"So your body is made of Nen? In that case, I'll have to make your avatar slaughter your real body."
The dagger had been pulled out, yet her father's avatar remained completely unharmed.
The brown-haired man in the corner spoke coolly.
Everyone thought he intended to keep controlling Fan En's real body and make it fight his avatar.
But in the next instant, Fan'en Reno's real body turned with the gleaming dagger in hand and slashed at his utterly unprepared daughter!
At that moment, the girl stared at the blade above her head. Her heart seemed to stop, and her mind went completely blank.
Was she really this useless as cannon fodder?
She'd only just seen Killua off, and now she was about to bite the dust?! At the hands of Fan'en Reno, her dad in this life, no less!
When A Luo came back to her senses, she was astonished to discover that she was still alive!
The girl raised a hand and felt her forehead. It was smooth and intact.
She wasn't dead? What exactly had just happened?
Before she could take a closer look, Malena's scream dragged A Luo back to reality.
Fan'en Reno, who had been wielding a dagger and attacking without a trace of expression just a moment ago, now lay decapitated a short distance in front of A Luo!
To keep his real body from killing his daughter, his avatar had clamped both hands tightly around it.
Meanwhile, Fan'en Reno's pale, handsome head was in the brown-haired man's hands, being turned this way and that for inspection.
The killer even thanked Fan'en Reno's avatar.
"Thanks for that! I appreciate you holding the body still. I sliced this head clean off with a single stroke."
Yes.
Just as Fan'en Reno's real body had been manipulated into killing A Luo, his avatar had rushed forward to stop it, only to leave himself open to the brown-haired young man's sneak attack. One slash had severed Fan'en Reno's head.
The man studied Fan'en Reno's avatar curiously.
"Now that Fan'en Reno's real body is dead, you still haven't disappeared, even though you're his avatar?! This just keeps getting more interesting!"
The brown-haired man laughed gleefully.
"Now then, who should be Mr. Fan'en Reno's avatar's next opponent? How about the esteemed Miss Malena? A husband's inner torment: should he let his wife kill their daughter? Kill his wife to save their daughter? Or simply kill his wife himself? A family drama like that sounds interesting too, doesn't it?"
Grinning, the brown-haired man slipped back into the shadows in the corner.
At the same time, he used his ability to take control of Malena.
Fan'en Reno's avatar dropped his own body and attacked the brown-haired man without another word.
"What kind of damned bullshit choices are those! Wouldn't it be better if I just killed you before Malena could act?"
"Oh my! It seems you've underestimated me!"
The brown-haired man tossed aside Fan'en Reno's head as well, and the two instantly clashed again.
Not far away, Malena charged straight at A Luo, her face as expressionless as Fan'en Reno's had been!
Bang! Bang!
At that deadly, critical moment, violent impacts rang out from the darkness.
Then the brown-haired man fell to the floor, clutching his chest and coughing up a large mouthful of blood.
"Ugh... Fan'en Reno, you really do live up to your old reputation as a genius among tens of millions. I underestimated you after all! Malena, come back."
At the brown-haired man's call, Malena immediately turned back.
Knowing that he probably had no way to pry the Life Stone's whereabouts out of Fan'en Reno today, the brown-haired man promptly decided to retreat.
He left the black-clad men behind as cannon fodder to cover his escape, while he took Malena with him and vanished.
For a moment, A Luo could barely process the sudden turn of events!
She stared blankly at Fan'en Reno's avatar.
"Dad?"
"Mm..."
The muscular man had barely answered before he dropped to his knees, as though he could no longer hold himself up.
"Dad!"
A Luo rushed over anxiously to help him up.
"Dad, what's wrong? What's going on?"
"Be good, A Luo! My body is dead, so my Nen will disappear soon too. I always thought you were still too young, so I never told you about the past. The truth is, your mother, Malena, is the eldest daughter of the Corleone Family. She left the family back then to marry me."
That body, formed entirely from Nen, began to grow fainter and fainter.
"Her older brother, Vito Corleone, was probably behind this. Once you're strong enough, remember to bring your mother back."
A Luo: "..."
"And there's that Life Stone they mentioned. It's no treasure at all. To me, it's something that brings misfortune. So, A Luo, I've decided to take that stone's secret with me to the next world. You don't need to know. Just live well and grow up healthy and happy."
"Okay, okay, I won't ask! Dad, don't die! Waaa..."
"A Luo, I'm sorry. As your father, I won't be able to protect you as you grow up. But you have to be strong... You have to keep living. Rescue your mother for me, and live well together!"
"No! Go yourself! Go bring Mom back yourself! We'll live just like we used to! I promise I'll behave from now on. I won't upset you anymore, and I won't slack off either! Waaa..."
As the weight in her hands grew lighter, the figure before her grew fainter. In the room that had nearly been reduced to rubble, the blond-haired, black-eyed little girl knelt on the floor, sobbing her heart out.
By the time the figure in her arms disappeared completely, night had long since fallen.
A Luo finally calmed down. She wiped away her tears, got up, retrieved Fan'en Reno's head, and placed it above his body, which lay to the right of the bedside table.
Then, choking back sobs, she swore:
"Dad, I'm sorry, and thank you for all these years. Don't worry! I'll definitely rescue Mom."
In her previous life, A Luo had lived in a society governed by law.
Even after being transported to the Hunter World, this was her first encounter with anything like this.
This was the naked law of the jungle, survival of the strongest steeped in bloodshed and slaughter.
It was far beyond what she could bear.
But this was the world of Hunters!
It was also the first time Lola had truly, viscerally understood what a fucked-up world this was!
In the darkness, she crouched in a corner with her arms around her knees.
One moment she felt utterly lost and helpless; the next, she hated the brown-haired man and the mastermind behind him so much that revenge consumed her thoughts.
On top of that, she worried about her mother, Malena, whose fate was now unknown.
A Luo felt as though her head would explode, swelling with waves of dull, throbbing pain!
The more she thought, the more it hurt, and the more helpless she felt. Like a small animal cornered with no escape, she wanted to smash her head against the wall beside her.
After an unknown stretch of time, a noise came from the doorway.
"Aha! What a fight! Boss, looks like we're late!"
A rough, booming voice rang out brazenly from the entrance.
Boss?
Startled, A Luo stopped hurting herself and turned to look.
Unfortunately, before she could turn her head, pain struck her neck, followed by a wave of dizziness!
Fuck, why did everyone today like knocking her out with a chop to the neck!
Before she passed out completely, A Luo cursed inwardly in despair.
In her final glimpse, she only managed to make out a figure with slicked-back hair, wearing a large black fur coat.
That outfit, that appearance, and someone calling him their boss?
Chrollo?
It had to be Chrollo, right!
But why would the head of the Spider, the Phantom Troupe, be here?
Even unconscious, A Luo's brows drew into a deep frown.
Before you continue