Illumi X Battle

Illumi stared at his opponent.

The reason he had come here tonight was on his father's orders.

Originally, he could have come during the day and met Kevin in a peaceful manner.

That was probably what the elders of the family had wanted to see.

However, after seeing Kevin and Killua's "intimate" exchange, an inexplicable irritation had risen within him.

So in the end, he chose to sneak in at night, making the meeting seem rather ill-intentioned.

He had observed Kevin before. Though he had done so incidentally while keeping an eye on Killua, he had great confidence in his powers of observation.

In his view, Kevin's physical abilities were not weak, but compared to the bodies trained from childhood by the Zoldyck Family, there was still a considerable gap.

If Kevin had not mastered a Nen ability, he probably could not even beat Killua.

Since Kevin had always been active below the 200th Floor, his Nen Aura was usually maintained only in the most basic state of [Ken].

Although he imitated an ordinary person, anyone who observed closely could still notice that the Aura had not dispersed.

Unless one engaged Kevin in face-to-face combat like Kite once had, it was easy to be deceived by this basic state of maintained Nen Aura.

Illumi truly had not expected it.

The moment his [En] enveloped Kevin, the other man immediately became alert.

It was not unusual for someone to notice when [En] probed their Aura, but the problem was that Kevin had been fast asleep at the time.

Normally, only someone who had undergone specialized vigilance training could retain such sharp reactions while asleep.

That did not match the results of Illumi's earlier observations.

And the battle that followed surprised him even more.

The highly explosive and aggressive Nen ability Kevin displayed was utterly at odds with the impression he gave others.

While Illumi silently considered this—

Kevin's Nen Aura suddenly erupted again. A vial of medicine even appeared in his hand, and he made as if to pour it into his mouth.

Seeing that inexplicable second surge of Nen Aura, Illumi made a snap decision.

"I surrender." His voice was as calm and flat as ever as he slowly raised both hands.

Kevin froze slightly, then swallowed the medicine. His Nen Aura exploded forth, and he charged Illumi at an even faster speed.

A massive amount of Nen Aura flowed into his right fist, making the strike even more lethal.

"Only when you're down will I acknowledge that as surrender."

So fast.

Even faster than before.

Illumi, who had initially tried to dodge, instantly realized it was already too late.

What kind of technique was this?

A sudden eruption of extra Aura beyond his visible Aura capacity—was it a Nen ability?

Or had he deliberately concealed it?

Left with no choice, he could only gather Nen Aura in both arms and forcefully take the heavy punch head-on.

With a violently explosive crash, Illumi flew backward like a kite with its string cut and smashed heavily into the supporting pillar of a shop.

After being sent flying one or two meters, Illumi did not remain where he had landed. He swiftly climbed out of the rubble, then sprang onto a utility pole.

In mid-leap, he flung out several Nen needles.

The needles successfully stopped Kevin's follow-up attack. Kevin had no choice but to remain in place and gather Nen Aura to slap the attacks away.

This was no joke. If he was hit by those Nen needles, he would likely be controlled. The advantage he had painstakingly built would vanish in an instant.

Standing on the utility pole with the moon at his back, Illumi lowered his gaze to his left arm. It was bent at an unnatural angle, swollen and red.

It was fractured, yet his face remained expressionless.

Still, he had no intention of continuing this fruitless battle.

It was too much of a loss.

So he spoke directly. "I'm Killua's older brother."

This time, Kevin truly stopped. He remained on guard where he stood, watching the other man and the malicious Nen needle in his hand.

The techniques his opponent had used in battle, as well as the feeling he gave off, did bear some resemblance to Killua.

He just did not look anything like him. Even their hair colors were different.

"Since you're Killua's older brother, why did you...?"

Illumi answered in that utterly emotionless voice of his, "I came to warn you. You are not allowed to teach Killua Nen abilities. This is a warning from the Zoldyck Family."

After saying that, he put away the malicious Nen needle in his hand.

Hearing this, Kevin believed him somewhat.

"Since it is Killua's family's request, I naturally won't offend them without cause." Kevin agreed. In truth, he had never intended to teach Killua Nen abilities in the first place.

Even though Killua seemed to be trying to learn through hints and indirect probing.

But he was too young, only six years old.

Since the misunderstanding had been cleared up, there was naturally no need to continue fighting. Kevin was not someone who loved fighting.

Remaining vigilant, he put even more distance between them.

Still, he said, "I hope you'll break the habit of wandering around other people's windows at night. I have plenty of free time during the day. You're welcome to visit normally."

Kevin's words were a somewhat polite warning. Then he took a vial of medicine from his waist pouch and tossed it over.

After making a quick judgment, Illumi caught the vial between two Nen needles and stared at Kevin with calm eyes.

"Consider it compensation for your medical expenses."

The hand holding the vial tightened slightly. Illumi rarely experienced emotional fluctuations toward anyone other than his targets.

This time, however, it was clearly a negative one.

Yet the emotional shift did not affect his actions. He took out a card and flicked it toward Kevin.

Kevin casually picked up a stone beside him and used it to block the card, then looked at the number on the card embedded in the stone.

Before he could ask anything, Illumi said, "If you have an assassination order, call this number."

In Illumi's view, personal preferences were personal preferences, and work was work.

Kevin looked like a potential customer.

"Tch, what kind of situation is this?" Kevin could not help muttering. They had just finished fighting, and the other guy was already trying to solicit his business.

What normal person would need an assassination service?

After leaving those words behind, Illumi departed and soon vanished without a trace.

What a pity. He had not drunk the medicine on the spot.

I wanted to see what the side effects were.

Kevin did not throw away the business card. Instead, he silently put it away. After all, no one could say whether it might be useful someday.

The battle had ended very quickly.

When the surrounding residents were awakened by the sounds of destruction and rushed over, they saw only a large crater in the ground and an indentation in the load-bearing pillar beside the shop.

The next day.

Inside a rented dojo.

Killua was frantically attacking Kevin, while Kevin merely defended and occasionally dodged.

Whenever Killua exposed too large an opening, Kevin would swing a palm and send him flying.

"Try a different style of attack. I've already learned this one," Kevin said.

Killua, who had been slapped away, lay on the ground and gasped for breath. He did not look like he intended to keep attacking.

"Looks like you're tired. Rest for a while, then."

The moment Kevin sat down, Killua quickly moved over and sat beside him.

Killua widened his eyes and looked at Kevin pitifully.

"What do you want?"

"Hehe, that thing you used earlier, that imposing Aura—what was it?" Killua asked with a grin.

Here it comes. Kevin felt a little helpless.

"Didn't you say your brother knows it too? Why not ask him?"

"Huh!? I don't want to ask a guy like that!"

Disgust was written plainly across Killua's face as he waved a hand dismissively.

"A guy like that"? It seemed Killua did not have a very harmonious relationship with this older brother of his.

But Kevin felt that Illumi seemed rather concerned about Killua.

"Since someone in your family knows it, yet you refuse to ask him, then naturally I can't tell you either."

"Tch, how boring."

Killua seemed to have been mentally prepared for this. After hearing Kevin's answer, he spoke with an unhappy expression. But he did not keep pestering him with questions.

"I'm tired. Let's stop here for today." With that, Killua stalked off in a huff.

Kevin did not mind at all, smiling as he watched Killua leave.

He knew Killua would definitely return tomorrow.

In truth, Killua had never expected to get a direct answer from Kevin. He hoped more to observe and secretly learn during battle, just as Kevin had learned his techniques before.