Using Starlight Convergence meant putting himself in constant danger.
However, by implanting a Star Mark onto one of the headless corpses and then destroying it, the mark could be transferred to either Kortopi or Amanda.
Once the Star Mark transfer succeeded, it would bypass Chrollo's defenses and directly dismantle the human-wave tactic.
That said, when Morrow activated Starlight Convergence, aside from the overwhelming influx of information from the horde of headless corpses bombarding his mind...
The greatest threat was undoubtedly Chrollo's Nen ability that forcibly displaced others.
This was the risk Morrow had to bear.
A single misstep could mean death or severe injury.
And in this situation, injury was no different from death, just a slower demise.
By the same logic, refusing to take this risk now was no different from a slow death.
Still...
He could try feinting first.
If Chrollo used that forced displacement ability, as long as he could defend against it, he might just get a direct shot at Kortopi or Amanda.
Morrow's gaze swiftly swept past the rear of the headless corpse army.
Chrollo's strategy of positioning himself behind the human-wave tactic, waiting to strike at the opportune moment, was frustrating, but unavoidable.
If only he had successfully developed the Teleportation ability earlier...
But there were no "ifs."
Morrow took a deep breath and expended another wave of potential aura, using fractured Shooting Stars to obliterate a large row of headless corpses ahead.
This time, however, he deliberately let a few slip through.
"Starlight Convergence."
His aura shattered into dazzling starlight, enveloping the approaching headless corpses.
But the moment Morrow activated Starlight Convergence, Chrollo, standing behind the army, flipped Skill Hunter to the page recording "In Another's Shoes."
Swish!
The ability activated.
Morrow's vision shifted abruptly, with no physical sensation accompanying the change.
Yet, drawing from prior experience, the instant his sight altered, he decisively severed the external aura output sustaining Starlight Convergence.
In a battle where he was outnumbered, willingly sacrificing a portion of his Nen output was undeniably extravagant.
But for Morrow now, it was a necessary trade-off.
As he cut off Starlight Convergence, what greeted his eyes was a tide of headless corpses, lunging at him from all directions.
Clearly, Chrollo had forcibly displaced him into the heart of the headless corpse army.
Had Morrow been even a fraction slower in deactivating the ability, his mind would have been instantly flooded with overwhelming information from the horde.
He only used that forced displacement ability when he saw an opening... That confirms Chrollo can't use it consecutively. Otherwise, he wouldn't have waited until now. To verify this...
Surrounded by the suffocating mass of headless corpses, Morrow didn't hesitate. With a sudden Nen burst at his feet, his body shot skyward like a rocket.
This move could break him free from the encirclement, but it also made him an easy target.
As Morrow shot into the air, the headless corpses charging from below missed their target completely, crashing into each other in a tangled heap.
Yet in the next moment,
Under Amanda's control, the headless corpses somehow stacked themselves into a grotesque human ladder stretching upward into the sky.
Morrow glanced downward, his pupils contracting slightly.
He saw that the stacked corpses had fused their flesh together, forming the ladder with terrifying efficiency.
They can even modify the corpses they control... And this doesn't seem like automated manipulation, more like direct mental control.
Morrow quickly averted his gaze, though he couldn't afford to focus on the threat of the human ladder. Instead, he turned his attention to Kortopi and Amanda on the ground in the distance, gathering a sphere of fluorescent green aura in his palm.
But he didn't fire this fully formed Deceptive Shooting Star at Kortopi and Amanda.
With over a hundred meters between them and Chrollo lurking in wait, dealing direct damage to the two was practically impossible.
This Shooting Star could only serve as a probe for information.
Morrow immediately flung the Deceptive Shooting Star diagonally behind him.
As long as nothing obstructed it, he could use the projectile's ricochet to ride it and escape.
The intent was obvious. Now it was up to Chrollo to react.
If Chrollo forcibly displaced him downward again, it would confirm that the forced movement ability could be used consecutively.
Conversely, if Chrollo employed other means to keep him here, it would suggest the ability had limitations, possibly something like a "cooldown."
Hm?
Suddenly, Morrow narrowed his eyes.
Hidden among the Headless Corpse Army, Chrollo had just hurled a corpse at him barehanded.
Enhanced by aura, the flung corpse shot forward like a cannonball, carrying immense force.
Morrow watched the headless corpse fly straight toward him, instantly confirming that Chrollo couldn't use his displacement ability consecutively.
Currently airborne with no leverage, Morrow had no choice but to forcibly shift his position by expelling aura from his soles, barely dodging the projectile corpse.
But the moment he evaded, another headless corpse came flying with pinpoint accuracy, slamming into him.
Thud.
The impact sent Morrow tumbling off-balance.
Then came a second corpse, a third...
Though his Nen defense completely nullified the damage from the collisions, being midair left him helpless against the barrage, spinning uncontrollably.
At the same time, the Deceptive Shooting Star he had launched earlier curved back toward him.
Even now, they're only resorting to "disruption" tactics without going for the kill... Are they trying to toy with me, or just denying me any opening?
His vision spun wildly, yet Morrow remained unshaken.
Two probes...
At least one ability's details were confirmed.
With that thought, as his body hung upside down, Morrow suddenly expelled aura from his feet, propelling himself headfirst toward the human ladder below.
Simultaneously,
The Deceptive Shooting Star arced back toward him.
Morrow stretched out both hands, as if reaching for salvation, and grasped the countless arms extending from the ladder like anemone tentacles.
After seizing one of the arms, Morrow twisted his waist to forcibly correct his posture, then abruptly exerted strength in his right hand, tearing off the corpse's arm to free his right hand.
At that moment, the Shooting Star had already reached Morrow's face.
Yet Morrow remained unshaken in the face of danger, swinging his right hand forcefully and slapping the Shooting Star with the Tree Rings tattoo on the back of his hand.
Crack!
With a crisp sound, the Shooting Star was sent flying toward Kortopi and Amanda in the distance, streaking through the air like a piercing sun, leaving behind a dazzling, descending trajectory.
Behind the Headless Corpse Army.
Chrollo's eyes narrowed abruptly. With a sudden burst of speed, his figure flickered as he positioned himself in the path of the incoming Shooting Star.
The Skill Hunter in his hand stopped on a particular page.
The photo on the page depicted a bald man in a sailor uniform, with a thick beard and long eyelashes.
In the text description on the same page, the ability name could be seen: Sweetheart Guard.
Chrollo extended his left hand forward, and as Nen surged, he materialized a three-dimensional pink heart, roughly the size of a manhole cover.
Upon closer inspection, however, the heart was structured like a shield.
Chrollo raised the Sweetheart Guard shield to intercept the Shooting Star that came crashing like a meteor.
Boom!
The moment the Shooting Star made contact with the shield, it unleashed a terrifying burst of energy. The violent shockwave caused the surrounding concrete ground to crack.
The heart-shaped shield in Chrollo's hand shattered instantly, dispersing into countless pink heart-shaped motes of light that faded into the air.
His body was pushed back by the tremendous force, his feet dragging two long trails across the ground.
Meanwhile.
Morrow tore through the grotesque limbs surrounding him with brute strength and leaped back to the ground, charging straight toward several of the headless corpses on the periphery.
With Chrollo present, he no longer held any hope of breaking through the Headless Corpse Army's blockade. Thus, his goal was clear.
Under the premise of ensuring his own safety, he would implant the Star Mark onto the headless corpses.
That was his true intention.
Now,
was the opportunity!