Germain crouched down, half-squatting as he examined the corpse of the headless bloodthirsty beast.
A surge of Knowledge rose in his mind.
"One who absorbs grudges until they lose themselves... eventually becoming a monstrous beast."
He turned around to look at the "blood sacks" that the creature had dragged along with long, fleshy, blood-soaked tendrils.
There was another monster, just like the one he killed—along with several brutally slain humans, and one humanoid creature of a different kind.
He could tell the difference between the monsters because Knowledge struck him again when he looked at the humanoid beast.
"Chimera Ants—creatures that consume and reproduce by eating other species, sometimes to the point of extinction. But for long-term survival, they also develop behaviors like livestock breeding and storing meat."
Chimera Ants...
It had been a while since he'd heard that name. And now, there was one here?
Germain fell into deep thought.
The earliest generations of Chimera Ants still carried insect traits, but as they absorbed the genes of other species, their appearances began to vary wildly.
In other words, after a few generations, not only did they look completely different from the first generation—even ants from the same generation could differ drastically.
It was almost impossible to identify a Chimera Ant by looks alone.
Only when a group of grotesque, bizarre beings appeared together would an observer possibly realize—they were Chimera Ants.
Germain had only been able to recognize this one because of the Knowledge.
But that raised another question:
Why were there Chimera Ants here?
Not far away, Kurapika had finally calmed down.
His Scarlet Eyes faded, their glow dimming. While eating the rice ball handed to him by Germain, he kept watching the man's back in silence.
But after just a few bites, Kurapika noticed something strange about his body.
Unlike the others who had tried "Nitro Rice" earlier, Kurapika's life force was in a drained, withered state—so he could feel the effect of "Nitro Rice" even more clearly.
Especially after activating his Scarlet Eyes, which were linked directly to his life force. The increase—or decrease—of that life force became even more noticeable.
This rice ball... what exactly is in it? It's actually helping me recover lost vitality... Kurapika thought with confusion.
"It won't harm you," a voice said from the shadows of the nearby forest, as a group of people stepped into view. One of them seemed to read the doubt in Kurapika's heart. "It's good stuff."
Kurapika turned his head—and saw a group of familiar faces.
Ging, Bisky, Tokarine, and Steiner.
Tokarine and Steiner being here wasn't too surprising.
Judging by their ragged clothes and the bandages wrapped around them, it was clear they had escaped from the chaos aboard the BW No. 1 just like Kurapika and the others.
But somewhere along the way, they had become separated from the main group.
Ging and Bisky's appearance here, though unexpected, made a strange kind of sense.
After all, since Teacher Germain was here, it wasn't that strange for them to show up too.
Still, the real question remained—why were they here at all?
Kurapika was always a rational person. Even in the most desperate situations, he never allowed himself to believe someone like Germain would suddenly appear to rescue him.
Because he knew very well—at this time, Germain was either stationed at the ancient labyrinth outpost or somewhere on the Six Continents. There was no way he'd be on the imaginary continent.
Kurapika didn't waste time on wishful thinking.
But—something absolutely impossible had just happened right in front of his eyes.
The one who had just spoken to Kurapika was Bisky. She winked at him with her right eye.
"Kurapika, you and Izunavi must be wondering why we're here all of a sudden, right?"
Bisky took the explanation she'd given earlier and added in Tokarine's story, then relayed the full version to Kurapika and Izunavi.
It was only then that Kurapika understood what her wink had meant. He nodded in coordination.
"So that's how it is."
Izunavi, of course, recognized Germain and the others. Their sudden appearance was surprising, but more than anything, it brought a huge sense of relief.
If the fight had gone on any longer, Kurapika likely would've sacrificed himself to take down that bloodthirsty beast.
Izunavi would have had to swallow his grief over losing his partner, and then—dragging his exhausted body—continue protecting Queen Oito on his own.
Back then, there hadn't been time to think. Now that they were finally safe, the thought of possibly facing more monsters like that one along the way made Izunavi break out in cold sweat.
And that same terrifying creature… hadn't even lasted a full round against that "Rat"—Germain.
Izunavi had always known Germain was powerful. The level of enemies he'd taken down before spoke volumes.
But witnessing it with his own eyes just now had redefined what "powerful" meant.
Germain was even stronger than he'd imagined.
And not just Germain—now, with Ging and Bisky also part of their makeshift team, things were finally starting to feel... solid.
Safe, even.
As the tension drained from his body, Izunavi suddenly remembered something.
Wait—Queen Oito! She's still here! How could I forget her?
Just as that thought hit him, the group heard a rustling sound from the bushes nearby.
Then, like she was holding a kitten, Shizuku appeared—her left hand casually gripping the back collar of Queen Oito's dress, lifting her effortlessly.
Queen Oito's feet dangled in the air. She struggled a little, but when she noticed everyone staring at her, her face turned red with embarrassment and she gave up resisting, lowering her head awkwardly.
Her royal dignity, it seemed, had completely evaporated in a single night.
"I caught someone sneaking around," Shizuku blinked and said. "What should we do with her?"
She made a gesture across her neck.
"Not sure if she's a bad person. Should I get rid of her?"
Bisky sighed slightly. "Normally, we'd assume she's a survivor, right? Shizuku, just put her down for now."
"Oh." Shizuku loosened her grip, and Queen Oito dropped to the ground with a loud thud. Shizuku turned to her and said, "Sorry."
Queen Oito wasn't hurt from the fall. Faced with Shizuku's emotionless apology, she shook her head and returned a polite but awkward smile.
*******
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