Speak of the Devil // COMPLETED ✔

Breaking Hearts and Taking Names

To find Chrollo, Killua's grandfather did a damn good job of convincing Illumi that the three of them could convince the demon to relinquish Illumi. The catalyst: Knowing that Chrollo was Illumi's only chance of leaving Hell once Gon was in their possession.

"So this... Gon guy," Illumi said, crosslegged in the wagon, arms folded, back straight. "He wouldn't be able to take me to Earth so long as... Chrollo's got his weird obsession with me?"

"Correct. So we need to convince Chrollo to let you go," his grandfather said.

"Fine. I guess that makes sense," Illumi sighed, staring off to the side.

As they walked, Killua couldn't help but say, "I don't know how we could have done this without you."

His grandfather patted an affectionate hand on Killua's back. "You could have got there on your own. I'm too old to be wasting that kind of time, though."

Before long, they came upon hollows in the museum that dipped and curved the floor like shallow hills in a field. The columns weren't impeded by this, and out of spite, Killua let the wagon go with Illumi on it.

Illumi shrieked on the downturn, but collected himself as the wagon careened smoothly and rocked to the bottom of the basin. He glared at Killua as he watched Killua help his grandfather down. "You just love making me fear for my life, don't you?" Illumi said.

"Maybe I do."

"Illumi, get out of the wagon. We aren't dragging your deadweight up the next hill again," his grandfather said with a shooing motion of his hand.

The three of them trudged onward, slow and steady for his grandfather's sake. The tiles were slippery and it was a miracle his grandfather didn't break a hip in the process.

At the peak of the next hollow, they found what they were looking for.

Amidst lanterns the size of coffins, the next divot reflected their light back on the surface of a pool . The water reached the peak of their little hill where they skirted around the edge. Killua kept a firm grip on his grandfather's arm to keep them both from slipping in.

Chrollo's collection overflowed here—mounds of stuff gathered at the base of every column outside of the water, some even in the water. Warm light filtered about curtains and tapestries where a nook was laid on the water's edge.

The bed looked freshly used, but Chrollo was nowhere in sight.

"He was right here," Illumi said, hands on his hips. He turned, shouting, "Chrollo!"

Killua hissed instinctively out of fear. The hairs on the back of his neck had started to rise again, and he blamed it on the echo.

An echo he hadn't heard in ages .

Illumi's voice came back to them like a blip in the water. When no one answered, they stepped around Chrollo's things to investigate the room.

On a whim, Killua checked under the bed. His grandfather confiscated another bottle of wine from a cabinet full of pinot grigio.

"Maybe if I just..." Illumi said, reclining back in the bed.

"Dude," Killua said, exasperated.

"You're getting your tears everywhere," came Chrollo's voice at the entrance.

"Told you," Illumi said, hands clasped behind his head. He grinned devilishly in Chrollo's direction. "We have guests."

"Chrollo, how lovely to see you," his grandfather said, tucking the bottle in their wagon.