(A/N: Kenkou Cross and Yoshihiro Togashi are the original creators of MGE and HxH respectively, and I don't own anything this work is based off of. Don't sue me, please.)
As the King of the Chimera Ants was flown on the wings of his Royal Guard, his hunger for rares began to eat at him. Unconsciously activating Gyo to focus his aura to his eyes, he saw a glimmer in the distance, at the peak of a mountain range.
"What is that, Youpi? Could that be a rare?"
Youpi, a royal guardsman created from a mix of magical beast and human flesh, looked back at him. "Hm? What are you talking about, King?"
"Do not make me repeat myself. Can you see it too?" Intimidated by the King, Youpi quickly activated Gyo as well, and realized what the King saw.
"Sorry to say, I'm not sure what that aura could be. Maybe a different kind of human, or another Chimera Ant?" His red body transmuted itself into a form with wings, ready to assist his King in reaching the source of the aura.
The King spoke, and the three Ants of the Royal Guard listened intently, in order to receive their next command. "We must investigate this. Pouf, Youpi, fly Pitou and I to the peak."
After a short while, the four landed at the source of the strange aura.
"Is this the result of a Nen ability?" The King asked cautiously. What he beheld simply felt wrong, an affront to nature itself. It seemed to be a tear in reality, leading to a verdant forest amidst the harsh cold of the peak. Regardless, he sensed the signature aura of many rares inside. Pouf, relaxing his colorfully scaled wings, interrupted the King's pondering.
"It is possible, my King. Though no enemy we've encountered can create this with their ability. It still may be a trap."
"This means we have several options…" Hm…if we leave to get some soldiers to enter, if it is a trap, we'll have lost several days worth of travel and rares, but will remain unharmed. The situation gets either worse or better in that scenario if I send in a Royal Guard, since, while I risk losing them, their strength may allow them to survive and return. But if there's not a trap, which is likely due to our remote location, it's strictly better to send the Royal Guard due to their strength and loyalty. We could also leave, but, worst case scenario, it could be days before we find a rare. I suppose I'll send a Royal Guard, then.
"Pitou, enter the supposed 'trap'."
"Very well, your majesty." The cat-like Ant leapt in, disappearing without a trace.
After several minutes, Youpi and the King could hear quiet sobbing. When they turned to look at Pouf, they saw his butterfly wings furled, the Ant himself admonishing himself quietly.
"My King…I apologize for not adequately warning you of what might lay beyond that trap…I OFFER MY LIFE TO YO-"
Pouf was immediately struck by the King's tail, the stinger slashing the butterfly-man's chest. "Do not make me repeat myself. Pitou was to go inside, and I expect Pitou's return shortly-" They were interrupted by said Royal Guard exiting the portal, their clawed hands holding a mortally wounded woman clad in silk robes.
"What…what are you? You're not like the other monsters I've fought-'' Her head was quickly separated from the rest of her body, and her skull opened to be offered to the King. He took a vicious bite out of the woman's brain, and the Royal Guard silently awaited his feedback.
"...Delicious! Do even ordinary humans from that portal taste the same way, Pitou?"
"Perhaps, my liege. With my En, I sensed two types of individuals: humans with some kind of strange aura inside of them, and the others that live off of an energy that doesn't replenish itself. I just targeted the strongest one."
"Then it is settled. Our new kingdom shall lie in that place beyond! We shall harvest what rares we can find, and prepare a feast!"
So they entered, unaware of the events they had set into motion.
The knight-brigade's expedition was not going well.
While they were traveling through the forest, their commander, Amanomiya, was kidnapped by what seemed to be some kind of cat Mamono, meaning that their mission to reclaim Lescatie would almost certainly be a failure. The monster-slaying knights barely had enough time to snap out of their shock before four creatures emerged from the trees.
"What…what are those? They don't look like Mamono…"
"Forget that! We need to get out of here! Did you see what happened to Amano-" The King, insulted by his implication that they could flee, dashed at him and cut his head off, grabbing it and prying open his skull.
"Move, and you will die like him. Answer my questions, and I'll let you live." These words caused whispers to emerge among the platoon, among whether they should attempt to fight, flee, or stay put. Quickly, they decided to obey the strange green being, who was currently consuming their subordinate's brain.
"Firstly, where are we?"
"N-near the outskirts of Lescatie, sir."
Hm, I've never heard of that place before. Perhaps we were sent to a new part of the world? "Secondly, do you know what 'Nen' is?"
"No sir, we don't." So there must be other types of rare humans here, who don't have aura. And since that common human seemed to taste only slightly worse than that robed woman, that means that at least some of these humans taste like rares! However, this poses the question, are the humans in this "Lescatie" rares as well?
"But, do you all still have a 'life force' of sorts?"
"I-it's called essence, sir, every human has it. Some people use it for magic, others for physical boosts, and a few balance between both." So either essence is some way of referring to Nen, or this essence is completely different. I'm inclined to believe that it isn't Nen, since they only described two ends of a spectrum of "magic". But if Nen and essence are both life energy, that might mean…
The soldiers' first mistake was insulting the King by entertaining the idea of escape. Their second mistake was assuming that the King required that they be alive. And, their final mistake, which would change their world at large, was informing the King of what essence was, giving the King a final reason to consume them.
"Pitou, collect their heads for me."
The knight-brigade prepared themselves for battle, but were too late to prevent Pitou's activation of Terpsichora, a ballerina that puppeteered their cat-like body to fulfill their command.
"Terpsichora, dance to your limits!"
In that instant, the knights felt a sinister aura paralyze their bodies with fear, before their heads were cleaved off by Pitou's claws.
The King stabbed one of the heads with his stinger-tail, and brought it to his mouth. "Hmm…not as good as the woman Pitou killed, but it's much better than the child's brain. I suppose we should look for more rares after I finish my feast, then."
"That is wonderful, my King. Shall we all scout the surroundings for more rares?" Pouf replied, joyful at the sight of his King satisfied.
"You will. Pouf, activate your Spiritual Message and tell me if you detect any rares, and Youpi, go back to the mountain and tell the squadron leaders to come."
"Of course, King."
"Very well, my King. A brilliant plan!"
Youpi retreated to the entrance to this new world, and Pouf unfurled his wings, releasing scales into the air. The scales were infused with a specialized En, allowing them to glide for kilometers with the wind currents.
The weaker individuals that inhaled Pouf's Spiritual Message were put under a hypnotic trance, but to the Royal Guard, those things were of no matter. What mattered was finding a strong survivor, which Pouf eventually did. To the northwest, an entity who inhaled Pouf's scales and remained conscious expressed confusion, worry, and anger. However, what interested Pouf more was the strange energy his scales sensed from their general location. Northwest…the same direction the soldiers were going in. They may have been going to fight this individual, who must be surrounded by others with a similar energy. A battle between two factions, perhaps?
After the King finished dining, Pouf addressed him. "My King, I believe that the troops you consumed were headed towards another rare and their soldiers, northwest of here. This rare seems different, though, like the other that Pitou described."
"Very well. Pouf, fly me northwest. Pitou, stay here, and tell Youpi where Pouf and I are headed when he gets back."
Both Royal Guards responded with some variation of "Yes, my King". Pitou activated her En to locate Youpi, while Pouf held the King's tail and began to fly him northwest.
A/N: Hi, SheathedClover16 here. Crossposting this here to get more feedback. Thanks for taking the time to read this!