The King!
An x Indebted x Insect
Youpi's attack separated the Hunters.
The central stairway was destroyed,
with Youpi awaiting anyone still looking to ascend.
Behind him were Knuckle and Meleoron,
who had barely managed to make it to the second floor.
Below,
the ones hit at closest range by Youpi's attack were Shoot...
This is bad.
My leg's destroyed.
Shoot!
...and Morel.
The rest is up to you.
Knuckle...
He couldn't say Knuckle's name out loud.
Stupid tricks!
One attack by Youpi
tore apart the Deep Purple puppets,
but Morel had deliberately positioned them with that in mind.
They were just decoys?
That resistance...
This is more than smoke!
The weapon was the only thing that wasn't smoke?
Fool! You won't get away!
After using his own weapon as a decoy,
Morel had no option left but to run.
But...
Knuckle knew exactly what he had to do.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy!
That...
That punch was meant to send him flying over the horizon.
The total is 590?
Ten seconds feels like an eternity now...
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy applies additional damage
in the form of interest as time progresses from the activation of the ability.
Lost sight of him...
Damn you!
The enraged Youpi
returned to his senses because his multiple eyes had caught sight of a shadowed form.
With his right leg broken,
Shoot unconsciously used his remaining leg to stand on one of his own fists.
Despite that he had never attempted it before,
Shoot realized that this was his ultimate technique.
And he had no clear reason to cover his right eye.
He was just enjoying the fact
that he continued to gain strength while the situation deteriorated.
Fueled by adversity itself,
Shoot took flight.
His tremendous speed and vigor
succeeded in forcing Youpi to concentrate on defense for a few seconds.
All in order
to help the others.
Shoot, Knuckle...
Once we finish this, first thing we do is drink ourselves silly with good alcohol.
That's the only way I can get you guys to let me give you a big hug.
The debris cloud raised by the destruction
was the perfect cover for Morel to expand his smoke aura throughout the palace
so he could monitor the course of the battle.
Morel's objective was the throne room.
When Youpi destroyed the central stairway,
Gon and Killua evaded the attack and changed direction.
They planned to jump from
the east tower's second floor to the central tower's third floor, where the throne room was.
Upon hitting the ground, they passed Ikalgo in the courtyard as he headed
for the elevator underground.
His ability that let him control corpses like part of his own body,
Living Dead Dolls, granted him the use of multiple sets of eyes,
which had allowed him to dodge Dragon Dive unscratched.
In the corner of his eye, Killua spotted
two soldier Ants in the direction
that Ikalgo was headed.
In the next moment, Killua had taken off.
Killua?
Why is he heading toward the elevator?
What am I doing?
What's wrong with me?
It was only natural that Killua would be surprised by his own actions.
He was the one
who had instructed the others to stick to their own tasks.
At that point, Killua's mind completely froze.
However, while his mind panicked,
his body continued to move efficiently,
keeping aura usage to a minimum,
while swiftly and accurately
gauging the two soldier Ants' abilities and movements, and halting them.
Only Ikalgo and one other saw what had happened.
Damn...
What have I
done?
Killua,
I owe you one.
After he realized what he'd done, a tangle of emotions
had left Killua lost in confusion,
until Ikalgo's words woke him.
By the time the two Ants' remains hit the floor,
Killua was already moving on.
Flutter?
Something's wrong.
At either end of the hall leading to the elevator underground were the servant quarters,
which soldier Ants currently occupied.
Ikalgo raced past the two Ants,
and at the moment when he reached the elevator,
the doors at both ends opened simultaneously.
From the doors appeared...
Cheetu...
Brovada!
After seeing Flutter,
Welfin had hidden because he'd smelled that something was wrong.
That was too fast.
Once they spotted the enemy, the two soldiers raised an alert.
Right afterward, they were killed.
The time between the intruder's return down the hallway
and Flutter's appearance was too short!
Which means they must have passed one another in the hallway.
Then why were the soldiers killed,
but not Flutter?
Is Flutter on the enemy's side?
Meaning...
He's a traitor!
Is he acting on his own, or...
Is it Hagya's... Or rather...
Leol's orders?
This is pathetic.
When he needed me most, I wasn't there.
And I call myself a Royal Guard?
I don't even know where the King is.
And I call myself a Royal Guard?
No.
I am a failure!
It's that simple...
Pouf's loyalty made him both strong and weak.
The ideals he prioritized were unyielding and absolute.
Pouf, the former Royal Guard.
Now, Pouf...
Useless Pouf...
You utter fool.
You failure of a Royal Guard!
Where will you go now?
You have no idea?
And if the King isn't there,
then you'll be more useless than scum, won't you?
No, useless Pouf...
You just refuse to accept reality.
You don't want him spending time with that woman!!!!
You don't want him spending time with that woman!
His emotions were directed at the King as well as himself.
An absolute King,
feeling concern for a lowly human...
Visiting the room of a lowly human by choice...
It is unforgivable!
But...
That's probably where the King is...
Before I came here, I knew that much.
I didn't fail as a Royal Guard because I didn't know the King's location.
I failed because I knew where, and I didn't go there!
Yes, Pouf, you traitor, lower than scum.
You are now a mere bug!
You can no longer expect anything of yourself.
Nor are you allowed, then, to expect anything of the King!
I can only work for the King...
For the King... For the King... For the King... For the King...
For the King! For the King! For the King!
For the King!
Instead, his emotions, bordering on fanaticism,
prevented him from thinking clearly in the seconds after he arrived in the throne room.
I must go to the King.
Yo.
You're gonna ignore me?!
He goes straight to the King without a glance.
Unfortunately, you've been surrounded.
What must I do
to have you let me out?
Oh, I'm not letting you out.
I see...
Spiritual Message Love Spring of Moth Scales
Spiritual Message.
That's Morel's Smoky Jail...
The ability he's using to separate Pouf from the King.
If the third floor of the tower is surrounded by smoke,
the King and Pitou aren't there.
Where are they?
Gon was raring to fight.
Next time: Divide x And x Conquer.
No, I don't wanna leave you!
It's okay! We're connected by an invisible bond!
There you go again—
Two sides of the same coin.
Two peas in a pod!