In Larry's eyes, the terrifying ruins scattered across the Six Continents weren't places of despair but treasure troves waiting to be claimed. He gained experience, gathered intelligence on the Dark Continent, and the only thing he had to spend was money—something that meant little to him. It was an unbelievably profitable exchange. And now, there was even more good news. The Zoldyck family's Pokémon had finally hatched.
It was surprisingly fast compared to the others, something Larry found a bit odd. It seemed that the incubation period for Pokémon wasn't fixed but influenced by luck. If fortunate, the process was short; if not, it could drag on. Now that everything he had planned here was complete, it was time to part ways. "It's about time for you to leave, isn't it?" Maha asked.
Larry nodded, placing his final chess piece onto the board, sealing Maha's fate. He had won. "I'll be leaving soon," Larry said casually. "And on my way out, I'll swat those two annoying flies to death."
Maha let out a low chuckle. "Yes, to you, they're no different from flies." There was a rare trace of emotion in his tone. Perhaps, in Larry's eyes, he himself was just a bigger fly.
After wrapping up the conversation, Larry left the Zoldyck estate, where he had spent the past two days. This trip had been more than worthwhile. Stepping past the gates, he continued along the path, eventually entering a sparsely populated forest. Tall trees surrounded him on all sides, the air filled with the soft chirping of birds. The atmosphere was calm, serene. But Larry knew better. It was the perfect battlefield. His hands still in his pockets, he stopped in the clearing, his sharp gaze scanning the treetops. "Why don't you come out? Do you really want me to invite you down?" His tone was cold, carrying an unmistakable edge.
Silence.
As if he were the only person here. Larry's expression twisted into one of disdain. He spat to the side before narrowing his eyes. "Fine. If you won't come down, I'll bring you down." He didn't even look at his side as he gave the order. "Happiny, Gravity."
Happiny appeared beside him, small hands glowing with a rich pink aura. A sudden shift rippled through the air. The weight of everything in the area multiplied in an instant.
Boom!
Something—no, someone—was violently yanked out of the sky, crashing into the earth with a thunderous impact. The grassy ground crumbled beneath the sheer force of their landing, sending a cloud of dust and debris billowing into the air. Larry tilted his head, watching the scene unfold with amusement. "Wow. That was dramatic. You should've just come down on your own. Would've saved you the embarrassment." His voice was laced with mockery as he looked down at the two unfortunate figures sprawled out in the dirt.
"Agh... cough... Gluttony, you idiot! Why the hell did you just drop like that?!" one of them wheezed, struggling to stand.
"It's not my fault! Blame him!" As the dust settled, the two figures slowly pushed themselves up, revealing their full appearances.
The first man wore a black suit, looking every bit like an insurance salesman who had spent his entire life making cold calls and knocking on doors. The second, however, was something else entirely. His exposed skin was covered in dense, green scales, almost reptilian in appearance. His hands were unnaturally thick—like bear paws—but tipped with razor-sharp claws. And the most striking feature? The massive, blood-red wings stretching out from his back.
Larry narrowed his eyes as he watched the two figures bickering in midair. So they actually had wings? No, not exactly. It was Gluttony's ability that allowed them to fly. The two of them—Greed and Gluttony—had come for revenge. They had been waiting at the Zoldyck estate since yesterday, lurking around just to ambush him today.
Larry remained silent, observing them. To be honest, their strength wasn't weak. In fact, they were quite strong. It was evident from the way they landed on the ground without kicking up even a speck of dust. But compared to him, they were nothing more than flies buzzing around, waiting to be swatted.
Greed's ability was fascinating in its own way. He could transform his aura into someone else's aura and bestow it upon others for temporary use. However, there was a catch. While the recipient couldn't increase their aura during the given period, after a month, Greed would forcibly extract 1.5 times the amount he had lent. If the recipient couldn't provide it, they'd be drained dry. It was a high-interest loan system using aura, a frightening ability if managed well.
Gluttony, on the other hand, was far more disturbing. His ability, "Devour and Obtain," allowed him to consume creatures and integrate their traits into his body. The stronger the creature, the greater the pain he had to endure, and the lower the probability of obtaining its traits. But the most terrifying part wasn't just his physical enhancements. Larry's gaze flickered as he scanned the list of abilities Gluttony had obtained. Some were from monsters he had never heard of, but then there were the later entries—ones that came from humans. That's what made Gluttony even more terrifying. He could gain Nen abilities by consuming people. The stronger the target, the more painful the process, and the lower the probability of success, but it was still possible. This meant his potential was limitless. Given enough time and the right prey, he could become a monster that devoured everything in his path. Not that it mattered. He was going to die soon anyway.
Larry scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain. "I thought you were some kind of monster. Turns out you're just a half-baked hybrid."
Gluttony narrowed his eyes, staring at Larry with undisguised hunger. He licked the corner of his mouth, his beast-like gaze filled with bloodlust. He wanted to eat him. Maybe devouring Larry would grant him the ability to erase Nen—an ability he had long coveted.
Greed, however, simply glanced at Gluttony coldly and said nothing. He had seen this reaction countless times before. Gluttony acted this way whenever he encountered a strong opponent. In fact, Greed had long suspected that Gluttony wanted to eat the other members of the "Seven Deadly Sins" as well. It was why Greed had never liked him. Gluttony wasn't just physically inhuman—his mentality had also long since crossed into something unnatural.
To him, every living thing in this world fell into two categories: those worth eating and those that weren't. In that sense, Gluttony and Envy were similar. Both of them sought to destroy geniuses. Envy did it because he resented others' talents, using parasites to consume them from within. Gluttony did it to take their power for himself, devouring them in the most literal sense. Just as the tension in the air thickened, with all three preparing for battle, something lurked beneath the soil of a nearby tree. A strange "creature" coiled underground, resembling a massive Worm with a disturbingly human face. It was one of the Shadow Beast—the worm.
During the Yorknew City arc, the Ten Dons had sent the Shadow Beast to prevent the Phantom Troupe from interfering in the underground auction. The team consisted of ten Nen users, each codenamed after an animal, including Porcupine, Owl, and worm. This time, the Ten Dons had formed a temporary alliance with the "Seven Deadly Sins" and, to verify their strength, they had dispatched Worm, the best at stealth and ambush among the Shadow Beast.