Joey stepped forward, revealing himself before Gerrard.
There was no longer any need to hide.
He calmly recalled the Heart Attack, which had continued to detonate sporadically by tracking heat from the scattered coin batteries.
At this point, there were few batteries left with enough heat to lure Heart Attack.
Letting it wander freely now might risk harming innocent spectators—or worse, miss Gerrard altogether.
Joey suspected that by now, Gerrard and Eide might've deciphered the nature of Heart Attack's targeting.
After all, "homing on heat" wasn't exactly a complex deduction.
Now that only Eide remained among Gerrard's bodyguards, Joey was confident in his odds.
The only wild card was Gerrard's own Nen ability.
He could sense Gerrard's aura flaring subtly, a clear sign of Ren.
Gerrard wasn't hiding that he was a Nen user.
"Can we talk now?"
There were no bystanders left nearby.
Half the arena was in disarray. The other half still watching Hisoka and Chrollo's duel, bizarrely detached.
But Joey knew that wouldn't last.
The moment Chrollo launched a full offensive, chaos would consume the stadium.
Even if Heaven's Arena had been sluggish to respond, over three minutes had already passed since the bloodshed began.
Especially with Gerrard present, evacuation or suppression units were probably inbound already.
Five to seven minutes, Joey estimated. After that, doors would be forced open, armed security would pour in—
And anyone still causing havoc would become kill-on-sight targets.
"Time's tight."
But before the final strike, there were still truths Joey needed.
"Sure," Gerrard replied calmly.
"So… what do you want to know?"
The man's composure was unsettling.
Was it rooted in true strength—or something else?
Joey scrutinized him, trying to read the subtle micro-movements.
But Gerrard's expression was unreadable. No cracks. No lies.
"The truth about 'Mei' (鸣).
"Why are you chasing me?"
No point beating around the bush.
But Joey's peripheral vision stayed locked on Hisoka and Chrollo, while mental timers ticked down behind his eyes.
"Before I answer that," Gerrard said, folding his arms,
"Tell me where you're really from."
"East Gorteau.
"You've investigated me. You know that."
Gerrard raised his hand, waving it side to side.
"No. No, no.
"It's impossible for anyone from East Gorteau to become the enemy host of Mei.
"Only souls from outside the Mobius Lake are pulled into bodies."
Joey's throat suddenly felt dry.
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because I know how Mei manifested in NGL.
"I know how few hosts survive the soul-fusion process.
"And I know exactly where Mei comes from."
There was an unshakable authority in his voice—
The kind Joey had only ever felt from CEOs or top brass, mid-decision.
"He knows a lot more than I expected," Joey thought.
He hesitated. Then finally admitted—
"...I'm not from inside the Mobius ring. I'm from… out there."
"A magical beast? A rare species? Human? Something ancient?" Gerrard's grin was sardonic.
"It doesn't matter.
"Our goals align, don't they?"
That instant—Joey's pupils dilated.
"That aura…!"
The faint presence, that familiar warmth—he'd only ever felt it from one thing:
His wallet.
"You're one too…!" Joey gasped.
SHLUK.
Gerrard's hand plunged through Eide's chest.
From his fingers, still twitching—Eide's heart.
"Indeed," Gerrard said coolly.
"I too am from beyond."
Eide stared in stunned horror, his rotating coin finally slipping from his fingertips.
It hit the ground with a metallic clink—
And that sound lasted an eternity in Eide's mind, echoing across his rapidly collapsing life.
"Humans are just stored rations," Gerrard sneered.
"Once we find a path home, this world becomes a perfect resupply station."
Then, eyes glinting with something primal—
"We were both born in Zolkoai District, weren't we?"
"The highest-grade weapons.
"And our goal was always the same: restore the world's vitality."
Joey's voice was low.
"You… retained that much memory?"
"Haven't you watched the news?" Gerrard said, wiping his hand.
"The Kakin Empire's expedition—they're building our best chance back.
"Once we board that Black Whale, it's only a matter of time."
"So you did lose memories," Gerrard added, tone almost pitiful.
"What a waste.
"Before we go, show me your Divine Glyph."
That name—"Divine Glyph"—jolted Joey.
Was that what the strange markings in his wallet were?
"Yours first," he said cautiously.
Gerrard chuckled, reaching into his suit.
He unfolded a square, pristine handkerchief—
Inscribed with layers upon layers of arcane, writhing characters.
Joey followed suit, opening his wallet, then pulling back the lining to reveal the symbols hidden beneath.
Identical glyphs, dense and untranslatable—but unmistakably tied to Mei.
"So this was it all along…" Joey thought.
"Mei isn't some wild Nen beast. It's not natural at all."
When he'd shown these symbols to Kite, even the seasoned Hunter had found no meaning.
The items he'd recovered had no aura, no signs of Nen. Just hollow relics.
But Gerrard's reaction was clear:
"Figures you washed ashore in NGL.
"That'd explain your amnesia."
"Kakin's scouts are so damn sloppy."
"Still—
"Now that you've found me,
"As a fellow weapon born from Zolkoai,
"I'll tell you everything."
"Come. Let's leave.
"Meeting you through just a doppelgänger feels… impolite."
"Doppelgänger?"
The word clicked everything into place.
Why had he sent his elite bodyguards away?
Why hadn't the deaths shaken him?
Why hadn't he flinched?
Because… this wasn't Gerrard.
Not really.
It was a perfect copy—
A conjured clone.
Joey's mind raced.
"Gerrard must've used the same method as me—Nen abilities granted via Mei."
"If his handkerchief is the same as my wallet, he's probably got a second ability too."
"The clone—too lifelike to be anything but Conjuration.
"The remote control aspect? Probably Manipulation."
Where would the real Gerrard be?
"Somewhere with full visibility.
"Access to controls.
"Able to monitor, overwrite, erase…"
Joey's gaze snapped upward.
The surveillance room.
Gerrard began walking away, toward the exit.
"What's your ability?" he asked casually.
His tone was nonchalant. Unarmed. Disarmed.
He clearly no longer saw Joey as a threat.
"He thinks I'm on his side now…"
"Life Creation," Joey answered, stepping forward too.
"No point hiding it anymore."
But doubt lingered.
Could these "outsiders" truly be… united?
Joey didn't believe it.
And yet, Gerrard's behavior suggested otherwise.
"A shared war? A shared cause?"
"Still feels wrong…"
His eyes flicked to Eide's corpse.
That look—Eide hadn't panicked when Gerrard struck. He'd looked surprised.
"He knew. He knew before it happened…"
"Then why kill him?"
Unless… Gerrard had wanted to silence him.
Unless the story he was feeding Joey—this "weapon brotherhood"—was just bait.
Then there was the handkerchief.
Why had Gerrard offered his first, so eagerly?
"He was leading me. Controlling the flow…"
His fingers brushed the wallet—it felt too important.
And then—
Killer Queen manifested on instinct.
CRACK.
Gerrard's fist collided with Killer Queen's forearm.
Bones shattered. Joey's left arm detonated in blood.
But the Queen's right hand tapped Gerrard's forearm.
BOOM.
A brilliant flare.
The arm vanished.
Gerrard hissed—
"Tch. Almost."
He retreated.
But Joey was already flicking a coin. It soared, became a swallow, dived—
Only to be pierced mid-air by a pen.
The swallow exploded, vaporizing the pen—
But it had already been struck in the brain.
It reverted to a coin, clattering away uselessly.
"He was prepared…"
Killer Queen tore off its own useless left arm, and hurled it like a missile.
Blood flew first, then came the Ride-on Bomb.
Multiple forms split mid-air, targeting Gerrard.
But he clapped his palms—
And unleashed a shockwave.