Chapter 33: Black Rose
At the auction site ruins.
A large group of gang members loitered nearby. Within three hundred meters of the auction house, the ground was scorched earth, with several patches of soil vitrified into glass by the intense heat.
"What the hell is this..."
"Quick! Find the boss."
"Who did this? What was that miniature sun earlier?"
The gang members were in an uproar. All the gang leaders who had gathered at the auction house had vanished. Those who could attend the first auction were all core members of the Ten Elder organization. The sudden disappearance of these people had consequences that were easy to imagine.
The Yin Beast, Sick Dog, walked across the scorched earth. His expression was stunned. Just half an hour ago, he had witnessed that miniature sun with his own eyes.
"Sick Dog, find anything?"
The Yin Beast, Earthworm, stepped forward. The nearby gang members instinctively backed away. Earthworm's appearance was truly hard to stomach.
"Nothing useful. But that miniature sun earlier was definitely a Nen ability. A Nen ability at that level..."
Sick Dog didn't finish. The fear in his eyes was palpable.
"Indeed. If we had to tank that move head-on, we'd all be dead. But there's something I'm curious about—who the hell was fighting a monster like that?"
Earthworm's murky yellow eyes narrowed. At this moment, he had only one thought: to lay low for now. He had no desire to fight a Nen user who could unleash a miniature sun. If it came to blows, the outcome was beyond doubt—he would die. Unfortunately, his life was in the hands of the Ten Elders.
"Do you even need to ask? Anyone who can fight a monster like that isn't normal. Look over there."
Sick Dog pointed at the auction house building, now reduced to a charred framework. Though the entire structure was blackened, the outer walls were covered in long, thin gashes.
"Those are... slashes?"
"Right. With slashes like that, plus who was present at the time, you should be able to guess who was fighting."
The Yin Beast, Earthworm, nodded.
"What do we do now?"
"Contact the boss. What else can we do?"
Sick Dog pulled out his phone and dialed. At that moment, the Ten Elders were anxiously waiting for news. The first auction had been forced to stop before it even began, damaging the prestige of the Ten Elder organization.
On top of that, several hotels near the auction house housed VIP guests. The disappearance of all these people was a major headache.
Sick Dog reported the situation to the Ten Elders and hung up. He turned his head to look at a woman behind him.
"Not going to find your 'master'? How does it feel to be given away as a plaything by your own father?"
The woman lowered her head and said nothing.
"Hey, we're talking to you."
Earthworm noticed the woman's silence and frowned. He raised his hand, ready to slap her.
"Are you out of your damn mind?"
Sick Dog quickly grabbed Earthworm's arm. Mocking the woman a bit was fine, but leaving a mark on her face would be disastrous. She was that monster's "property." No one knew if that monster was dead or alive.
"Tch. Have you already shit your pants, Sick Dog?"
Earthworm shook off Sick Dog in annoyance and ignored Black Mary, who stood nearby.
Black Mary kept her head down, staring at her own pale hands.
"I am... property? Seems... that's right. Father already gave me away to someone else. But when did that happen? I can't remember clearly. My head hurts."
Black Mary looked up. Her eyes were dull and lifeless.
"Huh? I think I'm already dead? Why..."
Confused, Black Mary pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
...
In a distant block from the auction site, Su Xiao sat on a rooftop, considering the next steps for the brigade. Feitan was dead now. The brigade members would notice soon enough. Given their usual style, they might come for revenge.
In the original story, after Uvogin died, the brigade retaliated. Of course, that was related to Kurapika capturing Uvogin through an ambush.
Su Xiao's situation was different. He had faced Feitan head-on and killed him. With the brigade leader's twisted mindset, whether they would seek revenge was uncertain.
In the original story, Hisoka joined the brigade after defeating a member. Based on Su Xiao's speculation, Hisoka had probably explained things to the brigade leader first, then fought a challenge match, defeating that member before joining.
Su Xiao, on the other hand, had killed Feitan as an enemy of the brigade. His situation was different from Hisoka's, so the chance of joining the brigade was slim.
That said, whether the brigade would come after him was a fifty-fifty gamble. They might come, or they might not.
Su Xiao leaned toward the former. He habitually considered the worst-case scenario—after all, his luck was what it was.
Just as Su Xiao was thinking, the phone in his coat pocket rang. He pulled it out and was surprised.
"Oh? This woman isn't dead?"
He answered the call but didn't speak.
"Lord White Night, this is Black Mary."
"..."
"Lord White Night?"
"How did you survive?"
"I... don't know."
Silence hung over the line.
"Don't know? Come see me. I'm at..."
Su Xiao hung up, narrowing his eyes. Black Mary had been inside the auction house earlier. She was just an ordinary person. With the high temperature of that miniature sun, there was no way she should have survived.
Fifteen minutes later, Black Mary—who had always been a bit airheaded and was now completely dazed—arrived at the nearby block.
Su Xiao leaped down from the rooftop, landing silently behind her.
"Lord White Night..."
"Call me Mr. White Night, or just White Night. Adding 'lord' is disgusting."
"Okay."
Black Mary turned around. Su Xiao noticed that her pupils had turned cyan. He clearly remembered that her pupils had been black before.
"Strange..."
Su Xiao looked her over from head to toe. Her figure, height, and face were all the same. But he sensed a peculiar aura from her.
After observing for a long time, Su Xiao still couldn't pinpoint the anomaly.
"Take off your clothes."
"Huh?"
Black Mary stepped back a few paces. Her dull eyes regained a bit of luster. Perhaps this embarrassing request jolted her, triggering some memories.
The memories gradually became clear. Black Mary's body trembled, and her expression returned to what it had been when they first met. Seeing Su Xiao, she swallowed hard.
After hesitating for a moment, Black Mary began to undress. When her upper body was completely bare, Su Xiao raised a hand to stop her.
Stepping forward, Su Xiao grabbed her arm. Her skin was fair and smooth, with the softness unique to a woman's body.
"Hmm?"
Su Xiao pinched the skin on her arm. Feeling embarrassed, Black Mary covered her chest with her other arm, though it didn't hide much.
"Mr. White Night, please, not here..."
"That black rose tattoo is gone."
Su Xiao released her arm. Black Mary looked at her right arm. Sure enough, the skin was pale and unmarked. The black rose tattoo that had once covered most of her arm had vanished.
"Right, where did that tattoo go?"
Black Mary raised her arm. Something astonishing happened. A black rose tattoo gradually appeared on her arm. As the rose emerged, one of its petals slowly withered and fell off.