint sounds suddenly rang out.

Immediately after, two deep fluorescent green streaks pierced through the rainy night, carrying a dangerous aura as they flew toward Pakunoda and Shalnark.

The attack came too suddenly, and with Chrollo and Uvogin pursuing in front, Pakunoda and Shalnark received no help this time.

As the flying stars, their power doubled, came hurtling in, Shalnark barely reacted in time and managed to twist his body aside.

The flying star struck his waist and abdomen, instantly blasting away a huge chunk of flesh. It looked as if a massive bloody maw had bitten into him.

Pakunoda was a beat slower.

Blood splashed as her face jolted. A flying star blasted a bloody hole straight through her upper body, and her suddenly powerless body crashed forward onto the ground.

The sudden turn of events caused Chrollo and Uvogin's pursuit to falter.

Seeing that he had succeeded, Moro gathered more than half of his manifested aura around his legs and continued sprinting forward at top speed.

Do everything humanly possible, then leave the rest to fate.

He had done everything he could—

If he still could not escape, then he would accept his fate.

Just as he thought that, an afterimage of a face suddenly swept past the corner of his eye. He could vaguely make out a sinister expression and boiling fury in those eyes.

Feitan?!

The thought had barely arisen when Moro felt a chill on the bridge of his nose. Then, like a violin string about to snap, his consciousness began losing all sensation at a pace that seemed slow but was actually incredibly fast.

At the final moment, a question surfaced in Moro's mind.

Am I... dead?

Cold. Shaking.

Moro abruptly opened his eyes. What entered his view were vertical rusted iron bars.

It seemed to be an iron cage.

"Where is this...?"

Moro took in his surroundings and froze.

The sensation of life being extinguished still lingered, but it was quickly replaced by memories.

He had returned to the moment, one year ago, when he had first transmigrated here!