Facing the combined assault of Uvogin, Nobunaga, and Chrollo simultaneously...
Even with the support of his Scarlet Eyes bloodline, Kurapika's current strength offered no chance of survival against such odds.
As Kurapika used Holy Chain to heal his injuries, he already understood the inevitable outcome and had mentally prepared himself to fight to the death.
But...
Just hold on a little longer.
Even one more second would do.
He absolutely couldn't drag Morrow down with him...
Kurapika steeled his resolve. Though trapped in a hopeless situation, not a single trace of hesitation tainted the aura surging from his entire body.
Kurta Clan...
Seeing Kurapika still possessed a healing ability, Chrollo's eyes darkened with unspoken shadows.
The successive deaths of his comrades had carved fine cracks into the icy walls of his heart.
The one who should have been most resolute now wavered slightly.
The one who should have wavered now stood with absolute conviction.
Fate seemed to mock in silence every soul facing suffering.
Meanwhile, from a purely human perspective, Chrollo's tactical shift struck precisely at the most vulnerable point of human nature.
Worry for a comrade's plight, urgency to provide aid...
Such chaotic thoughts naturally created openings.
Morrow was no exception.
Yet he still reacted in time to block Machi's ambush.
For both sides, this was the most critical moment.
A race against time.
But Morrow faced far greater constraints.
The pressure of time weighed on them relentlessly.
The time Kurapika fought to buy was meant to ease Morrow's burden and mitigate the disadvantage they'd carried since the battle began.
I must finish this woman as quickly as possible...
Morrow's gaze sharpened in that instant, cold and razor-focused.
Starlight Convergence.
Brilliant starlight erupted from his body, scattering in shimmering motes laced with a biting chill.
With the headless corpse legion gone and no need to guard against Chrollo's forced displacement ability, this one-on-one was the perfect opportunity for Starlight Convergence to unleash its full power.
A sky full of starlight instantly engulfed Machi.
Yet the moment Morrow activated his ability, Machi abruptly withdrew, leaping back several paces with fluid grace.
Though the fury in her chest threatened to burn away reason, though her boiling bloodlust had nowhere to vent, Machi never lost her rationality.
She understood better than anyone what choice to make now.
Once the leader dealt with that last Kurta survivor, they could rally their remaining strength and crush this man before her.
So for now, her task was to stall Morrow.
And since Starlight Convergence was inherently a Counter-type ability, why would Machi recklessly attack?
Thus, amidst the storm of rage and bloodlust, Machi exercised astonishing self-control to make the most precise judgment.
Seeing Machi suddenly halt her assault, Morrow immediately recognized her as the type whose decisions remained unaffected by emotional turmoil.
Add to that her knowledge of his ability...
In this situation, there was no hope she'd foolishly charge in and fulfill Starlight Convergence's Star Mark condition.
Morrow realized this and decisively deactivated his Starlight Convergence ability.
As the surrounding starlight returned to his body, he kicked off the ground, charging straight toward Kurapika's direction. The path he chose conveniently allowed him to pick up the fallen Poultry Scarlet Knife along the way.
Machi had been closely tracking Morrow's every move. The moment she saw him suddenly deactivate his Nen ability, she immediately gave chase. She didn't need to take the offensive, so she naturally avoided directly confronting Morrow's defensive-counterattack Nen ability.
But if Morrow intended to support Kurapika, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
Both sides had to react to each other's movements and adjust accordingly.
Whoever reacted faster and judged more accurately would gain the upper hand in this duel, or even decide its outcome.
Morrow's peripheral vision caught Machi closing in at an incredible speed. His right hand gripped the Poultry Scarlet Knife while his left gathered a mass of Nen toward Chrollo.
At that moment, Machi thrust a Palm Blade toward Morrow's left side.
Her Palm Blade was enveloped in dense Nen, flawless in both Nen technique application and the precision of her strike's angle and force.
Rhythm Echo.
Faced with Machi's lightning-fast interception, Morrow's body flickered, leaving behind an afterimage.
Machi's Palm Blade struck as intended, but only pierced through the illusion.
Morrow's Rhythm Echo steps started slow before accelerating. After shifting his body sideways, he planted his feet and bent his knees to halt his momentum. His left hand, which had been gathering Nen, pressed against the ground.
Insidious Shooting Star.
A stellar cross suddenly materialized beneath Machi's feet.
In that instant, she had two choices; leap back or lunge forward.
To ensure she kept Morrow firmly in check, Machi unhesitatingly chose to lunge forward.
Her decision wasn't just about keeping Morrow under surveillance. There was another reason.
Once the stellar cross appeared, Shooting Stars would shoot out from it.
This meant that Morrow, while activating his offensive ability, would inevitably divert part of his aura output, weakening his own offensive and defensive coordination.
Even if Morrow wanted to use Starlight Convergence, the split in his aura output would force him to take on greater risks.
Machi's hawk-like gaze pierced through this vulnerability. She instantly dashed forward, her outstretched right arm piercing toward Morrow like a spear wrapped in Nen.
However, no Shooting Stars fired from the stellar cross behind her.
Because Insidious Shooting Star was, strictly speaking, a two-stage ability.
First, the stellar cross marked the target; then it transmitted the Shooting Star attack formed from aura output.
After the marking was complete, if Morrow wanted to increase the Shooting Star's firing speed, he could reduce his aura output to make them shoot out faster.
Conversely, Morrow could also cancel the second-stage Shooting Star attack by cutting off his aura output after the stellar cross appeared.
Morrow feinted, then rose to his feet in an instant, activating Starlight Convergence at full aura capacity.
In a flash, his aura shattered into starlight, enveloping Machi at close range.
Then, Morrow sidestepped, narrowly avoiding Machi's Palm Blade thrust.
At full aura output, Morrow had ample room to maneuver.
At the very least, while maintaining the Starlight Convergence ability, the remaining aura output on his body was sufficient to sustain the state of Ten.
After evading Machi's straight thrust with her Palm Blade, Morrow swung the Poultry Scarlet Knife in his hand, tracing a sharp crimson arc as he aimed an upward slash at Machi's extended arm.
Though surprised that Morrow could interrupt the activation of Insidious Shooting Star, Machi's combat mindset remained unaffected.
From the moment Morrow initiated his strike, she had no intention of dodging.
She judged that Morrow, who could only maintain Ten, posed no threat in terms of offensive power.
Moreover, even if that red crystalline knife possessed inherent aura intensity, it couldn't bridge the natural gap in their offensive and defensive strength.
Thus, as long as she maintained Ken, she could easily withstand Morrow's slash and adapt accordingly.
Unfortunately, her intentions were "seen" clearly by Morrow's Starlight Convergence ability.
While Morrow's mobilizable aura output was indeed limited, with the precognitive ability of Starlight Convergence, he could fearlessly channel the vast majority of his available aura into this single strike.
And that's exactly what he did. The Poultry Scarlet Knife aimed at Machi now concentrated razor-sharp aura.
Simultaneously, having allocated most of his aura output to offense, his Nen defense became extremely fragile.
In that split second, the crimson arc grazed Machi's arm, slicing through the Ken's Nen defense and drawing a vivid streak of blood.
Machi hadn't expected Morrow to gamble everything on this attack, then suddenly realized...
She was now facing Morrow alone.
Perhaps this was why Morrow dared to tread the line of danger and make such a decisive choice so quickly.
Ignoring the pain from her arm, Machi finally couldn't resist striking at Morrow in his defenseless state.
She stepped forward, swinging her other hand toward Morrow's knife-wielding wrist.
A glint flashed in Morrow's eyes. He immediately understood that while Machi roughly grasped Starlight Convergence's mechanics, she didn't fully comprehend its upper limits.
Facing Machi's counterattack, Morrow could still rely on the information he'd read to promptly employ Rhythm Echo, taking a rapid backward step to exit Machi's attack range.
Machi's strike missed again, but as her Palm Blade cut through air, five Nen Threads shot from her fingertips like extended claw marks, slashing at Morrow who remained within reach.
By then, Morrow had already channeled more aura to his legs. As his footwork exploded with power, he flickered, leaving an afterimage that filled half of Machi's vision.
The five extending Nen Threads could only helplessly tear through the phantom.
Meanwhile, Morrow had already retreated a considerable distance.
Three times.
Morrow silently counted the attacks he'd just evaded, quickly glancing at the five gashes torn across his clothing.
Only through actual combat did one realize how refined this woman's techniques were.
Had Starlight Convergence's precognition not been strong enough, he might already be wounded.
Failing to land her strike, Machi watched Morrow effortlessly create distance, her brow furrowing deeply.
In that situation just now, her killing move had been dodged yet again.
Damn it... it was so close.
Having failed several times now, she couldn't afford to be reckless anymore...
She needed to restrain her impulses and confine him here.
Machi glanced at her arm, which was continuously bleeding, and with her other hand holding a fine needle, she was about to suture the wound on the spot to stop the bleeding.
Unfortunately...
Morrow was well aware of her ability to rapidly stitch wounds and wouldn't give her that chance.
He swiftly retracted the Starlight Convergence ability, enveloped in surging Nen, and shot toward Machi like an arrow.
Seeing this, Machi had no choice but to abandon the idea of suturing her wound and instead waved her hand, shooting several Nen Threads into the ground ahead.
Ssshh!
The concrete was as soft as tofu under the Nen Threads, sinking in effortlessly.
Machi then yanked the threads backward while skillfully reducing their tension, forcibly tearing up a large slab of concrete and erecting it in front of Morrow.
Morrow narrowed his eyes and, without hesitation, fired a Shooting Star at the concrete slab.
Boom!
The slab exploded under the impact, scattering debris and dust everywhere.
Morrow dashed through the flying rubble, but Machi was nowhere to be seen.
Left? his gaze shifted slightly, and sure enough, he caught sight of the figure darting toward him.
However, Machi's aura was no longer as sharp as before.
Is she wary of the trigger condition for Starlight Convergence?
Morrow remained calm, pondering inwardly.
The condition of Starlight Convergence, dodging attacks a certain number of times, was like accumulating fouls. Once it reached a critical point, it would make one hesitant, fearing the consequences of exceeding the limit and being "penalized" outright.
Morrow read this hesitation in the subtle shifts of Machi's aura.
You don't actually think... I need to fulfill the ability's condition to kill you, do you?
His thoughts raced, but he abruptly charged toward Machi, gripping the Poultry Scarlet Knife tightly as he ruthlessly aimed for her injured right arm.
This wound would be the opening he used to end the fight.
Machi's expression flickered, forced to retreat hastily to avoid the strike.
But Morrow pressed his advantage relentlessly, stomping the ground and driving the knife straight toward her neck.
A glint flashed in Machi's eyes.
This guy... is overextending.
Suddenly, she pulled several Nen Threads between her hands, enduring the pain from her injury, and with swift precision, wrapped the threads around the incoming knife midair.
The next moment, as the threads tightened, the Poultry Scarlet Knife let out a hum, frozen in place just a finger's breadth from Machi's neck.
If he lets go, I can... huh? mid-thought, Machi suddenly saw Morrow press the sheath against the knife's hilt.
The sheath's opening could actually accommodate the hilt...
Morrow's cold gaze pierced through the taut threads, locking onto Machi's rapidly flickering eyes as he channeled Nen into the Abyssal Sheath.
Machi's pupils contracted sharply, and she tried to twist her arm to yank the sheath and knife away.
But the tearing pain in her arm sapped her strength, leaving her sluggish.
She failed to dislodge them in time.
In that instant...
Hum!
The Nen within the Abyssal Sheath erupted violently, and the Poultry Scarlet Knife at its opening transformed into a crimson streak, shooting out like a venomous snake!
Thud!
The sharp red blade pierced cleanly through Machi's jaw, propelled by raging Nen force upward!
Crack!
With a crisp crack of shattered bone, the poultry knife burst out from the top of her head, sending up a spray of ghastly crimson blood that bloomed like fireworks in midair.
Machi's body jerked violently, her contracted pupils freezing in place.
The next second.
Her form collapsed heavily to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.