A memory cast in gray hues.
Thunder rumbled as torrential rain poured down.
Amid the rain curtain, two figures paused and looked back.
They were Morrow and Kalluto.
"Follow me."
Morrow extended his hand.
A soft glow gradually emanated from that hand, dispersing the blurriness caused by the rain.
In the dimly lit living room, the tightly shut door stood like an icy wall, rejecting any outsider's entry.
Yet as the sound of the door opening echoed, warm light spilled out like a tide.
Kalluto held a sugar pancake adorned with pale green frosting, while Morrow leaned against the open doorframe, smiling.
This was a fragment of Kurapika's memory.
While healing Morrow's injuries with Post-Mortem Will, he had been drawn into Morrow's consciousness.
Morrow lowered his gaze, eyes settling on the back of his hand.
The third energy ring of Tree Rings remained unchanged, showing no signs of growth.
Because this Post-Mortem Nen from Kurapika existed solely to heal his wounds.
Unlike other Post-Mortem Nen, it couldn't anchor itself to reality to persist indefinitely.
Thus, after fulfilling its purpose, it would fade away like morning mist...
Morrow slowly clenched his right fist, took a deep breath, and the restless Nen around him gradually stabilized.
He couldn't let emotions interfere with the upcoming battle... not even grief.
Now, only two Spiders remained.
And he had to finish this quickly, preferably before Illumi returned to eliminate Chrollo.
That way, without an employer, Illumi would have no reason to attack him.
He had specifically asked earlier whether Illumi had accepted Chrollo's commission to confirm this.
Of course, there was still the possibility Illumi might act recklessly.
After all, this guy always did as he pleased. Even without the justification of a "commission," he might act on his own whims.
If he had to deal with Illumi afterward, his remaining potential aura would undoubtedly be insufficient.
The worst-case scenario would be Illumi arriving before he could finish off Chrollo.
Then he'd have to face Chrollo, Illumi, and Uvogin alone.
As his thoughts raced, a cold glint flashed in Morrow's eyes, and part of the flowing aura around him swiftly gathered at his feet.
Boom!
Morrow kicked off the ground with explosive force, propelling himself skyward like a rocket.
At the same time, the aura on his right hand sharpened rapidly, condensing into a fluorescent green Shooting Star.
This was the same maneuver he had initially used to escape with the Shooting Star.
In terms of execution, he needed to use Emission techniques to perform consecutive Nen bursts midair, ascending as high as possible, ideally a hundred meters.
Simultaneously, he had to fire a Deceptive Shooting Star downward that would rebound.
Such a complex sequence would only catch the enemy off guard the first time.
The intent was too obvious.
Once the enemy saw it, they'd react immediately and intercept without hesitation.
So in every sense, pulling this trick again in front of Uvogin and Chrollo was practically painting a target on his back.
But Morrow wasn't doing this to escape.
Right now, Uvogin's body radiated an aura of overwhelming fury.
The successive deaths of his comrades had burned away what little remained of his rationality.
So he roughly dismissed the phenomenon of "Post-Mortem Will healing Morrow" from his mind. The only thought left was to smash the Morrow in his sight into pulp.
No matter the cost, he would never let Morrow escape.
Boom!
The moment Morrow used a Nen burst to propel himself into the air, Uvogin violently kicked off the ground, his body enveloped in a surging aura as he transformed into a crimson streak, shooting toward Morrow in midair.
At this moment, Morrow had not yet performed a second Nen burst, so his altitude was only a few dozen meters.
But he didn't need to burst upward again.
Because his true intention wasn't to flee.
Instead, he used the illusion of "escape" to lure Uvogin in.
Morrow was certain that Uvogin, consumed by rage, would do exactly that.
"Deceptive Shooting Star."
Looking down at Uvogin charging through the air, Morrow fired the emerald-green Shooting Star he had condensed in his hand like a bullet straight at him.
A glint of green reflected in Uvogin's pupils, yet he showed no intention of dodging.
He had already gone nearly mad.
He actually intended to shatter the incoming Shooting Star with his body, which was shrouded in a violent aura.
Morrow understood why Uvogin was acting so recklessly.
It was simply because he feared Morrow might use the Shooting Star as a foothold to escape.
So even the slightest possibility was unacceptable to Uvogin.
The progression of the battle, the shifts in emotion... all of these revealed valuable information in combat.
And for someone like Uvogin, an Enhancement-type, to Morrow, he was just... too easy to read.
Boom!
The moment the Shooting Star struck Uvogin, a fierce explosion erupted.
Yet Uvogin, still enveloped in his aura, amplified beyond its usual limits by his fury, plowed through the shockwave like a relentless red arrow, continuing his charge toward Morrow.
Morrow had anticipated this. In an instant, he flipped his body midair, positioning himself upside-down as he gathered aura beneath his feet.
Boom!
Another Nen burst.
Using the recoil, Morrow angled his descent toward the ground while simultaneously drawing Abyssal Sheath from his waist and channeling Nen into it.
In that moment... Uvogin was ascending from below, while Morrow was descending diagonally from above.
Their figures crossed paths in midair.
Uvogin's outstretched hand ultimately failed to grasp Morrow's body.
However, Morrow's inverted descent also meant he could no longer use the trick of stepping on a Shooting Star to escape.
At least, from Uvogin's perspective, he had thwarted Morrow's plan.
But Morrow's response was...
Abyssal Sheath suddenly unleashed a blinding energy wave, slicing through the sky like a blade and striking Uvogin squarely from below!
With no leverage in midair, the impact sent him flying even higher.
At the same time... the propulsion from Abyssal Sheath's energy wave accelerated Morrow's descent.
Crash!
Just before landing, Morrow righted himself and slammed both feet onto the concrete.
In an instant, debris scattered and dust billowed violently.
Morrow shot out from the dust cloud, charging straight toward Chrollo.
Click.
He inserted the hilt of Nobunaga's sword into Abyssal Sheath, using the sheath's suction force to secure it in place.
Now, it had become an awkwardly shaped glaive.
Gripping the glaive in his right hand, Morrow condensed a Deceptive Shooting Star in his left and fired it at Chrollo.
Swish!
The emerald-green Shooting Star shot straight toward Chrollo.
"Sweetheart Guard."
Chrollo conjured a heart-shaped shield in his hand, positioning it directly in the path of the Shooting Star.
He was well aware that the ricochet mechanism of the Deceptive Shooting Star would multiply its destructive power.
Thus, intercepting it with a defensive ability was the safer approach.
The emerald Shooting Star traced an arc through the air before crashing into the heart shield.
Yet upon contact, it shattered instantly, unleashing nothing more than a gust of aura.
Without the ricochet effect, the Shooting Star's power remained limited.
This was also because Morrow's shot had been fired in haste, lacking substantial force from the outset.
His remaining potential aura was already running low.
Offensive Emission techniques were inherently the most aura-draining among Nen systems, unlike Conjuration or Manipulation, which allowed for the recovery of expended Nen by deactivating abilities.
Every Shooting Star fired was a permanent expenditure.
Using this attack as a diversion, Morrow swiftly closed the distance between himself and Chrollo.
In the next instant, he swung his awkwardly designed glaive, leveraging its length to bridge the remaining gap as a razor-sharp blade arc sliced toward Chrollo's body.
Chrollo's gaze remained icy. By now, the heart shield in his left hand had vanished.
This was due to Sweetheart Guard's mechanics; after blocking one instance of damage, the shield required a full "re-conjuration" to restore its formidable defense, regardless of its condition.
Instead of re-conjuring it, Chrollo chose to deactivate Sweetheart Guard entirely, reclaiming the conjured Nen. Now, facing Morrow's slash without the shield, he pivoted gracefully.
A shrill whistle split the air.
Morrow's blade found only empty space.
Having evaded the strike, Chrollo planted his foot and pushed off, advancing toward Morrow rather than retreating.
Unfazed, Morrow shattered the Nen enveloping him into starlight, engulfing them both.
Confronted with Morrow's Starlight Convergence, Chrollo didn't hesitate. His right hand halted the flipping pages of Skill Hunter, selecting an ability.
Clink...
But just then, the abrupt sound of chains rattling cut through the air.
Morrow had gripped Abyssal Sheath with both hands, injecting a trace of aura to eject Nobunaga's sword.
The minimal aura input meant the chains linking the hilt remained anchored to the sheath even as the blade shot out.
Thus, the weapon now consisted of a sword and sheath connected by chains, extending its reach and altering its nature entirely.
With a sharp tug, Morrow whipped the chained blade toward Chrollo's book-holding right hand like a flail.
Simultaneously, he deactivated Starlight Convergence... timing it precisely as Chrollo paused Skill Hunter's page-flipping to activate an ability.
Chrollo's eyes narrowed. To dodge the whip-like slash, he had no choice but to abort his ability mid-activation, leaping backward.
The returning blade hissed past his torso.
Skill Hunter's Limitation demanded the book remain steadily held in his right hand throughout ability activation.
Morrow exploited this very point, preventing Chrollo from utilizing the abilities in his book immediately.
After forcing Chrollo back, Morrow raised the sheath with both hands, flicking it toward Chrollo as if casting a fishing line, while channeling Nen into the sheath.
Whoosh...
The Nen, acting like fuel, abruptly generated a powerful thrust, releasing the chains' suction effect.
In an instant, Nobunaga's long blade shot through the air toward Chrollo's chest.
Chrollo's brow furrowed slightly as his body, having leaped backward, landed and skidded across the ground.
Seeing the blade hurtling toward him, he swiftly sidestepped, letting it pass by.
Yet the moment his body steadied, a stellar cross flared beneath his feet.
It was Morrow's Insidious Shooting Star.
Chrollo sensed it immediately and leaped back again.
However, the stellar cross that had emerged from the ground merely flickered before vanishing.
Morrow had canceled the ability's activation. Suspending Abyssal Sheath at his waist, he surged forward with maximum aura output, accelerating in a sprinting stance and appearing beside Chrollo in the blink of an eye.
Chrollo's peripheral vision caught Morrow closing in.
Morrow immediately threw a punch at Chrollo's right arm.
Boom!
The fist struck Chrollo's arm with force.
Yet Chrollo's mastery of Ryu allowed him to concentrate Nen at the point of impact in time, mitigating the damage.
But Morrow's assault wasn't over.
His other hand extended, palm facing Chrollo at point-blank range.
In that instant, a surge of Nen erupted from his palm, blasting into Chrollo, who had no room to evade.
Chrollo's body was sent flying by the shockwave.
Despite enduring multiple attacks, he still clutched the book tightly.
Noticing this, Morrow pressed on relentlessly.
Leveraging the advantages of Emission, he leveled his right hand, palm aimed at the airborne Chrollo.
At the same time, his left hand pressed against his lower back, Nen gathering in his palm.
Deceptive Shooting Star · Gemini.
Twin emerald Shooting Stars formed in his hands and launched simultaneously, one chasing Chrollo through the air, the other firing backward.
After releasing the twin stars, Morrow kicked off the ground, pursuing Chrollo right behind them.
But at that moment, a massive figure intercepted.
It was Uvogin, who had landed from the air and charged forward immediately.
He positioned himself in the path of the Shooting Star, his fist blazing with a crimson glow.
It was his Ultimate Move, Big Bang Impact, though not fueled by his full aura output.
Even so, the Nen enveloping his fist radiated overwhelming pressure.
Uvogin roared, driving his fist straight into the emerald Shooting Star.
Boom!
The collision of Nen forces triggered a violent explosion.
A shockwave rippled outward in a ring from Uvogin's punch, distorting the surrounding air for an instant.
Morrow's expression remained calm, but a quiet lethality brewed in his eyes.
He suddenly crouched low.
The moment he lowered his head, the Shooting Star he had fired backward arced back, soaring over him and streaking toward Uvogin, who stood directly in its path.
At the same time, his right hand pressed against the ground, Nen surging yet held at the ready.
Right at this moment... Uvogin had just retracted his arm when the second Deceptive Shooting Star came hurtling toward his face. With no other choice, he crossed his arms, channeling his maximum Nen defense.
The Shooting Star struck the intersection of his crossed arms.
Another violent explosion followed, sending a ring-shaped shockwave rippling outward.
The force of the blast sent Uvogin stumbling backward.
"Insidious Shooting Star."
Morrow's held-back Nen was unleashed in that very instant.
This was... a combined assault of deception and displacement.
A stellar cross materialized on the ground behind Uvogin with impeccable timing.
As the shockwave forced Uvogin back onto the position of the stellar cross, a Shooting Star erupted from it, effortlessly shattering both of his legs.
Uvogin's cheek muscles twitched violently, but he gritted through the pain; amidst flying flesh and splintered bone, he only let out a stifled grunt.
But with his legs gone, he was as good as dead.