Killer in Hunter x Hunter

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Risotto's POV

Risotto was actively roaming the slums looking for enemies. He moved from building to building and tried not to stick his head out too much to reduce the chances of being ambushed.

'It's getting dark already. Less than half an hour until sunset. We should find our enemies before it gets completely dark. I can fight in the dark, but it's not very convenient.'

After a minute of wandering, he heard the faint sound of footsteps outside. Carefully he looked outside and saw a man dressed in a dressing gown wandering about. He had long hair tied up in a bundle. Behind his belt, he carried a samurai sword.

'That's him, one of the Spiders! I think he's the one Gyacho encountered a few months ago. He definitely fits the description. But what's he doing here? Is it a trap? Maybe, but I doubt it. So why is he alone?'

Risotto looked at him even closer and examined his face.

'What's wrong with him? He looks kind of depressed. What happened to make one of the Spiders in such a state? It doesn't matter, though. It's time to end his life.'

Risotto became invisible and carefully made his way towards his opponent. Calibrating his every move, holding his breath, trying not to make a sound, he approached closer and closer to his victim.

'I won't be ceremonious. I'll make it quick.'

He had already come within two metres of him, but suddenly his opponent grabbed his sword, drew it in a lightning-fast movement and tried to kill Risotto by chopping off his head. Fortunately Risotto was able to react and dodge the blow, but a small scratch was left on his cheek. He was forced out of invisibility.

'What the hell!!! How did he find out? Did I give myself away somehow? No, I did everything perfectly, like a professional. It's something else.'

After the blow, the samurai put his sword back in its scabbard, and looked at Risotto.

- You're surprised I found you, aren't you? - He said, 'It's actually quite simple. I only realised that you were following me because of your warrior sense. And when I sensed that the enemy was close, I just used En.

Risotto was slightly discouraged by this.

''Martial instinct? What a load of rubbish. Fuck knows though. All sorts of shit is possible in this life.'

- You surprised me a little,' Risotto spoke up, 'But it was just a fluke. Now I understand your tactics. Relying on your warrior's instincts and the use of En, you kill your opponents by instantly drawing your blade from its sheath and striking at the same time. That's pretty good. But you can't win now. All your further actions will be useless. - With these words, Risotto became invisible again.

He moved more than ten metres away from his opponent and began to act according to his standard tactic: forming a bunch of various cold weapons out of the iron in the environment.

The samurai, keeping his composure, began fending off all the projectiles flying at him. Despite the abundance of projectiles and their speed he held up quite well, but it didn't last long. One of the rebar that Risotto had ripped out of the wall of a nearby building went behind his back and hit him right on the head. He swayed violently and collapsed straight to the ground.

'Is he dead? I doubt it, but maybe just passed out.'

Risotto began to wait. He waited for about fifteen seconds. The samurai didn't move at all. Risotto decided to finish him off with his own hands and headed straight for his body.

When he was less than two metres away, he drew his knife and was about to finish him off, when suddenly he jumped up and with a sharp swing of his sword cut off Risotto's arm at the shoulder.

This caused Risotto to fall out of invisibility and collapse to the ground holding his bleeding wound. The samurai shook the blood off his sword and slipped it into its scabbard.

- Pretending to be dead is quite simple, but effective. I've heard that you can manipulate iron, and that iron weapons are useless against you. That's true, but by using Shu on my weapons I can protect them from your control. Even with Shu, I can still feel my katana jumping out of my hand. I thought you said I couldn't win now. What do you say now? - He was silent for a few seconds, 'You know, I don't really have much of a choice. You don't know what kind of situation I'm in. Besides the fact that we suffered significant losses in the battle with you, I've learnt his secret... The secret of our boss. But why am I telling it to someone who's almost dead? I will finish you. Prepare to die! - He gripped his sword again and was about to deliver the final blow. But just as he was about to do so, the hand he'd severed from Risotto's was lifted into the air in front of him. - What the hell?! - Using Gyo, he looked at the hand and saw that it contained a swarm of small silver-coloured metallic creatures, -What is this? What kind of creatures live in your body?

The arm that had risen into the air was drawn to Risotto and attached to its place with metal brackets. Holding onto his arm, Risotto got to his feet and spoke:

- You really surprised me. For a few moments I doubted myself. But now I am confident again. I'm not retracting my words. You also can't defeat me and all your actions are still useless. But I'm interested in you. What is your boss's secret that you've learnt? If you won't tell me, I'll make you tell me. - With those words, he became invisible again.

New projectiles began to form from the ground, this time less than last time. Still using En, the samurai continued to fend off the projectiles. However, now he did not stand still. Now he began to move, in order to find Risotto with his En sphere.

- Don't think you can hide forever. I can sense... where you are! - He took a sharp swing and threw a swift punch that he thought was right at Risotto. But there was nothing there. It just sliced the air. What the hell?!

Before he knew it, he was stabbed in the back by two katanas.

- What the...' He looked down at the ground and saw Risotto's arm lying beneath him, 'Y-you... You disconnected your arm... The one I cut off... You tricked me...

Unable to stand any longer, the samurai collapsed to his knees.

Kurapika's POV

Meanwhile, Kurapika was in one of the abandoned high-rise buildings and was standing near a window on the fifth floor. Being at such a height gave him a sniper-like view of the street. He didn't linger long, however, and after a minute of observation, he jumped down and continued his search already on the street.

'No one's here yet. I bet the others have already found their opponents and are already fighting, or maybe even winning. They will win, won't they? What a stupid question, of course they'll win. If they could kill half of the Spiders before, they shouldn't have a problem with these ones. I believe in them. Now I have to try my best myself.'

Soon Kurapika came to an abandoned construction site of a three-story building. He went up to the third floor, which was the most unfinished floor. The floor had no ceiling at all, giving him a rather nice view of the sky, and it also provided some nice lighting. There were quite a few concrete walls built around it.

Behind one of the walls, Kurapika heard the sound of footsteps. He carefully walked to the doorway, looked inside the room the sounds were coming from and saw that there was a man walking there.

He wore a long cloak with an inverted cross on the back, had black hair slicked back, and a tattoo of a cross on his forehead.

'That's him! It's the leader of the Spiders! If we believe the description Risotto gave, it's definitely him. But what's he doing here? Looking for someone? Hiding? Well, it doesn't matter. This is my chance to take down the leader of the Spiders. I'll do it. He's finished!'

Without any further ado, Kurapika burst into the room and launched one of his chains at the enemy. But the man reacted instantly and dodged the chain, which ended up destroying the wall behind him.

- Are you one of them too? - He said in a slightly sad voice, 'You shouldn't have come here. I have absolutely no desire to fight. Get out of here, lad. It's better for all of us.

- What are you talking about?! Don't you know who I am? You and your bloody gang slaughtered my whole clan once! The Kuruta clan, do you remember it? A clan whose members' eyes glowed red with intense emotion. You should remember it! - Kurapika said angrily to his opponent, barely restraining himself from attacking again.

- Oh, so that's how it is... - He smiled a little, - I do remember something like that. But none of that matters now. Not to you, not to me. As I believe you joined Risotto Nero and his crew when you learnt they were after us. They're good allies and a good opportunity for revenge, it's hard to argue with that. But you have no idea what you're getting yourself into. You have no idea what could happen if you don't leave now. I'm asking you to get out of here. If you don't leave, he might show up.

- What the hell are you talking about? - Kurapika sincerely didn't understand, but his rage didn't diminish, -I've had enough of listening to this nonsense! I'm going to kill you!

Risotto's POV

Risotto came out of invisibility and walked right up to his opponent.

- I told you you couldn't win,' He drew his arm back to him and pinned it in place, 'Though I have to admit, you held up pretty well.

- You detached your arm from yourself, and thus fooled me into believing that I had detected you with my En Sphere...' the samurai said, occasionally coughing up blood, 'And you also copied my sword... Quite good.

The samurai clutched at his stomach, trying to ease the pain.

At this time Risotto noticed that Prosciutto, Pesci and Gyaccio had emerged from the corner of a nearby building.

- Oh hey boss! - Shouted Gyaccio, 'I see you're finishing up here. And we've already dealt with our own.

- Well done. Now I need to get something from this guy.

- Oh, I know that arsehole! - Giaccio exclaimed as he came closer and got a closer look at him, 'He's the one I ran into a couple of months ago.

The samurai gave them his gaze and smiled lightly.

- So... So everyone else is dead... Well, that's the end of Spider. And me... I would have died anyway. I guess that's fate.

- Stop raving, - Risotto turned to him, - Tell me what you've learnt. I thought you said you'd found out your boss's secret.

The samurai thought for a few seconds, then looked at Risotto and said:

- Okay. But after I tell you everything you have to kill me. Promise?

- Promise. - Risotto looked at Prosciutto, who picked up his katana and prepared to behead the samurai.

- Well, then, listen. Yesterday, after we killed the Shadow Beasts and found the treasure they stole, we went to our base. I sat, waiting, mourning my comrades, and lo and behold, once again our leader needed privacy in a room. It seemed strange to me, especially since it wasn't the first time this had happened. I decided to follow him. When I got to the room where he was secluded, I began to eavesdrop and watch him through the slit in the door. I saw that he was talking to someone, I thought he was on the phone. But when I looked closer, I saw that there was no phone, and he was holding a small stone near his ear. I thought he had gone mad and was talking to himself, but it turned out to be wrong. When he spoke, his voice changed from time to time, and became like that of a completely different person. And then, I don't know how, but he noticed me. I realised he was going to kill me, so I ran. That's why I said I was gonna die either way. Either you kill me or he does. And as I ran, the only conclusion I could think of was that our boss was possessed.

After hearing the samurai's story, Risotto was dumbfounded.

'No... This can't be! How is it possible!!! I don't want to believe it, but the facts are there. If he's telling the truth, then everything fits together now. I can see why the Spider Boss needed us. No... It's not the Spider Boss anymore. It's...'

- Also...' the samurai continued to speak, coughing up blood and in terrible pain from his wound, 'During that stakeout, I learnt his name. His name... His name...

Kurapika's POV

Kurapika was standing right in front of the Spider leader. He was all filled with rage, as well as not understanding what the Spider leader meant.

- I've had enough of listening to this nonsense! I'm going to kill you! - Kurapika shouted and once again launched one of his chains at his enemy.

He still easily dodged the attack. Kurapika launched another chain at his enemy, but he dodged again.

Determined to fight more seriously, the Spider Leader materialised a book in his hands. Barely having time to open it, he suddenly grabbed his head.

- Shit, not now...' he muttered to himself.

'This is it! This is my chance!'

Kurapika launched his chain at him again, and this time his opponent didn't have time to dodge. The chain wrapped around him and completely rendered him unable to move.

- This is called the 'Prison of Chains'. Bound by this chain, you can't escape using your Nan. The only way to break it is to use your physical strength. In short, you are now completely helpless. Now I'll show you the Chain of Justice!

Kurapika launched the second chain at him.

''That's it. He's definitely finished now! There's no way to escape from such a situation. This is too much even for the leader of the Spiders.'

For Kurapika, it was as if time had slowed down. One moment lasted for more than a second. He was all in anticipation of when the chain would reach his heart.

'I did it! I won!'

The chain came closer and closer. And now it's only a metre away from its target and it's just a pile of rocks.

- W-what?! What just happened?! - Kurapika asked himself.

He was incredibly shocked by what had just happened. The enemy that was caught in his chain had disappeared, and the wall behind him had been destroyed, as if Kurapika had launched the chain not at the enemy, but at the wall.

'W-what was that?!'

- Hm, quite curious. - A voice sounded from behind the wall that was to Kurapika's left.

- Who's there?! - Kurapika instantly turned towards the voice.

- So you're a friend of Risotto Nero? Dangerous mates you choose.

He noticed that this voice was different from the Spider Leader's. It was rougher and lower.

- Who are you?! Is it still you, the leader of the Spiders?!

- Tell me, how are Risotto and his team doing? - The mysterious voice ignored Kurapiki's question, -Do they still call themselves La Squadra di Esecuzione? I think they are. And after all, they only got that name when they joined my organisation.

- Oh, for fuck's sake! Show yourself!

Kurapika ran his chain into the st- -no one was there.

'Again... I was just about to destroy this wall with my chain, but a moment later it was already destroyed, even though I didn't even have time to launch my chain. What the hell was that?!'

- When you messed with Risotto and his comrades, you tied your fate to them,' A voice now sounded right behind Kurapika's back, 'And their fate is imminent death.

Kurapika was trembling all over. The rage that had enveloped him less than a minute ago had been replaced by fear, stiffening his movements.

'N-we can't back down... I can... I can still fight him, even with these tricks.'

He was about to turn around and launch his chain at the enemy behind his back, but suddenly he realised he couldn't feel his chain.

'What happened? Why can't I launch my chain at him? My chain... Why can't I feel it?'

Kurapika slowly lowered his eyes down and looked at his hands. He was horrified when he saw that both of his arms were severed all the way to his elbows.

Screaming in terrible pain, he collapsed to his knees and tears came from his eyes. Now he wasn't just afraid... He was truly terrified. This horror became even stronger when the man who had been standing behind him just a few seconds ago stood before him.

This man was wearing the same coat that was on the leader of the Spiders. It was supposed to be him, but his physique had changed. He had become skinnier and more semi-muscular.

Kurapika tried to get a good look at his face, but it was completely covered by a shadow that didn't hide only his bright green coloured eyes that instilled terror in anyone who looked into them.

'Who the hell is he... Is he even human?'

Kurapika decided to use Gyou to get a better look at him. But when he did, he saw a monster in front of him.

It was a humanoid slightly taller and larger than the man next to him. Its body was crimson in colour and covered in a dense diagonal mesh. It had silver coloured metal protection on its face, shoulders, elbows, palms, stomach, neck, groin, knees and feet. His head was elongated and his face had an incredibly evil expression. Also located on his forehead was a small face that was pink in colour and flattened with a barely visible mouth and eyes.

- This is a test,' The man spoke, 'Fate has given me a second chance. It has allowed me to prove myself again and prove that I am worthy to be on top of the world. It is so. There is no one greater than me! I am emperor! I am king of kings! As for you... No one can escape their destiny, and your destiny is to be destroyed. The peak of eternity exists only for me, and you can only sing songs of sadness in a world without time. I will erase you as part of my past. In this world, the ways don't matter, only the results matter! Such is the ability of my King Crimson!

The monster that was called King Crimson raised his hand and was about to finish Kurapiku off by chopping him in half.

'No... I can't die like this... It's not going to happen! I have to live!'

When King Crimson's hand was already a few centimetres away from Kurapika's head, the latter gathered his strength and pushed back. However, he didn't completely escape the blow. Although he was not cut in half, King Crimson's hand was able to go from his eyebrow to the corner of his mouth, thus depriving Kurapika of his left eye.

Kurapika cried out loudly from the pain, but finding his strength he kicked his severed hands right into a large window nearby and jumped out of it.

As he fell from the third floor, he felt himself break several ribs. He was about to lose consciousness when suddenly he heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

When he found the strength to turn his head, he saw Risotto and the others running towards him.

- Ah... There you are... So you did well... But I screwed up...' he said with difficulty.

- Quiet, don't say anything! - Risotto said rather excitedly, - Damn it, we're late! He ran into the Diavolo after all... Illuso, where's your mirror?!

With no strength left, Kurapika fell unconscious.

Commentary on The Apparition of the Emperor

It's been quite a challenge. This is the biggest chapter I've written so far.