Chapter 18: Vortex X Vigil
"Sing."
Instantaneously, the three segmented gears of the drill shape "blade" screamed in a high pitch screech due to the speed at which they began to rotate. The ferocity of each spinning section created hurricane like winds, the entire arena felt the wind pressure as if they were about to get sucked into a tornado.
The intricate red lines on the drill shape "blade" roared to life, expanding from out of the blade. Hot condensed red lines spasmed like a fish on fire as it attacked everything in sight. Like a miniature bomb going off, the red hot lines eviscerated from the initial impact and the heavy hurricane winds pushed and carried the red lines of destruction like a long held note from a deadly instrument.
The King of King's Sword: Ea was a chord of devastation.
The entire platform was reduced to rubble and nothing was left of the unfortunate referee who died instantly.
Gilgamesh remained alone in the self induced crater, now standing about even of the tunnels the fighters exit from, even the elevated stairs leading to the square tile arena was blasted to smithereens.
From the harsh winds and the red curse riding on Ea's song annihilated every person standing in the first sections in the audience. What remained of their meaningless existences were white dust, minced flesh, and blood. In that instance, Gilgamesh killed seventy innocent bystanders.
Adam, with both arms and legs missing, watched the horrors from above. His limbs were a necessary loss to prevent himself from dying to Ea's song.
"Unbelievable! Gilgamesh stands at the epicenter of that strange ear shattering explosion and it appears it did significant damage to Adam!" Cocco shouted much louder than usual into the mic. As previously mentioned, three experienced Nen Users were in attendance to watch this Floor Master spectacle and they managed to react fast enough to protect themselves with a Ten.
And even more specifically, only the pink haired lady predicted the deafening screech caused from Ea's Song, activating the advanced Nen technique Ko to add an extra protective layer of defense on her ear drums. Due to her keen instincts, she avoided suffering from future hearing loss.
And as for the non Nen Users in attendance, in five years, they would all go deaf.
"Impossible!" Adam screamed in horror and pain as his body continued to leak out blood. His pupils rattled as he glared at the smug and uninterested Gilgamesh. "That ridiculous amount of Nen shouldn't have been possible."
"Are you deaf?" Gilgamesh asked. "Don't make me repeat myself you baboon, I told you. We do not dwell on the same planes of existence. What is possible or impossible to you does not have anything to do with me."
Adam swung his left bleeding stump. "Nonsense! That apple you ate should have put you in a state of Zestu."
The glasses wearing Nen User shot up from his seat in disbelief. 'If that were true? Then, he caused this much damage in a suppressed state? How much Nen does he have?'
"Zestu?" Gilgamesh repeated, while putting his two index fingers to plug up his ears. At his side, an orb of white aura manifested and then it all happened too quick for Adam to perceive it, the conjured sword shot from the gate and pierced through his head, killing him for good this time.
With a wet thud, Adam's corpse slapped the concrete.
"Ladies and gentlemen, after three years, we finally have a new Floor Master!" Cocco screamed into the microphone which resounded throughout the whole 251 floored building. "Please give a warm welcome to our new Floor Master, Gilgamesh!"
Ceremoniously, Gilgamesh lifted his arms and relished the worship to the true King.
…
Without any desire to stay any longer, the pink haired lady, Machi rose from her seat and left the arena. Of course to her disapproval, Hisoka followed in her footsteps. It only took them three minutes to abandon the arena and find a concealed area to speak privately.
"Why are you following me?" Machi demanded, leaning her back on the hallway wall.
Hisoka amicably threw up his hands and rolled his eyes. "Why are you being so harsh? You were the one who came here to find me."
Machi sighed. "I have a message from the Boss. The Spider will be at York New."
The edges of Hisoka's lips trembled. Due to Machi's keen observation skills and instincts, she caught the subtle mannerism and the intent but there was no reason to fear Hisoka's desires in challenging Chrollo, because she was confident that he would never lose.
Casually, Hisoka folded his arms. "When? I have certain obligations to attend."
Intrigued, Machi kept her gaze locked on the clown. "You have more pressing matters than seeing the Boss?"
"Surprisingly, so," Hisoka muttered, pulling out a single rose from his pocket. He sniffed the flower. "I had a whimsical encounter during the winter and during the spring, our encounter will be a whirlwind of excitement."
'Creepy.' Machi thought, but then she picked up the time of this encounter.
"You're not talking about Gilgamesh?" Machi inquired.
After calming himself with the aroma wafting from the rose, Hisoka's attention snapped onto Machi. "I would love to play with Gilgamesh one day but this boy is much more interesting."
'Someone more interesting than him?' Machi wanted to doubt the clown but she could see the bloodlust ooze from the man. Unable to contain the worry coming from her instincts, Machi sensed danger. She felt a weight swell in her gut and it was only magnified from the overwhelming fear that assaulted her senses due to Gilgamesh's dominating victory.
To control her actions and appearance, she readjusted the hairclip that kept her pink hair in a pony tail. "Does this man have a name?"
"If you lay a finger on–"
Machi threw up her hands, interrupting the clown's threat. "Promise, nothing will happen."
"I will tell you but you will owe me," Hisoka demanded. "I want to see those stitches again."
"Deal."
"His name is Sinbad," said Hisoka while smiling, unable to contain his excitement.
Machi nodded and then began walking away. "September 1st. York New City."
She rode the elevator down Heavens Arena, thinking of the strength that Gilgamesh displayed even in the condition he was in, the Transmutated Apple forced the eater to be placed in a state of Zestu. Due to his overwhelming amounts of Nen, it couldn't suppress all of his Nen.
If that wasn't the case, Adam may have accidentally saved the lives of everyone in the crowd. She was sure that even Hisoka was also aware of this fact but yet he still had this Sinbad person burning on his mind. It was if Gilgamesh's strength meant nothing to the battle frenzied clown. Because of Machi's nature of answering the unknown, she became curious about this Sinbad character.
After ten minutes of riding the elevator alone, it reached the bottom of the tower. She exited, walking toward the only entrance and exit of Heavens Arena. The main lobby buzzed and suffocated with injured and joyous people, survivors of the Floor Master fight raved about the spectacle they witnessed.
Annoyed by the crowded environment, Machi was desperate to leave. Weaving and brushing past the chaos, she bumped into someone who was also in a rush to their destination. Her eyes immediately scanned the rude man without any sense of awareness.
The perpetrator had long purple hair tied in a long flowing pony tail, a few strands of hair fell over his hairline like bangs, big round gold hoops hung from his earlobs, and dressed in an open blue tailored coat, underneath was a purple vest. A gold sash wrapped around his waist, his trousers were white and loose for free range of movement that reached his ankles, and finished it with black boots.
The man's expressive eyes widened in shock and apologetic.
Even under Machi's intense gaze, she didn't notice that her hand was taken from the man and held in a gentle embrace with both hands.
"I apologize for my carelessness," the man apologized in a sincere tone. He flashed a blinding smile as if the lights that shined above played a part in his charming act. "It must be destiny for us to bump into each other like this."
Swiftly, Machi snatched her hand free of the man's grasp. She rolled her eyes. "I doubt it."
The charming boy leaned forward into Machi's personal space but couldn't find the strength nor did she wish to put more distance between the two. The man was too alluring.
"Don't fight destiny," the man replied. "It has a funny way of rearing its ugly head like chasing after the wrong horizon."
Genuinely confused, Machi tilted her head but before she could think of a retort, a figure approached from behind.
"Sinbad! Why did you suddenly leave us behind?" A shorter kid with white hair snapped.
'Sinbad?!" Machi's heart pounded and her face flushed with heat. 'Destiny? No, there is no such thing, this is a simple coincidence.'
"Sorry, Killua." Sinbad rubbed the back of his head. "There was something I wanted to take a look at but I ran into this pretty lady and you caught me in the middle of my apology being accepted."
"I'm not accepting your apology," replied Machi, crossing her arms.
"I don't care!" Killua shouted, stomping his feet. "We need to sign up and we are about to lose our spot!"
"Got it, just stop yelling at me," Sinbad sulked as Killua stormed back off. He watched his friend leave and then switch his attention back onto Machi. "If I will not be forgiven, can I at least get your name?"
"Did you see what you were looking for?" Machi asked instead of offering up her name.
Playfully, Sinbad stared at Machi as if his eyes were smiling. "I found something better to look at."
Machi's cheeks flushed from the unexpected flirting, she wasn't equipped with the tools to handle such a situation, especially from such a daring and charming man. So, she turned away to flee.
"Will I not have the honor of knowing your name?" Sinbad called out.
Not wanting to be seduced even further, Machi shook her head and pushed the people in front of her out of her way.
"Miss! One day, my ears will be blessed to hear your name! Till then, hold it close to your heart!" Sinbad shouted over the roaring crowd.
Machi refused to stop or process the words she heard or she would short circuit.
'No matter what, I must stay away from that man,' Machi thought with burning conviction, now fully aware of the dangers he possessed. From this small exchange, she understood Hisoka's obsession and even saw a bit of Chrollo in him.
Not to mention, his vast almost sentient En, Machi felt the man's oppressive Nen inspect her every pore on her body.
Quickly, she rushed out of Heavens Arena.
…
With an amusing eye, Sinbad smiled. He watched the pink haired beauty rush out the moving electric doors. He was a bit surprised by her quick reaction to shut down from his flirting, quickly he surmised that she must be unaccustomed to such interactions. At this Sinbad couldn't wait to tease her again, because he knew Fate would bring them back together because their Threads were intertwined.
By the time Sinbad, Killua, and Pokkle registered their names and received numbers to go to the 50th floor to begin their ascension of Heavens Arena, the restless crowd finally showed signs of dissipating. Sinbad wasn't shocked by the legacy Gilgamesh accumulated over his time conquering Heavens Arena but he was extremely interested in his Nen Ability.
Together the trio, led proudly by Killua, traveled to the wide elevator doors and waited for it to open.
Pokkle took a deep breath. "I'm a little nervous but I'm sure after surviving the Hunter Exams, I can handle it."
Killua rolled his eyes. 'This guy is all cocky but he was snuggling up with Sinbad the whole time.'
"Can he handle it?" Sinbad asked Killua but then his attention snapped above him, sensing someone entering his En.
Killua smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "If he actually learned a thing or two when we were taking turns "training" him."
Pokkle clenched his fists. "I am not a close ranged fighter!"
"It doesn't matter! No weapons are allowed until floor 200." Killua pointed a finger in Pokkle's face. Then he threw up his hands and flashed a cocky grin, his face appearing like a cat. "I doubt you even make it that far."
Pokkle shook his head. "I will!"
Killua ignored the boy's response because his attention switched to the unusually quiet Sinbad as he stared up at the wall right above the elevator doors.
"What are you looking at?" Killua asked, waving a hand in front of Sinbad's line of sight.
Sinbad ignored him.
The elevator doors dinged, signaling the arrival of the long awaited elevator. Slowly the doors retreated and the inside of the cabin revealed itself. A tall blonde in an azure vest, adorned in gold jewelry and a beautiful lady in an all black woman's tuxedo.
Floor Master, Gilgamesh and his assistant, Imane.
In a friendly gesture, Sinbad raised his right hand and smiled to greet them. They started to depart from the elevator.
"Hey, Gil–" Sinbad cut himself off as Gilgamesh ignored his twin brother and continued walking without sparing a single glance at him. Not even recognizing his existence.
Killua shot a quick glance at Imane, instantly recognizing the butler he grew up with and eventually abandoned to be a Hunter. She clutched onto her black clipboard, ignoring him similarly to her Majesty and followed behind him.