Rebirth in HxH World With Gardevoir

Kurapika simply shook his head and remained silent. No one pressed further. After a while, the stone door leading to the bottom floor creaked open once again. Light spilled into the dim chamber, illuminating a face painted with eerie clown makeup. The first thing that came into view was the massive pile of rubble in the center of the venue. Then, Hisoka's gaze traveled upward. His breath hitched slightly. The ceiling—no, the entire tower—had been punched clean through. A deep, gaping hole stretched far beyond what his eyes could see. He pressed the stack of playing cards in his hand lightly against his lips, his eyes narrowing with interest.

With slow, deliberate steps, Hisoka walked forward, his movements light and catlike. He took a few more glances—first at the massive hole, then at Larry, who sat resting with his eyes closed. His eyes lingered on Larry for a moment before shifting toward Gon and the others. A sly smirk crept across his face.

Hisoka didn't approach Larry. Instead, he casually moved to a corner of the room, pretending to be indifferent as he settled down to rest. But he was anything but indifferent. His first glance had been at the destruction Tyranitar had caused. His second had been at Larry. His third? The "fruits" he had his eye on—Gon and the others. A disturbing gleam flickered in his eyes as he observed them, his lips curling into a playful yet unsettling smile.

The moment Gon and his friends felt Hisoka's piercing gaze, an instinctive shiver ran down their spines. They immediately scrambled to another corner of the room, as far away from him as possible. Even without direct confrontation, Hisoka's presence alone warped the atmosphere. It was suffocating. In this vast underground chamber, only two other people besides them were present. One was a man who could summon terrifying beasts at will. The other was a deranged and unpredictable monster in human skin.

Shortly after Hisoka's arrival, the stone door opened once more. This time, a familiar figure stepped through. Illumi . His face was still disguised, but Killua could feel it. The chilling sensation of being watched. Illumi had heard the chaos caused by Tyranitar but, he plan to leave at first but after careful consideration, had chosen to remain in the exam.

In the original timeline, Illumi had been the second to arrive after Hisoka. But this time, thanks to Larry's interference, six people had arrived before him—including Kurapika. Not that Illumi cared about rankings. He cared about people. Two people, to be exact. Hisoka And Killua.

Killua tensed suddenly. A cold sensation crawled up his spine, as if an unseen hand had just brushed against the back of his neck. His sharp eyes darted around the room, scanning his surroundings for the source. As if guided by pure instinct, his gaze locked onto Illumi.

Across the room, Hisoka, who had been idly stacking a tower of playing cards, lifted his head with mild amusement. He had been watching this unfold with growing interest. This was far more entertaining than his little card game. Hisoka tilted a playing card over his face, shielding his mouth, but leaving his cunning, hungry eyes exposed. Beneath the card, his lips curved into a grin. 

The makeup on his cheeks—one star, one teardrop—somehow made his smile look even more sinister. But before Hisoka could enjoy himself further, his gaze met Illumi's. For a brief moment, they simply stared at each other.

Hisoka's playful smirk faltered. Illumi's expression was unreadable—cold and emotionless, his dark eyes utterly devoid of warmth. But Hisoka knew him well enough. That look wasn't calmness. It was a warning. A subtle yet unmistakable message: Don't interfere.

Hisoka sighed dramatically, spreading his hands as if to say, 'Fine, fine, I won't do anything.' Losing interest, he lazily returned to his game, continuing to stack his pyramid of cards.

Illumi, satisfied, gave a small nod before turning his attention back to Killua. He clicked his neck slightly, then settled into a spot where he had a clear view of his younger brother.

Killua, meanwhile, remained tense. His brows furrowed slightly, but he forced himself to look away. Maybe… maybe he was just overthinking it. Maybe he was just being too sensitive. Yeah. That had to be it. …Right?

Before he could dwell on it any longer, the stone door slammed open again. This time, a loud, overconfident voice rang through the chamber. "Haha! I'm first!" A bald-headed ninja strode in, his chest puffed out with pride. 

For a moment, he genuinely believed he had secured first place. But then. "No, first place was Larry," Gon called out from the corner. The bald ninja froze. Then, after taking a proper look around the room, his face stiffened. His sharp eyes scanned the gathered examinees. One, two, three… Seven. Seven people had arrived before him. His pride crumbled instantly, replaced by awkward silence. …He was only eighth.

More and more candidates began trickling in. Even Tonpa managed to make it. Though his method of reaching the bottom floor wasn't quite the same as the others. Most of the examinees had to struggle through countless deadly traps to get here. Tonpa? He had gotten lucky. 

As soon as he stepped into the underground chamber, his eyes were immediately drawn to the massive hole in the ceiling. His suspicions were confirmed. Larry's beast, Tyranitar, had punched straight through the tower. The attack had been so clean and precise that it had left a direct path downward without destroying too much of the surrounding structure.

Most of the destruction was centered around Larry's own path—and by sheer chance, Tonpa's route happened to be nearby. Which meant—He had seen everything. He had witnessed the full extent of Tyranitar's terrifying power firsthand.

At the time, he had collapsed onto the ground, his legs giving out beneath him. His entire body had frozen in place. Just from Tyranitar's presence alone, his survival instincts had screamed at him to stay absolutely still. The moment the massive beast had passed by, Tonpa had been unable to move. He had simply watched in horror, unable to do anything else. By the time he finally gathered enough courage to crawl toward the hole and peek down— He had seen it. A pit leading directly to the lowest level. A perfectly straight path. He had hesitated, but in the end, he had taken a leap of faith—quite literally—and dropped down.

Thanks to Tyranitar's destruction clearing out many of the traps, his journey had been significantly easier. As he stood there now, his body still trembled from the lingering fear. One thing was clear. Larry wasn't just strong. He was on an entirely different level.

The lowest level of the Tower of Tricks was where the third phase of the Hunter Exam would unfold. The test would last for a total of seventy-two hours, and once time was up, an airship would transport the remaining candidates to the next venue.