"Ora ora ora ora!" Under Shen Monkey's stormlike barrage of punches, Ogre—one of the Shadow's big three—finally went down unwillingly. Not because Shen Monkey outclassed him in power, but because Shen Monkey's stamina completely outstripped his. The Malice Jed bestowed was strong, but far too draining. Following Shura, this was the second of Jed's subordinates to be defeated. As for Wei Goat and Purgatory… ahem, let's not talk about them for now.
"Hoh? Looks like I need to make a move myself." With a flick, Jed cast off his cloak, revealing attire as splendid as formal wear.
"Hei!" Layer upon layer of ominous blue gas, visible to the naked eye, erupted from Jed as the source—like a Super Saiyan's aura surge, except gold there and blue Malice here. The surging Malice crashed toward the Anbu Twelve Stars like a tsunami. The weaker among them had to brace with both hands just to barely hold against wave after wave of force.
"So strong." Chou Ox forced out two words with difficulty. This kind of terror they'd only felt from the King and the Royal Guard.
Jed gave a light wave of his hand, and a fierce gale mixed with terrifying Malice swept over like a typhoon. The Twelve Stars could only brace like saplings bent and skewed in a storm. With a casual gesture, Jed left them without any power to resist.
"Yo, looks like I arrived right on time." At that moment, a familiar voice that brought tears to the Twelve Stars' eyes sounded by their ears. The typhoon-like Malice vanished in an instant.
"Your Majesty, you finally came."
From out of nowhere in midair, a strange hole opened, and a handsome, green-skinned figure stepped through. Three monsters radiating massive Nen followed behind him—the squadron leaders Zazan, Gudu, and Leol—whose Nen had spiked after taking the "Golden Silkworm Gu," leaving them temporarily unable to properly rein it in.
"To block my Malice so easily—you're not bad. Are you the 'King' they spoke of?" Jed's hand remained where it had been mid-gesture, but no new surge of Malice followed. From his words, it was Meruem who had blocked his Malice. Veins began to bulge on Jed's forehead; clearly he was exerting strength behind the scenes. This was a contest between leaders.
"Your Majesty." Chou Ox spoke with a pang of guilt. Meruem's order had been to tail and not act rashly, but due to inexperience and poor tailing technique, they were exposed early and ended up fighting. Had Meruem not arrived in time, six of the Anbu Twelve Stars might have been buried here.
"You did fine. Fall back."
"Yes." The Twelve Stars all exhaled as one—crisis averted. Even if Meruem rarely punished subordinates and was easy to approach, the gulf in strength was simply absurd. Facing Meruem, they couldn't help feeling pressure—especially after botching a job.
"My subordinates may be lacking, but as their King I can't let them be pushed around like this." Meruem's face didn't change. To be chatting with his men at ease at a time like this—clearly Jed's continued pressure wasn't weighing on him.
"Your Majesty, please wait a moment. Why not let us squadron leaders handle this rude fellow for you?" Zazan, following at Meruem's side, spoke ingratiatingly. Having recognized the absolute gap in strength, the three quickly tossed their dignity aside and went all-in on flattery. For such near-zero-loyalty types, Meruem had little interest in humoring them, which only made them try harder.
"No need. The three of you still aren't his match." Meruem stated calmly, just speaking the truth. Though they'd grown much stronger, their opponent could trade ultimate moves with Netero—and in his youth, Jed had fought Netero to a draw multiple times. If the trio had joined forces from the very start and gone all out, there might be a sliver of hope; keeping this newfound, baseless self-confidence would only get them killed horribly. The technique famed alongside Hundred-Type Guanyin—Hundred Demons Cursed Malice: Rakshasa—wasn't just for show.
"So that's how it is. They may not be my match—but you speak as if you are." Black-gold eyes flashing with anger, Jed felt truly disregarded for the first time. Even Netero faced him with caution, never daring to be careless, while this man had repeatedly split his attention to speak with subordinates—as if he didn't know how big an opening that was. It was a prime chance to strike, yet Jed dared not move. Instinct told him: if he did, he would lose. The inexplicable sense of frustration made him seethe.
"You can try." Meruem glanced at Jed and issued a provocation.
"Say it—what did you come to me for?" Jed forced down the fire in his chest.
"Oh, I came to ask you to do something for me."
"Hmph. Why should I help you?"
"Because I'm stronger than you."
"Heh heh heh, very good. If you want war, I'll give you war!" Pushed past his limit, Jed laughed in fury. Meruem's tone—like stating a simple fact—brought him to the brink. Even a Buddha has three parts temper—how much more Jed? Leader of the Shadow, a man on par with Hunter Association Chairman Netero.
"Fine—but if I win, you help me."
"Agreed—but only if you can beat me! Lose, and die!"
"Oh? Don't worry. If you lose, I won't kill you." Meruem said it seriously. It was the truth, but the man being told he would "certainly lose" didn't see it that way.
"Die!" Jed's answer was an iron fist fueled by Malice and rage. Don't be fooled by the simplicity—Jed, a true martial artist, poured his understanding of the Way into every strike. Fancy techniques are often more trouble than they're worth; a straight punch or kick can be more effective. And this simple punch had already exceeded ten times the speed of sound. Even at full power, someone like Cheetu might not have dodged.
Unfortunately, his opponent was Meruem—at the peak of physicality.
"Bakana!" His full-force, must-kill blow was easily caught in the other's right hand. The Malice shrouding his fist was crushed to powder, scattering into nothing. Worst of all, Jed couldn't pull his fist free. Not only had the man caught his full-strength attack, he'd perfectly extinguished his supposedly invincible Malice. Not even Netero could do that. When had this world birthed such a monster? To do it so casually—it was inhuman. In truth, if Netero himself had his fist caught like that, the outcome would be the same: crushed to pieces.
"Hmph. Dark-ops of the Hunters, leader of the Shadow—Jed—you used your strongest move right out of the gate on me. Seems you still underestimate me." Meruem released Jed's fist—already purpling. If it was pure Enhancer on Enhancer or a straight physical contest, Meruem feared no one in the Hunter world. Especially now that he had Hundred-Type Guanyin from Chairman Netero. He stood at the pinnacle of flesh—but it wasn't enough. He aimed for the pinnacle of the martial arts of this world as well.
Given Meruem's learning ability, watching someone's martial art once was enough to copy it perfectly. With a piece of the target, in just days he could fully integrate their art into his own. That was Meruem's true terror: an invincible body and horrifying capacity to learn. Infinite evolution—an absolute "grows stronger against the strong."
For Nen users without bizarre, trump-card abilities, Meruem was unsolvable. Why else had Jed lasted this long? If Jed weren't still useful; if Meruem didn't want to take his martial art—he'd have pulverized him already.
"Looks like you know me quite well. Who are you?" Must I use my strongest technique already? The man hadn't used any techniques, just simple defense—and he'd forced Jed to go all-out. Unwilling. So unwilling! I hate this—I hate it!
"What, those useless subordinates of mine didn't introduce me? Fine. I am Meruem, King of the Chimera Ants from the Dark Continent. Hurry up and concede—I'm busy." The total amount of that strange Malice on him just increased? Earlier he must have felt unwilling… or was it hatred? Hatred—Malice? So this power really relates to his resentment. Is this style strengthened by emotion? Likely. Not just hatred—young Jed didn't harbor such malice, yet matched Shingen-ryu's Netero. So the school itself is extremely powerful. If he and the peaceful, orthodox Shingen-ryu master Netero were friends, it probably wasn't an evil path at the start. Combined with what Netero said in the film, it seems Jed later strayed—fell into demonic excess.
"Chimera Ants? Never heard of them. But since you're so confident, do you dare take my strongest move?" Jed had already slipped into mania, subconsciously ignoring the key point Meruem had mentioned: the Dark Continent. How could the Shadow, once the Hunters' black ops, not know that name?
Why was Jed pushed so far when they'd traded only a single blow? Was the Hunters' black ops truly so feeble? No. From Meruem's arrival to their exchange, the two had already clashed many more times—unseen. Each time, Jed lost—overwhelmingly. That, and the instinctive sense that any move would end in defeat, drove the already unhinged Jed into an early frenzy.
"So—you're finally going to use it. Allow me to shatter that pride you cherish so much."
"Arrogant!"
(End of Chapter)
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