This was a stage with a strong artistic atmosphere, its red curtains drawn up, facing rows of seats dominated by a red color scheme.
On the stage lay a silver-haired child, one side of his face swollen, eyes tightly shut, limbs twisted at a horrifying angle… clearly unconscious.
A tall, lean man stood beside him, one foot planted on the child's back while holding a phone to his ear, speaking to someone.
The silver-haired child was Killua, and the tall man was Saiyu.
The butler had only managed to delay for a limited time. With the enhancement of Nen, Saiyu had effortlessly captured Killua.
First, he broke Killua's limbs. Then, noticing Killua's high pain tolerance, he punched him in the face, knocking him out.
Afterward, he brought Killua to a large theater that had been temporarily closed due to poor management.
Ten seconds ago, he had searched Killua and found his phone, then dialed Law's number.
Unlike Ging, who had already made a name for himself, Law's information wasn't classified as confidential, so finding his phone number wasn't difficult.
Saiyu had deliberately used Killua's phone to strengthen his credibility.
"Shakespeare Grand Theater."
Saiyu coldly stated the location before hanging up, then crushed the phone with his bare hands.
A spotlight shone directly from above the stage, illuminating every detail. From the stage, the audience seats were only faintly visible, with rows of chairs barely discernible.
Saiyu had chosen this theater as the trap to lure Law in after carefully studying its layout.
"Next..."
Saiyu kicked Killua up with his foot, grabbing him with one hand. Before hanging Killua up, he still had plenty of preparations to make.
…
In the taxi, Law silently slipped his phone back into his pocket, his gaze cold.
Whoever had made that call was undoubtedly targeting him, and Killua had been dragged into it as a result.
To deal with him, the other party had clearly used Killua as either bait or a hostage. The Shakespeare Grand Theater was likely a carefully laid trap, though it was unclear how many people were involved.
'The remnants of the Seirin Group?'
Law frowned. The only enemies he could think of were those remnants of the Seirin Group hidden among the nation's upper echelons.
"Overthinking won't help. The priority now is to save Killua."
Law took a bill from his pocket and silently placed it on the seat before opening the car door and jumping out, rushing toward the Shakespeare Grand Theater at top speed.
The taxi was moving at 90 kilometers per hour. The driver heard a faint noise from the door and glanced in the rearview mirror, freezing in shock.
"Customer?"
The young man who had been sitting in the back seat had vanished without a trace, as if evaporated into thin air.
The driver shuddered, slowing the car gradually before carefully checking the back seat, only to find a single bill lying there. His face paled as if he'd seen a ghost.
Meanwhile, Law had put on a face mask. After jumping out of the car, he moved from the main road to the sidewalk, transforming into a swift shadow. His high-speed movement stirred gusts of wind, leaving pedestrians stunned in his wake.
After running for a kilometer, Law suddenly stopped and turned into an alley between shops in the shopping district… his phone was ringing.
He answered the call, and on the other end came Silva's voice.
"Half an hour ago, the two butlers I assigned to protect Killua were killed." Silva said grimly.
He had sent two butlers to guard Killua in secret, though not through live surveillance. Even so, receiving the news only half an hour later reflected the level of trust the Zoldyck Family had in Killua's training.
Yet now, something had gone terribly wrong. In truth, this wasn't entirely the Zoldycks' fault, and Killua's current predicament was largely Law's burden to bear.
"The other party is targeting me. Half a minute ago, they called and claimed to have broken Killua's limbs, then told me to go to a specific location. I can't verify the truth of their words, but there's a good chance Killua is still alive."
Law recognized Silva's voice and guessed that the Zoldycks had learned of the situation through some means, despite being thousands of miles away.
"The enemy's identity, numbers, and strength are all unknown. They chose to strike after I left, meaning they must have been lying in wait for at least five days. I'd like to promise you that I'll definitely save Killua, but given the current situation, I can't guarantee it."
Without knowing the enemy's capabilities, Law didn't dare make an absolute promise to Silva about safely rescuing Killua.
"I'll send you the recording from the butler's final moments directly. Until I arrive, Killua is in your hands."
Silva's tone was very calm. He didn't say much, nor did he blame Law. He had another plan in motion and intended to rush over immediately. But before he could get there, he needed Law to scout the situation. If there was a chance, rescuing Killua would be ideal.
However, any rescue attempt hinged on Killua still being alive… and as Law had said, there was no way to confirm that.
"You could always make a wish to Alluka." Before Silva hung up, Law made the suggestion.
"The risks are too great. I'm leaving now. If Killua is still alive, I'm counting on you." Silva didn't elaborate before ending the call.
Making a wish to Alluka could instantly bring Killua back to Kukuroo Mountain, but the risks were immense, and a single misstep could doom the entire family.
Silva was deeply worried about Killua, but he would never let the family bear such catastrophic risk. Not even a sliver of it.
Law clenched his phone and sighed, 'Just uncovering part of the rules has already made them fear Alluka this much…'
Ding.
His phone chimed, and it was an audio file sent by Silva.
Law opened it, and a highly distinct male voice played through the speaker… the same one from the earlier call.
The audio quality was sharp, even capturing the sound of wind during movement. Most of the clipped recording consisted of the man speaking.
From this, Law extracted several key details.
First, there is only one person fighting with the two butlers, and that is the same man who had called. Second, from the man's lengthy monologue, details about his Nen Ability could be inferred.
Two Nen Beasts of indeterminate form could, under certain conditions, deprive their targets of the ability to hear and speak. For an ordinary person, suddenly losing these senses would undoubtedly have some effect.
'Because the Nen Beasts successfully activated their ability, rendering the butlers deaf, he felt free to blatantly explain how it worked?'
During the fight, the man had openly described the Nen Beasts' abilities to the butlers and even deliberately emphasized that there were only two Nen Beasts.
Assuming the butlers had lost their hearing, this could have been the man's twisted sense of amusement. On the other hand, it also suggested that this man was the extremely confident type. However, lip-reading isn't a difficult skill, and professional assassins and the like should all be capable of it.
So, wasn't this too confident?
This line of reasoning wasn't flawed, but it was always best to leave room for doubt. Without knowing the man's true motives, the very act of revealing his Nen Ability mid-combat was suspicious in itself.
'Two Nen Beasts. Hearing. Speech.'
While pondering, Law continued rushing toward the theater.
'The activation condition is most likely direct contact. Though Nen Beasts with special abilities usually lack significant physical lethality, that's no reason to forgo offense entirely.'
'If direct contact is the condition for activating the ability, then once the strategy succeeded, the butlers would've been completely defenseless. He could've easily ordered the Nen Beasts to launch a physical attack instead of just touching them and leaving.'
Analyzing the intel from the recording, Law arrived outside the Shakespeare Grand Theater twenty minutes later.
He summoned Kuro and said, "You have ten minutes to scout the inside. Don't leave out even a single cockroach."