"You have such an ugly smile." Netero, are you planning to commit suicide and use the "Poor Man's Rose" nuclear bomb to deal with me? Unfortunately, you won't succeed. I've been guarding against this move of yours all along.
"Checkmate! I'll be waiting for you in hell! Your ending could only be death from the very beginning." Netero tremblingly raised his left hand, held up two fingers, and slowly inserted them toward his heart.
"Don't be in such a hurry to commit suicide, Netero. Your so-called trump card is a nuclear bomb, right? Or should I call it the 'Poor Man's Rose' to be more appropriate? Do you really think that kind of thing can kill me?" Just as Netero was about to commit suicide, Meruem spoke mockingly.
"How is that possible? Why? How do you know?" Netero's trembling fingers stopped at his heart. Why would this monster know this secret? This was clearly a top-secret plan that even humans couldn't possibly know about. Why would this guy know? Even though he had already made up his mind to sacrifice himself to... why? Unprecedented shock. Netero, who had always been unperturbed, who seemed to have everything under his control, finally showed this kind of expression. This was an expression containing despair, bewilderment, and deep anger. Exactly who had betrayed humanity? Who had betrayed him?
"Netero, you must be wondering exactly who betrayed you right now, right? Unfortunately, I won't tell you. Go to hell with your doubts and unwillingness. But I certainly won't be going with you. However, you'll definitely meet many companions there - your Hunter Association... companions." Meruem completely ignored Netero's despairing eyes and instead smiled very contentedly. That was the smile of someone whose great revenge had been achieved. You have this day too. The guy who had been pressuring me and threatening me even before I was born. Actually, you and I had no hatred originally, it's just that you did things you shouldn't have done. Although when I watched the anime in my previous life, I greatly admired your spirit of self-sacrifice for others. It's just that after my position changed, when your self-sacrifice was directed at me, I can't say I'm happy about it. Sorry, Netero. Don't be a hunter in your next life.
"Four-Dimensional Apartment Transfer!" The nuclear bomb threat - Meruem had already dealt with it when fighting Jed. That punch that attacked Netero wasn't just an ordinary punch, but contained Meruem's reconnaissance and spatial transfer technique. That punch had already marked the nuclear bomb inside Netero's body. This was Meruem's modified version of Knov's Nen ability Four-Dimensional Apartment that he had seized. As long as Meruem was willing, he could transfer this nuclear bomb at any time. It was just that to avoid arousing Netero's suspicion by transferring it early, he hadn't done so until now. After all, one could easily detect abnormalities in things inside one's own body. The other end of the dimensional passage was marked by Meruem as Hunter Association headquarters. The nuclear bomb exploding there would definitely be very interesting.
"Farewell, Netero!" The instant he transferred the "Poor Man's Rose" nuclear bomb to Hunter Association headquarters, Meruem also ended Netero's life.
"My hands are stained with blood. But I don't care, because actually every one of us is an executioner who inadvertently ends other beings' lives. Actually, my wish is very simple - I just want to live well. Being able to come to the Hunter world is truly happiness. But there will be more worlds in the future. I really want to experience these worlds properly. There's still a little time before I can leave this world. For me, this world is still too dangerous. Even with the anime from my previous life to understand it, this world's background is really too vast. There are too many uncertain factors. But someday I'll return. At that time, no one will be able to go against my words. I am the Kamisama of the new world." Meruem watched as Netero's blood dripped from his fingers onto the ground while murmuring. His voice grew louder as he spoke, and when he reached becoming the Kamisama of the new world, his eyes showed slight madness.
"Pfft, I'm really too much of an eighth-grader." The saying goes that being cool doesn't last more than three seconds - this describes exactly this kind of person. With a few tasteless laughs, the previous wind-like pretentious atmosphere was completely destroyed. Fortunately, there was no one nearby, or they might think he was some mental patient escaped from a hospital.
"Well, let me be an eighth-grader one last time. Everyone at the Hunter Association - explosion is art!" Meruem covered his left half-face and half an eye with his palm, revealing white teeth.
Far away, thousands of kilometers away, a rose-shaped mushroom cloud rose above the Hunter Association, followed by magma formed from vaporized buildings and endless wails, creating a scene like hell on earth.
At this time, those who had left due to the building's collapse gradually returned here. After all, their respective leaders were here. But the hunters who came for this only saw Netero's mummy-like corpse.
"Chairman!" The first to discover Netero's appearance was Morel. After all, Morel was one of the hunters who had followed Netero the longest, and he knew that to deal with the Ant King, Netero had always been preparing his strongest move, Zero Style. He also knew that once Zero Style was used, he would lose all his life force. So he recognized the mummified Netero at a glance. But because Meruem was standing in front of Netero's corpse, he didn't dare step forward. This was completely Morel's bodily instinct not daring to approach.
"Nonsense! How is that possible? The Chairman was so powerful, how could he... Who exactly are you? What does the Chairman's death have to do with you?" The speaker was Yin Tiger Kanzai. After hearing Morel's voice, he looked at that mummy-like corpse with an incredulous expression. Although he looked down on Morel's strength, he knew that Morel, as a fellow hunter, wouldn't joke about this kind of thing.
"You bastard." Yin Tiger Kanzai angrily clenched his fists and glared viciously at Meruem. Just as Kanzai wanted to rush forward and fight Meruem, a large hand pressed on Kanzai's shoulder.
"Do you want to die? Don't go over there!" The person stopping Kanzai was Botobai Gigante of the Zodiac Twelve. Like Morel, he had sensed Meruem's seemingly infinite Nen.
"That guy's strength is beyond what you can imagine. Even I might not be his match. If you go up there, you'll just throw away your life for nothing. Stand down."
"Damn it! As a fellow member of the Zodiac Twelve, don't think you can order me around. Damn, damn, damn!" Kanzai hatefully punched a piece of building debris nearby, shattering it to pieces.
"King." At the same time, several members of the Chimera Ant army also came before Meruem, staring at Morel and the others. But without Meruem's orders, they wouldn't act rashly. Although with their current numbers and strength, they could completely eliminate the opponents. The hunter team, on the other hand, didn't dare leave or attack, because the person in front of them was extremely powerful, and it was unclear whether he was friend or foe. Moreover, whether Chairman Netero's death was related to this guy was still unknown. Especially since those monsters who had fought with them earlier were now standing beside him - the opponent was very likely an enemy, not a friend.
"Good evening, friends of the Hunter Association. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Meruem, and I am the king of the Chimera Ant race. I came here on the orders of various national leaders to eliminate that extremely evil person named Jed. When I arrived, Jed had already severely injured Chairman Netero. I fought with all my might to rescue Chairman Netero, but unfortunately Jed's strength was really too powerful. I had no choice but to join forces with Chairman Netero to barely block Jed's attacks. But unexpectedly, Netero was still too old, while Jed became more courageous as he fought. In desperation, he finally used Hundred-Type Guanyin - Zero Style. That was truly a technique powerful to the extreme. Fortunately, we finally dealt with that villain, but unfortunately Chairman Netero exhausted all his vital energy. He only had a few breaths left, but Chairman Netero was unwilling to live on in this world, so he asked me to end his life. He would rather die in battle than wait quietly for death. He was truly an admirable person." Meruem lied casually without blushing or his heart racing. Anyway, the only person who knew the truth, Purgatory, had already transferred to Meruem's Four-Dimensional Apartment with her people. Moreover, their words might not be believed by anyone. Anyway, he was the only surviving party involved, so he could make up whatever story he wanted. As for whether the opponents believed it? Believe it or not, as long as those leaders believed it was fine. What would the hunters of the Hunter Association think? Headquarters had already been blown up by a nuclear bomb - what could the remaining people do to him? If you're not satisfied, come fight one-on-one! I'll slap you silly.
"I feel very sorry about Chairman Netero's death, but I think doing this was showing him respect - respect for a warrior. Warriors must die spectacularly. The battlefield is their destination. If you want revenge, come at me. I absolutely won't fight back." To increase persuasiveness, Meruem even adopted a righteous attitude, as if he would really let the opponents beat and kill him as they pleased. Unfortunately, among those present, except for Kanzai, none were simple-minded people. They didn't believe a word of Meruem's bullshit. But on the surface, they didn't dare oppose Meruem, repeatedly saying they wouldn't dare.
"But what's the deal with those guys? Why did they fight with us before?" Kanzai pointed at Pouf and the others standing behind Meruem. Morel and the others secretly thought this was bad. Although they didn't know why the opponent had no intention of eliminating them to silence them, bringing this up at this time was obviously very inappropriate.
"Oh? You mean these subordinates of mine?" When he saw Pouf wanting to say something, Meruem waved his hand to signal him to be quiet. Because without saying anything, Meruem knew what this guy wanted to say - nothing more than "How dare you" or "How rude" and similar nonsense. Although he acknowledged this guy's high intelligence, whenever anything involved himself, this guy became a brainless idiot.
"They all came here with me to eliminate Jed and his Shadow forces. The conflict with you was probably because they mistook you for Jed's accomplices. I'm the one who finds it strange that you're here. The leaders' orders didn't mention that Hunter Association members would participate."
"But..." Kanzai seemed unwilling and wanted to continue arguing about something.
"Enough, Kanzai. Now is not the time to discuss these things. What's important now is settling the residents here and preparing Chairman Netero's funeral arrangements." Botobai Gigante interrupted Kanzai's words again. Although he had doubts, his intuition told him that the person in front definitely had problems. But he didn't want any more variables or accidents to occur now.
"I personally greatly admire Chairman Netero. I hope I can attend his memorial service." As Morel and the others were leaving, Meruem said this with a sincere expression.
(End of Chapter)
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