Chrollo didn't hesitate for long before answering. "In the Kakin Empire, Hisoka pursued me, and I never managed to shake him."
Gelman already knew that much. What he didn't know was what happened afterward. At some point, Hisoka had suddenly stopped sending updates.
As Gelman wondered about this, Chrollo continued.
"Hisoka had clearly changed. He sensed every trap I'd set in advance and didn't fall for any of them. The old Hisoka wouldn't have done that."
"The old him would've treated it as a challenge, accepted it gladly, and enjoyed the thrill of defeating me in such a difficult situation."
"I'd planned to use that to win, but he didn't take the bait. He kept hounding me... like a fisherman trying to tire me out."
"Eventually, I realized I couldn't keep this up, so I rushed into a confrontation with him. It was a decisive battle, too."
"In the end, we were both gravely wounded. We fell over a waterfall and plunged into a raging river."
Chrollo raised the arm that was missing its left hand.
"When I woke up, I found that someone had rescued me. But my injuries were too severe, and the doctors there didn't have much to work with, so they had to amputate."
Gelman asked the question he was more interested in. "What about Hisoka?"
"I don't know," Chrollo replied. "But I don't think he's dead. We were separated, and I don't know where downstream the current carried him."
"He probably hasn't come after me again because he ran into some kind of trouble, too."
"While I was recovering, I learned that this was a notorious 'slum for the dregs' in the Kakin Empire."
"Everyone living here has been branded a 'dreg' and condemned to a life with no chance of rising above their station."