Chapter 14: End of Optimism
Eli made it to Komugi's room just in time. He burst into the room. "Who's there!?" Komugi asked in surprise. Shroud was becoming irritated. There was an attack coming, and he knew it. Eli rushed over to Komugi and said, "Get down!" Eli then got Komugi to the ground and shielded her with his own body. After that, several strange projectiles that looked like small, glowing dragons broke through the ceiling. They rained down from above, breaking anything and anyone who was unlucky enough to get hit by one. A few broke through the ceiling to Komugi's room. They nearly hit Eli and the woman, but Shroud knocked them away with his tendrils. He frantically swatted the air, effectively making a protective barrier, defending both Eli and Komugi. After a few minutes of chaos, the volley stopped. Eli got off of Komugi and took a look at her to make sure she didn't get hurt. "Komugi! Are you okay!?" He asked. She was fine, other than a few scrapes here and there. "I'm fine, thank you. What's happening?" Komugi asked. "The palace is under attack." "Under attack!? Is the Supreme Leader okay?" "Supreme Leader? You mean the King? I don't know if he's okay. I came straight to here to keep you safe." "That's very kind of you." "Think nothing of it."
Just then, the King came rushing into the room. "Komugi!" He shouted. He ran over to Komugi and Eli, and kneeled down next to them. "Komugi, are you alright?" He asked. "I'm fine, thanks to Eli." Komugi said. "Good. Thank you, Eli. You have my gratitude." The King said with a sigh of relief. It seemed that the King had become attached to Komugi, just as Pitou had become attached to Eli. "It was no problem. Where's Pitou? And the others?" Eli asked. "Pitou has been blown away." "What!?" Eli shouted in fear. "They're alive. They were knocked away from the palace." "Okay… what about the others?" "I'm not sure. I came straight to here. I just happened to see Pitou on my way." "Okay… okay, uh… I'll go out and help if I can." Eli said. "You'll help? Eli, Shroud is too unpredictable, he may do more harm than good." "I have to try!" "Please remain here, Eli. Shroud is more dependable if you remain here to defend Komugi." "But the others—" "Please, Eli. It would set my mind at ease knowing that Komugi was safe with you." This gave Eli pause for a moment, but he hesitantly nodded.
Just then, two elder men, humans, walked into the room. They silently looked on at the three. Eli looked at them, both angry and afraid of their actions and their power. Eli could tell that they were strong, maybe as strong as the King. Eli, on instinct, moved in front of Komugi to shield her. "So, you are the ones spear-heading this invasion?" The King asked. "Bold of you to talk about invasions like that. It's to my understanding that you attacked this poor country and killed off its ruler, claiming yourself to be the new ruler." Said one of the two elders. The one speaking was wearing some kind of t-shirt and shorts. Not attire you'd expect in a battle. The other sported long robes. "What do you want?" The King asked. "We both know how this must end. I suggest we go somewhere else, that way nobody else is in harm's way." The man with the t-shirt said. "Very well. I will go with you, as long as you can ensure Komugi's safety. Your forces are not to hurt her." The King demanded. "Very well." The elder said.
Right then, Pitou showed up at the upper window of the room. She jumped down and looked at the scene. "Eli! Your Highness!" They said. "We're fine, Pitou." The King said. They looked at the two men, and they didn't like the way things looked. "What's going on?" Pitou asked. "We were just leaving." The King said as he walked toward the two men. "What!? Your Highness, I don't think—" "It's not for you to decide, Pitou. While I'm gone, I need you and Eli to protect Komugi." The King said. Pitou hesitantly said, "Yes, your Highness." They bowed as he left. "This is so stupid." Eli said. "I know… but the King's orders are final." Pitou said. "I know that, but… I just don't like this situation." "Neither do I. Still, we have to remain here to defend Komugi. Are you hurt?" "No, I'm fine. Shroud knocked away all of the projectiles." Eli said. "That's good. Are you okay, Komugi?" Pitou asked. "I'm okay." Komugi said. "Good… we should get her somewhere—" Pitou suddenly cut themselves off with a gasp. Two more of the Hunters walked in. To Eli's dismay, one of them was Gon, the one person he was hoping to keep away from Pitou.
Eli could see the rage in his eyes; the pure hatred. He wanted Pitou dead, and he would stop at nothing to achieve that goal. "Stay back!" Pitou ordered. They quickly got in front of Komugi and Eli to defend them. "Pitou…" Gon said. The three could feel the pure hatred coming off of him. "Don't come any closer." Pitou said in a frightened voice. Gon didn't listen. He kept moving closer. Eli stepped in. He stood in front of Pitou and Komugi, much to the surprise of Gon and Killua.
Eli held up his arms and said, "You won't hurt them. I won't let you." Gon couldn't believe what was happening. He hated Pitou, more than anything. He looked for every reason to hate them, but Eli stepping up to defend them shook Gon. "No… no! That's not fair! It's not fair!" Gon said as he began punching the ground in frustration, leaving several cracks in the stone. "Life is rarely fair, my friend." Eli said. Killua watched on, not sure what to make of this himself. "Why? Why do you want Pitou dead so badly? If this was about the people they killed in the past, that's one thing, but this is personal. So, tell me, what made you so angry?" "It hurt my friend! I need them to fix Kite!" Gon shouted. "Pitou… can this, Kite, be fixed?" Eli asked. "I… no… he's already dead." Pitou said. Gon's eyes went wide. "No, I don't believe that! You're lying!" Gon shouted.
He glared at Eli with fury in his eyes. "Don't do this." Eli said. "Pitou killed Kite!" Gon said. "That's right. Lord Pitou killed your friend." Pitou looked on in surprise. "But Lord Pitou is gone. In their place is Lady Nef." Killua looked on, still uncertain of this whole situation. "No! I'll kill them! I'll kill Pitou!" Gon said. "You'll have to go through me." Eli said. Gon looked over to Pitou and Komugi. He saw how Pitou was protecting the young woman. "If you don't get out of my way, I'll kill all three of you." "Pitou…" Eli said. Pitou tore their eyes away from Gon and looked at Eli. "Get Komugi out of here." Eli said. "But, Eli—" "Get her to safety!" Gon went for Pitou, but Eli quickly caught him and tried to hold him back. For a young boy, his strength was immense, far beyond Eli's. Eli stopped him for a brief moment, but it was enough for Pitou to leap up to the window with Komugi and escape.
Gon punched Eli in the face, busting his lip open. Shroud reacted immediately, swatting at Gon and knocking him out of the room. "Gon!" Killua called as he rushed over to Gon. Eli slowly stood up and felt his jaw, making sure it wasn't broken. "That was a good punch." Eli said as he readjusted himself. He shook his head to focus again before walking out of the room. Gon and Killua were already gone. Eli looked around and saw them chasing after Pitou in the distance. "That's not good." Eli said. Just before he could do anything, there was suddenly an explosion that came from the palace. It rattled Eli's bones and caused the whole area to quake. "That's even worse!" Eli shouted. He couldn't help at the palace, there were too many to deal with and too little time. He was getting ready to jump over the edge of the palace to the ground to go after Gon and Killua, but something else caught his eye.
In the opposite direction, he saw Cheetu approaching one of the elders that had attacked the palace, the robed one. "What the hell is he doing!?" Eli said to himself. It looked like Cheetu was looking for a fight, but there was no way he was going to survive a battle with that man, and Eli knew that. He made a decision. He jumped off of the wall, Shroud catching him by piercing his tendrils into the stone. Eli got his footing then began running toward Cheetu. Once he was getting close, Eli spotted another hazard. There was something coming from the sky, like a comet, and it was heading right for Cheetu. Eli managed to get to him just in time. He ran at Cheetu at full speed then tackled him, just barely getting him out of the way of the second attacker. The second assailant collided with the ground, creating a force that knocked both Cheetu and Eli away.
They were sent tumbling away, falling over one another. Once they finally stopped, Eli stood up and looked to Cheetu. "What the hell are you doing!?" He shouted. "I was looking for a good fight." Cheetu said. Eli punched Cheetu on instinct. "What in the actual hell is wrong with you!? You see the devastation that guy caused, you've seen how much of the palace he's destroyed with his attack! You honestly think, YOU HONESTLY THINK you stand a chance against him!?" Cheetu just looked on in shock. He was covering his nose, a steady stream of violet blood seeping out. "Your brothers are still in the palace fighting for their lives! And you are out here just for a challenge!? Some fun!?" Eli screamed. Cheetu began to feel ashamed of himself.
Eli was about to lecture him more, but something caught the corner of his eye. The watch tower where Eli's room was had caught fire. Eli remembered the lantern he left in his room. The first attack must have knocked it over. "No… no! No!" Eli shouted. "What's wrong?" Cheetu asked. "My room is on fire!" "We have bigger problems." Eli turned to the two assailants. The second one was a large man, towering above the small boy. His skin was pale, his hair was nearly white, and his eyes looked… inhuman. "Who are you?" Eli asked. "You haven't heard of the Zoldyk family of assassins?" The elder asked. "I've hardly heard of anything from this world. I come from a village in the middle of nowhere." Eli said. "This is the boy that's piqued Netero's interest?" The younger man asked. "Yes. That creature on his shoulder is a very curious thing." The elder said. Shroud felt that these two were a possible threat and became agitated. "Should we test it, and see just what's so special about it?" The younger man asked. "The boy looks like he's ready to attack us anyway." The elder said.
The two channeled their nen, creating an ominous presence. "Don't worry Eli, I've got your back!" Cheetu said confidently. "No, I need you to go to my room and recover something." Eli said. "What? No way! I'm staying here to help you!" "No. I need you to get my journal. There's something in it that is incredibly important!" "What is it?" "Hopefully you won't need to know, but… Cheetu, if I don't make it—" "No, don't say stuff like that." "Cheetu, this is important!" Eli shouted. Cheetu went quiet and listened. "Cheetu, if I… if I die, then make sure my journal gets to Pitou. She ran into the forest to protect Komugi, but two of the Hunters are after them. When you get my journal, get to her, don't come back to help me!"
"I… I understand, but… you'd better not die, okay? Who else is going to introduce me to everyone on your island?" Cheetu asked with a smile. "I'm sorry, Cheetu… I wish I could make that promise, but I can't." Cheetu went quiet, but he understood. He rushed back toward the palace, and was out of sight in the blink of an eye. Eli turned back to the two assassins. "Now… we were about to fight, right?" Eli said. He turned his right side to them, using Shroud as a kind of shield. Shroud extended his tendrils in preparation of the attack.
Cheetu had gotten through half of the palace in no time. There was a massive cloud of smoke towards the center of the palace, which had been devastated in the blast earlier. It looked like a massive explosion had gotten frozen in time. "That guy…" Cheetu said. He was referring to one of the Hunters, Morel. Morel was a manipulator type nen user. He carried around a large smoking pipe, almost as big as his own body. He used this pipe to create smoke, which he then manipulated to create things such as soldiers, scouts, clones, and in this case, massive obstacles, such as the large dome of smoke that now covered most of the area where the center of the palace used to be.
Morel's smoke didn't behave like normal smoke. It was nearly impossible to escape it, as it was more solid and rigid, like stone. Cheetu ran over to the dome to see what was happening. Just outside of the dome was Pouf. "Cheetu?" Pouf said. "Oh, Pouf. What are you doing?" Cheetu asked. "I'm currently in a battle with the smoke user." "Is that what you call standing outside of a dome of smoke?" "These are just my clones you're speaking to. My main body is inside the dome, hiding. I'm keeping the Hunter distracted so Youpi stands a better chance against the others. What are you up to?" "Eli asked me to grab something from his room. He said it was really important." "Then what are you doing talking to me? Go and get it. If Eli says it's important, then it must be. He's a smart boy." "You realize you just complimented a human, right?" "Just go! The room is on fire!" "Right!" Cheetu said, and he quickly rushed to Eli's room.
He made his way inside, the heat nearly sending him back down. Cheetu endured and moved through the flames, grabbing a nearby rag to breathe through. He spotted the journal on the desk. The flames had reached it, and some of the pages were being burned. Cheetu quickly grabbed it before the whole thing could catch on fire. He put out the embers and inspected the journal. A good amount of it had been burned, but it was mostly okay. Cheetu held the journal tight and started running back toward the outskirts.
Before he left, he noticed that the smoke cloud had disappeared. He rushed back over to see if Pouf had gotten away unharmed. "Hey, Pouf! I got the thing Eli wanted me to get!" Cheetu called, but he got no response. "Pouf? Did you… did you get the smoke guy?" He asked. He was beginning to get worried. "Hey, Pouf? Where are—" He stopped when he felt his foot touch something wet. His hair stood up on edge as he looked down. There, on the cold stone floor, was Pouf's main body. It had been crushed, nearly unrecognizable. "Oh, God…" Cheetu said in a startled whisper. "He… he's dead?" He looked around, believing that maybe this was just one of his drones that the smoke user happened to kill. "Pouf, come on, man. That's not funny! Just… just come out, okay!?" Cheetu shouted, but again, he got no answer. Cheetu became terrified. "No… no…"
He took off once more towards the forest. On his way out, he stopped again when he saw Youpi battling all of the remaining Hunters. He was getting overwhelmed. The smoke user was there, using his smoke to blind Youpi while also making identical clones of another one of the Hunters; the same one that placed some sort of curse on Cheetu. The curse had now been placed on Youpi. It was a small flying creature that would begin following you if you got hit by him. There was a meter on its fore-head that would continue to count up, and each time the numbers increased, the creature would increase in size. The numbers would increase quicker if you used nen or get hit by the user.
The creature had already grown immense, and Cheetu had no idea what would happen if it got big enough. Cheetu looked down at the journal in his hands and remembered what Eli had asked him, but then he looked at Youpi and thought about the trouble he was in. Before Cheetu could make a decision on who to go after first, the nen curse's true ability activated. It turned into some kind of demonic cat. It latched onto Youpi, and all of his power seemed to suddenly leave him. Cheetu saw his state of weakness and rushed toward him in an attempt to help. By the time Cheetu got close, they had already finished Youpi, his body lying lifeless on the ground. Another Hunter appeared, the portal maker, and used his powers to separate Youpi's head from his body. "No…" Cheetu mumbled. The Hunters turned and saw Cheetu. Cheetu knew he had no hope of beating them, so he ran as fast as he could. He had to focus on Eli and Pitou now. They were the only ones he had any hope of saving.
As Cheetu charged out of the palace toward the forest, Eli's fight with the assassins was reaching a breaking point. The fight had been brutal and had been going on for some time. Even the assassins were beginning to tire. Shroud showed no signs of stopping, but the assassins' onslaught was wearing down on Eli. "Come on… is that all you've got?" Eli said in an attempt to seem intimidating. The younger one quickly rushed behind Eli and sent out a blast of nen. Eli hadn't even processed what happened by the time Shroud reacted. Shroud created a shield using his tendrils, taking the full force of the attack. When the attack was through, Shroud swatted at the assassin, just barely missing.
It was then that the elder assassin realized something. "Stop, don't attack anymore." He said to the younger one. "Why?" He asked. They both stood still, not doing a thing. "Hey! We're not done here!" Eli shouted, trying to antagonize them. It was too late, as the two assassins had realized what Eli was doing. He was keeping them fighting so Shroud would fight back, distracting them and making sure they couldn't hurt anyone else. Shroud, seeing that the two assassins were no longer fighting, retracted his tendrils. "You see? That thing is feeding off of the boy. It's protecting him like a wolf protects a fresh kill. As long as we don't threaten the boy, it won't attack us, and the boy himself isn't even strong enough to leave a bruise." The elder said. "Now, hold on! We're not done here!" Eli screamed. "Actually, we are. There's no need to fight us anymore. We're leaving. Our job here is done. You should focus on going and helping Pitou." The elder said as the two of them wandered off.
Eli watched them for a long moment, but the thought of Pitou being in danger brought him back to reality. "Alright… I need to start running if I want to catch those two Hunters." He started running, but he was only able to take a few steps before Shroud suddenly tripped him. He then wrapped his tendrils around Eli's legs, making sure he couldn't stand back up. "Shroud!? What the hell are you doing!?" Shroud saw Gon as a threat, a real threat that could manage to kill both Shroud and Eli. He wasn't of a stable mind, and he would be ready to do anything to get to Pitou. Killing Eli would give Gon no grief. Shroud didn't want to let go of his greatest source of food.
"Let me go!" Eli screamed. Shroud wouldn't listen. He simply bound Eli, making sure he couldn't move. "Shroud! She's in danger!" Eli pleaded. Shroud wanted Pitou to die. They were giving Eli hope, a poison that Shroud couldn't let Eli have. Eli was thinking of a way out, as his physical strength was too little to fight against Shroud. It was then that Eli realized the one thing he'd never tried in all of his attempts to kill him: giving him what he wanted. "Fine then… you want my nen?" Eli then channeled his nen, building it up as strong as he could. He then forced it all into Shroud. "Choke on it, you gluttonous bastard!" Shroud began to swell up, he couldn't compensate for the sudden intake of nen. He swelled and grew like a balloon filling with air. Shroud let out a few terrified shrieks, his way of begging for his life. Eli wouldn't listen, just as Shroud refused to listen to him. Eli didn't cease his attack, and Shroud reached his end. He exploded, releasing a bright, blinding light.
The light and the nen grew into a massive bubble of pure energy. The energy released from them grabbed everyone's attention. Soon after, the massive bubble collapsed and formed a pillar of light that reached high into the sky, like a beacon. It was so powerful that even Shinjo, all the way at the coast, could see it. Everyone turned and saw the light and focused on it solely. The Hunters all stared at the light. "He got the parasite off." Morel said. Cheetu stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the beam of light. "That's his nen?" Cheetu asked. Pitou was deep in the forest and looked on at the column of light in the sky. "Eli…" They whispered. After a minute, the column disappeared. Eli was on his hands and knees, exhausted from the sudden expulsion of his nen. He got back up and looked at his hands. He could feel the new power flowing through his body.
He felt, for the first time in his life, like he was in control. "So, this is what it feels like?" He asked with a shaky breath. "But… I'm not as strong as I should be." The severance from Shroud had weakened Eli greatly. It was unavoidable. It would take days, potentially, for Eli to get his strength back. If he had to guess, he'd say he was no stronger than Cheetu. So, he would need to be cunning if he hoped to defeat Gon and Killua. "Okay… how do I summon my ability?" Eli asked. Right then, a floating roulette wheel appeared. It was divided into six equal sections. Each section was a different color: Blue, red, green, yellow, white and black. "Oh, it's that easy?" Eli said to himself. He reached up and spun the wheel. "Okay… give me something good. Give me something I can control." Eli said with crossed fingers. The wheel spun around, making a wooden clicking noise as it hit the spokes dividing the sections of the wheel.
After a moment, the wheel came to a stop on the green section. "Yes! Perfect! Let's see if this works…" The wheel began to glow with a growing green light until the entire structure looked like it was the same color. A strong gust of wind began blowing, and the wheel took on a more abstract shape, covering Eli with the light. Eli's appearance changed once the light faded. His clothes were different, a bit tighter, but they were meant more for combat. Even his hair changed, as it now was dark green in color. "This'll do." Eli said with a smile. He turned toward the forest and got in a runner's stance. He took off at a speed equal to Cheetu's.
He reached the forest in no time at all. He searched the forest to find any signs of the others. He was having issues finding them. "Come on… where are you?" He mumbled. He then remembered the nen technique: en. He was untrained with his nen, but he remembered how Pitou described en. "Okay… I just send out my nen." He tried to send out his nen in a steady field around himself. It was only able to reach one meter away from himself. "That doesn't help." It also didn't help that this form wasn't meant for scouting. He tried to think of a way around his gap in training.
He then got an idea. He built up his nen and released it in a quick burst. It was able to reach much further. The wave of nen, acting like a sonar, collided with something after a few seconds, and a repulse came back and collided with Eli. "There they are." Eli took off in the direction of the repulse. Eli came to a clearing where the two boys were fighting with Cheetu. Pitou and Komugi were nowhere to be found, so Cheetu must have intercepted the boys before they found them. Cheetu was focused on Gon, hitting him several times, trying to subdue him. He didn't notice Killua coming up behind him. Killua was covered in electricity, and it appeared that in this state he could move at an exceptionally increased speed. Eli sped towards Killua and tried to strike him, but he saw him coming. Killua quickly moved away from Eli and stood next to Gon. Cheetu and Eli stood together.
Cheetu was taken back by this new form Eli had. "Eli? Is that you?" He asked. "Yeah, it's me." Eli said. "Is this your ability?" "Part of it." "What?" "There's no time for that. Do you know where Pitou and Komugi are?" "No. I found these two before I found them." "Go, find them. Keep them safe." Eli ordered. "What!? You just got your powers! I can't leave you to fight these guys alone!" "Go, Cheetu. I'll be fine." Eli said, though he wasn't sure of that. "But—" "Go!" Eli didn't have much time in his form, it was one of the rules he set for himself. Cheetu took a step away, but turned one final time to look at Eli. "Cheetu, go!" Cheetu left, and was out of sight before a second passed. Eli turned to the two boys. Killua saw Eli as a threat, a potential source of harm, but Gon looked at Eli differently. He saw Eli as an obstacle, one to be destroyed.
Eli looked to the two boys. He had no intentions of killing them, but he also couldn't allow them to find Pitou. "So… this nen stuff is pretty overwhelming." Eli said. The two boys just stared on in silence. "Not ones for conversation, huh? I suppose it makes sense… seeing as to how you both want to kill me." "You don't have to die, Eli. Just stay out of our way." Killua said. "See… you're giving me a chance because I'm human. That's how this is working, right? You'll spare a human, but… a Chimera Ant that's just trying to protect an innocent woman, well… you'll kill without remorse then, wouldn't you?"
Gon lost his patience and he rushed toward Eli and tried to hit him. Eli simply jumped over him and pushed him down with a great deal of force, causing Gon's head to smash into the ground. Eli landed on his feet and faced Killua. "I don't want to hurt you, but I simply can't let you get to Pitou. I care about her far too much." He said. "Fine… don't say I didn't warn you." Killua said. He began walking around Eli, but something strange happened. It looked like he suddenly duplicated, as a second image of him appeared and began walking. Soon, several images of Killua were walking circles around Eli.
"Interesting attack… I'm guessing only one of them is real?" Eli said. Killua didn't say anything. "Hm… you're not talking? This technique must take some concentration then." He looked around at them. All of the images were identical, so he wasn't going to be able to guess which one was real, but Eli had an attack for a situation like this. "Tell me, Killua. What do you do if your opponent has an attack that affects a wide area?" Eli then rose his foot then stomped on the ground, causing a torrent of wind to push through the surrounding area. It forced the real Killua to be blown away, ending his attack before it began.
Gon tried to take the opportunity to attack Eli while his back was turned. Gon sent out a projectile made out of nen. Eli managed to see it in time and quickly dodged it. "A projectile? I figured someone like you would like to punch his way out of a fight." Eli said. Gon looked at Eli with hate in his eyes. "Let me tell you something my dad taught me. If you're going to kill something," Eli suddenly sped towards Gon, getting right in his face before he could react. "it ought to be up close and personal!" Eli acted like he was going for a punch, but then suddenly brought up his knee, colliding with Gon's jaw and sending him into the air. Eli then hit Gon in the belly several times with multiple quick punches. He then grabbed Gon by the head then slammed him into the ground again. "You stay down this time!" Eli shouted.
Eli then looked back over to Killua. Killua had pulled out a weapon, a rather unconventional one. "What are those?" Eli asked. "Yoyos." Killua said simply. "You mean… the toy?" "Not the way I use them." He swung the yoyo at Eli. Eli barely dodged in time, and the toy barely missed his head. Killua had two, and he swung them around with great expertise. "You are pretty good. If I wasn't as fast as I am now, you'd have definitely beaten me already." "Do you normally compliment people while you're fighting them?" "Only if I don't really want to fight them." Eli then ran toward Killua. Killua swung both of his yoyos, one high and one low, to catch Eli, but he dove between them and rolled on the ground. He came out of the roll with an uppercut that Killua just barely dodged away from.
Eli looked at Killua and saw a resemblance to the men he was fighting with earlier. "You… you're a member of the Zoldyk family, aren't you?" Eli asked. "Yeah. You met my family?" Killua asked. "Yeah. The old guy who was part of the first attack, and a younger man with creepy eyes." "That was my father and grandfather. Did you fight?" "Shroud did. They fought until they realized that as long as they didn't threaten me, Shroud wouldn't fight." Eli explained. Gon suddenly charged at Eli again, but Eli got around him then swept his legs out from under him. He then pressed his hand against Gon's face and slammed him into the ground once more. Gon freed himself and backed off.
"You are really hard to knock out." Eli said. He summoned the roulette wheel. The green color had taken up the entire wheel, but was beginning to be taken over by a gray color, like a timer. When the entire wheel was gray, he'd be out of time. Half of his time had already been taken up. "We should speed things along." Eli said as he dismissed the wheel. "Then get out of our way!" Gon ordered. "Can you honestly say that this is sitting right with you? Do you truly and fully believe still that the Chimera Ants are pure evil?" Eli asked. The two were silent. "You know that they've changed, that they've softened. You know that they aren't their old selves anymore. They've become so much more, and you can see that… I see it in your eyes."
Gon charged at Eli again. He had no time for his words. He came at Eli with several punches, which he simply dodged with his enhanced speed. "Why must you do this?" Eli asked. He gave Gon a straight punch to the face, which had a powerful gust of wind attached to it. It forced Gon back a good distance. Killua stepped in with his yoyo. He swung it at Eli. Eli rose his arm up to block it, and the string wrapped around him. It was then that Eli realized what the material used to make the yoyo was. "It's metal?" Eli thought. He then remembered Killua's ability and tried to get the cable off of him, but it was too late. Killua had already sent a surge of electricity through the toy.
Eli felt immense pain as his whole body convulsed, paralyzing him. Gon saw this as an opportunity. He charged up his ability, a powerful punch capable of devastating almost any target. He got into position and said, "Show me rock." He began channeling his nen into his fist, as much as he could. The trees and the ground itself began to tremor. "Jan… Ken…" "Gon, what are you doing!?" Killua asked. Gon's ability was charged, and he shouted, "Rock!" as he swung with all of his strength. The hit collided with Eli's belly, and with the impact, Eli felt something rupture. A massive amount of blood escaped Eli's mouth; a lethal amount. Killua stopped his attack and looked on in shock. Had Eli been more seasoned with nen, he would know of a technique nen users use to toughen their bodies using their nen, but unfortunately, Eli didn't know of this technique, so he took the full force of Gon's attack.
Eli fell to one knee and looked to the two boys. His vision blurred, and he could barely see anything. His powers faded, and he reverted back to his original body. To Killua and Gon's surprise, Eli started laughing. "You… you want to kill her because of her past mistakes… but you… you are no better… than her old self…" Eli said as he laughed, which then turned into a guttural cough, causing more blood to escape his mouth. He fell onto his back and said, "Killing me… simply because… I'm in your way." The two boys were silent. "Not even going to respond, eh Gon? Well… let me tell you this: you can shield your eyes… you can cover your ears and scream all you want… but it won't change the fact that deep down… you know that you're not the Goddamn hero in all of this…" Gon turned away from him and stood, unmoving. "Gon, what are you doing?" Killua asked. "We'll wait here. If him and Pitou are really that close, then it will come here to get him." Gon said. He didn't even bother pretending he still felt anything. "Gon… you want to use him as bait?" Killua said. For the son of an assassin, he was hesitant to do this. "We have to… I will kill Pitou."
"Killua…" Eli said with a bloody cough. Killua looked at Eli sideways. "You can't… you can't let Gon near Pitou… not just for her sake. He will stop at nothing to kill her… even if it means killing himself and you in the process… if you are really his friend… you'll get him as far away from here as possible." Eli meant every word. Gon was going down a dark path. Eli feared what he might become. "Don't listen to him. His words don't matter anymore." Gon said. "He's right, Gon." Killua said. Before Gon could turn around to object, Killua hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out. Gon fell limp onto the ground. "Killua… get out of here… if you're here when Pitou sees me… she'll go berserk. I don't want… all of the good I brought out in her to… fade away." Eli said. Killua nodded then picked up Gon. He was gone in seconds.
About five minutes after that, Eli heard Cheetu's voice. "He was over here." He said. He heard their footsteps get closer and closer. Soon, they emerged from the darkness. Pitou saw Eli and immediately ran to his side. "Eli!" They shouted. "Hey there… Nef. It looks like I wasn't… strong enough." Eli said with a smile. Komugi and Cheetu came over. "What's happening?" Komugi asked. "Eli, he's… he's dying." Cheetu said. "No! Don't say that! I can fix this! Dr. Bly—" Eli stopped Pitou by taking their hand. "Nef… don't make this hurt any more than it already does. Based on how much pain I'm in right now… I think my stomach and part of my intestines have ruptured. I've… only got a few moments left." "No, don't say that! I don't… I don't want you to go!"
Pitou began to cry as they watched helplessly. "I'm afraid I have to… but that doesn't mean it has to stay that way." Eli said. He got a more serious look on his face then. "What?" Pitou asked. "Nef… my ability… wasn't meant entirely for me." Eli summoned the wheel again. "My ability… I call it Myriad." He rose his hand to the wheel, and it suddenly started glowing with a bright, white light. It then took on a different shape. It formed into a necklace, with a tiny version of the wheel attached to the chain. "I'm giving it… to you." Eli said as he handed the necklace over to Pitou. They took it with a shaky hand. "Wh-… why?" Pitou asked. "There's a chance that you could fix all of this." "What do you mean?" "My ability… can fix all of this. I left instructions in my journal. Everything you need to know… is in there, but for now… I need you to promise me something."
"Anything." Pitou said. "One: Never use Terpsichora again, even if it's to make yourself stronger. The dead deserve to rest, and you can't grow with that crutch." "I promise." "Two: Only kill someone if it's to protect yourself or someone else, and only if it is the only thing you can do. Don't just kill someone because it's the easiest option." "I promise." "Now, one last promise… you go to my island, and you'll find a little girl named Katar. You tell her… you tell her that her big brother died saving lives… okay?" Eli said with tears in his eyes. "I promise!" Pitou said with tears of their own. "Good… now, just one more thing." He reached up to his head and pulled off the wool cap he had always worn. "I want you to take this." "Why?" Pitou asked as they held onto it. "Because… you might… get cold." Eli said with a smile. "No, you should—" Eli's hand fell limply to the ground, making Pitou freeze. A cold wind blew through the forest, sending a chill down everyone's spine. "No… no, Eli… no…" Pitou said as they looked on at Eli's still and lifeless body.
Pitou lowered their head, hiding their eyes from the others. They stood up and looked down at Eli. "The others… Pouf and Youpi… where are they?" Pitou asked. "They… they're gone. Pouf's main body was crushed and Youpi… he got overwhelmed. Neither of them stood a chance." Cheetu said. "And the King?" Pitou asked without looking away from Eli. "If he was still alive, he would have come for Komugi by now… I have to assume that he's dead too." Komugi began crying at that news. Cheetu pulled her closer to comfort her. "I'm sorry, Komugi… I'm sorry, Pitou. I wish I could have done more…" "There was nothing we could have done, Cheetu. They… they went out as they wanted, protecting the King, and Eli went out on his own terms as well." Pitou said. They put the necklace on, and they could feel Eli's nen join with theirs. His power was now their power. "Lord Pitou, what do we do now?" Komugi asked. "We leave. There's nothing left for us here… and it's Lady Nef now." Nef said as she put Eli's hat on, picked up Eli's body and began walking away.
TO BE CONTINUED…