Phantom Troupe's Web

Chapter 36.

Her teeth grit against each other, her head snapping in the blonde's direction; her blue eyes narrowing at the troupe members. "It was empty?" she scowls, adjusting her stance by shifting her weight to her left foot, arms crossing above her chest with an eyebrow raised at the blonde.

"Just as I said – empty," Shalnark nods in confirmation. "The auctioneer doesn't know where the merchandise is either," he reported.

Illuki groans, fishing out her phone and dialling the troupe's leader before tossing the device over at Uvogin and climbing into the hamper of the hot air balloon. She stands across from the berserker, leaning against the basket with her head tilted to the side, peering down at the city beneath them.

"No, the vault was empty," Uvogin informs Chrollo. "According to the auctioneer, the only one who knew the situation, all the items were relocated somewhere else a few hours ago. It's as though they expected this to happen." he glowers with disdain. "Don't you find the timing to be perfect? We have a Judas among us."

"You're saying that one of us is a traitor?" Nobunaga asks Uvogin, causing the others but the Web to glance up at each other suspiciously.

Silence filled the space before Chrollo spoke, assuring them. "No, there isn't a traitor. Besides, I don't consider Judas to be a traitor. It's said that Judas sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver, but how much would a traitor ask from the Mafia? Think about it. What would the traitor gain by selling us to the Mafia? Money? Fame? Status? Would that really gratify any of us?" the leader asked the beast-like man.

"No. nobody's like that," Uvogin agrees, scratching his cheek with a finger.

"Right. Besides, something else here doesn't add up. Assuming there was an informant...The mafia's response was too tepid. If they had known beforehand that Class-A bounties would appear at the auction, they would increased their security. The guests weren't warned and they came unnamed," Chrollo further explains.

"That's true," Uvogin agreed once more.

"I believe that someone provided a tip that wasn't specific. However, someone in the Mafia community top brass believed that information," the leader added.

"I don't get how this information is travelling. Whatever. So, what do we do?" the caveman asks the boss of the Phantom Troupe.

Chrollo pauses for a second, requesting to speak with his right-hand comrade; Illuki who reaches over and takes her phone back from the berserker and presses the device against her ear. "Did you ask the auctioneer where the merchandise was moved?" he asked once he knew it was the former assassin.

"He had the worst luck of them all today," Feitan mutters from beside the dichromatic-haired female who informs their leader about the auctioneer.

"Did you get the names of anyone who might know?" Chrollo inquires.

Illuki playfully scoffs, holding a hand to her heart as she feigns being hurt. "You think so little of me?" her lips curl into a pleased smirk as she hears the man chuckle over the phone; her body twists away from the troupe members – her eyes admiring the glittering city. "Of course I did. This is the only time that all Ten Dons gather in one place to discuss business and issue orders. Their commands are carried out by a special force – the Shadow Beasts. The team consists of each don's best combatants," she informs Chrollo and the group.

"I see, then...Since the Shadow Beasts weren't guarding the auction house, the Mafia didn't know we were coming," Chrollo said, thinking to himself. "Then how did they move the merchandise?" he asks the female.

"A single Shadow Beast member turned up at the vault, walked in and came out empty-handed but the vault was emptied. 25-square meter safe, packed with items ready to be auctioned off," she said with a bored tone. "He calls himself the Owl," she added.

Chrollo lets out a small, soft hum. "He must possess a Nen power similar to Shizuku's. Surely, they noticed after 500 people disappeared that they're facing Nen users," he told the female who hummed in agreement.

Uvogin reaches over and yanks the phone away from Illuki, pressing it against his ear. "We can take them on, can't we?" the caveman asks, a crazed smirk appearing on his tan, facial face when Chrollo permitted his intentions. The man hangs up the phone, tossing the device to its owner who glares at him.

Illuki sighs disappointedly, leaning over the basket and glancing down at the ground when she visibly perks at the sight of cars chasing after them at high speed, snickering which catches her comrades' attention. "They found us," she points beneath them, the member glancing over at the vehicles.

At her words, Shalnark directs the balloon into the desert where he hands the aircraft on a cliff edge, the troupe members climb out of the hamper and stand before a mob of mafia men. The dichromatic-haired female stands between Feitan and Shalnark, peering down at the rowdy mob with her hands linked behind her with a blank expression. One of the men shoots into the air, and another man shouts up at the troupe members weakly threatening them.

"There's a whole crowd," Shalnark chuckles, beaming down at the crowd.

"I don't have to clean this, do I?" Shizuku asks from where she stands on the right of the happy-go-lucky blonde.

"No. They don't matter," Feitain nonchalantly responds through his mask, hands in his pant pockets and glaring down at the mob.

Uvogin approaches the edge, a cocky grin on his tan face. "Hey! Stay out of this, I'll handle it," the berserker slides down the cliff side which invokes the mafia men to point their weapons in his direction. Illuki giggles, her hands moving to rest on her waist as she observes the beast-man and head mafia; a delighted hum escaping her lips.

The supposed head of the mafia crowd raises a gun to Uvogin, questioning his crimes which the berserker openly admits, angering the man who shoots with a cocky, wicked smile – though it faltered into fear when Uvogin leans back up, revealing the bullet he caught between his teeth. The fur-wearing man smirks, raising a hand and swinging it forward, snapping the man's neck; his other hand reaching out and gripping the mafia man's head til the skull is crushed.

"His philosophy is to be stronger than anything," Nobunaga says, eyeing his friend and partner-in-crime dominate the weak mafia with singular hits. "An ordinary gun won't even scratch him," he added, blankly watching the caveman.

"Physically, he's the strongest," Feitan comments, standing beside the Web of the troupe who sat on the cliff edge, observing the massacre with her legs swinging unmatchingly back and forth.

"It's like watching a gorilla stomping on ants," Franklin says from the other side of the cliff, a tiny amount of pity evident in his voice, the troupe members' eyes never leaving the pit where Uvogin stood among dead bodies and punching incoming men.

"Oh, look," Illuki points to the side of the cliff where the troupe notices arriving cars parking by empty ones and men in suits rushing into the mountains. "More toys," she gave a pity pout to the strangers before her lips broke into a wicked grin, enjoying the show of Uvogin killing every single mafia member who tried harming him.

"They came all the way here, just to die?" the female snickers at Franklin's rhetorical question.

Shalnark smiles, uncrossing his arms and holding up a deck of cards. "Just watching isn't any fun. Wanna play cards?" he suggests, glancing over at Machi who agrees – along with Shizuku and Franklin. "Illu-chan?" the blonde looks over at the Phantom Troupe's Web.

The former assassin shakes her head, smiling at the happy-go-lucky blonde and waves a hand to decline the offer; her legs swing back and forth against the rocky cliff, appearing like a small child among criminals watching a live massacre with a grin on her pale face. Her blue eyes never leave Uvogin's figure as the man leans down and picks up a rock, throwing the pebble west to kill a sniper.

"That's enough!" a mafia man calls out, approaching the troupe member with a crew of men behind him; the leader held a bazooka by his side. "Don't flatter yourself, you monster. This super-bazooka is strong enough to trash a tank. I'll blow you to bits!" the man gloats, pointing the weapon at Uvogin who grins, extending a hand towards him and activating his aura.

A loud bang echoes throughout the desert and a cloud of smoke encases the bulky troupe member, proud and pleased smirks appear on the mafia men. The cloud slowly fades, revealing Uvogin's silhouette before dissipating fully – shocking the mob who begin to run for their lives. However, the vicious berserker doesn't leave a victim alive, murdering the last of the crowd that attempted to kill him.