Chapter 15: Squadron Leader × Seven-Colored Bow
The instant the crocodile appeared, Joey recognized him.
He was one of the few Squadron Leader-class Chimera Ants.
Meanwhile, the Chariot he had released was quietly approaching the crocodile Chimera Ant. At that moment, Joey had only one thing to say to Heartbreaker Attack: Motherfucker.
But he could not simply run away. If the crocodile could catch Pokkle's arrow, he could certainly see Joey's Skeleton Chariot.
So Joey charged out the instant the explosion went off. He had to retrieve the Skeleton Chariot before fleeing.
The Chariot was the first to burst out of the flames, but it turned around, still roaring, and tried to plunge back into the blast. Clearly, one explosion had not finished off the crocodile Chimera Ant.
Joey reached the Chariot first, however. Killer Queen pressed one hand against the ground and swept the other through the air, recalling the Chariot into the back of his hand.
Just then, a roar erupted from the explosion, and a massive figure burst out right behind the Chariot.
With his hide torn open, the crocodile's eyes held nothing but savagery. The moment he emerged on all fours, he locked onto Killer Queen. Then he pushed off hard, leaping high into the air, his long, fang-filled jaws opening wide at Killer Queen.
But what greeted him were bullets from the rifle Joey raised beside him.
At the same time, the Stand he had lunged at vanished without a trace.
The bullets did not seem capable of penetrating the crocodile, though. After piercing his hide, they visibly lodged in his flesh.
At some point, Pokkle had recovered his senses in the distance. He formed an archery stance with his hands, but this time, he fired not his fastest Orange Arrow, but a jet-black arrow that was comparatively slow.
Before the arrow could reach him, however, the airborne crocodile whipped his tail around and shattered it.
The shattered arrow did not disappear. Instead, it burst into black mist with a puff, enveloping the crocodile.
By then, however, the crocodile had already crashed down with a thunderous boom where Killer Queen had been standing.
Now he understood, too. The human firing the gun was behind everything.
But before he could advance, Killer Queen reappeared beside Joey, his right hand poised as though pressing a button.
Bing!
His thumb pressed down, and an explosion followed the crisp activation sound.
Cracks appeared all over the crocodile Chimera Ant's body in an instant. Flames spread from within him, and a silent internal explosion threatened to tear him apart in a single moment.
Yet Joey saw it clearly. As the explosion went off, an enormous amount of Nen emerged within the crocodile Chimera Ant's body, instinctively suppressing its tearing force.
"The explosion can't kill him!"
In that instant, Joey understood why the bee Chimera Ant had survived earlier, and why the crocodile Chimera Ant could be gravely injured by an explosion without dying.
"Run!"
Having realized this, Joey immediately shouted a warning to Pokkle, who was drawing his bow again. Then his sloping brows furrowed, and he turned and ran toward the woods.
Before leaving, he also brushed his hand against a nearby tree.
But just as he was about to slip into the dense forest and disappear from the sight of the still-stunned Chimera Ants, a burst of rifle fire suddenly rang out behind him.
Sensing danger, Joey threw himself forward and rolled across the ground, yet still felt a searing pain in his shoulder.
Ponzu was the only other person there with a gun, but she would never attack him at a time like this.
That left only one answer.
A Chimera Ant had picked up Plant Ash Soy Sauce Fan's gun!
Pushing off the ground with his legs, Joey rolled behind the nearest large tree.
Bullets slammed into the trunk with sharp cracks beside his ear, while Killer Queen pressed his thumb down once more.
The tree Joey had touched exploded instantly at the point of contact. The flames and the black smoke that billowed out provided perfect cover.
Without pausing, Joey rose and sprinted away from the battlefield, casually touching a nearby plant's leaf as he ran.
Once he had run far enough to avoid being caught in the blast, Killer Queen pressed his thumb down again without hesitation.
Amid the silent explosion, the crocodile Chimera Ant in the distance let out a hate-filled roar.
At his roar, several trembling Chimera Ants chased after Joey. Meanwhile, the crocodile Chimera Ant, his body torn with several gaping wounds and blood pouring from his mouth, turned toward Pokkle, who was covering Ponzu.
Just then, however, the crocodile Chimera Ant suddenly stiffened. Threads of cold spread from his wounds throughout his body.
The crocodile Chimera Ant snapped his gaze toward Pokkle, but his vision was blurring, and he could not make out what was happening there. All he heard was what sounded like shouting.
Then came an agonizing pain!
As hatred and confusion filled the crocodile Chimera Ant's face, a fiery red arrow pierced his left eye and shot straight through, leaving a charred hole behind.
The crocodile Chimera Ant froze in place. Still unable to understand what was happening through his daze, he felt only endless darkness swallowing him.
His sole remaining eye still stared toward Pokkle, filled with confusion, bewilderment, resentment, and boundless malice that surged up to smother every other emotion.
If he could, he would devour every human he saw alive. That was the only thought left in the crocodile Chimera Ant's mind before darkness descended.
After shooting through the crocodile Chimera Ant with a single arrow, Pokkle began panting heavily himself.
Like the Red Bow, the Black Bow involved changing the properties of his aura. The difference was that the Red Bow changed his aura to fire to increase the arrows' power, while the Black Bow changed it to poison-the property he was most skilled at using-to weaken his enemies.
It was not a deadly poison, but a toxin that could briefly confuse all five senses.
Although the arrow was slow, it would turn into poison when shattered. As long as it touched a wound on the target's body, the toxin would spread inside and subsequently take effect.
Pokkle's arrow had not cut the crocodile's body, but the attack from an unknown ability had left him drenched in blood.
As the poisonous mist settled, it naturally entered his wounds at once and rapidly took effect.
The instant the toxin took effect, Pokkle used his most powerful Red Bow to aim at the crocodile's most vulnerable spot-his eye-and deliver a killing blow.
He had devised this killing move after observing that Joey's earlier rifle fire could not penetrate the crocodile's body.
Otherwise, he would have chosen the faster, more reliable Orange Bow, even though it was less powerful than the Red Bow.
In that instant, Pokkle had made the most of every change and detail on the battlefield, pushing his abilities to their absolute limit.
The result was good, too. With a handful of the insects chasing Joey into the distance, the only troublesome one among the remaining Chimera Ants was the one that had seized the rifle. But Ponzu would deal with him.
As that thought crossed his mind, goosebumps suddenly rose all over Pokkle's body, and his eyes widened.
He saw pitch-black Nen rising from the crocodile, who should have been dead. Under the influence of that dark malice, the body with its head shot through slowly stood up!
"Damn it, run!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Pokkle grabbed Ponzu and sprinted away as she screamed.
The gun-wielding Chimera Ant in the distance collapsed just as the two fled, his body covered in dead bees and swollen pustules.
His finger remained caught on the rifle's trigger. As he fell, the rifle rattled out a burst, as though seeing the two off and welcoming the birth of the "new crocodile."
Let me say this in advance: Killer Queen will not be nerfed. There are reasons for his weak performance early on.
Please be patient. Thank you~
Around the time before Meruem appears, his ability will return to normal and even be strengthened.
Mm, that's all...
Before you continue