The Deceptive Shooting Star was blocked by Chrollo.
However, the explosive impact of the Shooting Star still sent Chrollo staggering back a considerable distance.
Meanwhile, most of the Headless Corpse Army had tangled together to form a human ladder.
Seizing the opportunity, Morrow leaped down from the top of the human ladder, rushing toward the outskirts.
That area had fewer headless corpses, allowing him to use his ability without restraint.
"Starlight Convergence."
Morrow's aura shattered into starlight, enveloping dozens of nearby headless corpses.
The moment he released the starlight, he saw the towering human ladder rapidly fuse into a massive, fan-like hand.
Since the hand was composed of human bodies, its surface, even at the edges, was still riddled with grotesque, twisted limbs.
It descended toward Morrow's position with crushing force.
In an instant, the shadow cast by the monstrous hand completely engulfed Morrow.
Yet, Morrow showed no intention of interrupting Starlight Convergence.
He wasn't sure if he'd get another chance like this...
So he had to seize it.
As the shadow loomed, the surrounding headless corpses, obeying their destructive commands, ignored the descending monstrosity and lunged at Morrow.
At this moment...
Morrow's gaze sharpened with absolute focus.
Just before the deformed hand could crush him, he sidestepped the pounce of the nearest headless corpse.
Given the corpses' low durability, evading just one attack was enough to fulfill Starlight Convergence's condition.
The drifting starlight immediately latched onto the headless corpse, materializing into a golden chain that bound it tightly.
The instant Morrow saw the golden chain, he decisively severed the aura output sustaining Starlight Convergence.
It wasn't that he disregarded the cost, but with the monstrous hand mere moments away from crushing him, even a 0.1-second delay could alter the course of the battle, disrupting the critical rhythm.
By forcibly cutting off the ability, he not only bought himself crucial time but also drastically reduced the danger he faced in this situation.
After sacrificing a small portion of his aura output, Morrow channeled his aura at maximum speed, coating his entire body.
Ignoring the headless corpses lunging at him from all sides, he crouched low and pressed his palm against the concrete ground.
"Insidious Shooting Star."
A stellar cross materialized on the ground before him.
Then, a Shooting Star erupted from its center, blasting a massive hole through the descending monstrosity.
The deformed hand paused mid-air for a split second before continuing its descent.
But Morrow had already stepped forward...
And leaped upward, passing through the gap in the monstrous hand, soaring into the air.
BOOM!
The deformed hand, now pierced through, slammed into the ground with devastating force, shattering the concrete.
Amid the deafening explosion, violent shockwaves sent chunks of debris flying in all directions.
Suspended in mid-air, Morrow's palm glowed with an emerald light...
His eyes flashed with bloodlust.
The headless corpse that had just been marked with a Star Mark was likely already crushed into pulp beneath the giant palm.
This meant the Star Mark might have transferred to Amanda or Kortopi.
So now, all he needed to do was launch a Deceptive Shooting Star, find a way to restrain Chrollo, and seize the opportunity to take down another Troupe member.
Hmm?
Suddenly, Morrow keenly sensed a trace of bloodlust.
He abruptly withdrew the half-formed Deceptive Shooting Star and redirected his aura output toward defense.
At that moment, a nimble figure descended from the air.
It was Machi, arriving as reinforcement.
She landed beside Morrow mid-air and delivered a vicious whip kick aimed at his ribs.
Morrow reacted instantly, raising his arm to block.
The aura flowing across his body swiftly concentrated into his arm, forming a solid Nen defense.
Bam!
Machi's fierce kick struck Morrow's arm.
As the defender, Morrow was sent flying by the force, hurtling downward like a javelin.
Meanwhile...
The grotesque, fan-like giant palm sprawled on the ground suddenly split apart, reverting into countless headless corpses that surged toward Morrow's landing point like a tide.
While still airborne, Morrow glanced down but had no time to worry about the approaching corpses. Instead, he turned his gaze to his arm.
His left hand swiftly condensed aura into a sharp, stalactite-like point, then cleanly slashed his right arm with a Palm Blade.
Sshhk!
A thin Nen Thread wrapped around his right arm was severed.
It was a thread Machi had secretly attached during her kick, concealed with In to erase its presence.
But Morrow was no rookie. The moment he was sent flying, he had already used Gyo to pinpoint the thread's location.
Since that moment was outside the immediate exchange of attacks, there was no pressure from aura allocation, allowing him to freely use Gyo to confirm the situation.
After cutting the thread, Morrow landed firmly on the ground.
Thud.
The impact of his landing shattered the concrete beneath his feet.
No sooner had he steadied himself than two headless corpses leaped into the air, lunging at him.
Sshhk! Sshhk!
Morrow drew the Poultry Scarlet Knife and effortlessly bisected the corpses.
Yet before the severed halves even hit the ground, more corpses swarmed him from all directions.
Morrow frowned slightly, inexplicably recalling the duel between Hisoka and Chrollo in the original story...
Back then, despite Hisoka's formidable physical prowess, he had been overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Now, Morrow could somewhat understand how Hisoka must have felt.
Facing this endless tide while also having to watch for Chrollo's underhanded tactics, and now with Machi added to the mix, the defensive pressure was undeniably accelerating his potential aura consumption at an alarming rate.
Perhaps he should be grateful; Chrollo hadn't yet upgraded Skill Hunter to include the "Bookmark" ability.
Otherwise, if Chrollo could free his hands while using abilities, Sun and Moon alone, which turned headless corpses into human bombs, would completely eliminate even the slightest opening.
My aura is draining too fast... But in this situation, a single mistake means death. How can I afford to control the pace...?
Morrow showed no intention of conserving energy, swinging the Poultry Scarlet Knife to cleave several headless corpses lunging at him in half.
Almost without giving him a moment to breathe, Chrollo had somehow circled behind him, a poisoned dagger in hand.
Seizing the slight opening Morrow exposed while slashing the headless corpses, Chrollo's cold gaze sharpened as the venomous blade traced a ruthless arc aimed directly at Morrow's left neck.
Though Morrow couldn't use his Starlight Convergence ability, the battles he had fought along the way had honed his combat experience and refined his counterattacking skills to near perfection.
Most crucially, his sensitivity to bloodlust was razor-sharp.
Facing Chrollo's viper-like strike, Morrow's eyes flickered as he tossed the Poultry Scarlet Knife from his right hand to his left, swiftly positioning it to intercept the dagger's trajectory.
Clang!
The dagger and the Poultry Scarlet Knife collided midair, sparks flying.
Morrow's block was hasty, and he felt an overwhelming force transmit through the blade.
The next instant...
The Poultry Scarlet Knife was knocked from his grip, sent flying backward.
A thought flashed through Morrow's mind: surprise at Chrollo's strength, followed by the realization that this man could indeed go toe-to-toe with Silva.
Yet despite losing his weapon, Morrow remained utterly composed.
He gave Chrollo no chance to press the attack. The moment his hands switched the knife, his now-free right hand had already drawn the Abyssal Sheath.
Aiming its opening forward, a surge of an energy wave blasted out, slamming into Chrollo's abdomen and sending him flying back.
Meanwhile, Morrow stomped the ground, propelling himself backward with Gazelle Steps while raising the Abyssal Sheath behind him.
The sheath's opening emitted a suction force, yanking the tumbling Poultry Scarlet Knife back through the air.
Shink!
The blade slid perfectly into the sheath.
At that moment, Machi slipped through the gaps between the headless corpses, a Palm Blade slicing toward Morrow's face.
Morrow's left fist swung upward, striking Machi's wrist first with a muffled thud.
Her arm jerked up, but she twisted her waist, spinning into a roundhouse kick that slammed into Morrow's stomach.
Morrow had already gathered Nen at his abdomen, mitigating the damage, but the impact still forced him stumbling back.
Before he could steady himself, over a dozen headless corpses pounced from behind.
"..."
Morrow's brow furrowed as he flicked his wrist, firing a Shooting Star that obliterated the airborne corpses.
Hm?
Amid the scattering limbs, glimmers of light flashed.
Nen Threads...
By the time Morrow realized, the threads woven through the dismembered limbs were already being pulled taut by Machi from behind.
In an instant...
Dozens of Nen Threads, along with the bloodied chunks of flesh, wrapped around Morrow like a grotesque cocoon.
Got you.
Machi's icy eyes burned with bloodlust.
From the rear, Kortopi and Amanda watched, already envisioning Morrow's demise.
Yet the next moment...
A gap tore open in the cocoon of limbs.
A single emerald Shooting Star shot out, streaking toward the empty space ahead.
Machi's pupils contracted as she saw the Shooting Star halt, reverse course, then shoot straight toward Morrow.
To aim at himself...?!
Boom!
The Shooting Star struck the mass of severed limbs encasing Morrow, triggering a violent explosion.
In an instant, a mist of blood and pulverized flesh mixed with dust spread outward.
Whoosh!
Another phosphorescent green Shooting Star shot out from the blood-tinged dust cloud, streaking upward.
The projectile soon halted a hundred meters in the air before streaking down like a meteor toward Kortopi and Amanda at the rear.
What?!
Their expressions changed drastically as both attempted evasive maneuvers.
Yet when the Shooting Star reached them, it suddenly veered off in an impossible trajectory, striking Amanda squarely in the chest.
Amanda's face twisted in disbelief as the projectile shattered her ribcage, sending her mangled body flying backward.
Kortopi, who'd dodged in the opposite direction, felt a chill run down his spine witnessing this.
What he failed to notice...
Was the Star Mark silently transferring onto his long-haired face as Amanda perished.
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Bonus chapter @300 power stones.