November 16, 1986, human-developed sea region.
Heavy clouds hung low over the sky. Suddenly, a crimson lightning bolt streaked across the heavens, illuminating a black phantom flying at extreme speed, hidden beneath the clouds.
"Whoosh, whoosh~~"
A fierce wind ruffled Illumi's hair and clothes. At this moment, he sat cross-legged on the pure black Pteranodon conjured by Pride, meditating with closed eyes.
Unlike Illumi, Pride had been constantly learning the knowledge of this world since his birth, which of course included various ancient creatures.
The Pteranodon conjured by Pride flew very fast, and its size was immense. Its wingspan, when fully extended, could exceed thirty meters. Compared to Illumi's cramped space on his back, the Pteranodon's back offered considerably more room.
"Boss, we're almost there."
Pride stood beside Illumi, reminding him.
"Three months. Finally made it through."
Illumi's voice was low. He slowly opened his eyes, faint dark circles under them, his expression fatigued.
He and Pride had continuously alternated using their abilities for three months, switching every three days.
After three months, even Illumi's willpower and physical conditioning were utterly exhausted.
An hour later, Pride controlled the Pteranodon to fly into the territorial waters of the Pegurose United Nations.
"Ahead should be the southern coast of Pegurose, Manasseh State. Just drop him off on the shore ahead."
Illumi looked back at Cervantes, who was lying unconscious on the Pteranodon's back. Pride then controlled the Pteranodon to speed up, flying towards the nearest coastal city.
The colossal Pteranodon, precisely controlled by Pride, flew low to the ground with a "boom," sweeping across the low altitude and stirring up massive waves.
As it passed over the beach ahead, it dropped a black figure.
The black figure descended from the sky. With a "thud," Cervantes landed headfirst in the sand, butt upwards.
"Splish-splash..."
A second later, the unconscious Cervantes woke up. He propped himself up with his hands and pulled his face out of the sand, continuously breathing in fresh air.
"Phew~ Almost suffocated."
"These bastards!"
Cervantes knelt by the sea, hands on the ground, looking up at the black speck in the distant sky. His forehead furrowed into a "well" shape.
"Forget it, important matters first."
Cervantes took a deep breath. He felt weak all over, and his stomach rumbled.
For the past three months, he had been in a state of anesthetic-induced coma, except for when he woke up to be forcibly fed compressed food and drinking water.
Due to prolonged deep anesthesia, he felt as if he was developing an anesthesia-resistant constitution.
"Where is this?"
Cervantes flipped over and lay by the river, letting the seawater wash over his body.
Looking at the gloomy sky, he thought for a moment, then took out his phone from his clothes and scrolled through his contacts.
"This kid."
Cervantes's finger stopped on a name in his contacts. He reluctantly dialed the number. In some aspects, this kid was indeed more capable than him.
Like negotiations.
November 20, 1986, 9:55 PM.
Illumi and his group, including thirty Retriever soldiers, returned to the company headquarters with a total of nineteen Hell Bells. However, he did not keep these demonic beasts at the headquarters but placed them in a temporary underground containment facility one kilometer away from the headquarters.
Before this, there was only one containment object here: the black-and-red wooden box from the Spitall Ruins.
Illumi stood in front of the agency gate, looking up. A faint blue light swept across his eyes.
"Illumi Zoldyck, permission passed."
Iris scan passed. With a "click," the heavy alloy gate split open, eventually fully opening.
This temporary underground containment facility occupied less than a hundred square meters. Inside, there was only a twenty-square-meter secret chamber. All four walls and the floor of the secret chamber were made of Mana alloy.
The four walls of the secret chamber were covered with countless rhombus-shaped grooves emitting a faint blue light. Each wall had hundreds of rhombus-shaped grooves, forming a dense, faint blue rhombus-shaped grid on the wall, like a honeycomb.
"Put them all in."
Illumi stood in the center of the secret chamber and ordered.
The Retriever soldiers behind him carefully removed the rhombus-shaped containment boxes holding the Hell Bells from a trolley. With a "thump," they pressed them into the rhombus-shaped grooves on the wall.
Nineteen containment boxes were stored one by one in the honeycomb. A green light illuminated in the rhombus-shaped grooves, but quickly dimmed.
Illumi took one last look at the black-and-red wooden box in the honeycomb, then turned and left the secret chamber.
"Beep..."
As soon as Illumi stepped out of the underground facility's door, his pants pocket vibrated. He pulled out his phone and, sure enough, it was Alluka calling.
"Moshi moshi~"
He held the phone to his ear. Alluka's youthful voice sounded from within the phone.
"Is something wrong?"
"Huh~? So you're still alive?"
Alluka's feigned surprised tone made his forehead twitch with black lines. His delicate eyebrows couldn't help but twitch slightly. He said in a deep voice,
"Are you cursing me to die?"
"Ara~ Because your phone hasn't been connecting for half a year. If your company wasn't still around, we'd all think you were dead."
"Is something wrong?"
"Two things. First, Mom is pregnant again, probably due in July next year."
"As for the second matter, we'll discuss it after you get home."
"When are you coming back?"
"I'll depart tomorrow, arriving in the Republic of Padokea two months later."
"Alright then, I'll report that to Dad, okay?"
"Whatever you want."
Illumi finished speaking, directly pressed the end call button, then looked up at the gloomy sky. A heavy rainstorm was probably coming tonight.
The next day.
Skogland City Airport, 08:50 AM, ticket counter.
"Mr. Illumi, your flight departs in ten minutes. Please hurry and board."
The ticketing agent's face bloomed with a sweet smile as she handed a plane ticket to Illumi.
"Thank you."
Illumi casually thanked her, took the ticket expressionlessly, and turned towards the boarding gate.
Skogland City, being a third-tier city, had a very low population, and even fewer people who needed to travel abroad. Even with only ten minutes until the flight departure, there were still many empty seats.
The Continent of Yuropia, Meteor City.
Five figures gathered in an old apartment, some sitting, some standing, the atmosphere heavy.
"Chrollo, why did you call us all together? What's going on?" Uvogin was the first to lose patience, standing up and asking.
"That's right, hurry up and tell us what's going on!"
"I have to get up early tomorrow to go to the East District and test my swordsmanship against those idiots from the Seamanji family."
Nobunaga also spoke.
At this moment, he was holding an oiled katana, holding it upright in front of him. With his other hand, he used pliers to hold a cotton ball, occasionally dipping it into some sword powder and applying it to the blade.
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access 400+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).