Chapter 889
"An Ascension Relic!"
Ron spoke, his tone steady.
Chrollo paused in surprise.
"An Ascension Relic? What's that supposed to be?"
The other members of the Phantom Troupe exchanged looks, equally curious about this unfamiliar term.
"You can think of it as a kind of treasure from the Dark Continent," Ron explained. "In terms of value, it's comparable to something like the Seven Supreme Beauties of the human world."
Kurapika's expression flickered slightly. One of those Seven Beauties was none other than the Scarlet Eyes of the Kurta Clan.
"Alright," Chrollo responded, hesitating for only a moment before agreeing.
Ron raised his hand. A power that didn't fully belong to him surged forward—this was the strength of Gluttony. But because Gluttony was one of Ron's Nen beasts, it could still be counted as his own.
"Devour."
The power of Devour struck the monster. It was as if dozens of fanged maws suddenly sprouted from its body, biting and tearing into its flesh.
Watching the attack unfold, Ron couldn't help but be reminded of his Rotten Life Blade.
The monster, which until now had never suffered any real damage, finally began to panic under Ron's assault.
The Phantom Troupe stared in disbelief.
That monster—something they had been utterly helpless against—was being dealt with this easily by Ron?
Ron, however, didn't find it surprising at all. The creature merely held a sliver of Sequence energy. Gluttony, on the other hand, was a full-fledged Sequence 1 entity. Killing a monster like this was no more difficult than swatting a fly.
The reason he hadn't saved Nobunaga earlier wasn't because he couldn't defeat the creature. It was because there had been no way to do so without also killing Nobunaga in the process.
In other words, Ron's attack power was too overwhelming. If he wanted to kill the monster, he would have to destroy both the beast and Nobunaga together. That was why he had said he couldn't save him.
The monster thrashed wildly, roaring and struggling, but it was all useless.
The Devour power clung to it like a parasite fused with its very bones, and the beast's energy rapidly diminished. Its massive frame shrank visibly. It screamed, growled, and even tried to attack the Troupe members and Ron himself, but nothing worked.
In moments, it was gone.
"Thanks, Ron."
The Phantom Troupe members exhaled, visibly relieved.
"No need. It was a fair trade," Ron replied, waving them off casually.
Chrollo turned to him. "Ron, can I ask—what exactly is this ' Ascension Relic' you mentioned?"
"It's something that can increase one's strength," Ron answered. "I couldn't describe it exactly, but once you see it, you'll know. When you find it, you'll understand—that's the Ascension Relic I spoke of."
He added, "Since you're repeat clients, I'll offer you a little more insight. Acquiring an Ascension Relic always comes with danger. If it seems too easy to obtain, there are only two possibilities. One: your luck is so extraordinary it defies belief. Two: the danger is still lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike."
With that, Ron and Machi departed.
Feitan stared in the direction Ron had gone. "Maybe… maybe Ron really did have a way to save Nobunaga. But he didn't want Machi to have any reason to return to the Troupe. With Nobunaga gone, Machi will have no ties left."
"It was way too easy for him to kill that monster."
Kurapika and Hooker immediately turned toward Feitan, expressions hardening.
Both trusted Ron completely.
Ron had saved Hooker's life. To him, Ron mattered more than the Phantom Troupe. The Troupe was merely a convenient identity to survive in the outside world. But Ron—Ron was someone Hooker would be grateful to for the rest of his life.
For Kurapika, the connection ran even deeper. He had already regarded Ron as a friend since the Hunter Exam. Ron had helped him on multiple occasions, and through Ron, Kurapika had ties to both Killua and Gon.
If Hooker saw the Troupe as a borrowed identity, Kurapika saw them as temporary allies at best.
Had the Troupe still been operating on the human continent, Kurapika would never have joined them. He only did so because the context had changed.
On the human side, the Phantom Troupe were a criminal gang.
But aboard the Black Whale, headed for the Dark Continent, they were adventurers.
Because of Chrollo's earlier decisions and Nobunaga's sacrifice, Kurapika had begun to feel a strange camaraderie with them. There had even been a sense of belonging, of integration.
But now, after hearing Feitan's comment, Kurapika was reminded that it wasn't possible.
He was only ever a passerby within the Phantom Troupe.
Nobunaga was dead.
And Chrollo alone couldn't shape the future of the Troupe.
Maybe, at the beginning, the group had a noble purpose—perhaps born out of the wish to prevent another tragedy like Sarasa's, with a genuine desire to save Meteor City.
But doing too many terrible things numbs you. Eventually, it becomes second nature. Eventually, you become the very evil you set out to fight.
As for the promise he'd made to Chrollo—to fully join the Troupe after killing Tserriednich—Kurapika intended to keep that promise.
But whether that promise would still hold any weight after reaching the Dark Continent… he wasn't so sure.
An entirely new environment could change everything.
The Phantom Troupe might not even exist by then.
When Kurapika had first heard the phrase " Ascension Relic," it had sparked his imagination.
Now that Tserriednich was as good as dead, much of the hatred in his heart had begun to fade.
And with the revelation that it had been Sheila who leaked the location of the Kurta Clan's hidden village, Kurapika found himself growing increasingly disgusted with the identity of a Hunter.
He didn't want to be a Hunter anymore.
He wasn't even sure he liked the human world anymore.
The Dark Continent, in contrast, had started to feel more and more appealing.
"Feitan, there's no need to assume the worst of Ron," Chrollo said at last. "If he hadn't intended to save Nobunaga, he wouldn't have come at all. The fact that he showed up proves he tried—and couldn't."
"Besides, healing and killing are two very different things."
"It's easy to kill a parasite inside a human body. But if that parasite leaves the host and multiplies its strength a hundredfold, even then, we can still kill it. But saving the human host—that's another matter entirely."
"Nobunaga's case was the same."
"We all saw what happened just now. Ron's abilities could suppress the infection, but Nobunaga's own body couldn't handle it."
"This topic is closed. Don't bring it up again."
"Our attention should be on the Dark Continent… and the Ascension Relic."
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