Terpsichora.
A martial-type ability born from combat, a blade dance that transcends limits.
Its very existence is meant to kill opponents faster and more ruthlessly in battle.
Now, imbued with Neferpitou's Post-Mortem Will, it bares even sharper fangs.
This has already fused Post-Mortem Nen with combat prowess.
In a sense, it's more troublesome than when she was alive.
Martial-oriented Nen users facing it might hold their own in a fight, but they'd be helpless against the inescapable Post-Mortem Nen.
Exorcism specialists wouldn't just struggle to transfer the Post-Mortem Nen; they'd find it nearly impossible to even touch it, likely getting killed in the initial encounter.
That roughly illustrates the caliber of Neferpitou's Post-Mortem Will.
Yet no matter how troublesome her Post-Mortem Nen was, it couldn't stir up any storms before Morrow.
Morrow reached out and suppressed Neferpitou's corpse, which was attempting to dance wildly. Vast amounts of black aura flowed like water into the Tree Rings imprint.
The red energy bar representing the fifth Tree Ring immediately began to rise continuously, stopping only when it reached 52%.
As the last trace of Post-Mortem Nen was absorbed by the Tree Rings, Neferpitou's corpse, now devoid of driving force, collapsed at the bottom of the pit like a marionette with its strings cut.
Morrow slowly withdrew his hand, glanced at the status of the fifth Tree Ring energy bar on his hand, and confirmed the disappearance of the Death Threshold.
The intensity of the Post-Mortem Nen was similar both times, but this conversion only reached 31%.
Recalling the Post-Mortem Nen from Neferpitou he'd absorbed before the regression, it had converted about 55% of the energy. This comparison clearly highlighted the difference.
It seems that after entering the fifth Tree Ring, the required energy has become increasingly massive. Compared to these Post-Mortem Wills filled with intense emotions, the improvement from ordinary Nen-imbued objects is probably negligible now.
Morrow pondered internally.
As long as it was Post-Mortem Will left by a Nen user, it usually provided considerable energy conversion.
The Royal Guards and the King themselves possessed immense Nen output. More importantly, they possessed humanity, which enabled them to potentially leave behind powerful Nen after death.
From the current gains, indeed only the Royal Guards and the King could provide such astonishing energy conversion.
It's just a pity that such prime prey would likely never be encountered again.
As Morrow was lost in thought, his consciousness was inevitably assaulted by the impact of Neferpitou's Post-Mortem Nen.
Once again, he was passively drawn into the consciousness space.
In his past experiences absorbing Post-Mortem Nen, some only brought mental burdens, some served as special ability materials with attached conditions, and others remained merely as memory fragments.
But Post-Mortem Nen like that of the King and Neferpitou, which could directly pull him into the consciousness space, was still quite rare.
Morrow's spirit sank into that boundless black-and-white consciousness space. His feet lightly touched the dark water's surface, creating ripples that spread outward.
Neferpitou's consciousness avatar emerged from these ripples. The moment she appeared, she made no attempt to conceal her bloodlust and intense aggression.
And she acted on it immediately.
As soon as her form manifested from the black water, she pounced through the air toward Morrow like a provoked feline. A nimble figure sent a towering spray of water across the dark surface, radiating undisguised bloodlust.
Facing this sudden assault, Morrow's expression turned slightly peculiar.
This was his domain, after all.
Yet he hadn't anticipated that Neferpitou's consciousness, which had entered alongside the Post-Mortem Nen, would retain such intense aggression.
To what heights did this undying loyalty to the King truly reach?
Perhaps this was the ultimate manifestation of the Ant Colony's existence.
The next moment.
Neferpitou's mid-air lunge abruptly froze. Ghostly blue flames ignited around her, illuminating a face contorted in struggle.
Her limbs tensed against invisible restraints, trembling faintly like Nen strings.
In this state, she was no different from a wild beast, her will to eliminate threats fully merged with instinct, leaving only pure, reckless aggression.
But in the very next second, she suddenly stilled, a flicker of shock and disbelief in her eyes.
She had seen the King appear unexpectedly, standing behind Morrow in a subordinate posture.
How could this be?
It must be an illusion!
The King, destined to reign over the world, could never appear here, let alone assume such a lowly stance.
What difference was there between this and kneeling on one knee before a human?
The King... could never be like this!
Yet even as she denied it inwardly...
"My King?"
Neferpitou murmured the words as if in a trance.
The King merely glanced at her indifferently, saying nothing.
But that single glance struck Neferpitou like a thunderbolt.
She instantly understood: the King before her was real.
Stunned, her face blank with confusion, the earlier relentless aggression vanished without a trace.
What was happening?
An unsolvable doubt now permeated every corner of Neferpitou's consciousness.
She couldn't comprehend the scene unfolding before her, yet she knew...
The Ant Colony was finished.
Morrow observed Neferpitou's bewildered expression, then casually waved a hand, sinking her into the endless dark waters.
He knew that Neferpitou, like the King, could serve as material for conditional abilities, much like Chrollo's Skill Hunter in the past.
But given Neferpitou's intense aggression, he had lost all interest in such a prospect.
Moreover, he already possessed the Terpsichora ability. As for healing abilities like Doctor Blythe, his Shooting Star · Essence Siphon could serve as a substitute.
Thus, he callously tossed a Poké Ball, summoning the King to deliver specialized psychological damage to Neferpitou.
With that, he easily suppressed her consciousness into the depths.
Without knowing how to purge the dark waters, this was the only option for Morrow.
Such were the inevitable consequences of absorbing powerful Post-Mortem Nen.
Having neutralized the negative effects of Neferpitou's lingering will, Morrow withdrew from the mental space.
Killing Neferpitou only gave me 2 levels. Dealing with Shaiapouf will probably grant another 1 or 2.
Morrow glanced at Neferpitou's corpse, then leaped out of the pit, turning his gaze toward another distant battlefield.
Under the influence of the King's Post-Mortem Will, his level had broken through 100, reaching Lv. 103.
He had undoubtedly stepped into the realm of "I'm not human anymore." Perhaps Don Freecss, who has lived for centuries and is still exploring the Dark Continent, is also walking a path of "transcending humanity."
Morrow observed the situation on Morel's side but did not immediately join them. Instead, he returned to Netero's side.
"Only one Royal Guard remains."
As he spoke, Morrow once again glanced toward the distant battlefield.
Though Morel and the others maintained the upper hand through numerical superiority and coordinated use of their abilities, they struggled to break through Shaiapouf's Beelzebub ability.
Even with Knuckle's Hakoware in their arsenal, it meant nothing if they couldn't strike Shaiapouf's true form.
Nearby, the withered Netero silently gazed at Neferpitou's corpse in the crater, as if the intensely powerful Post-Mortem Will from earlier had never existed.
He realized that Morrow's ability to handle Post-Mortem Will likely had no upper limit; otherwise, this phenomenon would be difficult to explain.
Following this line of thought, and recalling the wispy black aura swirling within Morrow's En when he used his ability, an incredible answer gradually surfaced.
Netero speculated that Morrow's rapid surge in strength might stem from an ability to convert "Post-Mortem Will" into "personal Nen output."
Though it sounded unbelievable, no other reasonable explanation seemed plausible.
The only uncertainty was what price such an ability demanded.
Despite his suspicions, Netero didn't press for answers. Instead, he whispered weakly, "Don't mind me... go deal with that Royal Guard."
"We'll wait for Knov to arrive."
Morrow naturally had no intention of leaving Netero alone here.
Although the Nen bullet that blasted a massive hole through the clouds and destroyed the airship should have made Beyond's forces think twice, the Poor Man's Rose bomb inside Netero's body warranted caution.
Thus, even if Netero himself prioritized the Extermination Team's ultimate victory, Morrow remained unmoved.
Soon, Knov arrived at the scene.
He directly gave Morrow a thumbs-up, his eyes filled with admiration.
Every member of the Extermination Team had prepared for sacrifice during this mission.
In their view, even if the mission succeeded, it would inevitably come with heavy casualties, after all, they were facing utter monsters.
Yet now, not only did the Extermination Team have a chance to complete the mission flawlessly, but they might even achieve it with zero casualties.
And this was largely thanks to Morrow, the key player.
Though Knov appeared calm on the surface, he was inwardly exhilarated.
Unaware of Knov's thoughts, Morrow nodded at him.
Knov promptly opened a portal to Hide and Seek nearby, preparing to swiftly transport Netero to the medical team.
"Morrow, you've done more than enough. Leave the rest to Morel and the others."
But as he helped Netero into the portal, halfway through, he couldn't resist turning back to add,
Through the crystal ball, he had witnessed Morrow's earth-shattering battle with the King firsthand.
Such high-intensity combat would drain one's spirit tremendously, even if Nen reserves remained. In his view, what Morrow should do now was not continue fighting but return with them to Hide and Seek to recuperate.
"The battle over there has reached a stalemate. To prevent any unexpected incidents, I should go. Besides, my current condition is fine, no need to worry."
Morrow's tone was calm.
Seeing his resolve, Knov felt deeply moved.
"Be careful," he said solemnly before descending into the portal with Netero and disappearing.
Morrow watched as the dark portal vanished from the ground, then turned and headed toward the final battle.
How could he possibly return to Hide and Seek to rest?!
Not only had killing the King and Neferpitou nearly restored his potential aura, but even if his condition were average, he would never leave Shaiapouf unchecked.
As a member of the Extermination Team, he was determined to fight to the end, not for the sake of leveling up alone or anything like that.
—--
At this moment.
Under the siege of Morel and the others, Shaiapouf managed to hold his own using his abilities Spiritual Message and Beelzebub.
Beyond that, however, there was little else he could do.
Considering how many experts the human side had deployed against him, he decided to embrace his role as a diversion.
In Shaiapouf's view, as long as he could tie down these human combatants here, once Neferpitou's battle concluded, the situation would reverse entirely.
This opportunistic approach of Shaiapouf's was exactly what Morel and the others hoped for.
By keeping Shaiapouf confined here, they could slowly build their advantage through numerical superiority.
"What a tough opponent," Morel muttered, gripping his large smoke pipe. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes continuously scanned Shaiapouf's numerous clones while remaining vigilant against the scale powder drifting in the air.
His remarkable lung capacity made him somewhat of a natural counter to the powder.
But Knuckle and the others weren't as fortunate. During their breath-holding assaults on Shaiapouf, they frequently had to retreat to catch their breath.
Despite the Extermination Team holding the upper hand in this protracted struggle, they couldn't expand their advantage further.
So far, their achievements amounted to destroying only a portion of Shaiapouf's clones.
By the standards of a war of attrition, this was a decent advantage.
However, while Shaiapouf's potential aura might not be as immense as Neferpitou's or Youpi's, it wasn't far off.
Thus, destroying a few clones alone couldn't sway the overall battle.
Yet, all they could do now was relentlessly reduce the number of Shaiapouf's clones.
Until it made a real impact.
Shaiapouf, of course, knew this was the only way the Extermination Team could threaten him. So, during his evasions, he focused on defense, only occasionally feigning lethal strikes.
This strategy significantly slowed the rate at which his clones were eliminated.
But with his emphasis on defense, he found it difficult to reduce the Extermination Team's numbers.
I'm losing patience...
Shaiapouf's true form, alongside his many clones, continuously dodged attacks from Morel and the others.
Amid this seemingly endless battle, Morrow's aura abruptly and powerfully intervened. His aura shone as brilliantly as the sun, and the moment he entered the scene, he instantly drew the attention of both sides in the battle, eliciting different reactions.
When Morel and the others saw Morrow, their spirits immediately lifted.
They knew what this meant.
But Shaiapouf's heart jolted, and an uncontrollable expression of disbelief spread across his face.
"King!"
Countless clones moved and spoke in perfect sync.
Immediately after, all the clones split further, multiplying into even greater numbers.
"King!!"
The clones frantically flew toward the direction of the palace.
「Starlight Convergence」
At that moment, dazzling starlight filled the surrounding space, enveloping all of Shaiapouf's clones.
A torrent of information instantly flooded into Morrow's consciousness.
But Morrow didn't need to process it excessively now, nor did he have to worry about the negative effects of a system overload.
The body controlled by Terpsichora, relying on subtle differences in the information, precisely singled out the original from the multitude of clones.
And then, it immediately took action.
Whoosh!
Morrow flashed into the air.
With lightning speed, he reached out his right hand and directly seized Shaiapouf's original body hidden among the countless clones.
"What...!?"
The sudden turn of events sent a look of horror across Shaiapouf's already distorted face.
After all, this was his most vulnerable moment.
If he were subdued, it would mean that Morrow could crush him as easily as squashing a bug.
But Morrow didn't act immediately.
The muscles in Shaiapouf's face twitched uncontrollably as he roared, "Why, why are you here!?"
"You already know the answer."
A trace of contempt flickered in Morrow's eyes.
That gaze, as if looking at an insect, caused fine red veins to abruptly appear in Shaiapouf's eyes.
It can't be!
How could the King possibly be defeated!
But to confirm...
Shaiapouf directed his Spiritual Message to drift toward Morrow.
Yet, to his despair...
The Spiritual Message had no effect on this human.