While Hisoka and Shaiapouf were engaged in combat, Allen had already utilized the toggling between God's Accomplice and Shadowmeld to slip into the palace interior in total silence.
The entire process was executed without alerting anyone, nor did he bother killing the soldier ants who seemed like easy targets. His purpose for this trip was solely to confirm if the King had been born and to gauge his true strength.
After cautiously navigating past the stairs guarded by Menthuthuyoupi, Allen finally reached the magnificent grand hall on the second floor. Before he could find a spot to enter Shadowmeld and catch his breath, he spotted a humanoid creature at the end of the hall, wearing what looked like a green helmet, sitting on a cushion.
Opposite this individual sat a small girl with white hair. A game board lay between them; they appeared to be focusing intently on a match.
So he really has been born... the Ant King, Meruem!
Allen squinted as he observed the staggering amount of aura unconsciously radiating from the creature, his gaze turning sharp. Under the perception of his Red Dragon, this King, who stood at the apex of the Chimera Ant race, did not possess an aura of two or three million as previously estimated. It was a full five million plus.
Like all the later-born Chimera Ants, this individual was significantly more powerful than in the original timeline, clearly having ingested ample nutrients and life force while still in the Queen's womb. Furthermore, the King possessed a Specialist Nen ability that allowed him to increase his own aura by consuming Nen users. In this regard, Allen was quite similar to his opponent; both could strengthen themselves by plundering power from others.
The only difference was that Allen created the Nen beast Vaelstrasz to devour his targets, while the King used his own mouth, but the essence remained the same.
As for the girl sitting across the board, there was no need to ask; she was undoubtedly Komugi, the undefeated Gungi world champion.
Should I go up and say hello?
Allen stroked his chin, lost in thought, while transitioning from God's Accomplice to Shadowmeld. Holding one's breath for too long was, after all, rather uncomfortable.
Just as he completed the switch, he suddenly noticed a high-speed red dot appear on his mini-map's Track Humanoids. Immediately following this, Neferpitou, the "cat girl," burst through a second-floor window.
Coincidentally, she was maintaining her En...
Predictably, Pitou instantly detected the enemy hiding in the corner and launched a ferocious, proactive assault.
"Just my luck! To get caught like this!" Allen sighed helplessly.
With no time for overthinking, he released his full aura and met her charge with a clenched fist.
BOOM!
A massive explosion followed, and a violent shockwave filled the entire room. Komugi, possessing no power of her own, was nearly blown away. She cried out in terror, "What's happening? What's going on?"
"It's you?!!!"
Upon seeing the true face of the intruder, Pitou's expression changed instantly. Her pupils constricted, leaking intense fear and wariness.
On the other side of the room, the King slowly rose from his cushion, shielding Komugi behind him.
"Yo! Long time no see!" Allen waved with a smile.
"King! Be careful! He is the human I mentioned to you!" Pitou shouted a warning without turning her head.
"Oh?" The King was slightly surprised, but quickly regained his composure. "No wonder you and Youpi were defeated. Such staggering life energy! As food, you must be of the rarest, highest grade."
"Food? Heh, you certainly talk big, King of Ants. Have your subordinates not taught you the meaning of fear? Or perhaps, do you still not know that you are merely a tool manufactured by humans?" Allen asked back meaningfully.
He was intentionally detonating this bombshell to see how the arrogant King would react.
"What do you mean? Are you playing with me?" The King's eyes turned dangerous instantly. Without a second's delay, he vanished from his spot.
In the next instant, his tail and fist struck simultaneously toward Allen's head and heart.
Bang! Bang!
Though the King's speed was incredibly fast by most standards, in Allen's eyes, it was no different from a standard attack, almost like slow motion. Since the gap in their aura was only about two-to-three-fold, Allen blocked everything with ease.
Once finished, Allen wagged his right index finger. "Playing? No, no, no. Don't misunderstand; I am merely stating a fact. Use that brain of yours. Why did a Chimera Ant Queen infused with human genes suddenly appear out of thin air? Why did the previous Kings and colonies disappear? And why did she happen to appear in a place like NGL, isolated from the outside world, allowing her to easily obtain food and grow the colony? If you aren't a total fool, the conclusion should be quite obvious, shouldn't it?"
Upon hearing this, the King froze. His eyes flickered between shock and fury. He was undeniably brilliant, possessing intellect and learning capabilities far beyond humans; he quickly grasped the implications.
Finally, radiating a terrifying aura, the King turned and barked, "Pitou! Tell me! Did you know about this all along?"
"A thousand apologies! I... I did not mean to deceive you!" Pitou dropped to her knees, pressing her body against the floor.
In fact, since her previous defeat, she had secretly investigated the Queen's history and concluded that a massive conspiracy likely hid behind her arrival, a conspiracy orchestrated by the very humans the colony viewed as food.
"How does it feel to learn you are nothing more than a tool created by humans?" Allen continued to provoke the now mentally reeling Ant King with a sarcastic tone.
"In the eyes of the true human elite, you are a minor threat at best, hardly even a nuisance. So far, only a tiny fraction of the Hunter Association is hunting you, while the truly powerful nations haven't even stepped onto the field. It's laughable that you view humans as food or inferior beings. If that logic holds, then what does that make you, a creation of those very humans?"
"AAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!"
Pushed by the cruel truth, the King finally abandoned all reason, falling into a state of hysterical madness. Like a wild beast, he lunged forward, desperate to slaughter the human before him.
Regrettably for him, Allen was only here to confirm his suspicions and had no intention of a drawn-out battle. Using a Blink-like teleportation ability, he bypassed the floors and vanished from sight, simultaneously activating God's Accomplice to leisurely exit the palace.
Behind him, the maddened King began an indiscriminate rampage of destruction. In the blink of an eye, the grand hall was reduced to ruins, and even his two Royal Guards were caught in the crossfire of his blows. Fortunately, Pitou and Youpi were incredibly durable; though they sustained injuries, they were not life-threatening.
By the time the Ant King had vented his rage and calmed down, Allen was already far away.