At the restaurant's main entrance stood not only Kurapika, but also Toad, whose tongue had just released the mafia member who had regained consciousness.
This time, Toad's tongue curled toward Kurapika, pulling him straight out of the area covered by Franklin's Nen bullets.
The restaurant doors shattered instantly under the barrage of Nen bullets.
In the other direction, Qiao Lun blocked Bonolenov's thrusting spear with his long blade, then swiftly retreated to put distance between them.
The trash downstairs only held them off for this long? The thought flashed through Qiao Lun's mind, and he felt it was a pity.
With only him and Kurapika, they would gain little against four Phantom Troupe members working together.
Toad quickly vanished behind him, while the Divine Dogs ran back to Qiao Lun's side.
His wary gaze swept over the Phantom Troupe members ahead before he glanced toward the restaurant out of the corner of his eye.
Franklin's Nen bullets had shredded the restaurant doors, exposing the interior to everyone's view.
Chrollo and Hisoka had already put distance between themselves.
One of Chrollo's arms was visibly twisted at an unnatural angle, and one leg was clearly broken.
But compared with Chrollo, Hisoka looked even worse. Large chunks of flesh were missing from several places on his body, and his tracksuit was drenched in blood.
Yet unlike Chrollo's serious expression, Hisoka's face was filled with pleasure.
The pervert was thoroughly enjoying the fight.
"Are we going to keep fighting?" Chrollo held his book in one hand, three small swords floating above his head, ready to shoot out at any moment.
Pink Nen extended from each of Hisoka's fingers, winding around the broken tables and chairs in the room, seemingly ready to pull them over as shields at any moment.
"Will they stand by and watch us fight?" Hisoka asked the crucial question.
"No." Expressionless, Chrollo gave the answer Hisoka least wanted to hear.
Hisoka turned toward Qiao Lun. "How much longer can you hold them off?"
The corners of Qiao Lun's mouth rose into a mocking curve. "How long will it take you to kill Chrollo?"
Hisoka fell silent.
Because now, he was not even sure whether he or Chrollo would die first if the fight continued.
"If you can't give me an answer, shut your mouth, you piece of trash." Qiao Lun showed him no courtesy whatsoever.
He had actually had expectations for Hisoka.
Many people believed Hisoka's defeat in the manga was due to Chrollo's extensive preparations.
But now it seemed that even without preparing specifically for Hisoka, Chrollo could face him in a chance encounter without Hisoka being certain of victory.
Judging by how the fight had gone, Qiao Lun even felt Chrollo was more likely to be the last man standing.
So he could not help feeling somewhat dissatisfied with Hisoka.
His Zone state was fading, and the aftereffects of landing consecutive Black Flashes were beginning to show. Maintaining such intense, absolute concentration had taken a considerable mental toll as he emerged from that state, even leaving his mind somewhat muddled.
He could recover quickly from this mental fatigue; he just needed time.
As for his body, the increased efficiency of his Reverse Cursed Technique brought about by the third Black Flash had already restored it to perfect condition. Only his Cursed Energy expenditure was real, though the efficiency boost from Black Flash had indirectly reduced that consumption as well.
So if he kept fighting, Qiao Lun would have no other problems beyond being less focused.
Still, a quick count told him that three Phantom Troupe members probably had yet to arrive, while the mafia likely had no one left.
So if he did not want to be surrounded by the Phantom Troupe next, retreat was the best choice.
He could hardly imitate Megumi Fushiguro here and shout, "Furube Yurayura!"
For now, Qiao Lun still preferred his animal friends and had no intention of summoning Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga. After all, he had not completed the subjugation.
Hisoka visibly froze for a moment at Qiao Lun's words.
Then his expression could not help turning ugly. He had been looked down on!
But although Hisoka opened his mouth, he did not know what to say. Qiao Lun had indeed created an opportunity for him to fight Chrollo one-on-one and bought him more than enough time.
Having failed to finish Chrollo off under those circumstances, he was indeed no different from trash in Qiao Lun's eyes.
Qiao Lun did not care what Hisoka was thinking. His gaze shifted straight to Kurapika.
When Kurapika saw Hisoka nod at him, he already understood something.
Meanwhile, everyone else on the eighteenth floor, Chrollo included, was surprised by Qiao Lun's attitude toward Hisoka.
Qiao Lun gave them no more time to react. He formed the summoning sign for Great Serpent with one hand, and a massive python with white scales and black markings shot out of the shadow beneath his feet.
The python opened its jaws and caught Qiao Lun in its mouth as it charged toward Kurapika.
Chrollo was the first to react.
But although he could launch his small swords to attack, or even turn a page to shift Qiao Lun's position directly, he did not dare do so. He knew perfectly well that the moment he acted, Hisoka, whose aura had remained locked on him, would immediately launch a lethal attack.
Instead, if he stayed on guard without attacking, he would not only avoid being attacked, but also keep Hisoka in check.
Once the members arrived, Hisoka was certain to die in his current condition!
He did not want this pervert fixating on him any longer.
The second person to realize Qiao Lun intended to flee with Kurapika was Hisoka.
His first thought was to seize the opportunity to attack Chrollo; leaving only came second.
But when he noticed that Qiao Lun's movements had not distracted Chrollo at all, he knew he was in trouble.
This was aimed squarely at him!
Damn it! Hisoka cursed inwardly, curling his fingers. A mass of tables and chairs flew up and crashed toward Chrollo, concealing Hisoka from view at the same time.
The small swords above Chrollo's head moved.
And as the swords moved, a sudden barrage of Nen bullets swept in from outside toward Hisoka's position inside the restaurant.
Franklin had actually ignored Qiao Lun outright and focused entirely on Hisoka.
Only Bonolenov charged toward Great Serpent amid the music.
But he had barely taken a few steps before the black and white Divine Dogs both pounced on him.
More importantly, when Bonolenov lunged forward, Kortopi, who was copying the floor tiles, also let his guard down.
The instant he relaxed, the floor diagonally behind him shattered, and a chain shot out. It was not heading for him, but coiling toward Pakunoda behind him.
Gun in hand, Pakunoda had never expected such a turn of events. Pain struck her ankle, and the chain had already wrapped around her.
As the chain continued winding upward, it also unleashed a surge of force, dragging Pakunoda in the direction Great Serpent had charged!