With the Phantom Troupe's attack, the entire auction hall descended into complete chaos.
Compared to last time, this was much worse.
Before, the Phantom Troupe had come only for the auction items. Once they stole them, they left.
But this time was different.
This time, they had come to kill!
"Die!" Franklin roared, unleashing a barrage of Nen bullets without hesitation.
He killed more people than anyone else.
But even as he attacked, a troubling thought crept into Franklin's mind.
Had he developed his ability properly?
Against these ordinary people, sure, his power was overwhelming. But against strong Nen users?
His fight with Oster had been a wake-up call—a brutal blow to his confidence.
His Nen bullets had done absolutely nothing to Oster.
It was only after that fight that Franklin started to really reflect.
When facing elite opponents… he seemed lacking.
Against Chrollo or Ron, he had no chance.
He wasn't on the same level as Feitan, Phinks, or Uvogin.
Even in a one-on-one duel where the goal was to kill, he wondered if even Nobunaga might surpass him.
Yet in terms of aura capacity and Nen user rank, Franklin wasn't weak.
"When this is over, I need to rethink things carefully," he thought grimly.
The sudden attack threw everything into disarray.
Members of the Underworld Mafia.
Aside from Milluki, who had slipped away earlier, everyone else—Gon, Killua, Leorio, Kurapika—had no choice but to take cover and assess the situation.
"What's happening? Another attack?" Leorio asked, nerves frayed.
Killua and Gon, on the other hand, seemed almost excited, itching for action.
Kurapika's eyes gleamed with cold sharpness.
"The Phantom Troupe?"
"It must be them! They are the are they only ones who revel in whatnot slaughter."
He was just about to rush out and find them when a figure entered his line of sight—Neon.
Kurapika froze immediately.
He remembered his current identity.
He was Neon's bodyguard captain.
And his duty was to protect her.
On one side: vengeance. The chance to strike down his clan's murderers.
On the other hand, His responsibility as a bodyguard. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel-fire.ɴet
After a tense pause, Kurapika made his choice.
"Miss Neon, this way!" he said urgently.
He led her and the other bodyguards toward a safer area.
Meanwhile, the Phantom Troupe continued their massacre.
Screams and sobbing echoed through the hall.
The stench of blood filled the air.
For a moment, it felt place had become hell itself.
But this was exactly what the Phantom Troupe wanted.
Only through this kind of slaughter could they feel a sense of revenge.
It helped ease the fury they carried from losing their comrades.
Milluki couldn't reach Ron on the phone—because at that moment, Ron was already in a call.
She was back in Kakin… and she had obtained the notes describing the Ark.
"They say the Ark was an absolutely safe vessel, built by the gods themselves," Morena explained calmly. "When the end of the world came, humanity could escape inside. Floods, fires, earthquakes—it was impervious to all of them."
"And it was said to contain everything needed to sustain life."
"People would bring seeds, livestock, and all sorts of supplies inside… waiting for disaster to pass, then rebuilding civilization afterward."
"...All of that is false."
"The real Ark was man-made. Just a ship."
"It was humanity's first attempt to explore the Dark Continent."
"Building it cost enormous resources—materials, Nen users, Nen tools… everything was poured into its construction."
"It was huge. Durable. Built to withstand any storm."
"It could travel far beyond the human continent."
"And countless people died just during the construction phase."
"Afterward, explorers set out aboard the Ark, carrying seeds, animal eggs, livestock… even certain magical beasts."
"The expedition lasted decades… maybe even centuries."
"When it finally returned to the human world, the ship was empty."
"It sat abandoned on the shore—filthy, rotting, filled with a foul stench and a chilling atmosphere."
"And after sitting there for a long time…"
"One day, it simply disappeared."
That was the information Morena provided.
After ending the call, Ron turned to Illumi.
"So it seems highly likely that the Ten Dons hideout is inside the Ark's remains."
"But those remains probably don't retain the Ark's full capabilities."
"Yet judging by how confident the Ten Dons are, it must be more than that. Something must have changed."
"Maybe the Ark has transformed into a Nen spirit."
It was a strong possibility.
Nen spirits weren't born naturally—they were created through transformation.
Given the Ark's history, it wouldn't be surprising.
It was made from countless resources.
Many people had died in its construction.
Nen tools were embedded into it.
It had traveled to the Dark Continent and back—a long, harrowing journey.
Illumi nodded thoughtfully. "An entity like that could easily turn into a Nen spirit. But we have no idea what kind of rules it follows."
Ron added, "Even as a Nen spirit, it's unlikely to be directly controlled by the Underworld Mafia. It's probably more like a rules-based phenomenon."
"And to figure out those rules… we'd have to go inside."
"Test them, little by little."
Nen spirits were complicated.
Even with Ron's current strength, if he didn't understand the rules, he couldn't guarantee victory, even over ordinary humans inside such a domain.
"This one probably works more like Dominica's Colosseum," he mused aloud, "rather than Sumas."
"And probably doesn't resemble Greed Island system either."
Illumi nodded again. "Leave this to me. I can use my needlemen to probe it safely."
----------------------------------------------
You can read up to 120 Advanced chapters!