Meleoron openly admitted, "I was thinking that in the next battle against the Ant King, I have to kill him. Only one of us can survive." His honesty helped everyone understand what had triggered his sudden power.
Ging nodded, closely watching the aura radiating from Meleoron. "It's clear, those restrictions and oaths have definitely been set."
Larry, standing beside him, was puzzled. In the original story, Meleoron hadn't reacted so strongly or activated these restrictions and oaths.
Suddenly, Larry realized something: Meleoron's memories from the original timeline were slowly returning. Since the Ant King killed Peggy quite a while ago, there was some time gap. But now, Meleoron had just witnessed Peggy's death firsthand, which triggered his human memories flooding back all at once.
This trauma had pushed Meleoron to the brink of madness. Larry couldn't help but think of Kurapika, who sought revenge against the Phantom Troupe.
Both had taken harsh oaths and set strict restrictions to avenge their loved ones. In fact, Meleoron's restrictions were even more severe than Kurapika's, including a ticking clock on when the target must be killed.
"Meleoron, listen carefully," Larry said. "You accidentally triggered your Restriction and Oath in your mind.
This means that in your next fight against the Ant King, either you kill him, or you die. There's probably a time limit, and you won't be able to drag it out."
"The cost of your immense strength is that your life is now on a countdown," Ging warned, his tone unusually serious as he studied Meleoron closely. "In the end, only one of you and the Ant King will survive."
This rare moment of gravity from Ging helped Meleoron finally grasp the reason behind his sudden transformation.
With a sudden "Bang!", Meleoron clenched his fist tightly, releasing a sonic boom from his hand, enveloped in thick aura. The sound resembled firecrackers going off, but the power behind it was far stronger than before.
He didn't care about the so-called restriction at all; he was willing to risk his life without hesitation. After all, what was the point of living if he couldn't avenge his adoptive father?
In fact, he saw it as a fair trade, exchanging his life for the strength to exact revenge. As his aura surged, wisps of bright red flickered and vanished within the aura.
Ging, concentrating on his breath, carefully observed and spoke slowly, "I see. There's indeed a time limit. Your life is constantly draining away, and that red breath represents your remaining life."
It was clear this wasn't some loophole. The whole system was based on equal exchange, you pay a price, you get a corresponding gain.
If the restriction was simply to kill the Ant King during the crusade or die, then someone could just keep postponing the crusade indefinitely, enjoying the oath's power without fulfilling the restriction. That would break the principle of balance.
So after Meleoron set his restriction and oath, his life started slipping away gradually. If he killed the Ant King before the deadline, he'd be fine.
But if he didn't, or if the Ant King killed him first, the outcome was death. This was an even harsher restriction and oath than Kurapika's.
Meanwhile, Larry silently observed the changes in Meleoron. Judging by the recent burst of energy, Meleoron's strength was now close to that of Morel, Knov, and the others.
Although there was still a noticeable gap, especially since in an actual fight Morel or Knov would likely come out on top, Meleoron's growth was impressive. Now, Larry's mind turned to considering Meleoron's potential.
The current Merleon is more extreme than the original version, having taken a Restriction and Oath that cost him his life. Could his ability also become better?
A spark of light flashed in the golden figure's eyes beside him. This time, he had come for the right reasons.
Not only did he manage to gather some valuable seedlings, but he also secured a mind remover and witnessed the talent of the chimera ants firsthand. Truly, they are worthy of being a species from the Dark Continent! It seems he'll need to learn more about Merleon and the others next, which might even help him venture to the Dark Continent someday.
Meanwhile the doctor that treat the ant queen start shaking his head "We fail," the lead doctor said softly, letting out a sigh as he carefully set aside the scalpel and other medical tools. He announced the death of the ant queen.
Even the top medical experts from all six continents struggled to treat the creatures from the Dark Continent, and the ant queen's injuries were just too severe. The chances of saving her were slim to none.
The other chimera ants didn't seem overly shocked by the news. After all, the ant queen had been down for a long time. Losing so much blood made it only natural that she couldn't survive.
Thanks to Larry awakening their human memories completely, chimera ants like Brovada weren't as grief-stricken as before. Their emotions were much calmer now. Their sadness was mostly instinctual.
As humans, they hoped the ant queen would pass quickly. After all, they were the way they were now because of her influence.
Even Colt, who had been crying in the original story, now just stood silently by the ant queen.
Ass for the ant queen, she showed no visible reaction but seemed relieved. With her final strength, she made a request, if they ever saw the ant king, to tell him his name, "Meru~em."
After making this last wish, she passed away without a trace of life left.
"By the way, didn't you say Kite was here?" Ging asked.
"Who is that?" came the reply.
"Don't keep us hanging," Ging said with a hint of mischief as he stood beside Larry.
"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough," came the reply.
Just then, Colt, standing next to the ant queen, suddenly held his breath and stretched out his hand in disbelief. He was holding something tiny, pulled from the ant queen's body.
Though it looked like a human baby, it was incredibly small, no bigger than Colt's finger. Wrapped in a slimy membrane, the baby babbled and cried loudly, its surprisingly strong voice echoing throughout the room and grabbing everyone's attention.
"Is this a chimera ant, the queen hasn't had time to give birth to yet?" Morel asked in a deep voice.
Of course, anything coming out of the ant queen would naturally be a chimera ant. "That isn't right…"
Knov frowned, clearly skeptical. "First off, the ant queen should be infertile after giving birth to the queen. How could she possibly be giving birth to another chimera ant now?"
He continued, "Secondly, chimera ants aren't born live like this, they hatch from eggs. They reproduce oviparously, not viviparously.
Their eggs have green blood vessels on the surface. So how could this be a live birth?"