Hey, lovelies! I'm back with a new chapter from Illumi's point of view simply because I love exploring his thoughts. And, this time, our dearest psychotic magician appears as well. Can't have one of these two without the other lmao
I would like to thanky you for reading this story and interacting with me! My motivation comes from you guys.
Oh, btw, I've decided that I'll keep my chapters long and I'll only split it in different parts if needed (trust me, there's a few chapters with almost 10k words lol). It will make the experience of reading Cataclysm better for you.
Without further ado, I hope you like this chapter! And please do not forget: updates take place every Monday and Friday from 12pm to 5 pm PST!
See you,
—Cherry
Medea Lanfort. 20 years old. Birthday: December 12. Blood type: O. Height: 170cm. Weight: 58kg. Native country is Drires, on the Enotian continent. Sea Hunter. Unknown relatives. She lived in Proyca, a province of Clayso, until she passed the Hunter exam at the age of 11. Currently resides in the Republic of Lapet, near the Mountains of Tears. Nen type: unknown.
Illumi read and reread that little snippet of information trying to find any detail he might've missed, his black eyes glued to his own handwriting.
Incredibly, there was almost no data about the thief in the Association's database or anywhere else he'd searched. It was as if she hadn't lived until she became a Hunter. Of course, her research and missions were perfectly cataloged in the system files, however it was not in fact personal enough, and work details wouldn't make him discover something important about her.
He huffed angrily and tilted his head back as he stared at the ceiling.
It had been almost a month since they'd fought and that agonizing sensation of defeat still persisted on his chest.
He covered his face with his hands and bit the inside of his cheek — a habit he'd developed as a child to stay focused on what he had to do instead of letting his emotions blind him.
He had to find something about her. Anything. Illumi needed information to use as an advantage for the moment when he finally killed her.
Yes, after a month, he'd given up on the idea that the right moment for him to taste victory would arise and had decided on a simpler option instead. The fastest way of getting rid of that bothersome woman was to put an end to everything as soon as possible, without giving her a chance to prepare herself. Very similar to a lion attacking his prey.
Still, it didn't seem right to just appear in her house and murder her.
No, that was too simple.
Illumi wanted her to feel the same affliction he'd been feeling since then. He wanted her to suffer.
Next to his notebook, his phone buzzed and he frowned softly as he saw the name of his ally on the screen. Hisoka had chosen a terrible time to call, as always. Taking a deep breath, he answered, his voice even colder and apathetic than usual. "What do you want, Hisoka?"
"Have you forgotten about me, Illu?" He provoked, emphasizing the awful nickname. "You didn't send me the time to meet you tomorrow as you always do. I was curious as to why." He sighed dramatically. "Do you have someone else to help you with your missions now? Would you put an end to your best friend's fun?"
Illumi raised an eyebrow, noticeably confused.
"What do you mean? The mission is two weeks from now, on the 12th." The man said as he stood up and picked up the silver Kanzashi next to his headboard, analyzing it. "And I already told you, we are not friends. We're allies."
The other side of the line went silent for a moment and he was surprised. Hisoka and silence in the same sentence? How unlikely. His calls generally took a lot of Illumi's time since he seemed physically unable to shut up for a second.
What could have happened?
"Illumi, your jokes aren't funny." His voice sounded contained, as if an adult was warning a child before scolding them. When the assassin didn't answer, too busy studying the greenish stones in the peacock's tail, Hisoka seemed to realize what was happening. "By the Great Heavens! Illumi, did you forget about the mission?"
"Of course not, you fool. I told you, you're early." He retorted, spinning the metal object between his fingers, surprised by its lightness and fluidity as the movements were intensified. It felt a bit like holding one of his own needles. He could see why she had gotten them mixed up at the Emerald Kaniv.
Perhaps it wasn't a useless weapon, after all.
"Illumi, do you know what day it is today?" Hisoka inquired.
"February 27th, of course."
"...Illumi look at the date on your phone." He said and as much as the dark-haired man didn't like the tone that the magician had used, he decided to comply with the request to not have to listen to the man irritating him further.
He pulled the handset away from his ear and pulled the notification display down, his eyes scanning the screen quickly.
March 11th.
He frowned. So would the mission really be accomplished on the next day? But how could he not notice the gaps between the days? Had he spent so much time so focused on finding information about Medea that he went on sleepless nights and didn't even notice?
He put the cellphone back to his ear and sighed.
"I suppose I was wrong, I'll send you the information in ten minutes." Spoke while heading to the desk again and looking for the material regarding the mission.
Hisoka laughed.
"What's making you so aerial, Illumi? Got yourself a clingy bride?" Teased, his voice returning to its usual malicious tone.
Illumi put a black strand of hair behind his ear and instinctively lowered his fingers down the scar on his neck. He frowned upon feeling that humiliating despair take hold of him once more.
"Actually, no. I had an unforeseen event on my last mission, and it won't get out of my mind." He confessed looking at the photograph he'd found on the Association's website.
In the photo, Medea's violet eyes shone intensely, proud of the pink shark she held. Her hair was styled into two identical braids and she smiled brightly; she looked a few years younger than she currently was. Next to her, a man with hair as light as hers touched her exposed shoulder, brown eyes partially covered by the shadow of his blue cap, a small smile as he looked at the camera.
"A girl got between my target and me."
"Oh? Did she try to seduce you?"
"No, she tried to defend my target."
"Aw, how sweet…" He mocked.
"She even broke my nose." Illumi added.
"Hm? Was that his bodyguard, then?"
Illumi rolled his eyes. "Why does everyone keep asking me that? No, she was a Hunter." He pinched the bridge of his nose as the kanzashi gleamed in front of him, taunting him. "It was that woman who you tracked down in Idyzanon."
Hisoka didn't say a word.
"Illumi," He suddenly said gravely. "I can't believe you fought her before me. You know I hate when people mess with my toys!" Reminded him with a hint of threat in his voice, which in no way affected the killer.
"You don't even know her name." He said objectively. "Besides, it's not like I started the situation, it was her who attacked first, I only needed to finish my service." He took a paperclip and attached the newly printed photo on the page about the Hunter. "But in the end I gave her the option to get out of my way before I killed her and she left."
"I knew she was lying! She does care about dying!" Exclaimed the man, already forgetting his momentary irritation. "Oh, I can't wait to see those cold eyes overflowing with despair as she begs to live! It will be so exciting!"
Illumi snickered cynically. "That is, if she's still alive until you find her."
"Are you implying something, dear Illu?"
"Am I?" His reply sounded amused. "It's something you'll have to wait to find out, right?"
"Have you been spending so much time with me to the point of acquiring my personality traits?" The redhead laughed. "Breaks my heart to see baby Illu growing up..." His tone got slightly sly afterwards. "By the way, what's the cute girl's name? She didn't tell me."
He stopped for a few moments, unsure about sharing that information with the magician. But why? It was something so simple and common, a trivial data about an individual.
It was just a name.
Perhaps it was precisely for differentiating her, for giving her a title besides "the Mongrel Chameleon girl" for Hisoka, that made him keep it to himself. It'd be very easy for the ally to simply hunt down Medea and try to kill her first. Illumi couldn't risk losing the opportunity to finish her off.
She was his problem.
He wouldn't let anyone take away the pleasure of seeing that annoying glow in the purple irises fade away while he killed her.
"If it was just for the mission that you called, thank you for alerting me. I'll be sending you what you need to know." He answered, blatantly ignoring him.
"Are you dodging my question, Illumi?"
"Hm?"
The man on the other side laughed.
"Trying to hide her name?" Hisoka clicked his tongue. "You're just making things more interesting, my dear. The harder, the better."
"I don't know where you're talking about, she's insignificant." He declared.
"Oh, really? Then if you don't mind me going after her, tell me her name."
Illumi sighed.
"Hisoka, you're wasting a lot of my time with your meaningless conversations."
He chuckled, entertained by the situation.
"She makes your blood boil with fury, I-llu-mi?" He whispered emphasizing syllable by syllable, a shock running through the other's body upon hearing those words.
Fury.
Had he felt that before?
Yes, a small spark of irritation directed at specific people who intruded or hindered important matters. A red haired boy when he was younger. Alluka. Gon. However, even his anger towards them didn't compare to this.
It was a fire that consumed him gradually, fed by thoughts about Medea, from the smallest to the largest. It was an endless cycle.
Not knowing what to say, he ended the call.
The Ileackian Federation was located in the southwest of the Azian continent, bounded on three sides by rivers and on one side by lakes.
The country was responsible for the production of fine fabrics for export and traditional alcoholic beverages, which dated back 5 centuries. It had two large cities, the largest of which was located to the west, near the largest river in the region.
The Ileackian folk were proud of their philosophy and culture, which seemed to influence countries even across the ocean. All the people there followed a religion that wasn't even mentioned in other countries due to its smallness and protectionist characteristics, the so-called The Order Of The Golden Moon.
The nocturnal breeze made the tree's leaves rustle, a quiet and immaculate sound that was in no way hindered by the figure of the killer sitting on one of its branches.
His hair was carried by the gentle winds and stroked his serene face delicately, like a lover's touch. Illumi's eyes were focused on the partially lit road waiting for their newest target while rough, calloused fingers played with his familiar needles — the smooth, metallic texture almost like an extension of his own body by now.
He knew that just a few meters from his observation point was Hisoka, ready to fulfill his objective. It wasn't out of altruistic feelings, nothing with Hisoka was. He only did it for the promise of information about another of his toys, not that it made any difference to Illumi.
From afar, he saw the woman's silhouette.
She was one of the minor priestesses of the Great Temple and was responsible for the exchange of information between the clergy and the outside world.
Even if it had not that many members, the religion still possessed one or two allies outside Ileack who fulfilled the Church's missions. They were important to consolidate the religion's stability among other worldly beliefs.
It was precisely for this reason that Illumi had been employed to assassinate her.
His contractor was a rival nation's political leader. He planned to plant a spy among the clergy and, gradually, manage to undermine the main moral and national aggregator of the Ileack people in order to subjugate the country. An effective long-term plan, in Illumi's opinion.
He'd been informed that on Wednesdays the temple was empty, except for the woman and the guards, and that his goal was to make everything look like a purely violent act, with no specific targets, so that the High Priestess was forced to pick a new priestess.
Illumi analyzed her attentively.
Her hair was covered with an almost transparent gray veil that was held in place by a golden headband, adorned with golden branches and foliage. The light gray robe she wore moved with every step she took towards the Great Temple and she held a wooden box, the kind for aromatic herbs used during rituals, in her hands carefully.
Around the building, armed guards watched the path ahead of them.
It was expressly forbidden for anyone who wasn't part of the Order to get inside. However, this wouldn't prevent Illumi from doing so.
Descending from the tree quietly, he waited for Hisoka to approach the entrance to finally climb the walls until he reached the building's fourth floor.
Illumi entered the room through the window in silence while waiting for her to appear so he could complete the fake massacre.
He took in the space around him.
It wasn't as small as he had imagined, there was enough furniture to provide the basics, but no luxury. Next to the window, there was a desk with a stack of books and an album of portraits with some inscriptions next to each picture, but he didn't care much about it. The loud cries from the floors below, shrill and, mostly, short-lived were enough to occupy his head.
The priestess was probably hurrying to her room by now, hoping to alert the local authorities about the invader.
His tongue briefly touched the three needles in his hand, enveloping them with his lethal aura.
A few minutes passed until he heard short breaths and quick steps from the corridor. When the wooden door was opened, a loud bang echoing through the room, he blinked.
How desperate.
The woman's face was red due to physical exertion and sweat stained her robe. She briefly leaned against the door, trying to regulate her breath at least a little, before she noticed the assassin's presence in the shadows.
Her brown eyes widened and her lips parted slightly as her body trembled. She barely had time to turn around to run before the needles sank into her chest, throat and forehead, respectively.
The box of aromatic herbs came to meet the ground.
Illumi advanced to the corpse, collecting his needles carefully before turning around to pass through the window.
All of a sudden, a particularly strong gust of wind swept through the room. He instinctively turned his head to the side, covering his face with his arm, when he noticed something in one of the books.
With his attention solely on it and a crease between his brows, Illumi walked to the book. Its sheets were filled with different data from many people, all of them unknown to the assassin. He considered simply closing the book. He'd have no use for it, anyway.
But he had seen something odd. He was sure of it. And, with his interest peaked, he kept looking for the colorful page.
As he flipped through the pages that had been blown by the wind, he found the one he wanted. It was ivory colored, like all of the others, but the edges of the paper were tinted with black, blue and gold, standing out from the rest of the book. His fingers ran through the page, calmly, and then, he abruptly stopped.
Black eyes widened. It was her.
Medea Lanfort.
His fingers crumpled the sheet as he stared at the girl's cold, distant eyes, his face contorted in irritation.
Every time he looked at those purple irises, he felt like choking her to death. That pretentious and mocking air she had served as fuel to the incessant fire within himself.
He tried to concentrate on the text, but felt too agitated to evaluate and absorb what was written. This wouldn't do. He needed a lot of time and a quiet place to read all of this.
He tore off the pages about her and folded them, putting the information in his pocket. He went down the window in a leap, landing with the perfection and graciousness expected of a Zoldyck, and put a strand of loose hair behind his ear while heading to the man waiting for him.
"What took you so long? She wasn't even armed." The magician said, slightly annoyed, as he combed his hair with his fingers.
He shrugged. "I waited for her to climb the stairs."
"How chivalrous!" Hisoka mocked. "You owe me a big one now. I didn't even have fun this time, it was way too easy." He complained while looking at the assassin's stuffed pocket. "What's that?"
Illumi took his phone and dialed his contractor's number, ignoring the question. It wasn't like he should give any details of his life, they were just business partners and he didn't need to know more about Medea than he already did.
On the other side of the call, the contractor seemed excited. He barely gave Illumi time to announce that the service was complete to say he would deposit the combined amount soon after, and practically ended the call right then.
Beside him, Hisoka still glared at him with those venomous golden eyes of his, an intense air of curiosity surrounding him.
Illumi turned to him and tilted his head to the side as he walked toward the forest. "What?"
"What's in your pocket?" The man repeated.
He rolled his eyes. "It's nothing."
"Illumi, what are you hiding?" He asked again, his gaze shining with malice.
"If it was important to you, I would have told you by now, wouldn't I?" He shot back as he distanced himself from the magician, who laughed and began following him.
"So cruel." He teased. "You've been acting secretively since we spoke yesterday, is it because of that cute girl?"
Illumi kept his composure unshaken, his face neutral and his eyes tame as ever, but the way he blinked slowly and tried to control his breathing didn't go unnoticed by Hisoka, who arched an eyebrow mockingly.
"Why don't you mind your own business?" He suggested in the same distracted voice as ever.
"Oh, Illu, if you don't stop keeping me in the dark about her, I'll really have to kill her when we meet..."
It was all too quick and unexpected.
The magician didn't even have time to react before he felt his back collide against the nearest pine tree, icy hands pressing against his throat and sticking their claws into his smooth skin.
Illumi's bloodlust was more suffocating than the pressure on his neck. It was too much. Too powerful. The weight it exerted was incomparable, indescribable. He had only seen the black-haired man so angry once, so this? This was a true treat. A deliciously unforeseen moment.
Hisoka couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
Pushing the perpetually aloof Illumi Zoldyck's buttons was delectable. He would never find it not funny.
"She's my target, do you hear me?" He growled, eyes bordering on predatory insanity. "If you touch her, I'll kill you."
Illumi let go of the redhead, who remained in the same place, coughing. He took a hand to his throat, massaging it, and took a deep breath. "Heavens, Illumi! Are you really that eager to kill her?" Inquired the man, the provocative smile still intact on his lips.
"That's a warning." He declared. "She's mine."
Hisoka narrowed his eyes.
"Fine." Hisoka conceded. "I'll give her up because you hardly care about anyone like that and I want to see what fate's got for you both. But don't get used to it."
Illumi remained in the same place as he watched the man pull himself together and approach him again. He combed his long hair with his fingers as they walked away, like none of that had just happened.
Hisoka chuckled, and the assassin looked at him, displeased. "What?"
"Oh, nothing… I just think it's funny to see you obsessing over someone other than your family." He said. "It's rare to see you bearing such strong urges towards someone. You hate her to the point of wanting to be the only one to cause her death… That's a remarkable achievement for a girl you barely know."
Illumi said nothing, opting to continue walking to the place where his airship waited for them, his hand gradually descending until it reached his pocket and the fingers touched the papers firmly.
He thought about Hisoka's words and realized that maybe he really hated her.
Hatred.
It was such a strong word.
Almost as domineering and imposing as that unsettling feeling in his guts, the one he'd never thought he'd taste. But it was fine. He'd get rid of that miserable agony. He was sure he'd find something to use against her, no matter how long it took.
Obsessed or not, Illumi is set on eliminating Medea before she becomes a real threat. How long will it take for him to put his plan to action? And is there any way she could be spared?
To find out these and other questions, stay tuned for the next chapters~