Morena's soul had returned from the cycle of life and death filled with hatred.
Now residing within this powerful new body, she could accomplish far more than before.
Not only could she bring the ability "Etude of Love" back into the world, but developing simple Nen abilities was also not difficult for her.
The racial ability of Chimera Ants to achieve evolution through Phagogenesis showed an almost perfect compatibility with human genes.
After all her memories returned, Morena truly experienced this firsthand.
Take the ability she was currently using, for example.
From conception to completion, it took less than a day.
The ability was named:
"Kidnap"
Its effect was simple and direct: designate a non-Nen user as the target, and as long as she was familiar with their appearance and other basic information, she could forcibly transport them into a conjured enclosed space from a distance.
Its Limitation was strictly restricting the target to non-Nen users, and only one person could be kidnapped at a time.
The resulting Vow effect was that activating the Kidnap ability was extremely effortless.
This ability had neither a complex framework nor any unique mechanics.
It was simply because Morena felt such a method might be useful in her subsequent plans, so she casually developed it by leveraging the innate racial potential of her Chimera Ant body.
And when the Chimera Ant Nest was suddenly attacked, using this ability on the Queen was the decisive judgment Morena made in the critical moment.
She needed to protect both herself and the Queen.
All for the sake of ensuring the King could be born smoothly.
Morena looked down at the Queen's prominently swollen abdomen. Through the membrane-like skin and dense blood vessels, she could see the fully formed body of the King.
Just by gazing at it, she could sense the terrifyingly powerful aura fluctuations confined within the "egg sac."
This power called Nen... No matter how many times I experience it, it always brings me new surprises.
A faint, elusive smile touched Morena's lips, her tone carrying a hint of emotion.
The Queen had just picked up a meatball when she seemed to hear Morena muttering to herself and turned her gaze.
"What are you saying?"
She inquired via Telepathy, her antennae quivering slightly.
Morena lifted her gaze slightly, looking at the Queen's face, which bore traces of minimal human genetic features, and smiled as she explained, "Your Majesty, the ability that transported you to this safe space is precisely Nen."
As she spoke, Morena noticed deeper confusion from the Queen's antennae movements.
She paid it no mind, continuing regardless of whether the Queen could understand or comprehend, "This ability is more suited for causing harm, but when used at the right moment, it can surprisingly become a means to help someone escape danger."
"What's even more interesting is that this ability cannot affect Nen users. Yet, even though you are nurturing a natural Nen user within you, it still meets the activation conditions."
"That's what I find amusing. Of course, it's probably difficult for you to understand."
A faint, elusive smile remained on Morena's face throughout. Even after explaining a few things, she didn't particularly care whether the Chimera Ant Queen truly understood, continuing in her gentle and steady tone: "But what you should be most concerned about right now is ensuring the 'King' is born safely."
"You're right."
The Queen hadn't fully grasped Morena's explanation about Nen.
But within this safe space, her attention quickly returned to the most important matter.
That was giving birth to... the King who might one day rule the entire world.
She picked up the meatball and took a large bite.
"Another rare breed of flesh... excellent."
She transmitted her satisfaction through telepathic signals.
"With such abundant nutrition, I will surely bring a powerful King into this world."
As she chewed, the rich and savory aroma of the meat spread through her mouth, bringing her a profound sense of satisfaction.
She quickly finished the entire meatball, then immediately grabbed another from beside her.
Since beginning her pregnancy, her only daily task had been to eat continuously.
To channel the energy contained within the meatballs through her own body, continuously transferring it to the life forming within her womb.
"More... I need more..."
She bit into the second meatball but paused slightly.
This was just ordinary breed flesh. Though the nutrition was acceptable and the taste wasn't bad, it couldn't compare to the previous one.
The moment this thought crossed her mind, her abdomen suddenly jolted, sending a sharp, stabbing pain through her.
"It seems... you prefer rare breed flesh too..."
Enduring the waves of fetal movement, the Queen reached out and gently stroked her swollen abdomen.
Nearby.
Morena's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the Queen's stomach.
That fierce fetal movement had allowed her to clearly perceive an aura fluctuation carrying emotion.
Intense and full of pressure.
It's almost time.
Morena pondered thoughtfully.
During this period, she had meticulously provided the Queen with more rare breed food to accelerate the King's development.
This was the most crucial part of the entire plan.
As long as the King could be born quickly, it would brutally disrupt humanity's battle plans.
Originally, Morena had thought there was plenty of time, given there were still over a dozen Squadron Leader teams in the nest...
But she hadn't expected humanity to suddenly change tactics and launch a full-scale assault on the nest.
Morena speculated that this outcome was due to the arrival of human reinforcements.
So she decisively moved the Queen to this space, both ensuring the Queen's safety and provoking the Royal Guards outside to take the offensive and eliminate all humans attacking the nest.
Given the Royal Guards' terrifying strength, they were undoubtedly unmatched by the humans outside.
Even if there were powerful individuals like Morrow among them, it would be meaningless in the face of the natural gap between species.
After that, all that remained was to ensure the King's birth.
Yes.
The only thing needed now... was to wait.
Just as she had done countless times before.
To wait silently and patiently.
Thinking this, Morena subtly raised her hand, using her aura to push a nutrient-rich rare breed meatball to a position where the Queen could more easily reach it.
Under her calm gaze, after finishing the second meatball, the Queen smoothly picked up the third rare breed meatball. With the consumption of this rare variety of flesh, the Chimera Ant Queen's fetal movements gradually subsided.
—--
"Boom!"
The sounds of battle began to echo frequently within the Chimera Ant Nest.
This was because Kite and the other members of the Extermination Team had engaged in direct combat with the Chimera Ant soldiers inside the nest.
Despite losing an arm, Kite showed no signs of inferiority when facing Squadron Leaders who had mastered Nen abilities.
After his spiritual transformation, Gon was no longer as naive as before.
At least when confronting Chimera Ant soldiers, he no longer struggled with questions like "Should I kill them?"
Each of his strikes was decisive and precise, executed with clean efficiency.
This shift in mindset not only made his fighting style more immediately effective but also allowed him to unleash power far surpassing his previous capabilities.
However, even with Gon's changed mentality, his efficiency in eliminating enemies still couldn't match that of Kalluto, who hailed from the Zoldyck Family.
Kalluto had completely abandoned his former habit of tormenting prey.
When facing Chimera Ants at the Officer level, he always ended battles in the swiftest and most lethal manner possible, with no superfluous movements.
Compared to the impressive performances of Gon and Kalluto, Ponzu, who leaned more toward a support role, could only handle Peon-level ants.
But she made full use of her bee swarms to establish a tight surveillance network, providing timely warnings to her teammates.
Perhaps there wasn't much she could do... yet having the courage to resolutely follow the Extermination Team into the Chimera Ant Nest was already commendable.
The battle within the nest intensified.
The fierce fighting sounds even reached Neferpitou's location, not to mention Youpi, who was closer to the nest.
Even Youpi, whose thoughts weren't particularly quick, began to sense something unusual.
In Youpi's understanding, the Queen's sudden disappearance must be related to these humans.
But the commotion coming from the nest indicated an exceptionally intense battle.
The enemy had clearly deployed significant forces with ill intentions toward the Queen.
The question was: if the Queen had disappeared because of these humans, why were they still fighting so fiercely?
Did they not know Her Majesty wasn't in the nest?
Or were they simply clearing out the nest's forces?
What was really going on... since the battle began, Youpi had been unable to untangle these doubts or find any answers, his mind gradually shrouded in an unprecedented weariness.
If all problems could be solved cleanly through violence, wouldn't everything be much simpler?
But now, even when he exerted his most prideful violence to the fullest, he still couldn't defeat this troublesome human before him.
Youpi's multiple compound eyes fixed intently on Morrow, who was dancing on the edge of blades.
His exceptional vision allowed him to clearly see the sharp winds cutting bloody wounds across Morrow's body.
This was the price of not using aura to protect oneself, yet the damage inflicted was still less effective than previous attacks.
Moreover, despite increasing the number of his arms, his accuracy had actually decreased.
How much longer would it take to wear this guy down using only the residual force of his aura attacks?
If this dragged on... would it only benefit him?
And that strange thing nearby that kept growing larger, along with those continuously increasing numbers, made him feel both irritated and slightly uneasy.
Damn it!
Youpi's face contorted fiercely. Under the mounting pressure of the unknown time limit, his initial thought of "sooner or later I'll resolve this" had gradually begun to waver.
The sounds of battle coming from the Chimera Ant Nest also weighed on his mind.
No, I can't let this distract me... Huh?
Suddenly, a spark of insight pierced through the layers of confusion clouding Youpi's mind.
What if he were to show excessive concern for the situation at the nest, reacting as if desperate to return at all costs... would that actually lure his opponent into a trap?
After being unable to solve the problem through brute force for so long, Youpi had finally conceived a strategy.
A baiting tactic perfectly in line with his combat logic.
"Boom!"
As if cooperating with his thoughts, another intense commotion erupted from the Chimera Ant Nest.
Feigning preparedness, Youpi masked his fury with obvious irritation and worry.
The compound eyes covering his body frequently glanced toward the direction of the nest.
Even his relentless assault on Morrow began to show noticeable disarray.
This monster... He's definitely being disturbed by the noises from the nest.
Knuckle keenly detected Youpi's reaction, feeling a sense of relief.
Creating conspicuous battle sounds during their assault on the nest had been a prearranged strategy by the Extermination Team.
The goal was precisely to exploit the Royal Guards' innate obsession with their "duty," disrupting their focus and rhythm in combat.
Youpi's reaction was exactly the scenario Knuckle had hoped for.
Morrow also noticed Youpi's visibly affected state.
But... something felt off.
"His initial reaction wasn't decisive enough, and he kept his focus firmly on 'killing me.' There's an indescribable dissonance. What's stranger is... his determination to return to the nest doesn't seem strong. Almost as if the Queen's safety matters less to him than eliminating me."
Morrow subtly furrowed his brow.
This sense of dissonance arose because certain "original" scenes lingered in his mind.
When memories of the plot overlapped with the reality before him, a faint incongruity naturally surfaced.
Just as Morrow tried to ponder this unease, Youpi abruptly abandoned his attack and charged at full speed toward the nest.
Huh?
Almost reflexively, Morrow activated his Insidious Shooting Star ability along Youpi's sprint path.
He never missed an opportunity to accumulate Accretion Charges.
This had been his consistent strategy throughout the entire battle.
The Shooting Star shot out preemptively from the ground, struck by Youpi's right foot as he sprinted forward.
With a dull thud, it still failed to cause substantial damage.
Youpi paid it no mind, charging desperately toward the nest.
He didn't even notice the sixth Accretion Charge quietly materializing above his right knee.
The prolonged battle had not only drained both sides mentally but had also silently accumulated their respective gains.
The appearance of the sixth charge meant only one final step remained.
Yet, as Morrow pursued Youpi, one particular overlapping image in his mind grew more pronounced.
It wasn't until he saw Knuckle poised to attack that Morrow suddenly understood the source of his unease.
"He's baiting us!"
Without hesitation, Morrow swiftly called out a warning.
Hearing his shout, Youpi felt another surge of fury.
This damned human was far too troublesome to deal with. Since the strategy had been exposed, Youpi decisively changed targets and abruptly turned toward Knuckle.
Due to his earlier reckless positioning, even after hearing the warning, Knuckle had already fallen into a relatively dangerous situation.
No way... This seemingly single-minded monster actually knows how to use tactics?!
Knuckle could hardly believe he had fallen for the trick.
A cold sweat broke out on his skin as he slammed his feet to a halt and immediately turned to flee.
But Youpi would never let such an opportunity slip away, instantly giving chase.
This was also the perfect moment to force Morrow into providing support, thereby exposing a weakness.
Not far away, Morrow was indeed closing in on Youpi.
"Youpi's reaction just now was clearly baiting the enemy, but... he seems overly confident about the Queen's safety. That's somewhat abnormal. After all, she has no self-defense capabilities, unlike the King."
Morrow frowned slightly, pondering to himself: "Even if he trusts Shaiapouf completely, he shouldn't prioritize killing me over protecting the Queen... What's causing this abnormality? Did I miscalculate something?"
He didn't have much time to think.
Although Knuckle's escape speed was exceptionally fast, just to be safe, he still needed to quickly intervene and resolve the situation.
There was one final Accretion Charge left.
Once ignited, it would end Youpi.
The importance of this matter slightly outweighed the anomaly nagging at Morrow's mind.
At that moment.
Seeing Knuckle running so swiftly, Youpi had truly had enough.
Whether to lure Morrow closer or genuinely wanting to eliminate Knuckle... at this moment, he unequivocally erupted.
His crimson body swelled like a balloon.
But in that very instant.
Inside the Chimera Ant Nest.
An overwhelmingly sinister and immense aura surged skyward.
Huh?!
In that split second, everyone on the battlefield, including the Royal Guards, paled.
This aura... the King?
How could it be so soon?