Phantom Troupe's Web

Chapter 9.

The following morning, Iris woke up to the sound of Bean's voice speaking over the intercom, announcing their arrival at the site of the Third Phase. "I apologise for the long wait. The airship will soon arrive at its destination," his bright voice said before the intercom switched off. Yawning, the female sat up from the mattress she was using and stretched her arms before getting up and ready for the next few days of the exam. Once everyone was rounded up and directed off the aircraft, the chairman's secretary began explaining the Third Phase. "Ahem...Everyone, the exam's Third Phase will begin here, at the top of Trick Tower," Bean announced to the horde.

"Trick Tower?" an applicant asked the green blob.

Behind the horde, Iris stood between her acquaintance and brother, arms crossed under her chest with an uninterest expression as the secretary goes on to explain the assignment. "To pass this phase, you must reach the tower's base alive. The time limit is 72 hours," Bean explained with a kind smile. "With that, we will now begin the Third Phase. I will pray for your success," he encourages before retreating into the blimp, bidding the examinees luck as it ascends into the sky.

Suspicious of the tower, the magenta-haired female roamed the ceiling for a few moments, noting how some applicants were now missing. As she goes to take another step, her foot slips and slides her down a trapdoor, her body falling stomach first from the tall ceiling; a groan escaping the petite woman. Landing on her feet in a squatting position, Illuki stood up and dusted off her hands, knees and clothes from dust; glaring at the trapdoor above her. "That was so uncalled for," she huffed, crossing her ways before observing her surroundings.

In front of her were 3 long tunnels, the end of them blinded by darkness and instructions regarding the tunnels were nailed above them. "Choose a tunnel and follow its path to your next destination," the emerald-eyed woman read with an eyebrow raised at its simplicity, however, shrugs and ventures down the middle passageway. Soft hums of melodies escape the assassin's rosy-tinted lips as she walked further down the underground pathway, hearing a chorus of voices ahead of her. 'Other applicants? Or people I can kill?' she wondered, inching closer to the sound, pulling out her dagger from its sheath. She turns the corner of the pathway, meeting in the middle with her little brother and his group of who she presumed to be his friends along with the infamous Rookie Crusher.

"Oh, it's you," her voice catches the group off-guard, all of them jolting away from where she stood to provide some safety distance between themselves and the woman. Noticing their reaction, a giggle escaped her lips as a hand rose to cover the grin that appeared on her pale face; her actions surprising the group who merely stared back at the magenta-haired female with wide eyes.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you all," she apologised with a chuckle. Offering them, mostly her brother and his friends, a kind closed-eye smile, outstretching a hand. "My name is Iris," she introduced herself.

Out of the five applicants, the child with spiky hair was the first to approach the woman with a grin, taking her hand and shaking it. "Hi, Iris-san! I'm Gon!" he enthusiastically greeted before gesturing to the others behind him. "This is Killua," the white-haired boy stood on guard, analysing her movements as a precaution. "Leorio," the man Hisoka had carried during the second half of the First Phase, this time he was fully dressed. "Kurapika," a blonde who formally bowed to her. "And Tonpa-san!" Gon finished.

"Hm~ I'm well acquainted with Tonpa," she hummed lowly, eyeing the experienced participant who flinched under her piercing gaze, sweating profusely. "I suppose we're to take the same path," she remarked, pointing to the direction where the two paths connected and faded into one.

"Then let's go!" Gon cheered, leading the way down the pathway with the other members following behind his short stature. The group came to a stop when the spiky-haired child halted at the end of the pathway, observing the room that had a platform in the centre of the room and a moat to death encircling it.

"What is this?" Leorio asked, glancing around the room.

"Look over there," Killua points. On the other side of the room were four hooded figures with metal cuffs latched around their wrists who stood in the shadows of their cubby.

One, a man most likely, spoke first from the edge where he stood. "The applicants have arrived. Remove the shackles," the iron cuffs around his wrists unlocked, dropping to the ground with a loud thud that echoed. "Jeez...I'm finally free," the man sighed, rubbing his wrists and yanking the burlap sack off his head, stepping into the light to reveal himself to the applicants.

"Allow me to explain, gentlemen and lady," a voice spoke over the intercom, the examiner for the Third Phase most likely. "Before you are some of Trick Tower's prisoners. The Hunter Exam Committee has also officially hired them as examiners. You will be fighting against six of them," the voice, shrill and annoying, recited the rules. "The fights will be 1-on-1. Each person may only fight once. You are free to use any method you like. There will be no draws. A win is declared when the opponent admits defeat."

'Sounds simple enough' Iris thought, her arms crossed as she listened to the examiner explain the rules. She further wonders to herself how her brother and their mutual acquaintance were fairing in the tower and how far they've gotten since entering the tower. She tunes back when one of the prisoners, a man with tattoos, spoke with a confident smirk.

"You may pick your order. It's majority rule. So secure 4 wins and you may pass. The rules are simple," he clarifies, holding up four fingers as an indication to the participants. Leorio mutters something under his breath, clicking his tongue in annoyance whereas Killua and Iris shrugged their shoulders, preferring the straightforward rules instead.

"I understand...And we must reach the goal within 72 hours," Kurapika commented, glancing down at the watch that he wore. "So time will be critical during these fights," he said.

While the prisoners knew their order of fights, the applicants stood together discussing their course of action when Tonpa volunteers to start the fights, shocking the group. "I'll act as a guinea pig, so we can discover what they're up to. Consider this an apology for before," the Rookie Crusher says.

"Alright, off you go then," Iris ushers the man, shooing him down the walkway with a wave of her hands. She stands at the edge with crossed arms, emerald hues adverting to the prisoners before back at her suppose teammate who surrendered the second the round began. The former assassin wasn't surprised by Tonpa's actions, deadpanning as the round man walked back to the group where he was interrogated by Leorio.

"However, if their goal is to buy time then the old man made the correct choice," Killua comments casually, eyeing the smirking prisoners who now leaned against the wall. "That bald guy is probably a former soldier or mercenary. Had you fought him, he would have started by crushing your throat, so you couldn't have given up," he added.

From her spot beside her brother, her emerald eyes turned from the prisoner to Tonpa with a fake sympathetic smile. "Though I doubt anyone would care, he would have tortured you without actually killing you to buy more time," she explained, a finger laying on her cheek as she observed the way Tonpa's face fall at the pair's words.

"My plan was disrupted. I was going to take my time punishing him," the bald prisoner snickers.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," another convict approached him, removing the hood to reveal a lanky brunette with crazed eyes. Gon decided to go after Tonpa, winning his match by simply blowing out the flame of his opponent's candle.