Chapter 119: The Stone Hunter and the Wizard's Apprentice

"Hey, Biscuit. How did Biscuit and Sora meet?"

"Oh, I want to know that too."

Gon asked while eating dinner, his training quota for the day finished, and Killua agreed.

"Hm?"

"No, I've wanted to ask you for a long time, but I never had the chance."

It was sudden; they had already met and become teacher and student. Although it had been nearly a month since he told them he would become Sora's teacher, Biscuit was still caught off guard by the recent question and asked back, but with Gon's answer, she agreed.

Come to think of it, the first month had been completely immersed in training, and when they were exhausted, they must have forgotten their curiosity about "Sora and Biscuit's meeting" due to fatigue.

It seems that because my body finally learned Biscuit's training rhythm and got used to it, and I finished my quota, I also had enough time to chat.

"Ah, yes, I see. But if you ask me that, then you haven't heard anything from that idiot apprentice, have you?

Did that idiot only tell you about my 'old hag'?"

I was convinced, but by the way, when I asked myself such a question, I realized I hadn't heard anything from Sora, so I glared at him and asked.

Regardless of how they met, if the only information about him was "old hag," Biscuit decided as usual to punch him away before Sora could say anything. Or rather, this was already Biscuit's decision.

At the very least, although that idiot apprentice didn't talk about Bisque's appearance in detail, he politely stated Bisque's real age, so at least that was known.

Because of this, Biscuit noticed that Gon and Killua were the children Sora met during the Hunter Exam and took care of when judging, so she kept staring at them. Wasting her talent until she got angry.

In fact, the Spartan state of Biscuit's training was because there was still a bit of that aspect in his Root.

"That's not true. Sora said he loves Biscuit because she saved his life."

However, there seemed to be no positive information or impression. Gon answered cheerfully while drinking soup, not intending to pursue it, which made Biscuit even more embarrassed.

"If you really think so, then why do you call me that idiot or monster!?"

"Because it's true."

Biscuit swore at the indirect but direct kindness Gon received from Sora.

Of course, Biscuit's uppercut landed on Killua's chin.

Gon was startled by his best friend, wondering why he didn't learn to keep his mouth shut when he knew what would happen, but he still didn't give up on satisfying his curiosity.

"Hey, Biscuit. Tell me. What did you do, Biscuit, to save his life?"

"... It seems like people are expecting something from me, but I didn't do much. I took the fainted child to the hospital and waited for a while. That's all."

Although Killua's remarks annoyed her, Bisque answered, as she must have treated innocent Gon with malice.

Although looking far away.

"I mean, frankly speaking, when we first met, it wasn't me saving him, but me being about to be killed by Sora."

"What were you doing, Sora!?"

"What was he doing!?"

The story begins with the premise of running diagonally upward without distortion four years ago.

Four years ago, Biscuit was chasing a group of thieves.

The gang of thieves she was pursuing was a group of small-time crooks impersonating the "Phantom Troupe."

Calling himself the Phantom Troupe, he had a spider tattoo somewhere on his body, exactly like the real thing, except the tattoo had no member number, and he seemed confused about the number of members, which is 12, unlike the real thing. Only legs.

It is information that the general public certainly does not know, but the Phantom Troupe itself does not want to hide its information other than Nen Ability, so even if the information is slightly stronger, it is relatively easy to obtain. When cheating without knowing the information, I knew the other party was the smallest of small fry. If it were normal, Biscuit wouldn't even look.

First of all, Biscuit's bounty blacklist, I am neither a Hunter nor a Stone Hunter looking for rare jewels.

Different fields. No reason to pursue it.

However, perhaps because they mistakenly thought that what they did under the authorization of the "Phantom Troupe" was their own ability, they broke into a jewelry buyer's home and cruelly killed the buyer and his wife and child. Jewelry, cash, and valuables were robbed, and the house was set on fire.

... The jewelry buyer was a good friend of little Biscuit, and could even be said to be a friend of the family.

He had a good eye for jewelry and was very sincere about his work. Even if the client's budget was small, he was a buyer who would find and prepare the best Stone within the budget.

And the child's goal was also to become a jewelry designer, which might have been influenced by his parents.

Biscuit had known the child since he was small. When the friend told me he had entered design school, and when the child innocently told me, "If you find a good piece of jewelry, let me design an accessory for you!", I still remember it vividly!

There was no reason not to hunt down these barbarians who slaughtered Biscuit's dear friend and ideal relative, even if she was jealous and envious of them, just because they were in different fields.

On the contrary, I didn't want to hand it over to anyone.

I had no intention of revenge. Biscuit had been reminded many times that she could do nothing for the dead.

That is why this was a way for me to mourn my friend from the bottom of my heart, cherish my happy memories, and still be beautiful.

... But, Biscuit's wish would not come true.

Learning that the fake Phantom Troupe was in a motel in an unsafe area near the slums, Bisque used "Absolute" to erase her presence and then walked to the motel.

As expected, I didn't have much intention of attacking alone, capturing the fake Phantom Troupe, or killing the members.

Someone as strong as Biscuit could easily handle 12 thugs, but apparently, she had obtained information that at least the leader was a Nen user, so Biscuit decided to wait and see for a while.

From the information I got, the leader was also inexperienced as a Nen user. He could only use "Ten" and "Ren," and didn't even know the Nen category; he was likely someone who only knew "Ten" and "Ren."

Biscuit felt that if he wasn't good at it, he might not even be aware of his own ability, because he thought it was just superhuman strength, but that didn't mean she couldn't let her guard down.

Unlike well-behaved martial arts with rules, if it is a fight without rules, giant killings are not that rare.

In a killing match without rules, various situations on the scene will affect a person's ability, and it is possible that one might not be able to display anything at all, or exceed one's original ability.

If you add Nen Ability, which can be said to be the mind of a person who has the ability, it is even more difficult to read the battlefield unless there is a significant difference in basic ability.

Especially those who obtained Nen without understanding it are terrifying because of their ignorance.

If you unknowingly impose restrictions and pledges under certain conditions to increase your Nen Ability and gain power beyond your original ability, if you don't have any words or actions, because you don't know, you are lured into these conditions, even someone as strong as Biscuit can unknowingly satisfy that condition, and the chance of being defeated when she has no way to deal with it is extremely high.

That is why Biscuit would act cautiously even knowing it was an accessory.

That is how much I wanted to crush any possibility of failure and grasp it with certainty. I wanted to kill.

However, Biscuit's plan fell through.

At the same time, it was accompanied by a deafening roar and the sound of buildings collapsing.

"!? What!? Terrorism!?"

Sure enough, he had hardly considered that the cause of this roar was the Fake Brigade he had been chasing.

The damage caused by the Fake Phantom Troupe was cruel and terrifying, but perhaps because they were clever, or perhaps because they were small and lacked courage, they did not have a truly large scale. Arson was just for fun, but there was no flamboyant destruction of buildings like placing bombs.

From their perspective, there should be no benefit, but there was no risk.

Even so, the possibility of sudden terrorism was the same reason I judged that this was not the work of the Fake Phantom Troupe. The possibility was low because it touched upon the problem.

Unexpectedly, I had thought it most likely to be a natural collapse, and while I felt some worry in my heart, because Biscuit and the destination Inn were in the same direction, I temporarily followed the direction of the sound.

Although I thought it was low, the Fake Brigade had gotten into a fight with a Hunter who was hunting the Fake Brigade instead of me, and the sound of that building collapsing rang in my mind, which might have been the cause of the damage; there was also a normal possibility that the Fake Brigade had expected it to reach this point, and Biscuit herself was also curious, thinking she would just take a glance, but when he approached the scene, Biscuit's face stiffened, his pace quickened, and he finally ran.

In the opposite direction to the fleeing slum residents, Bisque rushed toward the place where angry shouts, screams, and the screams of the moment of being harvested rang out, while using "Zetsu" to erase any traces.

What I saw there was————a part of hell.

The abandoned building had completely collapsed.

The other buildings around us were severely damaged and looked like they could collapse at any moment.

Nearly 10 dead human corpses were scattered everywhere like rubble.

And most of the corpses were abnormal.

Those who were caught in the collapse or crushed by rubble could not be called abnormal. But that was only one person.

The bodies of more than half of the rest were cut too severely.

It would not be an exaggeration to say they were disjointed. Most of the time, the upper and lower bodies were split in two, but the cut surface was so beautiful that it could be called art.

Even from a distance, one could see that the cut surface had been perfectly cut without crushing any cells. I don't think so.

Those corpses were already abnormal enough, and the other two corpses were even more abnormal.

One of them had an arm cut very cleanly, and this one too. Other than that, there were no obvious injuries.

And for some reason, when Biscuit saw the cut surface, he realized, "This is impossible."

This corpse, split in two from top to bottom, seemed to have been joined together immediately after being severed, as if a skilled swordsman and a fine Sword had become one in a "reverse cut," but that was all. It wasn't cut because it was too beautiful, but the arm presented a cross-section that had been separated from the beginning.

He was groundlessly convinced that not only was recovery impossible, but healing with Nen Ability was also impossible.

No matter what happened, this arm would never return to its original state. Bones, nerves, cells, even with the help of Nen, could not be connected. At a glance at the wound, Biscuit knew that he was completely dead.

And the other corpse also had no particularly obvious scars.

But he was already dead. This one was also completely dead, the corpse was still divided into upper and lower parts, and it was dead enough to expect the possibility of resurrection.

Neither had any obvious injuries.

But looking closely, the person who had been amputated had a scar below his right collarbone, and the person who had fully recovered had a scar around his left cheek.

It looked more like a hole, like a finger stuck in sand, rather than a scratch. This might be because no blood flowed out.

Bisque realized that the wounds causing this and that abnormality were the fatal wounds of these two corpses.

I thought so, but there was no reason. Theoretically, neither of them was a one-hit-kill wound, and the corpses were too clean, leading to the weapon of this wound being coated with fast-acting deadly poison. There were no signs of pain, there were no sores on his wounds, there were no strange bloodshot eyes or pale eyes on his skin, nor were there wide-open eyes. Neither had any reason to make the wound fatal.

But Biscuit believed it.

It did not appeal to reason, it did not appeal to intuition based on rules of thumb, but it appealed to the part that could only be described as instinct.

They were so beautiful that closing their eyes was like sleeping, but they were certain they were dead, and even if they were lying on a bed with their eyes closed, they would look dead at a glance.

"... What... this?... What is this...?"

I have been a Hunter for about 40 years, and although I am tired of hearing about corpses, I am tired of seeing Biscuit, and when I saw the abnormality that made me shudder, I muttered with trembling lips.

Alarm bells rang.

The rules of thumb up until now, as well as the instinct that transcended the rules of thumb, called for Biscuit to run away.

However, Bisque twisted the alarm bell down and continued forward.

Toward the direction where the flickering sound of destruction rang out. To the battlefield. I ran in the direction of the person who seemed to be the creator of this "abnormality."

"This is no joke!!

I don't know who you are, but why are you stealing my prey!!"

Suppressing the palpitations of the growing alarm bell, with almost shameless pride, Bisque not only released "Ren," wrapping himself in aura, but also returned to his original form from the girl's form and ran.

I didn't confirm all of them, but I confirmed that nearly half of the corpses had a twelve-legged Spider Tattoo, but no numbers were engraved on them.

Apparently, the possibility I thought was low, that someone fought the Fake Phantom Troupe, seemed to be correct.

This was the reason why Biscuit could not run away.

The number of corpses was nine. In that case, there were three Fake Phantom Troupe members left.

Those three people most likely died somewhere other than here, or were simply unable to be seen because they were under the rubble, but if they could still hear the battle, at least one of them was still alive. I don't know who was doing what in what situation, but Bisque rushed over single-mindedly; he was the only one who did it with his own hands.

In the heart of the abnormality.

If he fled here, Bisque would regret it more than losing a friend.

But in the end, Biscuit could do nothing.

I could not break into the battle between "someone" and that man who appeared to be the Fake Phantom Troupe leader.

A man shouted in a screaming voice. "Monster."

Biscuit just watched, deeply agreeing with this statement.

"Someone" stood there, breathing heavily; even from a distance, you could tell she was already out of breath.

I don't know if it was a man or a woman. The clothes were too simple t-shirt and jeans, the jet-black shiny hair was short and messy, neither male nor female was unnatural, and it was impossible to distinguish between male and female, but the person was still in good shape. I only knew that.

Even if her hair was as messy as a bird's nest and her clothes were tattered and stained with blood and dust, she was still beautiful.

At the same time, no matter how you looked at it, this person was covered in scars.

The blood staining the clothes did not just come from the opponent. At least, almost all the blood on his right arm should have been his own, Bisque judged by looking at his right hand bent in a direction it shouldn't have been.

This was a more ordinary sight than I had imagined.

Biscuit's hellish scene; it is possible he saw an abnormal corpse and then discarded it, which could be said to be the most ordinary of scenes.

Except for two things.

The most imaginative way I can think to express it is that the person is holding a stick in their left hand, made of a jewel, of superior quality, which even a Stone Hunter like Biscuit could not afford, and that person's eyes... are more vivid than any jewel Bisque has ever sought, beautiful enough to make the seven beautiful colors of the world fade in an instant, heavenly, the farthest, azure eyes, the supreme blue leading to the Abyss.

Perceiving everything about them.

This person is the one who created that hellish map, the abnormal person.

Biscuit cannot think of a better word than "monster" to describe him.

"Monster," he says.

"—Pierce through the world!"

Even if you listen to the voice, you still cannot identify the gender. Even his age has become ambiguous.

Although not particularly tall, because he is still quite tall, he is about 20 years old. Shouting and shooting with such a young voice.

I turned the Aura wrapped around the weapon in my hand into beams of light and shot them toward the man.

The man screamed while forcefully squeezing out Aura, wrapping it around his entire body. I don't know if it was intentional, but it was a Nen Ability defense, "Hard."

However, Bisque no longer felt pity for the enemy he hated.

As far as my pity for him goes, this is not a useless struggle.

The man's body was split in two.

The man's Aura did not disappear. However, it cut through the man's "Hardness" with overwhelming mass. It is very likely that even if the position of the slash was miraculously guarded by "Hardness," that blade would have cut through without hesitation.

From the man's perspective, from the right shoulder to the left armpit, following the trajectory formed by the opponent swinging the weapon, he was cut by a beam of light and fell to the ground at the same time.

Bisque saw the opponent wanting to solve the problem with his own hands, but could not think of anything.

I had no time to think.

Because the supreme blue was actually turning like this.

When Biscuit's eyes turned a blue brighter than turquoise, aquamarine, lapis lazuli, or Sapphire, the opponent was moving.

"Break through the world!!"

While shouting spell-like words as before, he swung the jewel weapon and shot out a beam of light.

The opponent must have known of her existence long ago, when Bisque arrived here. When I finished off the person who was confronting me at the time, I was about to attack Biscuit.

Bisque did not know if he mistook him for a member of the Fake Brigade, or if he was attacking him regardless.

There was no expression to read the emotions and intentions on the opponent's face, whether it was genderless or genderless beauty, expressionless even with fatigue and pain. I kept swinging my arms.

"Hey!?"

While complaining, Biscuit, who was even lower than her girl mode, still displayed unimaginable agility due to her physique and dodged sideways.

Looking closely at the previous attack, I thought, this light slash shot straight like a Bullet, and I was relieved; this was not my type.

But this relief was short-lived. No, there was no time to say it was fleeting.

"Put it on!!"

If Biscuit dodged, the opponent swung his arm again and launched a slashing attack. Over and over, it looked like he was just swinging his arms recklessly, while the opponent was correctly watching Biscuit's movements.

Even if you know where it will hit, it is difficult to avoid it next time.

The reason little Biscuit could dodge was because he was concentrating on dodging, and the speed at which he swung his arms was not that fast due to injury and fatigue, and the movements were a bit clumsy, so I barely dodged it.

(Wait! So dangerous!! A series of attacks can be dodged, but there is no chance to intervene at all.

I want to avoid it and expect it to run out of gas, but what on earth is this slash!? No matter how I think about it, the Aura in every one of this guy's slashes exceeds his own total!?)

While trying to escape, Biscuit thought of ways to break through the situation of being attacked for no reason, but the more she thought, the more the mystery of the opponent increased.

Judging from the way of attacking, there is no doubt that he is a Nen Ability user, but the opponent exceeds the common sense of Nen.

This way of attacking itself is sufficiently possible for both the Emission System and the Manipulation System, but the Aura contained in the clearly emitted light slashes is inconsistent.

Nen Ability itself can be absurd, but because the Nen Ability Life Energy Aura is a freely manipulated ability, it is impossible to have an ability that consumes more Aura than one's own.

There are also abilities that can be activated by parasitizing others or letting others provide Aura, but in this case, you would obtain the Aura required for activation from the other party, and have the ability to parasitize or supply them. People who have the ability to maintain the ability itself. It is safe to say that there is no ability that does not require someone capable of bearing any burden.

Biscuit tried desperately to avoid it, but in my view, the opponent did not seem to be subject to that rule.

His originally rough breathing became rougher the more he shot out beams of light, and although sweat was dripping, his complexion was getting worse and worse, and the movements of his arms were getting worse. There is no doubt that the opponent should also be able to produce this slash by properly absorbing his own Aura.

However, in Biscuit's view, this opponent was already in a state of high spirits, couldn't even put on a "Mantle," and was an amateur; she didn't know why he would have such an ability. An amateur like this couldn't even shoot a bunch of Netero's Aura continuously, let alone Biscuit like this.

Even if you are the type of person who steals or shares Aura, having received such a large amount of Aura, even a Professional Hunter would turn into a mummy within seconds. The possibility of the opponent using someone else's Aura also disappeared.

Instead, if it was a completely unknown ability, it was judged as a Specialist type. I stopped thinking deeply and tried to use my brain to break the status quo, but I was as worried about the contradiction as possible, so I wanted to be there. Biscuit's head couldn't work properly because it was splitting, and she threw it in frustration at the rubble of the collapsed buildings everywhere.

"Break through the world!!"

However, such huge Stone Crushing was lifted and thrown directly at her, but the opponent did not flinch at all.

Facing Biscuit, the opponent opened up the distance.

Although she was terrified by the sharpness of his slashes and the opponent's unflinching appearance, Bisque was slightly relieved that the opponent chose melee combat instead of long-range.

Biscuit's only means of long-range attack is throwing things, so this is a good opportunity for Biscuit to let the opponent enter between them.

Of course, even at close range, the way that weapon attacks is a threat, and most importantly, how the most abnormal corpse in Bisque's eyes was killed is still unknown. Of course, Biscuit also considered the possibility that it was a close-range attack method.

However, at this stage, the only thing I know is that there is such a possibility.

It's almost like knowing nothing, but even so, rather than waiting for the Aura of the long-range defensive attack to run out, it's better to go in early and finish it.

Judging from the opponent's degree of fatigue, degree of injury, physique, and amount of Aura, Biscuit is sure to end it in one blow. I cannot guarantee my own life at all, but I think it is self-defense, and I can only rely on the opponent's luck.

"World-"

While running, the left arm was raised.

A majestic voice command.

"Put it on!!"

As the command was given, the weapon was swung down. Following the trajectory of the swing, that rod-shaped gemstone weapon, wrapped in a massive Aura, transformed into streaks of light and shot straight out.

The power and size of the slash were no joke, but it was already known that this strike would only fly straight like a Bullet. In fact, you could change the trajectory of the Shoot, flying freely, and Biscuit, having made up her mind, also twisted her body so that even though he had already fired it, it would draw a thin line with the trajectory. She blocked the gap and then clenched her fist so that he could attack as it was.

"!!?"

Biscuit was right.

Streaks of light could only shoot straight. This was not a bluff or anything.

A bluff is not a Retsu.

"Conjuration System!?"

I screamed involuntarily.

Witnessing the weapon I thought would emit a streak of light, it was swung down, shattered into light particles, and vanished.

Knowing this was not a real weapon, but an object created by the opponent's Aura, Biscuit was momentarily filled with doubt: "What!? What does that mean!?"

No matter how crazy and contradictory the attack method was, I thought the system itself was a Manipulation System. The light slash itself could be fully explained by the Emission system, and the control system could be changed to a Specialization, so there were some things in the parts not constrained by the opponent's Nen Ability common sense. Aside from the rules of Constraint and Contract, I thought there might also be elements of the Specialist system, so the fact that it was almost the complete opposite of the system Biscuit assumed made his calm disappear from his thoughts.

And the other person, although they couldn't even put on "clothes," should be an amateur.

This weapon... it can never reach the genuine article, but the Miracle survival that must never be inferior to the genuine article is a long-range weapon. I at least know that if I enter my "distance," it will lose its shape and disappear.

Because that is how I did it.

I knew this from the beginning because I got it by paying my change as a tip.

So this time, I used the change I paid as a tip.

Not knowing what the words Bisque shouted meant, "Conjuration System!?" I was absolutely certain that I would see through the trajectory of the slash and avoid it. It would be even more convenient if you panicked at a surprise that exceeded your expectations.

Twisting her body to avoid Bisque's slash, the opponent swung their left hand and immediately raised their right leg.

Aiming at a certain point with those toes and azure eyes.

He kicked Biscuit's left thigh, revealing a bulge that would likely be praised by someone with a certain hobby, as it was violent and artistic.

Just a kick, without any momentum. I couldn't help but think so.

Compared to Biscuit, if it were a matchstick-like kick from his leg, even if Biscuit had no Aura for defense, the opponent's leg would likely have been broken already.

That is why I should take such a kick and then strike it with a Hard fist. I will do it with my usual Biscuit.

I thought it was an ability derived from the Manipulation System, and furthermore, it was the shock and panic caused by an impossible Conjuration System based on common sense... If there hadn't been an alarm bell from my intuition, I would have done it long ago.

"Woo woo woo woo!!"

Forcibly kicking out, giving up on hitting the opponent, Biscuit assumed an unreasonable posture that seemed to injure her leg and back muscles, her body twisting even more violently as she half-turned to dodge.

In her view, this was the first awkward way of dodging in over ten years, losing her balance, not even having time to fall from a single strike from the opponent.

My instinct warned me, my heartbeat like the bell of an early morning.

Do not take this attack.

Because this attack was the true identity of the anomaly Bisque saw, without any reason or basis, Bisque ignored the opponent and dodged even more than the light slash. Distance.

Fortunately, the opponent's fatigue had accumulated a lot, and Biscuit's clumsiness meant there were many openings, but he could not follow up on the evasion, and after dodging the kick, he sat in place.

I cannot count on running out of gas at the end.

It doesn't matter if you don't run out of gas. Even if your Aura is exhausted, if you are still alive, your opponent will not give up. It is not hard for me to imagine that this "monster" before me, even if it were just a head, would bite me.

In those eyes, there was such an intense "will."

Kneeling on the ground, face pale, the "monster" repeating short and turbid gasps was glaring at Biscuit with a pair of beautiful eyes, so beautiful that even the white-silk-like beauty was somewhat blurred.

Emotions finally flowed from that face.

Azure, the beautiful color of heaven, burning with rage, as if it were the fire of hell.

Seeing this, after putting some distance between himself and the opponent, Bisque finally stood up, regained his posture, and involuntarily gripped his right hand, twisting his face and enduring the pain.

However, the emotions that appeared on his face and in his eyes, as he sprayed blood from his wound, were deep anger.

Then, put the anger into your voice and shout.

"Hurry up! Fuck that old man!!"

I don't understand the reason, or rather, it was a cry too difficult to understand, but this might be an activation keyword.

The left hand that had been digging into the wound separated from the right arm, and that shining weapon reappeared in that hand.

Perhaps the constraint was the depth of the wound, the amount of blood flowing out, the degree of pain, but even so, it could not explain the slash that seemed to be an energy-release type ability in the Conjuration System.

However, Biscuit had already given up on using Nen to explain this opponent's supernatural ability.

Resignation.

That is why I looked for another way and clung tightly to what I found and implemented, which was equivalent to a straw.

"... Leave."

The opponent said for the first time what seemed to be their own intention, rather than a keyword to activate an ability.

"Leave."

Both eyes and voice were filled with anger, and Bisque muttered a sentence that was meaningless to him.

I don't understand. I don't understand. I only know that this is an accusation.

... Until I heard the next word.

"... Kurapika... don't hurt me... I must return to her as soon as possible... she is waiting for me... so... so..."

I said someone's name.

After saying someone's name, he sat down as if he no longer had the strength to stand, but the opponent lifted the Miracle survivor he had materialized again and ordered in a cold voice.

"-Die."

Just before he lowered his left arm to execute that order regardless of Bisque's will, he somehow raised his voice to interrupt him.

"Wait a minute! I have nothing to do with the Phantom Troupe!!"

I am going to tell a fairly recent fact.

Because the opponent suddenly launched an attack without hesitation, no matter what I said, they probably wouldn't believe their own words, thinking that anything I said would just be adding fuel to the fire, so I started fighting without saying anything... However, Bisque saw a glimmer of hope in his rage-filled murmurs.

I held onto this hope and realized it.

"If you're willing, you can strip for me now!"

No reason could be found in her eyes or words. Clearly, he had crossed the point of having blood on his head and reached the extreme theory of "if you don't kill him, he will kill you"; he was going mad.

But... if the reason he went berserk wasn't his own survival instinct, but for the sake of someone else... to protect someone other than himself... then I hope it will work.

To protect others, I thought that if anyone other than me was within sight, even if that person wasn't there, they could hear.

I thought that if Biscuit wasn't an enemy, the words would reach his heart, so Biscuit appealed.

"I am a Hunter chasing the person you killed! I am angry that you stole my prey, but if it was to help that Nantoka child, I cannot complain, and of course that child and you... I have no intention of letting myself be harmed!!"

It was too late to continue appealing for the obvious.

During that time, the opponent did not swing their arms.

Holding a shimmering rod-like weapon, Bisque continued to speak, eyes wide open.

I still couldn't find anything that seemed reasonable. However, the anger on his face gradually faded, and the hostility and murderous intent dissipated along with it.

"............ Wrong?"

His eyes were wide, his left arm still ready to swing down a slash at any moment, but even so, his rage had vanished, replaced by a voice full of doubt, stammering out the words.

"... Phantom Troupe Spider isn't...?"

That Biscuit was not my enemy, the Phantom Troupe Spider demanded to be sure.

Answering this question, Bisque gently raised both hands to avoid provoking the opponent, nodding to indicate that she had no hostility, no Malice, and no intention to fight.

As Biscuit nodded, the strength in the Finger holding the weapon seemed to relax.

Biscuit widened her eyes. Of course, it wasn't because the Aura weapon had disappeared.

The color of the opponent's eyes had changed.

Gradually, as if watching the color of the sky fast-forward to the Sun setting, I could declare that the azure brightness, more beautiful than any gem in the world, gradually faded and settled into a sapphire brightness.

Just like the lightness in my eyes, the raised left hand fell. Instead, the right hand slowly lifted, without strength, and both hands reached the same height; the opponent looked down at their own hands and began to stare.

Bisque, who had been observing the movements with her hands raised in a surrender posture, finally noticed.

The opponent's gender was most likely female.

There was no other basis for this. I just had this feeling for some reason.

The person looking down at their own palms in a daze looked terrifyingly young. She looked like a young girl.

At first, she didn't even know her own age, let alone her gender; she looked like a lost child under 10, like a confused child.

The child-like girl stared at her palms for a few seconds... suddenly, large teardrops overflowed from her azure eyes, making Biscuit's reaction even more troublesome.

Because she looked like a small child, for some reason, the guilt in her heart made her cry, and not knowing whether to approach her or not, she panicked on the spot; the girl cried... she kept staring at her palms, twisting her beautiful face into an expression that could only be described as despair, continuing to mutter to herself.

"I'm sorry," she repeated the words of atonement over and over again.

"Hmm? If the Fake Phantom Troupe Spider thinks I'm reinforcements, it won't help, so if you can understand, that's fine, right?"

Unlike crying or sobbing, Biscuit was confused by the silent but heartbreaking tears, pursuing with questions, but unfortunately, Biscuit's follow-up was meaningless.

This woman was not apologizing for attacking an unrelated Biscuit due to a misunderstanding.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Shiki-kun, I'm sorry..."

"Although you taught me, although you went to the trouble of teaching me... you taught me why it's bad... I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you... I'm sorry..."

She was apologizing to someone else, not someone within sight.

She continued to express deep regret and sadness for wasting someone's teachings.

Biscuit noticed an apology she hadn't expected; sure enough, Biscuit was provoked, but that apology ruined someone else's teachings and turned into an apology for something else—what was she apologizing for?

Biscuit had misunderstood.

I realized what I had misunderstood and felt deep regret.

Even if I lost my mind, lost control, if it was for someone's sake, if it was to protect someone else, I thought we could talk.

At first, I thought it was just a monster, but when I got angry and appealed that I had to return to someone, I saw the humanity in the monster, so I took it as a glimmer of hope and decided to offer help. Using it and appealing was not a mistake, thinking it would be a reliable rope to draw out reason.

What she misunderstood was the opponent's values.

The girl cried, looking down at her terrifyingly dirty hands, apologizing over and over again.

I know that no matter how many times I apologize, I will never be forgiven; even if I endure unforgivable punishment, I still keep apologizing.

"—I'm sorry, for killing you."

The person who created that anomaly, the person who created the hellish scene, might be the most "human" person I know, someone who cannot turn a blind eye to the Heavy weight of the crime of "murder" that should not have been committed.

This girl wasn't looking at her own palms.

She saw the blood stained on her hands, not her own blood, but the life she had taken.

The blood staining her hands... the weight of the life, I will not use the excuse that the opponent was a criminal or that my actions were self-defense to look away; I carry everything on my back, stare at it, accept it, and hold it in my arms. Biscuit noticed that she continued to apologize.

Continue to apologize, bear the guilt alone, and do not pass it to anyone.

Even if she gave up her reason and humanity, she still wanted to protect it and hold it within your body.

The words "You're not bad" were not spoken.

To say such a thing to someone who continues to atone with so much sincerity would be tantamount to blaspheming their atonement.

Thus, Biscuit bit her lip, looked down, and continued to regret.

My hands might be more stained with the blood of others than hers.

My hands are too easy to justify like this; I looked away, and although I cannot look straight ahead and carry it on my back, unlike this girl, I don't want to live for others. However, he continued to regret facing her with a sin she couldn't bear.

The girl apologized over and over again.

While continuing to apologize for the killing and the life, her body swayed. Bisque was leaning.

Sure enough, Biscuit, who had been standing still, rushed over, but it was too late; the girl had collapsed to the ground.

Kneeling beside the fallen girl, Biscuit shouted, "Are you alright!?"

Then, she extended her broken right hand and her abnormally feverish left hand, and crawled up from there.

"!? What are you doing!?"

Even crawling with a body covered in wounds was nothing more than the movement of a slug, but even so, the girl ignored Bisque's reprimand and continued to move forward.

Rather than apologizing, it is better to speak your thoughts.

"... Fugura... I must..."

Continue moving forward.

To the place you must go.

Find a place to return to, crying while carrying what cannot be borne; even if my legs cannot move, I still continue forward.

"I have to go home... that girl... Kurapika... is waiting... for... me... I..."

Even if not pardoned, even if the right to commit suicide is lost, becoming a living sinner, no matter how long one lives, there is nothing to count on after death, yet they still ran away in fear. The only ending is falling into the Abyss, and in the end, falling into emptiness, falling into "", I am still searching.

Even if he does not forgive this sin of mine, even if he rejects this sin of mine, as long as he is alive, as long as he is happy, I can carry all my sins.

His dream is to live a happy life from now on; this is the path he chose, regardless of the burden of sin.

In order not to forget that small path, the girl gathered her remaining strength, crawled forward, and reached out to walk.

"――――Kurapika"

However, that hand could grasp nothing... the blood-stained hand fell to the ground.

Exhausting all her strength, the girl's consciousness sank into the Dream World she feared most, the greatest punishment she had ever dreamed of.

Looking down at the sleeping girl who was already exhausted and whose breathing was so weak it seemed it could stop at any moment, listening to the sound of the patrol car finally arriving, Bisque looked down and muttered to herself, her face twisted in pain.

"... What are you doing?"

This is the meeting between Biscuit Krueger and Sora Sikiori.

This is the beginning of the edge of rot.

＊＊＊

"... If Kurapika knew this story, wouldn't he vomit blood out of guilt?"

"I would. Definitely."

When Killua heard the story of Biscuit and Sora being killed due to Sora's atrocities, Gon agreed with a serious expression.

It wasn't about the meeting between Biscuit and them, or even the past of Sora and Kurapika; they had only heard the old story of Yorknew.

The reason was that Killua didn't want to listen, so Gon was very concerned about Killua, but even more concerned about Kurapika and Sora.

From the interaction between Sora and Kurapika, I don't know why Sora's first kill was to protect Kurapika. A Heavy feeling filled their hearts.

If you think about the current Sora, her emotions are incredibly unstable, but if you think about it carefully, even Sora's current emotions are unstable.

It is just maintaining a seemingly normal magical balance; the essence is extremely unstable.

She was the same four years ago as she is now.

Even now and in the past, she has not changed to the point of being cruel enough not to kill, a person who would face crimes head-on even at the cost of her own spirit.

The only thing that changed is that Sora is better at Hidden things than she was four years ago.

I am just better at pretending to be fine, even when I am not. Although he did not look away, from the side, it looked like a state where no crime could be seen.

And all of this is for others, not for himself.

I understand, because I will never hand over my sins to the people I want to protect, so only I will be hurt. Endure everything.

Killua and Gon continued to look down with dark faces, knowing once again the pain and suffering hidden behind her bravado.

Although they seemed to feel guilty for letting Sora bear such a Heavy burden alone and living a happy life from then on, she is the reason she lost her "right to suicide." Kurapika, even if Sora never handed over her own guilt, he would definitely vomit blood without metaphor, because his guilt would be even more severe.

Emotionally, let alone vomiting blood, I want to hang myself right now.

"Yes. In that case, I am glad that 'Kurapika' is not here."

Biscuit also continued his words, with a subtle expression, seemingly convinced by the words of the two.

"That stupid disciple's emotions are unstable; frankly speaking, this is just the beginning, right?

I mean, I don't want to say it, but at that time, that girl still had many decent parts, so it was really difficult."

As she spoke, Bisque's gaze sank.

When talking about the past, although Biscuit herself had no way of knowing, he had a look of regret, which was the cruelest condemnation he gave himself.

I am sure she has regretted it since four years ago.

Even now, Biscuit has not looked directly at the life taken from her like Sora did.

He did not take a life directly, but grasped a life he could not protect, just like encountering the death of her friend.

As for the life I have lived, I appropriately justified it to myself and lightened it so that it would not become a burden of life. I cannot help but think, but if I looked at it directly like Sora, it would be broken like Sora.

And I don't think I could be broken like Sora.

That is why, without looking away to think, Bisque still regrets it, because he decided to atone for that sin when he dies.

I cannot help but regret that if I had arrived at that Fake Brigade earlier, Sora would not have had to dirty his hands.

After a long time, he recalled his regret so vividly for the first time, making him feel depressed, but when he finished talking about the battle with Sora and looked back at what happened after, Biscuit's regret did not disappear, but quickly dissipated. Gone. Paddy field.

"Um, Biscuit? What's wrong?"

"... What on earth is that idiot doing?"

Gon and Killua felt the atmosphere around Biscuit suddenly fade from the gloomy atmosphere, and asked in confusion.

Answering this question, Biscuit opened his mouth and said: "It's not that child's fault, but...", but Biscuit's face was pale.

Just as he said, he knew Sora was not at fault, but he was surprised... or rather, he was overwhelmed. Started talking.

If the previous story was a confession, later I will ask the two of them with a cunning look, enough to show that they were just complaining.

"I'm just asking, but you both know the consequences of that idiot overusing his eyes, right?"

"? Yes, I know, but what is the problem with that?"

"………………One."

Gon did not quite understand Biscuit's question, tilting his head as he answered honestly.

Gon looked toward Killua; Killua understood Biscuit's intent and demanded an explanation, but Killua clutched his head with one hand, enduring a headache, which left him even more confused.

"Huh? What's wrong, Killua?"

"... No matter what I do, I am powerless... He is already used to the aftereffects now; even if he can't see very well, he will calmly walk around the surroundings... However, he is far from being used to it. If the aftereffects appeared for the first time, what do you think would happen?"

Upon hearing Killua's answer, Gon paused, then raised his voice, his face turning pale.

Judging by this reaction, even if the two did not say it, they had already guessed what had happened, but that did not mean they did not have the option of not telling Biscuit.

"... That child is not bad, though it is the story I sympathize with most, but listen. My troubles."

The second part of the tedious old story had already begun.

＊＊＊

In one of the hospital rooms, Bisque had returned to her young girl appearance, sitting in a chair and watching.

While waiting for her to wake up, I watched the beautiful girl who was dressed like a doll.

The enemy who slaughtered and annihilated the Fake Phantom Troupe, that is to say, the enemy of Bisque's friend, was indeed the woman Bisque's intuition had anticipated.

It had been nearly a full day since the slaughter or since she was almost killed, but this was all I knew.

No, many things had already been clarified.

We already knew the girl's name, how she ended up fighting the Fake Brigade, and the person she so wanted to protect.

It seems this girl... Sora was unluckily staying at the motel where the Fake Phantom Troupe broke in, and it seems she was dragged into it because of her beauty.

The boy she took away, who seemed to be five years younger than her, was exactly the "person" she wanted to protect... Kurapika.

When checking into the Inn, I was the one who handled the "sister-brother" paperwork, but according to the motel staff, the hair color and eye color were different, and the face shapes were similar or not similar. They were not, so it looked like a duo that could not be considered real siblings.

I do not know what the real relationship was. However, Sora was an important person to both Kurapika and Sora; although he knew Sora was involved, the staff member who pretended not to be involved because he did not want to get involved was himself. An excuse for justification.

Kurapika came out of the room into the lobby and noticed the Phantom Troupe related to Sora; however, one of his arms seemed to have been taken by a Hatsu.

From there, the testifying staff and other customers saw the child grabbing a person's arm with his bare hands, and they were all panicked; the story was incoherent, and the details were not very clear.

The information that was finally collected was supplemented by Biscuit's imagination: the moment Kurapika's arm was taken, Sora screamed and threw something at him, swallowing part of the Fake Phantom Troupe's Fire, and she just ran away with Kurapika and his torn-off arm.

After that, what happened to the boy named Kurapika, and why Sora was forced to confront the Fake Brigade even though she was able to escape once, is currently unclear.

For the time being, thanks to the fact that her battle with the Fake Brigade was too flashy, the people who had nothing to do with it escaped quickly, and fortunately, the only opponent Sora was complacent about was the Fake Phantom Troupe.

The identity of the person named Sora remains unknown, but the victims were the Phantom Troupe. Alive or dead, dead or alive, because she was a violent criminal, she became the leader of a bounty group, and because she was under the protection of the Professional Hunter Biscuit, she would not be charged with a crime.

... Conversely, Biscuit silently watched Sora, who continued to sleep, thinking perhaps she wanted him to condemn her in an easy-to-understand way.

Thinking while watching.

What should I say when she wakes up?

I was thinking about what I should ask her, or whether I should tell her what I knew, but I could not put my thoughts together.

There were too many things I wanted to ask, and I did not know where to start; if I were to teach her something, Biscuit might not have the information she wanted most.

The whereabouts of the boy named Kurapika and his life or death remain unknown.

I should not expect him to be alive due to his injuries, but for some reason, the body has still not been found.

Biscuit thought that it was precisely because she lost the beloved boy that Sora lost her mind and sought revenge; hearing that the body was not found, I was happy. She hoped that the beloved person she so desperately wanted to protect was still alive, and only this saved her.

However, if Kurapika is still alive, he is a too-conspicuous one-armed boy.

Facing this situation, Biscuit could only tilt her head.

"... Really, who are you?"

Mumbling while stroking the cheek of Sora, who was sleeping like a doll.

Even Biscuit herself did not quite understand why she was still staying up late waiting for this girl to wake up.

Biscuit had many things to report to the police and the Hunter Association because she was involved, and there were too many things she did not usually understand, so she wanted to unravel the doubts even a little bit. That, but it would be better to wait for the hospital to report "consciousness regained" at a nearby Inn or somewhere. There is no obligation to wait until you wake up in the hospital room, like family and friends.

If I dare to say why I am waiting, even if I have no such obligation, it would be the consequences and guilt.

She cried too childishly, apologizing incessantly: "I'm sorry, I killed you." I had a sense of guilt in my heart, as if I were carrying the guilt that should have been carried. I.

In the future, Biscuit did not know if she had to endure such great suffering because she wanted such selfish self-satisfaction.

When asked if she regretted it, he turned away without answering.

Biscuit did not answer whether he regretted it or wished he had not been involved, but he answered that it was precisely at this point that his suffering began.

"... Uh... um..."

The moment I raised my voice.

When his thin eyelids slowly opened and eyes like pure Sapphire appeared, that was the moment that decided the hardships of Biscuit's future.

"!... Good morning. Do you remember me? Or do you understand?"

When Sora woke up, Biscuit pressed the nurse call button to let the doctor know that Sora had woken up, and spoke to her with an awkward smile.

When I met Sora, Biscuit was a version of her true form, so I actually knew that what Bisque said was very unreasonable, but I did not know what else to say, so I just smiled vaguely. Waiting for Sora's reply.

However, it did not matter whether little Biscuit's words were unreasonable or not.

No matter what she said, no matter if little Biscuit was here or not, no matter if there were other people, her reaction at this moment would not change.

At first, his eyes were blank, as if he had not heard Biscuit's words.

The reaction of the surroundings had just woken up, and Biscuit naturally did not care about anything.

Biscuit asked: "Are you okay?" and then waved her hand in front of her.

Gradually, the half-open eyes slowly opened, and the half-asleep, half-awake eyes began to clear up.

Just at this moment, that blurred face twisted because of waking up.

Lying on the bed, the sapphire-blue eyes turned violently. Looking around, searching for something, moving back and forth, repeating back and forth several times, and when his gaze returned to Biscuit, he raised his head.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Twisted into despair, Sora let out a scream filled with terror.

Using both hands, he did not hesitate to thrust his Finger into his own eyes.