Looking at the frankly pathetic prisoner, trying to appear strong, Auren can't help but be disappointed.
This is so boring... can we skip ahead already?
"What do you think about him, oh mighty Hunter?" Auren hears from behind, Leroute asking him. "He's called Majitani."
I'm aware...
"I think he's pathetic, and he has already dropped his act a couple of times. Anyone can see this guy is all talk and no action," Auren replies. "It's no wonder he got caught being a fraud. If he were actually good, he wouldn't have ended up here like all the other lowlives here."
"That's mean... I got caught as well," Leroute says, pouting.
Indeed.
As soon as the fight starts, Majitani jumps into the air and strikes at Kurapika with his right fist, who dodges easily, causing his fist to hit the ground, creating a large hole in the massive stone, as well as revealing his back to everyone, with a twelve-legged spider tattoo visible.
"It looks fairly good," Auren says, a little surprised. "The originals don't look any better... but they are numbered."
"You are well informed," Leroute comments. "Not many people know that... which is why Majitani's scam has a decent chance of working... but his enemy seems to be the calm and rational type. That's a bad matchup."
"Calm and rational, huh? You might think so," Auren comments. "But you'd be surprised. Just take a look."
Calling himself "Majitani, one of the Four Devas of the Troupe," Majitani urges Kurapika to give up, only for the young man to snap and glare at him.
Auren uses Gyo and sees his Aura spike, despite his unopened pores, especially around his eyes.
The Scarlet Eyes... they are quite powerful indeed. Rakshala gains almost godlike abilities that have allowed her to dominate and even cause a global financial crisis by taking advantage of the stock market, thanks to insider information. She's now the overlord of a large, ever-growing nation, with absolute control and power over her subjects.
These eyes... they are special... but... I'm not quite sure this ability lives up to Rakshala's. I remember vaguely that there is a huge downside he'll eventually have to deal with... also... he wastes his potential by using it against the Troupe. How does he do it? The only thing I noted down was... conditions. He will probably use restrictions and vows to strengthen his ability... a treacherous way that will waste away his potential.
Do I just watch how things unfold? What about my own connection to the Troupe?
Grabbing Majitani by the mouth so that he can barely speak, Kurapika mercilessly punches the fraudster, knocking him to the ground and immediately causing him to faint.
Almost mechanically, despite his enemy's unconsciousness, Kurapika narrates the truth about the Troupe and Majitani's act. "The genuine Troupe tattoo has a member number inscribed inside. They also don't bother tallying the number of people they've killed.... and lastly, never mention the Troupe again, or I promise I will kill you."
"If he weren't talking to an unconscious man, I'd say that speech was scary and quite effective," Auren can't help but comment.
"Hehe, I agree. It looks like Majitani hit a sore spot with that guy. I guess it's my turn. Please root for me, okay?" Leroute says, winking at Auren.
"That doesn't work... cut it out, or you'll be rotting here forever," Auren threatens her, causing her to tense up.
"Hehe... hey... I've got an idea," Auren hears Leroute snicker towards the other two prisoners, while the last prisoner wordlessly stays far in the back.
Motivated and loud, Leorio yells, pointing at the unconscious Majitani. "Drag him off and send in your next contender. I am ready."
"Hehe," Leroute snickers, her hood back on. "Not possible, I'm afraid. You see... the last match isn't over. It was a death match, after all."
She then walks onto the ring, observes Majitani, and states, "He's alive, just unconscious."
Auren wordlessly spectates.
What follows is a pointless squabble where Kurapika refuses to kill the unconscious Majitani, leading to pointless screaming, arguing, and overall hostility on the examinees' side, causing visible joy on the prisoners' faces.
With time passing, Auren sleeping for a while, Leorio finally snaps again, demanding to inspect the unconscious Majitani himself.
Having detected an opportunity, Leroute suggests the next match, turning it into a gambling match, betting 50 hours of "time," continuing until one side loses it all. Each of them suggests a bet that the other person has to bet on, then switching roles.
After discussing it among themselves, Leorio accepts, surprising the prisoners and examinees by betting 10 hours on Majitani being alive, eventually winning by confirming it himself.
"Weak," Auren comments. "He could have gone all in for an instant win. He should have trusted his gut and bet all of his time."
"You're right," the ex-military soldier, Bendot, responds. "He's pretending to be secure and careful... but it's actually the opposite. He's scared of losing his time. A decisive bet would have been the most secure and reasonable thing to do... considering she proposed the bet. This can only end in one way."
Auren shrugs. "That's true... what are you in for... murder, correct?"
"And robbery..." Bendot says. "Corrupt cops and military police...."
"So you claim to be innocent?" Auren asks, amused by that statement.
"No... I've killed and robbed plenty... but not the people they've accused and convicted me of doing so. I only targeted criminals... people like me. I never targeted innocents. I was just a convenient fall guy, and they knew it, because I bribed plenty of cops and ex-soldiers like me," Bendot explains.
Hmmm, that actually sounds plausible... but. I just know he's lying. At least to an extent.
Meanwhile, Leorio, taking control, decides to make the best of whether Majitani is really unconscious or just pretending to be.
Auren, of course, realizes that by now he's awake.
Since Leorio suggested the topic, Leroute can bet on whatever she likes. Initially betting on unconscious, Leorio tries to confirm the result by throwing Majitani offstage into the void below, causing him to die with certainty.
Instantly switching gears, Leroute bets forty hours that he's awake, causing Leorio to attempt to throw him down, only for Majitani to react.
"I'm awake! You lunatics. I lost, just let me leave, this isn't worth it. I'd rather stay in prison than die because of you lunatics," Majitani yells, running off the stage.
"So you knew as well," Leroute says, causing Leorio to explain that he's aiming to become a doctor and can, of course, tell if someone is unconscious by checking their eye movements.
With just twenty hours left to bet, the examinees are at a disadvantage, and it's Leroute's turn to choose, causing her to drop her hood and suggest, "Am I a man or a woman?" while smiling at Leorio.
What follows is a disgraceful farce where Leorio bets on man, only to lose, then confirms his loss by clumsily touching Leroute's body, carefully trying to ascertain her gender through the prison clothes.
"Is this guy stupid?!" Bendot asks. "Just for touching her dirty prison clothes, he's given up ten hours?"
"Seems like it," Auren replies. "Leroute seems to have seen right through him... though being touched by that guy... I can't help but see it as a loss... for both. Touching a prisoner who's rarely allowed to shower and is wearing rags is not something he should enjoy. He should really wash those hands."
Finally, with no option left, Leorio suggests the next, and final, bet, deciding to challenge her to rock, paper, scissors.
Signaling perfect confidence, Leroute bets 90 hours, offering to wager all of her time despite just needing to bet 10 hours, shocking Leorio. After an initial draw with rock and a short psychological trap by Leroute, whispering to Leorio, she wins the second round, the match, and fifty hours of their time, allowing the prisoners to lose 50 hours of their sentence together with the hours the contest lasted, making them visibly happy.
"Hehe," she says, returning from the stage and standing in front of Auren, who still sits on the ground and watches. "Aren't I great?"
"Pretty mixed results," Auren comments. "He saw through a lot of your acts, and you even had to let him pat you down... I'd say a 7 out of 10... max."
"A harsh critic..." she says, lowering her head. "I guess I could have done better. Must have grown rusty...."
Finally, only Killua is left from the examinees' site.
The last prisoner, who stayed in the background the entire time, walks forward, his shackles released as he throws them, along with his hood, onto the ground.
His eyes are almost closed, and with shaggy hair and a long mustache, he immediately grabs onto the stone walls in the tight corridor as he walks forward, causing pieces of stone to fall off, his hand tearing through it as if it were butter. Despite Leroute and Auren sitting on the ground, the man does not stop, and Auren has to sway his head to avoid the debris, while Leroute flees. "Hey, stop that, Johness," she says, causing Johness to stop.
"Shut up, or I'll kill you... and whoever that is," he says, glaring at them. "I'd love to crush your pathetic bodies. I'm not here to reduce my sentence... I just missed the feel of flesh."
"Hey... Killua. I don't care if we lose. Don't fight him. That's Johness the Dissector... the worst mass murderer in Zaban City's history," Leorio yells, his face filled with horror. He explains Johness's crazy murder spree, along with his grip strength, which allows him to tear apart flesh with just one squeeze, and his eventual serial killings.
"Pathetic bodies, you say," Auren says silently, smirking.
He then walks up to him, stretching out his hand.
"Try me," Auren says. "I'll immediately free you if you can make me bleed... or worse. But should you fail... there might be a price to pay for that hostility. What do you say?"
Johness's eyes widen, and he immediately grabs Auren's arm, snickering. "He...hehe... crush flesh..."
Using just Aura to protect himself, Auren confidently stares back at the crazed mass murderer.
As Johness tries to press his hands together, trying to crush Auren's arm, nothing happens.
He tries again, and his face grows visibly strained, sweat pouring down onto the ground after gripping as tightly as he can.
"Wha... what is this?!" he asks, using a second hand, but absolutely nothing happens.
Completely shocked, Johness drops all kinds of pretense and grabs at Auren's throat. "Die, you monster!" he yells in a crazed tone.
Auren simply lets him grab onto his throat, focusing his Aura onto it. Then he walks forward, Johness holding on tightly, getting dragged to the edge of the platform, the ring in front of him, along with the thin bridge.
Then Auren spins in a circle, causing Johness to fly through the air until he can't hold on any longer, getting flung towards the outer wall, crashing against it before falling into the void below.
A couple of seconds later, a loud sound echoes through the arena as Johness's body reaches the floor.
"I'm afraid... the last prisoner just became unavailable," Auren says, jumping into the ring, ignoring the small bridge. "While I'm not as scary as that prisoner... surely you'll agree I'll be a valid replacement... right, Killua?"
He then, similar to the prisoner, pulls off his helmet, revealing his face for the first time, and throws the helmet towards Leroute, who catches it, staring at Auren with wide eyes.
Killua, who looked bored earlier, instantly changes expression. "That is... Auren! Hey... that is unfair! That's cheating!"
"Auren again... that is... the Double-Star Hunter, the chairman of the examination committee mentioned?" Leorio realizes, as he stares at Auren.
"Who is he?" Gon asks Killua.
"An annoying guy... I've met him as a kid..." Killua says. "He's... on equal terms with my family... I heard some of my family members talk about him."
"You are still a kid," Auren immediately clarifies. "Don't act like it's been in the past."
"Shut up!" Killua yells back. "I last saw him in person when he visited my family... he's not only a Double-Star Hunter... my grandpa and father both acknowledge him. He's strong. He won Battle Olympia twice, the world's highest-level Martial Arts contest. Even I can't win against him... it's impossible."
"You don't have to fight me," Auren clarifies. "I'm not that unreasonable... just a little game... weren't you bored anyway? It will be fun, trust me."
"Not like I have a choice..." Killua matters, glaring at Auren.
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