Final Battle

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A hundred grotesque monsters appeared behind Meruem, instantly drowning Jed and the Evil Spirit Rakshasa behind him. Then came a soft crack, like shattering glass. The Rakshasa manifested behind Jed split open from the top, crumbled into ashes, and scattered into the night sky.

Jed no longer looked anything like he had before. Not a single part of his body was intact. He probably had only one breath left, and that was only because Meruem had deliberately spared his life.

Chrollo's Bandit's Secret could steal other people's Nen abilities. Squad Leader Aureole's Nen ability could also use a Walkman to rent other people's Nen abilities. Both abilities allowed their users to employ other people's Nen techniques, but Meruem's Nen ability was different.

It was neither seizure, nor theft, nor rental.

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 its rough form. However, once he obtained the opponent's blood, a part of their body, or something containing a portion of their Nen, he could use his unique Nen ability, Taotie Feast, to learn it perfectly. Moreover, with his own understanding, he could even surpass the original technique and elevate it to a higher level. That was what made Meruem terrifying. Unlike the original story's Specialist ability, which increased his own Nen by consuming others, the current Meruem had far greater potential for growth. Most importantly, his Nen ability had not yet been fully developed. He had only unlocked part of it so far, and those Golden Silkworm Gu Nen Beasts were also part of his Nen ability. He could become even stronger in the future. Not only could he learn other people's Nen abilities, he could also learn their martial arts. Most frighteningly, he could improve others' Nen abilities and make them stronger, merging their martial arts to forge a path of his own.

And Hundred Demons Parade—Lord of Monsters and Demons was an even more powerful technique Meruem had developed based on Jed's Hyakki Jyuon—Rakshasa. To a certain extent, its power had already surpassed Netero's ninety-ninth technique of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, and it was even extremely close to Netero's strongest finishing move, the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva - Zeroeth Hand.

Jed had become Meruem's first stepping stone for testing his technique.

"How is it, Jed-san? You've calmed down now, haven't you?" Meruem looked down at Jed, who lay unable to rise, purple blood continuously spilling from his mouth.

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

"Heh heh heh... I, Jed, will never submit to anyone. Give up on that idea." Jed spoke with difficulty, his words broken and weak.

"Very well. That is your choice. Do you have any last words? If I can, I'll fulfill them for you."

"Since they... chose to pledge loyalty to you, then... I hope you can... 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." Perhaps a dying man's words were kind. Earlier, he had wanted to wipe out every traitor, but now that death was upon him, Jed instead asked Meruem to care for the subordinates who had betrayed him. Perhaps he felt a trace of remorse and guilt at last.

Purgatory was still kneeling on one knee, but tears streamed endlessly from her vacant eyes.

"Of course. I would never casually sacrifice those loyal to me. Then goodbye, Jed!" With a wave of his hand, Meruem personally killed Jed. He would not spare Jed out of some foolish softness. Jed might be saying this now, but if he survived by some stroke of luck, he would certainly do everything in his power to take revenge on Meruem. Meruem would never make the mistake of leaving weeds unpulled, only to have them grow again in spring.

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

But after witnessing Meruem's Hundred Demons Parade, Netero did not believe his attack could do much damage to him.

Sure enough, Meruem was not hurt in the slightest. He even saved Purgatory, who had been blown away by Netero's breakout, and held her in his arms. Of course, Meruem had absolutely not saved her just because Purgatory was a cute, expressionless girl.

He casually pulled the blade from Purgatory's chest and gave her basic treatment to stop the bleeding. Meruem was not a support-type Nen User with healing abilities, so he could not heal her wounds. All he could do was stop the bleeding and use Nen's life force to keep her injuries from worsening.

"You should withdraw. Leave this place to me. Take your subordinates and find my loyal Royal Guard, Pouf. That Golden Silkworm Gu will prove your identity. Once I finish dealing with this old man, I'll lead you all out of here." Though Meruem quite enjoyed the feeling of holding a soft girl in his arms, he knew this was not the time to be thinking about such nonsense. A world-class powerhouse still stood before him.

"Yes." Purgatory's answer was brief. In truth, when Meruem had first encountered Jed, he had placed a Golden Silkworm Gu on Purgatory. She had been the only person in the original story who was not utterly devoted to Jed, and she had even been persuaded to turn against him by Killua's words. That showed Purgatory was not someone obsessed with revenge. Meruem had not expected her to truly bring him a surprise later. Although not many had defected to him, there were still over a hundred people. And they could never betray him again, because no one in this world besides Meruem would have room for them anymore.

"Hmph!" Naturally, Netero did not want to let Purgatory leave so easily, but Meruem watched his every movement closely, continuously radiating killing intent. The moment Netero showed even the slightest intention of stopping her, he would suffer a storm-like barrage from Meruem.

Thus, Netero maintained his previous stance until Purgatory had completely vanished from the rooftop.

"I didn't expect us to meet again so soon, Chairman Netero." Meruem was the first to break the silence. He was already growing tired of this pointless staring contest—especially with an old man.

"I never expected a monster like you to have grown to such a level. I should have killed you back then." What Netero meant by growth was the powerful Hundred Demons Parade Meruem had used against Jed. Two months ago, he had been confident that he could perish together with Meruem, but in the end, he had lacked the resolve. As the Chairman of the Hunter Association, one of the world's foremost organizations, who would willingly die alongside some monster from nowhere when other options existed? It was not a matter of fearing death, but whether it was worth it. Yet there was no medicine for regret in this world. Besides, if Netero had not possessed that nuclear bomb within his body two months ago, then even if he had risked his life, he would not have had the power to kill Meruem.

"Stop spouting nonsense. Unless you can return to your youth, you don't stand even the slightest chance of defeating me." Meruem scoffed at Netero's words. Back then, he had only let Netero leave because he had been wary of whether a nuclear bomb was hidden in his body. Did Netero think Meruem would have spared him so easily otherwise? He would have kept him there and killed him on the spot. Without Netero, as long as Meruem did not pursue some plan to exterminate humanity or go too far, and no bizarre world-class Nen User came after him, he would be unstoppable. Go ahead and face him head-on—fully equipped, one against nine. Were they afraid?

"I didn't expect you to know so much. But against the current you, perhaps even if I returned to my youth, I still would not be your opponent." Netero had imagined Meruem to be strong, but he had not expected him to be this terrifying. Hyakki Jyuon was a finishing move Jed had trained for decades to use. It was an immensely powerful technique, no weaker than the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva Netero had cultivated his entire life. But how long had Meruem trained? At most, he had been born for less than three months. He had known Jed for only a dozen or so days, yet he had not only learned all of Jed's techniques and abilities, but even improved Jed's finishing move into a technique completely his own. This was beyond merely calling him a genius. He was simply a monster. Even the immensely prideful Netero had to admit defeat, because even if his own abilities doubled, he might still not be Meruem's match.

So I still have to use that. Even the Zero Hand I carefully prepared probably cannot destroy him. There is only that method left. It is just a pity for the innocent people nearby, but your sacrifices will be worth it. Netero first glanced at his chest, then his gaze toward Meruem sharpened.

"Oh, old man? Feeling fired up?" Meruem sensed the fighting spirit in Netero's eyes. "You can't defeat me. Use whatever techniques you have."

"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva!" The enormous thousand-armed Guanyin statue manifested behind Netero once more.

"Do you think a technique at this level can do anything to me?" Meruem said disdainfully. Yet that disdain was only on the surface. In truth, he had remained vigilant against Netero all along. This old man was not like Jed from before.