"Talk"

'Thought'
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"Hmm~"

Neferpitou, who was seen lying down and relaxing on a ruined mattress, was currently watching the now revived and mutated Kite fight for his life. Seemingly endless Chimera Ants were going after the man. Luckily, thanks to his old skills as a Pro Hunter and his new abilities as a mutant, he was able to pull through and defeat every enemy he came across, much to the amusement of Pitou.

"Enjoying yourself, Neferpitou?"

Catching the attention of the Chimera Cat and mutant human, both looked and saw a, honestly, beautiful chimera butterfly man, who came walking in, all while reading a book in hand, no doubt trying to educate himself in this new world he was born into.

"Oh, you must be one of the Royal Guards, just like me huh?"

Neferpitou was able to quickly understand who stood before her, which was apparently another Royal Guard like herself, much to the worry of Kite.

"You are correct, I am known as Shaiapouf, but you can call me Pouf for short."

Which said Royal Guard was known as Shaiapouf, or Pouf for short.

"Menthuthuyoupi should be born and join us shortly."

Shaiapouf also took the chance to mention that the third and last Royal Guard, Menthuthuyoupi, will soon awaken.

"That's good to hear, it just means that our King will have all of his servants ready and prepared for when he finally arrives~"

This only made Neferpitou happy, feeling more confident and reassured with herself, as well as very eager to meet and serve the King when he was finally born, which made Kite shiver in fear.

"When I emerged from my chrysalis of life, I was informed of many things that happened around here."

Shaiapouf decided to continue on with the conversation with his fellow Chimera Ant.

"Which includes you receiving a particular item that's currently attached to your tail."

Specifically, Shaiapouf brought up the device that was on White Neko's tail.

"And how said item was able to create that thing."

As well as Shaiapouf taking a good look and gesturing towards Kite, who tensed up for being called out.

"Ah, well, yeah, I don't really know what this thing is, probably some kind of advanced human technology, or maybe even something related and made by aliens, since it did fall from the sky."

Neferpitou brought her tail in front of herself and looked at the item, wearing a very unsure expression as she analyzed it.

"At first I kind of hated it, but after seeing what it can do I have no doubt it would be of great use to our King~"

Neferpitou admits some frustration with her new item, but seems to now come around with it, even mentioning how useful it could be for her King when he arrives.

"I can see why you would think that."

Which Shaiapouf agrees with the sentiment, and how helpful it could be for the King.

"Hmm..."

"Something on your mind Pouf?"

Neferpitou noticed that Shaiapouf seemed to be in deep thoughts, making her curious on what he could be thinking about, all while Kite could only feel dread.

"Would you be interested in doing some experiments for me?"

Shaiapouf then finally looks and speaks to Pitou, which immediately catches her attention once she realizes what he just said.

"Oh? What kind of experiments?"

Meanwhile, outside the Chimera mud castle fortress and near the edge of the forest, two humans could be seen sitting together, watching over the entire area. They had official business being there.

"Doesn't all of this feel a bit unfair?"

One of the two humans was a tall, well-built middle-aged man with shoulder-length white hair and prominent facial features, including a broad face, a strong square chin, and a crooked nose. He is always seen wearing pince-nez sunglasses. He typically wears a red tie and a gray shirt, which he tucks into his pants. He also carries a giant smoking pipe. This smoker guy was known as Morel Mackernasey.

"What does?"

And the one sitting next to Mackernasey was another man, specifically he is a bespectacled young man, typically seen in a black suit and blue tie with a white button-down shirt. He is tall and lean. And has beautiful shiny medium-length black hair. This man with nice hair was known as Knov.

"You know, blind them with my smoke, you opening your portal thing and then letting Netero kill them all on his own?"

At the moment both Morel and his nice hair partner were currently having a conversation about how they were exterminating the Chimera Ants.

"It's just too easy."

And how it felt too easy for Morel.

"It's better to play unfair and uneasy than to have it fair and difficult."

Knov didn't really share that perspective and had no problems with what's going on, actually, he was glad that everything was going so easy for them.

"I guess that's true, play smarter, not harder."

Morel could only sigh in defeat and agree, though before the two could continue their conversation, the sound of the phone rings could be heard.

"Hello?"

Which Morel was the one to answer the phone.

"I think I'm starting to get my groove back, so start sending more on my way~"

The sound of an older man could be heard on the phone. This was no doubt Isaac Netero, who was apparently the only one doing all the killing and seemed to be ready to take out more.

"Got it, we'll go after the next group of Chimera Ants."

Morel nodded at the request and was about to move out, however he was quickly stopped by the man with perfect hair.

"Wait, there's something here."

Knov, who was holding a pair of binoculars over his eyes, couldn't help but notice something that made him frown and worry.

"What do you mean?"

This confuses Morel, as he grabs the binoculars from his pretty hair partner, looking through it to see what he saw.

"Is that... Even a Chimera Ant?..."

And what Morel saw, well, he just wasn't sure what he was seeing actually.

"Is something wrong? What's happening?"

Netero, still on the phone, didn't understand what the hold up was. He clearly wanted to know what was happening right now to make the two Pro Hunters pause.

"A new foe has appeared before us, it looks completely different from the rest of the usual enemies."

Knov quickly explained his concerns to Isaac on what he saw.

"Really now? Well, send them in then."

Which not only made Netero curious, but also wanted to see this so-called "New Foe", much to the surprise of the two men.

"Are you sure? It's completely unknown to us and new."

Morel warned the Experienced Hunter, not doubting him, but as the threat being unknown to them, it did make him very worried.

"We can't exactly tell how dangerous it is without facing it first."

But Netero was unfazed; in fact, it only made him more curious and eager to meet this mysterious enemy. The two Pro Hunters still hesitated, but soon complied with the old man.

"Alright then, I'll send them to you now."

Meanwhile, in a large white room filled with the corpses of Chimera Ants, an old yet muscular man stood at the center. He must be known as Isaac Netero and was responsible for all this carnage. He had just finished making a phone call, and once he hung up, a portal opened in the white room, revealing something that definitely caught his attention.

"Oh my, you are something different huh?"

And what specifically stood before Netero was a very large and muscular muted red "Creature". Not only did it size tower over himself, but by looking alone, he was clearly a very strong "Thing". Not only that, but it had four pairs of muscular arms instead of two, which had some red spikes on them. Also, it seemed to be wearing clothes, well, not a lot of clothes, only having shorts and some kind of flower stash over its chest. But what truly stood out to the experienced hunter was what floated above the head of the creature.

"Oh? A Nen puppeteer? I see how it is."

Which Netero was able to recognize it as a Clownesque Puppeteer, which was completely made out of Nen. This alone was all he needed to see what was going on.

"Just a mindless puppet doing what it's told, definitely unique but nothing new for someone with my kind of experiences."

Netero, feeling both confident yet excited, with some hints of caution, got in a fighting stance and seemed very ready to face this Puppet with four arms.

"Come on, show me what you got~"

Once Netero had revealed himself as a threat, the Clownesque Puppeteer responded accordingly and moved its Puppet, specifically forcing the Puppet to charge forward at the older man and make the red creature start rabidly punching at him. However, even with using all four of its fists, Isaac was able to dodge and avoid the entire onslaught of punches with little to no effort.

"Just as I thought, simple and predictable movements, as expected from a mindless puppet."

Netero then jumps over the next punch and lands on the muscular shoulder of the Puppet. Once on the red creature, he grabs the head of the thing and, with a forceful twist and pull, removes the entire head of the four-armed attacker.

"Hmph, how disappointing, I expected more from the Puppeteer."

Netero huffs as he jumps off the shoulder of the Puppet, and takes a look at his prize, that being the head of the red creature, getting a closer look at it and trying to figure out what he was looking at.

'Definitely not a Chimera Ant, obviously not a human, maybe a mutant? We should probably bring this back to headquarters to understand what this creature is.'

As Netero was distracted, trying to figure out what he was looking at, he glanced back at the Puppet, assuming it was dead. However, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw that the now headless creature was still able to move and had just thrust a fist at him. This forced him to block the attack with his arms. Even after reinforcing his block with his Nen aura, the punch from the thing was still able to deliver enough force to send the experienced hunter flying back, breaking the sound barrier. He hit the other side of the room wall, and a sickening crack could be heard as he coughed up some blood.

'E-Even when I used Nen to block that attack, i-it still managed to damage me!'

As Netero tried to get back up, which was difficult thanks to receiving some serious injuries, the Puppet charged forward again and started swinging all four of its fists. Despite the damage, the older man was still able to dodge and avoid most of the attacks, except for one. The lower fist managed to land a clean hit to his chest. Again, Isaac used his Nen to lessen the damage enough to not kill him, but it still sent him flying back, breaking many of his ribs.

'N-Not only that, but the P-Puppeteer is making the creature adapt to my f-fighting style!'

Netero grunted and clenched his teeth, trying his best to ignore the pain, as well as trying to pop any bones back into place if possible. He glared at the Clownesque Puppeteer and its Puppet, beginning to recognize how much of a threat it was starting to become.

'With its s-strength, not to mention it ignores any damage I-I dish out, even having its entire head r-removed, it's only a matter of time before it lands a hit that k-kills me.'

Netero slowly stood back up again, spitting out blood. The Clownesque Puppeteer noticed him still alive and moving, so it sent out its Puppet again at him, hoping to finish the job.

'I h-have no choice then, to think I would use this a-against you instead of the King is unfortunate, but I can't take any r-risk with you.'

Netero sighs in disappointment, before clearing and relaxing his mind and body, as he then claps both of his hands and gets in a praying pose.

"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva."

The Puppet, when close enough, throws another punch, with two right fists this time, it was just inches away from connecting to Netero's face.

"First Hand."

But in less than a second, faster than the eye can see, Netero made a simple hand gesture, and when he did, in nearly an instant, the Puppet that was about to land a punch was suddenly crushed by a large golden hand. Once crushed, the Clownesque Puppeteer disappeared, making the Experienced Hunter let out a deep sigh of relief. He then fell to his hands and knees, letting the golden hand disappear and revealing the smashed remains of the Puppet.

'So completely destroying the Puppet will get rid of the Puppeteer, that's good to know...'

After Netero had a chance to recover, he pulled out his phone and made a call to Morel and Knov again.

"We need to retreat and change our strategy."

Meanwhile, back at the fortress of the Chimera Ants, specifically outside and near the top of the castle, Neferpitou could be seen sitting and deeply concentrating, before slowly opening her eyes and wearing a satisfied smirk.

"The Rares are falling back."

Neferpitou seems pleased with the results as she uses her Nen senses to feel the Pro Hunters leaving the area, unsure if they'll return, but she will accept the temporary peace and safety of the Queen and the soon-to-be-born King.

"And what is the condition of your Puppet?"

Shaiapouf was also with Pitou, curious about the state of her Puppet.

"Completely destroyed, not sure by how though."

Nefe lets out a small pout, somewhat disappointed that it was defeated so quickly.

"Seeing that the Rares are running away, it definitely wasn't easy."

Though Shaiapouf was still able to point out that the Hunters were leaving at the same time that the Puppet was defeated, he was able to piece two and two together.

"All in all, I consider this experiment a success."

Which was enough to make Shaiapouf smile, despite the loss of the Puppet, what they learned and accomplished today was enough to call it a win for them.

"I'm sure I don't need to explain what I have planned for your new abilities?"

Shaiouf_secs then turned around and started to leave his fellow Royal Guard alone, assuming she would know what to do next after learning what happened and what she could do.

"All I know is, that I'm gonna have a lot of fun~"

This, of course, just simply excites Neferpitou, bringing her tail to her face and looking at it with a very wide and excited smile, eyes filled with eager mischievousness about what she could do next.

"Meow let's see what new puppets I can make to play with~"
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A simple chapter, trying to set things up for the future, BTW! Should I keep the Royal Guards and King alive or should the story mainly focus on Neferpitou and what she does after she loses everyone?

(BTW! I'm thinking about Pitou only using puppets aliens, like of course she can transform, but only when she needs to, what do you guy's think? Should she mainly use puppets or transform herself?)

/Puppet Aliens\

1 . Wildmutt: Puppet Dog.

2. Fourarms: Puppet Fists.

3. Ghostfreak: Puppet Ghost.

4. Ripjaws: Puppet Fish.

5. Greymatter: Puppet Frog.

6. Heatblast: Puppet Fire.

7. Diamondhead: Puppet Diamond.

8. Upgrade: Puppet Technology.

9. Stinkfly: Puppet Fly.

10. XLR8: Puppet Raptor.

(Might as well make the classic Aliens the puppets, I'll add more soon, BTW when they're puppets, they'll be referred as "Puppet", but whenever Pitou transforms, it's "Royal"~)