Chapter 148: Hello, Amaterasu!
Once the details were finalized, Kurapika applied a light disguise and left the
hotel with Shizuku.
Ronin dispatched a Shadow Clone to follow them as a hidden bodyguard.
Kurapika's role was to rally the local players for a coordinated strike against
the Phantom Troupe. It was an easy sell. He didn't even need to take the lead;
the resentment in Masadora had already reached a boiling point. All Kurapika had
to do was offer to take the "main tank" role, allowing the other players to
focus on spamming Spell Cards without fear of immediate retaliation.
The success of the mission hinged on one thing: whether they could actually kill
the Spiders.
Without Ronin's presence, this "rebellion" would likely have just served as a
reminder to the Spiders that the player base was unified—a minor nuisance they
would eventually solve through targeted assassinations of the leaders.
Most players still didn't grasp the true nature of the threat. They harbored the
naive hope that since the "Demon Trio" weren't Battera's contractors, they
wouldn't stay in the game long.
But Ronin knew better. The Troupe didn't just "leave." They harvested. Murder
was their method of resource accumulation. By making the players' lives the
price of the cards, they were turning the island into a private plantation.
The alliance was formed with the most desperate players—those who had already
been robbed—acting as the vanguard.
Kurapika's promise to draw the Spiders' direct fire was the only reason many of
them agreed to participate.
Still, the number of volunteers was lower than Kurapika hoped. He wasn't
bothered. Once the first wave of attackers successfully looted Spell Cards from
the Spiders, the greedy onlookers would swarm in to claim their share.
Interest is the ultimate bait.
The requirement for the entire operation was speed.
From Kurapika joining the meeting to the start of the raid, only three hours
passed. Ronin spent that time napping in the hotel, resting his eyes.
His job was simple: the moment Kurapika signaled the start, Ronin would appear
at the door of the Masadora Spell Shop and cast [Transfer] on Bonolenov.
The destination for [Transfer] was Antokiba. A secondary ambush of players was
already waiting there. The moment Bonolenov materialized from the warp, they
would swarm him, stripping his Binder of every Spell Card and Restricted Slot
item.
The rest of the team had their own assignments. With the transport cards Ronin
and Neon had "collected" earlier, everyone was mobile and armed to the teeth
with utility spells.
Ronin stood alone in the street outside the Masadora Spell Shop.
Since the Trio had occupied the building, the street had become a ghost town.
Even the local NPC Peacekeepers gave the shop a wide berth. In the logic of the
game, the Spiders' dominance was recognized as a valid status.
Ronin mused that Greed Island players were far too conservative. Perhaps it was
because death here was permanent. This wasn't a virtual simulation; it was a
lethal reality.
This lack of "retry" potential had caused many players to simply give up on
clearing the game, choosing instead to live as "NPCs" in the towns.
Ronin didn't enter the shop. He sat in a cafe across the street, shielded from
view. He couldn't see the interior, and they couldn't see him.
He waited.
Inside the shop, the Spiders finally had a stroke of luck. After a series of
rolls with the [Risky Dice], the last required spell card fluttered out of a
pack.
Great Luck.
The exchange was triggered. As soon as the forty unique Spells were arranged in
Bonolenov's Free Slots, the Binder glowed with a divine white light. A dialogue
box materialized in front of the bandaged Spider.
He hit "Confirm."
The shop was flooded with a blinding radiance. The image of a Great Archangel
manifested, towering over the room. It leaned down and gently exhaled a cloud of
sparkling mist onto Bonolenov.
Under the mist, the skinless, flayed meat of Bonolenov's body began to writhe.
New skin—pale and flawless—knit together across his entire frame in a matter of
seconds.
The healing was instantaneous. But it couldn't hide from the Sharingan.
Across the street, Ronin's phone buzzed. It was a [Communication] spell from
Kurapika.
He's arrived.
Ronin stood up. His aura was peaked, his focus absolute.
He wasn't just going to use [Transfer]. He wanted to give the Spiders a proper
welcome back to full health.
Bonolenov isn't the primary target today, but...
The shop door was kicked off its hinges.
The three Spiders snapped their heads toward the entrance. No one had dared
enter this shop for days—not even the NPCs.
When they saw the face of the intruder, Phinks and Feitan felt their pupils
contract.
Ronin.
They knew that face too well. He was the man responsible for the Troupe's rare
string of failures. The man who had already claimed the lives of Uvogin,
Omokage, and Isley.
"Retreat!"
Phinks made the only rational choice—the advice Shalnark had drilled into them
before they entered. If you see Ronin, leave.
He sensed the overwhelming pressure radiating from the boy. Phinks instinctively
pulled a card from his Binder.
[Leave].
If he exited the game now, Ronin's traps wouldn't matter.
But Feitan and the newly-restored Bonolenov had different ideas.
Feitan vanished, his speed hitting its peak as he drew the hidden blade from his
umbrella.
Bonolenov's bandages fell away, revealing his pale, hole-riddled skin. The air
passing through his body began to play a violent, war-hungry melody. His Battle
Armor manifested instantly, along with his double-headed spear.
But what greeted Bonolenov wasn't a punch or a kick. It was a pair of blood-red
eyes spinning in a horrific, floral pattern.
"Amaterasu!"
☆☆☆
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