Chapter 26: Confruntations On All Stages
__________POV Narration__________
As Ashton was protecting the Pitou, Youpi was fighting with Knuckle. Well, fighting wasn't quite the way he'd describe the situation.
Having already defeated Shoot. He was looking down on the shirtless man that just kept running around and dodging his attacks.
He was growing more and more frustrated with the battle. Still, his king had told him to protect the throne room.
And he was going to do so diligently. He didn't know that two people already entered the room.
He had been distracted by Knuckle's annoying shouts. That was how Gon and Killua slipped into the room.
Now he was questioning how strange the disparity of strength was in-between humans. The Royal guards had all sparred against Ashton before.
Sufficient to say Youpi was beyond outclassed during that spar, it wasn't even a fair competition. The old scientist could dance around him and make him kneel in seconds.
But the other humans he met could only run around and dodge. The only difference between them was how well they could run away. It was frustrating to the Red Chimera Ant.
But it was better than being beaten into the ground by a seemingly sadistic monster dressed in human skin.
That was how the Ants perceived Ashton. More akin to a sleeping beast they roused by mistake when their queen reached the human ruled world.
And they were quite precise in their vision. Ashton was certainly far from human. His immortal body and the time he spent living in the Dark Continent estranged him from any humanity he might've had.
His twisted mind was only controlled by his rational thoughts and his distanced view of the world.
The ants were right to flee from him. Both for their own safety and that of their king.
They were unsure whether or not their king was prepared to face Ashton. But they had great hope in him. And they also have absolute trust in his talent.
With enough time, their king was sure to surpass Ashton, the person they deemed the strongest.
Youpi and Pouf weren't as well informed about Ashton's strength. But, seeing is believing, and they both saw enough to deem him dangerous.
Their King was currently battling against Netero the strongest human alive... At least that is what the impressed king called the old man.
The Royal Guards tried to warn him about a disgustingly powerful human. But he was too arrogant to heed their words at the time. He had already forgotten their warning.
He still believed himself above all other lifeforms. A belief that was soon to be ruined by the ending of his fight with Netero.
As of now. Pouf and Youpi were protecting the palace. Both in fights against the attacking hunters.
Pouf was having a really harsh time, having to fight against both Knov and Morel. Although the two were tired, they were both powerful hunters.
And actually hitting them was impossible to the young and complacent Royal Guard, Knov always managed to either enter a portal or put one in the way of the attack.
He was faring much worse than his brother, although he also pulled the shorter stick in which group he'd get to fight.
If both Morel and Knov were in top shape, Pouf wouldn't have stood much of a chance.
Whilst the hunters were struggling, Killua was also trying his best to drag his unconscious friend away from conflict.
After knocking Gon out, Killua carried him away from Pitou and Ashton. Or at least tried to.
No-one stopped him from doing so, Pitou was preoccupied with healing Komugi, the injured girl, and Ashton simply didn't care enough to do anything about them.
But Gon managed to wake up. And he wasn't happy at all.
'YOU'RE NOT MY FRIEND ANYMORE!' and 'I HATE YOU!' were words thrown out by Gon whilst in a state of distress.
Killua tried not to take them to heart. But the 12-year-old assassin was still a child. The words affected him visibly.
As his grip on his friend lessened. Gon took that opportunity to run away from Killua. Straight back into the room where the girl being treated.
He only stopped when he was faced with Ashton. He had intercepted Gon before the mad child could reach Pitou and Komugi.
"You sure have guts... Let me take them out for you..." Said the mad scientist as his rage took over his rationality.
He had tried being nice, he had spared the kid a few times. But now some punishment was in order. How else would the misbehaving child learn his place?
He kicked Gon into the stomach. Sending the child flying where he came from. Blood coming out of his mouth. The kick was heavy, and it dealt a lot of damage even when through Gon's guard.
Even if Gon was an enhancer. He couldn't compete with the near-endless aura the old Scientist mastered. He could strengthen his body to sickening degrees.
Gon tried to roll and break some of his momentum, but rolling only made him hit his head on the ground.
It didn't do much damage, Gon having used Ken and defended his body with his aura. But it still left him dizzy.
Ashton looked with disinterest at Gon. But the child wasn't done. He looked at Ashton with absolute hatred. His eyes seemed to glaze over.
"You said you'd help us... You lied..." Gon said to the scientist. He was misremembering things.
Ashton only ever said he'd take them to the nest of ants. But his mind was too clouded in hatred to recall things properly.
He started rambling around as his aura increased exponentially. His body started transforming, growing stronger and bigger.
Ashton didn't look too fazed on the outside. But he was quite surprised at how willing Gon was to die, just to avenge one person he didn't really know all that well.
He had listened enough to his conversations to know what type of relationship he had with Kite. It wasn't anything deep at all. Just a chance encounter when he was younger. That's it.
And here he was, trading his life away for ephemeral power. Pathetic, yet somewhat threatening. A testament to how wrong his first judgement of Gon had been.
The scientist wasn't scared in any way, he almost laughed out loud when seeing the child's transformation.
But Pitou was. She was shocked at how strong Gon had become out of nowhere. She didn't know how steep the price to pay for such an abrupt rise in strength.
She just thought that Gon might become a threat to the king. She also couldn't stop healing Komugi now. If she did her survival wouldn't possible. She was at a critical point in her operation.
She could only hope Ashton would help her defend against Gon for a while...
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