A Desperate Entrance! Two Fingers Catch the Catgirl's Claw

Above the underground main nest, the air in the dense forest seemed to stand still.

Kite stopped and raised a hand for the others to be quiet. His brow tightened, and his knuckles whitened around the hilt of his sword. An utterly terrifying Nen Pressure was surging up from deep underground, thick and cold and brimming with undisguised malice. It crawled up his spine like ice water.

"Something's wrong," Kite said under his breath, his gaze razor-sharp. "Something was just born down there. Its Nen is enormous—more than ten times that of all the Squadron Leaders combined."

Gon and Killua both tensed. They felt it too. The Nen Pressure weighed on them like a mountain, making their chests tight and every breath a struggle. Killua's catlike eyes narrowed as every instinct screamed danger. In all his life, he had never felt an aura so terrifying. It was even more suffocating than his grandfather's or father's.

"One of the King's Royal Guards?" Killua asked quietly, a faint strain in his voice.

"Most likely." Kite slowly drew his long sword, its blade catching flecks of light through the trees. "You two fall back. I'll hold it off. Run south and contact the Hunter Association for reinforcements. Don't look back, and don't come back to help me."

"But Mr. Kite..." Gon gritted his teeth. He couldn't bear to leave him behind.

"Listen to me." Kite's tone left no room for argument. "This isn't an opponent you can handle. Getting out alive and calling for help is how you help me."

The moment he finished speaking, the ground beneath their feet shuddered.

Boom—

Dirt and shattered stone burst upward. A figure shot out of the underground cavern and landed lightly on a nearby tree trunk.

It was a catlike Chimera Ant with silvery-white fur,