The Central Stairwell.
The air felt heavy enough to wring water from it.
Menthuthuyoupi stood on the highest step.
He was the purest warrior among the three Royal Guards.
He needed neither schemes nor calculations.
The sole purpose of his existence.
Was to crush every enemy who approached the King with absolute physical violence.
At that moment, Youpi.
Was already on the verge of going berserk.
He had watched the King being taken away by that shriveled old man.
It was a grave failure of his duty as a guard.
Shame and rage churned through his chest, ready to explode.
Across the surface of Youpi's dark red skin.
His veins bulged high.
They pulsed with dull thuds in time with his heartbeat.
His body began to twist and mutate.
The muscles of his previously normal arms tore straight open.
Several outrageously thick, fleshy tentacles burst from the splits.
Coated in thick slime.
They thrashed wildly through the air.
Most terrifying of all was his face.
That face, which had still looked somewhat human.
Was now twisted and deformed by extreme rage.
Several dark yellow eyeballs forced their way out of his forehead and cheeks.
They stared fixedly at the humans below the steps.
"I'll slaughter you..."
Youpi's voice no longer sounded like speech.
It was a rasping noise like the low growl of a wild beast.
A terrifying quantity of aura erupted from his body without restraint.
That crushing Nen pressure was no longer invisible.
It became a dark red storm visible to the naked eye.
It shattered every stone pillar on either side of the staircase.
Knuckle stood thirty meters from the foot of the steps.
The storm blew his signature pompadour into a tangled mess.
Beads of sweat streamed madly down Knuckle's cheeks.
His legs trembled beyond his