With the death of Shaiapouf, only two of the three Royal Guards remained.
Notably, Vaelstrasz, the Red Dragon, took over a full minute to process the first million-unit Aura cocoon, a testament to Pouf's immense power. Usually, she could "cook" the cocoon of a Squadron Leader in just five to ten seconds.
The moment she swallowed the cocoon, an expression of profound bliss and satisfaction washed over her face. She immediately urged, "Quick! Go resolve the other two! They are simply too delicious!"
"Don't be in such a rush. Let me try out this butterfly-man's ability first."
As Allen spoke, he instantly activated the scale ability. A pair of beautiful, violet butterfly wings materialized on his back. With a gentle flutter, a massive amount of nearly invisible scales dispersed into the surrounding air, covering a radius of several hundred meters.
By observing the color of a person's Aura through these scales, he could distinguish their emotional and mental state with almost no effort; he could even predict their next move based on those emotions. It had to be said that this ability shared a subtle commonality with the material-shaping powers Allen had developed himself: both left the opponent with no clear way to defend.
Even more terrifying was the potent hypnosis and power of suggestion these scales possessed. Just moments ago, Pouf had used this very hypnosis to trick Allen into ignoring several of his miniature clones, recombining them in a blind spot to nearly drive a dagger into his temple. That critical strike would have dealt a staggering 1,000 points of damage! Anyone else would have likely perished on the spot.
By comparison, the ability to split one's self was relatively lackluster. Being too small meant both physical stats and Nen were drastically weakened; it was only truly useful for scouting, intelligence gathering, or secret infiltration. To truly maximize its potential, one would need to pair it with something like God's Accomplice. Furthermore, out of personal habit, Allen felt a bit awkward controlling multiple versions of himself, and he harbored a slight psychological resistance to it.
Just as he prepared to head to the next battlefield, Kalluto leaped over from the distance, shouting tensely, "Aniki can't hold on much longer! He sent me to get your help!"
"No problem! I was just about to head that way."
Allen took a leap, flying across the lava-filled center of the palace. Upon landing, he saw Bodoro, Illumi, and Knov in full retreat under Menthuthuyoupi's frenzied assault.
Bodoro, acting as the primary vanguard, had nearly burned through all his vitality and was holding on by sheer willpower alone. Knov lay on the ground, both legs shattered, coughing up blood. Only the cautious Illumi maintained some combat capability, using his needles to harass and distract the opponent. However, judging by his dwindling Aura, he was also at his limit.
"You guys look like you've seen better days!"
Allen threw a heavy punch that forced Youpi back, then immediately distributed bottles of Healing Potions to everyone to prevent anyone from dying suddenly from internal hemorrhaging.
The experienced Illumi and Bodoro wasted no time, uncorking the bottles and gulping them down. Knov, still coughing blood, asked, "What is this?"
"A potion that rapidly heals injuries. Drink it; it can only help you," Bodoro explained.
After drinking the potion, the pale complexion Knov had from blood loss finally regained a hint of color, though he still looked utterly exhausted.
"If you don't want yours, give it to me. I'll pay thirty billion Jenny per bottle," Illumi said. True to his nature as a "businessman," he didn't forget to turn a profit even on the battlefield.
Knov wasn't a fool; he recognized the value of the potion from the Zoldyck heir's attitude and drained it in one go. As the red liquid slid down his throat and was absorbed into his bloodstream, his gruesome injuries began to knit together and heal within seconds. Terrified by the rapid regeneration, he quickly aligned his shattered legs. In the blink of an eye, even the bones reconnected.
"It's... it's all healed! Is this also something you created with Nen?" Knov asked, his eyes wide with disbelief. He had been fully prepared to die here.
"In a manner of speaking. You all can rest for a bit. Leave the rest to me."
Allen ignored Knov's questions, focusing all his attention on the red figure nearby that was constantly shifting its form by accumulating rage.
"That hurt! You bastard!"
Youpi struggled to his feet. Within seconds, by rearranging his bone structure and musculature, he had completely nullified the damage from Allen's previous punch.
Clearly, Youpi could use Nen to control his cells, muscles, bones, and even his genes. He was far more troublesome than Shaiapouf—a classic "tank" with high damage output. Against such a foe, clever tricks like freezing the lungs were useless. If you froze one lung, he could simply manifest another. He could grow dozens of eyes, let alone simple organs.
Realizing this, Allen abandoned any thought of a quick victory. He cracked his knuckles and smiled. "Hurt? It should. You're going to taste a lot more pain before the end."
"Ha! Is it finally your turn? I thought you were going to wait until these small fry were all dead before showing up," Youpi bared his teeth in a savage, eager grin.
"My apologies. Dealing with Pouf took a little longer than expected. But now, his power belongs to me..."
As he spoke, the magnificent butterfly wings unfurled from Allen's back once more, scattering scales into the air.
"This... this is Pouf's ability! You really killed him?" Youpi's pupils dilated, his face a mask of horror.
The other three reacted with similar shock. The Royal Guards were so powerful that the Extermination Team struggled just to wound them; hearing that one had already been killed felt surreal.
"That's right. He's dead, and you will be the second. Come, let us stake all of our Nen to put a period on your brief, pathetic lives."
After releasing the scales, Allen instantly shrouded his body in Ken, intending to engage in a brutal, head-on physical confrontation.
"No! You won't succeed! I will destroy you here! You will never reach the King's side!"
Youpi roared and charged in his centaur form. Empowered by his rage, his Aura spiked significantly and continued to climb as the seconds passed.