The Golden Cockroach had no awareness that there was anything wrong with the meat. In terms of food quality, there was nothing inherently problematic about it—except that the alcohol content was far too high. It devoured the pieces Ron had deliberately dropped to the ground at an incredible pace.
The Terror Lord remained unaware, still trying to find a way to approach Ron. But Ron gave it no such opportunity, waiting until more Golden Cockroaches appeared, while some of the earlier ones returned to the Terror Lord's body. Then, without warning, Ron made his move.
"Lightning Nen Bullet!"
More aura, higher voltage—and at the same time, Uchiha Sasuke struck as well. Two bursts of lightning crashed onto the Terror Lord's body.
"This kind of attack is useless against me!" the Terror Lord scoffed. Its defense as a swarm of Golden Cockroaches was absurdly strong; such attacks couldn't inflict real harm. But Ron's intent wasn't to deal lasting damage—only to hold it in place for a moment.
A door opened. Natsu stepped in front of the Terror Lord and threw a punch.
Bang!
The immense force drove the Terror Lord backward, part of its body slipping through the doorway. Only then did it realize something was wrong.
"What?" Its pupils contracted. The next instant, its form shattered apart, scattering into countless Golden Cockroaches. It was trying to escape in this form—but it was already too late.
Ron had already captured part of the swarm, sending them into Sumas's space, where they were confined inside the Library Prison. The rest scattered at high speed, regrouping elsewhere to reassemble into the Terror Lord's form.
Inside the Library Prison, Ron had ordered Erina to prepare large quantities of nutrient-rich food and deliver it to feed the captive Golden Cockroaches, allowing them to regain energy. Once they had enough, they began dividing, their numbers multiplying rapidly.
Ron glanced at his phone's display, then looked toward the Terror Lord outside. The Terror Lord's expression was dark, its gaze locked on Ron with visible displeasure.
"What did you do?"
Ron didn't answer. He waited—waited to see what would happen once the Golden Cockroaches inside the Library Prison multiplied enough.
The Terror Lord felt a growing sense of dread. Then suddenly, an abnormal force fell upon its body.
Bang!
It shattered apart again into countless Golden Cockroaches, scattering aimlessly. This chaos was the direct result of the change inside the Library Prison: once the number of Golden Cockroaches inside exceeded those outside, they would automatically combine into the Terror Lord's form within the prison.
The external body would then disintegrate.
With the swarm now weakened, Ron ordered Sasuke to capture the Golden Cockroaches on the ground. Sasuke caught them one by one, placing each into a door in his other hand that connected straight to the Library Prison.
Once inside, the cockroaches instinctively moved toward the imprisoned Terror Lord, now sealed in an isolated cell with no way to escape. Before long, nearly all the Golden Cockroaches outside had been captured.
Ron stopped, dismissing several of his Nen beasts. Nina and the others had also nearly finished eliminating the infected. The sky began to lighten; they had been fighting for so long that it was already dawn.
Ring ring ring!
A phone rang. Ron glanced at the caller ID—it was Lawrence.
"Senior Lawrence."
"Ron, is it done?" Lawrence's tone carried urgency; on the other battlefields, the Church was faring poorly.
"The Terror Lord is dealt with," Ron replied. "Tomorrow night, I'll take care of the Witch of Sound."
Lawrence's voice brightened. "Good, good."
After hanging up, Ron checked the time. "Let's have breakfast before heading back. Rest well—we'll continue tonight. Our opponent may be even more troublesome, so be prepared."
"Yes, Captain."
The city gradually returned to calm. The battle between the Church and the Spirits had paused until the next night, but the damage lingered—countless civilians dead, large swaths of the city destroyed, cries of grief echoing from the shadows. Yet for most survivors, life seemed unchanged.
After breakfast, Ron and the others returned to the hotel. Ponzu spread her bees around the area to monitor for intruders, ready to alert her immediately before she rested.
Ron entered a private room, opened a door, and stepped into the Library Prison. Most cells were still empty, but dozens were occupied—one of them by the Terror Lord. The moment Ron appeared, the Terror Lord's gaze fixed on him, its eyes full of malice. If looks could kill, Ron would have died a hundred times.
Ron stopped in front of the cell. "To be honest, I'm curious about you. Are you human? Or a sentient cockroach? Where does your consciousness come from?"
He couldn't be sure. As a swarm, it was clearly insect, yet when gathered into human form, it displayed human thought and interest in human society—otherwise it wouldn't bother opposing the Church. But once dispersed, it became nothing but insect.
The Terror Lord gave a cold snort and remained silent.
Ron shook his head. "Don't tell me you still can't accept the truth. Our battle is over. You might have kept some tricks outside—but can you be sure you'll get to use them? And soon, I'll be leaving this city."
At that, the Terror Lord's expression darkened.