Death Notice Book 7: Chapter 41: Battle Intent

Release Date: 2026-05-08 02:22:31

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Volume 7 Chapter 42: Hisoka’s Help »

“You came!” Kurapika and Melody looked at Qin Lun, who pushed the door open, with complex expressions. They paid little attention to Rand, who followed behind the young man, probably thinking he was just another mafia member.

“Is the person we caught him?” Qin Lun looked at Shalnark, who was tied up with chains on the workbench, and showed a slight smile. Although he personally set off the bomb, in the thick dust and smoke, even the young man himself couldn’t see clearly which Troupe member Kurapika had captured.

“Why wasn’t it Pakunoda or Shizuku?” Melody asked softly, confused. Although Qin Lun had excluded her from this operation, the music hunter had a gentle nature and didn’t find it unacceptable.

“The preparation time given to me was too short. Actually, there aren’t many chain traps like this. It’s already lucky that one of them worked!” Qin Lun spread his hands helplessly. He wasn’t a god; how could he know in advance the route Pakunoda and Shizuku would take.

“So you’re the Hunter who has been scheming against us?” Shalnark looked at Qin Lun with interest, seemingly unconcerned about his own situation. “Why?”

“Heh heh heh, alright, that was a stupid question!” Shalnark chuckled happily for a while, then his face turned serious. “Did Uvogin also die by your hand?”

“Mm, yes! I cut open his stomach, just like this… and then put in a bunch of explosives!” Qin Lun gestured with his hands and spoke calmly. “He was very strong; he didn’t make a sound until he died. But I could tell he died full of regret, perhaps worried about your fates!”

“Will I die too?” Shalnark looked at Qin Lun with a smile on his face.

“That won’t be up to me anymore. I promised someone else that if there was enough time, I would hand you over to him!” Qin Lun subconsciously licked his lips, and a flash of bloody light passed through his eyes. “Perhaps compared to Uvogin, you will be seen as more pitiful.”

“Heh heh, come on then!” Shalnark smiled faintly. “Uvogin and I will be waiting for you!”

“Kurapika, let’s go out first!” Hearing the conversation between Qin Lun and Shalnark, Melody’s face turned terribly pale, and she gently tugged at the boy’s sleeve.

“Melody, I want to stay.” Kurapika shook his head, a trickle of blood-flecked spit dripping from his tightly pressed lips.

“Qin Lun!” Melody looked at the young man as if pleading for help.

“Kurapika, you go out first!” Qin Lun hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. “I don’t want you to see my other side.”

Rand watched coldly as Kurapika and the other walked out of the secret room. He then turned and said flatly, “Don’t want him to become like us? It seems you really like that boy.”

“Do I?” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed, and he replied noncommittally.

“You know best!” Firecracker gave Qin Lun a cold look, then suddenly showed a bloodthirsty smile. “Let’s begin. It’s truly an honor to witness the Dissector’s creative process firsthand.”

“Ding ling ling…” Just as Qin Lun lowered his head and the bloodlust in his eyes grew stronger, a sudden phone ringtone sounded in the secret room.

“Oh, it must be his companion.” Rand glanced at Shalnark, whose expression hadn’t changed, and threw a pink phone from the table to Qin Lun.

Qin Lun looked down at the number on the phone and asked Shalnark with a smile, “Should I answer it?”

“No need.” Shalnark slowly wiped the sunny smile from his face and shook his head calmly.

“You don’t want to be saved? That’s not what a good boy would do.” Qin Lun cheerfully pressed the answer button but didn’t speak.

“Is he still alive?” A calm male voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Troupe Leader Kuroro Lucilfer?” Qin Lun asked softly. After receiving an affirmative answer, he held the phone up to Shalnark’s mouth.

Shalnark closed his eyes and pressed his lips tightly together, clearly determined not to make another sound.

“He’s smart.” Rand grinned and said with a laugh, “I’ll help him.”

“Whoosh!” Rand raised his right hand, and a ball of fire enveloped his fist. The color of this fire was very strange, changing from red to orange, then to sky blue, finally turning into a ball of blazing white light.

“Sss!” Rand gently pressed his flaming hand against Shalnark’s shoulder. Instantly, a fragrant aroma of cooked meat filled the room, though it soon turned into a pungent, acrid smell.

“Crackle!” The muscles on Shalnark’s shoulder boiled like oil in a pan. Countless blood bubbles emerged from under the skin and then burst. However, the fluids and blood that seeped out were immediately evaporated, and clouds of pale red blood mist rose from the sunny boy’s shoulder.

Shalnark’s baby face twitched slightly, and blood trickled continuously from the corner of his bitten lip. Yet, his mind remained clear; not only did he not make a sound, but he also tried hard to suppress the trembling of his body, preventing the phone from picking up any noise.

“Enough, stop!” A voice struggling to contain its emotions came from the phone.

“Oh? You could sense that from over the phone?” Rand extinguished the fire on his hand and grinned in surprise. “Qin Lun, now I understand why you targeted them.”

“Aren’t these people just great!” Qin Lun suddenly covered his face, his shoulders trembling slightly as he gasped with difficulty. “No good, if this continues, Joey is about to lose control.”

“Let me handle it.” Rand understandingly took the phone from Qin Lun and calmly reassured him, “You go rest over there. You’ll be busy again soon.”

“What are your conditions?” Kuroro’s voice had already returned to calm.

“Based on my usual principles, I generally don’t set conditions.” Rand glanced at Qin Lun, who was crouched in the corner, and said somewhat indifferently, “But this matter isn’t led by me. So… let’s talk.”

“Leader, take everyone and le—” Shalnark, who hadn’t made a sound until now, suddenly yelled hoarsely into the phone.

“Wham!” Before Shalnark could finish his sentence, a heavy punch landed on his face, forcing the rest of his words back down his throat.

A pair of blood-red eyes, shining like rubies, appeared before Shalnark. Joey was now sweating on his forehead, one large hand tightly covering Shalnark’s mouth and nose. Blood gushed out from between the Serial Killer’s fingers.

“Shh shh shh…” Joey raised his index finger to his lips and gently comforted the sunny boy, his cheek pressed close. “You’re going to have a hard time later. Save your strength for now.”

“Uvogin, is this the… demon you saw at the end?” Shalnark stared wide-eyed, looking directly at Joey’s brutal and ferocious face. His body trembled slightly instinctively, and for the first time, a trace of sadness rose in his calm heart. Not for himself, but for that lion-like companion.

Rand looked back at the two, grinned, a strange glint flashing in his eyes, and said flatly into the phone, “Listen now. I’ll only say this once. Our conditions are…”

…

Kuroro put down the phone and slowly closed his eyes. Two lines of glistening tears involuntarily streamed down his face.

“Leader!” The Troupe members’ expressions changed, and a sense of extreme foreboding rose in each of their hearts.

“Shalnark… is already dead.” Kuroro said calmly.

“How can that be?” Franklin’s eyes widened in rage as he roared, “Didn’t we just hear his voice on the phone? Is there any condition they set that we cannot meet?”

Shalnark usually got along very well with him. Moreover, Franklin was right beside the sunny boy when he was captured. If Shalnark couldn’t be saved, Franklin truly couldn’t forgive himself.

“Franklin, calm down.” The narrow-eyed man, Finkes, flashed to his side and pressed down on Franklin’s shoulder, shaking his head gravely. “Let’s hear what the Leader has to say first.”

“Although the other party set conditions, I could feel that they won’t let Shalnark go.” Kuroro’s voice grew even calmer as he said flatly, “I think Shalnark knew this too. He has accepted his fate.”

“So, Shalnark is also one of the six companions who lost their lives.” The girl Machi looked at the Divination Poem in her hand expressionlessly, then slowly crumpled it into pieces.

After returning from the raid on the Graveyard Building and reuniting with his companions, Kuroro used the divination ability stolen from Neon to perform a reading for each of the other Troupe members whose birth dates were known.

“This can’t be!” Franklin’s face twisted as he hammered the large bluestone in front of him with both hands. The millstone-sized bluestone cracked and broke into several pieces. “Who are they? Mafia, or Shadow Beasts?”

“The mafia member we caught from that Monitoring Room confessed that it was a Meteor Street thug who just joined the Shadow Beasts headquarters, named Qin Lun.” Pakunoda crossed her arms and said coldly, “There was also a Chain User from the Nostrade Family named Kurapika. The mastermind is that Qin Lun.”

“Someone from Meteor Street?” The Troupe members were each taken aback.

“Not just his identity from Meteor Street.” Kuroro suddenly shook his head. “I suspect that Qin Lun comes from the same place as me and Feitan.”

Kuroro’s words felt like a cold icy stream washing over all the Troupe members. Their bodies stiffened one by one, as if suddenly hit by a paralysis spell.

“Heh heh, Incarnations…” The short-statured Feitan slowly raised his slanted eyes, revealing a terrifying, eerie grin.

“Leader, can you tell me, what are Incarnations?” A strange, alluring voice sounded in the room. Hisoka, a handsome man dressed in a Joker outfit, asked with great interest.

“Incarnations live in the deepest parts of Meteor Street. If Meteor Street is the forgotten land abandoned by the world, then the place where Incarnations dwell is the Meteor Street within Meteor Street…”

A flicker of reminiscence passed through Kuroro’s eyes. “We, no, they… are not human. They are the most vicious evil spirits! If Shalnark has truly fallen into their hands, he must find a way to die as quickly as possible.”

“Leader! What should we do?” Shizuku blinked and said flatly.

“I’ve always been the one giving orders. This time, I plan to let you decide for yourselves. But I must remind you, the Divination Poem mentioned that if we don’t stay at the Church, four more companions will die.”

Kuroro closed his book and spread his hands towards everyone, as if wanting to embrace all the Troupe members. “Now tell me, what do you want to do?”

“Leader, do we even need to say it!” Intense battle intent slowly rose from the group, soaring into the sky like a roaring Dragon.

«Volume 7 Chapter 40: Intersecting Plotlines

Index

Volume 7 Chapter 42: Hisoka’s Help »