Chapter 136: The Hunt
Kurapika knew his strengths and weaknesses better than anyone.
He suspected that the Nen users in the theater weren't Ryan Glas's only
defenders. This was correct—he couldn't afford to act rashly even if he found
the Elder.
The optimal move was a stealth ambush.
He also had to prepare for the high probability that his capture attempt would
be ruled an "attack" by Ryan's Hatsu, triggering a swap. But Kurapika had a
counter for that too.
As long as his chain grazed Ryan even for a millisecond, the Dowsing Chain on
his pinky finger would act as a homing beacon, pointing unerringly to Ryan's next position. Finding him would be trivial.
The sheer number of guards near the security room confirmed his deduction: Ryan
Glas was inside.
Ryan was overconfident. If he hadn't attended the performance in person and
exposed his teleportation mechanic to Abaki's hook, Kurapika might never have
pinned him down. His Hatsu was the ultimate escape tool.
Kurapika timed the exit perfectly. The moment Ryan realized Ronin was a threat
he couldn't negotiate with, he would inevitably abandon the security room for
his next safe point.
Kurapika didn't believe Ryan would teleport directly to another city. Based on
the "Life Debt" mechanic, the anchors likely had to be within a certain
proximity—probably within the same building.
Kurapika's confidence was rewarded. As the security room door hissed open, he
knew his window had arrived.
The Chain Jail (Middle Finger), hidden with In, snaked out alongside the
tracking chain from his pinky. As Ryan took his first step into the corridor,
the chains erupted with explosive speed, coiling around his body.
The moment the Middle Finger Chain tightened, Ryan's body stiffened. His aura
was forcibly suppressed. But then, a gruesome change occurred. Ryan's frame
began to "collapse" and shrivel under the chain's pressure.
It was the Hatsu triggering. The "Ryan" in the chain was being replaced by the
life force of an anchor.
The guards outside the room had failed to detect the hidden chains—a fatal
professional lapse. Seeing their employer about to be crushed, they didn't
hesitate. Two Nen users lunged at Kurapika.
Kurapika didn't look at them. He tilted his head, listening. From a few hallways
away, a piercing, glass-shattering scream echoed through the building.
The anchor point, Kurapika noted. Ryan had just materialized in front of an
unsuspecting witness.
The tracking chain on his pinky twitched, pointing directly toward the source of
the scream.
Kurapika redirected his Middle Finger Chain. It whipped through the air like a
metallic serpent, lashing out at the two guards.
The guards were ready for combat, but a secondary variable hit them before they
could engage Kurapika.
Two stones, moving with the velocity of sniper rounds, whistled through the air.
They struck the guards with pinpoint accuracy in their most vulnerable "low"
areas.
As the two experts buckled in agonizing pain, Ronin appeared at the end of the
hall.
"Follow me," Ronin said. He didn't waste time finishing the guards.
Kurapika retracted his chains and sprinted after the tracking signal, heading
toward the scream.
Ryan Glas felt a wave of nausea as his Hatsu triggered.
I was ambushed. They knew exactly where I was.
The scream that greeted his arrival only added to his irritation. He had
materialized in a guest room.
On the floor lay the guest he had used as a sacrifice—his body was covered in
deep, purple ligature marks from Kurapika's chains, blood being squeezed from
his pores. The woman in the room, seeing a man appear out of thin air while
another died a gruesome death, was screaming her lungs out.
Ryan pulled a gold-plated revolver from his waistband. Before the woman could
take another breath, he shot her in the head.
The screaming stopped.
Ryan didn't linger. He hurried out of the room, heading for the service
elevator. He chose a path away from his remaining three anchors, hoping to put
enough distance between him and the intruders to reset his strategy.
His plan was solid. But he had forgotten one thing: once Kurapika's chain
touched you, you were no longer hidden.
Ryan saw them coming.
As the chains snaked around the corner toward him again, a look of pure malice
crossed his face.
His ability was built entirely for survival. It offered zero offensive utility.
Against a weaker opponent, he could toy with them until he found an opening to
mark them as a new anchor.
But against Ronin and Kurapika, attacking was a liability. Using an offensive
Hatsu would overwrite the "standby" status of his teleportation, leaving him
vulnerable.
Ryan tried to dodge, barking a question as he blurred through the hallway: "Who
the hell are you people?!"
Ronin and Kurapika ignored him. Kurapika's chains were relentless. To Kurapika,
Ryan's movements were those of a desperate amateur. The moment the links wrapped
around the Elder, Kurapika's expression didn't change.
Ryan vanished again.
Another anchor dead. Another shriveled corpse left in a chain-link cage.
"A hybrid of Emission and Manipulation," Ronin analyzed as they passed the
newest body.
Nen categories weren't always pure. Some masters achieved 100% in one, while
others balanced two at 80-90%.
Ryan Glas used Emission for the spatial swap and Manipulation to tether his life
to his "anchors." Ronin's earlier scan had missed the spatial property, causing
him to categorize Ryan as a pure Manipulator.
It was a minor oversight, but one he wouldn't make again.
"He's running out of lives," Kurapika said, his pinky chain pointing steady and
true. "He has nowhere left to go."
When Ronin appeared in front of Ryan for the final time, the Elder's face was a
mask of pure terror.
"How?! How do you keep finding me?!"
If he couldn't solve the tracking, he was a dead man. Every jump only brought
him closer to the end.
Under the crushing pressure of Ronin's aura and the inevitable reach of
Kurapika's chains, Ryan Glas finally broke. He didn't die with the dignity of
a nobleman. He dropped to his knees, begging for his life, his face a pathetic
smear of tears and snot.
☆☆☆
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