The Final Battle

A hundred different kinds of monsters materialized behind Meruem, instantly engulfing Jed and the Evil Spirit Rakshasa behind him. Then, with a soft sound, the noise of shattering glass rang out. The Rakshasa manifested behind Jed cracked from directly above, then crumbled into ashes and dissipated into the night sky.

Jed was no longer in his previous state either; not a single part of his body was intact. He was probably only barely clinging to life, and that was only because Meruem had held back on purpose to spare him.

Kurapika's Bandit's Secret could steal other people's Nen abilities. Squad Leader Aureole's Nen ability could also rent out other people's Nen abilities with a portable player. Both of their abilities allowed them to use techniques from others, but Meruem's Nen ability was different.

It wasn't theft, nor stealing, nor renting.

It was—learning.

Meruem's talent was terrifying; he only needed to see a technique once to understand seventy or eighty percent of it and imitate a rough version. However, once he obtained the target's blood, a part of their body, or something containing a portion of their Nen, and then used his unique Nen ability, the Taotie Feast, he could learn it completely. Moreover, with his own understanding, the technique could even surpass the original and reach a higher realm. That was the horror of Meruem. Unlike the original's specialization-type ability of devouring others to increase his own Nen, this Meruem had greater growth potential. The most important point was that Meruem's Nen ability hadn't been fully developed yet; he had only unlocked a part of it, and those Golden Silkworm Gu Nen Beasts were also a part of his ability. There was still potential to grow stronger. Not only could he learn others' Nen abilities, but he could also learn their martial arts. The most terrifying part was that he could improve others' Nen abilities to make them stronger and fuse their martial arts to create his own path.

And the Hundred Demons Parade—Lord of Monsters and Demons—was a more powerful technique Meruem had developed based on Jed's Hundred Ghosts Curse - Rakshasa. In a way, its power had already surpassed Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, Ninety-Ninth Hand, and was even very close to Netero's strongest finishing move, the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva - Zeroeth Hand.

Jed had become the first stepping stone for Meruem to test his techniques.

"How about it, Jed-san? Have you calmed down now?" Meruem looked down at Jed, who was lying on the ground with purple Fresh Blood constantly flowing from his mouth.

"I'll ask you one last time. Submit, or die!"

"Heh heh heh heh. I... Jed will never submit to anyone. Give up that hope." Jed said with difficulty, his words broken.

"Very well. That's your choice. Do you have any last words? If possible, I'll do my best to fulfill them."

"Since they... chose to pledge loyalty to you, then... I hope you'll treat them well. Don't drag them into the abyss like I did. They... are all victims of this world. Please take good care of them." This could be considered a dying man's last kind words. Earlier, he had wanted to kill all the traitors. Now, on the verge of death, Jed was instead asking Meruem to take care of the subordinates who had betrayed him. Perhaps, at this moment, he felt a trace of remorse and guilt.

Purgatory was still kneeling on the ground, but tears flowed from her vacant eyes, unstoppable.

"Of course. I wouldn't casually sacrifice those loyal to me. Farewell, then, Jed!" With those words, Meruem waved his hand and personally killed Jed. He wouldn't spare Jed's life out of some misplaced mercy. No matter what Jed said now, if he somehow survived this, he would definitely find a way to take revenge on Meruem. Meruem wouldn't make the mistake of leaving the roots untouched, letting the weeds grow back with the spring breeze.

"Hey! 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva!" At some point, Netero had broken free of the two chains binding him and shattered them. He then used his strongest technique, the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, aimed at Meruem's position.

Unfortunately, after witnessing Meruem's Hundred Demons Parade, Netero didn't believe his attack would do any damage to Meruem.

Sure enough, not only did Meruem take no damage, but he also rescued Purgatory, who had been knocked aside by Netero's breakthrough, and held her in his arms. Of course, it definitely wasn't because Purgatory was a kuudere cute girl that Meruem stepped in to save her.

He casually pulled the knife stuck in Purgatory's chest and performed simple hemostasis on her. Meruem wasn't a support-type Nen User, so he couldn't heal Purgatory's injuries. He could only stop the bleeding and use the life activity of Nen to keep her wounds from worsening.

"Withdraw. Leave this to me. Lead your subordinates to find my loyal Royal Guard, Pouf. That Golden Silkworm Gu will prove your identity. Once I'm done with this old man, I'll lead you all out of here." Although he quite enjoyed the feeling of holding a soft girl, Meruem knew this wasn't the time to think about such nonsense. He still had a world-class powerhouse to deal with right in front of him.

"Yes." The kuudere girl Purgatory replied succinctly. In fact, back when he first encountered Jed, Meruem had already placed a Golden Silkworm Gu on Purgatory. Because in the original story, she was the only one who wasn't completely loyal to Jed, and she was eventually turned by Killua's persuasion. This showed that Purgatory wasn't obsessed with revenge. Unexpectedly, she had brought him a pleasant surprise later. Although not many had defected to him, there were still over a hundred people. And those people would never betray him again, because in this world, no one besides Meruem would accept them anymore.

"Hmph!" Netero certainly didn't want to let Purgatory leave so easily, but every move he made was closely watched by Meruem, who constantly radiated killing intent. If Netero made any move to stop her, he would definitely be met with a storm of attacks from Meruem.

So, in the end, until Purgatory completely disappeared from the rooftop, Netero remained in his previous posture.

"Didn't expect us to meet again so soon, Chairman Netero?" Meruem was the first to break the silence. He was getting a bit tired of this boring staring contest, especially with an old man.

"I didn't expect a monster like you to have grown to this level. I should have killed you back then." By "growth," Netero meant Meruem's ultimate technique, the Hundred Demons Parade, which he had used against Jed. Two months ago, although he had the confidence to take Meruem down with him, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it. Come on, as the Chairman of the world's top organization, the Hunter Association, who would be willing to die together with some unknown monster if there were other options? It wasn't a matter of fearing death, but of whether it was worth it. But there was no such thing as regret medicine in this world. Besides, if Netero hadn't had that nuclear bomb inside him two months ago, even giving his life, he wouldn't have had the ability to kill Meruem.

"Stop spouting nonsense. Unless you can turn back the clock, you don't have a shred of hope of beating me." Meruem sneered at Netero's words. If it weren't for the fear that Netero might have a nuclear bomb buried inside him, and he didn't dare to make a move and let him go, did Netero think Meruem would have let him off so easily? He would have definitely left him there on the spot. Without Netero, as long as he didn't do anything like a plan to exterminate humanity or go too far, and as long as there weren't any world-class bizarre Nen Users coming after him, Meruem would be an unstoppable force. Come at me if you dare, 1v9 with full build, are you scared?

"Unexpected. You know quite a bit. But facing you now, even if I returned to my youth, I might not be your match." Although Netero had imagined Meruem to be strong, he hadn't expected him to be this terrifyingly powerful. The Hundred Ghosts Curse was a finishing move Jed had spent decades cultivating, a super-powerful technique no weaker than Netero's own 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, which he had trained his whole life. But look at how long Meruem had trained. At most, Meruem had only been born for less than three months. Counting the time since he met Jed, it was only a little over ten days. Not only had he learned all of Jed's techniques and abilities, but he had even improved Jed's finishing move into a technique entirely his own. This couldn't be described as just genius; it was like a monster. Even the extremely arrogant Netero had to admit defeat, because at this point, even if his own power were doubled, he might not be a match for Meruem.

It seemed he would have to use that in the end. His carefully prepared Zeroeth Hand probably couldn't destroy him either. Only that method remained. It was just a pity for the innocent people around, but their sacrifice would be worth it. Netero first glanced at the spot on his chest, then his gaze toward Meruem sharpened.

"Oh? Old man, want to get fired up for one last round?" Meruem sensed the fighting spirit in Netero's eyes. "You can't beat me. Bring out whatever you've got."

"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva!" The giant Thousand-Handed Guanyin statue materialized behind Netero once again.

"Do you think a technique of this level is useful against me?" Meruem said disdainfully, but it was only surface-level contempt. In truth, Meruem was secretly on high alert against Netero. This old man wasn't like Jed before.