Om !"
Everyone in the troupe clearly saw it.
As Rimo swung his right hand, the space in front of him fractured like a visible fault line tearing through reality itself.
Under the natural "repair" of space, everything snapped back toward equilibrium.
And in that instant
The mobile phone in the old woman's hand was forcibly dragged forward by that restoring force, pulled across the air as if reality itself had seized it.
Then
It landed neatly in Rimo's hand.
"Sorry, grandma. My companions and I still have things to do. Could I trouble you to report this later?"
Rimo smiled apologetically, waving gently at her.
Then he crouched and placed the phone carefully on a clean patch of ground, deliberately avoiding the spreading blood.
"I'll leave your phone here. Please come pick it up later."
Despite everything, Rimo was not a natural-born killer.
Facing an elderly civilian, he had no intention of harming her.
His goal was simple
Delay.
As long as the authorities didn't arrive immediately, that was enough.
By the time anyone investigated, it would be written off as another underworld conflict something common in a place like this, near Meteor City.
"Oi! Deputy Leader, is that a new Nen application?"
There was no need to look to know who asked.
It was, of course, Uvogin.
"Yeah," Rimo replied casually. "Something I developed over the past few days. It's somewhat similar in principle to my previous technique… but this time, I 'collide' the space fragments I manipulate with real space, then erase the overlapping portion."
He spoke calmly, as if explaining something logical.
"In that way, anything within that space gets completely removed. At the same time, the restoring force created by the spatial fault can be used to move myself or pull objects toward me."
A perfectly structured explanation.
Also
Complete nonsense.
Rimo was simply exploiting the fact that none of them had direct control over space.
What were they going to do? Disprove him?
"I see! Deputy Leader, you're amazing!"
Uvogin nodded enthusiastically, clearly convinced.
The others couldn't help but complain.
"You understand nothing at all!"
Still, their attention quickly returned to the ability itself.
"Rimo… your ability is truly extraordinary," said Chrollo Lucilfer, his tone thoughtful. "I've never heard of a Conjuration-type ability reaching this level."
"Not just objects… even abstract concepts like space are being manipulated."
Rimo scratched his cheek slightly, feigning modesty.
"Maybe… it's because 'space' exists everywhere. It's just that most people can't perceive it."
Chrollo fell silent for a moment.
Then his eyes sharpened slightly.
"If that's the case… then perhaps, in the future, you might even materialize something like 'time.'"
Rimo froze for a split second.
Then laughed awkwardly.
"Haha… maybe. Who knows what the future holds? Anyway, let's focus on the task. We should secure a foothold and identities first before the authorities start paying attention."
Materializing time?
Even Rimo himself couldn't do that.
Truthfully, he wasn't even "materializing" space.
He was simply using the spatial attribute embedded in his very existence.
But of course
He wasn't about to explain that.
With that, he turned and began walking down the stairs.
The "entrance" above had only been a façade.
The real bar was underground.
A structure like this was clearly designed to attract the kind of people who thrived in darkness delinquents, gang members, and those who preferred staying out of sight.
As they descended, the heavy bass of music began to vibrate through the air.
The deeper they went, the more the atmosphere changed.
What appeared simple outside was surprisingly refined within.
The interior was decorated in a dark, gothic style walls dimly lit, shadows stretching across the floor.
Even the doorway itself had been designed like the gaping mouth of a demon.
And compared to upstairs
Security had doubled.
Four burly men stood guard at the inner entrance, each clearly more experienced than the ones outside.
As Rimo and the others approached, a bald man frowned and picked up his radio.
"Doug? What's going on up there? Why did you let a bunch of kids in? Do they have identification?"
Silence.
No response.
Naturally.
The "Doug" he was calling… no longer had a head.
And because Rimo's earlier attack had been instantaneous and the surrounding pedestrians were already used to violence there had been no disturbance.
So the guards below knew nothing.
"Doug?! Doug!"
Growing impatient, the bald man lowered the radio.
By now, Rimo and the others had reached him.
Not knowing their background, he chose to remain cautious.
"Hello. Who are you people?"
Rimo smiled politely.
"I'd like to speak with your boss. Could you take us to him?"
The bald man's expression tightened slightly.
"Looking for our boss? That's fine… but I'll need to confirm your identities first. Which family are you from?"
Rimo blinked innocently.
"Family? We're not from any family. Just newcomers passing through. We have something we'd like to discuss with your boss."
At that answer
The bald man's expression darkened.
"So you're just a bunch of country trash who wandered in here without knowing your place?"
Rimo tilted his head, as if thinking.
"'From the countryside'? That part is correct. But as for not knowing our place… I think that description suits you better."
That was the last straw.
The bald man's patience snapped.
He didn't even bother reaching for his gun.
Instead, he threw a punch straight at Rimo.
"Then I'll teach you what 'not knowing your place' really means!"
Behind him, the other three guards laughed.
"These brats really have a death wish."
"Why not just jump off a building if you want to die?"
"Yeah, lately all kinds of nobodies think they can mess with the Nostrade Family."
"Forget it. Let's send them off properly."
As they spoke, the three of them drew their pistols, aiming at Chrollo Lucilfer and the others behind Rimo.
Then
"Zheng !"
A sharp metallic sound cut through the air.
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