Chapter 502 What a Hassle

Why hadn't Moses recalled the shadow clone with reduced mobility and appeared to pose no threat?

When Illumi was hit by the Nen wave unleashed by the Divine Scripts on the wooden board, he suddenly understood the reason.

Although he had considered Moses's potential motivations for keeping a weakened clone in battle, he had never expected it to contain a wooden board capable of unleashing a Nen wave.

The most troublesome aspect was-

The wooden board will only leak out its Aura when triggering the Nen wave, making its presence undetectable.

In other words…

Placing the two shadow clones in plain sight is not only to make Illumi to be on guard against the possible existence of a third shadow clone, but also as a setup for this very moment.

In astonishment, Illumi's body was flung through the air by the Nen wave, smashing through tree after tree, each one snapping with a deafening crash.

The scene was familiar, except this time, Illumi was the one on the receiving end.

The crashing trees produced an even louder noise as they fell.

Hanzo, who had decisively left without waiting for the battle to start, along with Killua and the others who had retreated earlier, all heard the loud noise and couldn't help but look back with shocked expressions.

They had no idea what was happening within the battlefield.

One thing was certain, though- the two fighting within it were on a level far beyond their understanding.

But in fact-

Even Hisoka and Satotz, who are also experienced Nen Users, couldn't help but look surprised when they saw Illumi being blown away by the Nen wave.

This method of unknown origin was beyond their understanding.

If Moses had hidden a bomb in the clone, they could have easily understood.

But a Nen wave was something else entirely.

"How did he...?"

Satotz couldn't hide his surprise and murmured to himself, "The distance was too far to catch all the details."

Even without fully understanding Moses's methods, the fact that he had been able to severely injure such a formidable opponent in such a short time...

"This must be why Mr. Moses has been missing for more than two years."

After witnessing Moses's strength firsthand once more, Satotz couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

Because in this battle, he saw Moses exude a calm confidence that only the truly strong possessed.

Or perhaps it was better described as an effortless calm.

Until now, Satotz had only ever seen such composure in Ging.

In that moment-

Satotz caught a glimpse of Ging's shadow within Moses.

However, Moses, who possesses such strength...

Is too young.

Satotzu marveled at this in silence.

On the other hand, Hisoka couldn't help but tremble with excitement.

"Ah~~~♡"

Hisoka's golden pupils were also trembling violently.

Not out of fear or dread, but from an overwhelming excitement that shook him to his core.

His body responded to the sensation, expressing a thrill that defied words.

"It's simply... perfect...♡"

Hisoka had a hard time suppressing the boiling desire for battle within him.

He knew that Moses would never let him down when it came to 'deep exchanges'.

Therefore, he was most willing to wait for Moses to take the initiative to take the stage.

There's no need to rush about this kind of thing.

Now-

What stirred Hisoka so intensely was that he, too, saw the calm poise of a true warrior in Moses.

Everyone is getting stronger.

And, naturally, the man he'd set his eyes on was no exception.

Within the battleground-

Moses watched Illumi being blown away by the Nen wave.

This was the first time he applied Divine Script that he had practiced for more than two years in combat.

Since the arrangement of Divine Script requires a certain amount of setup time, it is difficult to demonstrate their value in actual combat where every second counts.

Although the Divine Script prepared in advance will not emit any Aura before it is activated, the existence of the Divine Script itself is already very eye-catching.

Moreover, without the 'territorial advantage' he needed, it was challenging to harness the Divine Script's full potential in battle.

So-

Moses had used the shadow clone to overcome these Divine Script's limitations, and Illumi became his test subject for its combat effectiveness.

Judging from the results, it is barely acceptable.

As for Divine Script's shortcoming being unsuitable for 'encounter battles', Moses already had a way to overcome that drawback.

However, Illumi, who had suffered a severe blow, was no longer qualified for him to test that method on.

'Should I kill Illumi here...'

Walking slowly toward where Illumi had been flung, Moses lowered his gaze, mulling over the decision.

One Divine Script's Nen wave wasn't enough to instantly kill Illumi, but it was enough to completely shatter his already slim chance of victory.

It can be said that whether Illumi lives or dies now all depends on Moses's decision.

'What a hassle.'

Moses shook his head slightly.

Illumi is different from the Phantom Troupe, a group of scum who he could kill without hesitation. Illumi has the Zoldyck Family behind him, so Moses still has some concerns before killing him.

On the other hand, Illumi wasn't like Hisoka either.

If it was Hisoka, considering his value as the strongest 'leek' and the fact that Hisoka was honest in some ways, Moses would be more than willing to keep him around indefinitely.

The most crucial point is-

As long as he could satisfy Hisoka's craving for battle, he could sometimes even get Hisoka to voluntarily act as a tool for him.

The strongest 'leek' plus the utility of a tool… It was too wasteful to destroy such thing.

If he really had to kill Hisoka outright, Moses would still feel a little reluctant.

And unlike Hisoka, Illumi is a typical Manipulator...

When a Manipulator loses control over the situation, they might entertain extreme thoughts like 'If I can't win, then everything should be destroyed'.

"Forget it, I'll leave it to Killua to decide."

Moses was too lazy to waste his time and energy on such things.

Ultimately, if he was powerful enough to surpass the entire Zoldyck Family, then why would he have to worry about so many things?

Locking onto Illumi's Nen, Moses gradually quickened his pace.

In the woods.

A big tree fell to the ground, with many leaves scattered around it.

"Cough, cough, cough…"

Illumi sat against the base of a tree, turning his head to cough up blood.

The Nen wave that had hit him directly, catching him off guard, had inflicted significant internal injuries.

Although it hadn't entirely stripped him of combat ability, it would severely affect his physical movements.

He originally thought that he would be able to gain an advantage by getting rid of the three shadow clones, but the trap hidden in the shadow clone's body turned the situation upside down in an instant.

This drastic shift in advantage left Illumi's face clouded with frustration.

'Why-'

'Why did it always end up this way?'

It seemed as if a thousand-pound weight was accumulated on Illumi's heart.

Something called psychological shadow seemed to begin to take root quietly.

After being tricked by Moses, Illumi realized that he had no chance of winning this battle, so he forced himself to stand up despite his injuries and turned decisively to retreat from Moses's direction.

However-

Just as Illumi ran several hundred meters, a pitch-black shadow sphere descended at lightning speed, landing just a few dozen meters ahead of him.

Seeing the shadow sphere falling from the sky, Illumi's eyes narrowed as he abruptly stopped.

The sudden transition from movement to stillness caused the pain in the body to suddenly intensify.

However, Illumi is from the Zoldyck Family after all, so no matter how intense the pain was, his expression remained unchanged.

The pitch-black shadow sphere hit the ground and disappeared the next moment, replaced by Moses, who had exchanged position with it directly.

Illumi stopped where he was, looking at Moses, who was approaching him with an expressionless face.