A forced Nen awakening is both a baptism and a selection process.
Those who endure it immediately gain the power of Nen.
Those who fail either suffer severe injuries and disabilities or gradually descend into death through endless agony.
Chimera Ants at the Squadron Leader level possess innate exceptional qualities. Even after being struck hard by the Puppeteering, they can recover in just half a day.
However, Chimera Ants at the Officer level lack such capabilities.
In this relentless and brutal selection, some weaker Officers couldn't endure and ultimately died wailing in pain.
Although the original selection ritual in the source material also led to the deaths of some soldiers, the attrition rate wasn't as high as it is now.
The reason lies in Neferpitou's underlying belief that the Chimera Ant Nest has no use for incompetents, which influenced the Puppeteering's judgment.
This inadvertently intensified the Nen awakening process.
Nevertheless, the Chimera Ant Nest has as many as 50 Squadron Leader teams, with the total number of Officers under their command ranging between 200 and 250.
This number is also higher than in the original work.
Morena was the first Squadron Leader to undergo Nen awakening. By the time this selection neared its end, her injuries had already eased.
Compared to other Squadron Leaders and those Officers who might need to endure a day and night of torment, Morena's adaptation speed was unmatched.
This was all because she awakened the memories of her past life during her Nen awakening.
"Heh... interesting."
Morena quietly retreated to a corner, concealing her face and body in the shadows.
The awakened memories were like an inescapable scar carved by a blade, relentlessly reminding her of what it means to suffer unbearably and live in utter darkness.
Morena slowly raised her hand, stroking the smooth skin of her face.
She could no longer feel the familiar centipede-like scar, but the hatred she held for this wretched world hadn't diminished in the slightest.
Instead, with her rebirth, it grew even more intense, like a Post-Mortem Will.
Morena was immensely grateful that those painful memories had returned to her once again.
She didn't resist them.
She could even smile while carefully and deliberately reinforcing the memories of being severely wounded by Beyond and being slowly devoured by the Chimera Ant Queen.
Morena slowly lowered her hand, gazing down at her palm covered in red snake scales.
A surging Nen power pulsed there.
She murmured dreamily, "How wonderful."
From the moment she recovered her past life's memories, the Etude of Love ability transcended the cycle of life and death, returning to her consciousness.
If she wished, she could immediately leverage the Chimera Ants' innate Nen capacity advantage to recreate that Nen ability capable of destroying the human world.
But Morena wasn't in a hurry to act.
She seemed influenced by cold-blooded animal genes, displaying extraordinary calmness.
The Etude of Love targets humans, not these ants.
Morena's eyes completely vanished into the shadows as she thought to herself.
It seems some adjustments are still needed, but that's fine. As long as I use these ants to spread the disaster... that's enough. The current me needs neither shared ideals nor loyalty. Given the chance to "start over," it was only natural to refine the Etude of Love.
No shared ideals were needed, nor was loyalty required.
This meant the process of "infection" no longer needed to be so cumbersome and complicated.
Especially for the Chimera Ants within the nest... they already viewed humans as food and disposable playthings.
Based on this, Morena only needed to distribute the "seeds" imbued with calamitous power, then observe whether the recipient was willing to accept them unreservedly.
If unwilling, she would simply move on to the next target.
If willing, then given the Chimera Ants' potential, reaching the level 100 progenitor stage would be almost effortless.
At this moment, she was like Neferpitou, who sat leaning against the outer wall of the nest, contemplating the Nen system.
One was lost in thought against the wall inside the nest.
The other gazed into the distance outside the wall.
Both were immersed in exploring the future possibilities of Nen.
However, what Morena envisioned was utter destruction.
What Neferpitou contemplated was a new beginning.
The Officers under my command would never refuse this newfound power... As for the Peons, there's no need; they would only waste these precious slots.
Having clarified her direction, Morena had already formed a clear plan.
So, the targets should be from other squads, specifically those ants most desperate for 'power.'
With this in mind, Morena discreetly glanced at the lion Squadron Leader, who was sitting on the ground enduring the agony of Nen awakening, along with the many other Chimera Ants around him.
These Chimera Ants shared a common trait: even while suffering excruciating pain, their eyes betrayed intense yearning and urgency.
Morena was meticulous.
She clearly remembered that the group led by the lion Squadron Leader was among the last to return to the nest.
Moreover, their expressions upon returning were somewhat abnormal, as if they had encountered something terribly unfortunate, with an unmistakable gloom clouding their features.
At the time, Morena didn't probe further, merely noting the anomaly out of habit.
But now it seemed, their reaction was likely because... they had suddenly fallen from being lofty Hunters to becoming helpless livestock, hadn't they?
In other words, they had probably encountered a powerful Nen user, making them, who were accustomed to freely tormenting and killing humans, profoundly experience what it felt like to be reduced to insignificant insects.
With such an experience, their need for the power of Nen became even more urgent.
Having discerned this, Morena naturally selected her targets.
With the infection targets decided, her next consideration was how to leverage this second chance to break through the original limit on the number of infections.
Twenty-one.
That number was ultimately too small.
She needed more to significantly increase the speed and efficiency of propagation.
And then there was the mechanism of leveling up through killing... in the original ability design, killing just one ordinary person would raise one's level by one.
Because leveling up was too easy, although the infected could quickly reach level 100 and become new progenitors, their aura output was capped from the very beginning.
Admittedly, there were reward mechanisms at levels 21, 51, and 81 during the leveling process.
But with the cap firmly in place, it meant the growth curve hit a dead end. The original design intention never considered the future of "loyal subordinates," but rather aimed to fulfill the need for easy ability propagation.
The Vow and Limitation system within the Nen ability framework has always been impartial.
If leveling up were made too easy, the upper limit of aura output would be constrained to a lower range.
Conversely, by setting extremely difficult leveling conditions, it becomes possible to break through innate potential and reach higher tiers.
Morena contemplated whether she should adjust the difficulty of leveling up.
She quickly reached a conclusion.
No correction was needed.
Because Chimera Ants inherently possess greater aura reserves than humans.
Even if the "leveling mechanism" capped their upper limit, reaching level 100 would still allow their aura output level to surpass that of the vast majority of human Nen users.
That was sufficient.
Chimera Ants need not concern themselves with the late game.
Instead, they should fully leverage their early-game advantage of "reproductive capability" to rapidly and aggressively expand their invasion range.
In a sense, the ability mechanism of Etude of Love, which allows rapid ascension to level 100 to become a new queen, aligns perfectly with the Chimera Ants' reproductive expansion capabilities.
Morena subtly withdrew her gaze and quietly waited for her several Officers and other Chimera Ants to complete their baptism.
—--
By evening, the Squadron Leaders had gradually recovered.
With varied expressions, they sensed the powerful energy continuously surging within their bodies.
It was like a blazing inferno fueled by desire, scorching and dazzling.
"Hahaha, this feeling... is absolutely amazing."
Power keeps pouring out. I really want to test it on some humans right away!
The Squadron Leaders were all exhilarated, immersed in excitement and agitation.
Only Morena, hidden in the shadows, remained calm as she watched them.
She waited patiently until their excitement gradually subsided, then quietly seized an opportunity to be alone with the Lion Squadron Leader.
"Leol."
Morena stepped out slowly from the shadows.
The lion ant named Leol was enthusiastically swinging his Nen-enhanced fists. Hearing the voice behind him, he abruptly halted his movements.
He turned his head sideways, gazing at Morena's graceful figure gradually emerging into the light.
"Morena... Whatever you want, I'm busy right now and have no time for you."
"Oh, is that so?"
Morena replied calmly, "Even if it's something... that could make you stronger?"
"Hmm?"
Leol's eyes sharpened.
Seeing this, a faint, almost imperceptible smile flickered across Morena's coldly beautiful face.
Her judgment was largely correct.
Moreover, persuading these newly half-informed Chimera Ant Squadron Leaders about Nen abilities was utterly effortless.
Just as Morena was about to get straight to the point, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a half-visible golden Star Mark hidden within Leol's thick mane.
That is... Morena's expression shifted slightly.
A Star Mark.
It was something Morrow had once implanted in her.
So that's how it is.
The human who sent these ants back to the Chimera Ant Nest in a gloomy mood was Morrow.
—--
The next day at noon.
"Huff, huff..."
Killua, drenched in sweat and panting heavily, finally reached the border of NGL with Gon on his back.
He gently laid Gon down under a large tree, then sat exhaustedly beside him, silently lowering his head. In order to return to the border as quickly as possible, he exhausted all his electricity and potential aura in one go.
In the end, he didn't even bother to rest, stubbornly carrying Gon on his back and running for an entire day.
Now, he clearly knew he should first go to the immigration checkpoint to retrieve his phone and then contact Kite's teammates, but... whether it was due to physical exhaustion or mental heaviness, Killua simply leaned against the tree trunk, wanting nothing more than to quietly stay put for a little while.
The strength he had barely recovered was only used to silently clench his fists.
"Hah."
About ten minutes later, Killua finally let out a long sigh and got up to retrieve his phone.
By the time he completed the entire process and dialed Kite's teammate's number, an hour had already passed.
"What did you say? Kite stayed behind?"
An urgent questioning voice came from the other end of the phone. "What exactly happened? Tell me clearly..."
Before the sentence was finished, another man with a gentle voice took the phone.
"Killua, we're coming over right now. Also, the support team dispatched by the Hunter Association will arrive in two days. For now, just wait for us there."
"Alright."
Killua responded succinctly.
Kite's teammate, who resembled a koala, seemed to sense Killua's low spirits at that moment.
Just from that, he felt the situation was likely not good.
But he didn't push further to upset Killua, instead gently giving a few instructions before hanging up.
Under the shade of the large trees.
Killua silently put away his phone and buried his head between his knees.
The thought that had arisen when they encountered that monster... the idea of abandoning Gon and Kite now tormented Killua's mind like a haunting echo.
"Damn it, damn it..."
Killua's hands clenched tightly, veins bulging.
Whenever he closed his eyes or his vision was obscured by shadows, the image of that monster would naturally appear before him, making him break out in a cold sweat.
There was really no need to confirm it... Kite, having lost an arm, absolutely could not have escaped from that monster.
It was a hopeless situation.
We... were far too naive.
Killua lifted his head with difficulty, looking toward Gon, who still hadn't woken up.
In that situation, no matter what the judgment was, the fact was that he had arbitrarily stopped Gon... so he had no idea how to face Gon once he woke up.
"Killua."
Just then, Killua suddenly heard Kite's voice.
"Huh?!"
He sharply turned toward the sound.
"Kite...!"
Seeing the slightly disheveled Kite appear out of thin air before him, Killua felt as if he were witnessing an unreal scene.
Noticing that both Killua and Gon were safe and sound, Kite subtly breathed a sigh of relief, then calmly said with composure, "Your alertness has dropped significantly. Don't let your guard down just because we're at the border."
Though it sounded like a reprimand, it was actually meant to soothe Killua's clearly abnormal mental state, while also trying to conceal the fact that he had lost an arm.
Killua stood up, slightly turning his head away, and responded softly, "Yeah, I understand."
Kite didn't say anything more, silently turning to look in the direction from which he had come.
Watching his actions, Killua thought Kite was still wary of that monster and was also very curious about how Kite had managed to escape. Yet even with his heart full of questions, he found it difficult to voice them.
Kite sensed Killua's gaze and proactively explained, "A very powerful Nen user... saved me."
Hearing Kite's words, Killua couldn't help but be astonished.
Aside from them, there were other Nen users within NGL?
And their strength was such that they could rescue Kite from that monster?
"But..."
Killua hesitated, his words trailing off.
Because only Kite had returned.
Kite stared intently at the desolate land ahead and said, "If he can break free, he should be back soon."
As if to confirm his words, within mere seconds, a plume of dust rose from the distant horizon.
Seeing this, both Kite and Killua's eyes flickered slightly.
Under their watchful gaze, the dust cloud drew nearer, gradually revealing a figure.
At the sight of the figure, Kite let out a long sigh of relief.
Thank goodness... he murmured inwardly.
But Killua was taken aback, then broke into an expression of delight, exclaiming, "It's our teacher!"
"Huh?"
Kite instinctively turned to look at Killua.
Teacher?
So that person was the teacher Gon and Killua had mentioned!