At this moment, inside the palace, Knov and Shoot were fighting Youpi.
There was also Gon and Killua.
Morel was single-handedly engaging Pouf.
Due to the death of the cat-woman, the extermination team's plan had also changed. Gon was no longer searching for Neferpitou and Kite's remains but was focused on dealing with the ants.
Without the help of the Chameleon division chief Meleoron from the original work, it was extremely difficult for Knov and Shoot alone to hold off a Royal Guard member.
The Chairman took the Ant King away… and the remaining people were to eliminate all ants as much as possible.
From within the ghost fog, Oboro instantly understood the Association's combat plan through his perception and observation of every living being.
When the pitch-black ghosts obscured everything, the sudden change shocked everyone.
Including the ants.
"It's dark?"
Morel, who was engaged in a battle of wits with Pouf, held his large pipe and was shaken.
He initially thought it was some ability released by the ant in front of him… but he quickly dismissed the idea.
Because the moment darkness descended, he saw surprise on Pouf's face as well.
"It's Nen..."
Morel felt around in the darkness and immediately activated the Nen technique En to expand his sensory range.
In this darkness, sight was useless… he could only rely on the Nen user's second eye, which was En.
However, this black fog was particularly strange; it actually compressed his En.
He could only maintain it within a radius of about three to four meters.
"Hiss… Who is it? Other ants? No, if other ants were involved, the one in front of me wouldn't miss such an opportunity; they would have attacked me preemptively, seizing the moment!"
Morel thought, and he moved, swinging his pipe to attack first.
He struck heavily at the position where Pouf had just been standing.
Since it wasn't an ant's doing… regardless of who the culprit was, he wouldn't consider it for now.
He would eliminate the enemy first.
As he swung his weapon, judging by the feel, he didn't hit anything solid.
It was dodged?
Morel paused, immediately becoming fully alert to all directions.
He and the enemy should have lost their sight now, and they were unclear about each other's positions.
This meant… he was in greater danger.
Because the effect of En was greatly weakened, Pouf, relying on the ants' flesh and blood for sensory perception, had a higher acuity than him.
Perhaps even the slightest movement, smell, or temperature could be detected by him.
"Something's coming!"
Suddenly, Morel was startled, sensing an object entering his En range.
However, the speed of the approaching person was too fast… the moment he sensed it, a palm landed on his shoulder.
And the hand holding his weapon hadn't even been raised.
"Don't be nervous, it's me."
A gentle voice sounded in his ear.
"Oboro?"
Morel exclaimed in surprise.
He certainly remembered this voice.
Although he hadn't interacted much with Oboro over the years and had only met him a few times, it was he who had accompanied Bisky to rescue Oboro from East Gorteau last time.
Morel regained his composure, and before he could ask further questions, he found Oboro, who was beside him, had disappeared.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Pouf flapped his wings, trying to quickly break out of the black fog.
He realized that besides the man with the large pipe, the opponent had backup… and was even more dangerous.
Within this sea of fog, his senses were severely restricted, making combat unfavorable. He had to escape.
He was very clever and didn't fly far away, but instead shot upwards, intending to use altitude to break free from this ability.
Compared to the width of the black fog's coverage, the altitude was clearly shorter, making it easier to break out in a short period.
As the black fog billowed towards him, he observed that this 'ink cloud' had spread across the entire royal palace, its range astonishing.
But its height was considerably lower.
Just as a blurry light appeared in the darkness above, and his vision slightly recovered.
In the next second, a hideous and terrifying face 'flashed' in front of Pouf without warning, roaring at him face-to-face, filled with ferocity.
It was a vengeful spirit!
Then, as if to tear him apart, it lunged at him.
Pouf's figure moved nimbly in the air, dodging the attack while simultaneously slashing with his blade at the spirit's body.
To his disbelief, this thing, which looked solid, was actually illusory, and his arm passed directly through the soul.
It caused no substantial damage whatsoever.
Not only that, but even with Nen power fluctuating on his body for protection, the moment his arm came into contact with the ghost, the ghost seemed to transform from transparent to solid, causing a clump of sticky black gas… a black energy… to adhere to his arm.
Pouf felt it was very evil and very dirty… It was a kind of negative energy.
"What is this?"
The ant was shocked.
This situation was beyond his comprehension.
Before he could observe further, his mind began to ache slightly, and his spirit became somewhat scattered.
He steadied himself and looked closely. The black energy on his hand… had already penetrated his body.
This made the butterfly-man's pupils contract, his face paling.
His Nen… couldn't even defend against it?
Suddenly… Pouf thought of something.
When he was in the ant nest, he had communicated with the division chiefs and other ants… about the human who killed Neferpitou.
However, from the division chiefs' accounts, especially Colt's description, that human's abilities… seemed vastly different from the current situation.
But the soul aspect was the same.
"It's him!"
"He's here too!"
Pouf suddenly realized.
Then, he concentrated his will, forcing his brain to overcome the 'negative interference' and regain clarity.
His body felt a chilling sensation, his limbs turning cold.
"This feeling… is what Colt mentioned… the soul being eroded..."
Pouf thought to himself. He hadn't been invaded by the ghost, just contaminated by some 'filth'!
He knew he absolutely couldn't fall victim to this, nor could he come into contact with these ghosts.
He had to escape from the black fog first!
Subsequently, he flapped his magnificent and enormous butterfly wings, preparing to shake off the vengeful spirit that was once again lunging at him.
But suddenly, with a crack, Pouf found that not only could he not fly, but he had also lost his buoyancy and was falling downwards uncontrollably…
His two wings had been brutally sliced off.
"Because it's hard to discern direction in the black fog, I flew in a straight line, at an altitude of at least two hundred meters. For a human… how is that possible? Moreover, I didn't feel anyone approaching at all… It felt like the attack landed on me out of nowhere…"
Pouf was bewildered.
Then, as his body descended, the air around him became sharp, as if being sliced by an extreme force, instantly shredding the ant's flesh into blood and minced meat.
However, Pouf reacted quickly. The moment his flesh was damaged, he began to split.
Dispersing into countless 'fluorescent particles.'
Oboro landed on the ground.
Although his attack range currently didn't reach two hundred meters.
But combined with his own leap height, it was enough to kill this ant.
Pouf's flesh had split into extremely tiny pieces, making him difficult to track. Similarly, his flight speed would decrease, and his physical functions would sharply decline, making escape impossible.
Moreover, if it came down to numbers.
The number of souls nurtured within this ghost fog was even greater…
"I'll leave it to you guys..." Oboro said, hands in his pockets, and turned towards the palace.
"Roar!"
The black fog churned, and after he left, dense vengeful spirits swarmed upwards, rushing out in all directions.
____________________
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