An Unexpected Development! Hisoka Appears!

Leo took a step forward with his right foot as he looked at Pakunoda in the distance.

From the point where his foot landed, spiderweb-like cracks spread in every direction, and the entire street trembled beneath that single step.

The next instant, he was already in front of Pakunoda, his right palm pressing toward her head.

Pakunoda did not even have time to pull the trigger.

"Don't even think about it!"

Machi's aura threads descended like a vast net as she struggled to climb up from the ground.

But the aura threads capable of slicing through steel made sharp scraping sounds against Leo's body, sparks scattering through the night.

Though they failed to inflict any real damage, they successfully disrupted Leo's rhythm of attack.

Pakunoda closed her eyes, ready to welcome death.

But the expected impact never came.

"Bang!"

A dull thud came from the side.

Pakunoda opened her eyes and discovered that Leo's palm strike had been blocked—by a suddenly appearing bone shield covered in spikes.

It was Bonolenov!

Somehow, he had gotten back on his feet and used the last of his aura to unleash Battle Cantata: Bone Shield, standing in front of Pakunoda.

The bone shield was riddled with cracks. Leo's palm force passed through the shield, making blood spill from Bonolenov's nose and mouth as both his arms shook violently.

"Run..."

Bonolenov forced out the two words with difficulty.

"No!"

Pakunoda tried to shove him aside, but Machi had already rushed over from behind. She wrapped aura threads around Pakunoda's waist and pulled her backward.

Just then.

"Cough... Don't underestimate me!"

Nobunaga crawled out of the rubble, covered in blood. His left hand hung limply at his side, but his right tightly gripped a broken length of blade.

Nobunaga poured all the remaining aura in his body into the broken blade, which glowed with a faint yet pure white light.

"Iaido: Crescent Moon!"

A crescent-shaped blade aura tore through the air, slashing straight at Leo's back.

This was Nobunaga's all-out strike, abandoning defense and exhausting every last bit of his strength. The blade aura was condensed almost into substance, its shriek through the air piercing and harsh.

A pincer attack from front and back!

The red light in Leo's eyes flared.

Using his left foot as a pivot, his body spun like a top. His right palm pressed against the bone shield changed from a press into a shove, sending Bonolenov and his shield directly into the incoming blade aura. At the same time, his left fist struck first despite moving later, its knuckles gathering dark-red aura as it met the blade aura head-on.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two explosions rang out almost simultaneously.

Bonolenov was blasted away, and the bone shield shattered completely.

The shockwave from the collision between blade aura and fist force leveled the surrounding ruins. Broken stones shot out like raindrops.

Dust and smoke surged into the sky, blotting out the moonlight.

When the smoke thinned slightly, the battlefield was a complete wreck.

Pakunoda had been pulled away by Machi. Both had suffered varying degrees of impact injuries and could barely remain standing.

Bonolenov lay some distance away, his breathing faint.

Nobunaga was down on one knee, supporting himself with his broken sword and gasping for breath. He clearly had no strength left to fight.

And Leo—

He stood at the center of the battlefield, the sleeve on his right arm torn apart. A bone-deep wound had appeared on his forearm, blood dripping down his arm and pooling beneath his feet.

But the wound was healing at a visible rate. Flesh wriggled and fused, and skin covered it once more.

The super-fast regeneration ability of "Instant" was at work.

"What... excellent coordination."

Leo looked at the wound on his arm, already more than halfway healed, his tone carrying praise.

"You nearly reached the bone."

Machi's heart sank to the bottom.

That combined attack, the combined strength of three people, had only inflicted this much damage?

And he was recovering at such an astonishing speed?

What kind of monster was this?!

"There isn't much time left."

Leo glanced at the black markings slowly fading from his arm—one minute and thirty seconds remained.

He had to end the fight.

His gaze shifted to Mores. The original target had quietly retreated during the previous melee and was already near the edge of the auction house ruins, clearly intending to escape amid the chaos.

"You're not getting away."

Just as Leo was about to pursue him, an astonishing killing intent came from afar.

That killing intent was so intense, so pure, that it nearly froze the air itself.

"My, my~ What a fierce scene~"

A seductive voice filled with delight rang out, its strange rises and falls like the chanting of some bloody poem.

"It really makes one's blood boil... I can't help wanting to join in~"

Everyone turned toward the voice.

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows at the edge of the street, swaying his waist as he walked with elegant yet bizarre steps.

Moonlight outlined his slender figure. The star-and-teardrop makeup on his face was particularly eye-catching in the night, and his red hair blazed as boldly as fire.

Hisoka!

Hisoka's golden eyes gleamed with extreme excitement like those of a venomous snake that had spotted prey, locking tightly onto Leo, who radiated powerful aura.

He stuck out his crimson tongue and slowly licked the corner of his lips, as though savoring the scent of blood and battle hanging in the air.

There was a sickly elegance in that movement that sent chills down one's spine.

Leo raised an eyebrow, his heart jolting.

Hisoka!?

Even he had suddenly shown up... There won't be more freaks appearing later, will there...?

Hisoka's smile grew even more bewitching, and several playing cards had somehow appeared between his fingers.

Aura flowed over them, making their surfaces gleam with a dangerous metallic luster and emit a faint hum.

"Come now~ Let's..."

He took a step forward, his waist swaying lightly.

"...have a delightful little game~"

Before his words had even fallen—

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three sharp whistles tore through the dead-silent air!

The aura-infused playing cards became three streaks of silver light, flying toward Leo in a triangular formation. One targeted his throat, while the other two sealed off his escape routes to either side.

Leo's expression did not change. At the instant before the cards struck, his right hand shot up like lightning, fingers spread—then all three cards were caught firmly in his palm, as if stopped by an invisible wall.

He closed his hand, crushing the cards within his palm.

Hisoka's figure blurred.

He darted forward in a ghostly, zigzagging advance, moving so fast that multiple afterimages trailed behind him.

When he came within three meters of Leo, another playing card appeared in his hand. Its edge gleamed coldly under the moonlight as it carved a lethal arc toward Leo's throat!

Instead of retreating, Leo stepped forward with his left foot, his right fist blasting toward Hisoka's face like a cannonball!

Hisoka bent backward to the limit, his body nearly parallel to the ground as he narrowly evaded the punch.

The fist wind brushed past the tip of his nose, lifting several strands of red hair.

Taking advantage of the motion, he raised his right leg in a tricky upward kick, toes pointed straight at Leo's jaw!

Leo's left hand shot out like lightning and accurately seized Hisoka's incoming right ankle.

His five fingers tightened like iron pincers. Then he yanked hard, dragging Hisoka closer while raising his right fist and hammering it viciously toward Hisoka's upper body!

Hisoka reacted extremely quickly. The instant he was pulled closer, his arms had already crossed before his chest.

A pink, elastic membrane of aura instantly covered his arms—Bungee Gum!

Leo's fist slammed solidly into Hisoka's chest!

"Bang!"

With a dull impact, the fist sank into that elastic aura membrane. Its force was absorbed, dispersed, and weakened by at least half.

But the remaining force was still terrifying. Hisoka flew backward as if struck by a massive hammer!

He adjusted his posture in midair, performed an elegant backflip, and slid three meters backward after landing, his shoes scraping harshly against the ground.

Using Gyo, Leo looked at his right fist and clearly saw a layer of pink aura clinging to it like chewing gum.

He knew Hisoka's fighting style very well.

Bungee Gum possessed both elasticity and stickiness. Hisoka wanted to use the aura stuck to his fist to suddenly retract it at a crucial moment, disrupting his rhythm or creating an opportunity for a sneak attack.

The muscles in Leo's right arm bulged as dark-red aura erupted around his fist. He pulled hard—

"Riiip!"

The clinging aura was forcibly torn away. Under Hisoka's surprised gaze, it dissolved into pink motes of light.

Hisoka steadied himself. Seeing Leo's reaction, he narrowed his eyes, and an even more excited smile appeared on his face.

"Oh my~ You noticed it~"

He licked his lips, the battle intent in his golden pupils burning even more fiercely.

Leo silently calculated.

There isn't much time. I can't drag this out any longer—I need to finish this quickly!

If Chrollo returned now, he would certainly die with his aura exhausted.

He did not hesitate any longer and charged straight at Hisoka twenty meters away, moving so fast that a string of afterimages stretched behind him!

At the same time, he drew back his right fist. The muscles in his arm tightened to the limit like steel cables, veins bulging beneath his skin.

Aura frantically gathered at his fist, compressed, then compressed again—the light changed from white to blazing white, then finally into an almost blinding gold!

A sphere of light nearly thirty centimeters in diameter formed before Leo's right fist. The energy inside it spun and collided wildly, giving off a deep hum like distant thunder!

The surrounding air warped from the gathering energy, and the refracted light formed a bizarre halo.

Hisoka's expression changed as he sharply sensed the terror of this attack.

He kicked off the ground and dashed to the side. At the same time, the tip of his foot tapped the ground lightly, using Bungee Gum's elasticity to instantly pull himself another five meters away.

But Hisoka was not Leo's target.

Leo's gaze passed over him and locked onto the ground beneath Hisoka's feet.

Hisoka instantly understood Leo's intention—an area attack!

His reactions and mobility were both extremely fast. A linear attack would have difficulty hitting him.

Only an area attack could possibly catch him off guard.

"Super Destruction Punch—!"

Leo roared as the golden sphere, following his punch, smashed into the ground beneath Hisoka like a meteor!

At the moment his fist touched the ground, time seemed to freeze.

Then—

It shattered.

BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!

Centered on the point of impact, a massive crater over thirty meters in diameter and seven meters deep formed in an instant!

The shockwave spread outward in a sphere. Streetlights were uprooted, benches shattered into fragments, trees in the green belts snapped in half, and parked cars were flung up like toys, breaking apart in midair!

Hisoka reacted extremely quickly. At the last moment, he released the aura stuck beneath his feet and used Bungee Gum to rapidly pull himself toward a streetlamp that had not yet collapsed, but he was still half a beat too slow.

The edge of the shockwave struck him, as if an invisible giant hammer had hit him. He flew sideways and smashed through two walls before finally coming to a stop.

Machi, Nobunaga, Franklin, Pakunoda, Omokage, Bonolenov, and the others nearby were all caught in the blast.

Already badly injured, they were like leaves in a gale, instantly hurled more than ten meters away by the explosion and slammed heavily into various obstacles.

The glass curtain wall at the front of the Xilirike Auction House shattered completely under the impact, shards raining down like a torrential storm!

The main structure of the building shook violently, several huge cracks opening across its exterior walls.

The ground trembled as if a small earthquake had struck.

Dust and smoke rose into the sky like a mushroom cloud, reaching seven or eight meters high as it slowly spread, blotting out the moon and stars.

The entire district fell into an eerie silence. Only the patter of falling rubble and the faint groans of damaged structures in the distance could be heard.

As the dust gradually dispersed, Leo stood at the bottom of the crater on one knee, gasping heavily as sweat mixed with blood dripped from his forehead.

That blow had exhausted what little aura he had left.

Super Destruction Punch was already an extremely draining move. Forcing it out just as the "Instant" state was about to end had nearly drained him dry.

He struggled to his feet, his limbs trembling slightly from exhaustion, his vision somewhat blurred.

When he staggered out of the crater and stepped onto the shattered ground at its edge, less than thirty seconds remained of "Instant."

Leo looked around.

In the distance, Hisoka slowly struggled to rise from the ruins. His flamboyant clothes were badly torn, and the star-and-teardrop makeup on his face was smeared with dust and blood, but those golden eyes remained bright—more excited than before, even. They were the eyes of someone who had found rare prey.

Farther away, the Troupe members lay amid various ruins. Machi was trying to support Nobunaga, Pakunoda was crawling toward the unconscious Omokage and Bonolenov, and Franklin was embedded in a wall, his condition unknown.

And Mores—

He was already nowhere to be seen.

That cunning bastard had completely escaped the scene during the chaos and explosion.

Leo took a deep breath, suppressing the weakness and searing pain within his body.

He wanted to kill every last one of these Spiders on the spot, but unfortunately, there wasn't enough time—and Hisoka was still causing trouble.

If Chrollo returned at this moment, he would be in danger. Once his ability ended, he would be a lamb waiting for slaughter.

Time was running out. He had to leave immediately.

He turned his head toward the struggling Phantom Troupe members. His voice was hoarse, yet it carried clearly through the deathly silent street.

"You don't even deserve to die by my hand."

He paused, enunciating each word.

"From now on, wherever I appear, you are forbidden from appearing."

The night wind swept past his tattered hem, lifting the black hair plastered to his forehead with sweat.

"Because that place—"

Leo turned and stepped in the direction Mores had fled.

"—is the Spider Exclusion Zone."

As his words fell, his figure vanished into the night at the end of the street.

All that remained was a devastated battlefield and a group of heavily wounded Spiders.

And in the distance, the increasingly excited smile of that red-haired clown.