I'm Really Not A Nen Exorcist (HxH Fanfic)

'Indeed,'

'Kyoka Suigetsu had reactivated.'

'Although I sensed the presence of the black tendrils upon entering the nest...'

'Nothing compared to seeing them with my own eyes at this moment.'

'The black tendrils were already spreading. Now, all I needed to do was keep Pitou occupied here for about three minutes, and she would become the key to killing the Queen.'

'Is the Queen nearby, or farther away?'

Moses stared at Pitou in silence, pondering in his heart.

Pitou was also staring at Moses, but her eyes were slowly widening, and an extremely cold killing intent emerged from them.

With the Queen under threat, Pitou suppressed her instincts.

At this moment, all she was thinking about was to eliminate any existence that could threaten the safety of the Queen.

Just as her eyes widened to their fullest, Pitou suddenly lunged at Moses.

This time, her attack skipped all the probing stages, and she went straight for the kill.

[Terpsichora]

A demonic figure, half-real and half-illusory, emerged behind Pitou.

The figure was partially tangible, but most of it remained a shadow.

Red-black threads of aura descended from the demon's hands onto Pitou's body.

In an instant, her speed surged dramatically as she charged at Moses.

However-

At this moment, a soft circle of light suddenly rushed toward her and hit Pitou's face directly.

'En…?'

In the split second where the slightest mistake could lead to disaster, Pitou realized that Moses had used En, and couldn't help but feel a flicker of confusion amidst her overwhelming killing intent.

As a monster who is extremely skilled in using En, she knows the disadvantages of En better than anyone else.

That is a technique that requires sacrificing defense.

Therefore, in an intense battle that requires all one's strength, no one would use En.

It was tantamount to suicide.

Pitou couldn't comprehend Moses' actions, but driven by her killing intent, the body controlled by Terpsichora had already stepped onto Moses' line of death.

'Just a little further,'

'This human would die.'

In a consciousness where time is compressed to the extreme, Pitou 'saw' the inevitable future.

However,

the black sword that had left a deep impression on her suddenly slashed toward her at an impossible speed and angle after she crossed the death line.

'His En…'

'It's already been retracted?!'

A hint of surprise flashed across Pitou's eyes, which were filled with cold killing intent.

Clang!

The pitch-black blade that was longer than an arm struck Pitou's nose. A sharp sound of weapons colliding suddenly echoed through the air, and sparks flew out from it.

Through the sparks flashing between her eyes, Pitou caught a glimpse of Moses' expression in the fragmented light.

It was-

A lifeless calm.

There is no excitement from the heat of battle, no adrenaline-induced rush of blood or racing heartbeat, no caution born from the need for absolute precision in combat, and no killing intent to kill the opponent.

Was this lifelessness...?

Or was it a state of equanimity?

The kind of equanimity one has when stepping over a stone on the road without a second thought?

'I... should have gotten stronger, right?'

In the blink of an eye, faster than her movements, faster than the slash, a flood of thoughts erupted, ultimately turning into an unsolvable confusion that forcibly occupied Pitou's mind.

In the next instant,

The pitch-black sword fell to the ground with sparks, and Pitou, who was struck on the nose, was sent flying backward at an even greater speed, crashing through the walls painstakingly built by the Drudges.

Moses calmly watched the hole Pitou had smashed through, and the black sword in his hand silently turned into Aura and retracted into his body.

'It's been over half a month, and she still hasn't perfected the Terpsichora ability?'

As the image of the half-real, half-illusory demon puppet flashed through his mind, a hint of doubt flashed through Moses's heart.

With the talent of a Royal Guard, once an ability is awakened, it should be perfected in both framework and execution within a very short time.

But now, Pitou still hadn't fully perfected her Terpsichora ability.

In fact.

If things had developed along the normal trajectory, Pitou should have completely perfected her Terpsichora by now.

But her energy and time had been consumed by the task of 'mass-producing Nen Users for food', which was why she hadn't yet perfected her Terpsichora.

Everything has two sides.

Even the butterfly effect is no exception.

In the dark depths of the cavern,

Pouf's clone witnessed the scene of Pitou being sent flying by a single slash, and his Chibi-version face instantly showed a look of shock.

'What was that just now...?'

His composed demeanor was shattered by this sight.

It was like a massive boulder dropping into a lake, not creating ripples but splashing waves.

For a moment, Pouf found it hard to believe.

From his perspective-

Whether in terms of Aura intensity or physical ability,

Pitou clearly held an absolute advantage.

But why did the confrontation just now end up in such an incongruous outcome?

What exactly was the trick behind the sudden disappearance of the expanding En?!

'A variable!'

This word inexplicably surfaced in Pouf's mind, despite his belief that he had everything under control.

Meanwhile,

Morel and the others, who had already breached the lower levels of the ant nest, inevitably encountered resistance from the Chimera Ants squads.

'This Aura... it's that Royal Guard!'

Morel held his pipe horizontally in front of him, and a hint of solemnity flashed in his eyes behind his sunglasses.

The moment Pitou activated Terpsichora, the Aura fluctuations she emitted penetrated through layers of earthen walls, reaching Morel and the others in the lower levels.

Without needing to think, Morel and Knov immediately recognized the owner of this Aura.

'Moses has engaged her...'

Morel and Knov didn't exchange glances amidst the chaos, but their thoughts were eerily aligned.

While they were worried about Moses, they also felt they should be relieved.

Because-

If they were the ones facing Pitou, it would undoubtedly be the worst possible situation.

So, they should be grateful that it was Moses who confronted her.

However, without knowing the ant nest's defensive arrangements, they couldn't help but worry about the possibility of Moses being besieged.

"We can't waste too much time here. Having said that..."

Morel glanced at the dense swarm of Chimera Ants around him, his eyes solemn.

…

Pitou forcefully pushed away the rubble covering her, and her vertical pupils shrank to the extreme.

Swoosh!

Her figure darted like lightning through the holes in the walls and returned to the battle circle at top speed.

But before she could steady herself, a sharp blade of light flashed into her vision.

"Now, you should 'look up' to me."

As the phenomenon of time slowing down once again enveloped her senses, Pitou clearly heard Moses' words in that instant.

Although she closed her eyes as quickly as possible to block the blade of light attempting to pierce them,

For some reason-

An untimely emotion surged within her.

'What was this emotion?'

While feeling the heavy force transmitted through her eyelids, Pitou's mind flashed to the expression on Pokkle's face just before his death.

It was-

Fear.

Sparks flew from Pitou's eyelids as she pressed her feet firmly against the ground, yet her body was still forced to retreat rapidly.

She opened her eyes,

only to see herself reflected in Moses' eyes as prey.