Knov's Open Window was too obvious. To someone like Youpi—with a 360-degree field of vision and a body capable of grotesque metamorphosis—it posed no threat.
He could erupt with power the instant Knov approached and annihilate him on the spot.
Through battle, Youpi had gradually mastered a new technique: channeling rage into explosive bursts. And even more terrifyingly, he had learned to remain coldly analytical while seething with fury—a paradoxical but lethal state of being.
It was this focus that let him trap and bring down Knuckle.
Though Killua's sudden intervention had deflected the killing blow, Knuckle's pride and mobility—his legs—were shattered.
Without aid, Knuckle would be unable to escape Youpi's reach.
And yet Youpi waited. He wasn't finished.
He anticipated Meleoron, the invisible one, would try something.
The moment Knuckle disappeared, he would obliterate the entire vicinity.
As for Shirin (the Exorcist Ant who had purged APR from Youpi), Youpi owed Leol a favor for the connection.
Not that he cared now. Leol had already been atomized by Killer Queen's First Bomb.
Even if Youpi had known, it wouldn't have mattered. He hadn't even developed a Nen ability of his own.
All he relied on was brute force, his innate Chimera Ant physiology, and the enhancements Nen bestowed upon it.
A pure Enhancement-Type.
A creature born to crush.
In twenty minutes of combat, Youpi discovered his most valuable asset:
The equilibrium of rage and reason.
From this, he had begun synthesizing a new personal ability—fusing Enhancement and Transmutation.
Explosive rage.
He hadn't protected Shirin. She died to Killua's electric blitz.
Yet her bloated corpse—pregnant with the Nen she'd exorcised—seeped ominous black smoke.
Joey and Knov's sudden arrival derailed Youpi's attempt to flush out Meleoron.
His fury flared anew.
And from that surge, he rediscovered that "detonation feeling" he'd reached before—a literal explosion of the body in response to wrath.
During his earlier bout with Killua, the boy's speed had driven him into such a state. He had detonated, reformed... but Gon's punch, masked by Meleoron, had interrupted further insight.
Gon's blow had done little. Youpi had shrugged it off.
Now Joey charged toward the downed Knuckle, unleashing wave after wave of explosive hummingbirds at Youpi.
The Chimera Guard's fury soared again.
Killua, instinctively sensing what was to come, vanished in a lightning flash—appearing beside Knov at the crater's edge.
Youpi swelled grotesquely. Dozens of human faces stretched across his bloating form, howling in chorus as he erupted.
Joey was hurled back by the shockwave—but so was Knuckle, and Joey managed to catch his limp body midair.
The explosion was soundless. The nearest hummingbirds went off—but too far to harm Youpi.
Knov didn't act. He had measured Youpi.
This was no Pouf. This was unbridled, elemental force.
Against that, Knuckle's ability—APR and Bankruptcy—was no longer viable. Meleoron's assistance wouldn't get them another hit in.
It was time for a new plan.
Joey and Meleoron would go in. Knov would assist with Gon and Killua.
Meleoron and Joey activated God's Accomplice, vanishing.
Youpi watched it all. He understood.
Joey's bombs came in the form of animals.
With Meleoron's stealth, this could only mean one thing:
A touch-triggered bomb. An ultimate attack, possibly.
He analyzed: likely proximity-based. High damage. Perhaps fatal.
He tensed. Rage built.
And yet—his mind stayed sharp.
Anger with control. Destruction with rebirth.
His body transformed again.
He became centaur-like. Left arm a cannon. Right, a blade. His shoulder sprouted a deformed head. His eyes gleamed.
"Heh... I'll destroy you all."
A blink later, he was in front of Knov.
The blade swung—but instead of flesh, it struck a rift in space.
Knov had predicted him.
Open Window.
A spray of blood. His wrist gone.
No matter. A new blade formed in seconds.
Laughter.
Thunder struck.
Lightning paralysis. His blade missed.
Knov reacted. Another portal.
This time, his entire arm vanished.
Gon appeared, his fingers together, charged with Nen.
Scissors.
He struck.
Nothing. No damage. Not even a dent.
But Joey was already there.
Killer Queen reached for Youpi—and struck only an afterimage.
The beast had bolted.
With four legs, his speed now dwarfed theirs.
Joey clicked his tongue. He adjusted, turned to move.
But then he felt it.
A presence.
He looked up—right into the barrel of Youpi's cannon.
The shot thundered.
He leapt.
The impact blasted Gon and Knov away. Killua dodged barely in time using Godspeed: Whirlwind.
Joey and Meleoron—separated.
But uninjured.
Even so, Joey saw it:
Youpi feared him.
Or at least, regarded him as a serious threat.
And then, in the moment's quiet, Joey spotted it.
Youpi had scars. Gaps. Missing chunks.
Taken by Shoot's Dark Hotel.
And if Killer Queen could touch those pieces?
It would count.
Those chunks still belonged to Youpi.
It might be the key.
Joey sprinted for Meleoron.
But Youpi charged, furious, bearing down with bladed limbs and cannon.
He was done playing games.
Joey's time was running out.
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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 !