Following the Star Mark's lock-on, Morrow stepped onto the Shooting Star and rushed over at high speed.
When the ripples from the Shooting Star tearing through the sky attracted Bat and the others' attention, Morrow had already used his "Astral Step" ability, blinking instantly to appear before Pavel.
At that moment, all Bat and the others saw was a seemingly ordinary Shooting Star.
From beginning to end, they hadn't detected Morrow's presence at all.
Thus, Morrow casually stabbed his blade through Pavel's life.
It was an inescapable death trap.
By the time Bat and the others suddenly realized what was happening, they were already facing Morrow's suffocatingly powerful aura.
Where did this monster come from?
Their suddenly accelerated heartbeats pounded against their chests like war drums.
A chilling cold spread instantly from their spines throughout their entire bodies.
These physical reactions triggered by their senses made Bat and the others, who had witnessed Pavel's death, instantly feel the presence of death.
Among those present, Bat reacted the fastest.
Facing the overwhelming pressure, he almost instinctively spread his recently folded fleshy wings and abruptly flew upward.
In that instant, he felt immensely grateful...
Grateful that as a Conjurer, after developing the ability to conjure bat wings from his hands, he had maintained the ability's constant activation state out of personal preference.
Because of this, at this critical moment between life and death, he could skip the conjuration process, thus gaining the crucial time needed to directly flap his wings and escape the danger.
Though there was no basis for it...
In that moment when time seemed to stand still, he firmly believed that this habit of keeping his ability constantly activated had allowed him to avoid an imminent crisis.
However, this firm conviction collapsed in the very next instant.
Just as Bat had leaped up and flown away from the ground, he suddenly felt a heavy pressure transmitted from his shoulder.
Just like that, it pressed him heavily back to the ground.
What...!?
When his feet made contact with solid ground, Bat instantly felt his entire body turn cold. With shocked and bewildered peripheral vision, he mechanically and stiffly looked to his side.
Then he saw that a sword sheath had been placed on his shoulder at some unknown time.
It was also at this moment that he suddenly understood; this sword sheath was the source of the pressure that had been applied to his shoulder.
Impossible...
Bat's eyes widened as he stared at the pitch-black sheath opening right before him, actually feeling an intense sense of danger.
This tangible feeling became reality in the next moment.
Light suddenly surged from the opening of the Abyssal Sheath, then transformed into a wave of light that swallowed Bat's entire head, like a light sword slicing diagonally through the night sky toward the horizon.
The light wave instantly disappeared into the distant night.
Bat's head was completely charred black, his body still stubbornly standing upright.
Thump.
Right then, a sound of something heavy hitting the ground suddenly rang out within the area.
It was the sound of Pavel's corpse collapsing.
This abrupt sound also pulled the spirits of Pavel's two other companions back to reality.
What just happened?
These two Nen users from Meteor City now felt as if they were in the midst of a violent storm, completely unable to maintain normal thought processes.
In that brief span of less than two seconds.
They first noticed the arrival of the Shooting Star, then watched helplessly as Pavel was pierced through by Morrow's blade, ending his life.
Before they could even react, Bat, who had been confronting them, suddenly flapped his wings at incredible speed, lifting off the ground.
But the young man radiating an immense aura seemed to have anticipated Bat's move. With just a swift sidestep, he used his sheath to forcefully press Bat back to the ground.
The next moment,
they saw the sheath release a surging wave of light that swept past Bat's head, tore through the night sky, and vanished from sight in an instant.
If not for the sound of Pavel's corpse hitting the ground...
they might have remained frozen in shock.
Even as their consciousness regained control of their bodies, they clearly understood that against this monster before them, they stood no chance of victory.
Or rather,
they didn't even possess the right to "resist."
But it didn't matter...
Their objective had already been achieved.
These two individuals from Meteor City, with death's breath upon them, showed not a trace of fear.
They even abandoned their more powerful Nen, instead using their remaining moments to raise their handguns and fire at Morrow ahead of them.
Bang, bang...!
Deafening gunshots echoed through the warehouse.
Amid the continuous gunfire, two faint sounds of flesh being sliced soon mixed in.
Morrow had navigated through the hail of bullets, using his Poultry Scarlet Knife to sever both their necks.
As the gunfire abruptly ceased, two large heads fell from mid-air, hitting the ground with dull thuds before rolling some distance away.
When the heads finally came to a stop, the frozen pupils within their eyes still held no fear of death.
Their eyes remained calmly fixed on Morrow's figure.
From the very beginning, these Meteor City residents, who held fanatical admiration for the Phantom Troupe, never believed they could successfully assassinate Morrow and the others.
Yet they fearlessly and without regret launched their attack on Morrow's group.
What gave them confidence wasn't the immensely potential power called "Nen,"
but their status as subordinates of the Ten Dons, and their willingness to sacrifice their lives without hesitation.
All this was for...
using their lives as the price to ignite this flame of revenge upon the Ten Dons themselves.
This was the Meteor City way; to effortlessly discard life itself to achieve their goals.
Yet this was also an ugly betrayal, a betrayal of the Ten Dons.
However,
for Meteor City residents who could so easily cast aside their lives, such betrayal wasn't worth a second thought.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
Before the arms warehouse, Bat lay on the ground, his head charred beyond recognition, weak sounds escaping his throat.
Though he had taken the Abyssal Sheath's light wave attack head-on, he'd managed to gain a split second of reaction time before impact.
In that final moment, he concentrated more aura output on his face than usual, barely mitigating some of the damage.
But this hasty defense couldn't change the outcome.
Unless his Ryū had been exceptionally refined.
Morrow approached, looking down at Bat's disfigured face.
As early as last year, when conflict began with the Fingers organization, he had, with Kanzai's assistance, obtained partial intelligence on all Shadow Beast members.
That's why he could instantly predict Bat's reaction, forcibly pinning him back to the ground.
Watching Bat's struggling breaths, Morrow recalled how he had personally killed two other Shadow Beasts members around this time last year.
It had been quite difficult back then.
Now, times had changed; he could kill a Shadow Beasts member without any effort.
What a pity.
Morrow sheathed the Poultry Scarlet Knife, condensing a Shooting Star at his fingertip.
Given his current aura output level, even after killing several Nen users including a Shadow Beasts member, he still couldn't level up directly.
The level gap between them was too obvious.
This was what Morrow found regrettable; he couldn't maximize the life value of these people.
But even if the experience was less, as long as it accumulated, it wasn't wasted.
"Guh... cough... You... just wait..."
Bat's chest heaved violently, his throat squeezing out a hoarse voice.
His already fading pupils were fixed intently on Morrow, as if branding this face into hell.
In the final flicker of his life, he had no energy left to ponder the grudge between Pavel and this monster; only a twisted obsession remained in his mind.
"The Ten Dons... will surely make you... pay in blood..."
"I... in... hell..."
Bat spoke intermittently.
The Shooting Star condensed at Morrow's fingertip shot through Bat's head, cutting off his dying threats.
With Bat's death, the aura output lingering around him showed no change.
Indeed, still not enough to level up...
Morrow looked at Bat's lifeless corpse, concerned only with the Tree Rings experience feedback, completely disregarding the earlier blood-debt threats.
If he feared retaliation from the Ten Dons, he wouldn't have come here directly.
—--
On the roof of a nearby building.
Ging stood at the edge of the rooftop, hands in pockets, watching the scene before the warehouse.
"Quite a variety of tricks, but... used appropriately."
Having observed the recent battle, Ging had witnessed Morrow's methods.
They say quality over quantity; this principle carries even more weight in the Nen System.
But before those with extraordinary talent, so-called principles don't apply.
In Ging's view, Morrow belonged to that small group who couldn't be measured by conventional logic; no wonder he could lead a criminal organization like the Phantom Troupe to ruin.
Hmm?
Suddenly, Ging's gaze shifted, focusing on a deep shadow near the warehouse.
Under his watchful eyes, a man with wolf-like features and sharp fangs emerged slowly from the shadows in a state of Zetsu, staring fixedly at Morrow not far away.
This Nen user was Rabid Dog, a Shadow Beasts member who had rushed over from the underground auction.
Rabid Dog had initially hurried here at top speed, but upon hearing intense gunfire, he immediately switched from extreme motion to extreme stillness, sneaking over quietly.
Then he saw Morrow kill fellow Shadow Beasts member Bat with a single Shooting Star, and also spotted several corpses lying on the ground.
Bat... actually got taken out!
Rabid Dog stared at the figure in the clearing, his heart filled with astonishment.
Based on his understanding of Bat, when facing an enemy, he should have utilized his ability's advantage to immediately take to the skies.
This method of dealing with enemies, while not allowing Bat to disengage at will, shouldn't have led to such a careless death.
Forget it, before the others arrive...
Rabid Dog couldn't figure out what had just happened. All he saw now was a perfect opportunity for a sneak attack.
As long as this person before him dropped his combat stance, he could seize the moment to launch a sudden assault, delivering the poison hidden between his teeth into the man's body.
That's right.
One bite would be enough.
Rabid Dog quietly brewed his bloodlust, slowly baring his sharp teeth as he patiently waited for Morrow to let his guard down after the fight ended.
He watched Morrow from the shadows, while Ging, positioned on the rooftop above, watched him.
Ging had spotted Rabid Dog immediately, but he showed no intention of warning Morrow, merely shifting his sharp gaze to observe Morrow instead.
Time passed slowly.
After a moment, Morrow, who had been looking down at Bat's corpse, suddenly withdrew his Ren state.
The aura output surging like a torrent across his body calmed like a receding tide, switching to the more restrained state of Ten.
This scene was observed by Rabid Dog, lurking in the shadows.
Now!
Rabid Dog burst forth abruptly, his figure like a black lightning bolt, charging straight at Morrow's back.
Though he had secured an excellent chance for a sneak attack, his offensive intent held no pursuit of a certain kill.
Bat's not-yet-cold corpse had already revealed Morrow's strength to him.
So, to increase the success rate of his ambush, all he needed to do was use his enhanced sharp teeth to bite a bleeding wound into Morrow.
This was easier to achieve than aiming for a fatal blow.
It could be said Rabid Dog did not waste this opportunity.
But unfortunately...
Morrow's sensitivity to bloodlust far exceeded Rabid Dog's understanding.
Thus, while Rabid Dog lay hidden in the shadows, Morrow had already detected his presence.
The reason he hadn't switched from Ren to Ten sooner was to wait for Astral Step's cooldown to end.
Otherwise, he would have made Rabid Dog show himself much earlier.
Morrow turned his head abruptly without warning, looking at Rabid Dog as he lunged forward like lightning.
Rabid Dog instantly met Morrow's mocking gaze, his heart jolting violently as he inwardly cursed.
But he was already an arrow released from the bow; unable to change direction now, he could only steel himself and carry through with his initial ambush plan.
No need to inflict heavy damage on Morrow; just bite open a wound would suffice!
Rabid Dog opened his sharp, hardened teeth, ready to tear flesh from Morrow's body.
However...
Morrow's figure vanished into thin air.
The next instant.
Rabid Dog's mouth snapped shut violently, his teeth clashing fiercely with a crisp sound.
He had bitten nothing but air...
No,
Where did he go?
Time seemed to slow down at that moment.
Rabid Dog remained frozen in his forward-lunging, mouth-clamped-shut posture, while behind him stood Morrow, who had abruptly disappeared moments before.
Using his Astral Step ability, Morrow had shifted to Rabid Dog's back in an instant, then raised his right hand levelly, gathering Nen in his palm.
As time resumed its normal flow, Rabid Dog's body landed forward like a wolf, his feet scraping the ground as he plowed a short distance.
Before he could fully steady himself, a sudden heavy blow struck his back, accompanied by a sharp, dull pain that forced his entire upper body to arch forward uncontrollably.
Damn it...!
Rabid Dog was lifted off the ground by the force of the unexpected impact.
Struggling, he looked down just in time to see a condensed Nen bullet burst through his chest, splattering a large amount of blood.
Thud.
As shock twisted his face, Rabid Dog collapsed weakly onto the ground.
—--
On the rooftop of the building.
"Hmm, noticed it immediately... Impressive."
Ging rested his chin on his hand, unable to help but marvel at Morrow's sensitivity to bloodlust.