In the original version of events, the Ant King was nearly obliterated by the Poor Man's Rose. He survived only because the poison had yet to fully take effect.
If the toxin had been released at the exact moment of the explosion, Meruem would never have lasted long enough for Shaiapouf and Youpi to reach him.
But this time, the blast and the venom struck simultaneously.
That meant Meruem's injuries were far worse than just "serious."
Especially since this was the result of Ronnel's meticulous planning over the years. If Meruem was still alive...
Suddenly, Ronnel's eyes flickered.
Within the range of his En, a figure appeared.
Without hesitation, Ronnel retreated in an instant, distancing himself from the epicenter of the explosion. Safe now, he reached into his dimensional backpack and retrieved the Absolute Silver Bracelet—an artifact that Ging had once borrowed from Emuksu when they explored Braga Canyon together.
He tossed the bracelet into the air.
A circular silver light descended, enveloping him completely. The moment the glow solidified, Ronnel vanished from sight, his presence freezing midair within the protective field.
Then, he withdrew his final puppet—one crafted in his own likeness—and placed it before him as a shield.
With his precautions set, Ronnel exhaled deeply, conjured a comfortable chair, and sat. His main body remained still, guarded by the puppet, while his doppelgänger moved forward to assess the situation.
...
Through the ruined battlefield, Ronnel's clone approached the area where he had sensed Meruem.
Before he could reach it, movement stirred in the distance.
A sharp crack echoed through the air.
Just as Ronnel had done earlier, Meruem thrust his arms upward, pressing his palms firmly against the ground to lift himself out of the rubble.
But his arms—once a deep emerald hue—were now marred with dozens of pale blackened spots. Deep wounds covered his limbs, each seeping a thick, grayish-black liquid.
His hands trembled as he struggled for strength, his grip weak and unsteady.
Ronnel halted, observing intently.
For two long seconds, Meruem remained motionless. Then, with a sudden burst of force, he launched himself out of the crater, his body ascending into the sky.
Through his En, Ronnel perceived it clearly—it wasn't just Meruem's feet propelling him upward. His tail had also coiled and pushed off the ground in tandem.
That meant only one thing—Meruem was at his limit.
His next actions only confirmed Ronnel's suspicion.
Meruem barely hovered before crashing back to the earth, his landing unsteady, his movements sluggish.
"Has the poison reached his spinal cord and cranial nerves?"
Ronnel watched as Meruem swayed, struggling to maintain his footing.
The damage inflicted by the death energy and corpse poison was devastating.
Even standing in the aftermath, Ronnel could feel the overwhelming presence of death saturating the air, an inescapable miasma that made this place deadlier than the Cruz Cemetery or Braga Canyon.
Had he not been the one who orchestrated this, even he wouldn't be able to endure such an environment.
For someone like Meruem, already gravely wounded, survival here was nearly impossible.
As he gasped for air, Ronnel's heightened senses picked up the unmistakable sound of Meruem's labored breathing.
The King's condition was dire.
Gray-black blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His vacant eyes stared at the sky, lost in thought.
He had endured an explosion rivaling a nuclear detonation at point-blank range, and though he had suffered massive injuries, they were not instantly fatal. He could have used [Body Reconstruction] and [Doctor Blythe] to mend himself.
However, he hadn't anticipated the sheer potency of the toxin woven into the blast.
Explosions alone didn't faze him.
But being poisoned in such a vulnerable state—his body ravaged by the initial impact—had placed him in unprecedented danger.
The Nen energy remaining within him had all been channeled toward his healing abilities. The sudden toxic assault had caught him off guard, worsening his condition and leaving his body grotesquely disfigured.
For a moment, he had even hovered on the brink of death, one step away from joining his Royal Guards in the afterlife.
Yet, just as his consciousness teetered, an image flickered through his mind.
A girl sat before him, her nose running, her small hands hovering over a Gungi board.
And then, a voice.
"How can I die here?"
...
Meruem was truly a being favored by fate, the very embodiment of an indomitable will. Even buried beneath the rubble, he had instinctively triggered Shaiapouf's [Body Reconstruction] to surgically mend himself.
Then, using [Doctor Blythe] alongside it, he stabilized the lethal toxin ravaging his insides.
With the unparalleled resilience of his Chimera Ant physiology, he found a precarious equilibrium between injury, healing, and venom suppression.
The agony he endured in achieving this balance was beyond words.
By his calculations, fully neutralizing the poison and regenerating his body would take considerable time—but it was only a matter of time.
And as his body gradually healed, his strength would return faster and faster, further accelerating the process.
Meruem gritted his teeth.
He would not die here.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)