Son of Lies and Light

Meanwhile, at Night,

On the fourth and highest floor of a small, dimly lit building,

Chrollo and his assistant were currently committing their own minor theft. The rest of the troupe normally wouldn't see them for another two years.

Chrollo was a man who collected anything and everything he wished to get his hands on. So, before committing to a job he'd arrange for himself, he weighed all the information he could gather, regardless of whether those parameters and information were reliable or not.

As he grew older, he developed his own method of doing things and sorting information.

Chrollo was a tough opponent. He considered himself to be such. He was, however, a resourceful and prudent man who planned ahead of time. Sometimes he planned for years.

He had nothing to do with the semiannual felonies committed around that Enrich Pigmalian, whom he had only heard of in passing. However, he recently learned about an item he desired in the shipments from that wealthy and spoiled young person.

Well, calling what he desired an "item" wasn't exactly appropriate. Someone had something on them. He desired to steal that person's ability... However, in his opinion, all the nice little things he wanted to collect and acquire were the same in his eyes.

If Chrollo could, he would basically claim the entire world as his. Because it was only sometimes in his power, or the time to, he had to wait to get what was rightfully his. And in any case, the "hunt" was more fun.

As far back as he could remember, Chrollo had enjoyed the thrill of thievery. Being a simple rich second-generation man would bore him otherwise.

He knew he was the designated world thief the moment he was awakened and introduced to his innate Nen powers. Nothing could possibly rise higher up in the thieving food chain than him.

Those were his very first thoughts back then.

Chrollo's outward demeanor rarely revealed his violent and possessive thoughts. Still, on the inside, he was a furiously greedy and acquisitive person. He simply had too high an IQ and was too astute to act on his instincts blindly.

His assistant and childhood friend was most likely the only person who understood him completely. That's why he liked having her by his side; she knew how to keep him from making mistakes that only she knew he was capable of. Those mistakes were typically the result of him acting too cautiously or insufficiently cautiously. He calculated a little too much or too little at times.

This same woman, his assistant, also his right hand, had the capital to prevent him from acting as such because of her special ability. And he had complete and utter faith in her.

The old, small seer in front of Chrollo, whom he suspected of being a charlatan, hummed amusingly as she rubbed her hands on her crystal ball,

"Indeed, I see assassins... One with white hair, the other black."

"Can you say some more, old woman? This isn't exactly detailed...?"

Chrollo inquired after hearing the seer, whom he doubted.

He had never met them in person, but it was no secret that most Zoldycks had either white or black hair. After all, their photos were available on the internet.

"..."

Pakunoda, who wanted to say something, was quiet. Her boss was too eccentric to be a specialist sometimes. Yet, his way of doing things always worked in his favor.

She wanted to get close to that guy Enrich to spy on his brain, but Chrollo stopped her from doing so.

An odd perception feeling he had, good even if not as powerful as Machi's, told him not to let her do so. If not, she would never waste time meeting a compass reader in her nightly and stinky shop.

Looking at him and the old woman discussing the reading, Pakunoda wished Machi were here to assist them in avoiding such problems.

People were supposed to do nice things like make love at Night, but even after two decades, her boss never had eyes for her.

He was more aroused by the thievery thing than by her body charms.

He was a genuine thief at heart...

--

--

Elsewhere,

At the top of the church-like tower,

Tsubone exclaimed as she faced the dungeon's boss, the "Master of Nu'un,"

"Young master Hiruma, this turn-based combat thing is marvelous if you can use it in the outside world. But, like the others, shouldn't this hideous magical beast die after just one hit from me?"

"Despite his flashy and fierce appearance, he doesn't appear particularly strong to me."

"I think I'll have to wait for your so-called Golem and this little vampire bat you name Dracky to make a move later. It's unlikely to be possible here."

The old woman Tsubone was eyeing the boss, the "Master of Nu'un," when she said this.

"I feel like this too, so let's just get it over with."

Hiruma smiled, nodding.

Though weak in comparison to the strong, fast, and Nen expert Tsubone, the "Master of Nu'un's" appearance was truly demonlike. He towered over everyone in the turn-based instance due to his exponential height, which had grown in tandem with the current party's power.

The purple hat the ugly mob wore added to his towering stature. He had two wide horns growing from his brow, spikes covering parts of his arms and legs, and a tail that ended in a spiked club-like protrusion. Except for his hat and the remnants of his holy garb draped across his chest, The "Master of Nu'un" wore a red and black color scheme with green borders.

His primary attacks were insignificant in light of the situation. Nonetheless, he used the sharp bonelike spikes that protruded from above his middlemost fingers to attack.

The mob was something Hiruma could have dealt with if the party didn't include Tsubone, which made the mob exponentially stronger according to the system rules. Now Hiruma couldn't, though.

That didn't bother him; he wouldn't die if he fainted during the battle. Actually, as long as Tsubone was still alive and well at the end of the battle, the battle would be a success. Hiruma would reappear outside, only slightly depleted of stamina, which he and his monster units could replenish with medicinal herbs or Heal*.

The ability to heal was a bit of cheating, but only when life could be saved... It was just a great skill in the world of Hunter X Hunter, where life and death depended on a split second of inattention.

Tsubone nodded to Hiruma, who was too lazy to do anything other than pass his turn when the battle started.

Then, being second in acting speed, the old woman did not conjure or transmute. She only used a naked but vicious KO to end his life before the "Master of Nu'un" could demonstrate something he was good at.

How he died, or rather fainted sadly, terrified and disabused the Dracky, who wanted to suck some of his powerful blood and Energy.