He wouldn't have lasted this long.
Thud! Suddenly, Netero collapsed.
'Such a terrifying poison! Such a terrifying ability!'
Those were Netero's last thoughts before losing consciousness.
Loki's escape stunned the dispersing crowd.
"What?! That kid got away!"
"Why did he run?"
"That bastard just left!"
Then, someone saw Netero on the ground.
"Chairman Netero! He's... he's dead!"
They saw Netero lying in a pool of blood.
"Chairman! Chairman!"
"Chairman Netero has been killed!"
The Zodiac members immediately rushed to Netero's side. Cheadle checked his pulse—it was still beating.
She listened to his heartbeat, which was weakening, but he wasn't dead yet.
"He's not dead! The Chairman's not dead! Quickly, find someone with healing abilities!" Cheadle shouted.
The stunned crowd reacted instantly.
Botobai checked Netero's aura.
"It seems like poisoning."
"Poisoned?"
Gel quickly took Cheadle's place. "Let me see!" As a poison specialist, she was the most qualified.
After examining Netero's blood and symptoms, Gel looked at the unconscious Netero in disbelief. "This is the most potent toxin I've ever seen."
"How is the Chairman doing?" Saccho and Cluck asked anxiously.
Gel exhaled softly. "Luckily, the dosage is small, barely detectable."
"But even a small amount is lethal. Without a Nen healer, he won't last half an hour!"
"Half an hour!"
Cheadle's face fell. The Hunter Association had many Nen healers, but finding one within half an hour was a race against time.
"This toxin is terrifying! It doesn't seem natural; it's more like a Nen ability," Gel said.
"A Nen ability?" Cheadle didn't want to believe this was the result of a Nen ability.
Such a small amount could poison Netero.
The word "terrifying" was an understatement.
The same poison would have killed anyone else.
While those on the ground tended to Netero, Loki, aboard the airship, lay on the sofa, exhausted. Pakunoda watched him.
"Injured?"
"No. The Chairman truly is the Chairman. I used everything I had for several minutes, and I still couldn't kill him," Loki said, his voice heavy with fatigue.
The Nen expenditure wasn't the issue; the mental strain from maintaining Overdrive Death Mode, Observation Haki, Byakugan, and Shinsō's Bankai was immense.
Without that strain, he wouldn't have escaped.
Hisoka sat opposite Loki, smiling. "That was an amazing fight, though you lost in the end!"
"Not exactly a loss. I never intended to kill the Chairman; I just wanted to test my limits."
"And now you know," Hisoka said. Loki looked at Pakunoda. "How did your mission go?"
Pakunoda sighed, sitting down. "A little unexpected."
"What happened?" Loki asked.
"The Zodiacs," Hisoka said, his face grim, looking at his playing cards. "A guy named Pariston suddenly appeared.
We had to retreat halfway through the fight; the airship was already here."
Hisoka smirked. "Next time, we won't let this interesting guy off so easily."
Loki's eyes flickered at the mention of Pariston. He hadn't expected him to interfere.
That explained his disappearance after the explosion.
"Fine. I'm going to rest."
Loki, weary, went to a room to sleep.
Hisoka smiled faintly after Loki left. "He's still sleeping? We'll be facing trouble soon enough."
Leorio put down his phone, lying on the sofa, sighing.
"That idiot wouldn't listen!"
Kurapika hadn't explicitly refused his suggestion, but he hadn't accepted it either.
His "I understand" was clearly a brush-off.
But there was nothing Leorio could do.
Leorio suddenly remembered Gon and Killua, who had mentioned possibly entering Greed Island through Loki.
The thought of Gon and Killua possibly being involved with Loki spurred him to contact them.
But their phones were unreachable.
Gon and Killua were already in Greed Island, playing hide-and-seek with a bubble horse.
"Damn it! This weird horse is impossible to catch!" Gon panted. Killua was equally frustrated.
"I don't believe I can't catch a horse! Get up, Gon!"
Reluctantly, Gon stood again.
Gon and Killua couldn't use their phones in Greed Island, hence Leorio's unsuccessful calls.
He had to find another way to contact them.
On an airship sailing above the clouds, bathed in sunlight, Loki slowly opened his eyes in his room.
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