Heaven's Arena.
Shizuku and the others sat quietly in the stands, watching the battle on the stage. Two newcomers were fighting, and though they were inexperienced, their strength was decent, each with their own style.
"I wonder how things are going on the captain's side," Misty muttered. She had no interest in the match and glanced around the arena with boredom.
Nina replied, "With the captain's strength, there shouldn't be a problem." Then she turned to Misty. "By the way, aren't you close to breaking through that bottleneck?"
"I already broke through."
Nina froze. The others also turned their eyes toward Misty—Elita, Ponzu, Shizuku, and even Machi.
All the official members of Ron's squad were present. Within the circle of Nen users, their collective strength was already remarkable. Ponzu, Elita, Nina, and Shizuku were all at B-rank. Until recently, only Machi had reached A-rank. Now Misty had joined her. And considering Misty's age, she was essentially walking the same path as Machi but with faster progress, reaching A-rank at a younger age. It was only natural that she would surpass Machi sooner.
Two A-ranks, four B-ranks.
Even among the Hunter Association's Zodiacs, teams like Gel's squad did not possess such balance of power. In other words, apart from Ron himself, his squad was already one of extraordinary strength. Far stronger than the Bomb Devils, or the Shadow Beasts—by a margin too great to measure. On top of that, they had the added power of the Zodiac cards.
The fight in the ring ended.
"Let's head back."
By then it was already late at night. Outside the glowing towers around Heaven's Arena, the streets were shrouded in darkness, pitch-black in the quieter districts where one could not see even a hand in front of the face. The group made their way toward the dojo.
"Something's wrong."
Elita sniffed sharply. "I smell something familiar—familiar, but strange. It makes me very uneasy."
Machi nodded. "I feel a bad premonition too."
Their expressions immediately turned serious. Elita's sense of smell was extremely sharp, her ability to distinguish scents top-tier. Machi's intuition was nearly flawless. If both sensed something was wrong, then it certainly was.
Whoosh!
From the darkness, a shadow rushed at them at terrifying speed. Misty shifted instantly, intercepting it.
Bang!
Their fists collided, and both fell back. The opponent gave a surprised grunt, as if they had not expected Misty's strength to be this great.
At that moment the others finally saw what had attacked them—three humanoid figures. They looked somewhat human, but their bodies bore traits of other creatures.
Nina's mind flashed to a thought. "Chimera Ants?"
One of the Ants raised a brow. "You actually know us?"
Ponzu stepped closer to Nina. "I didn't expect them to arrive here so quickly. The captain mentioned their spread before, but this city is far from NGL."
Nina nodded. "According to the captain, division leaders are comparable to A-rank Nen users, squad captains to B-rank. But because their Nen control is crude, there's no need to fear them at the same level. As long as we fight seriously, we can win. There are three here, with a clear difference in aura strength. That means one division leader and two squad captains. It won't be a big problem."
The strongest would surely be the division leader—Royal Guards would not appear here.
"Machi, let me take this one."
Misty stepped forward. Machi nodded. Misty had just advanced to A-rank and was eager to test her new strength. Facing a Chimera Ant was the perfect chance.
"Demon Form."
Misty's appearance changed, and her aura flared upward violently.
The hyena Chimera Ant narrowed its eyes at the transformation. "So this is a true Nen user… Different from the ones I saw in NGL. But compared to us, humans are still too weak."
Even with Misty's menacing presence, the Ant did not believe it would lose.
At the leader's signal, the two squad captains charged Machi and the others. Machi raised her hands, extending Nen threads outward. They wove into a net that fell over one squad captain. Elita dashed forward to engage the other. Nina remained behind, watching carefully.
Almost at once she made a discovery.
"Pathetic humans!" one of the squad captains snarled.
The instant he spoke, Nina's ability latched onto him. His body froze, stripped of control, and he stood dazed.
Elita seized the opening.
Crack!
She twisted his neck cleanly, separating head from body.
Shizuku raised her Vacuum. Its suction pulled in the Chimera Ant's corpse, head and all, leaving not a single drop of blood behind.
The other squad captain panicked. Machi's eyes flickered, and her threads constricted sharply, binding him tight. She had no intention of killing him immediately—better to capture and interrogate later.
With his subordinates defeated so quickly, the hyena Chimera Ant's face twisted in frustration. Misty's assault was relentless, and the Ant was forced to admit that in this clash of bodies, his usual physical advantage no longer existed. It shook his confidence to the core.
"How can a human body be this strong? It makes no sense. If this is true, then what advantage do Chimera Ants have left?"
His fighting spirit crumbled. Pushed onto the defensive, he barely held on against Misty's storm of attacks, unable to counter at all.
Again and again his eyes darted to one side.
He was waiting.
Because the Chimera Ants that had reached this city numbered not three, but six. Two division leaders. Brothers.
"Come!"
"Come save me!"
A deep guttural roar tore from the hyena Ant's throat. It was not human speech, but the sound carried far into the night.