The lightning within the thunderclouds gave no warning—crackling wrath rained down toward the Fourth Prince and his nen beasts without pause.
But the bolts never struck the prince.
They were intercepted just above his head—split and absorbed by the two beasts flanking him.
No nen-enhancement accompanied the lightning; it scorched but did not kill. Blackened patches smoked on their armor-like hides, but the damage wasn't enough to slow them.
Still—this kind of area suppression came at a tactical price.
If the beasts left the prince's side to retaliate, he'd be exposed to direct threat. The lightning might tickle them, but to the Fourth Prince, it meant instant death.
So long as Joey's ranged attacks continued to present lethal risk, the beasts couldn't move. They were locked in a protective posture.
Joey had seized control of the battlefield from the very start.
When the second nen beast emerged behind the Fourth Prince, Joey altered the plan.
Originally, he was meant to lure away the guardian beast, giving Kurapika a shot at the prince alone.
But with two beasts?
And seeing Kurapika's chain intercepted immediately by the second?
Joey changed tactics.
If he could only distract one, it was better to pin both to their master.
Especially since—Joey noticed something.
The Fourth Prince didn't seem aware of the second beast.
Meaning it might be a guardian-type visible only to those with nen—and possibly not even visible to the conjurer himself.
In that case, if they maintained the illusion that only one beast existed, the prince might not fully grasp his own advantage, or even hesitate to use abilities he couldn't directly perceive.
Of course, the second beast might be an auto-retaliation type, like those bound by instinct and rules.
But at this point, the bow had already been drawn. There was no more retreat.
Their only path was forward—through violence.
Victory required an opening—just a sliver—where they could strike the Fourth Prince directly.
Because no matter how terrifying the nen beasts were, the prince himself… wasn't.
Sure, his talent was exceptional.
Not even a week into training, and he'd already grasped ten and ren to an advanced degree.
But remove his beasts?
He was no more dangerous than a rookie on the 200th floor of Heavens Arena.
Joey and Kurapika had faced worse and won.
But the beasts had to go first. That meant testing their defenses.
And for that, Joey had the perfect tools:
Golden Experience and Weather Report.
Though he was still in his Golden Experience state, amplifying Weather Report's power too far would burn through his nen reserves fast. He had to conserve.
So—he unleashed a swarm of lesser weapons.
Everything in the room began to shift.
Knives, forks, plates, even food—morphed into venomous serpents and stinging scorpions.
They lunged forward, striking without fear.
The Fourth Prince didn't expect Joey and Kurapika to attack so decisively.
He instinctively glanced at Tita.
She was aiming her gun—not at the intruders.
But at him.
The prince's eyes widened.
He opened his mouth to scream.
Nothing happened.
The door remained shut. No guards rushed in.
"They've done something," he realized.
"No one's coming."
He made his decision instantly—his aura dropped. He entered Zetsu.
Both nen beasts vanished.
From Joey's perspective, Kurapika's chain drove straight into the prince's chest—his heart.
Kurapika stopped mid-motion, ready to speak.
A crocodile—formerly a dinner table—stood at the prince's feet.
Other creatures continued to pour into the room, hissing and snapping, surrounding the target.
Joey began counting seconds.
At the same time, his weather beast reinforced the room, sealing it like a vault.
It consumed massive nen—but Joey didn't care.
"Next up—"
"STOP."
Joey cut Kurapika off before he could speak.
Kurapika blinked, confused—then noticed Joey's nen hadn't moved from his hardened Ken stance.
In that instant, both Kurapika and Tita activated Ken as well.
Kurapika did so out of trust.
Tita—out of intuition. Her guess about Joey's ability demanded caution.
And then… the prince's behavior.
Instead of trusting his beasts or charging through, the prince had faked a scream, then immediately entered Zetsu.
Why?
Because he had an ace in the hole.
Something he believed would let him survive anything—even assassination attempts.
Joey had been expecting this.
He remembered the manga.
The Fourth Prince's nen ability was one of the only time-based powers in the entire series.
So Joey had waited for this.
When the prince chose Zetsu, he struck.
Reinforcing the air, manipulating the pressure—he created instant combustion.
Flames ignited out of nothing, born from air friction.
The entire room exploded into a firestorm.
Because to activate his nen ability, the Fourth Prince had to be in Zetsu.
And Zetsu meant vulnerability.
Once Joey heard no scream pierce the room, he knew the trap was sprung.
Joey's abilities weren't like conjuration or transformation.
He commanded the atmosphere itself.
And now, the air burned.
Outside the room, the prince's guards noticed nothing.
Inside?
It was hell.
The prince had hoped to draw the attack, then open the door.
Once outside, he could scream "ASSASSINS" and let the Royal Guard finish them off.
That's why he brought only Tita.
He wanted witnesses.
Wanted a frame job.
But he made one fatal mistake.
He trusted his ability too much.
"As long as they don't know how it works, I'm invincible."
That was the idea.
He shut his eyes. His nen receded.
Zetsu.
He activated his ability:
[Precognitive Dream]
A ten-second glimpse of the immediate future.
But the vision that greeted him was a nightmare.
By the third second, the room was engulfed in flames.
Everything else—bullets, chains, venomous beasts, lightning—he could dodge.
But fire that filled the entire room?
No escape.
In his vision, his body was reduced to a charred husk.
In the first real second after triggering his ability, the prince opened his eyes again—still in Zetsu.
He turned and sprinted for the door.
By second two, the fire erupted.
He hurled himself toward the exit—but slammed into an invisible wall.
Rebounded. Skidded across the floor.
By second five, the flames devoured him.
He broke Zetsu.
His beasts reappeared.
The tail of one whipped toward him, trying to beat the fire out.
But the fire carried nen—it resisted.
It didn't go out immediately. It burned deeper.
Three seconds after his ability collapsed, the flames vanished.
The prince lay crumpled—still breathing, but nearly unconscious.
Then… his beast made its move.
Despite the fire, it slithered toward Joey.
Its mouth opened—a tongue like a serpent lashed out.
It hit Joey in the head.
Pain. Sharp, stinging.
Blood blurred his vision in one eye.
But as the flames cleared, Joey saw it—
The prince.
Downed. Still. Barely alive.
Joey breathed out.
"It worked."
They'd gambled on overwhelming area attack. They'd won.
If this dragged out longer—if Joey ran out of nen—it could've turned.
Air manipulation and explosive firestorms cost a fortune in aura.
But the prince made the first mistake.
He cracked first.
A difference in experience.
The Fourth Prince might be a genius—but geniuses crack too, when death is on the line.
More importantly, he didn't know what Joey could do.
Joey knew his powers.
He didn't know Joey's.
Overconfidence had doomed him.
Joey touched his bleeding head.
Lightheadedness. Dizziness.
The beast, having finished its attack, kicked open the door.
Outside, the guards saw the smoke—smelled the burn—and acted immediately.
They drew their guns.
Fired into the room.
But neither Joey nor Kurapika even looked at them.
Birds—dozens—formed in the air and blocked the bullets.
When they died, they dropped to the floor as punched coins.
Kurapika deflected the bullets with chains.
Tita raised her gun—aiming at the prince's beast—joining the attack.
She hadn't used any nen powers—not even now. Just bullets reinforced with Shu.
Joey hadn't expected her help—but she'd chosen a side the moment she aimed at the prince.
"We need to end this fast.
If the Royal Army intervenes, we may have to kill him and run."
Joey pulled out his phone.
He fired off a message to Piyon.
Then turned to Tita:
"Two choices.
I send you to the lower decks, you help me with something, I promise to get you to the Dark Continent.
Or… you stay here."
Tita raised an eyebrow.
"That's not two choices.
That's just one."
At the same time, the piercing attack—Killer Queen's heart-shot—slammed into the nen beast.
It didn't die instantly—but it stared at Joey, memorizing him.
Then—surrounded by crows—it vanished.
Gone.
Exposing the unconscious prince completely.
Killer Queen gave a thumbs up.
A single coin—hidden among the birds—exploded.
Kurapika's chain drove into the prince at that exact moment.
Another coin clinked to the floor.
The crows turned on the remaining guards and servants—excluding Tita's allies.
"Relax," Joey said, stepping toward the prince.
"Just two people I need you to watch. No real danger."
He had no intention of letting the prince wake up again without insurance.
He'd touch him—set a trap.
As he spoke, a door appeared silently on the dining room wall.