"Bang! Bang! Bang—"
The white-haired boy drove his foot straight into the opponent's chest, sending the incoming figure flying backward with brutal force.
After crashing through several trees and snapping them clean in half, Neferpitou landed cat-like on all fours. She hadn't even stabilized herself before springing to another tree in haste.
In the blink of an eye, the tree she had just been clinging to was crushed beneath the foot of the approaching boy as he leapt off it, using it as a springboard—it splintered in half under the force.
Neferpitou now looked like a rat being chased by a cat. Trees all around them were being leveled by the shockwaves of their battle.
Dust filled the air, obscuring vision. Using the chaos, Neferpitou surged forward, closing in on the boy. Her razor-sharp claws extended like blades, slashing toward his arm.
If it landed, it would sever his arm clean off.
But if it failed—
That all-too-familiar feeling returned—blocked again, unable to advance.
Before she could retreat, a hand clamped down on her arm, unshakable, squeezing so hard that the bones cracked audibly. The force was enough to deform her entire arm, rendering it unusable.
The white-haired boy grinned, pupils narrowing with excitement. The black markings across both his arms pulsed and flexed, his entire body radiating unrelenting malice—
"You can get more interesting, can't you? Come on, hurry up and evolve."
"Too weak, way too weak. If you keep being this weak, I'm going to lose interest in playing with you." He said this flatly, and with his other hand, formed a fist and slammed it into Neferpitou's chest.
"Rip—!"
The arm still in his grip remained, but Neferpitou's body shot back like a cannonball.
She blasted through what seemed like half the forest, only stopping after rolling along the ground several times. Blood quietly trickled from the corner of her mouth.
She looked like she didn't even have the strength left to wipe it away.
Footsteps sounded, unhurried and casual. Just from the sound, it was obvious how little concern the boy had.
He stood before her, casually tossing her severed arm to the side.
"Nobody's ever taken two Black Flashes from me. Most die from just one." He said this with a trace of admiration in his tone. "You… are pretty impressive."
Though, in truth, he hadn't used his full strength for that Black Flash. If he'd channeled more cursed energy—or if it had been fueled by rage—it would've hit far harder.
Still, gotta conserve that blue meter.
Neferpitou coughed, spitting up a bit of blood mixed with fragments of her organs. But her face only looked more exhilarated.
"Get up. Keep playing with me." The white-haired boy's arms hung loosely at his sides as he gave the toy he'd reeled in a light kick.
Neferpitou struggled to turn over. Missing one arm and riddled with other injuries, getting up was visibly difficult.
"Oi…" The boy looked down at her with clear disdain in his eyes. "You look even weaker now."
It was just one lost arm—yet she looked like she could barely stand.
"Pathetic." He muttered, raising his foot again—so fast it blurred like lightning, breaking the sound barrier.
The kick landed with a violent burst of wind and a shockwave like a sonic boom, slamming straight into Neferpitou.
The one who had barely managed to get up was now sent flying dozens of meters away again.
Even though she'd braced herself in advance, there was no time to dodge that kick.
"You're a monster, right? Regrowing limbs should be easy for a monster. Hurry up and stick that arm back on, then get up and keep playing with me." Cyr casually kicked the severed arm toward Neferpitou, urging her with an indifferent tone.
A toy… she was this human's toy…
Neferpitou lay on the ground, silent, reaching out to grab her torn-off arm.
"You two done watching?" Cyr turned his head toward the shadows.
There, it seemed only still trees grew—no movement, no sound.
"Come out." Cyr's voice was edged with impatience, and just a hint of warning.
"Long time no see." Two figures suddenly popped their heads out from the shadows, then scrambled out on all fours.
They didn't look much different from two years ago—still dressed in bizarre clothing with intricate patterns that could make your head spin just from a glance. The boy still had his ram horns, and the girl still carried a pristine white lamb in her arms.
Even the lamb looked like it hadn't grown at all since two years ago.
What were their names again…?
"Aimei, Aili—didn't you two go back home?" Cyr half-squatted down, casually rubbing Neferpitou's ears while glancing over at the siblings nearby.
"We came with the Chimera Queen," the older brother, Aimei, replied politely.
"We originally planned to take her back. But during her escape, she ate a human—and then gave birth to a Chimera Ant with human traits. It was our first time seeing a Chimera Ant that had eaten a human, so my brother and I decided to stay and observe the development of this colony," Aili added with ease, openly revealing their purpose.
But… they originally wanted to capture the Chimera Queen?
"Meh~" The lamb leapt from Aili's arms, ran over to Cyr's feet, and dramatically flopped to the ground like it had died.
This damn drama-queen lamb.
Seriously, these two were so clearly inhuman.
Just to observe how human-eating Chimera Ants would evolve, they decided to stay and watch it all unfold. They might've even helped things along. Whether or not humans would be wiped out by the growing Chimera Ants? Not their concern.
After all, they weren't human. Some humans don't even care about that stuff—why should non-humans?
"Hey, after all this time, you still haven't figured out how to use Nen?" Cyr turned his attention back to his "toy," and the hand that had been idly toying with her ear now yanked her hair hard.
"You were born with Nen already awakened, weren't you? And you still don't know how to use it? What an eyesore," Cyr sighed.
He was starting to understand how Sukuna felt—training a toy, letting it grow stronger, then crushing the confidence it gained from that strength.
A perfect way to kill time.
As long as you're confident that they're no real threat even when they grow stronger, you can play the good teacher as long as you like.
"Show me your ability—hurry up," he growled, slamming her head against the ground by her hair.
Over and over again. The earth rumbled with each impact, the crater beneath her growing wider and deeper. The force behind his blows increased each time, and the way he gripped her head—it felt like, with just a little more pressure, he could crush her skull like an overripe fruit.
I have to escape.
I must escape.
If this keeps up—I'll die. I will definitely die.
She still had to serve the King. She couldn't die here. She needed to get back and warn the King about the power humans possessed.
She had to—kill this human and return!
[Terpsichora – Dance of the Puppetmaster]
Neferpitou's body surrendered itself to the control of her Nen threads, allowing her to unleash power far greater than before.
From being pinned to the ground, it took her only 0.1 seconds to activate her ability and launch a counterattack.
That speed—far too fast for the average opponent to dodge.
The puppet-like construct summoned by her Nen controlled the threads that wrapped tightly around her body—even her severed arm was bound in Nen thread and joined the assault.
What if your opponent awakens their Nen mid-fight?
Isn't that even more fun?
Of course you keep fighting.
As Neferpitou pushed herself beyond her limits with her own ability, Cyr, under the support of Six Eyes, fused both Cursed Energy and Nen into his entire body, drawing out even greater power.
Those without Six Eyes or sufficient energy could only enhance or protect a single body part. The rest would remain unguarded. But he could use his energy flawlessly.
Top-tier physique. Top-tier reflexes. Every stat maxed out.
His only flaw—was a short energy bar.
But… even that wasn't worth worrying about.
There was no way that cat-eared freak could last long enough to drain his bar.
He didn't even need to use his spear to nullify her ability. Instead, he moved like a shadow—silent, but unrelentingly close.
Whether Neferpitou dodged or counterattacked, he was always right behind her.
They battled while leaving destruction in their wake—the sheer pressure from their clashes distorted the entire landscape like a violent storm had blown through.
When fists collided, the shockwaves sent loose stones skittering across the ground.
They moved so fast they left afterimages, making it look like multiple versions of them were fighting at once.
All the while, the white-haired boy wore a crooked, malicious grin.
"Second Black Flash. Let's see if you can take this one." Energy erupted from his incoming fist.
The black-and-blue aura bristled with overwhelming force. The punch tore through the air with such intensity that the grass was ripped from the earth, the soil split, trees leaned away from the pressure—and leaves spiraled into the sky, caught in its pull.
With that one blow, even the sky seemed to darken.
Neferpitou's white, curly-haired form flew off like a meteor.
Several minutes later, a deafening boom echoed from the other end of the forest.
From above, it was clear that nearly a quarter of the trees had been leveled.
"Manipulation type? Or was it a Specialist ability?" Cyr mused, pulling his gaze back. "If it's just Manipulation… that's kind of boring."
He didn't even bother checking on the one he'd just blasted across half the forest.
Based on the enemy's revealed abilities, which only involved manipulation, it was highly reminiscent of the Manipulation type.
The six Nen categories are actually pretty hard to distinguish without testing.
It's not that Manipulators aren't strong or can't fight—it's just that Cyr doesn't particularly enjoy fighting them.
He much prefers going up against Enhancers or Emitters.
Fighting them is way more satisfying than going up against someone like Hisoka, whose ability is sticky, unpredictable, or layered with other traits—it forces you to constantly think, even get into psychological battles. It's a totally different experience.
His brain is already overloaded as it is—just let him have a bit of fun for once.
"Ants have extremely strong survival instincts," Aimei commented nearby, sounding half like a reminder, half like a neutral observation.
"Aren't humans supposed to wipe them all out?" Aili asked as she hugged her little lamb, adjusting her glasses. Her voice was flat, but tinged with mild confusion.
"Not really my concern," Cyr waved it off, not in the mood to explain human ethics to two non-humans.
People are different. As humans, it's normal to wipe out monsters for self-preservation or to protect their status.
But to Cyr, none of that really mattered.
He had no protective instincts for humanity, no sense of responsibility. Besides—
He already knew the human side would win. There was no need to step in.
The only real curiosity was whether any important characters would die.
"They still have room to grow. If I break the toys now, it just feels like a waste," Cyr said casually.
"I see… So this is how humans think," Aimei replied, a look of sudden understanding on his face.
Non-humans who had barely interacted with humans were now already being mentally derailed by this one.
"Humans are weird, aren't they, little lamb?" Aili murmured down to her pet.
"Is the Chimera Ant Queen still alive?" Cyr asked out of the blue.
"She is. She's birthed many underlings, but she's dying," Aimei replied matter-of-factly.
"She's still alive, huh…" Cyr rubbed his chin between his thumb and forefinger, expression thoughtful.
Weird. He could've sworn the Queen should've been dead already.
What kind of species has both a Queen and a King alive at the same time? Who even gives the orders in that case?
What is this? Some kind of dual-emperor situation, Chimera Ant edition?
"You two do something to her?" Cyr narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the two non-humans.
"We simply helped the Queen Ant survive a bit longer," Eime answered calmly.
"If she died too early, we wouldn't get to witness the later development of the species," Aili added, still holding her lamb, her expression serene—her words clearly marked by an inhuman perspective.
What are you two, evolutionary biologists? Now you care about the Chimera Ants' future as a species?
"We want to see the conclusion—Chimera Ants versus humans. Who wins?" Aimei stated their ultimate goal.
"But I could've sworn the Queen was already dead…" Cyr muttered, frowning with clear dissatisfaction.
Was his intuition off? No way. He never gets it wrong.
"She's almost dead," Aimei confirmed, as if reassuring him.
"It's okay to just treat her as dead already," Aili added, trying to comfort their human companion.
"That's much better to hear." Cyr nodded in approval.
Just felt wrong to still have a Queen around when the King had already shown up.
---
"Cough…" Neferpitou's eyes flicked open, rolling slightly in her sockets.
"Was I too weak… not strong enough?" She knelt on the ground, tail drooping, ears sagging low as she seriously reflected on her lack of power.
That human hadn't even bothered chasing her down to finish her off. Why? Did he see her as so weak she wasn't even worth it?
A summoned puppet appeared at her side again—different from the last one. This time, she used the puppet's ability to repair her body.
Terpsichora (Dance of the Black Puppet) could summon a demonic puppeteer to control corpses—or herself.
Her other ability, Doctor Blythe (Toy Fixer), was for healing injuries.
She developed these abilities because of her severed arm. In fact, the first test subject was herself.
Her limb was stitched back on, her shattered internal organs mended. It was like watching a worn-out rag doll be patched up into something new again.
Standing up, she stretched and moved her body, eyes filled with curiosity.
The first time experiencing her own power—it felt novel, even fun.
Her ability actually seemed pretty amazing.
Her ears perked back up, tail swaying behind her. She looked like she was in a great mood, completely unfazed by the brutal beating she'd just received.
She was stronger now! That was great news!
She could serve the King even better.
Thinking of this, her tail wagged even more energetically.
°°°
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