Brovada was the first to speak, wondering if Larry was putting too much pressure on him. Before he could ask any more questions, a beautiful figure suddenly appeared on the scene.
A flash of pink light swept through the area, sending out a wave of hypnotic thoughts to all the chimera ants present. Psychic skill, Hypnosis!
"Is it really here to destroy us?!" The chimera ants, including Brovada, widened their eyes, ready to resist, but it was too late.
One by one, they froze in place, their eyes losing all life and sparkle, as if their souls had been drained. The large room fell into an eerie silence, broken only by the ant queen's painful moans.
The whole scene felt strange and unsettling. The chimera ants stood there dazed, heads drooping, as if trapped in some kind of illusion.
But Larry knew better, they were just lost in their own minds, and would regain consciousness once he restored their memories. It would obviously be easier to communicate with chimera ants who had their human memories back.
As for the dying ant queen, Larry's Pokémon had countless ways to heal injuries. As long as there was even a faint pulse, she could be revived.
Just one Happinyy egg could restore half her health, and two would bring her back to full strength. But Larry had no intention of saving her. Unlike other chimera ants whose original bodies had been human, he bore no goodwill toward this queen.
Saving her was out of the question, he was already being merciful by not killing her. If he remembered correctly, the reincarnated Kite was still trapped inside the queen's body.
After a long moment, the chimera ants began to wake up one by one. But after regaining consciousness, they seemed more depressed than before.
Their eyes, once clear, were now clouded with complex emotions. Like Colt earlier, they struggled to accept their new reality.
At first, they only wanted to protect the ant queen, but after their human memories fully resurfaced, their thoughts became unsettled. What should they do now?
They carried human souls but looked like monsters. Could they still live normal lives?
Larry observed the silent chimera ants without surprise; just like Colt, they all needed time to process everything.
Brovada looked down at his pale blue skin, thick hide, and the immense power coursing through his body, speaking in a deep voice. With a pair of long horns crowning his head, how could anyone still see him as human?
In fact, many would probably choose to become chimera ants, especially those at the division commander level. Not only do they retain much of their human memories, but they also gain new talents and abilities they never had before.
Compared to most humans, chimera ants grow stronger at an alarmingly fast rate, almost like cheating. This is crucial in the Hunter x Hunter world, where strength determines one's fate. If word got out, many people might willingly offer themselves to the ant queen just to gain greater power.
However, Brovada and the others present weren't among those willing. The humans who ended up swallowed by the ant queen were mostly residents of the NGL Autonomous Region.
Pokkle was especially unlucky; he was eaten too late, after the queen had already started producing the ant king. So instead of being reborn as a chimera ant, he simply became nourishment for the ant king.
Had he been caught earlier, he might have been reincarnated as a division commander-level chimera ant, a far better fate given his original abilities.
They are residents of the NGL autonomous region and naturally have green ideology, which lives in harmony with nature. Because of this, they have little interest in power and prefer to lead simple, peaceful lives.
Given this, rather than continuing as they are, they would rather return to their original human forms. Unfortunately, time cannot be reversed.
Meanwhile, Meleoron also managed to recall her memories from when she was human. But unlike the others, who wore somber expressions, tears streamed down Meleoron's face. His tears flowed freely, like a kite cut loose from its string, eventually falling onto the red cover of the book she held.
Meleoron held the book tightly in his hand as he slowly walked to the side, finally kneeling down in front of something. There lay the body of Peggy, his head was already blown off, and the rest of his body had been devoured by the hungry Ant King. Only scattered, broken pieces remained, making the scene all the more pitiful.
Meleoron knelt there, wiping tears from his face with trembling hands, his chest heaving with quiet sobs. Memories flooded his mind.
Peggy was his adoptive father. Once a scholar in NGL, Peggy had taken Meleoron in, and they had lived together like a real family.
Though adopted, Peggy was more of a father to him than anyone else ever had been. Those were beautiful days, they ate together, read together, shared moments of peace. But then the Chimera Ants appeared, shattering everything.
Both of them were devoured, leaving only this heartbreaking mess behind. Even now, Meleoron's adoptive father had not survived.
If anyone had looked into Meleoron's eyes at that moment, they would have seen nothing but raw, overwhelming hatred and sorrow.
His hatred for the Ant King had reached its peak. Blood debts, he believed, could only be paid in blood.
Larry watched Meleoron with a strange, unreadable expression. Meleoron's inner turmoil felt oddly familiar, reminding him of someone else, Eren from Attack on Titan.
Both shared a burning desire to eliminate the threat before them: Meleoron wanted to wipe out all the Chimera Ants, just as Eren was determined to drive away the giants.
While Eren's mission was clear and executed thoroughly, Meleoron's was still uncertain. Yet, the intensity of their emotions was unmistakable..
"Meleoron, what's wrong?" Yunju asked, sensing something was off.
Maybe it was because Meleoron had transformed into a bovine Chimera Ant, but there was something unnatural about how he couldn't just turn his head normally.
Yunju had noticed this strange reaction earlier with another human and now again with Meleoron. He couldn't quite explain why.
Even if Meleoron was crying, it would make sense, he had every reason to want to cry, given the pain. But why was he kneeling before Peggy's body?
"Peggy... was my... adoptive father when I was human," Meleoron said slowly, his voice breaking with emotion. Then, without warning, he stood up and turned away.
Everyone present could now clearly see Meleoron's current expression, his face was filled with resentment and anger, a stark contrast to the easygoing, sun-loving Meleoron they once knew.
That old Meleoron was gone. What remained was a man driven by a single purpose: revenge against the Ant King for the tragic death of his adoptive father.
'Wait, so Peggy was Meleoron's adoptive father?' Hearing this, commanders like Bihorn and Brovada widened their eyes in shock.