Unsurprisingly, Leorio collapsed to the ground.
Hisoka was fast.
So fast that Kurapika hadn't even seen how Leorio had been knocked down.
Suddenly, a chill surged through Kurapika.
It felt as though someone had seized him by the throat, suffocating him.
That chilling sensation frightened Kurapika into a cold sweat.
His feet felt rooted in place, fear leaving his body unable to flee.
Even Cordis, standing opposite Hisoka, felt the intense pressure radiating from him.
But then again.
Cordis had experienced that sort of pressure far too many times!
Even with that chilling sensation pressing down on him until he could barely breathe.
He could still react quickly.
Cordis crouched low and charged at Hisoka like a cheetah.
Seeing Cordis charge toward him, Hisoka widened his eyes in excitement, licked his lips, and readied himself for battle.
Just before reaching Hisoka, Cordis planted both feet and sprang into the air, his body light as a bird.
He flipped over Hisoka's attack.
As it turned out, Cordis's target wasn't Hisoka, but Leorio, who lay unconscious on the ground.
He hoisted Leorio up and tossed him to Kurapika.
"Kurapika! Take Leorio and go!"
"Leave this to me!"
Seeing this, Kurapika could only say, "Stay safe," before carrying Leorio away.
It seemed Cordis was far stronger than he had imagined.
The two of them would only get in his way if they stayed.
Watching their figures gradually disappear into the fog.
Cordis turned to face Hisoka.
A gust of wind swept past.
His silver-white hair fluttered in the breeze.
The creatures that had been feeding on the corpses sensed an ominous presence too.
They all fled the scene.
As a crow flew overhead.
It let out a caw.
Hisoka vanished from where he stood in an instant.
This is bad, Cordis thought, scanning his surroundings.
As time passed, the fog in the forest grew thicker.
Now he could barely make out a small patch in front of him.
Two sharp whooshes rang out.
Several playing cards flew toward Cordis's head.
They were too close for him to dodge.
He raised his arm to block the playing cards.
But a sharp pain shot through his arm immediately afterward.
Two playing cards were embedded deep in Cordis's arm.
Blood flowed from the wounds.
"Oh my~ Little Apple is pretty clever, isn't he~"
Hisoka's lilting voice drifted out of the fog. Although he was offering praise, his attacks didn't stop.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Several more playing cards flew toward him.
Cordis bent backward to dodge the attack.
Cordis was now on the defensive.
Hisoka attacked, and Cordis dodged.
This was hardly good news.
To break out of this situation, he had to land at least one hit on Hisoka.
Suddenly, a sound came from behind him.
"An opening!"
He spun around sharply. Even with the fog obscuring his vision, Cordis threw his punch with confidence.
Cordis's punch was fast and vicious.
Boom!
The expected sensation of striking flesh never came.
Several grains of grit flew into his eyes, the stinging pain forcing Cordis to close them.
He had only struck a rock!
"Bastard!"
The tiny fragments of shattered stone had all flown into Cordis's eyes.
His eyes were temporarily blinded, leaving him with only his hearing to rely on.
Whoosh, whoosh.
More objects hurtled toward him, but this time they weren't playing cards. They were small stones.
Small though they were, they shot toward Cordis as swiftly as bullets.
Relying on his hearing, Cordis barely dodged the first two.
Then several more whooshes came from behind him.
This time, Cordis failed to dodge.
Two small stones struck Cordis squarely in the back.
Cordis let out a muffled grunt.
His body swayed from the impact of the two stones, but through sheer force of will, Cordis quickly steadied his footing.
"Oh my~ You're giving me so much to look forward to~"
Cordis calmed himself and listened carefully to the sounds around him.
He wrinkled his nose, sniffing the scents around him.
The smell of damp earth, the sound of the wind.
Tap, tap, tap.
That's it! It was the faint sound of someone running across the wet ground, accompanied by the familiar bloody scent on Hisoka.
By then, Hisoka had already raised his hand, his fingers tipped with pointed nails sharper than blades.
Like a snake, he swiftly darted toward Cordis.
His face contorted. Cordis was like a little bull that refused to fall; even covered in wounds, he wouldn't let out a cry of pain.
Sometimes, people like that stirred Hisoka's interest even more.
Cordis was now less than an arm's length from Hisoka, whose sharp nails seemed poised to pierce Cordis's throat in the next instant.
"An opening!"
Just then, a strong gust blew past, and Cordis seized the chance to open Leorio's briefcase, which he had been holding all along.
The moment he opened it, a pile of documents fluttered out on the wind.
Those documents blocked Hisoka's view perfectly.
Hisoka stopped his attack and reached out to sweep aside all the papers in front of him.
But Cordis was nowhere to be seen.
Under cover of the fog, Cordis had successfully escaped.
Hisoka could only just make out Cordis's figure growing increasingly indistinct in the mist.
Watching the figure recede into the distance, Hisoka didn't pursue him.
Instead, he rested one hand on his hip, arched his back, rolled his eyes upward, and tugged at the corner of his mouth as he looked in the direction Cordis had gone.
"Oh my~ I can't wait for our next playtime~"
Two beeps interrupted Hisoka's daydream.
He pulled a walkie-talkie from his pocket, and Illumi's voice came through.
"Hisoka, we're almost there."
"Okay, got it."
He put away the walkie-talkie and headed toward the finish line, humming a little tune.
Cordis called Kurapika's name in the forest.
He called for a long time without receiving an answer.
With no other choice, Cordis could only follow his instincts.
He darted aimlessly through the fog-shrouded forest like a headless fly.
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared a short distance away, coming toward him.
"Cordis!"
Breaking through the fog, Gon waved as he ran toward Cordis.
"Gon!" Cordis called back.
Seeing Cordis covered in injuries, he asked in shock, "Cordis, what happened to you?"
Cordis scratched his head and changed the subject.
"Well~ Something happened. Anyway, where's Kurapika?"
"Kurapika carried Leorio back to the group. He asked me to come find you."
As he spoke, he took Cordis's hand. "Let's hurry."
Cordis asked, "Do you know the way back to the group?"
Gon sniffed the air and pulled Cordis along as he ran in one direction.
"Of course. Leorio smells strongly of cologne. It's just like how I found you."
Damn it! If you don't leave a good review, I'll go fuck Illumi!
Before you continue