The formation of the Headless Corpse Army relied on the combined abilities of Kortopi and Amanda.
Morrow had never encountered such a situation before, so when making his decision, he assumed the Star Mark would only transfer to either Kortopi or Amanda.
For him, as long as he successfully eliminated one of them, the linked ability of the Headless Corpse Army would collapse immediately.
Thus, whether the Star Mark transferred to Kortopi or Amanda, it was an acceptable outcome for Morrow.
But he hadn't expected...
After killing Amanda, the Star Mark could still follow the lingering traces of Nen and transfer directly to Kortopi.
This was an unexpected boon.
Amid the swirling haze of blood and dust, Morrow sensed the Star Mark on Kortopi, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
Should I use Shooting Star · Essence Siphon...?
To ensure he could break free from Machi's Nen Threads as quickly as possible, Morrow had fired the Shooting Star at himself earlier without any room to control its power.
As a result, while the Deceptive Shooting Star shattered the severed limbs and Nen Threads, it also inflicted damage on him.
In that split-second burst of thought, he had considered imbuing the Deceptive Shooting Star with the Essence Siphon effect.
That way, if the Deceptive Shooting Star successfully killed either Kortopi or Amanda, he could use the Essence Siphon effect to recover from his injuries.
However, within the limited time for deliberation, Morrow ultimately chose the safer option and used the standard Deceptive Shooting Star.
Because he truly had no margin for error.
If he couldn't dismantle the linked ability of Kortopi and Amanda the moment the Star Mark transferred, every passing second would be like grains of sand continuously filling a bottle, relentlessly increasing the pressure of battle.
But now, Amanda was dead, and the Star Mark hadn't disappeared. It had directly transferred to Kortopi.
In this situation, if he chose to attack with Shooting Star · Essence Siphon...
If he could kill Kortopi, his injuries would heal, balancing out the disadvantage.
But if Shooting Star · Essence Siphon failed to instantly kill Kortopi, it would further reduce his margin for error.
This was a binary choice.
And there was no time for prolonged deliberation.
Even if infusing the Essence Siphon effect reduces the power of the Shooting Star, I can compensate with the damage multiplier mechanism. So as long as I act before Kortopi reclaims the aura output from the copied corpses... the chance is still high.
I need to decide quickly.
Choose wrong, and it's basically game over.
Choose right, and the odds tilt in my favor...
In that lightning-fast moment, amidst a burst of thought as rapid as life and death, Morrow made his decision. He surged out of the dust, charging straight toward Machi, who was closest to him.
「Deceptive Shooting Star · Essence Siphon」
The instant he broke through the dust, he had already fired a Shooting Star imbued with an emerald glow behind him.
At that moment, Machi could only hastily tear her gaze away from Amanda's corpse.
Veins bulged around her temples, her eyes seething with bloodlust.
I will absolutely kill you!!!
Fueled by overwhelming emotion, Machi erupted with an astonishing aura.
Cloaked in a boiling tide of murderous intent, she lunged toward Morrow as he closed in. The moment Morrow attacked Kortopi again with Shooting Star, she could only trust that Kortopi would rely on his own skills to defend himself.
At this moment, all she could do was seize the critical opportunity when Morrow diverted his aura output to attack Kortopi, to either severely wound Morrow or outright kill him.
Her decision and reaction were within Morrow's expectations.
But this anticipated outcome wasn't because Morrow understood Machi's personality or way of doing things.
Rather, with all factors laid bare, anyone would inevitably make the same "necessary" decision under the push of these circumstances.
Even if Morrow were in Machi's position, he would have made the same choice.
Morrow and Machi, each enveloped in their own aura, streaked across the ground like two beams of light before finally colliding.
Boom!
Their limbs, reinforced with powerful aura, clashed violently.
The energy of their Nen erupted in that instant, sending a fierce shockwave rippling outward.
Then, Morrow and Machi were both forced back several steps, their gazes locking in midair.
Morrow's eyes held a cold-blooded bloodlust.
Machi's, however, burned with a boiling bloodlust, as if she wanted to devour him whole.
She suddenly stepped forward, her astonishing hand speed allowing her to weave dense aura around her hands, creating a flurry of afterimages that engulfed Morrow.
Starlight Convergence.
Yet Morrow seized the moment, balancing on the high wire where a single misstep meant instant death, and fearlessly shattered his aura into dazzling starlight.
The information of Machi's assault was instantly received by Morrow's starlight.
But before he could evade, Machi's movements abruptly halted.
As if... the overwhelming afterimages she had just woven were nothing but a feint.
Yet this was clearly a precaution against Starlight Convergence fulfilling its ability conditions.
Morrow's eyes sharpened instantly. The moment Machi stopped, he decisively retracted the starlight before it could fully disperse.
Fortunately, he had consciously controlled the spread of the starlight while activating his ability.
It was this attention to detail that allowed him to avoid wasting aura and gain that crucial split-second advantage.
As Morrow swiftly withdrew his aura output, Machi's true intent was revealed.
The afterimages she had woven weren't fake. They were Nen Threads, imperceptibly forming a Nen net concealed with In.
The precision and speed of this technique were nothing short of masterful.
Though Morrow had retracted his aura in time, he was still ensnared by the net.
The next instant, Machi's Nen net abruptly constricted, binding Morrow's body tightly as an overwhelming bloodlust erupted from her.
With one hand, she controlled the razor-sharp Nen Threads, while the other transformed into a Palm Blade, thrusting mercilessly toward Morrow's heart.
Trapped in the net, Morrow could only unleash his aura output to cover his entire body, resisting the cutting force as sharp as kite string.
As Machi's Palm Blade closed in, he twisted sharply, using his right arm, crushed against his body by the Nen Threads, to block the attack.
Squelch!
Machi's Palm Blade plunged deep into Morrow's arm, blood spraying out in a vivid crimson arc. Almost as the blood splattered, Morrow's expression remained eerily calm, as if the arm being pierced wasn't his own.
He merely used this moment to adjust his angle, focusing on his left hand, or more precisely the Abyssal Sheath in his left hand, which was also being compressed by the constricting Nen net.
Machi's Nen Threads were indeed strong in their binding force, but they couldn't seal Morrow's ability to manipulate aura.
By allowing Machi to stab through his arm, Morrow channeled more of his limited aura output into the Abyssal Sheath.
As Nen poured into it, a violent energy wave erupted from within the sheath, forcibly ejecting the Poultry Scarlet Knife that had been sheathed inside.
Machi's pupils contracted sharply. At such close range, there was no time to react. She could only rely on instinct, concentrating aura at the point of impact as best she could.
Boom!
The Poultry Scarlet Knife, wreathed in a fierce crimson glow, struck Machi's chin with its hilt.
The impact sent her head snapping backward, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she instantly lost her balance.
Yet even then, she stubbornly maintained her grip on the Nen Threads.
However, that momentary loss of vision and the shift in her posture were enough for Morrow to break free from the Nen Threads' restraint.
All because the Abyssal Sheath could fire again.
Morrow aimed carefully and poured more Nen into the sheath.
In an instant, a beam of energy shot from its opening, precisely severing the Nen Thread extending from Machi's hand.
Yet, in that split second, even as her body was flung backward, Machi managed to twist her leg and kick Morrow squarely in the abdomen.
The energy beam destroying the Nen Thread and Machi's kick landed almost simultaneously.
As the threads snapped, the force of the blow sent Morrow skidding backward just above the ground, blood spraying from his mouth in a trail across the floor.
Machi's kick had dealt him significant damage.
Worse, being knocked back meant he couldn't retrieve the Poultry Scarlet Knife.
Moreover, when he had channeled Nen into the Abyssal Sheath, the defensive aura covering the rest of his body had weakened.
Thus, in that brief moment, countless lacerations split open across his body from the Nen Threads.
This was the critical importance of aura output.
Trying to withstand Machi's attacks with less than half my aura output... The risk was too great.
Morrow's right arm, pierced by Machi's Palm Blade, was now immobile.
But he paid no mind to his grievous injuries. After putting distance between them, he sheathed the Abyssal Sheath at his waist and swiftly condensed a Shooting Star shimmering with emerald light in his left hand.
Yet in the next moment, he withdrew the Deceptive Shooting Star · Essence Siphon he had intended to use against Kortopi.
There was no need anymore.
Essence Siphon's ability activated abruptly, visibly healing his wounds at a rapid pace.
Though their exchange had seemed like multiple back-and-forth strikes, the entire clash had unfolded in the blink of an eye.
And at this very moment, the first Deceptive Shooting Star · Essence Siphon he had fired earlier now threatened Kortopi's life.
When Kortopi saw the Shooting Star hurtling toward him, his first instinct was to retract his dispersed aura output.
But neither he nor Amanda had anticipated that Morrow could break through the Headless Corpse Army and Chrollo's surveillance in such a way once the battle began. As a result, he recklessly focused all his efforts on rapidly duplicating corpses.
With each corpse replicated, a portion of his aura output was diverted.
And because the corpses were scattered, like Amanda, he couldn't reclaim all his aura output at once.
Moreover...
Essence Siphon weakened the power of Shooting Star, but its speed remained unaffected.
Thus, the multiplied velocity played a decisive role at this moment, becoming the final straw that crushed Kortopi.
The Deceptive Shooting Star · Essence Siphon, condensed from more than half of Morrow's aura output, pierced straight through Kortopi's skull.
Timing-wise, it coincided precisely with Morrow being wounded by Machi.
This outcome couldn't be called perfect.
Because Morrow had originally planned to feign weakness by leveraging his already depleted aura output, attempting to implant a Star Mark on Machi before Chrollo could reorganize his offense.
As it turned out, he had overestimated himself.
Under those conditions, not only did he fail to implant the Star Mark, but he was also further injured by Machi.
After all, Machi could simultaneously utilize 100% conversion efficiency as both a Transmuter and an Enhancer. In terms of direct combat prowess, she was in no way comparable to support personnel like Pakunoda and Kortopi.
The absolute disadvantage in aura output meant the only thing he could manage was striking Machi's chin with the Poultry Scarlet Knife.
It should have caused some damage, but nothing substantial.
Still, judging by the result, it roughly aligned with his initial expectations.
Lv.63 → Lv.64
With Kortopi's death, Morrow's injuries healed, and his level increased.
Killing Amanda earlier hadn't granted him an immediate level-up.
On one hand, his current level was already high, and due to the experience decay mechanism, leveling up had become significantly more difficult.
On the other hand, Amanda's level wasn't particularly high, so she couldn't provide enough experience for a full level-up, only accumulating toward the next.
Now, with Kortopi's death, he finally leveled up.
And the level-up partially restored Morrow's potential aura.
It could be said that the decision Morrow made in that split second had created an opportunity for him to recover both HP and MP simultaneously.
At this moment, Machi also noticed Kortopi lying on the ground.
A pool of blood spread beneath his body, clearly indicating he was already dead.
Machi's expression twisted, her eyes frozen on Morrow, brimming with icy bloodlust.
Right now, she couldn't perceive the restoration of Morrow's potential aura, but she could see the penetrating wound on his right arm rapidly healing.
This unforeseen development struck her psyche like a heavy hammer.
Just what... was going on?!
How many abilities... did he actually have?!
They had an overwhelming numerical advantage, and they had even thoroughly countered his abilities. So why... had it come to this?
Machi struggled to accept this reality. Her delicate, beautiful face contorted under the turbulence of her emotions.
Morrow met Machi's gaze, filled with fury and bloodlust, and casually flexed his fully healed right arm.
This gesture undoubtedly further provoked Machi's nerves.
As if mocking her: Your earlier assault was meaningless.
Machi's rage reached its peak. She had never felt such an intense desire to tear someone to pieces before.
This emotion and will were laid bare through her unrestrained aura.
Morrow remained expressionless as he sensed Machi's overwhelming bloodlust.
Who would have thought that even "verbal provocation" wouldn't be necessary to provoke Machi to this extent...
After all, not everyone was like Chrollo or Illumi.
But suddenly, Morrow's gaze shifted.
At the same time, Machi abruptly halted her intent to charge at him.
The change in both their reactions stemmed from Chrollo's movements.
After being blasted away by Morrow's Abyssal Sheath earlier, he hadn't regrouped to retaliate; instead, he had turned his attention toward Kurapika.