Fight, observe, fight again.
Neferpitou moved almost on instinct now, using Nen as she studied Kite's use of his abilities.
"How do humans use their powers?"
"Rare specimens seem to all use some kind of special ability."
Her voice was full of curiosity and feverish excitement, but every strike she delivered was aimed at disabling Kite completely.
She didn't favor clean kills. She preferred to torment and dismantle her enemies bit by bit—then patch them back up like broken toys and control their corpses.
Besides, she still had so many questions that needed answering.
Some humans had slaughtered a large number of soldier ants. Their corpses were piled into mounds, a bold, taunting display.
And the deaths had been swift and efficient—too many different killing methods to have been done by just one person.
Humans with special powers were appearing here more and more frequently.
There was no way to gain distance.
Kite's Nen ability, Crazy Slots, kept chattering uselessly at his side.
And the weapon he wanted just wouldn't appear. The uncontrollable nature of his ability always failed him at critical moments.
Kite's face was locked in a hard, cold expression. He spun and swung his enormous scythe in reverse, seizing the moment when the monster dodged to quickly put distance between them.
Suddenly, a white streak like a meteor fell from the sky. Neferpitou's attention was immediately drawn to the light, causing her to pause. Kite took that opportunity to escape his position.
As the white light faded, two young boys appeared at the spot. Kite, who had been preparing to flee, abruptly stopped.
That was... Gon?
The two boys looked confused at first, but it didn't take long before they felt the oppressive presence nearby—an overwhelming force that weighed down on them.
It was crushing. The difference in strength was undeniable.
"Two more humans," Neferpitou muttered, disinterested. She looked away from the newcomers and refocused on Kite.
That human was far stronger than the two who had just shown up.
With a better toy already in front of her, she didn't care for the new ones.
But if the big toy ran off... the little ones could still be fun.
"Gon! Run!" Kite shouted toward the two boys.
"Kite…?" Gon stared at the scene in front of him, stunned and bewildered.
He had used the Accompany card from Greed Island to find Ging—so how did he end up here, with Kite?
And it looked like Kite was… being hunted?
That terrifying creature was trying to hurt Kite.
Killua broke into a cold sweat. Something in his mind—a deep, primal instinct—was telling him to run. To get away from this person radiating danger.
"Run!"
---
The sight of that white meteor crashing into the forest—anyone with eyes could see it.
But only those who had played the Greed Island game would recognize just how familiar it looked.
"Huh? They showed up this way at this moment..." Cyr said, his voice laced with subtle amusement and responsibility.
If this were your average hot-blooded shonen manga, this would be the dramatic moment when the protagonist descends from the sky to save a side character like Kite.
But knowing how Hunter x Hunter protagonists often get the crap beaten out of them...
It was more likely they were just serving themselves up to get smacked around.
He had been watching their battle for quite a while from a distance using his six eyes. Kite was holding his own—he was pretty tough—but with Killua and Gon showing up, the situation was bound to change.
"Are those players from Greed Island?" Maro asked, looking toward the spot where the white streak had vanished.
"Gon and Killua," Cyr replied with a hint of amusement in his tone.
The main characters had entered the scene—was the real show about to begin? This part of the story should be focused on the battle between humans and ants. Cyr wondered if something else interesting might happen.
He was so curious about the unknown "interesting thing" that he hadn't made a move himself. He hadn't charged toward the Ant King or started a fight.
Waiting was always a drag, but now that it seemed like things were finally starting, he was in an excellent mood.
"The Zoldyck and the Freecs, huh," Maro nodded, his tone flat, even laced with a bit of disdain.
He held equal disdain for anyone who distracted Cyr's attention.
"Speaking of which, that idiot tiger wandered off somewhere..." Maro changed the subject, trying to redirect Cyr's attention.
That pair of siblings who seemed close to Cyr got along very well with Sora. They were really hitting it off.
Not long ago, after getting Cyr's approval, that dumb tiger wagged its tail and happily trotted off with the siblings for a walk.
It still hadn't come back.
Seeing how the ants nearby were on high alert, could that guy have had the bad luck to run into them?
"Sora and the others..." Cyr searched briefly and picked out three figures from the dense mass of lifeforms.
As for their location...
It overlapped with where Kite was fighting.
Two non-humans—or rather, three—had run off to watch the action.
Sora was probably dragged along by the siblings.
Observing humans, observing ants... Of course, if ants and humans started fighting, they'd rush over to observe up close.
"It wandered near the battlefield," Cyr said expressionlessly.
Maro's face went blank for a moment as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
If Sora accidentally died, he'd be the only one left by Cyr's side.
But he quickly forced those dark thoughts down. All he could think was: if something happened to Sora, Cyr definitely wouldn't be pleased.
And Sora was Cyr's property—no one else had the right to hurt it.
Besides, he had basically raised Sora himself. There was no way Cyr would personally take care of a pet. When Sora was still a cub and needed constant care, it had been Maro who fed it and even gave it baths.
And its coloring matched Cyr's so well...
"...Shouldn't have let it go on a walk with those two," Cyr muttered, covering his face with one hand, his tone helpless.
Don't get killed, alright?
Even a dog should be spared for the sake of its master. If his big cat got beaten to death, that would be beyond embarrassing.
And besides, he and Sora had a contract between them. They wouldn't die together, but if Sora died, he wouldn't be feeling great either. Still, with the RCT in place, it isn't a big deal.
All in all, it was mostly a matter of pride.
His pet—he could hit it if he wanted. If someone else did? That wouldn't fly.
Even he had never truly hit it hard.
"Let's go take a look," he said, standing up and heading toward where Kite was fighting the Chimera Ants.
Maro followed closely behind, his gaze as cold as ice.
Sora had better be fine. Otherwise...
---
Sora was indeed in a bit of trouble. It had grown bored of the fight, so it left the siblings behind and went for a stroll in the forest alone.
As it was leaving, a white-haired ant who was mid-fight spotted it. But the ant didn't seem interested—it just glanced at Sora and didn't make a move.
So Sora swayed its tail lazily and walked right out in front of everyone.
It hadn't gone far before other ants stopped it.
In the sky flew ants that looked like bees—except they were much larger, about the size of a person.
Standing before them was an ant with upright white fur, looking bizarre and menacing.
Sora sniffed the air. The scent was chaotic and hard to place—it didn't resemble any one species. Or maybe this was just what Chimera Ants smelled like.
"Oh, a former kin of mine," said the ant blocking the path, eyes bright as it looked at Sora. Its tone was overly enthusiastic, bordering on dramatic.
"There can't be two tigers on one mountain. As kings of beasts, now that we've met, destiny demands we fight." It grinned ferociously as it spoke.
"King of beasts… aren't you an ant?" Sora said as it stared at the creature.
What was this nonsense about being a king of beasts—it wasn't even a real tiger.
"You..." The Chimera Ant with tiger genes seemed provoked by that line and immediately launched into an attack.
"Roaaar—"
A tiger's roar echoed through the forest, making the ground tremble.
The big cat that normally rolled obediently at Cyr's feet was now showing its true form as a magical beast.
Its sharp claws, massive body the size of a small house, and mouth wide enough to bite off half a human being in one gulp...
Then there was the breeze—once gentle, now sharpened like blades under its control, slicing through the air everywhere.
Suddenly, a tornado appeared in the sky. Winged ants were caught up in the wind, spinning faster and faster as more were sucked in.
The tornado looked like a black meat grinder, filled with constant screams.
"I'm not the same as you worthless scum," Sora said, claws tearing through the ant's body. It bit off the upper half in one chomp, threw its head back—and the self-proclaimed king of beasts was severed clean in half.
"Bleh—" Sora spat the upper half far away in disgust.
The tornado in the air vanished, and what was left of the ants—ground to chunks of raw flesh—rained down in pieces.
It still preferred cooked food.
Raw meat felt gross. Should it light a fire right here and roast it? But if it got caught sneaking a snack, it'd get scolded later…
A large number of nearby soldier ants had been killed, something Neferpitou couldn't possibly miss with her En.
Her En was a natural talent, something she was born with.
"…" She dropped the human head she'd been toying with and temporarily gave up on the already-limb-less Kite, heading toward the real culprit who had slaughtered so many ants.
While using her ability to "fix her toys," she would temporarily lose awareness of her surroundings—obviously not a good time to be distracted.
Even if soldier ants were expendable, losing too many at once wasn't acceptable.
They were still needed for the King's grand cause, after all.
---
Killua carried the unconscious Gon on his back, fleeing with great difficulty.
Thanks to that white tiger beast slaughtering nearly all the nearby ants, their path of escape was surprisingly clear.
But Killua... wasn't happy about it.
That magical beast, the one that often acted all clingy in front of that guy, turned out to be stronger than them.
And the ant that killed Kite had only glanced at them once—and then completely ignored them.
Clearly, she had placed all her attention and caution on Kite, believing that the two boys combined wouldn't pose any threat to her.
They had just arrived in this strange place, and now they were already running for their lives like dogs with their tails between their legs.
Every nerve in Killua's body was tense. Even the slightest rustle made him go on high alert.
"You two…" Cyr blinked as he looked at Killua and Gon, who were clearly in full-on escape mode.
Wow. Hunter x Hunter really was... something else.
The protagonists were actually running for their lives? That was unexpectedly real.
Shouldn't they be shouting about friendship and bonds and suddenly powering up to crush all their enemies?
"I knew you'd be here," Killua said as he saw the white-haired figure in front of them. He had to admit—he felt an unexpected sense of relief.
Like a sudden feeling of safety had washed over him.
When he saw that white tiger magical beast, he had already begun wondering where its master was.
And now, the master had finally appeared.
"I've been here for a while. But you two…" the white-haired figure said, rubbing his chin between thumb and forefinger, "Already planning to leave?"
The white light hadn't even been in the sky ten minutes, and these two were already on their way out?
"We... we got someone killed," Killua said, averting his gaze. His eyes dropped to the ground as if the words were hard to say.
If he and Gon hadn't suddenly shown up, the person Gon knew might not have ended up like this.
"True. If it weren't for you two, Kite probably would've escaped," Cyr nodded in agreement.
After all, before Gon and Killua appeared, Kite had been doing just fine.
But once they showed up… he was instantly killed.
Although, based on what Cyr could sense with his Six Eyes, Kite didn't seem to be fully dead yet. Even after being dismembered like that—he was still alive? Maybe because of his ability?
Kite's ability… that clown with its own thoughts and speech. It was hard to say for sure.
"Then get going. Go train up and come back later," Cyr said with a casual wave, unconcerned.
Just like back on Greed Island—when they encountered an enemy they couldn't beat, they trained, and when they felt ready, they came back to fight.
"Oh right, you two are illegal immigrants too," Cyr suddenly had a realization and looked at Killua. "This is NGL," he added, his tone dripping with mischievous glee.
"NGL…" Killua repeated, and then the realization hit him like a truck.
That NGL—the one with extremely strict immigration policies, where illegal entrants were sometimes executed!
They'd arrived here using the "Accompany" card—no doubt about it, they had smuggled themselves in!
Now how was he supposed to get Gon back out?
"Find a way to sneak out. Good luck," Cyr patted Killua's shoulder encouragingly, convinced he'd already been kind enough.
"Zoldyck Family Member Executed for Smuggling Into NGL"—what a headline. Every word was normal, but put together, it was absurdly funny.
With that, Cyr turned and walked off with Maro.
"There's… a monster up ahead," Killua said, watching their backs as they left, tossing out a warning.
"Got it," the white-haired figure waved without turning around.
Killua turned away and kept running.
The two groups moved in opposite directions, growing farther and farther apart.
---
Elsewhere, Sora immediately sensed danger—and bolted.
With the help of the wind, its speed was downright jaw-dropping.
Meanwhile, Cyr arrived at the place where Kite and Neferpitou had their final showdown—or rather...
Where Kite's body was now.
Calling it a body might not even be quite right.
Even though he was torn apart, Cyr had the strange feeling that Kite was still alive.
"This body… was really wrecked," Cyr muttered, eyeing the scattered arms, legs, and head.
Stitching him up probably wasn't an option. His Reversed Cursed Technique could regenerate limbs—even regrow a heart—but that was for himself.
Other people…? That was another story.
"Only one way to find out," he said as he started piecing Kite's body parts back together.
"Reversed Cursed Technique." He held his hand just above the remains, not quite touching them.
One second… two seconds… three…
Kite's body was now whole again—but motionless. No response.
"Hm? Didn't work?" Cyr fell into thought.
So his technique wasn't enough to bring someone back from the dead—just make the body whole again.
Basically, it made you look better after death. More dignified, maybe.
Probably a soul issue. He hadn't formed a Binding Vow with Kite's soul, so he was only healing the physical shell.
Tch.
Just then, something clownish appeared midair.
"Finally got to use Absolute Survival," the clown's voice was high-pitched and incredibly irritating.
The motionless body suddenly sat upright.
"So he really had an absolute survival ability." Cyr stared at the clown manifested by Kite's ability, trying to analyze its nature.
This ability was clearly soul-based.
If Kite's body hadn't been restored, would that Absolute Survival skill still have worked? How would it have activated?
Nen was endlessly fascinating.
"Rrrowr—" A huge beast suddenly flopped down at Cyr's feet from behind.
He looked down and saw blood clinging to the white fur around the magical beast's mouth.
"I told you before…" he said lowly.
The once-proud tiger now had its tail between its legs, radiating a pitiful, anxious energy—even from behind.
"Don't eat dirty things," Cyr said, yanking Sora ear and enunciating every word.
"I didn't! I really didn't!" Kong shook its head wildly, opening its mouth for inspection.
It never ate raw meat!
"We need to get out of here—now. That monster could return at any moment," Kite said, getting up to his feet right after his resurrection, barely even resting.
°°°
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