Ron glanced over toward the corner.
"They're not one of those six from before. Must be the real mastermind—yet not a Nen user either."
Flight attendants arrived promptly to investigate but got nowhere. Not a single clue about the killer. They could only remove the two bodies. The passengers splattered with blood had cleaned up and changed clothes, but it would be a long time before they recovered from the shock—who can sleep easy after being drenched in blood?
A short while later, Killua stood up and started toward the exit. Since someone was after him, he decided to give them the chance they wanted—head off someplace quieter and let them come to him so he could wipe them out.
"Killua?"
Gon looked at him, silently offering help. Killua shook his head.
Not long after he left, four figures rose from their seats and followed in the same direction. The airship was huge, with many passengers, but there were still plenty of empty corners. Once outside the main cabin area, the four quickened their pace. Now they had "old grudges and new" fueling them: they already had a reason to kill Killua, and two more of their comrades had just died at his hand. They knew for certain Killua was the one who did it—no other possibility. Their motives were stronger than ever.
But when they finally reached where Killua should have been, he was gone.
"Where is he?"
"He just vanished!"
Suddenly, a voice spoke behind them.
"Looking for me?"
Hands in his pockets, Killua gazed calmly at the four. They whirled around in alarm.
"You brat!"
"Get him!"
All four lunged at once. Killua shrugged.
"So eager? I actually wanted to ask you who hired you—I've never even met you before."
"Rhythm Echo!"
Killua's image split into multiple afterimages, leaving the attackers confused about which was real. Nearby, in the shadows, someone else watched intently.
"It's him," she muttered. "He's the one who killed my father. He's a demon…a murderer!"
Hatred and rage blazed in the young woman's eyes, and her aura shifted.
Killua, meanwhile, had no trouble with the four men. "You think this level of skill can kill me?" In a flash, he slipped behind one attacker and stabbed with a knife-hand strike. Another opponent rushed him, but Killua finished the first, darted away, and took the second from behind. In the blink of an eye, two more fell to the floor.
The last two froze in terror. They'd lost four comrades already, and they finally understood—this boy was far beyond their abilities.
"He's just a kid—why's he so strong?"
"This is insane!"
They pressed their backs together, too afraid to attack. Killua walked toward them, step by step.
"Talk. Who hired you? I'm sure we've got no personal grudge."
One of them hesitated.
"If I tell you, will you let us go?"
Killua answered without pause. "Sure."
It sounded so easy that it made them doubt him even more.
"You expect us to believe that, brat? Swear it!"
Killua nodded. "Fine. I swear that if you tell me who hired you, I won't kill you."
Yet the quicker Killua agreed, the less they trusted him.
"That's too easy. There must be a catch!"
"Get us out of here first. Find us a way off this airship. Otherwise, we can't believe you. You're obviously plotting something!"
Their eyes shifted nervously.
"Bring us some parachutes. Then maybe we'll trust you."
Killua's gaze narrowed; he was running out of patience. Like Ron, he didn't particularly enjoy killing. To him, murder was part of a job. Doing it for free gave him no satisfaction. The two in front of him were too weak, and he had been ready to spare them, but their demands kept escalating.
He sighed. "I already said I wouldn't kill you, but don't think I need anything from you. Here's my final offer: name your employer, and leave.
Now."
A deadly aura poured off him, and both men instinctively stepped back. One of them gritted his teeth.
"Fine. We'll tell—"
Suddenly, a figure dashed in behind Killua with startling speed. Unlike the men he'd just faced, this person was dangerous enough to threaten him. Killua's eyes widened. Sensing an opening, the other two rushed in as well.
"Ponzu, I'm going out for a bit," Ron said.
"Understood, Captain," Ponzu replied.
Killua had refused Gon's help because he was confident in his abilities, but the real instigator behind this looked to be no trivial foe. Ron was willing to let his cousin test himself up to a point, but letting Killua get killed would be a failure on Ron's part.
He soon caught sight of the fight: one woman plus two remaining attackers were besieging Killua. Two more lay dead on the ground. Killua's expression was icy cold.
"Seriously, can't you people take a hint? That must be the one who hired you, right? And you two were dumb enough to join her?"
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