Two white streaks cut through the night sky.
Two figures rode them like they'd wandered off the set of Dragon Ball, flying through the darkness on pure aura propulsion before landing beside Razor with practiced ease.
Both men were built like brick walls. Faces that screamed "enforcer." Ridiculous little hats perched on their heads that somehow made them look more threatening, not less.
They carried food and hot water, distributing it to the four castaways on Razor's instruction. One of them muttered, "Are there really people unlucky enough to drift here?"
"First time I've seen it," Razor said, returning from his inspection of the beach. His eyes stayed narrowed. "That's definitely an ordinary life raft. Which makes it even less likely they drifted here naturally."
"Pretty reasonable logic," Liam said, accepting the food and hot water without hesitation. He handed half to Shizuku and grabbed disposable chopsticks. "But Nen is all about making the impossible possible, right? Like this guy." He pointed the chopsticks at Kortopi. "His ability copies any object. Convenient? Useful? Jealous yet?"
"With his help, even a single life raft can go anywhere you want."
Liam and Shizuku ate, replenishing their energy. Kortopi continued to starve, denied basic human rights. Pariston watched the two muscular men who'd flown over on what were clearly spell card mechanics, remembering Razor's introduction about being "responsible for Emission-type game design and spell-based movement."
Multiple developers, Pariston thought, piecing it together. Each responsible for different aspects. Conjuration for terrain and NPCs? Specialization for game rules and framework? Enhancement for monster difficulty and skill balance?
Razor waited until Liam and Shizuku had mostly finished eating. Kortopi and Pariston clearly weren't interested. He spoke slowly, eyes narrowed to slits. "Like I said, this is the first time anyone's actually drifted here. First time I've ever delivered food and water like this, too."
Shizuku set down her chopsticks and looked at him. Liam finished his meal in three quick bites and wiped his mouth.
"In other words," Razor continued, reaching into his shorts pocket again, "the term 'intruder' applies to everyone who lands on this island from the ocean." He pulled out a card. "The hospitality's over. Now you follow the rules."
No honor among Nen users! Liam's eyes went dead. He'd barely eaten half his fill.
He and Shizuku stared at the card Razor held up.
"EXILE."
The card displayed its name in bold letters, along with a large watermark reading "ADMINISTRATOR USE ONLY" and a brief description: "Sends anyone who entered Greed Island through improper means to a random location on the Azian Continent."
In the manga, Liam thought, several Phantom Troupe members sailed here on a yacht. Dark night. Met Razor. Got instantly "exiled" with this exact card.
"This is a master-only spell," Razor explained, holding the card up like a referee showing a yellow card. "Special tools for dealing with intruders."
The fact that he was explaining it at all suggested the explanation might be part of the card's activation conditions.
"I'm sorry. I have to ask you to leave."
Kortopi suddenly walked toward Liam, body moving against his will.
Liam slapped him across the forehead.
Kortopi collapsed.
Pariston hadn't expected that. Razor looked mildly surprised. The two muscular enforcers exchanged confused glances.
From an angle none of them could see, hidden beneath Kortopi's long hair, the rose-gold Star Mark on his forehead dissipated the moment Liam's hand made contact.
I know we're getting exiled next, Liam thought, so I'm removing the mark first. Don't want it getting teleported to another continent without—
Wait.
He focused on the card's description again. "Sends anyone who entered Greed Island through improper means to a random location on the Azian Continent."
Azian Continent. Where Kakin is located.
Liam's brain short-circuited for a second.
Hold on. I flew halfway across the world, survived an airship explosion, drifted on the ocean in a life raft for an entire day, finally made landfall on this godforsaken island, and now you're giving me a FREE TELEPORT back to the continent I was actively fleeing? The one place I absolutely cannot go right now because the First Prince wants me dead?!
Razor raised the "Exile" card, ready to activate it.
Liam panicked and kicked Kortopi's unconscious body toward Razor like a soccer ball. "Wait! This guy's a Phantom Troupe member! Worth hundreds of millions in bounties! I'm giving him to you!"
The two muscle-bound enforcers perked up immediately, staring at Kortopi with dollar signs in their eyes.
Razor didn't even blink. "We're game operators, not law enforcement. You've got the wrong people. Exile—"
Shit shit shit!
"Mr. Ging's disciple asked me to bring you a message!" Liam shouted desperately.
Everyone stopped.
Even Pariston looked surprised.
Razor actually paused mid-activation. The dangerous aura around him intensified, and his perpetually squinted eyes opened fully for the first time. He stared at Liam with an expression that promised extreme violence if this turned out to be a lie.
Everyone else was staring too. Kortopi, who'd been planning his escape route. Pariston. The two enforcers.
"Why are you still here?" Liam turned to Pariston, then pointed at him while addressing Razor. "Don't get me wrong! This guy's so shameless he forced his way onto our life raft. We're not together. At all."
Before Liam could finish, Razor raised the "Exile" card again, this time pointing it at Pariston. "Exile."
The card surged with concentrated aura.
Pariston looked stunned. Liam waved goodbye.
Pariston's entire body turned into a white mist and vanished with a whoosh.
Gone. Just like that.
Liam wanted to clap and cheer. I'm finally clean!
The moment Pariston disappeared, Kortopi moved. He became a blur, dodging toward the treeline, trying to escape while everyone was distracted.
Razor didn't even look. He raised one hand, manifested a sphere of concentrated aura like a volleyball, tossed it high, and spiked it.
WHAM.
The aura ball shot forward like a bullet and slammed into Kortopi mid-sprint.
Kortopi flew backward, tumbling across the ground. His clothes shredded. His body curled into a defensive ball just in time to avoid lethal damage, but blood poured from dozens of lacerations. The wounds looked horrific.
Liam noticed Kortopi had prioritized protecting his hands. Smart. Without his hands, his ability was useless.
This guy who can casually copy fifty buildings and flood the ocean with corpses actually has impressive aura reserves, Liam thought. Tanked a direct hit from Razor and survived.
Which meant Razor's strength was even more terrifying. He's a former death row inmate that Ging recruited. I knew he was strong, but seeing it firsthand is different.
Razor stopped Kortopi's escape and raised the "Exile" card again. His gaze shifted to Liam, then to Shizuku, who'd already manifested Blinky and dropped into a defensive stance.
"Mr. Ging's disciple?" Razor asked.
"Alain Dreyfus Blanchett. Ging Freecss's student. You know him, right?" Liam said quickly.
Razor lowered the card slightly, processing that. The famous founder of Blanchett Company is Mr. Ging's disciple?
"What message did he want you to deliver?"
"Well, it's a long story..."
Liam glanced at Shizuku. She stared back with complete confusion.
Okay. Time to bullshit my way through this. How the hell do I spin this into something believable?
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