Apex Predator

Lammergeier III

But Kurama, cannibals, and now the ants certainly seemed to enjoy their taste...

"This is a bullet casting," said Killua, picking something metal off the ground and examining it.

Gon frowned. "Nothing mechanical is allowed here, right?"

"So the underground rulers of NGL were manufacturing guns in addition to drugs. If the chimera ants are using guns... I hate to say it, but it's possible that the NGL's underground rulers have already been fed to the queen. What will happen if chimera ants are born with their genes? NGL and chimera ants... the worst combination imaginable. This could create an unprecedented biohazard."

"Mmm... then, do you think they could talk?" asked Miwa.

"Talk?" Kite echoed. "Probably?"

'Hmm...'

The hunt continued. As the day wore on, they found few traces of the ants until they stumbled upon a desecrated village. The lingering gore had a sickeningly sweet smell that made Miwa want to gag. There was a particularly strong presence of the stench that lead them to the outskirts of the village.

As the sun began to set behind them, casting the sky in a reddish hue, they stumbled upon three horses that had been impaled rectum to mouth upon trees.

'Ouch.'

Miwa had impaled enough cannibals to know that was not an instant or easy death. If the impalement was slow, the horses would have survived the entire process and might have even lived an hour afterwards.

They were dead now, but fresh enough they hadn't decomposed.

Looks like some of them know how to have a good time.

Miwa inwardly rolled her eyes at Kurama's sass.

Gon made a hmm sound. "It's like a morning sacrifice."

"A what?" Miwa blinked.

"A ritual practiced by birds called bull-headed strikes. They impale their prey on sharp objects, such as branches—"

"Oi." The group turned around to find a humanoid creature stepping out of the forest. Its scent made Miwa's nose tingle because it was an odd combination of human, bird, rat, and something else she couldn't identify. It was tall, lean, and had long white feathers down its arms.

It certainly looked like a combination of what it smelled like.

"What the—"

"Uh—"

"Trash," growled the creature as it lifted a hand to point at the impaled horses behind them. "That's mine."

It launched itself toward them, first aiming for Kite, but Kite moved away so it shoved Gon and Killua back. Miwa had reflexively jumped back, avoiding the attack. Gon clutched at his nose where he had been smacked and let out a small whine, "Ow."

Miwa's eyes narrowed. She lowered herself in preparation to leap upon the thing that hurt her friends—

"Gon, Killua, Miwa... you three must deal with him yourselves," said Kite. He stepped back and leaned against a tree. Kite gestured to the creature. "That is a chimera ant soldier. We will encounter many more like him. I won't be able to help you during combat. If you can't defeat it, you'll have to leave.

"In that case... Miwa go stand back with Kite," said Gon.

"Ehh—?"

"Shoo," said Killua.

"But—"

"She should test herself, too," said Kite.

"She can kick our butts, the heck she should," snorted Gon.