Parallel world Manga Artist-Chapter 222: Reversal

Keiko continued reading.

At the beginning of the chapter, Shaiapouf's intense inner turmoil nearly drove him to collapse. His jealousy bordered on hysteria. In the end, he played a frantic violin piece to soothe his unstable emotions.

"To be honest," Keiko muttered, "there are plenty of extraordinary individuals on the Ant side too."

As ordinary Chimera Ants developed Nen and grew stronger, some occasionally showed signs of wavering loyalty.

But the Three Royal Guards were different.

If the Ant King ordered them to die, they would commit suicide without hesitation.

The manga shifted to the gathering of the invasion team, Gon, Killua, Knuckle, and the others, as they analyzed the situation and finalized their strategy. Keiko's page-turning speed noticeably increased. She generally didn't enjoy overanalyzing tactical discussions; by noon, detailed breakdown posts would flood the internet anyway, and she could simply read those.

Soon enough, she skimmed through the strategic planning sections and arrived back at the King versus Komugi match.

The Ant King lost again.

And again.

Yet the more he lost, the fiercer his fighting spirit became. At one point, he even ordered the Three Royal Guards to leave the gaming room.

"Yeah, exactly," Keiko nodded. "When I'm gaming, I also hate it when someone stands nearby constantly talking. In that moment, the game is everything."

Outside the room, the Royal Guards conferred.

"We only need to wait for the King to win. It won't take many more games."

"No… the King's improvement is astonishing. But that girl is the same. She has already exceeded my calculations…"

Keiko leaned forward, engrossed.

So it wasn't just the Ant King who could evolve.

Perhaps Komugi would lose to him in mastering a thousand different disciplines. But in Gungi alone, her talent rivaled, even matched, the King's.

In exquisitely drawn panels, move after move unfolded between them.

"I can't suppress it… refined moves are pouring into my mind one after another. I can still… grow stronger…" Komugi said, her eyes wide with focus.

"Awakened? And still evolving?" The King's expression turned solemn.

After conceding yet another match, Komugi timidly requested a break.

"I'd like to return to my room and organize the inspirations that are welling up."

As he watched her retreating figure, the King asked, truly asked, for the first time:

"What is your name?"

Keiko's heart stirred.

It was a simple line, but it felt monumental.

For the first time, the Ant King seemed to step beyond pure utility and cold rationality. Something human, something unnecessary, emotional, had surfaced.

"My… my name is Komugi!" she replied nervously.

"And you, Supreme Leader? What is your name?"

The question struck the Ant King like a physical blow.

He wavered.

Because he had been forcibly born from his mother's body before her time, he had never even acknowledged the ant who gave birth to him.

Naturally, he did not know his own name.

"What… am I called…"

Keiko straightened unconsciously.

At its core, this wasn't just about a name.

It was about identity.

Who am I?

"Heh… maybe beings shouldn't be too intelligent," she muttered to herself. "Stupid people never question who they are, what life means, where they came from, or where they're going."

"Only smart people wrestle with those questions, until they drive themselves mad, or fall into nihilism."

Still, surely Shirogane wouldn't turn a manga into a full-blown philosophical treatise?

Manga needed artistry, yes, but not indulgent self-absorption. If a creator became lost in abstract philosophy, that was the beginning of decline.

Shirogane wouldn't make that mistake.

And indeed, the manga did not linger too long on existential musings.

The scene shifted.

Under the night sky of the King's palace, the Ant King stood on high ground. Behind him stood the Three Royal Guards, Shaiapouf, Menthuthuyoupi, and Neferpitou.

The King asked why the three of them possessed names while he did not. They replied simply that he could choose a name for himself.

"Komugi's body shines with light," the King said.

"She has awakened. Though it is limited to Gungi, she will make a tremendous leap. Yet if she participates in our Selection, she will die."

"Since meeting her, I have come to realize that strength takes many forms. I have killed countless ordinary humans, including children. Among those children… perhaps some possessed talents surpassing mine in certain aspects."

Keiko didn't blink.

Beside him, Shaiapouf looked as though he were on the verge of tears.

Was the King regretting his past actions? Was he questioning the meaning of what he had done?

But if he wavered...

Would he still be the King?

True kingship wasn't merely about raw power. It was about unshakable spirit.

"If he hesitates over this… then is he still the Ant King? Or has he already become human?" the thought flashed through Keiko's mind.

The characterization was masterful.

In the hands of a mediocre mangaka, this would be the turning point: the villain repents, achieves enlightenment, and disbands his army.

For a fleeting moment, even Keiko entertained that possibility.

But Shirogane wouldn't write something so predictable.

That would be boring.

She turned the page.

"I am…"

"The King!"

The Ant King's expression hardened, exultant, merciless.

"To destroy life without hesitation. Such absolute power. This is my power. Violence… is the ultimate power!"

He had reached his conclusion.

Without another word, he turned and walked away.

Toward Komugi's room.

Keiko's pupils contracted.

A dreadful premonition formed.

Wait...

The realization he reached wasn't that he needed to surpass others in every domain to prove himself King.

It was that he only needed overwhelming violence.

He didn't need to defeat Komugi at Gungi. He could simply kill her.

And if that was the case, Komugi would…

The Ant King was going to kill Komugi.

Keiko's heart began to race.

As an immersed manga reader, she often visualized the story world in her mind. At this moment, she almost forgot she was reading a manga at all, it felt as if she were standing inside the world of Hunter × Hunter.

"My power stands at the pinnacle of the world. All other powers are meaningless before me. If I were to change my mind right now…"

"That's how it should be. So why am I still hesitating?"

The Ant King stared at the door to Komugi's room, a cruel smile forming on his face.

"She is merely a tool to pass the time. Tomorrow is Selection Day. I have played enough. I have enjoyed myself. Now… I will kill her."

The panel showed his expression clearly.

Cold. Determined. Filled with killing intent.

It's over.

Shirogane, how could you do this?

You devoted so many chapters to Komugi. Was her ultimate purpose really just to trigger this thought in the King?

This isn't right. Don't kill Komugi.

Even through black-and-white ink, the Ant King's aura seemed to pierce straight through the page and into Keiko's chest.

For a moment, she didn't even dare turn the page.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself.

Maybe… maybe someone will save her.

Yes, maybe Gon and the others will storm in at this exact moment!

Her finger trembled slightly as she flipped the page.

The Ant King pushed the door open.

And in that instant, the towering killing intent vanished.

Across a full double-page spread, the scene unfolded in stark black and white.

In the tall, empty stone chamber at the top of the tower, Komugi's room, a large goshawk had flown in through the unsealed window. The bird relentlessly clawed and pecked at the silver-haired girl lying on the floor. Her arms, face, and legs were streaked with blood.

Yet she remained curled on the ground, trembling silently.

She made no cry for help.

Because she was blind, she had not even noticed the Ant King's arrival. She could not see that he had entered with murderous intent.

And in that moment, the King's instinct overrode his resolve.

Before his mind could react, his body moved first.

He leapt forward. His tail pierced the hawk mid-air, hurling its corpse out the window.

"Why didn't you call for help?!" he shouted angrily.

Keiko felt her eyes sting.

For the first time since his introduction dozens of chapters ago, the Ant King displayed an unmistakably human emotion.

Anger.

Not cold calculation.

Not cruelty.

But anger born of concern.

Until now, he had been utterly indifferent. His mother's life or death meant nothing to him. Even the Royal Guards were disposable if they disobeyed.

But this expression, this was different.

It was beautifully depicted.

And more importantly...

Shirogane's art.

Why had so many manga series in Japan surpassed 100 million copies in sales, while light novels selling a few million were hailed as legends?

Because some things cannot be expressed through words alone.

Only visual storytelling can convey emotion at this level.

Even anime adaptations often fail in comparison. Why are so many anime criticized for falling short of their manga counterparts? Because anime is, fundamentally, an interpretation of the manga. No matter how skilled the animators are, they are recreating someone else's panels. They cannot perfectly replicate the emotion embedded in the original linework and composition.

At this moment, Shirogane's artwork made Keiko feel everything.

The intensity of the King's anger proved just how important Komugi had become to him.

"Here, and here, it's all blood…"

"Damn it…"

"What a fragile creature."

"Because it's not yet dawn," Komugi said timidly, eyes closed, "I thought it would be better not to trouble anyone."

"There is no such thing as trouble. You are an important guest."

The King's expression turned complex.

'What am I saying?'

'Didn't I come here to kill her?'

Then Komugi began to sob.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

'Why can't I do it?'

The King questioned himself silently.

"I'm sorry… it's just that… no one has ever been this kind to me…"

And on his face, not a trace of killing intent remained.

The final page of the chapter was almost entirely blank.

A white panel.

No figures. No scenery.

Only a single line of the King's inner monologue:

"What… is happening to me? What exactly… do I want to do with this person?"

Tears welled in the corners of Keiko's eyes.

She took several deep breaths, but her emotions refused to settle.

She had always known Shirogane was talented.

But this...this was overwhelming.

Komugi was, on the surface, just a naive girl obsessed with a board game.

The Ant King was a brutal, merciless tyrant.

And yet, it was precisely this simplicity that made the emotional impact indescribable.

Damn it, Shirogane.

Don't you dare pull some cruel twist in this arc.

Chrollo and Hisoka were mass murderers too, and you didn't kill them off.

At least let this arc end that way…

Keiko realized something surprising.

At the start of the Chimera Ant arc, she had wanted the ants exterminated as quickly as possible.

Now her perspective had completely flipped.

As a reader, whether hero or villain, you want charismatic characters to continue existing. You want to see their stories unfold.

This chapter marked one of the most unforgettable interactions between the Ant King and Komugi before Selection Day, the day the protagonists would launch their assault.

It could be said that without Komugi, the Ant King might never have fallen.

And without Komugi, the Chimera Ant arc would have been nothing more than a typical "heroes versus monsters" storyline.

Just as Garou in One-Punch Man explored what it truly meant to be a "monster," the Chimera Ant arc explored the psychological evolution of a villain.

As for Gon, for over 90% of this arc, he barely ranked among the top five most prominent characters. He was practically a background protagonist.

By early morning, after countless fans finished reading the chapter, their feelings echoed Keiko's.

That indescribable sense of being moved lingered in their hearts.

Many reread the chapter multiple times.

Online, reactions flooded in:

"Divine."

"This might be my favorite chapter since Hunter × Hunter began serialization."

"It was moving, sure, but not that exaggerated."

"Everyone's life experience is different. Naturally, reactions differ. If you prefer sweetness, you won't necessarily feel anything from something spicy."

"My mind is completely occupied by the King and Komugi right now. Is this love?"

"More like soulmates. Calling it love feels too cliché."

"I was so worried the King would kill Komugi. Thank goodness Shirogane-sensei didn't go for meaningless shock value."

"I never expected that after bursting in with killing intent, it would turn into something like this. What an incredible reversal."

"This is the charm of a great villain!"

"I absolutely adore the Ant King and Komugi."

"You can instantly tell the difference between a genius mangaka and a mediocre one. Those overhyped works on the market can't even compare to Hunter in terms of character depth."

"The Ant King is the most charismatic villain I've seen in the past five years. Before him, maybe Viktor from Arcane and Garou from One-Punch Man."

"But now the calm before the storm is over. Tomorrow is Selection Day, the protagonists' assassination attempt. I don't want Gon to fail… but I don't want the King to die either!"

"Don't pressure Shirogane-sensei. This arc has already surpassed expectations. Now we just need a flawless ending."

After this chapter's release, discussion threads about Komugi and the Ant King exploded across the internet.

Fan art and colored illustrations spread rapidly.

Merchandise stores quickly sensed the trend.

Official posters featuring the King and Komugi appeared in shops. Pre-orders for their figures surged. In fan popularity polls, characters like Hisoka, Illumi, Kurapika, and Chrollo dropped several spots as the Ant King and Komugi soared to the top.

In a manga arc that had run for nearly a year, where the protagonist spent most of the time training, being rescued, or fading into the background.

It was the villains who captured the spotlight.

This narrative rhythm left many industry peers in Japan utterly bewildered.

How could a shōnen manga make its villains more beloved than its hero.