Without agonizing over techniques or movements, Joey fixed his sights on the Chimera Ant's flank. As he sidestepped its charging body, he drove his fist toward its vulnerable spot.
But before his fist could reach it, the Horse-Head Chimera Ant stopped dead. At the same time, one horse leg planted on the ground kicked backward at astonishing speed, straight toward Joey's chin.
The sudden change caught Joey completely off guard.
Clearly, just as he had been able to read its movements and dodge into a counterattack, his opponent had anticipated that he might evade the charge and adjusted the instant the battle shifted.
But Joey had never been fighting alone. With a sweep of his hand, Killer Queen grabbed Joey's arm and pulled him clear of the almost certain hit.
A fine sheen of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Even though he had dodged the blow, that fleeting sense of mortal danger still left him shaken.
Setting aside how bizarre and unfair Killer Queen's ability was, Joey himself was far too weak in a head-on fight.
That weakness lay in his experience, something he could only make up for through the constant tempering of battle.
Understanding this, Joey felt no fear. His feet moved, and he immediately attacked the Horse-Head Chimera Ant again.
By then, however, the Horse-Head Chimera Ant had already turned around. Seeing Joey approach, it clenched its enormous hand into a fist. The muscles in its arm tightened in an instant, and it hurled a punch straight at Joey's head.
Its intention was obvious: if you hit my vulnerable flank, I'll smash your head open. Neither of us loses out!
Joey had no intention of giving it that chance. With a slight pull from Killer Queen, he twisted his waist mid-charge. A single sidestep took him clear of the Horse-Head Chimera Ant's crushing punch and brought him right up against its side.
Clearly, his charge had included a feint, meant to bait the Horse-Head Chimera Ant into throwing a full-power punch.
The moment Joey punched, more of the Nen covering his body flowed instinctively into his fist, which struck the Chimera Ant in the flank.
Thud! The punch landed solidly.
Yet the Horse-Head Chimera Ant merely staggered back a few steps before regaining its balance and preparing an immediate counterattack.
But Joey was faster. The instant his punch connected, he had already realized how strong the Chimera Ant's defenses were.
Even though they had yet to master Nen, their physical toughness alone meant that a punch covered only in Ten would not be enough to finish them.
So as he knocked the Chimera Ant back, he opened his fist and stepped forward, closing in on it.
Killer Queen had already vanished back into Joey's body in that instant. Joey ducked slightly, evading another punch from the Chimera Ant, and as he straightened, his right hand came to rest against its chest.
First Bomb activated instantly. The Chimera Ant's body rapidly twisted and deformed before flames swallowed it the next moment, leaving nothing behind.
Just as Joey finished off the Horse-Head Chimera Ant and relaxed slightly, the sound of beating wings suddenly came from overhead.
Looking up, Joey saw a small Bird-Type Chimera Ant with black wings and a beak.
But before it could reach Joey, Killer Queen blocked its path. At the same time, Killer Queen raised his large hand and planted it squarely on the Chimera Ant's sharp-beaked face.
The impact failed to move Killer Queen so much as half a step. Instead, the contact fulfilled the condition for First Bomb.
A second later, the Bird-Type Chimera Ant followed the Horse-Type Chimera Ant to its demise. Its entire body swelled in midair, and flames flared in a silent explosion. When they faded, no evidence remained that the Bird-Type Chimera Ant had ever existed.
Two Chimera Ants about to rush Joey retreated the instant the explosion occurred, moving even faster than they had on their approach.
Clearly, Joey's ability to kill ants with a touch had terrified them!
At the same time, however, the ground beneath Joey suddenly shifted.
A Chimera Ant resembling a pangolin burst out of the ground a short distance from his feet and attacked him from behind.
But just then, a pair of hands suddenly wrapped around the charging Chimera Ant from the rear.
Then the owner of those hands abruptly tightened his arms!
The Pangolin Chimera Ant let out a mournful cry and writhed violently, but none of it could free it from those hands.
Only when a wet crunch came from the Chimera Ant's body did the person holding it let go, tossing the still-breathing Pangolin Chimera Ant aside.
Gon, who had remained on guard all along, had chosen to act.
Meanwhile, the two Chimera Ants frightened into retreat did not get far either. Killua's figure flashed past, cutting off their escape and plucking out both their hearts in an instant.
"Looks like they really are a bit like humans. Even their hearts are in roughly the same place."
He casually tossed away the two still-beating hearts, his expression utterly unchanged, as though he really had only killed a couple of bugs.
"Let's go." Kite's voice suddenly came from behind them. "We need to get out quickly. I saw a powder magazine below on the map. There should be plenty of bombs down there. If they go off while we're in this cave, we'll be in trouble."
He now held a silver-white case, presumably containing the information he had found in the Archive.
He also held a strange longsword with a clown's head.
Kite had probably said that because he had detected something with his En.
Not daring to delay, they quickened their pace toward the exit.
A few minutes later, they emerged from the base. The four of them had cleared out all the Chimera Ants in the cave, and none were waiting for them outside either.
It seemed the dozens of Chimera Ants that had entered the base were all the forces the Chimera Ant monitoring them had been able to muster.
"A roulette wheel in my mouth, with numbers from one to nine! Different numbers bring out different weapons! That's me, the great Crazy Clown! Pleased to meet you!"
Perhaps because the battle had finally ended, the clown on the longsword, with the number six in its mouth, let out a strange shout.
"Enough. Go away." Kite waved his hand, dismissing the longsword.
"He sure talks a lot." Killua struggled for a moment to find the right words.
"Does the roulette wheel mean you can't choose which weapon appears?" Gon, meanwhile, picked up on the key point.
"That's right." After glancing at Joey, Kite made no attempt to hide anything. "And if I haven't made proper use of the weapon that appears, I can't replace it or make it disappear. It's a real nuisance."
Then why did you create such a troublesome ability in the first place?
They exchanged glances, the same thought crossing all their minds.
"Your three abilities seem more convenient to use than mine." Leading them back the way they had come, Kite began analyzing their abilities. "Gon seems to use Enhancement, Transmutation, and Emission as rock-paper-scissors."
"Yeah. Enhancement is my strongest category," Gon confirmed earnestly.
"Killua uses electricity. Transmutation?"
"That's right, but it isn't very powerful yet, and the electricity runs out after I use it." An arc of electricity flickered across Killua's fingertips.
"There's no need to rush. When the time comes, it'll grow stronger whether you want it to or not." Kite gave him another look. "And finally, Joey. You haven't been tested yet, but your Nen Beast's ability seems to combine Enhancement, Emission, and Transmutation."
Joey scratched his head. "Then which category would I be in? And what's the difference between those categories?"
Kite hesitated, then stopped walking and looked seriously at Joey.
"Are you a murderer?"
"Have you ever used your ability to blow someone up?"
"Do you have a special piece of leather on you? And is it continuously feeding you aura? Have you also felt a special affinity with its soul?"
"Finally, have you ever seen an ugly insect that makes a peculiar cry?"
At the initial question about being a murderer, Joey looked bewildered. He had asked about the six categories, and this response was far beyond anything he had expected.
But when the question about the leather came, Joey's bewilderment turned into stunned silence. By the final mention of the insect, his expression had become one of utter shock.
"It seems you have. Then who are you? Yoshikage Kira? Joey? Or someone else?"
Kite had found the answer he wanted in Joey's expression, so he posed another question.
Before you continue