Chapter 88: Two Out of Two

Something’s wrong… Machi?!“What happened?!” Auren yells into the phone. “What’s the status?!”

Machi’s voice comes through ragged, her breath uneven. She continues to breathe erratically and finally begins to speak, “Paku’s wounded! She’s bleeding heavily—her chest is mauled, she’s losing too much blood! I also lost two fingers, she bit them off! This bitch transformed into some nightmare-inducing wolf monster! Our hostage is dead! I knocked her out… she lost a foot and an arm, but she’ll probably live, at least for a few more minutes. Both Paku and that bitch are in the back seat, I’m driving to the warehouse as fast as I can, but the car’s damaged! Paku needs help, now!”

“This bitch… so we weren’t imagining it?!” Auren shouts, his voice full of anger and frustration.

How the hell did she block Pakunoda’s Hatsu?! We knew something was off. We should have handled this better! Damn it!

“Your warning saved me,” Machi says quickly. “I was on guard, but if I hadn’t been, we’d both be dead right now!”

“Stay put! I’ve got the only surviving hostage, and I’m heading to the entrance. Still, there might be a few enemies with rifles waiting outside, so stay sharp,” Auren tells her. After a pause, he adds, “Grab whatever flesh and bones you lost. We also need Shalnark’s antenna.”

“…Got it,” Machi replies, still breathing heavily, before hanging up.

Thankfully Machi survived… but a wolf?! That means it wasn’t her Hatsu that blocked Pakunoda’s ability... I need to figure this out later. No time to waste. I need to hurry.

Auren quickly checks the corpses, rifling through their possessions. To his shock, he finds three licenses.

But the surprise doesn’t end there. Every one of the dead, except the young boss, was a genuine and official Hunter.

So the license thieves… were Hunters themselves. I guess that makes sense. But when this is over, I am tempted to fucking kill Pariston with my own hands. Not only did he send two traitors after me, but he also lied, saying he had everything under control, and all I had to do was follow orders. How the fuck can both of his subordinates be traitors? That bastard. When he even hints that I owe him something, he can fuck right off. He owes me. And if he doesn’t pay up… I get dragged into more and more trouble! I just want to train and slowly build up my future! I need to be more decisive and make a radical cut. No more bullshit! I want to go home...!

Grinding his teeth, Auren slings the unconscious young man over his back and grabs the three licenses before running off.

Might as well sell them or donate them to Hollow Blade. After their help with the hostage exchange, I owe them. It’s partially my organisation now, so in theory I can still take the licenses back.

The warehouse is quiet now. No sign of the earlier chaos—no explosions, no firefight, only silence.

He calls Shalnark. The line connects instantly.

“Auren, are you finished? I’m heading toward the upper floor,” Shalnark says.

“It’s done, don’t bother. I secured one hostage, the others are dead. Machi and Pakunoda are injured—Laura ambushed them but failed. I need to heal them. Is the main entrance secure?”

“Yes,” Shalnark replies at once.

He is a little nervous as well. I guess this wasn’t an easy mission... even for the Troupe. What would I have done without their help?

“I’m coming then, stay put,” Auren says, ending the call.

As he makes his way down towards the ground floor, his thoughts continue to loop.

How was she able to avoid detection…? Doesn’t matter. Focus on now.

He rushes through the ground floor of the warehouse, heading straight for the main entrance. In the distance, he spots Shalnark near the door leading to the small reception area.

Around him lie countless soldiers, every one of them dead, most of them showing gruesome bullet wounds.

“Are you hurt, Shalnark?” Auren asks as he opens the door, and they both enter the reception.

“I’m fine,” Shalnark answers calmly, following behind. “You look exhausted, though. Let me handle our new ‘friend.’”

Auren drops the unconscious young man onto the ground, and Shalnark wastes no time, jabbing an antenna straight into his stomach.

“I need to meditate,” Auren says firmly. “Pakunoda, Machi—even the hostage—they’re all in bad shape. I need to recover as much Aura as possible.”

“Got it. I don’t think anyone’s left alive, but I’ll keep guard,” Shalnark replies.

Auren nods and sits on an empty chair in the reception, activating Zetsu.

Not even three minutes pass before both he and Shalnark see a bright light searing through the entrance before a loud sound echoes through the building.

A car barrels forward, crashing straight through the old front door. Glass shatters across the floor in a violent spray.

Auren immediately leaps back to his feet and sprints toward the vehicle.

As Machi pushes open the car door and stumbles outside, Auren rushes to the back. He pulls the door open and sees Pakunoda lying in her own blood, pale and motionless, obviously no longer conscious.

Carefully, he lifts her out and carries her to a nearby reception desk, laying her down as gently as possible.

Without hesitation, he activates Azure Restoration, pouring every drop of focus into her stomach, where the wound is most severe. His Azure Aura slowly seeps into her body as he does his best to restore her body as best as he can, with the least amount of Aura.

Five long minutes pass as he works with painstaking precision. By the end, the wound is not fully healed, but recovered enough that she is no longer in immediate danger.

Sweat drips from his forehead, falling onto the floor. He exhales heavily.

Pakunoda groans softly, her eyelids fluttering open. She stares up at him. “…I survived?”

Relief crosses her face, and she lets out a weak sigh. “I owe you my thanks, Auren… but I need to sleep a little longer.”

“Relax… you’re safe,” Auren tells her.

As her eyes close once more, Auren steps back toward the car.

“I’m exhausted. I barely have any Aura left,” he mutters, dragging his tired body toward the others.

“You are next, Machi,” he says.

“I’m fine,” Machi says, raising her hand. Her fingers have already been reattached with her Nen threads.

Impressive, that helps!

“I’ll get rid of any lingering wounds and even the scars later…” Auren says, drawing a small smile from her.

“Thank you,” she replies softly.

“So… what about this bitch?” Auren asks, his eyes landing on Laura, who got pulled out of the car by Shalnark. She is unconscious, missing a foot and an arm, both severed limbs lying beside her.

“Heal her as much as you can. I’ll jab her with my antenna afterwards,” Shalnark says, extending his hand. “Machi, hand it over.”

“Here,” she says, passing it to him.

“No,” Auren cuts in. “This might backfire. If Pakunoda’s Hatsu doesn’t work on her, why would your control work? I don’t want to risk it. We got one hostage, isn’t that enough?”

“You’re right to question me,” Shalnark replies evenly, “but here’s the difference. If I take control, I’ll know immediately if it succeeds or fails. If she resists, I’ll feel it. That’s why it’s worth trying. Trust my experience, Auren.”

“…Fine,” Auren concedes.

“I can’t reattach her arm and foot. I don’t have the Aura for it, and I’m not willing to overdraft my Aura for her quality of life. I’ll stop the bleeding and nothing more,” he says firmly.

“Don’t bother,” Machi says coldly, her eyes burning with hate. “After what she’s done, she won’t live long anyway. I’ll stitch her back together just enough to keep her breathing. Crude work. She’ll never use those limbs properly again. That’s enough. You just support me as best as you can.”

Fair… but I need to be careful. I can’t afford to collapse here. Aura control is everything. I have to draw the line somewhere.

Reluctantly, Auren picks up her severed arm and foot, laying them beside her. He takes the arm first, holding it steady next to her wound so Machi can begin work.

Thread in hand, Machi begins her task—tying bones, muscles, and veins together in a rough patchwork. As Auren watches her, he feels genuinely impressed by her work.

In just minutes, the arm is connected to her body, and she tightens her strings making it almost look like her arm was never severed. Auren adds a minute of treatment with Azure Restoration, preventing infection and improving her situation. As he works, he can feel it—Machi has deliberately done a poor job, connecting less than half of what she could. The result is clear: even if Laura survives, her arm will never function properly, and every movement will be awkward and imprecise.

His Aura almost drained, Auren forces himself to stop as soon as possible.

He then holds her foot in place, letting Machi repeat the process. This time, Auren spends even less Aura.

“I’m at my limit. That’s it,” he mutters, staggering away before sitting on the car’s front deck. He almost falls asleep because of pure exhaustion.

I’ll use Zetsu for a bit.

Meanwhile, Shalnark crouches beside Laura and drives his antenna straight into her stomach.

“My Hatsu is successful,” he declares calmly with full confidence.

Auren’s eyes widen as a sudden realization strikes him.

“I have an idea,” he says, rubbing his temple. “All four Nen users in the conference room were competent… except the hostage. He relied on the others and didn’t do anything himself. What if his Hatsu is connected to her immunity?”

“Not impossible,” Shalnark says, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll stay awake and keep watch. You take a break. Paku needs rest as well. In a few hours, I’ll wake you, and then we'll make our move.”

Auren nods. “Deal. Just… be careful.”

“Way ahead of you,” Machi mutters, using her threads to bind the unconscious Laura tightly, layer after layer of string locking her in place. “This time we won’t give her even the tiniest chance of surprising us.”