[082 Staff of Heavenly Punishment A-15]
When you encounter someone you wish to punish, point this staff to the sky, and the one with the greater sins between you and the target will suffer a terrible calamity.
As expected of A-rank rarity, a designated card with only 15 copies available, its power was astonishing.
Even though Murels quickly defended with "Nen," the lightning that descended from the sky still dealt her immense damage. The game screen before her turned red. Specifically, she was bleeding from all seven orifices.
Raising her hands, she saw her health bar as fragile as a candle in the wind, with only a sliver left—a terrible calamity, indeed.
"Truly... one cannot judge a book by its cover," Phinks remarked with emotion.
Murels admitted that she had done many bad things in an objective sense. She had even won the annual performance award for the Zoldyck family of assassins. However, judging by the attitudes of Phinks and Feitan, they likely considered Feitan to be the one with "greater sins."
Wiping the blood flowing from her nose and mouth with the back of her hand, Murels looked utterly bewildered, "Does this game have a bug? I still have a 'Staff of Heavenly Punishment.' Phinks, do you want to try it?"
Feitan: ...
Phinks: ...
"Come on!" Murels spat out a mouthful of blood and opened her card book again. "Do you... dare to play!"
"What's there to be afraid of!" Phinks snatched the card from Murels' hand. "Let's see who's stronger this time! Use [Staff of Heavenly Punishment] to attack Feitan!"
As soon as Phinks finished speaking, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking Feitan.
"Tch," Phinks said with regret, crossing his arms. "Fei, I admit you're stronger right now."
"Isn't that obvious?" Feitan, covered in blood, replied with considerable pride.
As soon as Feitan finished speaking, a player holding a card jumped out.
"...Use [Staff of Heavenly Punishment] to attack Phinks!" the player shouted.
As soon as the player finished speaking, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking Phinks.
Feitan: ...
Phinks: ...
Murels: ...
All three were left with critical health.
"Hahahahaha, I've never seen anyone actively seek death, twice at that! Are you guys idiots?!" The player's mouth twisted with amusement. He had already confirmed with the spell card [Gyo Sight] that these three had rare cards he needed. "Hand over all your cards obediently, and I'll let you off the hook! Don't force me to be impolite!"
"Then let's see how you plan to be 'impolite'," Phinks spat blood and cracked his knuckles.
"Wait," Feitan tossed a small metal object to him.
Phinks caught the object in his palm and tossed it straight up. "Which side?"
It was a coin specially made by the Phantom Troupe, imprinted with a twelve-legged spider. When members had a disagreement, they would flip a coin to decide.
"Tails," Feitan said.
"Heads," Phinks said, catching the coin with the back of his hand.
The result was heads. Phinks, having won, whistled excitedly, appearing vigorous and in no way like someone who had just been struck by lightning.
The player was, without question, immediately defeated by the critical-health Phinks, thoroughly looted, and met a violent end.
"If it were me, I would have made him regret what he said," Feitan said, staring at the corpse at his feet, dissatisfied. "It's a shame he died so quickly."
"No need to waste time on such a minor character," Phinks said, counting the cards he had acquired. "Come over here quickly! There's a new S-rank rarity card!"
[065 Witch's Rejuvenation Potion S-10]
Drinking one pill reduces age by one year, with effects only on the physical body; knowledge and memory remain. Be cautious, as taking more pills than your age will be fatal. One bottle contains one hundred pills.
"This card seems useless," Feitan commented.
However, Murels expressed interest.
"Are you thinking of using it?" Phinks looked Murels up and down. "Seems unnecessary, doesn't it?"
"Can't I?" Murels extended her hand to him. "I want to become a child for a bit."
"You can, but..." Phinks grinned and held the card high. "Becoming a child will bring various inconveniences. It will be inconvenient for Fei too."
"How so?" Murels couldn't quite understand.
"How so?" Feitan extended his hand to Phinks. "Stop blabbering and give me the card."
"Ooh—" Phinks handed the card to Feitan, his smile growing more meaningful. "We also got a B-rank card called 'Elder So-and-so.' Don't forget about it, Fei!"
"I did forget," Feitan took out a card from his card book. From Murels' perspective, she could only see the back of the card. "Since you remember it so well, it means you need this card more than I do."
"Hey! Don't be shy at times like this! After all, we haven't seen each other for three years and four months, you must have been holding back..." After being forcefully nudged by Feitan, Phinks turned to Murels, winking. "I think Murels would also be very welcoming! That Elder thing..."
Before Phinks could read the text on the front of the card, Feitan put it back into his card book. "Shut up, Phinks."
"Hahaha," Phinks laughed and took out another card. "You guys play first, I'm going to look around somewhere else."
He used a teleportation spell card, and his figure transformed into a white light, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
With the boisterous Phinks gone, the atmosphere suddenly turned desolate.
"..." Feitan gazed in the direction Phinks had disappeared.
"..." Murels lowered her head, looking at the ground.
Feitan proactively asked Murels what she wanted to do, and Murels said she wanted to wash her face.
"..."
"..."
The red color spread and faded in the pool water.
Murels washed the blood from her face and hands, and took out a handkerchief from her game backpack to dry herself. Seeing that Feitan had also finished washing his face, she hesitantly offered him another handkerchief, maintaining some distance.
Feitan took the handkerchief, wiped his face, and put it in his pocket.
The Greed Island game had been operational for over a decade. Cards with relatively easy acquisition methods had basically all been obtained by players. Currently, players were busy snatching cards from each other or challenging the remaining high-rarity cards. Players rarely visited places unrelated to card acquisition.
Just as Gon said in the original manga, everyone took the game too seriously, to the point of killing each other to snatch cards, completely neglecting the joy of playing.
Murels took out a picnic blanket from her game backpack and spread it out on the grass.
Feitan followed her and sat on the picnic blanket.
After a period of silence with her knees hugged to her chest, Murels gathered her courage, turned her head to look at Feitan sitting beside her, "...Feitan."
"Fei," Feitan corrected, his gaze fixed on the pool water ahead.
"..." Murels simply omitted the title. "Do you prefer rice or noodles?"
"..." Feitan stared at her for a moment, then calmly uttered a few words, "Rice."
Murels nodded, changing her posture to a kneeling one. She took out a bowl of curry rice from her game backpack and handed it to Feitan, placing a spoon on the curry rice in his hand. Then, she took out another bowl of curry rice and placed it on her lap. She then took out a spoon and began eating the curry rice in her hands.
After Murels had taken several bites, Feitan pulled down his skull mask and picked up the spoon, starting to eat the curry rice.
Feitan finished first. The moment he swallowed the last bite, the physical pain and weakness caused by the "Staff of Heavenly Punishment" suddenly disappeared. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly in surprise. "..."
A few minutes later, Murels put down her spoon and sighed in relief. This curry rice was, of course, not ordinary curry rice. It was a special dish made by Murels using her Nen ability [Unlocked Skill 3: Master Chef] while in her Fire Force state, and its effect was recovery.
The portion of curry rice was very generous, and she felt full, not wanting to eat anything for another four hours, but...
The critical health status was lifted! She was now at full health!
Murels took out a mirror from her game backpack, took out wet wipes, and meticulously wiped the curry from the corner of her mouth. She then offered Feitan a wet wipe and stood up to tidy the empty plates.
"Are you going to throw them away?" Feitan asked as she carried the plates and stepped off the picnic blanket.
Murels nodded.
"Come and sit down," Feitan said.
Murels remained still. Feitan stood up, took the plates from her, and with a frisbee-throwing motion, accurately tossed the plates into the trash can under the distant tree.
Clang.
"!" Murels' eyes widened.
As Feitan reached for the second plate, Murels stopped him. Murels shook her head at Feitan, picked up the spoon from the plate, and with a dart-throwing motion, accurately threw the spoon into the trash can under the distant tree.
Clang.
"!" Feitan frowned.
Feitan picked up the second spoon.
Murels picked up the second plate.
Clang.
Clang.
Four shots, all perfect.
"..." Feitan glanced at Murels. He crumpled the wet wipes into a ball, reinforced them with "Nen," and with a stone-throwing motion, accurately tossed the wet wipes into the trash can under the distant tree.
Clang.
Murels also picked up a wet wipe.
Clang.
Feitan looked at the picnic blanket on the grass. Murels was quicker, reaching out to [Pick Up] the picnic blanket and return it to her game backpack.
"Next, how about we continue playing a game you're interested in?" Feitan said.
"What is it?"
"It's that role-playing game you wanted to play in the Love City when you were supposed to be working."
"..."
The matter of being caught slacking off at work was not over yet!
"Consider it a thank you for the meal," Feitan said.
"..." Murels, seeing that he didn't seem to be being sarcastic, pondered for a moment. "Can you do anything?"
"What do you want me to do?"
Half an hour later.
Murels and Feitan (185cm) walked together on the streets of Love City.
Yes, Murels' request was to experience "height difference."
[065 Elder's Height-Increasing Potion B-30]
Drinking one pill increases height by one centimeter. One bottle contains 100 pills. It is recommended to take it only after the age of 20.
Feitan (155cm) took 30 height-increasing pills in just one minute, but spent almost half an hour choosing clothes. Murels also hadn't expected him to be so finicky about clothing. No wonder he usually wore the same black cloak and rarely changed his style.
A white t-shirt with a bloody skull print, paired with a black long-sleeved hoodie, loose black trousers, and black leather boots with zippers.
Wait, he changed from head to toe.
"Something's still missing," Feitan (185cm) said in front of the store's fitting mirror.
"..." Murels had given up thinking.
By the way, who was accompanying whom shopping? Why was it only Feitan (185cm) shopping for clothes?!
"Oh, right," Feitan (185cm) noticed Murels' mood. "Do you want to buy something too?"
"It's not necessary," Murels politely declined.
After all, Murels had no shortage of clothes. Every time she reported back to Kukuroo Mountain, Kikyo would stuff clothes into her game backpack. Even if she changed outfits daily, she still couldn't wear them all.
But Murels then considered that she was a little curious about what kind of clothes Feitan would pick for her, and whether it was like in fanfiction, where he liked gothic lolita and other dark styles.
Murels casually pointed to a gothic lolita outfit in the store, and Feitan (185cm) replied, "You want to walk next to me dressed like that? Don't you think it's a nuisance? Never mind, as long as you're happy."
What's going on, Feitan (185cm)? In fanfiction, didn't you like dark styles the most? Didn't you like lolita? You're not authentic!
This led to Murels being in a state of world-view collapse, lost in thought.
Items in the Greed Island store were sold in card form. Before checkout, Feitan (185cm) picked up the card for that gothic lolita outfit and asked Murels again, "So, do you want it or not?"
"Don't you really want it?" Murels looked up at Feitan (185cm).
"..." Feitan (185cm) was silent for a moment. "So you plan to buy it for me to wear?"
"It's not necessary."
"..."
Feitan (185cm) could easily see the top of Murels' head. He reached out, inserted his fingers into Murels' hair, and leaned down, bringing his lips close to Murels' ear. "So... you want to know my preference for women's clothing?"
"Stupid," Feitan (185cm) said, placing his other hand on Murels' shoulder, casting his shadow over her entire body. "Hey, Murels, I won't care what you wear, because I'll end up taking it all off anyway—do you understand that?"
Murels' eyes, which were excellent at night vision, reflected slightly in the dark, like a beast with wide eyes hidden in the bushes at night.
She opened her mouth and slowly inhaled, her canine teeth behind her lips showing their sharp tips slightly.
There were shelves behind her, leaving no room to retreat.
Murels exhaled deeply and raised her arms, hooking them around Feitan's (185cm) neck.
"Fei, take me to your bed," she said.
"..."
However, Murels was still stingy with the term "Fei."
The bed that had been creaking for a long time finally stopped. Not only the people, but the air in the room also seemed to become viscous.
"Feitan, I want to try the 'Witch's Rejuvenation Potion'," Murels said, enveloped by Feitan's body heat. "I want to become a child."
"Why?"
"I want to become a child."
"No."
"You don't like me becoming a child?"
"It has nothing to do with me. Why do you want to become a child?"
"I want to become a child."
"No," Feitan refused her again.
Murels finally felt a surge of anger and tried to break free from Feitan's embrace.
"Not now, I'll give it to you later," Feitan tightened his embrace, preventing her from escaping. "My memory isn't very good, so I need more time to remember you."
"Then you need more... mmm..."
"..."
Feitan used the B-rank card called "Elder So-and-so" that Phinks had mentioned. After the card turned into an item, it contained 500 pills in a bottle. It was unknown how many she had consumed. Murels eventually felt her head swimming, barely able to distinguish day from night.
As the saying goes, resist unhealthy games, reject pirated games, protect yourself, beware of scams, moderate gaming is good for the brain, excessive gaming is harmful to the body, arrange time reasonably, and enjoy a healthy life. Kuai Shu Ge.
Afterward, Phinks came to join the fun. He glanced at Murels, who was listlessly eating shaved ice, and then at Feitan (185cm) sitting opposite Murels. A mischievous smile spread across his face. He was probably about to make another inappropriate joke. Just as he uttered the first word, Feitan (185cm) kicked him away.
"Phinks, this is for you," Murels raised her hand.
"Heh heh, Fei, your movements have slowed down quite a bit!" Phinks, having successfully dodged Feitan's (185cm) attack, caught the object Murels threw. "Isn't this a super expensive map priced at 650,000?! As expected of a young lady, you're the first player I've seen who doesn't carry a cheap map. Thanks!"
Phinks was about to say more, but Feitan (185cm) chased him away, saying, "Aren't you going to scram?"
After finishing the shaved ice, Murels, as she wished, received a total of 10 pills of [Witch's Rejuvenation Potion] from Feitan.
Murels: ???
There were still 90 pills left in the bottle!
"That's all," Feitan put the bottle away. "You'll probably eat it recklessly."
"Give me a few more pills! How about... five more! No, five is fine too! Fei—Fei—"
Murels received a total of 13 pills of [Witch's Rejuvenation Potion].
"Fei—" Murels had figured out the trick.
"No," Feitan said decisively.
Unfortunately, the same trick couldn't be used twice.
Alright, Murels took a total of 13 pills of [Witch's Rejuvenation Potion]. Murels turned into a 12-year-old child. She raised her head and sweetly called out "Daddy" to Feitan (185cm).
"..." Feitan (185cm) picked her up to observe. "Did your brain get damaged?"
"Child, child!" Murels (12 years old) happily raised her hands. "I'm a child! I want to eat cotton candy!"
"..."
This state lasted for the entire afternoon. As the sunset dyed the sky red, Murels (12 years old) released Feitan's (185cm) hand. "I need to go home to see Mom. Goodbye, Fei."
"Wait a moment," Feitan (185cm) interrupted her farewell ritual with another question. "Did you get your game console from the leader?"
"Mm."
"Did you also sleep with the leader?" Feitan's (185cm) question this time was a declarative statement.
"..." Murels' (12 years old) silence was the best confirmation.
Feitan (185cm) squatted down and pulled her cheeks with both hands. "Don't say 'goodbye' to me, I don't like it."
Because her cheeks were being pulled, Murels spoke indistinctly, "Then what do you want to hear?"
"What do you want to say?" Feitan countered.
"..." Murels fell silent again.
"Did you have fun?" As he had done countless times that afternoon, Feitan reached out and patted her head.
"...Mm," Murels smiled, took a step back. "Let's play together again next time, Fei."
"Hmph."
After Murels left the game, the player name "Chrollo Lucilfer" in her card book turned into an unlogged gray state.
As expected, Feitan never saw Murels again in his life.
Chrollo saw Murels for the last time in his life when Murels, who had left the game, was teleported back to her game console.
According to the rules of the game "Greed Island," collecting 100 types of designated cards allows one to clear the game. The reward for clearing the game is the ability to bring 3 designated cards back to reality. This means that unless the game is cleared, none of the "magic" in the game can be brought back to reality. Therefore, Murels, who had left the game, was no longer the rejuvenated 12-year-old.
Chrollo had already received a phone call from Hisoka, knowing that Murels had completed the commission to find a Nen exorcist. Before he could even greet her, Murels beat him up without explanation.
Chrollo: ???
Chrollo, who had been beaten up for no reason, was like a stray dog squatting by the village entrance basking in the sun, only to be suddenly punched and kicked by a stranger.
Yes, for no reason. If a reason had to be given, it was that Murels suddenly remembered she could obtain a rare achievement by taking advantage of Chrollo's inability to use "Nen."
[Achievement Unlocked: Defeated the Hunter's Three Beauties]
Originally, Murels had wanted to tell Chrollo before leaving that she was the one who killed Shalnark.
But she then thought that Chrollo would likely not show any exciting expressions. This was because Shalnark's death was not caused by Chrollo's personal negligence, so Chrollo would not feel immense regret or profound sorrow. Having witnessed the deaths of many people around him, Chrollo would only treat Shalnark's death as the most common occurrence in life, merely adding another person to commemorate.
Furthermore, if Chrollo knew, it would mean the rest of the Phantom Troupe would know, Feitan would know, and Machi would know.
It was all harm and no benefit.
Uninteresting. Never mind, she wouldn't say it.
"Ah, sorry, I think I didn't distinguish between the game and reality just now," Murels said with an apologetic expression, waving goodbye to the blood-covered Chrollo lying on the ground. "Have a pleasant life. Goodbye, Chrollo."
Chrollo: ...