♪
Narrator: Meanwhile, as gon was summoning every last ounce
of his power to finally finish off neferpitou,
meruem, pouf, and youpi were gathered together
inside the west tower, where komugi had recently been.
Shaiapouf: This is it.
West tower, second floor.
If we can just clear this area,
the king will have forgotten her forever.
I can’t allow him any opportunities
where he might see her.
♪
( Singing in Japanese )
♪
Meruem: Something is missing.
But just what is it?
I do not know.
( Shaiapouf gasps )
Menthuthuyoupi: I know, and you’re absolutely right.
I’m not gonna tell him.
I don’t want her around the king either.
( Coughs )
I just--i want us to stay this way.
Meruem: How curious. It would seem that this feeling,
the feeling something is missing,
may simply be a symptom of amnesia,
a side effect of my current condition.
( Shaiapouf gasps )
Of course it is, sire.
Your memory can easily be verified
through what you can see with your own two eyes,
and that means you should be able to recover
all of the memories you need.
Meruem: I believe that the selection
was to begin at 12:00?
Shaiapouf: Yes, sire. However, it can be moved up
if that is your wish.
By 9:00, the remaining humans
will all be gathered on the plain before the palace.
( Gasps )
Meruem: What is it now?
Shaiapouf: I haven’t used my scales
on the humans who are still on their way in.
We don’t want them to cause a commotion,
so I will summon all of my segments
and use them to hypnotize them.
What about you, youpi?
( Menthuthuyoupi groans )
Let me think.
- Guess i’ll look for pitou. - ( Meruem gasps )
Menthuthuyoupi: I don’t have the strength to protect you,
not the way I am right now, anyway.
Meruem: Pitou.
♪
Shaiapouf: Did you just remember something, sire?
Menthuthuyoupi: Oh, yeah. I completely forgot.
We haven’t told the king anything about pitou yet.
Shaiapouf: Lord meruem,
do you happen to remember who pitou is?
Meruem: I do. One of my three personal royal guards.
I can recall pitou’s appearance so clearly.
In fact, it seems rather unusual
that I wouldn’t have remembered it before now.
( Shaiapouf gasps )
So it isn’t just images that can trigger his memory.
Words can as well.
We cannot let him hear her name.
We must be very careful.
The key to this will be convincing pitou.
Menthuthuyoupi: I know. Don’t worry.
I won’t mention her.
( High-pitched whine )
Meruem: There it is again.
( In memory ) I’m counting on you, pitou.
( Gasps )
Yes, that’s right.
I-I asked pitou to do something for me,
but what was it?
Youpi.
Menthuthuyoupi: Sire?
Meruem: Bring pitou to me immediately.
We have things to discuss.
Menthuthuyoupi: Right.
Shaiapouf: And what will you do, lord meruem?
I ask, because there are still enemies around.
Meruem: So there are.
I will go and search for pitou myself
and hunt the stragglers in the process.
( Shaiapouf gasps ) This is bad.
Eh, sire, that would be, uh...
Meruem: It is merely for entertainment,
and I am certain that they have useful information.
Shaiapouf: Perhaps, but we won’t be at your side,
and we don’t know what enemies still remain.
( Yelps )
( Gasps )
♪
Meruem: I want an honest answer, pouf. Give it.
( Shaiapouf gasping )
Meruem: In your personal opinion,
do you believe there’s a chance
that these intruders could best me?
♪
Shaiapouf: No, never in a million years, sire.
This exceeds my wildest expectations.
Sire, lord meruem,
you are the very pinnacle of being,
and that much is certain.
Narrator: The aura was overwhelming,
and as it spread, it filled knuckle and the others
who were still in hiding with abject despair.
Knuckle: Whatever this is,
it’s sure as hell not something we can deal with.
You would need an entire nation’s military
to handle something of this magnitude.
Hey, meleoron, let’s run for it!
Meleoron: Seriously?!
Knuckle: You better believe it.
We’ll just head back to the capital
under the cover of the crowd.
Meleoron: But what about killua, ikalgo, and the rest?
Knuckle: There’s nothing we can do.
If they saw that, they’d understand.
They would run, too.
It’s our only option.
You saw that thing.
No way we can handle it ourselves.
Meleoron: Well, what if--
what if you and I were to team up?
Knuckle: We could land one attack on him, sure.
And if we got really lucky
we could probably even attach a.P.R., but...
The problem is a.P.R. Only adds interest
to the opponent it’s attached to if i’m within 50 meters of it,
and if we’re that close to him, if we’re within his range,
do you really think we’d last long enough
for the king to go bankrupt?
Unless you’ve got the boss’s lungs, it ain’t happening.
Besides, the situation’s changed.
It’s not as clear-cut as it was before.
The enemy knows about our abilities,
and that means they’re gonna be good and ready for us.
I was such a freakin’ idiot.
As soon as the chairman was beaten,
we should have notified the association
so they could have started working on plan b
instead of wasting all this time.
( Meleoron grumbles )
Knuckle: Hurry.
Narrator: Revenge versus duty.
As they continued to walk along in silence,
the difference in their motives
placed a growing distance between them.
Just then...
At what seemed like the speed of light,
meruem’s unparalleled en lit up the entire palace.
♪
The king, sensing there were two enemies nearby,
began with knuckle.
Next was meleoron, knocked unconscious
before he could even think to activate his power.
( Shaiapouf gasps )
Menthuthuyoupi: Where’s the king?
Shaiapouf: It’s gone.
( Both gasp )
Meruem: I shall be interrogating these two later on.
After that, you can do as you wish.
( Both gasp )
Meruem: There were two other nen users there.
I could sense their aura reacting to my en,
and I will find them.
♪
Shaiapouf: One of them must be carrying the unconscious komugi.
That has to be where she went.
What do I do? What do I do?
( Gasps )
The king, I must stop him.
Sire!
It’s just, if your purpose is entertainment,
then shouldn’t you take your time?
Meruem: I get the sense you have a proposal for me.
Shaiapouf: I do.
Would you be willing to engage in a game with us?
Meruem: A game?
( High-pitched whine )
Again.
A game.
♪
Meruem: A game.
A game.
A game of what sort?
Shaiapouf: Youpi and I will both search for pitou,
and, in the meantime, you look for the two remaining nen users,
meruem: And we see who can locate their target first, yes?
- Shaiapouf: Right. - Menthuthuyoupi: Hold on.
You still need to go and spread your scales around, don’t you?
Shaiapouf: Yes, that’s correct.
So while I hypnotize the remaining humans,
I would like to make a request of you, lord meruem.
I ask that you wait here until I return.
It is painfully obvious that the difference in power
between yourself and the intruders is insurmountable.
Finding and capturing them both will take you but moments,
and that isn’t very entertaining.
Meanwhile, we must find pitou, who has engaged with the enemy,
and they seem to be capable of teleportation.
Pitou’s current location is unknown as of yet.
To make up for the difference, we’ll need more time.
In addition, we ask for one further handicap.
Meruem: Further handicap? What is it?
Shaiapouf: You will only be permitted
to use your en once more. How does that sound, sire?
Menthuthuyoupi: Um...
Meruem: It’s quite amusing.
( Shaiapouf gasps )
Meruem: I like this game. I will accept.
Shaiapouf: Oh, thank you very much, sire.
Perfect. With this development,
I should have ample time to kill that girl.
Meruem: And as long as all of us are playing,
I have a proposal to make as well.
( Shaiapouf gasps )
Meruem: If you win, I shall give you a prize.
I will be granting each of you a single wish.
( Both gasp )
Yes, sire.
Shaiapouf: This is an honor.
Menthuthuyoupi: But, sire, what do you want
if you win the contest?
Meruem: If I emerge victorious,
you will tell me all that you have been hiding from me.
Is that understood?
( Both gasp )
♪
- Shaiapouf: But-- - meruem: Silence.
I already told you.
We are all connected. We share both mind and body.
Did you think that I would not notice your guilt, your anxiety?
You truly feel I am so oblivious?
However, I sense
that your feelings of loyalty are stronger now.
Were that not the case, I would have beheaded you on the spot.
( Shaiapouf whimpers )
( Menthuthuyoupi whimpers )
Meruem: I am certain you have your reasons.
They’re not my concern.
But that is only if I lose.
( Both gasp )
Meruem: You will obtain anything you desire
and retain the freedom to keep your secret.
You could not wish for a better set of terms.
That’s only if I lose, understand?
Shaiapouf: Thank you, lord meruem.
I shall spread my scales at once.
I will not waste a moment’s time.
If we lose this contest, we will tell you everything.
This I swear on my very life.
( Meruem chuckles )
You treat this as more than mere entertainment, don’t you?
Once pouf has spread his scales and then returned to the palace,
I shall begin my hunt.
You find this acceptable?
Shaiapouf: I do.
Meruem: Then the victory will go
to whomever returns to this room with their target first.
If pitou should return while i’m gone, you are to explain
the objective of this little contest
and order pitou to hide. Understood?
Both: Yes, sire!
Meruem: The two nen users my en sensed
were an octopus and a human being,
who seem to be carrying some sort of burden.
Shaiapouf: I must win.
No, victory is already assured.
The only question now is,
what should be done about pitou and the girl?
Menthuthuyoupi: Ready?
Shaiapouf: Let us begin!
♪
Menthuthuyoupi: So where do you think pitou ran off to?
Shaiapouf: It’s all right.
Pitou should be back before long.
Turn around, and go wait over by the west tower
until pitou has returned.
Then wait. Do not go near the king.
Menthuthuyoupi: Fine, but you can’t use segments
while you spread your scales,
so you really aren’t buying us any time.
Shaiapouf: Place your trust in me. I will not fail!
Menthuthuyoupi: Hmm.
( Palm panting )
Unbelievable. Such ferocious aura.
Those two are dead.
No, they’re still alive, for now, anyway.
They were only knocked unconscious.
But where is gon?
Killua’s carrying him.
Long hair? Is it someone else?
No, those are the only two figures in my crystal ball.
That must be gon.
Something must have happened when I wasn’t watching.
Where’s pitou?
In any case, don’t come back here, please.
Pouf is spreading scales
on the people gathered before the palace.
Are they poisonous?
It would be better for me if he’d stay near the king.
In any case, he’s on the other side of the palace.
I must get as far from my previous location as I can.
After that wave of en, I immediately used wink blue,
as soon as I did, the king appeared next to pouf,
carrying both knuckle and meleoron.
Only a few seconds had passed. I’m sure of it.
He’ll be coming after ikalgo or me next.
The king could be standing behind me even now.
I have to hurry and get even farther away
before the king uses en again.
I have to go in there.
If i’m crossing the plain when he uses en,
I won’t be able to escape.
If i’m deep underground,
perhaps his en won’t be able to reach me.
But i’m not giving myself an escape route.
Should I stay outside of the palace instead
and hope that the king doesn’t make his move for a while?
But there’s no reason to think he won’t.
( Panting )
What should I do?
What’s the right decision?
( Gasps )
Ikalgo!
Ikalgo: I figured you’d be here.
Come on! Let’s get inside! Hurry up!
Palm: Yes, but how--
ikalgo: Come on. Isn’t that why you came here?
If he uses his en again, we’re finished.
Where’s killua?
Palm: He ran off to go find gon.
They’re together now.
I don’t know what happened to pitou.
Ikalgo: Hmm.
♪
I see.
So meleoron and knuckle were captured.
The king is on a whole other level.
( Palm grunts )
Ikalgo: He spared them.
Any idea why he’d do that?
Palm: I can’t say.
It’s possible it’s just wishful thinking,
but I think they’re still alive.
Ikalgo: They’re alive, huh?
Probably so they can be traded.
( Palm gasps ) As hostages, like killua mentioned?
Ikalgo: I’ll set a trap.
There’s no way i’m gonna let this end here.
But first things first.
We need to hide the girl in bizeff’s room.
( Palm sighs )
♪
( High-pitched whine )
Meruem: A game.
♪
A game.
( Singing in Japanese )