In battle, relentless assaults serve as the prelude to the final killing move.
Uvogin's sudden intervention forced Morrow to redirect his focus. Two Deceptive Shooting Stars arrived in succession, compelling Uvogin to concentrate his defenses on his upper body. Then, the preemptive, distance-spanning Insidious Shooting Star shattered his lower stance completely.
This was the combat style of an Emitter.
No matter the form an attack took, its essence remained the same, to tear through an enemy's defenses with a storm of rapid, brutal strikes.
As Morrow's level increased, so too did his controllable aura output, pushing his fighting style further toward pure Emission.
Yet the importance of 'control' remained irreplaceable.
It was what allowed Morrow to secure crucial advantages in battle.
Amidst flying fragments of flesh and shattered bone, Uvogin's body was flung into the air. Morrow's gaze shifted toward Chrollo, who had barely managed to steady himself in the distance.
This man's defenses were formidable.
Even with one arm restricted by Skill Hunter, he had consistently managed to block attacks in close-quarters combat.
However, the last point-blank Emission attack had sent Chrollo flying far enough.
There was now enough time to finish off Uvogin before Chrollo could return to the fight.
Come to think of it... the smooth execution of this strategy was largely thanks to Uvogin's cooperation.
Had Uvogin been even slightly more cautious about his positioning, had he waited for Chrollo for just a single second, the outcome would have been different.
But this was Uvogin.
No matter how many times the battle repeated, he would always make the choice Morrow anticipated.
Morrow pushed himself up and raised a hand, firing another Deceptive Shooting Star from behind before launching himself like an arrow toward Uvogin, who was now plummeting from midair.
At this moment, Uvogin's legs below the thighs were completely shattered, yet the pain of his injuries didn't affect him in the slightest.
His eyes burned crimson as he glared at Morrow charging straight at him.
But the first to arrive was yet another Deceptive Shooting Star, its speed doubled.
With practiced precision, Morrow adjusted its trajectory; the Shooting Star curved past his body and shot unerringly toward Uvogin just before he hit the ground.
Uvogin's arms suddenly bulged, thick veins like knotted ropes surfacing across his rock-like muscles.
Twisting his body, he stretched out his left arm, using his palm in place of a leg; his fingers dug deep into the concrete, anchoring his broken form.
Meanwhile, his right fist pulsed with a dangerous red glow.
Without hesitation or delay, Uvogin embodied the Enhancement style, twisting his torso and driving his fist straight into the Deceptive Shooting Star.
BOOM!
The moment fist met Shooting Star, violent energy erupted, triggering a devastating explosion.
"Chrollo… the rest… is up to you!"
As the echoes of the blast faded, Uvogin's body stood battered yet unyielding, like an ancient pine rooted in place.
Chrollo, rushing back to defend, felt his dark eyes tremble at Uvogin's words.
All his comrades... this was all because of his miscalculations.
But the Troupe had to keep moving forward.
Chrollo's left hand pulsed with Nen as he conjured a spiral-shaped orb. The surface of the orb was embedded with a Y-shaped protrusion, with a small opening at its center.
Echo of Death.
He raised his gaze to Uvogin's battered, wounded body. His dark, abyss-like eyes had already turned deathly still, as if all emotion had been completely stripped away...
Squeak!
With a soft sound, a swift black shadow shot out from the opening of the spiral orb, flying straight toward Uvogin.
At the same time, Morrow surged through the rolling waves of aura, arriving before Uvogin.
Uvogin's crimson eyes locked onto Morrow with an intensity that seemed capable of tearing him apart limb from limb.
Expressionless, Morrow swung his hand in a single, decisive motion. The aura swirling around it was as sharp as a blade, cleanly slicing through Uvogin's neck.
Thud.
Uvogin's head flew into the air.
Yet, in that same instant, the ability Chrollo had activated struck Uvogin's back.
It was a mosquito-like Nen Beast with an ovipositor, its long, needle-like proboscis piercing into Uvogin's exposed back, completely unprotected by Nen.
In the blink of an eye, the mosquito rapidly drained the remaining aura from Uvogin's headless body through its proboscis. The ovipositor suddenly swelled before exploding like a bomb.
This was the power of Echo of Death.
The mosquito-like Nen Beast, upon piercing its target, could instantly drain their aura, causing them to explode.
The sudden, violent explosion engulfed Morrow entirely.
Though Chrollo witnessed this with his own eyes, he didn't believe for a second that Morrow would die so easily in the blast.
That man was a complete and utter monster!
This battle had convinced Chrollo of that much.
His entire body radiated icy bloodlust as he charged straight into the heart of the explosion, unflinching against the scorching heatwave.
He had once believed as long as the Troupe survived, it didn't matter who died, even himself. None of it was worth caring about.
But as one comrade after another fell and died before his eyes... Chrollo realized, in a daze, that he had been wrong.
He still hadn't become a true monster. He was still affected, tormented, even, by the emotions that came with watching his comrades die one after another.
But the Troupe must continue forward... no matter what, they must keep moving forward!
The darkness in Chrollo's eyes deepened, leaving no room for any human emotions.
Sorrow, rage, regret... all these emotions that tormented humanity, in this moment, Chrollo cast them all aside.
Whoosh!
From the smoke and dust kicked up by the explosion, Morrow shot out like an arrow, radiating bloodlust no weaker than Chrollo's.
His body was covered in wounds from the blast.
Yet none of it affected his manifested Nen quantity, nor the overwhelming pressure he exuded.
The two figures collided.
Their Nen clashed violently at every moment.
Both Morrow and Chrollo had nearly exhausted their potential aura.
At this stage, it was more a battle of wills.
However, after slaying Uvogin, Morrow's level had risen from Lv.66 to Lv.67... this slight difference gave Morrow the advantage in their final clash.
Amidst the fierce clash, Morrow tore off Chrollo's left arm, but was simultaneously kicked in the abdomen by Chrollo, sending his entire body flying sideways.
Blood rained down from the air, leaving a mottled trail on the ground.
That blood, however, came from Chrollo's severed arm.
Morrow landed on his feet, skidding backward a distance, clutching the torn-off left arm in his hand.
Drip, drip... blood droplets trickled and fell.
The legless spider had finally come face to face with death.