My Name Is Meruem

A dark, narrow corridor stretches into blackness under heavy shadows, accompanied by the caption 'TO THE TALE'S CONCLUSION...'. The scene shifts to an empty town square lined with multi-story buildings featuring shuttered windows and stone steps. A fountain stands silent in the foreground, with no people visible anywhere in the plaza. In a close-up, Killua leans forward intently, his cheek marked with an X scar, carefully placing a stone on a Go board. Beside him, a girl with wild, spiky hair smiles with closed eyes, one hand resting on the board while music notes float around her and a bucket of stones sits nearby.

Inside a room, Ikalgo sits on the floor in his suited form with striped tentacles, playing Go opposite the girl with wild hair. Large speech bubbles show their excited conversation while they place stones. Close-ups capture the girl's blushing face and Ikalgo's surprised expression as dialogue continues. The girl apologizes for jumping to conclusions, and Ikalgo clarifies that the stomach-kicking feeling came from his subordinate, not himself.

Killua stands in profile, speaking quietly. "People who've passed me..." Palm, with her cat-ear hairstyle, replies with wide eyes, "I have." Beside them, Ikalgo glares intensely. In the next panels Ikalgo, now wearing his helmet, declares, "I'll be meeting him soon." He continues, ".....I'll let him know." A voice adds, "Then if I meet him, I must thank him." Palm blushes deeply, her face flushed as she stammers with small sound effects "うっ" "うっ". A gloved hand clenches into a fist. "Yes, sir!!" Ikalgo answers firmly. Another voice rings out, "All right, let us begin." The scene shifts to a shuttered building where a large speech bubble states, "What my name was, before..." A smaller one replies, "You asked."

Komugi's face appears distressed, sweat drops visible. She whispers, "Meru...em-sama". Her expression softens with more sweat drops. Meruem, close-up in his helmet, states clearly, "My name is Meruem." Komugi lies on the floor as Ikalgo kneels nearby. Ikalgo says, "......I know." Komugi beams, "It's very nice to meet you!!" and "My name is Komugi!!" A black panel reads, "I didn't know." Another states, "That's right......" Meruem's hand is shown with ellipsis. Narration concludes, "That I knew nothing of..." and "It seems there was... something vastly important........."

The spiky-haired figure stares in shock and stammers, "MERIEM-SAMA......?" A close-up shows wide eyes and a hesitant "HUH?" as the helmeted Meruem glares forward. In a burst of motion lines and dramatic shading, Meruem's subordinate cries out desperately: "I COULD NEVER ADDRESS YOU WITHOUT AN HONORIFIC, GREAT LEADER!" "N-NO, I COULD NEVER!!" Meruem cuts him off sharply: "DON'T MAKE ME REPEAT MYSELF!! THERE'S NO NEED FOR THE SAMA!" A tense close-up of Meruem's intense eyes fills the panel with the words "IN THAT CASE." The spiky-haired character sweats nervously while Meruem declares, "YOU MUST REFER TO ME WITHOUT 'SAMA'." He adds with fierce determination, "IF I WIN AT GUNGI." The subordinate hesitates, "AH... RIGHT..." then nervously asks, "IS IT OKAY IF I DIE AFTER I REFER TO YOU WITHOUT AN HONORIFIC? I UNDERSTAND... UMMMMMA." Meruem responds firmly, "THERE'S NO NEED TO DIE."

Meruem's face fills the frame as he declares with a slight smile, "PREPARE YOURSELF FOR NUMEROUS DEFEATS." He continues, "I'M A TINGE DIFFERENT FROM HOW I WAS BEFORE." The spiky-haired character responds eagerly, "I WOULD LIKE ANOTHER GAME!!" and then answers, "YES, SIR!!" with a relieved expression. In a wider view, both characters sit on the floor facing each other; Meruem says, "NOW THEN, LET'S GO." The subordinate replies, "I GUESS THAT WAS A FOOLISH QUESTION." Close-up panels show a hand placing a Gungi piece with the moves "9-9-1 SUI" and "1-5-1 SUI." A translator's note at the bottom reads "SUI = COMMANDER."

A gloved hand hovers over the board as numbered Gungi notations appear in sequence: 2-2-2 TSUTSU, 2-3-1 HYOU, and 7-9-1 HYOU. Someone wonders aloud, 'COULD IT BE...?' A stern face wearing a visor and glasses stares intently at the board. The full Gungi board comes into view, its pieces arranged in a distinctive pattern. The caption reads 'KOKORIKO?' followed by 'THIS IS'. The man with the visor reacts violently, smoke and impact lines bursting around him as he shouts, 'ARE YOU MOCKING ME...?' and calls out 'KOMUGI...'.

Komugi sits on the edge of the board, her spiky hair framing a serious expression. She declares she will not tolerate nonsense and demands an honest answer. When asked if she is playing around, she replies 'NO'. In close-up she confirms 'YES' that she never fools around when playing Gungi. The opponent leans in with intense eyes and warns that losing means she must die afterward. Komugi answers 'ALL RIGHT'. A clenched fist appears as thoughts consider whether there is a means of escape. Internal narration questions if Komugi is making meaningless moves on a near-lost position or if she truly sees other paths. Komugi replies 'YES SIR'.

A powerful armored figure with a turtle-shell helmet and segmented armor lunges forward amid dramatic speed lines and impact shapes. The figure shouts a command. "9-2-1 CHUUJYUU ARATA!!" A small note clarifies the term as New Lieutenant General. In close-up panels the same helmeted fighter glares and demands, "WHAT YOU'LL DO NEXT....!!" and "NOW SHOW ME". Beside them, a long-haired girl stares with wide, intense eyes. Below, a glowing ring on a fingertip emits light while the girl extends her own hand forward, her expression focused and serious. An extreme close-up shows her narrowed eye watching intently.

A hand places a circular piece marked with a symbol onto a grid board already containing several similar pieces arranged in a pattern. The move is announced as "4-6-2 SHINOBI ......!". Several small white circles fall into place beside the board. Two stylized eye shapes appear in the next panel, watching the board. A final close-up shows a single marked piece centered on radiating lines with the text "THIS IS......" and "TH..." trailing off.

A glowing shogi-style board floats in a starry void, its pieces scattered and connected by glowing lines. A voice declares, "A PATH STILL LIVES. ...!!" and another confirms, "IT'S TRUE..." In the panels below, a helmeted figure clutches his chin and shouts, "LET ME THINK!!" only to be countered by a sharp "SILENCE!!" from off-panel. Killua, surrounded by floating bubbles, realizes, "I REALIZED IT. THAT NIGHT. THAT NIGHT." A wide-eyed girl stares in shock. On the ground, Killua and Ikalgo sit across a small physical board; Ikalgo leans forward while smoke drifts around them. Three small close-up panels show a piece being moved, hair whipping in motion, and swirling dust.

Explosive impact lines burst as the helmeted player declares, "BUT IF I CAN FORCE MY OPPONENT CLOSER TO ME TO A DEGREE WHICH WILL ALLOW ME MORE MOVES, IT WILL BE TO MY ADVANTAGE!!" and "IT SHOULDN'T REACH CHECKMATE!!" A massive "21611" appears beside the move. The opponent thinks, "THIS IS IT!!!" and "THIS IS ALL IT CAN BE!!" Notes explain Gyaku Arate as a reverse new move. The helmeted figure shouts, "CAVALRY-MAN!!" and "IT'S A GYAKU ARATE!!" while asking, "NOW WHAT WILL YOU DO!?" A bottom panel shows his intense close-up face with "!!" as the caption defines Gyaku Arate as a move meant to crush a newly established tactic.

A close-up shows a spiky-haired boy with wild, disheveled hair sobbing uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face, mouth open in distress. Below, his bound hands tremble as he begins, "I...". A character wearing a hat and goggles leans in with concern, asking "WHY ARE YOU CRYING...!?" and "WHAT'S WRONG...?". The boy continues crying, questioning "ALL RIGHT FOR ME... TO FEEL HAPPINESS LIKE THIS?" and "IS IT.....". In the next panels he whispers "SOMEONE LIKE ME...?" while the goggled character watches silently as the boy adds "SOMEONE ......".

A mechanical figure with a large eye states "AS I THOUGHT." and "I HAVE TO TELL YOU." while the spiky-haired boy stands in the background looking shocked. The boy continues sobbing, asking "IS IT OKAY FOR SO MANY BEAUTIFUL THINGS TO HAPPEN TO ME...?". A wide shot reveals a chessboard on a table with the word "I" and ellipsis. The boy looks up with a tearful expression as the goggled character declares "IT WON'T BE LONG." and "HAVE BEEN POISONED."

Komugi kneels on the floor, tears streaming down her face as she speaks her final words. "KOMUGI." A close-up shows her profile, eyes shut tight with grief. "IN MY LAST MOMENTS ...... MERUEM-SAMA." Across from her sits the helmeted chimeric ant with the long striped tail, his posture tense. In a large speech bubble he declares, "I WANTED TO SPEND PLAYING THIS GAME WITH YOU." The scene cuts to a tight close-up of Komugi's face, her eyes wide and overflowing with tears, mouth slightly open in shock and sorrow.

Komugi's tear-streaked face fills the panel as the helmeted ant warns, "THIS POISON IS CONTAGIOUS." He continues, "BUT" and then "IF YOU'RE BY MY SIDE TOO LONG" followed by "YOU, TOO, WILL..." Komugi suddenly leans forward, one hand plunging into the rippling water on the floor, creating concentric waves. Small inset panels show a hand slicing across the surface and the ant's helmeted profile. The ant watches her from the side as the water disturbs around her reaching fingers.

A Go board fills the upper panel, stones arranged in a tense pattern. Bold text overlays the grid: "THE GYAKU ARATE...!?" and "SHE RETURNED..." Below, three dark panels glow with soft light. A small white stone rests on the board as a voice declares, "VERY HAPPY." Another panel shows a hand reaching down to place a piece, accompanied by the words "RIGHT NOW.. I AM..." and "MERUEM -SAMA." In the final panel, a character wearing a cap and glasses leans forward, eyes wide, and says, "I'M NOT GOOD AT ANYTHING, BUT PLEASE LET ME ACCOMPANY YOU."

Split panels show the hatted character in profile on the left, mouth open, declaring "BORN FOR THIS MOMENT...!!!" and "THIS MOMENT...!!!" Narration at the bottom reads: "AT HIS DYING HOUR, HE LEARNED THE ANSWER..." On the right, a close-up of a long-haired girl with tears streaming down her face shows her saying, "I WAS BORN FOR THIS DAY...!" Smaller bubbles continue: "I WAS..." "...I SEE." "I'M SURE." The chapter ends with the Hunter × Hunter logo and "No.317 /END."