Morrow's transformation did not escape Zeno's notice.
The astonishing scale of his aura output had already faintly surpassed Zeno's own.
But even more astonishing was that Emission-type attack.
As a fellow Emitter with decades of mastery, Zeno had sensed from that single glimpse, when the Nen bullet shattered most of Shaiapouf's head, a technique nearing perfection.
Energy conversion rate, stability, speed, power, accuracy... Flawless.
Even if Zeno were to strike at his peak condition, he might not have performed better than Morrow.
Within the family, unless it involved major affairs, Zeno typically maintained a neutral stance, often remaining uninvolved.
However, when the matter concerning Kalluto arose, and his grandfather Maha personally intervened...
Zeno had paid some attention to Morrow's strength at that time.
This was the fundamental reason he now couldn't help but marvel at how Morrow had already reached such a level.
A monstrous genius, nothing less.
Letting Kalluto follow him... there's no need for further concern.
Zeno withdrew his gaze, ignoring Shaiapouf, who was radiating a frenzied aura not far away. He slowly placed his hands behind his back, resembling an old man strolling in a park.
But back then, Grandfather had seen his potential...
Thinking of this, Zeno shook his head slightly and leaped down to the ground.
His mission was complete, and after sending off Netero and the King, his current aura output was only one-third of its original capacity. He had no extra energy to continue meddling in the fray.
Leaving now was the best choice.
As for Kalluto, who had also joined the battle...
That single Nen bullet from Morrow was enough to set Zeno's mind at ease.
Seizing the moment while Shaiapouf's attention was fixed on Morrow, Zeno made his escape.
Despite his turbulent emotions, Shaiapouf did not overlook Zeno's attempt to leave.
However, when facing a human expert like Morrow, he had no capacity to spare for Zeno. Moreover, he could see that Zeno was determined to withdraw from the battlefield.
So he simply let Zeno go.
At this moment, Shaiapouf had only one thought.
To tear Morrow apart alive, then prepare him as a delicious dish to welcome the King, who would undoubtedly return triumphant!
Sizzle...
The majority of Shaiapouf's head, shattered by the Nen bullet, regenerated at an incredible speed.
This was due to his Nen ability branching onto a different path.
Namely, a Vow and Limitation infused with the principle of sacrifice.
In essence, the innate starting conditions of Chimera Ants were beyond human reach.
Thus, given enough time, even without touching upon Vows and Limitations, Chimera Ants could construct a powerful Nen system.
But Morrow had imposed immense pressure on Shaiapouf, compelling him to reach for Vows and Limitations in order to develop a more formidable ability in a short period.
Now, once he used his "clone" to parasitize a target, he could not retrieve it.
This meant that with each target he parasitized, he would lose some cells.
And for him, cells were equivalent to lifespan.
Each use diminished them irreversibly. However, the clone he parasitized on the target could also serve as a switch to drain life force, allowing the intensity of control over the target to achieve a qualitative leap.
Similarly, when equating cell loss to lifespan, it meant his "health points" were tied to the total number of cells.
Simply put, whenever he used his Nen ability now, he had to pay a cost in health points.
Thus, even if most of his head was destroyed, he could rely on expending a large amount of lifespan to exchange for the "super regeneration" ability.
This was one outcome of adhering to the philosophy of sacrifice.
Morrow was somewhat surprised upon seeing Shaiapouf's head mostly restored to its original state.
From his perspective, the earlier Deceptive Shooting Star had been guided by the Star Mark to strike Shaiapouf.
So he could confirm that this Shaiapouf was the real body.
In that case, after destroying most of the real body's head, he should have been able to instantly kill the opponent.
Unexpectedly, the regenerative ability that previously only worked on the "Beelzebub clone" could now also function on the real body.
Has the ability evolved...?
Morrow quickly considered this possibility.
However, Shaiapouf was not like Youpi, who had a large amount of magical beast genes mixed within his body.
Therefore, to achieve this kind of super regeneration ability in his real body, he must have paid a harsh price.
Having accurately deduced this, Morrow did not find Shaiapouf's ability change particularly intimidating.
Compared to this, Youpi's extreme explosive power and the super regenerative effects brought by his Biological Mutation ability were the most troublesome combination.
It was only because Morrow could rely on the lethal mechanism of "Stellar Collapse" to completely bypass Youpi's super regeneration ability and his bottomless potential aura...
Otherwise, even if Netero had taken the field, he would have been worn down to death by Youpi.
It could be said that within the entire Extermination Team, only Morrow was capable of eliminating Youpi.
Although Shaiapouf now possessed this ability as well, as long as his frontal offensive power was insufficient, there was little to fear.
Even if it came down to a battle of attrition...
As long as the pressure in direct combat wasn't overwhelming, Morrow could continuously gain advantages through his technical skills.
"The Star Mark won't disappear just because the 'flesh' is destroyed and regenerated. Only a Nen exorcism ability can achieve that," Morrow murmured to himself.
Before Shaiapouf could take action, he once again condensed a fluorescent green Nen sphere in his palm.
Back during the assault on the Chimera Ant Nest, why did he risk everything to eliminate Youpi during the retreat?
Aside from not wanting to expose his ability's details, he was concerned that the continuously burning Accretion Charge on Youpi might lead Shaiapouf or Neferpitou to seek a "Nen exorcism ability."
It was precisely because Morrow clearly strategized to avoid this possibility that the Star Marks implanted on the Royal Guards could achieve maximum effectiveness in battle.
—--
On the open-air balcony on the west side of the palace.
After healing his injuries, Shaiapouf naturally noticed Morrow's aura-gathering actions first.
Judging by the nature of the ability, to avoid being continuously kited and worn down by Morrow, he should close the distance as quickly as possible.
Yet he did not do so. Instead, he looked down at Neferpitou below.
The King's departure was already inevitable.
As the King's Royal Guards, since he and Neferpitou could not accompany their sovereign, their duty was to eliminate all invaders within the palace. Driven by his dwindling sanity, Shaiapouf instructed, "Neferpitou, you handle the other intruders. I know your 'puppet manipulation' has limitations, so I won't divert the fully hatched soldiers. They should be sufficient for your use."
"Even without puppets, I can deal with the intruders on the first floor. But you..." Neferpitou looked up at Shaiapouf, whose expression was slightly distorted, and asked in a focused tone, "Are you confident in handling that human?"
"Neferpitou, are you looking down on me?" Shaiapouf redirected his attention to Morrow, only glancing at Neferpitou out of the corner of his eye. Even that sidelong glance conveyed a sharp, cold intensity to her.
Neferpitou replied expressionlessly, "Considering combat dynamics, it would be better for me to deal with that human, while you take care of the group of intruders on the first floor."
"Hmph." Shaiapouf snorted coldly. "Focus on your own tasks and don't interfere with the rest."
Shaiapouf couldn't even be bothered to say another word to Neferpitou. After uttering this cold, sharp remark, he abruptly flapped his wings and flew toward Morrow. At the same time, he mobilized the numerous victims parasitized by his cell clones.
While Shaiapouf was making his move, Morrow had already finished gathering his aura. Since Shaiapouf hadn't pressured him immediately, Morrow had ample time to infuse more aura into the Deceptive Shooting Star. Thus, a Shooting Star imbued with astonishing power tore through the gloomy sky, flying straight at Shaiapouf with immense force.
Morrow intended to use this strike to gather more information about Shaiapouf's resurrection ability. Even if he couldn't achieve that, the sheer power of this aura-infused attack would be enough to severely injure Shaiapouf. If the yet-unknown cost was related to the extent of injury, then the locking ability of the Star Mark would bring even greater returns to Morrow's Shooting Star attack.
Facing this formidable Shooting Star assault, Shaiapouf sneered inwardly. During that half-hour of contemplating ability expansion, how could he have overlooked the effects of Morrow's guidance ability? Although he hadn't mastered the skill to completely remove negative ability effects in a short time, it didn't mean he was powerless against them.
Suddenly, Shaiapouf separated his main body, maintaining only the size of a bee, the smallest possible form with the lowest consumption. Then, his bee-sized main body, carrying the Star Mark, flew higher into the sky. The Shooting Star released by Morrow could only abruptly change direction, chasing after the Star Mark.
Boom!
The Shooting Star struck Shaiapouf's bee-sized main body carrying the Star Mark high above, triggering a violent explosion.
Witnessing this, Morrow's eyes narrowed slightly, and he turned his gaze to the Shaiapouf in front of him, who should have been a clone. Does the evolved ability still distinguish between main body and clone, yet the main body can immune itself to death from fatal damage? Or has he mastered the ability to temporarily peel off the Star Mark using a clone?
Morrow's thoughts raced, and he quickly reached a conclusion. The Star Mark hadn't been stripped by a clone. The bee-sized Shaiapouf earlier was indeed the main body. This judgment was based on his knowledge that one of the mechanics of the "Beelzebub" ability required Shaiapouf's main body to be at least the size of a bee. Based on the existing intelligence, Morrow leaned more towards the possibility that Shaiapouf had utilized some form of Limitation to exchange for a Vow ability that allowed his main body to possess immunity to fatal damage, just like his clones.
This evolution and refinement of abilities certainly had one aspect aimed at countering his Shooting Star locking ability.
Although Shaiapouf exchanged the consumption of a single bee somatic cell to neutralize Morrow's Deceptive Shooting Star infused with a large amount of aura, it also allowed Morrow to instantly discern the details of his ability.
Unaware of this, Shaiapouf, after gaining a significant advantage in this round of confrontation, couldn't contain his maniacal laughter.
"Hahaha, your 'guidance ability' has lost its value!!!"
If it were a battle of attrition, given the nature of Shaiapouf's current abilities, he could completely overwhelm Morrow.
The reason for this was that Shaiapouf could rely on the simultaneous consumption of his "health bar" and "mana bar" to create combat endurance surpassing anyone else.
Moreover, he could use this move to seal Morrow's Shooting Star locking ability.
From then on, as long as he utilized the explosive lethality of the sacrifices, he could drastically accelerate the rate of Morrow's aura consumption.
Victory would become incredibly simple.
"Hahaha, as you are now..."
While controlling the numerous sacrifices to close in, Shaiapouf raised a hand to point at Morrow, sneering: "You stand no chance of winning!"
"..."
Facing Shaiapouf's absolute declaration of victory, Morrow remained silent.
He quietly dispersed the second Deceptive Shooting Star gathered in his palm, his gaze shifting towards the puppet soldiers charging from all directions.
This must be another refinement of Shaiapouf's abilities.
Compared to the Spiritual Message ability, which was disadvantageous in combat, a coercive operational ability was undoubtedly more brutal and effective.
And the Shooting Star locking ability, which should have been able to strike the main body directly, had been specifically countered and sealed by Shaiapouf.
Although it was still uncertain what price Shaiapouf had paid for this...
Regardless, it was he who had caused these changes in Shaiapouf.
"Palm, Ponzu, I need a favor."
Ignoring the approaching sacrifices, Morrow directly communicated with Palm and Ponzu in the Hide and Seek room through Kalluto's Surveillance Paper Doll.
Another Sound-Receiving Paper Doll then transmitted Palm's voice: "What is it?"
"Can your crystal ball 'replay footage'?"
Morrow instead asked a question.
"Ah!"
Palm immediately felt somewhat embarrassed.
To satisfy her voyeuristic desires to the fullest and to savor the moments more deeply...
The crystal ball indeed could replay footage, but this had always been her secret.
"Y-Yes, it can."
Realizing the importance of the situation, Palm still revealed this secret.
Hearing this, Morrow's eyes flickered slightly, and he quickly said: "Help me pull up the footage of Chairman Netero and Zeno entering."
"Okay."
Understanding that every second counted on the battlefield, Palm promptly and efficiently responded to Morrow's request.
Through Ponzu's Shared Window ability, Morrow directly viewed the crystal ball now displaying the footage.
At that moment, the sacrifices, surging with aura, lunged at Morrow with frenzied ferocity.
As the distance closed, the aura on their bodies suddenly erupted violently, and the speed and power they exhibited in their pouncing assault abruptly became even more fierce.
"Hmm?"
Morrow immediately abandoned the idea of using Insidious Shooting Star's explosive force to launch into the air, opting instead for the faster-response Astral Step ability.
Whoosh!
Morrow's figure vanished into thin air.
In the next blink, he reappeared a hundred meters away.
Morrow glanced at the group of sacrifices who had lunged at empty air, a peculiar glint flashing in his eyes.
Within his field of vision, he simultaneously watched the scene of Netero swatting away numerous sacrifices.
So that's how it is...
"Ha, hahaha!"
Morrow couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The reason he could specifically target and eliminate a monster like Youpi despite the level difference was because he had established clear strategies and approaches.
And for dealing with Shaiapouf, he naturally had specially prepared tactics as well.
Namely, from the very beginning, he had determined... to continuously weaken Shaiapouf's aura output limit through Shooting Star's locking mechanism, until the moment when "Shooting Star's power" could kill Shaiapouf.
With this strategic approach, Morrow had 100% confidence in eliminating Shaiapouf.
The only problem was...
Weakening Shaiapouf's aura output limit would likely affect experience gains.
This possibility was extremely high.
However, Morrow had mentally prepared for this.
Compared to experience gains, ensuring Shaiapouf's elimination was relatively more important.
But unexpectedly, Shaiapouf's ability transformation showed Morrow another possibility.
This couldn't help but make him laugh aloud.
"You... what are you laughing at!?"
Seeing Morrow suddenly burst into laughter, Shaiapouf couldn't help but be taken aback.
He acknowledged that Morrow was also an intelligent individual.
So he should be able to see the subsequent situation more clearly.
In terms of winning chances, he was absolutely certain to win!
And he had calculated that Morrow would recognize this too.
"Nothing."
Morrow gradually stopped laughing and said calmly, "Your 'transformation' has deeply surprised me, but unfortunately... you've picked the wrong opponent."
"?"
Shaiapouf frowned.