There might not even be a need to wait for him to collapse from exhaustion.
Ronnel's next punch could very well send Yupi to his demise!
"Hoo~!"
Heavy breathing filled the battlefield.
Yupi's long, pointed tongue hung from his mouth, droplets of blood dripping onto the ground. Not only had he endured those two devastating punches, but even as he retreated, he was struck by countless piercing light shards.
As one of the strongest fighters across the six continents, Zeno's power was beyond question. If Yupi had been at full strength, this level of damage might not have been significant. But now, the constant barrage of attacks was only making things worse for him.
"He can barely hold himself together," Killua observed calmly, watching Yupi's condition deteriorate.
"Yeah."
Morel nodded, taking a deep drag from his pipe. He hadn't expected things to go this smoothly.
Although Yupi's aura was still terrifying, it was nothing compared to when the fight had begun. The difference was clear—his strength had waned dramatically.
Yupi, once at his peak, had been reduced to this state after taking just a single punch from both Ronnel and Gon.
Meanwhile, Ronnel and Gon remained unscathed, their momentum only growing.
At this rate, Yupi's fate was already sealed.
Morel couldn't help but be in awe of Ronnel's power. Seeing Yupi struggle like this gave him a clear benchmark for just how strong Ronnel truly was.
"Even the Chairman… No, even Netero himself might not have been able to pull this off."
Both Morel and Killua shared the same thought.
...
On the steps, Ronnel flexed his fingers, shaking off the residual force from his punch.
"Not bad~" he murmured, glancing at his fists. After that exchange, he had gained an even deeper understanding of his own power.
The last punch, while not his full strength, had been serious enough—otherwise, Yupi wouldn't have suffered such devastating injuries.
Yupi, the so-called "Shield of the Ant King," had proven to be a decent test subject.
"Almost time~" Ronnel muttered.
With the experiment done, he turned his attention back to the mission at hand.
Yupi, still struggling to recover, barely had time to register what was happening when Ronnel whispered:
"It's over."
In the blink of an eye, Ronnel vanished from his spot, reappearing directly in front of Yupi. His fist, overflowing with aura, closed in for the finishing blow.
...
Elsewhere, outside the palace, Pitou, who had been sent flying by Netero, struggled to regain control midair, using Nen to slow his fall.
His ability, Doctor Blythe, required him to stay within range once activated. Because his tail remained connected to it, Pitou's movements were restricted to a radius of about twenty meters.
That limitation had stopped him from being knocked even further away.
As soon as he steadied himself, Pitou expanded his En to its maximum range, instantly covering the entire palace.
"The reception hall, second floor of the west tower… His Majesty is with the blind girl… and two enemies! They know his location!"
Realizing the danger, Pitou immediately dropped to all fours, tensing every muscle. Upon landing, he launched himself forward with a powerful kick, accelerating toward the Ant King's location.
He didn't inform Shaiapouf.
He didn't even spare a thought for Yupi.
For the Royal Guards, the safety of the Ant King was the only priority.
While Pitou made his move, Shaiapouf was also rushing toward the central palace, desperate to reach Meruem.
...
As he arrived at the ruined walls of the palace, Shaiapouf stopped, frozen in place.
"In this crucial moment… I wasn't by His Majesty's side… How can I call myself a Royal Guard?!"
"I knew His Majesty wasn't here… that he was likely with that human, yet I still rushed to the wrong place! This is a failure… no, a betrayal of my duty!"
Tears streamed down Shaiapouf's face as his emotions spiraled into madness.
His En was far weaker than Pitou's, barely covering a single floor. On the way here, he had known it was pointless to release it. He had focused all his energy on moving as fast as possible.
But now that the truth was becoming undeniable, his mind was overwhelmed with chaos. The turmoil in his heart clouded his judgment, making him hesitate just long enough to be fatal.
...
"Let's go."
Ronnel raised his hand, storing Yupi's lifeless body away, then turned to the others.
"There's still one more up in the palace."
Morel exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, his eyes narrowing.
"Perfect timing."
Everyone nodded, their confidence unwavering. No matter how fearsome the Royal Guards were, with Ronnel here, the outcome was inevitable.
Hearing Ronnel's words, Morel adjusted his pipe and moved toward the stairs, exhaling another dense veil of smoke.
It was part of his ability—Deep Purple: Smoky Jail.
The impenetrable smoke barrier would ensure that Shaiapouf had no way of breaking through.
At the same time, Morel considered the implications of Ronnel's statement.
"The palace above us is the Ant King's throne room… If there's only one guard up there, that means the King himself isn't present. Which means…"
"I just felt a massive En expanding outside the palace. It has to be Pitou. Given the direction, it's clear he's already outside. Which leaves only one possibility…"
"The lone guard up there must be Shaiapouf!"
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)