Starting Today, I'll Be the Demon King

PS: Since I updated so early in the morning, please give me all your recommendation votes. =￣ω￣= Rolling around and begging for votes.

"Your smile is really ugly." Netero, were you planning to kill yourself and use the "Poor Man's Rose" nuclear bomb against me? What a shame. You wouldn't succeed. I had already been on guard against that move.

"Checkmate! I'll wait for you in hell! From the very beginning, your only ending was death." Netero trembled as he raised his left hand, held up two fingers, and slowly drove them toward his heart.

"Don't be in such a hurry to kill yourself, Netero. Your backup plan is a nuclear bomb, right? Or perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it the 'Poor Man's Rose'? Do you really think something like that can kill me?" Meruem mocked him at the very moment Netero was about to commit suicide.

"How is that possible? Why? How did you know?" Netero's trembling fingers stopped at his heart. Why did this monster know that secret? It was an absolute top-secret plan that even humans should not have known about. Why did this guy know? He had clearly already made up his mind to sacrifice himself, so why? Utter shock flooded him. Even Netero, who had always remained calm and seemed to have everything under control, finally wore such an expression. It was one of despair, confusion, and deep fury. Who had betrayed humanity? Who had betrayed him?

"Netero, you must be wondering who betrayed you right now, aren't you? What a shame. I won't tell you. Take your doubts and resentment to hell. I won't be joining you there, of course. But you'll surely meet plenty of companions—your companions from the Hunter Association." Meruem paid no heed to Netero's despairing gaze and instead smiled with immense satisfaction, the smile of someone whose great vengeance had been fulfilled. So this day had come for you. You had been pressuring and threatening me ever since before I was born. We had no hatred between us to begin with. You simply did something you shouldn't have. Back when I watched the anime in my previous life, I greatly admired your self-sacrificing spirit. But now that our positions had changed, and the person your self-sacrifice was aimed at was me, I couldn't exactly be happy about it. Sorry, Netero. Don't become a Hunter in your next life.

"Four-Dimensional Mansion Transfer!" Meruem had already dealt with the threat of the nuclear bomb during his battle with Jed. The punch he had thrown at Netero had not been an ordinary punch. It contained Meruem's detection and spatial transfer technique. That punch had actually marked the nuclear bomb inside Netero's body. This was a modified version of the Four-Dimensional Mansion Nen ability Meruem had taken from Knuckle. As long as Meruem wished it, he could transfer that nuclear bomb at any time. He had simply refrained from doing so to prevent Netero from growing suspicious due to an early transfer. After all, it was easy to notice something unusual inside one's own body. Meruem had marked the Hunter Association headquarters at the other end of the dimensional passage. It would surely be entertaining when the nuclear bomb exploded over there.

"Goodbye, Netero!" The instant he transferred the Poor Man's Rose nuclear bomb to the Hunter Association headquarters, Meruem ended Netero's life as well.

"My hands are stained with Fresh Blood. But I don't care, because every one of us is an executioner, ending the lives of other creatures without even realizing it. My wish is actually very simple. I only want to live properly. Being able to come to the world of Hunters has truly been a blessing, but there will be even more worlds in the future. I really want to experience them all. There's still a little time left before I can leave this world. This world is still too dangerous for me. Even though I can understand it through the anime from my previous life, this world's setting is simply too vast. There are too many uncertain factors. But one day, I will return. By then, no one will be able to defy my words. I am the Kami-sama of the new world." Meruem watched Netero's blood drip from his fingers onto the ground as he muttered to himself. His voice grew louder as he spoke, and by the time he declared himself the Kami-sama of the new world, a hint of madness shone in his eyes.

"Pfft, I'm way too chuuni. Heh heh, hahahahaha." They said nobody could stay cool for more than three seconds, and people like him were exactly what they meant. A few tasteless laughs utterly ruined the grand, imposing atmosphere from before. Fortunately, no one was nearby, or they might have thought some psychiatric patient had escaped from a hospital.

"Well then, let me be chuuni one last time. People of the Hunter Association—explosions are art!" Meruem covered the left half of his face and one eye with his palm, revealing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth.

Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away at the Hunter Association, a rose-shaped mushroom cloud rose into the sky. What followed was molten rock formed from vaporized buildings and endless wails, creating a scene like Purgatory on earth.

The people who had left earlier when the building collapsed gradually returned. After all, their respective leaders were here. Yet the Hunters who came back saw only Netero's corpse, dried up like a mummy.

"Chairman!" Morel was the first to recognize Netero. After all, Morel was one of the Hunters who had followed Netero the longest, and he knew Netero had always been preparing his strongest move, Zero Hand, to deal with the Ant King. He also knew that once Zero Hand was used, Netero would lose all his life force. That was why he recognized the mummified Netero at a glance. But because Meruem was standing before Netero's body, he did not dare take even one step forward. His body instinctively refused to approach.

"Nonsense! How could that be possible? The Chairman was so powerful—how could this be? Who exactly are you? What does the Chairman's death have to do with you?" The speaker was Yin Hu, Kanzai. After hearing Morel's cry, he stared at the mummy-like corpse with an expression of utter disbelief. Although he looked down on Morel's strength, he knew that as a fellow Hunter, Morel would never joke about something like this.

"You bastard." Kanzai clenched his fists and glared viciously at Meruem. Just as he was about to rush forward and fight Meruem, a large hand pressed down on his shoulder.

"Do you want to die? Don't go over there!" The one who stopped Kanzai was Portwhite Gikante of the Zodiac Twelve. Like Morel, he had sensed Meruem's seemingly endless Nen.

"That guy's strength is beyond anything you can imagine. Even I might not be his match. If you go up there, you'll only throw your life away. Stand down."

"Damn it! We're both Zodiac Twelve, so don't think you can order me around. Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Kanzai punched a piece of rubble beside him in fury and smashed it to pieces.

"King." At the same time, several members of the Chimera Ant Army arrived before Meruem and faced off against Morel and the others. But without Meruem's orders, they would not act rashly. With their current numbers and strength, they could easily wipe out the other side. The Hunters, meanwhile, did not dare flee or attack. The man before them was incredibly powerful, his allegiance was unclear, and whether Chairman Netero's death had anything to do with him remained unknown. Especially since those monsters who had fought them earlier were now standing behind him, he was very likely an enemy rather than a friend.

"Good evening, friends of the Hunter Association. First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Meruem, King of the Chimera Ant race. I came here under the orders of the leaders of various nations to eliminate the utterly evil man known as Jed. By the time I arrived, Jed had already gravely injured Chairman Netero. I gave everything I had to rescue him, but Jed was simply too powerful. Left with no choice, Chairman Netero and I joined forces and barely managed to hold back Jed's attacks. But Netero was old in the end, while Jed only grew fiercer as the battle went on. With no other options left, he finally used the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva - Zeroeth Hand. It truly was a technique powerful beyond measure. Fortunately, we finally dealt with that villain. Sadly, Chairman Netero had exhausted all the Ki in his body. He only had a few breaths left, but Chairman Netero refused to linger on in this world. So he asked me to end his life. He would rather die in battle than quietly wait for death. He was truly someone worthy of respect." Meruem lied smoothly without changing expression. The only one who knew the truth, Purgatory, had already been transferred along with her people into Meruem's Four-Dimensional Mansion. Besides, even if they spoke up, not necessarily anyone would believe them. In any case, he was the only surviving person involved, so he could make up whatever story he wanted. As for whether the others believed him? Believe it or not, it didn't matter. As long as those leaders believed him, that was enough. What could the Hunters of the Hunter Association do? Their headquarters had been blown up by a nuclear bomb. What could the survivors possibly do to him? If they didn't accept it, they could fight him one-on-one. He'd slap them silly.

"I am deeply sorry for Chairman Netero's death, but I believe this was a sign of respect for him, respect for a warrior. If a warrior must die, then he should die gloriously. The battlefield is their rightful home. If you want revenge, come at me. I will not fight back." To make his words more convincing, Meruem even put on a righteous and dignified pose, as if he truly would let them kill him at will. Unfortunately, aside from Kanzai, no one present was simple-minded enough to believe Meruem's bullshit. But on the surface, they did not dare defy him and repeatedly said that they would not.

"But what about those guys? Why did they fight us earlier?" Kanzai pointed at Pouf and the others standing behind Meruem. Morel and the others inwardly groaned. They did not know why Meruem had no intention of killing them to silence them, but bringing this up now was clearly extremely inappropriate.

"Oh? You mean my subordinates?" When he saw Pouf about to say something, Meruem waved for him to remain quiet. Meruem knew what Pouf wanted to say without needing to hear it—nothing more than nonsense about audacity and disrespect. Though Pouf was undeniably intelligent, whenever Meruem was involved, the guy became a brainless idiot.

"They came here with me to eliminate Jed and his Shadow Army. The conflict with you was probably because they mistook you for Jed's accomplices. Actually, I find it strange that you were here. The leaders' orders made no mention of Hunter Association members participating." Meruem continued spinning his tale.

"But—" Kanzai still seemed unwilling to accept it and wanted to argue further.

"That's enough, Kanzai. This isn't the time to discuss this. What matters now is settling the residents here and preparing Chairman Netero's funeral arrangements." Botobai Gigante interrupted Kanzai again. Though he had his doubts, his instincts told him that the person before them was definitely suspicious. But he did not want any more variables or accidents right now.

"I deeply admire Chairman Netero. I hope I may attend his memorial service." As Morel and the others left, Meruem said this with a sincere expression.