The moment the elephant appeared, Leol knew—this was bad.
He tried to bolt, but a giant serpent slithered into position, locking its predatory stare on him.
Then he saw the giant eagle Joey had just conjured.
The second it launched skyward, Leol's heart dropped.
With its sharp eagle eyes, it wouldn't necessarily find his main body hiding among the swarms of clones...
But that didn't matter.
Joey didn't need to find him.
He just needed the eagle to fly into the densest swarm of clones and detonate.
Because Leol's real body was hiding right there.
I underestimated him…
Damn it!
And yet—he didn't panic.
He'd studied Joey's attack patterns. The eagle's explosion was trigger-based, not impact-based.
So as long as he sent clones to intercept and force an early detonation, his real body would be safe.
He began scattering his real body among dozens of clones again—his fallback method of concealment.
Tactically, he was in control.
Clones launched skyward, intercepting the eagle.
Then he paused.
The eagle didn't explode.
It shattered into stone like a regular conjured beast.
...Just a normal eagle!?
And in that same moment—
He spotted it.
One of his "harmless" clones was suddenly being held in the right hand of a pink-skinned figure.
That hand—gentle but unyielding.
No matter how violently the clone struggled, it couldn't move.
From across the battlefield, that pink figure watched as Knov's Open Window swallowed half of Pouf's skull, toppling him in silence.
And that's when it hit Leol—
Pouf was dead.
The link vanished.
Clones lost form.
Power faded.
He didn't escape. The bastards got him.
Now they'll come for me!
Just then, the pink figure released the clone it had held. It flew straight for him—like a homing missile.
And that pink-skinned thing raised its right hand—four fingers curled, the thumb suspended just above the button.
Joey's Killer Queen.
A jolt of sheer panic burst through Leol.
I can't let it reconnect—if that clone reaches me—
Too late.
He reached out—
And only made it easier.
He watched the thumb fall—
A silent "click" like a pen tapping.
He looked down—
His body turned ashen, began to shatter, disintegrate—
A void-white detonation, vanishing in an instant like a ghost in the wind.
The rubble scattered by the shockwave of Leol's incineration.
He was dust.
Joey saw Leol dissolve, and exhaled sharply.
But he didn't slow down.
He charged straight toward Pouf's body.
One goal burned in his skull—obliterate the corpse.
No funny business. No posthumous nonsense. No second acts.
Knov got the signal.
He cast Open Window again—space tearing like paper over Pouf's lifeless form.
And sure enough, as if on cue, dark black aura began to leak from Pouf's body.
Residual will? Dead man's rage? Death Nen?
It resisted.
But a coin flew from Joey's hand—
It struck the corpse—
And at that moment, Killer Queen's thumb came down again.
Boom.
Gone.
Pouf followed Leol into nothingness—ashes in the wind.
18 minutes and 21 seconds after the assault on the palace began,
Shaiapouf was officially dead.
The group at the site glanced at one another—
Relief.
Joey spoke:
"Go help Kite. Pitou's other ability is a healing type."
He didn't mention it was exclusive to the King.
Not to keep secrets.
He suspected that in Pitou's eyes, the Royal Guards didn't need healing. Their regeneration was self-sustaining—from shapeshifting to rebirth-level durability.
Joey's real warning:
If Pitou isn't handled now, they're screwed.
And more urgently—
Kite can stall, but can't win.
Knov and Morel nodded.
But they didn't both rush off.
Knov opened a portal to his 4D Mansion:
"Morel, back up Kite.
Joey—you're with me. We're checking on Palm and Youpi."
It was already nearly 20 minutes into the mission.
If everything had gone according to plan—
Youpi should be at the edge of bankruptcy under Knuckle's lending curse.
Joey had no complaints.
Knov's move was tactical—kill the side pieces before facing the Queen.
If they could erase Youpi, it would leave Pitou isolated.
If they could trap Pitou, the King would be left undefended.
No Rebirth.
No Death Aura shenanigans.
But if Pitou escaped…
Joey wasn't optimistic.
A "Reborn King" is beyond what any of them can handle.
But going after Pitou now was suicidal.
She was the strongest of the Guards—by a wide margin.
Her Nen was oppressive. Her Combat talent? Off the charts.
Joey was sure: Pitou was originally an Operator, not a Specialist.
But her talent was monstrous—enough to develop Specialist abilities as a secondary path.
Genius? No.
She was inhumanly gifted.
Smart, sharp, feral, relentless—and born with Nen fully awakened.
Her instincts were pure murder.
If not for Kite, Pitou would've massacred the palace.
Even Killua's Godspeed might not outrun her.
She got launched by Netero—who knows how far—but reappeared beside the King within seconds.
Joey's own arm was taken by her in a blink.
He knew the truth:
If he fought her alone—
Two seconds before death.
One second to remove Killer Queen's head.
One second for him to die from shared damage.
That's it.
Two seconds.
Maybe.
Morel's smoke might buy time for Kite.
If they could regroup with Meleoron, maybe Knuckle could land a hit—
Debt Collector time.
But theory was theory.
When Joey and Knov arrived at Youpi's location—
They saw a nightmare.
Knuckle lay unconscious, condition unknown.
Killua, crackling in electric light, was locked in a brutal solo fight.
But there was no sign of Gon.
That likely meant he was hiding.
No body. No blood. No Mel.
Palm and Ikalgo? Gone.
Maybe hiding—maybe worse.
Even Shoot, who was supposed to stall Youpi, was missing.
Another corpse lay near Youpi.
A bloated, doll-like Chimera, female in shape.
Joey's eyes narrowed.
She's the one. The Exorcist.
In the manga, she removed the curse from Chrollo for Greed Island—her power caused her belly to swell grotesquely.
Same look now.
She had likely purged Knuckle's Nen, freeing Youpi from the Debt Curse.
Why Knuckle lost?
Didn't matter anymore.
What mattered:
Youpi was unshackled.
He'd regained his full power.
And now—
Even with Gon's guessing game and Mel's stealth—
They stood no chance.
Youpi, in battle-mode, was a tank of pure rage, all in "Ken".
Even a fully charged Jajanken might not be fatal.
And if it wasn't—he'd regenerate instantly.
Joey realized the cold truth.
Only two people could finish Youpi now.
Knov's Open Window.
And Joey's own First Bomb.
___________________________________________________________________________
For this week I will do more release depending on the power stones !
100 Power Stones = 1 chapter (in addition to the daily update)
So give stones if you want mooooar !