The most terrifying part was its three heads. The central one glared straight ahead, while the two flanking it hung like arms, but they weren't arms at all, they were full-blown dragon heads, equally deadly.
A dragon with no hands.
A monster with three mouths that could kill.
And somehow, Franklin was sure, this was a dragon. A real one.
'A Nen Beast...?.' The creature looming behind them was one of Larry's Pokémon, raised right here in Yorknew.
Hydreigon. A pseudo-legendary beast with floating ability. Type: Dark and Dragon. Its raw power: S-rank minus.
Its skills? Dragon Pulse. Dark Pulse. Taunt. And Meteor Storm, among others.
It was the third of Larry's Pokémon to reach the S-rank threshold.
'What the hell is this monster...' Franklin thought, barely keeping himself from shaking.
Nobunaga stood frozen, his sword lowered. His face was drained of color. His body trembled. "D-Damn..."
The longsword slipped from Nobunaga's grip, clattering against the pavement with a crisp, metallic ring that echoed through the silent street.
His fingers trembled. For the first time in years, fear seeped into his bones. How could someone have this much power?
The three of them stood frozen, unable to move, their bodies paralyzed by the suffocating pressure around them.
A chilling thought crept into their minds, was this it? Was this how it would end?
Three of them had come. And now, staring down the triple-headed monster before them, they realized with grim irony that the number matched perfectly.
Three Spiders. Three dragon heads.
Larry stood a short distance away, arms crossed, expression unreadable. His voice was calm, yet carried a weight that pressed against their chests.
"Can't move?" he asked quietly. "Then what made you think you could stand here and threaten me?"
Just as the gravity of their situation began to settle, something even more shocking happened.
A sudden flash of blinding white light tore through the night, flooding the area with an almost sacred brilliance. The ground pulsed with energy, the kind that made the air vibrate.
It wasn't just one light, there were several. And when the glow faded, they found themselves surrounded by even more creatures, each radiating an overwhelming presence.
Their eyes darted from one figure to the next, hearts pounding wildly.
There was a Gardevoir, elegant and serene, standing like a noblewoman untouched by the chaos around her.
A blazing Arcanine stood tall, its mane rippling like fire in the night wind, its very breath radiating heat.
Lucario crouched in a battle stance, aura pulsing like waves, each surge sending shivers down their spines.
Snorlax loomed large, calm and unbothered, yet the pressure coming from its massive frame could crush steel. And then there were the two monsters that made even the three-headed dragon seem tame.
To the left, a fierce orange-and-white creature floated effortlessly in the air. Its body exuded an intense, untamed power, dragon-shaped and bursting with energy, like it was born to dominate the skies.
To the right stood a hulking steel beast, its dark green armor gleaming under the moonlight. Every breath it took sent tremors through the ground, and just by standing there, it seemed capable of flattening a city block.
Its presence alone eclipsed the terrifying pressure of the Hydreigon behind them.
Larry's Pokémon. A lineup so terrifyingly powerful it could sweep across the known world.
A team of monsters that could topple entire continents, let alone deal with three members of the Phantom Troupe.
Each Pokémon took its place, forming a circle around the stunned Spiders, boxing them in completely. No matter which direction they turned, they were faced with an aura that was far beyond anything they had ever encountered.
And every single one of those presences was stronger than any one of them.
Larry watched their expressions shift, from disbelief to dread, and finally smirked. His tone turned mocking, laced with cold amusement. "Still planning to capture me alive?"
As the shalnark's eyes scanned the terrifying beasts surrounding them, a sudden realization struck him. His expression shifted, that baby-faced calm twisting into sheer horror.
"He's... He's that guy," he stammered, voice trembling. "He's the Invicible Larry!!"
The words spilled out in a panic. Under the crushing pressure of the surrounding Pokémon, it was the only thing he could manage to say.
At first, Shalnark hadn't thought much of the encounter. Larry's presence felt strange, yes, but not threatening, not until those unmistakable Pokémon appeared one after another. Gardevoir. Arcanine. Lucario. Snorlax. And then the titans.
That lineup wasn't just strong, it was iconic.
Now, Shalnark remembered clearly, the reports, the sightings, the whispers of an eccentric but terrifying one-star bounty hunter. Larry. The very same person who had dismantled Mafia networks and turned criminal dens into graveyards.
'He came to Yorknew... for us? Is he here for our bounties?'
The thought raced through his mind, but something didn't sit right. Would someone like Larry really care about a few Phantom Troupe bounties? They were high, sure, but not that high.
What Shalnark didn't realize was that while he'd guessed part of the truth, he had completely missed the real reason. Bounties weren't what Larry was after. It was the experience points, the growth, the thrill of leveling up.
But no one, not even Shalnark with all his intellect, could have guessed that.
Up until now, their understanding of Larry had only scratched the surface. Reports claimed he was strong. But none of them had imagined this kind of power.
That he commanded an entire army of nen beast like this, each one strong enough to turn the tide of battle on its own. That thought was the last to pass through the minds of the three Troupe members.
Without warning, all three of Hydreigon's heads lit up at once. From each gaping maw, a beam of concentrated energy surged forward, one per target.
Dragon Pulse, unleashed simultaneously.
"BOOM!!!"
The shockwave ripped through the night, the explosion so loud it rattled buildings across the city. Half of Yorknew likely heard it.
In front of the building, a massive crater had opened, as if a meteor had slammed into the earth. Smoke and debris swirled in the air.
Where the three Spiders once stood, nothing remained. No bodies. No blood. Just ash and shattered stone.
Far away, Kuroro had just finished clashing with Silva and Zeno Zoldyck when the earth-shaking boom reached his ears. He froze, turning toward the direction of the blast. An uneasy feeling clawed at his chest.
Then, his phone vibrated.
Kuroro's eyes dropped to the screen. It was a message from Shalnark, sent in desperation, his final words. "It's Larry! Run!"
Kuroro stared at the message, and his heart sank. He knew who Larry was, had read the reports, had seen the aftermath of the man's actions.
But he never imagined Larry would come here, to Yorknew. Was it a coincidence?
Or had he come specifically for the Phantom Troupe?