"Blind girl, what is it you need? Nyaa~!"
The voice belonged to Neferpitou, who had been instructed by the King minutes earlier to include Komugi under her protection.
Pitou's En had remained stretched across the palace. Since she harbored no hostility toward anyone whose identity she'd confirmed, her aura field caused no disturbances within.
Now, drawn by her inhuman hearing and curiosity, Pitou had arrived—
Partly because the girl who had sat silently for so long had now spoken aloud,
Partly because Pitou was intrigued.
She wanted to know what made this blind girl important enough to change the King.
If she posed a threat, Pitou would sacrifice herself to eliminate her.
If not, she'd waste a little time to understand her.
"…Something strange is happening to me," Komugi said. "I feel like I've lived through the same moment over and over. It's like… every time I get hurt, something bad happens."
It wasn't the Supreme Commander.
Komugi felt a sting of disappointment.
But she still explained what she could.
Her blindness made time blurry during these reversals.
She couldn't tell when she was anymore.
But one thing had become clear:
Pain led to something unnatural.
Each time she felt pain, something… changed. The world reset.
"Nyah?" Pitou blinked, puzzled.
She remembered—this morning, birds had attacked Komugi.
Yet nothing odd had happened then.
But Pitou also knew—Komugi wasn't the type to joke with the Royal Guards.
Which meant… something must have changed between this morning and now.
"May I try something?" Pitou asked sweetly, her claws already reaching toward Komugi's arm.
She didn't plan a deep wound.
Just a tiny cut, enough to test the truth.
To see if this was a puppet or a hidden Nen ability.
But she saw no aura cloaked on Komugi.
No indicators of manipulation.
Maybe it required specific conditions?
Still… how had it bypassed her En?
She had monitored Komugi more closely since nightfall.
And even now—she'd seen nothing. Yet here it was:
A phenomenon strong enough to evade her—and linked to pain.
Interesting.
But just before her claw made contact—
A pink, ghostly figure appeared and stopped her.
Killer Queen.
Expressionless, it raised its head—eyes locking with Pitou's.
"A Nen beast? This Hatsu—"
Her words died.
Killer Queen vanished.
And then—
Explosion.
First came the gunshot-like holes.
Then, like tearing paper, Pitou's body disintegrated.
It happened so fast—
By the time Komugi registered what had occurred, she was once again back at her Gungi board.
A cold shiver and wild excitement surged through her heart.
She understood now.
Any threat toward her triggered a reset.
She didn't know how long was reversed.
But if this was true…
When she next spoke, there was no hesitation:
"I want to keep playing Gungi."
A smile bloomed on her lips, her cheeks soaked in tears.
She had found it—a way to play with the King forever.
Marvelous.
Her heart swelled with joy.
This must be a gift from the heavens.
If this was fate—she welcomed it.
"Thank you… truly… thank you…"
When the King entered, what he saw was Komugi—
Tears running down her cheeks, smiling in pure bliss.
Elsewhere—
Joey lifted his hand.
His watch read: 22:07:47.
His goal was clear:
Release Bites the Dust at exactly 23:07:49.
He'd built in a 2-second buffer, just enough time for Killer Queen to eliminate any final threat.
Not a second more—he couldn't afford it.
Who knew what new anomalies might appear?
He remembered how Killer Queen detonated Rohan Kishibe back in the other world.
Rohan had time to see Jotaro before exploding.
So two seconds?
A fair estimate.
Joey didn't know how many loops had passed.
But he was sure Komugi had sensed something.
That she had told someone—triggering Bites the Dust.
Because at this hour, past midnight's Dragon Dive, nothing else should've been a threat to her.
And if it had been a coincidence?
He'd still accept it.
Because this was the perfect moment. The breakpoint he'd been planning for.
Still—
Every tick of the watch felt like needles in his skin.
Every breath, a weight.
His fingers drifted to his lips, gnawing at the nail.
What if Komugi triggered another loop?
Would the rewinds spiral beyond control?
When Bites the Dust was deactivated, what chaos would erupt inside the palace?
The pressure was suffocating.
Then—
"Nervous?"
Kite's calm voice came from nearby.
Emotionless on the surface—
But to Joey, it was grounding. Steadying.
His hand dropped.
"…Yeah," he exhaled. "The more I think, the more it eats at me."
Kite placed a hand on Joey's shoulder.
"Joey, you've done enough.
From here on—just survive.
Do what you can. That's all."
"You were pulled into this. No one expects you to carry it."
The weight lifted.
Kite turned and walked away.
Joey exhaled. Kite was right.
The Chimera Ants weren't his responsibility alone.
Even if the timeline he remembered had gone differently—
These allies were worth trusting.
Kite, who bought them time.
Morel and Knov, moving battlefield to battlefield.
Shoot and Knuckle, risking their lives.
Good people. All of them.
And without Killer Queen's Third Bomb, they'd have had no second chance at all.
As for André…
Joey had considered him.
But their bond didn't run deep enough for him to dwell on now.
He breathed out.
Steeled himself.
23:07:47.
His heart raced.
23:07:49.
He whispered:
"Release."
23:07:50.
Killer Queen appeared at Joey's side.
Three seconds later—
Knov burst into 4D Mansion.
"The puppets—gone!"
"Pitou!" Killua reacted instantly.
He'd been the one insisting that Pitou's En might vanish suddenly.
Now, his suspicions were confirmed.
The puppet vanishing had only happened once before—
When Pitou herself retracted En.
Now, it had happened again.
Which meant—
Pitou was dead.
Joey's mind raced.
Could Bites the Dust have eliminated Neferpitou?
If so—
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Pitou's En disappearing was like a meteor striking a still lake.
Unignorable.
Knov rushed back to his outpost to continue observation.
Then—
In the sky, Pouf's scales vanished.
He had returned to the palace.
Something had happened.
Then—
Youpi appeared on the palace rooftop.
Behind him—
The King. Short but radiating terrifying pressure.
Above them, Pouf flew in tense alert.
But Pitou… was absent.
The King's gaze swept the land—
Then—
He tensed.
And in the blink of an eye—
his En exploded outward, expanding like a crashing wave.
Knov felt two emotions as Meruem appeared:
Hope—
Was Pitou… really gone?
Even if it was fleeting, that possibility sparked something inside him.
Pitou had been their nightmare.
If she was gone, they'd finally get breathing room.
But that hope was crushed in the next instant—
When Meruem's En engulfed him.
Death.
That was the only thing in Knov's mind.
His instincts screamed.
Open the portal. Now.
He dove.
And as he fell into 4D Mansion, he saw the King—
approaching like lightning.
What speed was that?!
Gasping, soaked in sweat, Knov collapsed on the floor.
All of it—less than two seconds.
He'd nearly died.
That aura—brutal, absolute.
It wasn't rage. It was intent to kill.
Even surrounded by Morel and the others, Knov still trembled.
That image—the King charging, aura burning with fury—
It wouldn't leave his head.
But why was the King so enraged?
He ignored all the voices around him.
Then… it clicked.
He processed the intel.
The data.
The vanished puppet.
Everything aligned.
His eyes lit up.
"Neferpitou… Pitou's dead!"