A huge number of cards were snatched away. Feitan's expression barely changed, but Phinks had already sensed the danger.
Not activating [Leave] right away might have been their biggest mistake.
But could he actually have pulled it off?
Phinks' gaze swept to Ronin's other hand, where he was holding a card—[Castle Gate], a spell card specifically meant to block an opponent from using spell cards.
So they had already been targeted while they were busy collecting cards so openly.
Then let's see who's really one step ahead.
Phinks rolled his shoulders and loosened up. After what had just happened—his arm being pinned in place—he had already more or less figured something out: Ronin didn't just know his ability, he also had a way to stop him from building up its power.
Troublesome.
That meant the main attacker now had to shift to Feitan.
Phinks was still preparing for a two-on-one when his eyes suddenly narrowed, because he caught sight of a somewhat familiar figure.
He didn't know the person's name, but he knew one thing for sure—
that person was from Meteor City.
Because he had seen them there before.
The person who had appeared also said nothing. They simply took a spell card out of their card binder.
"Activate [Migration] on Phinks. Destination: Soufrabi."
Just as planned, Shizuku stepped forward once most of the cards in Phinks' binder had already been taken.
There was no defensive spell card activated in response. Under Ronin's interference, both Phinks and Feitan had lost their chance to counterattack immediately.
So the [Migration] spell succeeded instantly.
Phinks clenched his fists, but had no chance to resist.
At the same time, Shizuku took out another spell card. She gave Ronin a small nod, then activated it immediately.
"Activate [Magnetic Force], target: Phinks."
Watching the two of them leave, Ronin shifted his gaze back to Feitan.
He knew Feitan had no intention of running. If anything, he was already looking for a chance to turn the tables and kill him. Even so, Ronin still said,
"Don't bother thinking about escape. I've got [Castle Gate] in my hand. I'm not giving you a chance to use a spell card."
"I never planned to run. You're the one who should be thinking about escape," Feitan said, flicking the thin sword in his hand. His eyes easily avoided meeting Ronin's directly, since the two of them weren't even at the same height.
Maybe that was the advantage of being taller.
Ronin knew that fighting Feitan was best done somewhere open and empty. Otherwise, if he failed to kill Feitan in one strike, then once Feitan fully unleashed himself, the surrounding area would likely become a dead zone.
So he took out a spell card.
"Activate [Accompany]. Destination: Monzen."
The effect of [Accompany] was to transfer everyone within twenty meters of the caster.
And right now, within twenty meters of Ronin, there was only Feitan.
Feitan never even thought about dodging. And Ronin had no intention of giving him the chance.
Nikens, watching everything from within the crowd, had the distinct feeling he was just a tool the other side was using to strip the Murder Trio of their cards.
But honestly, he kind of liked that feeling.
Especially that split-second clash between them—it left him deeply shaken.
He and those monsters weren't even operating on the same level. If Kurapika and the others hadn't shown up, then given the makeup of their so-called subjugation team, flying over here would probably have just been a delivery service for their own deaths.
Now, the murderers would most likely be dealt with, and he himself had managed to seize two pretty good designated-slot cards and two spell cards.
All in all, not a bad haul.
Nikens hoped Kurapika and the others would win.
Because Kurapika's side were the kind who could be reasoned with. They weren't the indiscriminate killing type, and there might even be room to work with them.
After all, as Kurapika had said, they too had entered the game under Battera's employment.
Still, through other channels, Nikens had also learned that Ronin had already sent several other players hired by Battera back out of the game.
That made him uneasy. Did Ronin also have the authority to assess their value and decide whether they were worth keeping?
If so, then after dealing with the murderers, the next problem would be figuring out how to deal with him.
And when the gap in strength was this wide, that was no easy problem.
Nikens decided he needed to discuss their next move with Genthru, so he activated [Communication].
Meanwhile, Bonolenov had already fallen from the sky before even reaching Andoniba.
The black flames of Amaterasu weren't just burning his battle suit—they were also burning through the aura wrapped around him.
That scorching pain made Bonolenov taste fear once again.
But this time, he had already thought through several ways to deal with the black flames.
He could quickly dismiss his conjured battle suit.
He could rapidly peel off his Ten, letting that entire layer of aura take the flames away with it.
Or he could use Nen to force the fire into one area, then completely abandon that burning body part.
But everything had to be fast.
He had to finish before the flames spread over his whole body.
Otherwise, he'd just turn into a foil-wrapped baked potato all over again.
And just as he was trying to get the flames off his body, someone landed nearby.
Seeing Bonolenov wreathed in black fire, they didn't dare come close. Instead, they activated a spell card and started robbing him.
As a Phantom Troupe member, Bonolenov had never imagined there would come a day when he himself would be the one getting mugged.
But right now, all his focus was on the black flames. He had no time to stop them.
Card after card vanished from his binder.
More and more players rapidly descended nearby and began attacking him.
At first, the attacks were aimed only at the cards in his binder.
Later, they started targeting Bonolenov himself.
The conjured battle suit on his body exploded apart in all directions.
But that suit had never been seamless to begin with.
After all, Bonolenov needed air to pass through the holes in his body during combat so he could perform Battle Cantabile.
So when the battle suit flew apart, tiny remnants of black flame were left in the gaps it had previously exposed, and those flames spread onto his body.
That was the key difference between this time and the last.
Last time, Machi's assistance had torn away both Bonolenov's battle suit and his skin together—but precisely because of that, the flames had been completely removed.
This time, it was only a few lingering sparks.
Yet once they landed on Bonolenov, they flared up again at an absurd speed.
For now, though, the flames were still only burning on Bonolenov's Ten.
As long as he peeled that layer of Ten off his body in a single instant, the black flames of Amaterasu would disappear from him completely.
But just as Bonolenov carried out the plan he had carefully thought through—
a bullet shot straight at him.
The aura-cloak formed by Ten separated from his body in an instant.
But that bullet struck the aura-cloak with perfect precision—
and the point it hit was still covered in black flames.
"No!" Bonolenov cried out in alarm.
But it was too late.
The bullet, carrying the black flames with it, pierced through the detached aura-cloak and struck Bonolenov's body in the split second it was left completely undefended by Nen.
~~~
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