Warwick's head flew off, the remaining force also carrying his body away.
After beheading, the ability vanished.
The women's clothing on Warwick and the red hats on Gon and Killua disappeared simultaneously.
At this moment, Warwick wasn't dead yet. Even after his head fell, his life could still sustain for a little while.
He looked at the culprit who had severed his head, a ferocious and terrifying expression suddenly appearing on his face.
The next second, several headed pins flew over, piercing Warwick's eye sockets, forehead, nose...
The long needles penetrated deep into his head, leaving only the round beads visible on his skin.
Warwick's head trembled briefly, then instantly lost all signs of life.
Illumi lowered his arm, not giving Warwick's corpse another glance, instead fixing his gaze on Killua standing before him.
"Why didn't you run?"
He repeated the question he had just asked.
Killua looked at his brother who had suddenly appeared, his body trembling slightly, his mouth opening and closing, unable to speak for a moment.
Illumi stared calmly at Killua, appearing very patient.
In fact, he was asking a question he already knew the answer to.
The reason Killua defied the long-standing 'instruction' was because that brat named Gon was struggling in a difficult fight.
But he wanted an answer from Killua's own mouth.
Not far away, Gon slowly approached.
Even though Warwick had been killed by Illumi, he hadn't released his combat state, his body still wrapped in sufficient Aura.
This was a precaution against Illumi.
Illumi glanced at Gon but had no reaction.
If possible, he still wanted to kill Gon, but because of Law's existence, he couldn't act.
Ignoring Gon who was slowly approaching, Illumi continued to stare at Killua.
At that moment, Gon stopped about ten meters away, warily watching Illumi, while calling out, "Killua, come here quickly."
Hearing this, Killua's body shook. He glanced at Gon, then looked at the expressionless Illumi. After a moment of silence, he chose to walk towards Gon.
Seeing Killua's action, Illumi suddenly said, "You haven't answered my question."
When saying this, he used his Aura to enhance the effect.
Killua abruptly stopped, while Gon not far away instinctively tensed.
Both looked at Illumi simultaneously, as if they could see the evil black vortex emanating behind him, capable of easily pulling people in.
Although aware that this Aura contained not the slightest hint of aggression, it still made Gon and Killua extremely tense.
In a sense, Illumi was more dangerous than Warwick.
However...
Killua was certain Illumi wouldn't attack Gon. That was enough.
With his back to Illumi, Killua remained silent for a moment, then said, "I made a vow with Dad."
"What vow?" A flicker of something strange passed through Illumi's eyes.
"Never betray a friend."
After saying this, Killua walked towards Gon.
Though unseen by outsiders, a shadow had been left in his heart.
The moment his attack proved ineffective, Killua had almost turned and run again.
If Illumi hadn't appeared in time, perhaps Killua would have committed an act of completely betraying his friend.
If Illumi knew this, even if it meant risking Killua's life, he probably wouldn't have intervened.
Gon watched Killua walk over with his head down, slightly relieved, but still didn't lower his guard against Illumi.
If Illumi made any unusual moves, he wouldn't stand by.
Illumi never paid any attention to Gon from start to finish. He raised a hand, pinching his chin, watching Killua walk towards Gon.
'A vow to never betray a friend? So Dad violated the agreement by interfering, right?'
'But you can never get rid of it.'
'If it happens once, it will happen again.'
Illumi's pitch-black eyes reflected Killua's figure.
His eyes held nothing else, only containing Killua alone, as if trying to frame Killua within his gaze.
What he most wanted to see earlier was Killua abandoning Gon and running away. Unfortunately, this Chimera Ant seemed to be just a little short of achieving that.
'Even with Dad's interference, as long as they encountered more powerful enemies, Killua breaking his vow was only a matter of time.'
Killua reached Gon's side, who asked with concern, "Killua, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, let's get out of here quickly." Killua forced a smile at Gon.
Gon nodded. Before leaving, he glanced at Illumi, who stood there motionless like a utility pole.
The two headed in a direction away from Illumi.
Illumi watched them walk several dozen meters, then suddenly sensed something. His gaze went past the two, landing on the woods further away.
He had just sensed the enemy, and a few seconds later, Gon and Killua also sensed it, stopping simultaneously to look at the somewhat dense woods ahead.
Crack.
The sound of a dry branch being stepped on.
This indicated the other party had no intention of hiding.
Several branches were stepped on in succession. After a moment, a tall, thin figure walked out from the woods.
At a glance, it was a humanoid Chimera Ant with bull horns on its head, bat wings on its back, and a bull tail at its rear.
Like most Chimera Ants, this humanoid Chimera Ant had a large amount of Aura swirling around it. A notable point was that one of the horns on its head was broken.
The horned man was Harrison, who had stayed in the Mitene Union, also one of the Chimera Ant Squadron Leaders.
Most Chimera Ants chose to leave the Mitene Union, only a small portion choosing to stay.
And most of the Chimera Ants that chose to leave were wiped out by the Extermination Team's encirclement. Among the surviving Chimera Ants, a small number operated within the Mitene Union's borders.
"Three."
Harrison's eyes pierced through Gon and Killua like lightning.
Then, the moment the two showed intense reactions, his gaze easily skipped over them, landing directly on the more distant Illumi.
This brief shift in focus allowed Gon and Killua to discern the other party's thoughts and judgment.
In Harrison's eyes, the threat they posed was far less than that of Illumi dozens of meters away.
Therefore, Harrison dared to disregard the near for the far, dispersing his attention to focus on the more distant Illumi.
That was fine too. They could slip away when Harrison and Illumi started fighting.
Faced with Harrison, whose Aura Output was even stronger than Warwick's, if Gon and Killua could run, they wouldn't be foolish enough to clash head-on.
"Believe me, if you choose to run, you'll die faster."
Harrison's peripheral vision locked onto Gon and Killua. Even with just his peripheral vision, it was particularly heavy.
Their presence was locked on...
Gon and Killua felt heavy-hearted.
The guys they encountered one after another were getting more and more terrifying.
Not far away, Illumi, who was being closely watched by Harrison, made an unexpected move.
He closed his pores, withdrawing his Aura into his body, entering a state of Zetsu.
Noticing Illumi's action, Harrison understood something. This was also what he would do next.
Harrison had a habit that wasn't exactly a bad habit: dealing with the weak first, then handling the strong.
Since the strongest human in the area didn't object to this, he would implement it with pleasure.