Funeral X Escape with the Eyes

"Sister Ayina, rest in peace. Those who have committed sins are burning in the fire. They will go to hell and suffer the torments of their sins."

"Rest in peace, for resentment has been dispelled. Go to a place of tranquility, accompanied by Butterfly— "

A small prayer room.

Pairo knelt on the grass mat in the middle.

He was wearing the traditional clothing of the Kurta Clan, which seemed to have some special decorations compared to normal ethnic clothing, making him look very much like a minority.

Specially made candles were lit around the room, and a faint fragrance of incense filled the air.

A specially made tapestry hangs on the wall, decorated with the Spiral pattern unique to the Kurta Clan.

Looking at this small room, which has no doors or windows, its style completely follows the ethnic style of the Kurta Clan.

Before Pairo was a jar of the highest-grade biological preservation fluid, in which floated a pair of fiery red eyeballs, like polished fiery red gemstones.

[Fiery Red Eye]

One of the seven most beautiful colors in the world, the purest red.

To obtain such eyes, one must cruelly provoke a Kurta Clan and then gouge out their eyes.

Pairo, murmuring words of peace, words that had once been used in eulogies for the Funeral Clan.

Kurapika and Rosana knelt respectfully on either side of him, closed their eyes, and bowed their heads in silent prayer.

As the mourning continued.

As the Succession Ceremony proceeded...

According to the legends of the Kurta Clan, Butterfly that carry their souls to a place of peace appear out of thin air and fly around the room.

Finally, it passed directly through the bottle and entered the liquid-filled container, its Butterfly touching its eyes.

Just as in the legends, they carried their eyes and the souls of their people to the place of peace.

As the Succession Ceremony progressed, even the Resentment in their eyes vanished with the mourning.

Through his Nen ability and connection with the Kurta Clan, Pairo could easily sense who each pair of eyes once belonged to.

As the number of Funeral eyes increased, Pairo was able to summon more and more Butterfly and mark more and more eyes.

Even the scope of the altered images is gradually increasing. He believes that if more than half of his people's eyes Funeral, he might be able to completely change what the enemy sees.

After the Funeral was completed, the three left the small room.

Rosana chatted with the two children for a few minutes before leaving.

Kurapika and Kurapika returned to the living room and sat on either side of the coffee table to discuss their conversation.

"We have now successfully collected eleven pairs of eyeballs that were left outside the body. At this rate, it shouldn't be long before we are able to collect all the remaining eyeballs."

Kurapika said, expressing great satisfaction with his current work efficiency.

Pairo couldn't help but nod; their speed was indeed fast enough, or rather, faster than expected.

After eliminating the Phantom Troupe, they reclaimed eleven pairs of eyes and completed the Funeral in just one month.

Most eyes can be purchased directly with money.

Although it may sound strange, not all collectors of human organs are mentally ill; some are simply hobbies.

Their hobbies are beyond the reach of ordinary people, and seem somewhat abnormal.

Some people aren't even collectors of human organs; they simply collect these eyes because they've seen news about the extermination of the Kurta Clan.

The two even encountered one or two people who knew they were the last remaining Kurta Clan and were returning the eyes of their friends and relatives for free.

They also encountered people who knew their eyes could appreciate in value and sold them to them at high prices.

Of course, there was also fierce resistance; they were unwilling to return it, so it was only through coercion and enticement that it was obtained.

These people come from all walks of life.

Teachers, doctors, lawyers, government officials, financial professionals—you name it.

"However, we collect the eyes in order of increasing difficulty, so it's normal that the earlier ones are collected quickly."

Pairo looked at the various records in the Notebook in front of him and said.

Kurapika nodded at this point. "The next few are some troublesome characters."

Because the next group to collect the eyes will be the wealthy and powerful.

They may not lack collectibles like eyes, but getting them to hand over their eyes willingly won't be so easy.

"Let's start with this one."

Let me see--

Kurapika looked at the information on the Notebook and curled his lip in disgust.

"I recognize you, you brats from Red Stone Pharmaceuticals."

A portly, arrogant man looked at Kurapika, who was negotiating with him, and spoke without any politeness.

"President Ankora, it's been a long time."

"There's nothing to discuss with your company."

President Ankora said arrogantly.

Kurapika simply smiled and remained unmoved, gesturing for the other person to sit opposite him.

Although Ankora said that, he still obediently sat down opposite her, picked up the tea on the table and took a sip.

"You wouldn't be thinking of discussing cooperation with us at this time, would you? Think carefully before you speak."

After sitting down, Ankora's demeanor changed slightly, and he spoke with considerable seriousness.

Kurapika maintained his polite smile, recalling information about the person in front of him in his mind.

This Telra Pharmaceutical Company. The man in front of me is the company President. To put it bluntly, he has a rather serious business conflict with Red Stone Pharmaceuticals.

The pharmaceutical company at the Nosra Manor deals with products that are necessities for the general public.

Weight loss pills, Little Blue pills, hair growth pills, digestive aids, sleep aids, and other medications that require long-term use and have no side effects.

Just by looking at the effects of these drugs, you can understand their value. This is also why Red Stone Pharmaceuticals was able to expand its territory and become a well-known pharmaceutical company in just a few years.

When expanding their sales reach, they deliberately avoid getting involved in the top-tier pharmaceutical industry and antagonizing those top Pharmaceutical Company.

Instead, they collaborated with these Pharmaceutical Company to establish medical foundations, schools, and hospitals.

Then he entered the beauty industry and, through a strategy of overwhelming force, almost completely devoured a large portion of the beauty and skincare industry in just two years.

After all, their products are far superior to regular beauty and skincare products.

The company in front of us happens to be involved in low-end drugs that have conflicting interests, and it also happens to have ventured into the beauty industry.

It could be said that Red Stone Pharmaceuticals had almost completely routed them. Inside the company, Kurapika felt it was a miracle that the company hadn't gone bankrupt yet, and he really didn't know how they had managed to survive.

"President, please rest assured, we are not here to discuss an acquisition."

After all, negotiating with the other company's President at this time makes it hard for the other party not to think that they want to acquire his business.

Essentially, this is the most opportune time for acquisitions and mergers of industries, but the President in front of me doesn't seem willing to hand them over.

"That's good. I look forward to a good collaboration between us."

Kurapika ignored him and said very directly, "This is not business, but a personal matter."

"Personal matters?"

"Right."

Kurapika spoke, his eyes turned red.

Staring at those Scarlet Eyes, the other person froze for a moment before suddenly slapping their head.

"You're from the Red-Eyed Clan? Wait, you don't mean you want my collection of red-eyed artifacts back, do you?"

As expected of the President, he reacted immediately.

Kurapika nodded.

If we can retrieve our eyes in a more peaceful way, that would be ideal, since violence is only a last resort.

To everyone's surprise, after Kurapika nodded, the President refused with a very serious expression.

"No, this is a very important piece of my collection, and I will not trade it away in any form."

Without hesitation, he stood up and said, "Since this is a personal matter, then I'll take my leave."

Kurapika didn't try to stop him; instead, he sat back down with a frown.

This attitude clearly demonstrates that there is no room for negotiation on this matter.

Why?

To be honest, the main reason we chose him as the first tough nut to crack is that the likelihood of this deal being made is extremely high.

Due to the pressure from Red Stone Pharmaceuticals, the other company had already experienced unstable cash flow and should have gone bankrupt long ago, but it has managed to hold on until now.

Of course, the reason they were able to persevere was because of the help provided by the local government, but in essence, the situation had not improved much.

In recent months, there have been several instances where the other party has begun selling their collection.

Moreover, the other party is not a human anatomy collector, but simply enjoys collecting all sorts of interesting and precious collectibles, so they have almost every type.

Among the recently sold collectibles, some are as rare as, or even surpass, those of Fiery Red Eye.

Therefore, Kurapika and his friends judged that the possibility of the other party exchanging their eyes for a simple monetary deal was extremely high.

Not to mention, the other party has three pairs of eyeballs, making them a collector with a considerable number.

They expected the deal to be a done deal, but to their surprise, the other party rejected it without hesitation.

If it's out of hatred, then it's a gross underestimation of the other party's ability to create such a company.

Competition in business is normal, especially since Red Stone Pharmaceuticals has not engaged in malicious competition.

The most important reason is that the other party is not the holder of the largest share.

We shouldn't refuse either, inside or out.

"Did we miss some intelligence?"

Kurapika couldn't help but ponder.

If we can't get it through normal means, then we'll have to resort to unconventional methods.

Theft, robbery, coercion, and bribery are all acceptable methods.

Their collection of their people's eyes was absolute.

=====

Meanwhile, Ankora returned to her villa.

We entered a collection room with an extremely high level of security.

The collection room contains display cases of various sizes, but about a third of them are empty, making the room, which was originally densely packed with collections, appear somewhat desolate.

Ankora didn't mind and walked to the innermost part, where, behind layers of bulletproof glass, he saw three perfectly arranged canisters of liquid.

Three pairs of eyeballs float in the liquid.

"I didn't expect there to be survivors? A living, breathing Scarlet Eyes— "

He was both pleasantly surprised and somewhat troubled.

To be honest, he didn't really care about collecting human organs.

The idea of including human organs is somewhat distorted.

Although he collects all kinds of items, he collects mostly various kinds of artworks or natural creations.

He doesn't have any particularly perverse hobbies.

The fact that these three pairs of eyes are placed in the most important position is enough to show how much importance Ankora attaches to them.

The only reason he valued it was because the eyes could bring him profit.

To be honest, before Red Stone Pharmaceuticals appeared, their company wasn't necessarily doing very well.

Although we weren't bankrupt at that time, we just got by.

The rapid development and policy support it received were undoubtedly due to the help of those in power.

The only reason he was able to contact and befriend his superiors and gain their support was because he stumbled upon someone's hobby.

So he took a gamble, using almost all of his available funds to bid on a collectible and then gifted it to the other party.

The results are remarkable.

He then collected another pair, which garnered support from current policies.

These policies supported him and allowed him to gain a foothold and survive the blows from Red Stone Pharmaceuticals.

It could be said that two pairs of eyes saved him from dire straits.

After figuring out his preferences, he collected three more pairs elsewhere and placed them here without using them immediately.

Use it again when needed; it will become another passport to rise again.

But now others have taken an interest in these eyes, and they are even high-ranking executives from rival companies.

Most importantly, the other party is a member of the original race of the Eyes, which makes things a bit troublesome.

But it also presents an opportunity.

Offering up three pairs of eyes, and then reporting the information about living members of the Kurta Clan, might yield even greater benefits.

His gambler's mentality kicked in again, and he prepared to go all in.

Over the past year, Red Stone Pharmaceuticals' expansion has seriously threatened his core business, forcing him to be on high alert.

With that thought in mind, he took out the collection without hesitation, got into his car, and drove off with his bodyguards and driver.

Two Butterfly quietly landed inside the car, relaying the vehicle's status to a distant observer.

"Did he leave with the eyes? Why? Judging from this, it seems he doesn't just genuinely love these eyes, but rather that the eyes hold some important meaning for him?"

Pairo watched as he muttered to himself.

The President completely exceeded their expectations, and his actions were vastly different from what they had anticipated.

"This is troublesome. It seems that civilized methods are not working. Well, don't blame me then."

Using violence and illegal means had no psychological burden on Pairo.

He spoke to the members behind him.

"Have someone stop that car in a secluded spot, so they don't find any evidence against it and cause any trouble."