Phantom Troupe's Web

Chapter 15.

At the disguised male's statement, his older twin scoffs and steps down from the log, sitting beside their mutual acquaintance and crossing her legs elegantly; resting an elbow on her knee then her chin in the palm of her hand, staring indifferently at the corpse. "Lair. You never let a victim escape," she muttered loud enough for the two men to hear her,

"He probably begged you to grant him one last wish," their mutual accused, agreeing with the magenta-haired female. His friend, Gittarackur, approaches the log he and Iris sat on, arms hanging by his sides as he blankly stared at the corpse with a small smirk.

"Well, I felt sorry for the guy. Given that he was dead either way," the pinhead monotonously commented, his sister questioning the victim's tag which caused Gittarackur to raise a hand to them. "Oh, I already took it. I have 6 points now, so I don't need this one. You can have it," he reported, throwing the tag over to Hisoka who catches it easily, flipping it over to reveal the number 80 printed on it.

"Whose tag is this?" the redhead asked.

"It belonged to some guy who tried to snipe me. That ticked me off, so I killed him," Gittarackur explained. "Well then..," he trailed off, reaching up to remove the pins that were wedged into his face, allowing it to morph back to its original state.

From beside him, Hisoka hums with delight as he watches Illumi return to his natural form. "Hm~ This is always so fascinating to watch," turning his gaze over to the female whose hair grew to its original length, the magenta tone in her hair dissipating into black and white; green hues altering colours before reverting to her natural blue irises. "How fascinating~," he chuckled in a low tone.

"It's pretty hard on me. I feel much better," Illumi says blankly, holding his pins. Both Hisoka and Illuki watched the assassin pocket his weapons before crouching to the ground and digging himself a hole to hibernate inside. "Well, I'll just sleep here until the final day. Good luck," the Zoldyck said, popping down into the ground and barricading himself in.

Humming at her twin, the eldest Zoldyck then turned her cold gaze over to the magician, tilting her head slightly at him. "I've got my 6 points. Good luck," she mutters with a yawn, stretching her arms before laying down on the log and kicking the redhead off the trunk. Her eyes flutter shut, the sound of leaves resulting and the breeze caressing her pale skin catalysing her into a slumber.

The remaining days on Zevil Island float by before the final day of the Fourth Phase arrived. Waking up to the sound of Khara's voice, the former assassin sits up from the log she was using as a bed, stretching her arms and yawning, blinking to adjust to the natural sunlight. She runs a hand through her dual-coloured hair, humming with delight at the silky feel before her Nen reactivated, disguising her hair and irises once more. Illumi gets out of the hole that he had been hibernating in, wedging his pins into his face to mask himself before the siblings made their way to the boat.

"The Fourth Phase of the exam has just ended. Will applicants please return to the starting point at once? You will be given one hour of extra time. If you do not return during this time, you will fail the exam. Furthermore, you are not allowed to exchange tags after reaching the starting point. Anyone caught swapping tags will be disqualified," Khara broadcasted from the ship, a clipboard in her arms.

'Does she have an off button? I cannot handle another second listening to her' Iris thought with a groan, trekking through the wildlife with Gittarackur behind her. At the starting point, the Hunter Association worker began listing off the applicants that collected the required amount of points, resulting in 10 applicants remaining. Once the Fourth Phase was concluded, the group of examinees were told that the Final Phase would be taken place in a different location thus resulting in the chairman picking the group up in the airship. On the aircraft, the disguised woman and her brother roamed the area before finding themselves a private room to use. She sat on the soft mattress, sighing as she lay on the bed, her hair sprawling around her head. 'Just this last phase and I can go home' she thought, running a hand through her magenta hair.

As Iris closes her eyes to relax and attempt to rest, the voice of the chairman's secretary is heard over the intercom. "I have an announcement for all applicants. The chairman wishes to interview the remaining candidates. When your number is called, please come to the first reception room, on the second floor. Then we will start with #44, Hisoka-sama," Beans broadcasted.

Time goes by before the female's number is called, her petite body staggering towards the room that Beans had mentioned during his announcement. She walked into the room, greeted the chairman and settled on the pillow that was placed in front of him, initiating the interview. "Who am I looking out for? #99 and #44. I don't particularly want to fight #301, #99 and #405...I have no reason to," Iris shrugged, answering the chairman's questions straightforwardly. After being dismissed by Netero, the magenta-haired woman returned to her room with Gittarackur, plopping onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling. 'I wonder what the last phase is...' she sighed, shifting onto her side and closing her eyes shut, falling to sleep.