If You're Willing to Cross-dress

"Evil woman Melard is here, Bred!" Mosquito Girl suddenly warned after Bred killed another magical beast.

"Buzz~ buzz~~~"

A gust of black wind swept up as the mosquito swarm obediently followed Mosquito Girl's commands, hovering around Bred. They could not defy any of Mosquito Girl's wishes, like ants before their queen or bees before their king—a hierarchy branded into their instincts, nature's order of rank.

Unfortunately, the only insects Mosquito Girl could control were mosquitoes. She could not control other insects.

Bred spread open his palm, and the mosquito swarm released an insect onto it. It was a stag beetle, seemingly about the size of an ordinary stag beetle, but when it flapped its wings, it made a sharp sound like metal scraping together, enough to reveal its unusual nature.

"King Stag Beetle, an insect-type magical beast ranked among the Super Dangerous Species. It lives in groups and is omnivorous..." Bred snapped off the stag beetle's antler-like mandibles. "Its defining trait is its hardness. As expected! They're no less sharp than swords and daggers."

Mosquito Girl leaped in front of Bred. "She's here!"

"Don't do anything pointless, Joanna!" Bred gently grabbed Mosquito Girl by the tail and pulled her aside, speaking earnestly. "I understand that you like me and are anxious to protect me, but there are many things in reality that I need to face myself. I can't hide behind you forever! If I need your help, I'll ask you myself."

"Ah? Oh."

Mosquito Girl pouted aggrievedly, her lively eyes shifting about as an inexplicable blush rose to her pretty cheeks.

"Rustle, rustle~~~"

The King Stag Beetles were faster than Melard. A dense sea of insects closed in from every direction.

"Hehe, such loyal pets. What a pity they chose the wrong master!" Melard emerged from the dark shadows, admiring Mosquito Girl's beauty with a smile. Then, as usual, her thoughts ran loose, and she voiced her lewd desires without restraint. "So beautiful. Why? Why don't you belong to me? If you were mine, I could lick your legs..."

Bred truly could not stand listening any longer and cut Melard off. "Enough, Melard!"

"K." Melard smiled lazily, winding a lock of long hair around her finger. "Are you ready? You damned bastard, you dared to steal my beloved Tornado from me. I'll never forgive you."

"What?" Bred's expression remained blank. "A fight to the death? Anyway, if one or two people die on this island, their bones won't even be left before long. Neither the Hunter Association nor Cipher Pol will find any clues."

Melard narrowed her eyes. "You're awfully confident, Bred!"

"Rustle, rustle~~~"

"Buzz~~~ buzz~~~ buzz~~~"

The sea of King Stag Beetles surged forward, and Mosquito Girl swiftly directed the mosquito swarm to meet them.

Without a doubt, ordinary mosquitoes were no match for King Stag Beetles, magical beasts ranked among the Super Dangerous Species. After holding out for only a moment, their formation was torn apart, and the beetles lunged at Bred.

"Do you know why, despite possessing the talent to awaken life energy on my own and learn Nen at a speed not much slower than you or Esdeath, I deliberately waited over a month before awakening life energy and learning Nen?" Melard gave a playful, wicked smile. "Because I had to use life energy to cultivate a new species of insects that feeds on life energy! They did slow me down, but I think it was all worth it. It means your Nen can't stop them!"

"The insects are yours, Joanna." Bred bent his knees and shot forward like a cannonball.

"Bang!"

Fist met fist.

"Put some strength into it, little brother~" Melard teased. Her movements were not slow as she raised a leg and delivered a sinister kick at his groin.

Bred did not hold back. With his Observation Haki fully unleashed, he predicted Melard's attack trajectory. Supporting himself on his left leg, his right leg struck later yet arrived first...

"Ken!"

"Bang!"

By the narrowest margin, Melard blocked Bred's retaliatory strike.

"You despicable midget!" Melard let out a long breath, cursing angrily. "Shameless! Perverted!"

Bred: "..."

Not long after.

"Whoosh, whoosh~"

Melard widened the distance, prowling around Bred like a sinister assassin.

"I forgot, I'm actually quite a coward, s~~~" Melard dragged out the sound through her nose. "The insects your pet is fighting aren't all of my insects, hehehe! Those fellows taking the official Hunter Exam test have some skill. They're the best hosts for breeding insects!"

Bred replied flatly, "I can 'see' them."

"You can see them?" Melard grinned frivolously.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Melard retreated at full speed, flicking her hand as countless tiny black objects flew from her sleeve toward Bred.

"Explosive Ants, activate!"

"BOOM!!!"

The violent explosion instantly swallowed Bred.

"I forgot again. I forgot to tell you that King Stag Beetles aren't my only insects." Melard was extremely pleased with the success of her misleading tactic.

"Bred!!!"

While dealing with the King Stag Beetle swarm, Mosquito Girl had kept watching Bred, hoping to take care of him the instant danger arose. Yet Melard's sinister methods still caught her too late to react.

Concern threw her into disarray. With her eyes nearly splitting apart, Mosquito Girl controlled the mosquitoes, and an enormous black sphere instantly formed in midair.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

The mosquito swarm scattered, and Mosquito Girl emerged in a violent rage. Her crimson skin, hair, and exoskeleton had all become terrifyingly grotesque.

"A second-stage evolution by drawing life energy through blood?" Melard panicked. "Tiger-class? Demon-class? It shouldn't be Dragon-class! In any case... I'm in trouble!"

Super-dangerous magical beasts also varied in strength. Based on their power and threat level, they were divided into five ranks.

Melard's King Stag Beetle was Wolf-class;

Mosquito Girl before her second evolution, as well as most Sea Kings, were Tiger-class;

Mosquito Girl after her second evolution, along with enormous ancient Sea Kings, were Demon-class...

Demon-class creatures were already rare among super-dangerous magical beasts. Even stronger Dragon-class super-dangerous magical beasts possessed overwhelming power and could easily destroy entire islands. Only beings like the giant toad of Mount Myoboku from Wano Country's ninja world, or Azure Dragon, whose body hair had been made into the Imperial Arm Infinite Uses: Cross Tail, deserved the title of Dragon-class super-dangerous magical beast.

The most outrageous God-class super-dangerous magical beasts existed only in theory.

"Leave the bug to Joanna." Bred stepped out through the billowing smoke. Keenly noticing that Mosquito Girl had become somewhat irrational as her power multiplied, he immediately said, "I'm fine."

With the foresight of Observation Haki and his skillful application of Nen, Bred was basically uninjured. Only the hair tie that had bound his untrimmed hair for so long had snapped, allowing his brilliant golden hair to flutter in the wind.

Mosquito Girl struggled to calm her turbulent emotions before diving toward Bred, tears streaming down her face. "I thought... I thought..."

"Forget it, I'm not fighting anymore! With a Demon-class super-dangerous magical beast helping you, I never stood a chance." Melard was the first to declare the battle over. Then, rubbing her hands together as though she had discovered a new continent, she said, "Bred? What I mean is... if, if you're willing to dress as a woman, I wouldn't mind some fake futanari or whatever. Let's be friends—the especially close kind..."

Bred: "..."

PS: The cover on the client was made by the website. I'm trying to change it back.