It was Flutter's severed head.
Kirin clenched it tight—
and crushed it into pulp.
In the instant the head was obliterated, her body, now under the control of Terpsichora, lunged forward with unnatural speed.
But this time, the surprise had worn off.
Before she could close the gap, Kite intercepted her with a wand-like baton.
Shoot's hands flew in from behind, targeting Kirin's arms.
Yet in the next moment, Terpsichora's Nen threads extended—
hijacking both of Shoot's detached hands—
and redirected them toward Kite.
Everything happened so fast that Shoot didn't even register it before losing all connection to his hands.
Kite realized it just in time.
Kirin, under Terpsichora's control, unleashed a twisted, malformed kick—
enhanced with Terpsichora's raw Nen—
and Kite knew he couldn't take that hit.
Not even with Ken.
So he activated the wand in his hand—
and in a shimmer of space, his body vanished into the staff,
only to reappear behind Kirin.
The baton she had struck exploded in a puff of smoke.
A spatial jump ability.
A short-distance warp that could tear open space itself.
BEEP BEEP BEEP—
The Crazy Slots roulette spun and landed on Number 2.
A massive scythe manifested in Kite's grip.
Without hesitation, he unleashed a sweeping Reaper's Waltz—
a wide-ranged slash that severed Terpsichora's threads and sliced the main body in two.
But—
Terpsichora vanished into the air again.
Kirin's corpse rose.
Behind her—
A slightly smaller Terpsichora reappeared.
"Shit—watch out!" Kite called.
He had realized something critical, but even that warning came too late.
Gon and Joey were both ambushed from behind.
Two corpses—
the ones Shoot had previously dismembered—
now danced under Terpsichora's control and struck the two boys.
Gon was sent flying.
Joey too.
But the one that struck Joey exploded immediately.
Killer Queen had already responded before the hit connected.
As Joey was knocked back, Killer Queen smacked the Ant in the face.
First Bomb triggered—
And the controlled corpse disintegrated into ash,
taking the screaming Terpsichora fragment with it.
The corpse that hit Gon, however, continued the assault—
lunging with a punch, embedding its arm deep into Gon's stomach.
But Gon had been ready.
Nen surged in his fist.
Even with his guts pierced, he didn't back off.
Instead, he countered with a devastating punch that drove the Ant's body into the ground.
Killua arrived instantly, decapitating the corpse—
but the Terpsichora-puppeted body didn't need a head.
It started to rise.
Until—
CLINK.
A coin smashed into its chest.
BOOM.
First Bomb again.
Ashes.
The coin clattered and rolled across the ground.
Joey sprinted over, surgical scalpel in hand.
Before anyone could speak, he stabbed into Gon's wounded gut,
twisted the blade, and carved out the ruptured tissue.
Then slapped a fresh, synthetic bio-component into the hole.
Gon gasped through the pain.
Joey didn't react.
His eyes were already locked on Kite, who had just vaporized Kirin with a hand cannon.
Kite gave a small nod.
Only then did Joey relax.
"Joey, could you maybe be a bit gentler next time?" Gon groaned, still wheezing.
Before Joey could reply—
SMACK.
Killua bonked Gon on the head.
"Idiot. Trading a one-for-one with a cursed puppet corpse?! What the hell were you thinking?! Why didn't you wait for backup?!"
"But Joey was right there. And I avoided my vitals. Plus, that thing was strong—pure defense wouldn't cut it."
Gon pointed at his stitched stomach, then at the pile of ash.
"Idiot. Idiot. Idiot."
Killua kept poking him.
"I could amputate your arm and replace it too," Joey said, eyeing Gon's fractured arm. "Ribs too."
"Nope! No need!" Gon panicked, shaking his head like a rattle.
"With a broken arm, you'll be a liability anyway. Might as well get a full tune-up. My craftsmanship's top-tier. You'll barely feel it. Plus—keep your old arm as a souvenir. Win-win."
"Nope-nope-nope!" Gon backpedaled.
Kite stepped in, voice calm.
"This isn't the time to play around. Joey, support Morel and Knov. Gon, Palm, Ikalgo—you stay here. Palm, monitor the King's movements and report anything abnormal."
Kite looked at Gon.
"You did well. Given your current strength, dragging out that fight would've cost more in the long run."
Killua scowled but didn't argue.
Joey, with his own arm broken, didn't hesitate.
He simply cut it off and installed a fresh one,
then had Killer Queen destroy the severed limb completely.
Gon and Killua watched, both slack-jawed.
Even Ikalgo—emerging from Flutter's body—shuddered with all eight limbs.
Joey ignored them.
Pointed at Komugi, picked up the fallen coin, recalled Piercing Bomb,
and then followed Kite and Shoot down the stairs.
Meanwhile—
The two members who hadn't appeared yet?
They were already in position—fighting Youpi.
From the very start, Knuckle and Meleoron had been infiltrating the throne room while invisible.
If not for Flutter's spy bug, they wouldn't have even known the pair had survived the Dragon Dive.
But their concealment?
Was the best strategic choice.
As Morel and Knov exited the throne room to engage Youpi head-on,
Knuckle and Meleoron moved in under God's Accomplice.
While Youpi focused on Morel and Knov—
Knuckle landed a kidney shot.
Morel, having worked with Knuckle countless times,
had already filled the area with smoke soldiers.
But Youpi had evolved—much earlier than expected.
After being blasted by Chairman Netero,
Youpi discovered a strange balance between rage and composure.
His transformation was complete the moment he hit the ground.
Now, he could vent his fury through grotesque faces on his body,
channeling anger like steam.
Within ten minutes,
he had completely mastered this equilibrium.
When Knuckle hit him,
he barely flinched.
Not because he was tough.
Because he didn't even register the blow.
Meleoron's stealth had fooled his senses.
And Knuckle's attacks didn't hurt—just added a bit of Nen.
So Youpi's mind ignored it.
But Knuckle's expression changed.
His estimate of Youpi's Nen—
it was colossal.
More than enough to overpower every single Extermination Team member combined.
Still—
as long as they had God's Accomplice,
Knuckle didn't worry.
All they needed was time.
Time… that Morel and Knov had to buy.
As Knuckle readied his next strike,
Youpi moved first.
On his legs, two angry faces swelled with pressure—
BOOM.
Explosive propulsion launched him forward like a cannonball.
Morel had only just summoned his army of smoke soldiers when Youpi ripped through them and appeared before him.
SLASH.
Blade-shaped arms tore through Morel—
But it was a decoy.
Just smoke.
The real Morel was gone.
Surprised, Youpi released a Gyo-enhanced En in a 500-meter radius.
Countless Nen signals.
Too many.
His En was useless.
Every smoke soldier emitted Nen.
In the chaos, Youpi sensed two overlapping aura signatures at his previous position.
Was someone that close without him noticing?
Knov, perhaps?
Or someone else?
Youpi's thoughts raced.
His body shifted.
He took a centaur-like form,
shoulders transforming into grotesque faces,
right arm into a blade.
The massive head on his shoulder began to inflate—
storing rage.
The smoke thickened.
Morel and Knov were nowhere to be seen.
Only smoke soldiers surrounded him now.
Youpi scoffed.
These toys meant nothing.
He charged, hooves thundering.
Just as he crushed a few smoke soldiers—
A fat plush creature appeared.
Potclean.
Its digital readout glowed: 747.
"Time's up. Calculating interest."
The number rose: 822.
Potclean grew slightly in size.
What the hell was this?
Youpi kept slashing.
But the soldiers kept spawning, infinite.
His irritation surged—
shoulder face swelling more and more.
Oddly, with each pulse, his anger decreased.
He grew calmer.
Again, Potclean spoke:
"Calculating interest."
The number ticked higher.
His shoulder now swollen grotesquely,
Youpi grinned.
He pointed his rage-cannon at the ground.
BOOM!
He thought—
"I'm charging my rage to explode…
What the hell are you bastards doing?"