Apex Predator

Margay II (Rewritten)

Beta: TaintedLetter

Edited: 01/09/2026, 01/10/2026, 01/11/2026, 01/12/2026

── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ──

Outside of the tunnel rests a dense fog that carries the scents of a swamp: that earthy, musty, wet, rotten-egg smell.

"Is this where the second phase will take place?" Gon eagerly asks Satotz.

"No," Satotz replies. "It's still far away."

Gon makes an acknowledging noise.

The trio of children move off to the side to wait for the rest of Gon's group. Miwa rocks from her toes to her heels, unable to stay put. Gon swings his backpack side to side. Killua rests his hands in the pocket of his shorts and goes completely still.

Kurapika and Leorio are near the end of the group, so it takes a few minutes before they catch up.

"Is this our destination?" Kurapika asks them, glancing around the fog.

Gon shakes his head. "Nope!"

A small gust of wind blows through, causing some of the fog to lift up. It lingers, only lightening instead of dissipating entirely.

"This is the Milsy Wetlands, also known as the Swindler's Swamp. We must cross these wetlands to reach phase two of the exam. This place is home to bizarre animals, many of them crafty creatures who deceive humans and prey upon them. Please be very careful as you follow me," Satotz says, drawing everyone's attention back to the pink-haired proctor. "If you are deceived, you are dead."

With that remark, the gate to the sewers shut.

Satotz continues. "Creatures here will use every trick in the book to fool their prey. An ecosystem in which creatures obtain food through deceit... Hence the nickname Swindler's Swamp. Follow me closely so you can't be deceived."

'Maybe I should mark Gon and Killua with hiraishin. They both seem competent enough to not get lost, so having back ups would be smart.'

Or maybe you're just worried about them and want to keep an eye on them! And you call me a tsundere.

Miwa ignores Kurama, unable to think of a reply.

"Don't... Don't be deceived!" cries out a voice.

All eyes swivel to a human—no, Miwa could smell that whatever it is over there is not human. The-thing-that-looks-human stumbles out from behind the gate, appearing battered and nearly dead. "Don't let them fool you." The thing points accusingly at Satotz. "He's lying to you! He's an imposter!" It points back to itself. "I'm the real examiner."

'What a dumb lie.'

Even if Miwa can't smell that the thing isn't human, the proctor literally just warned them.

If she were hunting, she would not tell her prey she would deceive them. Especially since everyone here already trusts the proctor enough to follow him to the second phase.

The logic used by the creature is so mind-bogglingly slow-witted that Miwa is stupefied.

Then, to Miwa's incredulous disbelief, there is some confusion amongst the examinees. They all turn to question themselves about what is going on.

Holy fuck are they actually falling for this?

She reacts without thought. She pulls a needle out from one of her pigtails and flicks it at the creature. It slices cleanly through its right eyeball, pierces the brain, and kills it. It falls back, and whatever ability it previously used to look human dissipates.