Sheer Heart Attack has two kinds of explosions.
One is proximity-triggered—detonating when approaching the enemy, with its power depending on the opponent's heat signature.
The other is contact-based—when fully ramming into the enemy, after a short countdown, it completely annihilates the target.
Clearly, the explosion triggered by Youpi only activated the first type.
As a result, Sheer Heart Attack exploded midair after being thrown—before hitting anything.
Yet amidst the blast, it abruptly stopped.
A pink energy shimmered across its surface—unlike before, it didn't crawl along the ground but instead arced midair, circling back toward Youpi.
But Sheer Heart Attack's speed was still too slow.
Youpi had already burst away.
Because he knew one thing:
He couldn't afford to stop.
The pudgy Potclean on his lower back was like a harbinger of death.
Though Youpi didn't fully understand what it was counting, the regular ten-second interval between each interest jump was clear.
Once it reached its peak… something terrible would happen.
So he had to find and kill the person who placed this ability on him—before it was too late.
Joey could wait.
This was both a rational judgment and a beast's instinctual priority.
Youpi suspected the ability caster was one of the two hidden figures—likely one placed the curse, the other concealed them both.
Their coordination had been unexpectedly effective.
But now, after previous explosions, Youpi had learned how to differentiate between the smoke clones and the real fighters.
His method?
Emotions.
Even when cloaked in Nen, smoke clones lacked authentic emotional resonance.
When Joey was hurt earlier, even if his teammates stayed calm, a flicker of anger rippled through them.
Insignificant to others—but palpable to Youpi, now attuned to rage as both sensation and weapon.
Keeping his En active burned his Nen and concentration,
but with two invisible enemies nearby, he had no choice.
Ironically, that persistence let him notice the subtle emotional signatures unique to each real person.
They couldn't fake that.
But he didn't charge recklessly.
He knew he must not reveal that he could tell real from fake.
If he wanted to kill the user, he needed a plausible reason to cancel En—so they would approach again.
Then—and only then—could he unleash a surprise area attack and kill them both.
He had one chance.
If he failed—he'd be worn down.
Either his aura would run out, or the enemies would overwhelm him.
He wasn't infinite.
The large-scale detonations had drained him.
Now, Morel's smoke army surrounded him once more, and Kite and Shoot rejoined the battle.
As for Joey, he was brought into the 4D Mansion.
Pale-faced, he swiftly attached a new arm—but couldn't help feeling speechless.
This Youpi was not the same one he'd seen during the first assault.
The difference was staggering.
The rate at which he adapted in combat made Joey's skin crawl.
Nearby, Shoot opened the Dark Hotel, releasing the severed arm he'd snatched from Youpi—
But now it no longer carried a Nen aura.
Clearly, it no longer had value to Sheer Heart Attack.
Shoot didn't linger.
He simply said:
"Wait."
And vanished from the 4D space.
Joey, checking his own remaining aura, turned to Knov:
"I'll head back to the palace. My Nen's running low—stay sharp."
Killer Queen could still fight,
but Joey wouldn't risk going near Youpi again.
He'd only be a burden.
Better to return and monitor Meruem with Palm.
Besides, he still needed to deal with Komugi somehow.
If he didn't… his ability might be exposed.
From Pouf and Youpi's reactions, he could tell—
They had seen Killer Queen.
If it wasn't for backup contingency planning,
Joey would've let Komugi die during the surgery and written it off as an accident.
Now, with Pouf dead and Youpi about to fall, Meruem was likely not long for this world.
What was once an insurance policy… had become a liability.
Still, if given the choice again, he'd save Komugi anyway.
Knov agreed without protest—he valued Joey's healing even more than his offensive power.
And if Shoot succeeded in getting a fresh Youpi body part, Knov could send it to Joey for detonation.
With that, Knov opened a portal beneath the palace's main staircase and let Joey pass through.
The battle was leaning in their favor.
With Morel and Kite holding Youpi back, and Shoot possibly delivering the killing blow…
Once Potclean finished its calculation—Youpi was done.
As Joey stepped out, he noted the Potclean counter had passed 30,000.
At this pace, Youpi's aura bankruptcy would happen within minutes.
Joey was confident—they had enough time.
But…
Things had already gone off script.
He felt it the moment he stepped into the second floor of the palace.
The atmosphere was off—strangely heavy.
He saw Gon approaching fast, face clouded.
Not toward him.
Which meant—he was heading to report something urgent to the group.
Yet…
Only 21 minutes had passed since the assault began.
Meruem had only left 11 minutes ago.
Even if he'd flown to the battlefield, it was far too soon for his fight with Netero to be over.
Joey clearly remembered:
It took over 40 minutes before the Miniature Rose activated.
He didn't have time to think further.
A tremor shook the palace.
He turned—
and saw, far in the distance, a massive, fiery-black rose blossom erupting into the sky.
Night became day.
By his estimate, the explosion site was only a dozen kilometers away.
So Netero and the King had barely flown any distance—
Why had the fight ended so soon?
Joey couldn't comprehend it.
Before he could think further, Youpi screamed and launched into the air, flying toward the smoke.
Flight—Youpi's greatest asset—
was what made him so difficult to contain.
Now, in full burst mode, neither Kite's blade nor Morel's smoke could stop him.
He was gone—a crimson streak vanishing into the sky.
Joey rushed to Palm's side.
"What happened?"
She didn't answer—just pointed to the crystal ball.
Joey's face froze.
Inside the orb—
he saw Meruem, burned and broken but… very much alive.
His arms were melted.
His skin, scorched.
But his face held no pain.
With inhuman speed, the King was running—straight toward the palace.
"Chairman Netero installed the Rose in his heart," Palm murmured.
"If it stops beating—the bomb triggers."
"…So the Chairman already lost?"
Joey asked, in disbelief.
Palm nodded.
"Meruem won't live long. But he survived."
Then—
a voice from behind Palm:
"Are you talking about the King?"
It was Komugi, freshly awakened and looking up at them.
"…Yes," Joey replied, hesitating.
If Meruem was infected by the Rose, the plan now was simple.
Wait.
Let the poison run its course.
No need to confront the King again.
The Rose's virus wouldn't reach the palace.
It wasn't airborne, and the wind blew away from them.
Joey asked:
"How long does he have?"
Palm replied:
"A few hours… maybe less."
Inside the orb, Youpi reunited with the King.
The Royal Guard burst into tears upon seeing him alive—
then offered up his own body without hesitation.
Meruem accepted.
He consumed most of Youpi's cells.
In moments, his body healed.
Wings sprouted behind him.
But Youpi's loss of Nen triggered Potclean's final interest charge.
The piglet transformed into a debt collector.
Youpi, now in a state of Zetsu, collapsed.
Meruem raised his hand.
He gathered Youpi's residual power—
and fired it as a blast that obliterated the debt collector.
BOOM.
A devastating blast—far stronger than Youpi's version.
But it was pointless.
Potclean wasn't a physical being.
It was conceptual.
Unless you're a Nen exorcist, it's untouchable.
Even if Meruem exhausted every last drop of Nen,
he couldn't harm it.
Realizing this, the King picked up the unconscious Youpi
and began sprinting back toward the palace.
Meanwhile, all surviving Extermination Team members regrouped inside.
Knov pushed his glasses.
"We can retreat now."
Knuckle frowned.
"What if the King can't find us and goes after civilians?"
Kite stood beside him.
"Most of our powers are exposed.
If we stay and fight, we'll just get wiped."
"That one blast…
I think most of us would die in the first exchange."
Then—
"…Can I stay?"
Komugi's voice rang out.
So quiet.
So sudden.
Everyone froze.