Throwing his chains into the sky to summon lightning, threatening mutual destruction...
For Feitan, who held the advantage, Kurapika's move was indeed intimidating.
Because he was winning, Feitan had no intention of gambling on that possibility with Kurapika.
With that in mind, even if it irked him, Feitan had no choice but to distance himself from the risk.
No matter what...
His actions were now being controlled by his opponent.
So Feitan changed his mind.
Like a cat toying with a mouse, he would slowly torture Kurapika to death.
"I have all the time in the world. But you... how much longer can you hold on?"
Feitan pressed his index finger against the blade once more, his narrow eyes gleaming with cold malice.
Whoosh...
Another lightning-fast assault.
Amid the rain, a sharp glint of steel flashed.
The rapier, wrapped in aura, shot toward Kurapika's vulnerable spots in an instant.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Facing Feitan's onslaught, Kurapika's chains danced wildly as if alive, barely yet precisely deflecting each attack.
Chains and rapier clashed violently.
Sparks flew, shockwaves surged, shattering the surrounding raindrops.
Kurapika was quickly overwhelmed again, struggling to keep up.
He wanted to repeat his earlier tactic...
But maintaining the Scarlet Eyes at such intensity for so long had already pushed his mind and body to the brink, causing his focus to waver.
For a Conjurer, a lapse in concentration directly affected the stability of their ability... sometimes even causing their Conjuration to collapse in an instant.
Because of this, cracks began to form in Kurapika's Dowsing Chain defense.
This was the moment Feitan had been waiting for.
When Kurapika's decline became undeniable, Feitan's rapier slipped through the gaps in the chains like a viper, slicing the first wound across Kurapika's ribs.
Blood instantly stained Kurapika's clothes.
Feitan merely smirked silently before launching another relentless assault.
Soon, a second wound appeared on Kurapika's body, then a third...
In this state, Kurapika could lose his Scarlet Eyes at any moment, making it impossible to maintain the Dowsing Chain's defensive strength.
Meanwhile, Feitan remained at his peak, his attacks unrelenting like a storm.
As one weakened and the other thrived, Kurapika's wounds multiplied.
In truth, once the Dowsing Chain's strength began to falter, Feitan could have easily made Kurapika's injuries fatal.
But he wasn't in a hurry to end the fight. Instead, he deliberately held back, intending to carve wound after wound into Kurapika, savoring this one-sided slaughter.
It was like...
A torturous interrogation.
Kurapika could clearly sense Feitan's intent to slowly torment him to death.
He tried to use this to find an opening, only to despair when he realized...
Even while holding back, Feitan left no openings.
A deep sense of helplessness gnawed at Kurapika's heart like a swarm of insects.
He was out of options.
Though the Dowsing Chain could still move, it could no longer withstand Feitan's relentless strikes.
More and more wounds covered Kurapika's body.
He didn't know how much longer he could last. Everything seemed meaningless now.
Was he really going to die like this... without accomplishing anything?
Kurapika's eyes flashed with one horrific scene after another, each more hellish than the last.
The mastermind was right before him, yet he couldn't avenge his people.
I... am truly too weak...
An overwhelming sense of frustration surged within Kurapika, exposing a vulnerable side he rarely showed.
Feitan keenly caught the fleeting exhaustion and pain in Kurapika's expression, his lips curling into a mocking smirk.
Fools like this...
He had seen plenty... and killed plenty.
I won't let you die so easily.
Feitan sneered inwardly, deliberately withholding a fatal blow. Instead, he carved precise, cruel wounds across Kurapika's body, one after another.
The rain grew heavier, fat droplets hammering the ground, splashing up sheets of water.
Though it was April, the chill in the rain was needle-sharp, seeping into every inch of skin.
Feitan's torture was like an invisible stopwatch, mercilessly counting down Kurapika's remaining time.
Until the moment that would satisfy Feitan's desires arrived, he would never grant Kurapika a quick death.
If nothing changed, Kurapika would bleed out.
Maybe in ten minutes. Maybe twenty.
But just as the rain intensified...
A streak of fluorescent green light tore through the downpour, streaking straight for Feitan's side.
Morrow's Shooting Star.
With pinpoint accuracy, it shattered Feitan's sadistic amusement.
To evade the attack, Feitan tapped his toes against the ground, leaping back a short distance. His gaze flicked toward the cemetery gates... where Morrow strode forward, poultry knife in hand.
Another one.
Feitan's expression remained blank, but his instincts flared.
He heard the violent disruption of rain and snapped his eyes toward the path of the Shooting Star.
The glowing green projectile had expanded in size and was now hurtling back at him at even greater speed.
Ignoring the barely standing Kurapika, Feitan twisted aside, narrowly avoiding the returning attack.
With Feitan no longer blocking its path, the Shooting Star shot straight toward Kurapika.
But then...
Morrow materialized before Kurapika in a swirl of mist, raising his hand and swatting the incoming projectile with the back of his wrist.
A sharp, high-pitched sound rang out.
The Shooting Star ricocheted off Morrow's hand like a ping-pong ball, hurtling back toward Feitan.
Feitan had just raised his blade into a stance when the projectile came flying again, forcing him to abandon his attack and sidestep once more.
Seizing the opening, Morrow closed the distance in a single stride, swinging the Poultry Scarlet Knife. The crystalline blade parted the raindrops as it aimed straight for Feitan's face.
Feitan parried, deflecting the knife aside.
Clang!
The Poultry Scarlet Knife slid off the rapier's edge, forced off course.
Yet in the same instant...
Feitan's abdomen was struck by an unseen force, his small frame sent hurtling backward through the rain, blasting apart the downpour in a spray of mist.
The moment their blades clashed, Morrow had extended aura from his left hand, forming the Tiger Bite Fist.
Bypassing their locked weapons, he drove it straight into Feitan's gut.
Feitan adjusted his posture mid-air before plummeting to the ground, his feet plowing through the earth and sending towering streams of water skyward.
"Tch."
After steadying himself, Feitan tilted his head and spat out a mouthful of blood, then wiped the traces from the corner of his lips with his hand. His cold eyes locked onto Morrow.
The damage from that last strike was negligible.
But this guy's strength demanded attention.
Feitan had barely observed Morrow for two seconds when he saw him raise a hand and fire a Nen bullet toward him.
An Emitter, huh...
And the Nen bullet could rebound, with clearly enhanced power and speed.
As the thought crossed Feitan's mind, he charged straight toward the incoming Nen bullet instead of evading.
The projectile suddenly split into dozens of marble-sized Nen bullets mid-flight, sealing off Feitan's escape routes.
Faced with this barrage, Feitan didn't slow down. He swung his blade in a flurry of slashes, shattering each Nen bullet one after another.
Breaking through the blockade with sheer force, he rapidly closed the distance between himself and Morrow.
Against an Emitter, gaining the upper hand in close combat was key.
With this in mind, Feitan stepped into striking range without hesitation.
From the very beginning, he hadn't cared about Morrow's identity or motives.
The moment Morrow attacked him, Morrow had become an enemy that needed to be eliminated.
So he didn't even bother asking questions.
Watching Feitan effortlessly slice through the Shooting Star Cluster and close in like a specter, Morrow calmly activated his ability.
Starlight Convergence
In an instant, countless Nen-powered starlight particles spread around him, intertwining with the falling raindrops.
Just as the radiant starlight expanded, Feitan's rapier was already sweeping toward Morrow's throat.
Morrow had timed his defense perfectly.
Using the feedback from the starlight, he simply tilted his head back... avoiding the lethal strike by a hair's breadth with eerie composure.
Despite the narrow margin, his movements exuded a calculated, almost contradictory calmness.
Feitan's pupils contracted. In that split second, he tilted his head up and met Morrow's gaze.
What he saw was Morrow looking down at him with...
Utter disdain.
The height difference made Morrow's condescending stance all the more glaring.
Feitan's expression darkened instantly. With a twist of his wrist, he forcibly redirected his missed slash into a downward strike aimed at Morrow's face.
The blade, wrapped in dense aura, cut through the rain and starlight, closing in on Morrow in an instant.
Yet Morrow seemed to have anticipated this move, stepping back just enough to keep the rapier's tip out of reach.
Swish.
The blade, brimming with murderous intent, sliced through empty air.
Both lightning-fast attacks had been dodged by the narrowest of margins.
Feitan's brow furrowed.
"Too slow."
A mocking voice cut through the rain, reaching Feitan's ears unimpeded.
In an instant, Feitan's eyes narrowed to slits.
He suddenly stepped forward, pressing his left hand swiftly onto the slender sword's hilt before propelling it straight toward Morrow's chest with an explosive thrust.
Morrow slightly bent his knees, then instead of retreating, lunged forward...
Twisting his body, he raised his blade vertically.
The Poultry Scarlet Knife met the slender sword's edge, scraping along its length like a flint rod, sending a trail of dazzling sparks flying.
Behind his mask, Feitan's lips curled into a cold smirk. His right hand, which should have been gripping the hilt, suddenly released it.
Meanwhile, his left hand, which had been pressing against the hilt for propulsion, flipped its grip to seize the hilt instead.
Through this seamless switch in hand positioning, Feitan altered the blade's angle mid-motion, effortlessly deflecting Morrow's Poultry Scarlet Knife pressing down on the sword's edge.
Then...
With masterful Ryu, Feitan concentrated most of his lower body's aura into his foot before pivoting sharply.
The instantaneous transfer of force created a vacuum-like pressure that blasted away the rainwater beneath him, leaving behind a crater-like depression.
Whoosh.
Feitan vanished in an instant.
In the very next moment after dispersing the force, he reappeared behind Morrow.
When striking at the perfect moment, there was no need to use Gyo, let alone Ko... the concentration of all aura into a single point.
Because when Morrow used his ability, his remaining aura output was extremely limited.
Feitan could clearly see this.
Indeed...
This guy's Ryu wasn't bad. Perhaps it was this very confidence that allowed him to employ such a high-risk ability.
But none of that mattered now.
Feitan wouldn't let overthinking or second-guessing rob him of a clean, decisive kill.
As he circled behind Morrow, he drove his blade toward the man's vitals.
Yet no matter how fast or unexpected his attack was...
Within the domain of Starlight Convergence, his movements were seen with perfect clarity by Morrow.
Thankfully, my Ryu is no longer what it used to be. Otherwise, even if Starlight Convergence's information processing could keep up with Feitan's speed, it'd be nearly impossible to withstand his onslaught at close range. Every bit of preparation until now has been for this moment.
The thought flashed through Morrow's mind like lightning.
Then, with practiced precision, he activated the Gazelle footwork technique. Channeling an explosive burst of leg strength and Nen power, he lunged forward in a sudden flash, simultaneously flinging a glass jar filled with star-marked ants backward.
As Morrow dashed ahead, Feitan's dazzling rear assault naturally missed its mark.
He reacted...?!
Feitan's pupils contracted sharply in disbelief.
To maximize speed, he hadn't wasted even a fraction of a second adjusting his aura when circling behind Morrow.
Yet despite such an overwhelming attack, Morrow had still countered it.
Crack!
The sound of shattering glass echoed in the air.
Only then did Feitan notice that his blade, having already missed its target, had pierced through a glass jar with its tip.
The next instant...
A swarm of ants scattered into the air, transforming into flying insects that enveloped Feitan like a blooming firework.
Meanwhile...
Seizing Feitan's moment of shock, Morrow's Deceptive Shooting Star had already taken flight, transforming into a rain of stars that blanketed the area where Feitan and the star-marked ants stood.
Boom! Boom! Boom...!
The dense explosions of star rain engulfed Feitan.
—--
Outside the battle zone,
Kurapika finally snapped back to reality.
The fierce exchange between Morrow and Feitan had only lasted a few seconds.
Yet in those few seconds...
Feitan, who had been overwhelming him earlier, was now being overpowered by Morrow.
"Hey, stay away from that place. Don't interfere with Morrow."
In the distance, Kalluto stood holding a deep purple paper umbrella with white edges in one hand and a purple bamboo fan in the other, pointing at Kurapika, who was standing too close to the battle.
Kurapika turned his head, staring blankly at Kalluto.
But Kalluto had already forgotten about him.
--------
Bonus chapter @50 power stones.