Squelch.
The King casually crushed Leol's skull, his fingers bursting the Royal Guard's eyes wide open before the head imploded like a water balloon.
"Kirin, you're an Exorcist, yes?"
As Leol's headless corpse slumped to the ground, Kirin—the petite Chimera Ant with a doll-like dress and wide, terrified eyes—dropped to her knees and prostrated herself.
"Yes, Your Majesty! I will give it my all!"
She didn't even know what the King wanted from her.
She just knew one thing—
If she said anything but yes, she'd die.
Just like her superior Leol, who had been using her as a bargaining chip.
His crushed skull was all the warning she needed.
Leol's death echoed through the throne hall like a gunshot, silencing even the Extermination Team.
Only Netero, oddly energized by it all, showed no outward shock.
Even Pouf, still kneeling, trembled—
His face suddenly streaming with tears.
With Leol's interruption now ended in brutal fashion, Komugi's treatment could finally begin.
With the King's help, Shoot activated Hotel Rafflesia, capturing most of Komugi's body, limiting her mobility so she could not be used again as a puppet.
Once she was secured, Kirin began her work.
She opened her parasol, removed her gloves, and began what looked like a tea ceremony, but was in fact the ritual of Nen Exorcism.
Terpsichora was disassembled and eaten, piece by piece.
It took ten full minutes.
Terpsichora's spirit was massive—too much for Kirin's small frame.
By the end, her belly bulged grotesquely.
Her face was smeared with tears and snot.
But she looked up at the King and smiled faintly.
"I… I did it."
Joey didn't waste time watching.
He turned to treat Komugi's physical wounds.
Her body was in terrible shape—worse than he expected.
Without Pitou, the best way to keep her alive was replacement surgery.
Organs. Muscles. Bone.
Joey entered the zone.
He absorbed the last of his stored Nen from his Wallet.
Slick movements. Efficient cuts. Clean incisions.
Replacement parts—prepared in advance—were grafted in as damaged tissue was removed.
As the King watched Joey work, and saw Komugi's signs of life return, he finally relaxed.
Then he stood.
"Thank you for your patience. Let's go."
No one tried to stop him.
Netero and Zeno followed the King out of the hall without a word.
Moments later, a glowing dragon surged into the sky—
carrying the King and Netero far into the distance.
Zeno didn't return to the throne hall.
After landing the dragon, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the wilderness.
He had already said his goodbyes.
With them gone, the mood shifted.
Youpi, returned to his normal form, gave a low grunt and turned to leave.
Morel and Knov exchanged a look—
Then followed.
That left the Extermination Team inside the throne room focused solely on—
Pouf.
But Pouf wasn't afraid.
In fact, he bowed like a gentleman.
"Well then, allow me to introduce myself."
His butterfly wings exploded open behind him, casting glimmering scales across the throne room.
He smiled as the golden dust spread, suffusing the air with his aura.
"I am Shaiapouf.
Royal Guard, at Your Majesty's side."
As the scales floated, Pouf gathered data.
Emotions. Temperaments. Targets.
He focused especially on Kite—the white-haired man.
Alert. Determined. Confident.
Ratios: 2 parts caution, 2 parts readiness, 6 parts self-belief.
Dangerous.
A man who knew his strength—and had the ability to back it up.
Pouf remembered Pitou mentioning him.
Kite had fought Pitou head-on when she was still mastering her Nen—
and had managed to keep up.
If Pitou hadn't taken his arm early, she might have lost that battle.
To Pouf, Kite was not someone to face directly.
He could admit that.
In raw combat power, he was not Pitou's equal.
Pitou had been a pure warrior—
Deadly. Loyal. Unshakable.
Even in her final moment, she had used her Nen to possess Komugi with Terpsichora.
Pouf only regretted that she hadn't used her dying breath to kill Komugi instead.
The King's bond with her disgusted him.
Crack!
A bolt of silver lightning struck Pouf's flank—
Killua's sneak attack.
Pain bloomed in his waist.
Pouf winced.
"How disgraceful of me… letting my mind wander… I am unworthy of the Royal Guard…"
He clutched his face in apparent anguish.
Tears spilled freely.
"I must not think for myself.
Only the King matters.
Only Him."
He adjusted his body just slightly—
Dodging Killua's second strike.
And through his fingers, his right eye glared at the others.
"You think I'm trying to bait you into revealing your strategy? No…"
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"I was careless to assume.
You've long since made your move."
"From the moment you entered this floor—
The battle had already begun."
As he spoke, copies of Pouf began manifesting behind every member of the Extermination Team.
But no one panicked.
Because they already expected this.
Ten minutes was plenty of time to prepare.
They had watched Youpi enter earlier—witnessed his power.
They had seen Pouf's clones block Netero and Zeno.
And yet, Morel and Knov had been sent elsewhere.
Why?
Because the team had a better countermeasure than Morel's Smoky Jail.
Kite, moving like a phantom, intercepted every clone that neared Palm or Ikalgo.
Palm had already opened her mermaid skull crystal ball.
Her wrist bled onto it.
In seconds—it lit up.
And within its depths, she locked onto—
The real Pouf.
His clones couldn't hide from her.
The Extermination Team had prepared for this from the start.
They knew his abilities.
They knew the powder.
They knew the clones.
Palm's ability made hiding impossible.
Kite's job was simple:
Use Palm's data to track and attack the real Pouf.
The clones?
They were for Killua, Gon, and Shoot to handle.
Shoot's power had been revealed during Komugi's treatment—
Pouf had seen it.
He would now view Shoot as a major threat.
And Kite—he'd heard of him from Pitou.
So Pouf might focus extra defense toward Kite.
Even Gon, who stood as if ready to unleash something massive—
was a feint.
Because the real finisher was—
Killer Queen.
Still hidden.
Still unseen.
A single touch—instant detonation.
Joey was treating Komugi, acting passive—
But that was a deliberate performance.
He knew Pouf would eventually try to eliminate the wildcard.
If Pouf could break Joey's guard, he could take Komugi—
removing the team's final bargaining chip.
That's why Joey had kept his distance.
Why he had shown active defense posture with En and Gyo.
To look just dangerous enough that Pouf would act cautiously—
And bring his real body close.
Because if Pouf attacked Komugi—
He would do so himself.
Not a clone.
And if he did—
Killer Queen was waiting.
Back when Joey had entered East Gorteau,
he had passed on everything he knew about Pouf's abilities through the monkey courier.
Now it was just a matter of execution.
The clones' tiny size was unsettling—
They were now guessing he could split into microscopic units.
Which meant—
He could potentially invade the human body itself.
With that in mind, everyone had been maintaining Ren since the start of the infiltration.
Even Palm could maintain it for over two hours.
With that kind of constant aura pressure,
there was no chance Pouf could sneak a piece of himself inside them.
Not unless they let him.
And that—
Wouldn't happen.