It's only natural the Ant King lost to you," Cyr said, wiping the blood from his face and standing up, completely ignoring the Ant King, who had returned and had been silently watching for a while.
The Ant King seemed to get angry again at those words and immediately sat back down.
As expected, now that the girl had awakened Nen, it was even more impossible for the Ant King to win.
Cyr had no intention of staying to watch them play.
He stretched his limbs and disappeared from their sight.
After all, not just playing, even watching a chess match consumed a lot of brainpower.
Because once he started watching, he couldn't help but analyze the situation.
---
Meanwhile, inside the palace, Knov's figure flickered silently through various corners, gathering intelligence while staying alert for the dragonfly ants monitoring the skies and the occasional patrolling human soldiers.
"So hungry..." a voice called out.
Knov immediately jumped into a portal on the ground.
"Someone get me some afternoon tea."
Just before slipping in, he found the voice oddly familiar.
Lazy, arrogant, acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world—
just hearing it, you could picture the speaker bossing others around.
Cautiously, Knov poked his head out and looked.
What he saw was an extremely familiar figure.
A tall, slim silhouette in a black hoodie—
with a head of white hair.
The figure turned around, and Knov caught a glimpse of the black markings on his face.
Except… why were his eyes red?
Had he been controlled by the Chimera Ants?
Knov quickly retreated into his four-dimensional apartment, analyzing the situation.
He used his ability to relocate himself somewhere else.
Click.
A crisp sound snapped Knov back to full alertness.
"You're here to gather intelligence, huh?"
The white-haired boy—holding an apple—spoke as if meeting Knov here was the most natural thing in the world.
"You..." Cold sweat broke out on Knov's forehead.
He definitely didn't think encountering a familiar face in a palace occupied by the Ant King was any good thing.
Friend? Foe?
Not even certain.
"Relax. The ants can't see us," Cyr said, setting up a Curtain.
"...And why are you here?" Knov forced himself to calm down and asked.
"Just hanging out. The Ant King's side is way more fun than yours," Cyr said casually, taking a bite of the apple.
If he stayed on the human side, they'd probably make him work hard as a hired thug.
But here at the Ant King's palace, it was different.
Nobody bothered him.
The Ant King and his Royal Guards barely supervised anything.
He could do whatever he wanted—
and if he got bored, he could always spar with the Ant King.
To be honest, the Ant King's growth was remarkable.
Even after Cyr opened his domain, the Ant King could still fight him to a draw.
If Cyr's progress slowed even slightly, he might actually lose next time.
The playability and replay value here were far beyond anything the humans could offer.
But Knov's mind was racing with a different thought—
Had this guy betrayed humanity?
Defected to the ants?
Or maybe he had already been turned into a Chimera Ant?
Cyr watched Knov's changing expressions while casually finishing his apple.
"I haven't betrayed anyone.
Not a spy.
Not under mind control.
Still human," Cyr said flatly.
Stop spinning those wild theories already.
"With your current mental fortitude, would you even be able to move if an ant used En near you?"
Cyr questioned Knov doubtfully.
Still, he had to admit—
Knov's ability was perfectly suited for infiltrating enemy territory.
"..."
Knov said nothing.
Cyr didn't bother with him any further and wandered off.
"Bisef," he called out to a man in a black suit nearby.
"My lord, how can I serve you?"
Bisef hurried over, bowing deeply like a dog that had been called.
He was a full-blooded human who had chosen to side with the Ant King—
when faced with death or betrayal, he hadn't hesitated to pick the latter.
Thanks to his slick, bootlicking behavior, the ants had kept him around to manage human affairs.
This guy had once tried to curry favor by offering the Ant King human beauties.
Yeah, the Ant King hadn't liked a single one.
Instead, he had eaten a few right in front of Bisef—
and still complained that they didn't taste good.
After that, Bisef stopped offering women to the Ant King—
but kept some for his own pleasure.
In Bisef's eyes, Cyr—with his white hair, red eyes, and black markings—was also a monster.
Thus, he always treated Cyr with the utmost respect.
"What are you up to?" Cyr asked, his gaze unreadable.
"Uh…" Bisef hesitated, struggling to find the right words.
Was he supposed to admit that someone had sent women to him?
"…The supply delivery just arrived. I'm going to receive it," he finally said, putting it tactfully.
Oh, so the women had arrived.
Bisef's reputation for lust had long since spread.
The women who fell into his hands never met a good end.
Those still alive were kept in a basement he had built—
used until he grew bored of them,
then handed over to Neferpitou and Shaiapouf as experimental subjects.
"Go," Cyr waved him off, already losing interest.
He sensed Neferpitou's En flicker and vanish again.
It seemed Pitou's En was an innate ability—
and every time it disappeared, it meant she was busy "repairing her toys."
Probably some sort of limitation—
when using her repair ability, she couldn't maintain En.
What new toy had she found now?
But since Pitou was with the Ant King, it probably wasn't a toy this time.
More likely… someone was injured?
Cyr paid closer attention, and sure enough—
the one injured was the Ant King himself.
Apparently, the King had done something to himself and lost an arm.
Was it a wager for a chess match?
Meanwhile, Knov took advantage of the distraction to sneak closer to the central hall.
As for Bisef—he was driving a truck carrying several women straight into his underground lair.
Normally, this would be nothing out of the ordinary—
if all the women were just regular humans.
But one of them…
one of them was clearly a Nen user.
It seemed Knov wasn't the only infiltrator today.
Still, how should he put it…?
With their strength, showing up here was practically walking straight into death.
Maybe Knov could manage to escape if things went south—his ability was well-suited for it.
But that woman…
Did she have some special ability to save herself too?
Cyr silently pulled out another apple.
One apple wasn't nearly enough to replenish his mental energy.
At his usual appetite, he could eat thirty in one sitting.
Finding a random spot, he sat down—
seemingly eating and resting with his eyes closed,
but in reality, he was multitasking:
keeping track of everything happening inside the palace with his Six Eyes.
After all, with four Six Eyes, he had double the debuff—
and double the efficiency too.
The Ant King's injury had already been repaired by Pitou,
and her familiar En expanded once again.
The Nen user Bisef had smuggled into the underground basement…
slipped out of her room.
She was creeping through the palace hallways, clearly searching for something.
"Talk about impatient," Cyr muttered as she passed by him.
If you're infiltrating enemy territory,
shouldn't you observe the situation a little first?
Why was she already moving?
And if she kept going forward like this,
she was about to trigger a super unlucky encounter—
running into both of the Ant King's Royal Guards at the same time.
Hmm…
Should he warn her?
If he did nothing, he really would start looking like a human traitor.
Besides, this woman seemed familiar…
Hadn't he seen her before, back when Gon and Killua were training under Biscuit?
Yeah, she had been there too.
Someone from the Hunter Association, huh.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Cyr dropped the Curtain around him and called out lazily.
"…"
Hearing the sudden voice behind her, Palm froze.
"I… I'm Lord Bisef's servant…" she stammered stiffly, turning around.
There, leaning casually against the wall, sitting on the floor, was a white-haired boy.
She remembered him—
back then, she had been surprised how much he resembled Killua,
and his attitude toward Gon and Killua was like that of a mischievous older brother.
But now—
with his white hair and red eyes,
he didn't seem approachable at all.
Especially now—
when all four of those blood-red eyes were staring straight at her.
°°°
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