"Youpi! Focus on restricting his movement! Don't let him draw his bow so easily!" Pitou shouted a warning to her companion.
Just thirty seconds ago, a Thorium arrow imbued with Transmutation-type Aura had grazed her cheek. The bone-chilling frost it left behind kept her in a state of high alert. Had it struck her directly, the blood at the point of impact would likely have frozen instantly, causing the surrounding muscle and bone to lose all sensation.
"Aaargh! Dammit! That's easier said than done! This guy's reactions and speed are too high! I can't land a single hit!"
As the only Royal Guard composed entirely of Magical Beast genes, Youpi was clearly not suited for complex tactical thinking. He relied entirely on his immense physique and primal instincts to fight. Unfortunately, that specific combat style was the easiest to dismantle with technique and strategy, and Allen's style was saturated with both.
In just a few minutes, Allen had played Youpi like a fiddle. No matter how much the guard raged or how many forms he shifted into, it was all for naught. Even several concentrated Aura blasts had struck nothing but afterimages.
In this one-on-two struggle, the absolute advantage of speed and reaction time was being demonstrated to its fullest. In contrast, Pitou, the "Catwoman" who could enter a supersonic state in an instant, posed a far greater threat. She moved like an assassin prowling the edges of the battlefield, waiting for the slightest lapse in focus to launch a lethal ambush.
This is troublesome. Taking on two at once is a bit of a strain; I'll have to use some special abilities.
After dodging another of Pitou's sneak attacks from behind, Allen realized that without playing his trump card, the Red Dragon, it would be difficult to deal a fatal blow to Royal Guard-level Chimera Ants using only his bow.
The reason was simple: whether it was Aura Burst, Big Bang Arrow, Explosive Shot, or Tracking Arrow, any arrow imbued with high-destructive Nen required at least one to two seconds of preparation and charging.
To Youpi and Pitou, one or two seconds was an eternity. Pitou's terrifying leg muscles allowed her to hit supersonic speeds effortlessly to dodge or interrupt him. Youpi, while appearing bulky, was remarkably fast and could alter his physiology to manifest hardened bone shields reinforced with massive amounts of Aura, tough enough to tank even a Big Bang Arrow.
Realizing this, a playful smirk suddenly crossed Allen's face.
In an instant, a monster clutching a giant scythe and shrouded in long black robes appeared out of thin air, lifting its head to reveal eyes filled with an ominous glint.
Undying Reaper, Activated!
Before the two guards could process what was happening, they discovered their limbs were no longer obeying them. Not only were they unresponsive, but under the manipulation of a mysterious force, their own body parts began attacking them.
"What is going on?! My arm is out of control!" Youpi roared, using two of his other arms to pin down the one limb that was flailing and struggling wildly. Although his Magical Beast genes allowed him to manifest six arms, meaning he didn't panic as much as a normal human would upon losing one, the situation still filled him with a primal fear of the unknown.
Similarly, one of Pitou's legs shot upward, forcing her into a high-difficulty vertical split. In this state, let alone high-speed movement, even maintaining balance became a chore.
However, unlike the reckless Youpi, Pitou possessed superior intellect and observation. She immediately realized the reaper floating in the air was the source of the problem. Narrowing her eyes, she demanded, "This is your doing, isn't it?"
"Correct! This entity beside me is called the Undying Reaper. Anyone who makes eye contact with it, even for a tenth of a second, loses control over a part of their body. The selection is random; even I don't know which part it will seize. If you want to break free, you have to kill me, force me to retract the ability, or sever the controlled part from your body."
Allen offered this detailed explanation with a faint smile. This was one of the Vows and Limitations of the Undying Reaper: when asked about the ability, the user must provide a complete and detailed explanation. In exchange, the Reaper could affect multiple targets simultaneously.
"I see. Is this Nen too? In that case..."
A flash of ruthlessness crossed Pitou's eyes. She swung her hand down and forcibly sliced off her own disobedient leg.
Splurt!
Brilliant blood sprayed everywhere. By severing the limb, it was no longer under the Reaper's control. Immediately following this, she activated her own Hatsu, summoning a massive red silhouette. This silhouette connected translucent threads to various parts of her body, including the severed leg. Under the manipulation of these Nen-strings, the leg was forcibly reattached. Though the nerves, bones, and muscles remained severed, she could move it as if it were whole.
"Interesting! So that is your Nen ability?" Curiosity and surprise sparked in Allen's eyes. This was strikingly similar to the Terpsichora from the original story, yet slightly different, as the original didn't possess the specific function of controlling severed limbs so precisely.
In comparison, Youpi's solution was more direct. Utilizing his shapeshifting power, he commanded his cells to simply re-absorb the rogue arm, shifting from six arms down to five. As long as he didn't manifest a sixth arm during the remainder of the fight, he wouldn't have to worry about the Reaper's control.
Pitou stared intently at the human youth, her voice deadly serious. "My judgment was correct. For the unborn King, you are a catastrophic threat. Today, I will eradicate that threat right here!"
"Eradicate me? Little ant, it seems you don't quite understand the situation. Or rather, you haven't realized just how cruel and terrifying human wisdom and malice can be. In terms of efficiency in slaughter and destruction, we are the most horrific reapers in this world, second only to a few natural disasters."
As he spoke, Allen suddenly raised his hand without warning and fired a terrifying Aura blast toward the dense swarm of Chimera Ants on the nearby battlefield.
BOOM!
A flash of blinding light erupted, incinerating the ants at the front and instantly clearing a large space on the scorched battlefield.
Seeing this signal, Knov immediately activated the entrance to the Hide and Seek, retrieving several massive vats filled with chemical liquids.
Bodoro, having personally survived the battle against the mad chemist, realized instantly what was about to happen. He lunged toward the portal, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Get in! Everyone, get inside now if you don't want to die!"
At his call, even the combat-crazed Hisoka abandoned his opponent and leaped into the entrance. Once the entire team had retreated and the portal snapped shut, Allen slowly drew his bow and fired a single, lethal arrow at the chemical vats.