They stood frozen, staring blankly at the flames, their mouths agape, their eyes unfocused.
Boom boom boom! The roars continued relentlessly.
In the blink of an eye, more than half the building had been destroyed.
Burning debris rained down like a fiery meteor shower.
Inside the building, Nobunaga, still in shock, was jolted back to reality by the approaching roars.
The continuous booming resonated like a death march. Fear had vanished.
'This is his true ultimate move, the Flame Kid!'
He hadn't expected such a devastating technique.
No wonder Loki hadn't worried about their escape. He'd planned this from the start, using the high-ranking Mafia members as bait, and likely destroying the auction items as well.
They'd investigated beforehand; the items were on the rooftop.
But these valuable items were clearly inconsequential to Loki; they were merely part of the trap.
'His only target was us,' Nobunaga realized. Why was Loki targeting the Phantom Troupe? Revenge?
Or was he a Hunter, using them to level up? Many thoughts flooded Nobunaga's mind, yet he couldn't grasp why such a powerful Nen user would target the Troupe.
He looked at Phinks, Machi, and Shizuku, who were equally stunned by the destructive fire. They stood motionless, gazing upwards.
Nobunaga glanced at Shizuku. Machi's words echoed in his mind: 'Shizuku's ability is rare and essential to the Troupe.' Machi would likely be speechless now.
Nobunaga grabbed Shizuku's collar. Shizuku calmly looked at him. "What?"
"We can all die, but not you, Shizuku."
"But there's no escape," Shizuku said, pointing to the approaching flames.
"We'll all be killed."
Facing death, Shizuku remained calm, though surprised by Loki's "Fire Emperor."
Nobunaga smiled. "You're always so calm."
He grabbed Shizuku and went to the edge of the building.
"Who says we can't escape? We just need to make sacrifices."
He jumped with Shizuku. Phinks and Machi stared, realizing Nobunaga intended to save Shizuku with his life.
Shizuku's ability was essential to the Troupe, and Nobunaga was a member of the suicide squad; protecting important members was his duty.
Phinks fell silent, looking at Machi. If they were going to die, he'd save Machi like Nobunaga. But Machi kicked him.
"What?!" Phinks shouted, staring at Machi as she smiled.
"Nobunaga is an idiot! Let him die less hastily next time."
Machi's Nen threads wrapped around Phinks, then Shizuku and Nobunaga.
Phinks was stunned. "No, the flames burn Nen. You'll—"
"I'll stay behind," Machi said.
"The flames burn my Nen threads, but if I die, my Nen might last a while." A Nen user's Nen might strengthen after death.
Phinks fell, watching Machi until she disappeared. He looked up; the flames were a few floors away.
Boom! Another floor was destroyed.
Boom boom boom!
The flames engulfed their previous location. The Nen threads dimmed but didn't break.
The flames pursued him, but he descended quickly.
By the 17th floor, the flames hadn't caught up. The dimmed Nen threads stopped them, but broke a second later. They were 60-70 meters from the ground—safe.
Phinks looked up at the flames consuming the Nen threads. 'Machi...'
...
Loki's Fire Emperor's destruction echoed through Yorknew City, even reaching distant hotels. The red light illuminated half the city.
On a hotel rooftop, Chrollo calmly watched the flames.
"Amazing power," he said.
Boom boom!
Two powerful blasts echoed behind him. Hisoka appeared, striking Chrollo twice.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle! Chrollo slid across the ground, leaving a long mark.
Hisoka emerged from the dust, tasting the blood on his fist, smiling.
"Leader, distracted again! Why can't you focus on me?"
Chrollo coughed.
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