Rebellious Phase

No matter what Illumi said, Gon and the others interrupted him without exception.

As a result, Illumi had yet to finish a single sentence.

He looked pleadingly at Hisoka, who stood a short distance away.

The vein visibly bulging on Illumi's forehead proved that his anger was already nearing its limit.

Hisoka merely shrugged helplessly.

There was nothing he could do either.

Seeing that Hisoka was unwilling to help, Illumi turned his gaze to Cordis.

He wanted to stab him to death with his eyes.

But Cordis's stubborn little stare and slightly parted lips made it seem as though he was saying:

Whatever you say, I'll cut you off.

Illumi withdrew his gaze, looked at Killua in front of him, and brought out his authority as the eldest brother.

"Killua, come home."

"No!"

At that, Illumi repeated himself.

"Killua, come home with me."

"I don't want to!"

Great. His authority as the eldest brother had failed.

Looking at Killua's expression, which practically dared him to beat him to death, Illumi felt as though he was experiencing Killua's rebelliousness for the first time.

Come to think of it...

Killua was already twelve, so his Rebellious Phase really was due.

But Illumi hadn't expected it to hit this hard.

Before, he could use a Nen Needle to manipulate him at all times. Now, he genuinely had no way to deal with him.

He couldn't quite bring himself to hit him, and he couldn't win an argument with him either.

Now he finally understood the pain his father had endured raising children.

"You at least have to tell Dad, don't you? Otherwise, I can't explain this to him."

"Stay out of it. I'll call Dad later."

With that, Killua took his phone out of his pocket and sent Silva a message.

[I'm not coming home. Bye.]

As soon as he sent the message, he blocked him.

Very decisive.

That left the two of them at an impasse.

Now Illumi could neither back down nor stand his ground.

He couldn't hit the brat, and now he couldn't manipulate him either.

This damned Rebellious Phase.

With no other choice, Illumi said:

"I surrender."

Then he returned to his spot without looking back.

Seeing that, Cordis finally relaxed.

It looked like Killua wouldn't be going home, so there would be no need for the part of the story where Gon and the others went to find him.

That was good. It saved him some effort too.

The next match began: Cordis versus Bokukuka.

Cordis entered the arena with only one usable arm.

Seeing that Cordis had only one arm, Bokukuka still didn't let his guard down. He raised his fists and charged at him.

Bokukuka wasn't weak, though he did pale a little in comparison with these monsters.

By ordinary people's standards, he was exceptionally strong.

But Cordis could see every one of Bokukuka's movements clearly.

Whether it was the speed of his punches or tiny changes in his expression, such as a frown, Cordis could see it all.

After all, Bokukuka had made it through every stage to get this far.

He had at least some ability.

But against someone like Cordis, who was proficient in all kinds of martial arts, he still fell a little short.

Bokukuka's fists rained down on him.

Yet Cordis always found openings and dodged.

He had no intention of attacking. He simply kept evading.

"Why aren't you attacking? Do you look down on me?"

Bokukuka stopped attacking and asked between heavy breaths.

Cordis helplessly pointed at his right arm, which was still in a sling. It really wasn't that he looked down on him.

The main problem was his injury, and his left hand wasn't as nimble as his right.

There were plenty of moves he couldn't perform.

He had originally hoped Bokukuka would recognize the situation and surrender of his own accord.

But he hadn't expected the boy to be so stubborn.

He kept going back and forth with Cordis for nearly thirty or forty exchanges.

Yet he hadn't managed to touch him even once.

In the end, Bokukuka collapsed unconscious from exhaustion.

The referee glanced at Netero and only announced Cordis's victory after receiving his approval.

The following matches played out just as they had in the original story.

While fighting Kurapika, Hisoka quietly whispered something in his ear.

Cordis didn't even have to guess what he had said.

He was simply selling out the Spider again.

The Spider must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to end up with a character like Hisoka.

Illumi, meanwhile, won his fight against another contestant.

The one ultimately eliminated was Bokukuka, who had been unconscious for nearly a day.

In truth, that outcome might have been a good thing for him.

By the time the final exam ended, evening had already fallen.

At Netero's suggestion, everyone decided to stay there for the night. There was no rush to hand out the Hunter Licenses; that could wait until the following morning.

After dinner, Cordis headed toward his room.

But halfway there, Killua suddenly darted out from the side.

Cordis walked over to Killua, crouched down, and instinctively patted his head as he asked:

"Did you need something, Killua?"

In the past, Killua would definitely have slapped Cordis's hand away and glared fiercely at him.

But this time was different.

Killua simply let Cordis stroke his head.

He kept his hands behind his back, his head lowered as he tapped his foot against the floor.

From Cordis's angle, he could clearly see the faint blush on Killua's cheeks.

Even when Cordis asked, Killua only stammered, unable to get anything out.

Just as Cordis was wondering what was going on with him...

Killua suddenly spoke.

"Um, thank you so much! You're stronger than I thought!"

It seemed to take a great deal of resolve for Killua to say that, and his voice was very loud.

So loud that Cordis froze in surprise.

While Cordis stood stunned, Killua dashed off and disappeared.

Cordis could only smile helplessly.

Then he returned to his room and went to sleep.

Early the next morning...

Cordis got up very early, as usual.

After getting dressed, he decided to go out and wander around.

He hadn't gone far before he saw Kurapika walking toward him.

The serious look on Kurapika's face told him something was about to happen.

Kurapika approached Cordis and asked:

"Cordis, you know things we don't, don't you? Like that ability of yours. Please tell me everything you know."

Seeing how serious Kurapika was, Cordis said:

"You should know that this so-called Hunter Exam is only the most basic part of becoming a Hunter."

"As for that ability of mine, you'll have it soon too..."

Before Cordis could finish, Kurapika interrupted him.

"I don't have time to wait anymore! Please tell me everything you know!"

The man before him clenched his hands tightly, his once-dark eyes instantly turning blood-red.

Cordis was actually just thinking.

Would it be a good thing for Kurapika to learn Nen earlier?

Okay, done.

Honestly, Illumi felt a little out of character in this one.

I'm so upset. I've really failed at being his devoted fan!

To punish myself...

I'll have to eat a whole bucket of fried chicken through my tears tonight.

Let those sinful calories be my punishment!