"Why are those two fighting?" Kite asked under his breath.
"That guy's wanted to fight the Chairman for a while now. But back then, the Chairman was busy prepping for his fight with the Ant King. Now though…" Knov, now completely bald, spoke with a trembling voice.
"He probably challenged him directly," Killua said confidently.
In his eyes, Cyr was exactly the kind of person who would stir up chaos just because he felt like it.
"Still… his strength is…" Morel trailed off.
Hard to describe—but definitely stronger than he'd expected. Not that he'd ever seen Cyr fight before.
"Should we try to stop them?" Gon asked quietly.
"Do you think we could actually stop those two monsters?" Knov replied after a long pause.
They were no longer in the same league. There was no stopping them.
And then, just like Cinderella when the clock struck twelve, the 24-hour effect of the card expired.
The buff on Netero vanished.
His aura instantly weakened, his youthful body aged back to his original elderly form, and the golden light surrounding him faded away.
At the same time, all of Cyr's nen vanished as well—forced into a state of Zetsu, completely unable to use nen.
A battle that had lasted twenty-one hours finally seemed to come to an end.
The chaos that had drawn in hunters and ants alike… was now reaching its conclusion.
But no clear victor had emerged.
Before anyone could react, the blood-drenched white-haired boy vanished—only to reappear in front of Netero, his fingertips already piercing into the old man's chest.
He dug a hole in Netero's chest.
"What?!" The onlookers couldn't stay calm anymore. They all rushed forward in a panic.
It was one thing to spar—but he seriously tried to kill him?!
"Ah… I remember now…" Cyr looked down at his hand, now embedded in Netero's chest, feeling the soft and rhythmic beat of the heart beneath his fingers. His memory—and his ability to speak—returned.
How should he put it… The things his amnesiac self had done—
Were exactly the things his normal self had intended to do!
No wonder he was himself—even with forgotten intentions, he still made the same choices.
"Relax. I just wanted to see Poor Man's Rose for myself." Cyr's fingers shifted slightly at Netero's chest.
"If my heart stops beating, it'll explode," Netero warned, gripping Cyr's wrist.
He was exhausted.
Using that 24-hour perfect state had left him with a fatigue unlike any other.
"No worries. I'm actually a pretty skilled bomb defuser. I can definitely remove it before your heart stops." Cyr spoke casually, his fingers never pausing.
After all, with Six Eyes assisting him, the bomb's structure was crystal clear. Defusing it was a piece of cake.
In just a few quick motions, the bomb was disarmed.
It was a very small device.
"This thing… can it really kill the Ant King?" Cyr couldn't hide his curiosity. After healing Netero on the spot, he took the tiny device and walked off to examine it.
Netero's physical fatigue faded—but the emotional exhaustion deepened.
He'd envisioned a desperate final act of self-sacrifice, blowing himself up.
But he never imagined someone would literally reach in and rip out his heart.
"Chairman… where's the Ant King?" Morel and the others looked at the unharmed Netero. The questions they had before now stuck in their throats, so they switched to this one instead.
"The Ant King…" Netero didn't respond directly. He simply looked toward the white-haired youth examining the bomb off to the side.
Such a mysterious power—like nen, yet not quite nen…
Who even is he?
Young people are just too unpredictable.
Oh well—he was getting old. He couldn't keep up anymore.
As long as the boy held no malice toward humanity, it was fine.
And based on what he'd done so far—he was more friend than foe.
"Race war concluded. The victors: humanity." Hidden in the shadows, a pair of siblings recorded the final outcome.
They hadn't dared show up openly, not with so many humans around.
Their non-human traits were still too obvious.
"We can go home now, Eili," Aimé said after writing the final note.
---
"Chairman! I did all that work—shouldn't you promote me? Like, say, to a Three-Star Hunter?" Cyr tucked away the bomb, planning to test it later in private, and turned to look at Netero.
"Well… the criteria aren't met," Netero said helplessly.
There were fewer than ten Three-Star Hunters in the world. It wasn't a title given lightly.
"Tch. Stingy." Cyr clicked his tongue.
Yep—being able to talk really was better than typing everything out.
Being mute was exhausting.
The war ended in a way no one had expected, with far fewer losses than anticipated.
Although the ants weren't entirely wiped out, the remaining ones were no longer a threat. Many of those still alive didn't even harbor hostility toward humans.
And the rest—those active in other areas—would likely be wiped out soon anyway.
Even the Ant King's three Royal Guards no longer seemed dangerous.
Because—
"Why are the King's three guards following Cyr around?" Gon asked, puzzled as he watched the departing youth.
Neferpitou, Shaiapouf, and Youpi were all trailing behind the white-haired boy, more like his followers than anything else.
"Probably has something to do with the King's disappearance," Killua reasoned.
The King hadn't been seen since that day. No body had turned up on the battlefield, and the Chairman hadn't said a word about it. Yet the three guards were following a human.
It was… baffling.
"You three really plan to keep following me?" Cyr looked at his new trio of tagalongs, lips twitching.
"Wherever the King is, so are we," Shaiapouf said firmly.
The Prison Realm was in Cyr's possession, and the method to release the Ant King was in his hands. But Cyr had no intention of freeing the King.
So, the three Royal Guards chose to follow him instead.
Even if the King was sealed—they would remain loyal.
Just as they would follow the King into death without hesitation, if it came to that.
Truly loyal subordinates.
Though… something felt off.
Cyr paused, touching his chin in thought.
What was he forgetting? Something about the Ant King…?
Ah—right.
Was the King's love story over?
Komugi was still alive. Logically, if the Ant King wasn't in his custody, their bittersweet interspecies romance would still be playing out.
But now that the King had been captured…
Well—missing a protagonist, the show couldn't go on, could it?
Oh well. It was for the King's own good.
A true strongman shouldn't get lost in matters of love. Cut your losses, slice through the sentiment!
"Behave yourselves. If I'm in a good mood, maybe I'll give the King back to you," Cyr said, tossing the Prison Realm in his hand.
"The King's really in there?" Neferpitou wagged their tail, eyes locked onto the cube with keen interest.
"He's not lying. That's beyond doubt," Shaiapouf affirmed.
The King couldn't possibly be dead. He was merely in a temporary setback.
In fact… Shaiapouf didn't think this situation was entirely bad.
Because this way—
The King would never have to see that human girl again.
This way, the King would no longer be swayed into undergoing those changes that Shaiapouf found terrifying.
Before rescuing the King… maybe it would be best to find a way to eliminate that human girl.
His expression remained calm, but inwardly he was laughing wickedly.
Suddenly—a magnified face appeared in his vision.
"You… were thinking something bad, weren't you?" The white-haired boy squinted at him.
"Ah, if any of you kill without my permission… then forget ever seeing your King again." Cyr grinned as he gave the warning.
Shaiapouf's plan died the moment it was born.
"So… are we really going to have to follow his orders from now on?" Neferpitou turned to Shaiapouf.
"Yep, that's right," Cyr himself answered.
"Your King is in my hands—and there's nothing you can do about it," he said with casual arrogance.
So this was what it felt like to control the emperor and command the nobles.
It felt amazing!
Regent Cyr had a nice ring to it!
It was practically like gaining three powerful bodyguards—ones who could probably defeat 99% of humanity.
"..." Shaiapouf ground his teeth in silence.
Shameless! A petty man who gained power! To think the King once had such a cordial conversation with this despicable human!
"Tired…" Cyr sighed.
It had been a long time since he last slept. Lately, whenever he felt tired, he'd just use Reversed Cursed Technique to recover—he'd almost forgotten what sleep felt like.
His body wasn't tired, but mentally—he felt drained.
And with the three ants around, he had to keep Infinity active at all times, in case of a sneak attack.
Sure, he could just kill them…
But keeping them around was way more fun.
"Go find somewhere to hang out. I've got an experiment to run." Reaching the airship, Cyr waved them off and vanished in a blink.
Yes, he was going to test the bomb.
Since Netero had staked his life on it to battle the Ant King, its destructive power must be immense.
Perfect chance to see whether his current body could withstand a nuclear bomb.
Thinking this, Cyr picked a remote, uninhabited mountain range far from the others—and detonated the bomb.
In an instant, a mushroom cloud shaped like a rose—smoke, flame, and ash—bloomed in the sky.
At ground zero, Cyr was blasted away.
And not just knocked back—his limbs were torn off and his body scorched.
If not for his insanely thick health bar, he might have died on the spot.
But—
"Is that all it's got?" he muttered, watching as his missing limbs regenerated instantly.
"Maybe it's not the blast that's dangerous, but the poison?" He took several deep breaths of the lingering smoke.
Nothing… yet.
So he went to the densest part of the cloud and inhaled deeply.
After a while, he coughed—spitting out black blood.
Judging by the color, the poison seemed pretty vicious.
"Hmm… So once it enters the lungs, it starts rapidly destroying cellular structure? Kinda like a virus," he muttered, still analyzing his internal state as more black blood spilled from his mouth.
He wondered—what would happen if it were anyone else?
Ordinary healing methods clearly wouldn't work. A poisoned person would likely have no choice but to wait for death.
As for him…
"Reversed Cursed Technique." He quietly activated it to heal himself.
Detoxing from a viral poison required even finer control than healing wounds, and took longer. But with the help of Six Eyes, he managed to purify it completely.
Still, the number of sorcerers capable of such a high-level Reversed Cursed Technique was very limited.
Even most sorcerers who knew how to use Reversed Cursed Technique wouldn't survive this.
Yeah… I should try to get my hands on more of these. They'd be fun to have around.
Should be possible to buy them somewhere.
°°°
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