Chương 42: Deadpan Nonsense

Space split. This time, every member of the Troupe saw it clearly. The area in front of Aren's hand developed a visible discontinuity. Natural law rushed to repair the missing section, dragging the nearby space toward the gap. The old woman's phone tore free from her hand and flew across the street. Aren caught it.

"Sorry, ma'am," he said with an apologetic smile.

"My companions and I still have something to do. Could you wait a little before calling the authorities?" He placed the phone on a dry section of pavement untouched by blood.

"I'll leave it here. You can pick it up after we go." Aren was not a natural-born killer. He had no reason to murder an old woman who tried to call for help. He only needed to keep the authorities away for a short time. Once they left, she could report everything she wanted. The incident would look like ordinary gang violence anyway.

"Oh!" Uvogin said.

"Deputy leader, did you develop another Nen application?" Only Uvogin would ask so directly.

"I finished it a few days ago," Aren said.

"The principle is similar to Limitless Technique. I conjure fragments of space, force them to collide with real space, and erase the overlapping section." He continued with a perfectly straight face.

"That lets me remove any material inside the deleted space. I can also use the restoration force created by the spatial gap to move myself or pull a target toward me." It was complete nonsense. But the others had no spatial affinity and no way to disprove it. Uvogin nodded as if he understood everything. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"I see! Deputy leader, you're incredible." The others stared at him.

"You don't see anything," Nobunaga said.

"You understood none of that." Chrollo, however, was genuinely impressed.

"Your ability is remarkable, Aren. I have never heard of a Conjurer reaching this far. Perhaps that is because my experience is still limited." His eyes sharpened with thought.

"Most Conjurers reproduce things they have touched. You can even conjure something as abstract as space." Aren felt slightly guilty.

"Maybe space can still be touched," he said.

"Most people simply don't sense its existence clearly." Chrollo considered the explanation.

"That makes sense. Perhaps one day you will even be able to conjure time."

"Maybe," Aren said with an awkward laugh.

"Who can predict the future? We should gather information and arrange lodging before the authorities notice this." The suggestion about time had genuinely tempted him. In reality, he could not conjure space at all. His ability relied entirely on the spatial trait carried by his soul. Aren took the lead down the stairs. The two bouncers above had only guarded the street entrance. The real bar was underground. The deeper the Troupe descended, the more strongly music vibrated through the air.

The plain sign outside had hidden a surprisingly elaborate interior. The bar followed a dark, theatrical style. Even the main door had been built to resemble the open mouth of a demon. Four more guards stood there, twice the number posted above. The bald man leading them frowned when he saw the group. He raised a radio.

"Doug! What's going on up there? Why did you let a bunch of kids come down? Are they connected to someone important?" Silence. Doug did not answer. Aren had killed the two bouncers before either could react, and the pedestrians outside had treated the violence as none of their business. The guards below had no reason to know what happened. The bald man called again.

"Doug? Doug!" When no answer came, he turned to the approaching group. Since he did not know who they were, he kept his tone carefully polite.

"Good evening. May I ask who you are?" Aren answered just as politely.

"We would like to ask your boss a few questions. Could you take us to him?"

"Our boss?" The bald guard frowned, but he was not impulsive enough to start a fight immediately. The local situation had been unstable recently.

"That should be possible. First, I need to confirm your identity. Which family are you from?" Aren blinked innocently.

"Which family? None. We only arrived in town and want to ask your boss a few questions." The courtesy drained from the guard's face.

"So you're just ignorant backwater brats who don't know your place?" Aren rubbed his chin and pretended to think.

"Country brats might be fair. But I think the part about not knowing your place suits you better." The bald man snapped. He ignored the gun at his waist and punched Aren directly.

"Then I'll show you who doesn't know his place!" The other guards laughed.

"If those kids want to die, they could have jumped off a building instead of making trouble for us."

"Lately, every kind of idiot thinks they can challenge the Nostrade Family."

"Let's do a good deed and send them on their way." Three guns came out. A blade rang free of its sheath.