Breaking Rules | HunterXHunter Fanfiction

II. Infiltration

He's not that bad after all.

Curses.

Luna huffed.

"Beyond this forest the Second Phase awaits." Satotz announced as the fog slowly lifted revealing the wetlands that stretched beyond her eyes could reach. As if on cue the tunnel behind her began to close for all the applicants who didn't make it out in time.

She couldn't think of anything else than another inevitable marathon up ahead. The goddess must be enjoying her misery. The second half of the first test was about to start but she wasn't sure if there's anything to look forward. Though the change of venue might offer some challenge. The view of the forest seemed interesting and the effect of the fog made it look dramatic. Still nothing beats the view of the ocean especially at night under the moon on her perspective.

Gon and Killua were already warming up by doing some stretching on her side while Kurapika and Leorio who barely made in time, were still catching up with their breathing. The exhaustion was still evident on their faces. 

"The Numere Wetlands, also known as the Swindler Swamp. We must cross these wetlands to reach Phase Two of this exam. This place is home of many bizarre animals, most of them are cunning, insatiable creatures that deceive humans and prey upon them..." Satotz further exposed the secret of land. Then for a moment his voice darkened, "Be careful... If you let them fool you... you're dead."

The tension escalated on the algid air upon hearing the news of the danger looming ahead. On the contrary, it only brought her encouragement she yearned. Mentioning the bizarre animals that they could encounter exhilarates her. It could be her first time seeing those creatures in person and not pictures and her hopes were beyond the roof.

"Stay very close to me so you won't be deceived." It was supposedly Satotz final warning when a limping man entered the scene out of nowhere. He was badly wounded and struggling to keep his footing.

"Don't let him fool you!!" he yelled out of his hitched breathing. "H-he's lying!! He pointed an accusing index finger to Satotz that startled everyone. "He's an impostor! I'm the real examiner!!" he claimed and revealed a seemingly dead human-size creature that looked pretty much like Satotz only much hairier nonetheless the resemblance is uncanny.

"Oh! It looks just like Satotz-san!" Gon blurted and Luna nodded, agreeing to his observation. She thought how offending it might have been sounded to Satotz but the man appeared unfazed by the accusations.

"He's a Man-Faced Ape just like this one." The accuser raised his likely convincing proof of a dead Man-Faced Ape. "They love human flesh but their limbs are thin and weak so they disguise themselves like us and tricking humans into following them in these wetlands. He intends to lead you all to his trap!" He claimed with resounding conviction that sparked a commotion within the crowd.  His statements brought murmurs of doubt and more and more were easily persuade by the stranger.

"Yeah, maybe he's right. If you haven't noticed, Satotz walks very differently. I find it very suspicious." A confused applicant confessed and others agreed with him.

Luna easily sympathize strangers –that is without a doubt, a fact, though she found it hard for herself to believe the man. She had to admit his words were pretty convincing but claiming to be the examiner was bold of him. Her senses could not detect anything special about the man compared to the strong impression she had when she first met Satotz. 

"You have to believe me, I'm the real examiner-" those were the accuser's final words as two deck cards came flying out of nowhere and impaled his chest. He died instantly. On the opposite direction, at the exact moment, another three cards was shot aiming for Satotz but he caught all three with ease.