The moment the crocodile-like Chimera Ant appeared, Joey immediately recognized it.
A division commander–level Chimera Ant.
The instant he saw it, Joey's mind nearly exploded with curses.
Worse—his skeletal Stand had already been deployed in stealth toward it.
If the crocodile managed to perceive the earlier arrow, it would almost certainly detect the skeletal construct as well.
There was no time to retreat safely.
So the moment the explosion erupted, Joey moved.
He rushed forward, aiming to retrieve his Stand before it was exposed.
The skeletal Stand was the first to emerge from the flames—but instead of retreating, it turned back toward the explosion, roaring as if attempting to dive back in.
Clearly, the first blast hadn't killed the crocodile Chimera Ant.
But Joey was faster.
Killer Queen appeared instantly beside him, one hand pressing against the ground while the other pulled the skeletal Stand back into her control.
At that exact moment—
A furious roar erupted from within the flames.
The crocodile Chimera Ant burst out.
Its body was scorched and torn, but its eyes burned with savage vitality.
Dropping to all fours, it locked onto Killer Queen instantly.
Then it lunged.
A violent leap carried it high into the air, jaws snapping wide toward her throat.
But—
A gunshot interrupted its charge.
Joey fired.
At the same moment, the Stand it targeted vanished without a trace.
The bullet struck the Chimera Ant—but instead of piercing through cleanly, it jammed inside its body, failing to fully penetrate.
Far in the distance, Pokkle had regained focus.
He assumed an archery stance.
But this time, he did not fire the usual orange arrow.
Instead—
A slow, black arrow formed.
Before it could even reach its target, the crocodile swung its tail mid-air, shattering the projectile.
Yet the arrow did not simply disappear.
It burst apart into a dense black mist that engulfed the Chimera Ant.
But it was too late.
With a deafening roar, the crocodile had already landed on the exact spot where Killer Queen had been standing.
However—
It realized something.
The real threat wasn't the Stand.
It was the human holding the gun.
Before it could adjust—
Killer Queen reappeared beside Joey.
Her right hand was already poised over a switch.
Bing.
A sharp activation sound.
Then—
Boom.
An invisible explosion detonated from within the Chimera Ant's body.
Cracks spread instantly across its flesh as internal flames erupted outward.
A silent blast threatened to tear it apart from the inside.
But Joey saw it clearly.
At the moment of detonation, a massive surge of Nen surged within the Chimera Ant's body.
It instinctively reinforced itself, suppressing the destructive force from within.
"It won't die…!"
In that instant, everything clicked for Joey.
Why the bee Chimera Ant had survived.
Why this one—despite being severely damaged—still remained alive.
"They're adapting…"
"Run!"
Without hesitation, Joey shouted at Pokkle, who was preparing another shot.
Then he turned and sprinted into the forest.
Before disappearing, he brushed his hand against a nearby tree.
The gesture was subtle—but deliberate.
The moment he vanished into the trees, gunfire suddenly erupted behind him.
Joey reacted instantly, diving forward and rolling across the ground.
A burning pain tore through his shoulder.
So it wasn't Ponzu.
Only one explanation remained.
The Chimera Ants had picked up the fallen rifle.
With a forceful push, Joey threw himself behind a massive tree.
Bullets slammed into the trunk behind him.
Killer Queen immediately reacted.
A thumb pressed down.
The tree Joey had touched—
Exploded.
The blast shattered the cover, sending fragments and black smoke into the air.
Perfect concealment.
Without hesitation, Joey broke away from the battlefield, sprinting deeper into the forest while brushing past a leaf on the way out.
Behind him—
Killer Queen: Bites the Dust.
Another silent detonation rippled through the area.
The distant crocodile Chimera Ant let out a roar filled with hatred.
Several lower Chimera Ants, shaken by its aura, began chasing Joey's escape route.
Meanwhile, the heavily wounded crocodile turned its gaze toward Pokkle, who was covering Ponzu.
But something changed.
Its body stiffened.
A cold sensation spread from its wounds throughout its entire system.
Its vision blurred.
It couldn't see clearly—but it heard something.
A scream.
Then—
Pain.
A blazing red arrow pierced through its left eye.
A charred hole burned into its skull.
The Chimera Ant froze.
Its remaining eye trembled.
Confusion.
Hatred.
Confusion again.
Then pure, overwhelming rage.
If it could, it would devour every human in sight.
That was its final thought before darkness swallowed it completely.
---
Pokkle gasped heavily.
The red bow was a transformation of air into fire, increasing destructive power.
The black bow, however, transformed air into poison—Pokkle's most refined attribute.
Not a lethal poison, but one that disrupted the five senses.
A mist that fragmented upon impact.
Once it touched a wound, it spread rapidly inside the body before erupting.
The crocodile hadn't been pierced directly—but it was already heavily injured from earlier attacks.
The poison seeped in through its wounds.
At the exact moment it took effect—
Pokkle's red arrow followed.
A precise finishing shot.
Through the eye.
A fatal strike.
It was a technique created after observing that Joey's bullets alone could not penetrate the Chimera Ant's body.
Normally, Pokkle would have used the faster orange arrow—but this was not a normal situation.
This was a calculated kill sequence.
Every variable had been exploited in an instant.
A flawless execution of his maximum combat potential.
The result—
Success.
The surrounding Chimera Ants were either dead or scattered.
Only the rifle-wielding one remained.
Ponzu would handle it.
At least, that was what Pokkle believed.
Then—
A chill ran down his spine.
His eyes widened.
Black Nen was rising from the supposedly dead Chimera Ant.
Its shattered body slowly began to rise.
Not healing.
Not recovering.
Something worse.
A will.
A curse.
A resurgence driven by hatred itself.
"Damn it—RUN!!"
Pokkle grabbed Ponzu and immediately retreated as she screamed in panic.
Behind them, the rifle-wielding Chimera Ant collapsed at the same moment.
Its body ruptured into pustules and dead bees scattered around it.
Its finger remained locked on the trigger.
As it fell, the rifle clicked repeatedly.
As if—
It were saying farewell.
And welcoming something new.
The birth of something worse than before.
The reborn crocodile.
___________________________
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