Ron tightened his grip on his sword, eyes sharp with focus. The air around him grew tense, charged with latent energy as he and Dandins stared each other down.
Dandins's eyes narrowed slightly. "It seems my current form has misled you," he sneered. "Do you think I'm just a feeble old man? That age has dulled my strength and senses?"
With a surge of power, Dandins's body began to transform. His figure swelled, muscles thickening visibly as his greying hair darkened to jet black. In moments, he went from a frail elder to a towering, two-meter-tall middle-aged powerhouse.
Ron raised an eyebrow, unmoved by the transformation, though it reminded him of Biscuit's ability—a metamorphosis not un, though Dandins's strength paled in comparison. Dandins, he assessed, was still below the calibre of even a lower-tier Shadow Beast member. And the Shadow Beasts, skilled as they were, couldn't stand up to the Phantom Troupe. Ron was confident that only a few within the Troupe might even rival Biscuit in combat.
But Dandins's arrogance blinded him to this disparity. "Come on, kid," he taunted, flexing. "It's been ages since I've had a real fight. Let me let loose a little. So long as I don't kill you, the experiment can continue."
Ron, unimpressed, intensified his own aura, gathering Nen around him until it became a dense, ominous presence. The eerie glow on his Rotten Life Blade flickered, and he brandished it toward Dante.
"Egg of the Parasitic Bone!" Ron swung the blade, sending a dark, pulsating energy straight at Dandins. The sinister nen latched onto him, unleashing clusters of parasitic eggs that began draining his aura rapidly.
"What is this?" Dandins's expression twisted in shock as he grabbed at the spot, unable to tear the malicious energy free. "What did you do to me?"
Ignoring his question, Ron snapped his fingers. In an instant, an explosion detonated beneath Dandins, blasting his legs out from under him with Killer Queen's ability. Dandins was hurled into the air before slamming back down with a resounding crash.
Killer Queen manifested beside Ron, silent yet menacing.
Ron had prepared well. As soon as Dandins had entered the room, he'd concealed his aura to mimic that of an E-ranked Nen user, catching Dante off-guard. Utilizing his Rotten Life Blade, he'd launched a calculated assault, with Killer Queen lying in wait as a final trap. Dandins, lacking critical knowledge of Ron's abilities, had underestimated him.
Ron's nen was divided meticulously among his team: Chii managed surveillance, ensuring no interference from outside the base. Hanma Baki, ever the shield, held the front line, while Killer Queen waited to execute decisive blows. Ron, equipped with Rotten Life Blade, supported with steady damage output, holding enough nen for defence as well.
Through sheer coordination, Ron embodied a full team's capabilities, his strength surpassing that of any typical Nen user in his class.
Pain jolted through Dandins as he lay bloodied, finally understanding the dire situation he faced. "Ron, just… who are you?"
Dandins hadn't expected the battle to turn this way. Even after unleashing his full power, he found himself outmatched by a mere child—a situation that defied logic.
"What is happening?" Dandins thought, reeling. "How can some kid be stronger than me?"
Yet, Ron offered no answers, only another relentless attack.
"Egg of the Parasitic Bone!" he called, striking with his blade once more. Another wave of parasitic nen latched onto Dandins, multiplying, hungrily draining his aura.
Blood pooled beneath Dandins, his legs shattered from Killer Queen's earlier assault. But in a last-ditch effort, he pushed through the agony, using every ounce of strength left in his upper thighs to lunge at Ron.
Just as Dandins drew close, Hanma Baki moved with cockroach-like agility, interceptingDandins's path. They collided with a resounding "crash," and Dandins found himself overwhelmed by Baki's superior strength.
Killer Queen appeared behind Dandins, wielding an iron rod, which it swung into Dandins's back. The resulting blast ripped through him, sending a torrent of blood and guts across the floor, creating a pool of blood beneath him.
Dandins now laid on the ground, defeated and broken, as Ron gave Killer Queen the order for the finishing blow. Just then, an ominous presence washed over Ron, triggering an instinctual retreat!