Years later, when A Luo recalled that night, all that remained in her memory besides the thick, seemingly inescapable stench of blood was pain.
That day also made her realize once again, in no uncertain terms, just what a fucked-up world Hunter really was!
That evening, Lola prepared a lavish dinner for the Phantom Troupe as usual.
Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, the Spiders went out to murder people and burn things down.
Uneasy, she stayed with the few Spiders left behind, quietly clearing the dishes and washing up in the kitchen.
The moment she left the kitchen, she hurried eagerly after Chrollo and planted herself on the living room sofa.
The man read his book; A Luo watched him!
As time slowly passed, the clock hands ticked around and around.
At last, it was late at night.
A Luo had long since grown too sleepy to keep her eyes open, and at some point her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep.
Half asleep, she suddenly felt an invisible pressure that sent a wave of panic through her dreams.
Her heart pounding, A Luo jolted awake and opened her eyes.
Chrollo was still in the same position, his head slightly lowered as he studied the book in his hand.
A black cover. A blood-red handprint.
Ugh. A Luo rolled her eyes at him with absolutely no grace!
As she closed her eyes again, the girl was still grumbling to herself.
No wonder the Spiders are all twisted. They read stuff like this every day.
But just as she closed her eyes, ready to doze a little longer, her sleep-addled mind finally caught up!
A black cover and a blood-red handprint?
Isn't that Chrollo's Nen ability, Skill Hunter?
Why did Chrollo bring that book out... could an enemy be here?
Who? A Zoldyck?
...Silva's here!
In an instant, all of Lola's drowsiness vanished.
Useless as she was, even she immediately tensed up, her heart thumping wildly as though a rabbit were kicking around inside her chest.
Did I guess right?
Yet at this life-or-death moment, A Luo couldn't muster the courage to open her eyes and check whether Silva really had come to kill them, just as she suspected.
It's all my fault for letting my guard down! I only looked at Chrollo. Even one glance at the rest of the living room would've helped!
Then I wouldn't have to lie here jumping at shadows.
Soon, under that staggering Nen pressure, A Luo felt as though she were standing in the very eye of a storm.
Her survival instincts issued one final warning: a clash at this level was absolutely beyond her ability to interfere with.
Run!
Her brain screamed.
Unfortunately, A Luo was utterly useless. Under that overwhelming Nen pressure, she had gone completely limp, without even the strength to move a finger.
Only when she heard the fierce sounds of combat cutting through the air did anything change.
A Luo finally managed to adjust to her surroundings just a tiny bit, and a little strength returned to her limbs.
She seized the chance, forcing down her fear and making herself open her eyes for a look.
Chrollo was still in the same position, sitting motionless on the sofa.
Yet he radiated power, as though he could deliver a fatal blow to any attacking enemy at any moment.
Not far away, Machi was fighting a muscular man with a full head of long silver hair.
Their attacks were so fast that A Luo could barely catch a few afterimages.
But judging by how alert Chrollo was, things probably weren't going too well for Machi!
Sure enough, before long, Machi faltered and was forced back.
She spat out a mouthful of blood without a flicker of expression, then charged in again.
Watching their heated fight, Lola figured they wouldn't have time to spare for a small fry like her.
So she summoned every ounce of strength she had and tried to flee the crossfire before an innocent, fragile little fish like her got caught in it.
But she had never imagined that damned Chrollo could be so utterly deranged.
Before she could even get away from the sofa, he grabbed Lola and hurled her like a weapon at the man fighting Machi!
That silver-haired powerhouse who could take on two Spiders at once-Silva Zoldyck.
In that split second, A Luo's mind raced.
What was the Zoldyck Family's signature technique again?
Oh! Right, ripping out hearts with their bare hands.
Killua said his dad was the best at it in this generation.
He could pluck out a target's heart bare-handed without getting a single drop of blood on himself.
That brat had been so proud when he brought it up during the Hunter Exam!
So Silva will probably try to rip out my heart out of habit.
Which means his attack should come from...?
A Luo barely managed to control her body enough to change her position as she hurtled toward Silva. Not only did she happen to evade the silver-haired man's fatal strike, she also seized the chance to whisper rapidly into his ear:
"Besides destruction, Alluka's ability is actually even better at healing! And there's a way to make wishes without paying a price... do... you... want to... know...?"
But before A Luo had finished speaking, a sharp pain tore through her abdomen.
Fine!
My heart's safe, but my stomach took the hit.
Fortunately, though, her dying words had worked.
Silva stopped moving instead of reflexively delivering another blow to finish off the dying girl.
Instead, he looked at her with a hint of conflict, his brow even seeming to betray regret at having struck too quickly.
Seeing this, Lola could only feel that her luck truly couldn't get any worse. Couldn't Silva have let her finish before attacking?
The next moment, agonizing pain flared from the wound in A Luo's abdomen, leaving her able only to lie on the floor and close her eyes, her face contorted.
All right... whether I live or die now is up to fate!
Maybe this body's excellent constitution will let me hold on a little longer. Maybe heaven will even take pity on me, and I'll somehow scrape through alive!
But the effect of those dying words went far beyond anything A Luo had expected.
After all, they were in the middle of a fight.
And Silva's opponents were two Spiders, including a heavyweight like Chrollo.
In the instant that A Luo distracted Silva, Chrollo rushed forward with a dagger in his hand.
Anyone else would have died nine times over.
So even someone as powerful as Silva, the current head of the Zoldyck Family, paid a considerable price.
Severe wounds to his chest and abdomen left him half dead!
The Spiders had proved far fiercer than he had expected, and now this unforeseen complication had left him badly wounded.
Silva decisively retreated.
But as he left, he glanced at the little girl on the floor with a touch of regret!
He wondered, How does she know about Alluka?
Once the Zoldyck assassin had left, they turned their attention to A Luo.
Machi was the first to limp over, lightly nudging Lola, who lay playing dead on the floor, with her foot.
"Hey! If you're not dead, make a sound."
Chrollo also closed the book in his hand.
The instant Skill Hunter vanished into thin air, he relaxed and was about to say something, only to suddenly frown as though something had occurred to him.
Without even looking at A Luo on the floor, he headed upstairs to the room where No. 8 was recovering.
A minute later, he returned to the living room and sat down.
In the flickering candlelight, Chrollo's gaze was complicated.
Perhaps there was regret in it, perhaps excitement, perhaps greed!
In the end, all those emotions dissolved into a heavy sigh.
"Machi, we were still too careless."
Before you continue