Gon even shed reluctant tears on the road, creating an oddly fitting atmosphere alongside the little devil perched on his shoulder.
With Nen forcibly imposed on him by Knuckle, Gon had to push the devil into an "extreme" state for a full month.
And just as they were making their way back, in Doli City—
"They actually lost... They actually lost..."
Palm, who had been unable to go to NGL, couldn't accept the news of Gon's defeat.
The thought of not being able to see her beloved master, Knov, made her chest tighten painfully.
"Unforgivable... absolutely unforgivable..."
Muttering to herself, she pulled out a few sharp kitchen knives and began sharpening them with eerie focus.
"Should we stop her?"
Shizuku glanced at Palm, who was radiating a dark, menacing aura, completely immersed in her growing resentment. She turned to Bisky, who was lounging beside her.
"No need~" Bisky responded without looking up, flipping through a restricted beauty magazine.
"If Gon and the others can't even handle this, they have no business training at all. Hunting Chimera Ants? That's just wishful thinking... Oh, hehehe!"
Coming across an especially interesting page, Bisky buried her face deeper into the magazine, letting out a creepy snicker.
"I see~" Shizuku blinked slowly, then paid no further attention to the two peculiar women in the room. Instead, she continued gazing out the window at a cloud eerily shaped like Ronnel.
Unlike Bisky, who left after training Gon and Killua, Shizuku remained. She wanted to see the unusual white cloud, so Bisky and the others stuck around for a while longer.
...
Meanwhile, inside the Chimera Ant nest—
"Are we really going through with this?"
Morel frowned as he stared at the text message on Shoot's phone, taking a long drag from his cigarette.
Netero had replied with only three words: "I know."
And then, an official message from the Hunter Association followed.
There was no mention of Bloster or Korudol. The directive was brutally simple:
"Exterminate all Chimera Ants. Leave none alive."
The Hunter Association's official statement represented the will of the V5.
In other words, the V5 was fully aware of the existence of these intelligent Chimera Ants. Yet, even with that knowledge, they still issued a blanket kill order.
Which meant that, despite surrendering, Korudol and Bloster were included in that mandate.
Morel exhaled slowly, feeling a weight settle in his chest—a mixture of professional frustration and personal conflict.
He looked at the Ant Queen. Korudol, tears streaming down his face, pleaded desperately with the doctor to donate his organs to save her. But due to their fundamentally different lifeforms, it was impossible.
The overwhelming sense of powerlessness and despair gnawed at Morel. If even he felt this way, it was no wonder that the more emotionally sensitive Knuckle and Shoot had been crying into the night.
There were Chimera Ants who had done nothing wrong, who had even surrendered. Yet the order remained absolute.
From an emotional standpoint, it felt unjust. But from a professional standpoint—
Hina had the potential to become a powerful Nen user. Killing her would mean losing a valuable asset to the Hunter Association. Who knew how many future Hunters would die because they lacked someone with her ability?
"Damn those V5 bastards..."
Morel clenched his teeth, slamming his pipe against the ground in frustration.
"Harsh, but technically not wrong," Knov remarked rationally.
"The danger of the Chimera Ants is undeniable. We can argue that some of them are good, but from V5's perspective, better to eliminate them all than take any chances."
Morel said nothing, but the scorn in his expression spoke volumes.
"Will they send a Displacement-type Nen user with a powerful bomb to wipe out the nest?"
After reviewing all the information, Ronnel didn't seem surprised by V5's decision.
He thought for a moment before turning to Morel. "If you're struggling with this, you can leave them to me."
"Huh?"
Morel looked up.
"I have a good place for them~"
...
Ronnel smirked, pulling out his phone and dialing a number.
"What do you want?! Hurry up and say it, I'm busy!" came Ging's irritated voice on the other end.
"I've got a few homeless friends here. They're as smart as monsters but harmless. After you clear Greed Island, it's pretty much useless, right? Let them settle there. Any objections?"
"That's it? No problem. Razor, Dwun, and List have been there for over a decade—they're probably bored out of their minds. A little extra company won't hurt. Just contact Razor directly. I'll send you his number. Anyway, I'm busy, so I'm hanging up."
"..."
The call cut off immediately.
"Done."
Ronnel set down his phone, grinning at Morel and Knov.
"That works."
Morel sighed in relief. He had heard of Greed Island, but he didn't know much about it. Still, if it meant giving the Chimera Ants a safe place to go, that was enough.
Welfin watched as the Ant Queen took her final breath, naming the next queen before passing away.
Korudol, trembling with sorrow, cradled the newborn, his body shaking from grief.
Morel turned toward Bloster and the other two Chimera Ants waiting anxiously nearby. He took a deep drag from his pipe and exhaled slowly before speaking.
"Ahem. The crime of massacring humans is unforgivable, but..."
The three Chimera Ants tensed instantly.
"Since you didn't participate in the killings, you're exempt from the death penalty. However, that doesn't mean you're free from punishment."
"Punishment...?"
"You are sentenced to exile."
"Exile?!"
"Yes. You'll be relocated to a specific island. Without special permission, you are forbidden from leaving for the rest of your lives."
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)