Chrollo left first, bringing Shalnark along with him.
Xiang Nan arrived not long after, carrying Uvogin's corpse.
Even with Uvogin's eyes still wide open in defiance, Chrollo remained completely unfazed.
Shalnark, on the other hand, looked visibly troubled.
"He's dead... You seriously think you can bring him back?" Chrollo asked, staring directly at Xiang Nan.
Despite the tension between them earlier, they hadn't crossed any lines. And based on what Xiang Nan had promised, no one from the Troupe was supposed to die during the Yorknew operation.
Chrollo already knew Xiang Nan was a doctor, and his Nen ability specialized in healing. Still, no matter how skilled he was, reviving the dead felt like something out of a fantasy.
As far as Chrollo was concerned, no Nen user could pull off something like that—at least not within the bounds of ordinary Nen abilities.
Nen, after all, has strict limitations—tied to oaths, conditions, and a user's own aura capacity. Everyone's Nen is different, and their willpower shapes the scope of what they can do. But even within those boundaries, you can't just rewrite the rules. In Chrollo's mind, the only way to save a life would be to sacrifice another—pure equivalent exchange.
And that was a price Xiang Nan couldn't afford to pay.
Xiang Nan didn't say a word.
He simply activated his ability—Hands of Love—and began a "diagnosis" on Uvogin's corpse.
As the gloves turned red, Xiang Nan opened up Uvogin's chest and began repairing his destroyed heart.
Watching it unfold left Chrollo and Shalnark stunned. Xiang Nan wasn't talking—he was showing them.
But even after the body was mended… Uvogin was still just that—a lifeless body. No soul. No spark.
Then Xiang Nan pulled out a tiny vial of pure Altana and injected it directly into Uvogin.
Even from a distance, Chrollo could tell—whatever was in that vial radiated raw life. It was like Nen, but different. Stronger. Stranger. Unfamiliar.
Chrollo couldn't read the energy's structure like Xiang Nan could. He only knew one thing: this stuff wasn't normal.
And then, something happened.
Uvogin—who'd been completely dead—suddenly started to give off faint traces of life.
Xiang Nan got to work again, closing up the wounds, finishing the procedure.
"Did it work?"
Shalnark asked, wide-eyed.
"Why hasn't he woken up?"
Chrollo turned to Xiang Nan.
At this point, Chrollo had a strong feeling that the vial Xiang Nan used had something to do with the "multiverse" he'd once mentioned. And if that was true, then all the other secrets Xiang Nan told him… might also be real.
That vial was no ordinary item.
It was a priceless artifact.
Xiang Nan stood slowly. His eyes landed on Uvogin, who was still on the ground. His lifeless eyes were wide open, a fly crawling across them. Xiang Nan frowned.
"As expected," he muttered. "Reviving someone like him isn't that simple. It's not just physical death—we're dealing with something deeper. I'm guessing Kurapika's Nen left a remnant—a lingering will. A kill-on-contact condition. It makes sense—it was meant to take down Spiders like you."
That alone told him everything he needed to know.
"So what do we do?"
Shalnark asked nervously.
"Exorcism," Chrollo answered before Xiang Nan could.
What Xiang Nan had meant was simple: Kurapika's Nen still lingered in the wound on Uvogin's heart.
"I've already cleared the Nen from his heart," Xiang Nan said, exhaling. "But time's passed. And Kurapika's ability... it's not that straightforward. His hatred runs deep. Right now, our only option is to awaken Uvogin's lingering will—his post-death Nen."
Xiang Nan's voice was calm.
"Whether he comes back or not… depends on you two. His residual Nen is still there, but right now? He's just a corpse. Kurapika's chain didn't just kill the body—it aimed at the soul too. Even after exorcising the Nen, the kill effect already went off. I can only delay the damage. If Uvogin's post-death will is strong enough, he might be able to override the chain's curse. His body's still got enough life in it to handle a revival…"
Xiang Nan pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a drag.
Then, without looking back, he walked away.
"He's closest to you two," he called out behind him. "Say something to him. If you're lucky, he'll respond."
"If he dies here… then maybe you Spiders aren't worth as much as I thought."
With that, Xiang Nan disappeared into the night.
Chrollo and Shalnark just looked at each other in silence.
"He's… an exorcist too?"
Shalnark muttered, shocked.
"Forget it. Let's just follow his instructions," Chrollo said coolly.
It was clear now—Xiang Nan's understanding of Nen and life was on a whole different level.
And his entire ability… might've been built around removing curses from the very beginning.
He was a doctor, after all. A doctor in a world filled with Nen.
…
Elsewhere, Xiang Nan stood alone in a clearing, staring up at the moon.
Things weren't as simple as he'd hoped… or maybe he'd underestimated just how terrifying Kurapika's Judgement Chain really was.
What he saw in Kurapika was proof of how far human willpower could go.
If Kurapika's chain had only bound Uvogin's heart, removing the Nen would've fixed it. But the kill effect had already triggered. At that point, exorcism was nearly useless. Kurapika's personal hatred had shaped his ability into a weapon—something brutal and absolute against the Spiders.
Xiang Nan exhaled another cloud of smoke.
He had to admit it: Kurapika's sheer willpower was something he lacked.
Maybe this was what Linne meant when she spoke of having a "heart."
He hadn't lived through those kinds of emotions. He hadn't experienced them yet.
And that meant he couldn't channel that kind of Nen.
Just like how Gon, in his darkest moment, killed Neferpitou with that same terrifying emotional force. That was the kind of "heart" Xiang Nan envied.
When he designed Hands of Love, he built it on two core principles:
One—exorcism.
Two—combat healing tailored to his own fighting style.
Everything about the ability came from those two ideas.
This was his first real exorcism.
His success depended on how deeply he understood Nen and energy. And that, in turn, depended on his medical expertise.
That was his edge as a doctor.
But if the enemy's Nen was too strong, no amount of surgery could extract it.
If he hadn't trained under Lin Nie, he wouldn't have been able to handle this situation at all. Kurapika's Nen had already pushed the limits of what he could remove.
…
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
Just as Xiang Nan flicked away his cigarette, a monstrous roar exploded behind him—wild, furious, packed with killing intent.
The sound rattled his eardrums.
A violent surge of Nen filled the air again.
He didn't even turn.
He knew—Uvogin was back.
And he wasn't surprised.
Uvogin's survival came down to one thing: willpower. The strength to awaken post-death Nen and break through Kurapika's chains. As a pure Enhancer, Uvogin had pushed himself to the absolute limit. That alone proved he had the strength of will.
Anyone else in the Troupe? They'd be dead already.
His raw vitality played a part too.
When the roar faded, Xiang Nan turned and walked back.
He saw Uvogin on his feet, standing beside Chrollo and Shalnark, face twisted, eyes blazing.
He was demanding to know where Kurapika was.
Yeah—he wasn't done.
He wanted revenge.
Smack.
Xiang Nan flashed in front of him and smacked him on the head.
Caught off guard, Uvogin started to flare up—
—but as soon as Xiang Nan whispered a few words, Uvogin's eyes lost focus. His rage vanished. He stood there, frozen.
The powerful Nen around him shattered and vanished.
Like a statue, he didn't move.
Xiang Nan lowered his arm, the white gloves fading from his hands.
"Take him. He's out of this mission," he said calmly. "Once the Yorknew mess is over, I'll bring him back."
With that, Xiang Nan turned and walked away.