Once the Council of Elders had dispersed, Elder Biro returned to his private residence. In a secluded chamber, he picked up a secure phone and dialed a number labeled simply: Chrollo.
At that very moment, Chrollo Lucilfer was seated cross-legged in a dim, abandoned warehouse. Light streamed through a broken window, illuminating the dusty floor and the ancient books spread out before him.
These weren't just any books—they were priceless relics. Rare. Unique. Some were one-of-a-kind grimoires, long thought lost. Lately, Chrollo had become obsessed with such texts. Not long ago, he and two other Spiders had infiltrated a museum and looted its entire restricted collection without leaving a trace.
Now, he quietly flipped through one of those books, his attention completely absorbed—until the shrill beep-beep-beep of his phone interrupted the silence.
Resting nearby against the wall, Feitan and Pakunoda both turned toward the sound. When Chrollo glanced at the screen and saw who was calling, his expression didn't change—but his eyes sharpened.
It was a direct line from the Elders of Meteor Street.
Such calls came only when the Phantom Troupe was needed to clean up a mess—or erase one.
Chrollo calmly finished reading the chapter in his hands before answering.
"Elder Biro," he said, voice low and even.
"Chrollo," Biro replied, his tone as flat and emotionless as ever. "The Elder Council has a job. A bounty, to be specific. We'd like the Phantom Troupe to handle it. Are you interested?"
Chrollo's tone didn't shift an inch. "I'm listening."
There was no conflict between Chrollo and the Elders. In fact, their relationship was quietly symbiotic. The Troupe needed information—and Meteor Street's Elder Council had access to all manner of criminal intelligence. Besides, the Troupe was still short on members. Meteor Street remained one of the best places to recruit new Spiders.
So long as the price was right, Chrollo had no problem doing jobs for them.
Elder Biro wasted no time. He laid out the contract: eliminate Vega Pengellet and annihilate the entire Pengellet family operating out of Nacro City.
Chrollo listened in silence. His expression didn't waver—not at the mention of killing, nor at the scale of the job.
When the Elder finished, Chrollo responded calmly, "We'll accept. But I want detailed intel on Vega and the Pengellet family—whatever the Elder Council has collected."
A few minutes later, the encrypted files arrived.
After Biro hung up, Pakunoda looked over. "Big job?"
"Should we summon the whole Troupe?" she asked casually.
She didn't ask what the mission was, or whether it was dangerous. In her mind, such details were irrelevant. If Chrollo—the Spider's head—gave the order, the rest would follow without hesitation.
But Chrollo shook his head. "Not yet. I want to study the target first."
He began scanning through the intelligence packet, eyes narrowing as he digested each line.
"…Interesting."
"According to this, Vega only awakened his Nen recently, yet his power has skyrocketed. The rate of growth is… abnormal."
Chrollo tapped his fingers against the folder. "Either he made a binding vow… or there's another factor."
"But if he had taken a harsh vow, he wouldn't be using his power so brazenly. That means something else is accelerating his growth."
He flipped to the next section, analyzing eyewitness reports from Nacro City.
"On the night of the upheaval, Vega appeared with a group of strange warriors—entities that turned into black shards upon death. Manifestations… or possibly conjured beasts."
"Later, he wielded a sword that transformed into armor. Upon wearing it, his strength surged."
Chrollo leaned back, folding his arms.
"So… he manifests these shadow figures, and the sword might be a Nen tool—a conjured artifact."
At first, that theory made sense. But Chrollo dismissed it a moment later.
Too many. There were far too many shadow warriors. Even a powerful Nen user couldn't conjure that many so soon after awakening their aura.
"Could those warriors have been summoned through a relic?" he wondered aloud.
Chrollo recalled something from one of his ancient texts—mentions of Nen abilities imbued into artifacts after their user's death. These relics didn't disappear. In rare cases, they grew stronger over time.
"If that sword is a remnant of a deceased Nen master… and it fell into Vega's hands… that would explain a lot."
Chrollo's eyes gleamed.
He wasn't just interested in the job anymore—he was interested in the artifact itself. If it really did exist, acquiring it would massively strengthen the Phantom Troupe.
Decision made, he reached for his phone again.
First, he contacted Machi. He knew she often moonlighted at the Sky Arena, providing healing services for cash.
She confirmed that Feitan had recently been building new puppets in the Arena, while Uvogin had been fighting out of boredom.
That made things easier.
Chrollo thought briefly, then issued orders.
"All three of you—Machi, Feitan, and Uvogin—are to locate Vega Pendleton at the Sky Arena. Eliminate him."
He wasn't sending just one of them.
Despite Vega's youth, his feats spoke volumes. He had defeated two Yin Beasts singlehandedly—combatants feared throughout the underworld.
If Vega was strong enough to kill two elite Nen users, he was not to be underestimated.
Three Troupe members would be more than enough to crush him. Overkill, perhaps—but better than risking a Spider.
As for the rest of the Pengellet family? Chrollo didn't even factor them into his equation.
Without Nen, they were already dead.
With everything in place, Chrollo stood and gestured for Feitan and Pakunoda to move out. The plan was clear.
They would burn Nacro City to the ground—starting with Vega Pengellet.