Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

For Barney, death is a very normal phenomenon. Whether it was the deaths of others or the perilous situations he had faced himself, he had always been dangerously close to it.

Watching Martin get killed before his eyes and knowing Kenda hadn't yet arrived, Barney was acutely aware that his own life hung by a thread.

This wasn't the first time he'd been in such a situation. It was experiences like these that had forged him into the man he was today.

Roaring in fury, Barney pulled out his gun and opened fire.

Bang! Bang!

Gunshots echoed through the alley.

Kuri reacted swiftly and immediately lifted Martin's body to block the incoming bullets, while Vogt took cover behind Kuri.

Barney retreated quickly while emptying his magazine. He then shouted into his phone, "Get Ellie out of here!"

Tossing the phone aside, he reloaded with practiced efficiency and resumed firing, hoping to hold Kuri and Vogt back while widening the gap between them.

Kenda, who had taken a detour, had already heard the gunshots and rushed into the alley, so Barney's command were spoken a step too late.

The alley was straight, and Barney had nearly reached the far end by this point, so when Kenda's group arrived, they caught sight of him almost immediately.

It wasn't considered a violation of Barney's order, as it was just because the timing of the order was a step late.

Click, click.

The bullets were empty again, and Barney had no spare magazines left.

Barney retreated further and when he saw Kenda and the other two rushing over, his expression changed. He didn't expect Kenda to be so close to him.

"Why are you still here?" He quickly glanced at Ellie, who was lying on Law's chest, and asked with accusatory tone as he glared at Kenda

Kenda was speechless and didn't know how to respond.

Seeing that Barney had run out of bullets, Kuri threw away Martin's body. The few extra uninvited 'guests' were just what he wanted, as it saved him the trouble of hunting them down later.

The gunfight had gone on for some time now. So before the authorities arrived and locked down the area, Kuri was determined to kill Barney and his group, then took away the collections.

"I'll make good use of this opportunity. If time weren't so tight, I'd let you experience a fate worse than death." Kuri said coldly as he stared at Law.

Law silently put Ellie down, then motioned her to stay close to Kenda before taking a few steps forward.

There is no point in running away, and the only way to resolve this was to end it here and now.

According to the plan he made when he came, Kuri must die, as he had a grudge against him.

At the same time, the spiky-haired man and the horse-faced man were coming over here, and they both heard the gunshots.

The two of them were unaware of Kuri's plan. They only knew that their mission was to protect Barney, so gunfire didn't deter them. If anything, it spurred them on.

But just as they saw a few blurry black shadows in front of them, a petite shadowy figure darted past them from behind and stopped in their path.

"Huh?"

The spiky-haired man and the horse-faced man slowed down when they saw this. They looked at the small figure's back, who suddenly appeared in front of them with surprise, and felt that their strength was rapidly draining away.

They looked down in confusion and saw blood quietly spreading on their chests. Before they could comprehend what had happened, their vision went dark, and they collapsed to the ground.

The figure is Illumi, and in his slender hands, he held two still-beating hearts.

"There's still blood."

Illumi threw away the hearts in his hands with some disappointment. Although he had trained hard, he still couldn't achieve the skill of removing hearts without spilling a drop of blood like his father.

"It's time to wrap this up. It will be easier with fewer people. If you two hadn't shown up, you wouldn't have had to die." Illumi cast an indifferent glance at the two corpses at his feet.

The Zoldyck Family adhered to a strict code, which is they only killed when paid to do so. But in Illumi's generation, that rule had loosened somewhat.

Turning his gaze from the bodies, Illumi looked deeper into the alley and could faintly make out the glow of streetlights on the other end and the silhouettes of several figures.

Thanks to his specialized training, Illumi's vision was sharp enough to discern the scene within the alley clearly.

Illumi tilted his head slightly and thought for a while, then he leapt effortlessly onto a rooftop. From there, he began making his way toward Law and the others.

…

Seeing Law taking the initiative to move forward, a single thought crossed Barney's mind, that is, to let Law block Kuri and Vogt, so that they could take this opportunity to escape.

Barney hadn't chosen Law as Ellie's bodyguard on a whim, and it had been a calculated decision.

Now, seeing the situation unfold, he couldn't help but feel grateful for that choice.

After coming to his senses, Barney didn't care whether this decision was feasible or not, and said without hesitation: "Let hold them off. We'll make a run for it."

As soon as Barney finished speaking, he turned around, picked up Ellie and ran towards the exit of the alley without caring about Ellie and Kenda's reactions.

In response, Law didn't even glance back.

The reason he was standing here was not just to complete the bodyguard mission, and in the current situation, Ellie being taken away was actually for the best.

Kenda suffered minor internal injuries and his right arm was fractured and unable to move. So when Barney took some action while holding Ellie, he just stood there without moving.

"Kenda, why are you still standing there? Move!" Barney looked back and saw Kenda was still standing there.

"Master, Miss, if there is one more person to cover the rear, we can buy you more time." Kenda said decisively.

At this time, Ellie bit Barney's arm, and the latter felt pain and loosened his grip.

Ellie took the opportunity to break free. She jumped down, and said stubbornly: "I'm not leaving."

Barney's face darkened when he saw this. Just as he was about to get angry, Law's calm voice came: "Ellie, you will only get in the way if you stay here. Be a good girl and leave with your father."

Ellie puffed up her cheeks in anger when she heard this. It was not known whether it was because she listened to Law very much or because she knew she could not act willfully now. After a brief pause, she decisively trotted towards the exit of the alley and called out, "Barney, hurry up."

"…"

Barney's eyes twitched slightly upon seeing this. If it weren't for the poor timing, he'd have made sure Ellie understood her place.

Then, the two figures headed for the exit together.

"Vogt."

Seeing Barney and Ellie running away, Kuri remained unfazed. After calling out Vogt's name, he rushed straight towards Law.

He wanted to kill Law here, and leave Barney and Ellie to Vogt.

When Kuri moved, Vogt also moved. The two moved with precision, each focusing on their designated target.

Law's Aura surged, and a faint white light appeared above his hands as he rushed towards Kuri.

While Law and Kuri engaged in close combat, Vogt skirted around them, slipping down the side of the alley and grabbed a metal trash can along the way.

At this time, Kenda was holding the gun in his left hand and decisively shot at Vogt.

When Vogt saw that Kenda had a gun in his hand, he was prepared. He raised the metal trash can as a shield and hurled it with immense force.

The metal trash can soared through the air, deflecting the bullets as it barreled toward Kenda. Kenda remained calm as he emptied his magazine and swapped it out while retreating. However, the fracture in his right arm severely hindered his movements.

Though the trash can deflected most of the bullets, two bullets still grazed Vogt's leg. However, he managed to get close to Kenda, who was unable to change the magazine in time because his injured right hand.

After getting close, Vogt smirked coldly and kicked Kenda. Kenda was startled and hastily raised his left arm to block.

Bang!

The impact sent Kenda flying, and his body crashed into a nearby wall. The force was so great it shattered the wall, sending him tumbling into the building. His condition was unclear.

After kicking Kenda away, Vogt didn't slow down and continued to chase after Barney and Ellie.

Law and Kuri had just a few exchanges when Kenda was defeated instantly by Vogt.

Hearing Kenda's screams, Law's face darkened slightly. Although he was injured, Law expected him to hold on a little longer, but he didn't expect it to be so fast. With such conclusion, Ellie would be in danger.

'I need to get rid of Kuri quickly.'

Law's glowing hands moved with precision, tearing off the Aura on Kuri's hands in their clash.

When Kuri's Aura was torn away, he reacted quickly and stepped back with a look of shock on his face.

"I wonder where your confidence comes from. If I were you, I'd call your partner back to help instead of letting him chase after them."

A hint of regret flashed across Law's eyes, and as he spoke, he took the initiative to rush towards Kuri again.

If Kuri had delayed even a second longer just now, Law would have been able to separate Kuri's arms and end the fight directly.

The power of God Hand was beginning to reveal itself.

Kuri's self-confidence began to gradually collapse when one tenth of his Aura was taken away.

The arrogant boasts he'd made moments earlier felt like a slap to his own face as he stumbled back under Law's relentless pressure.