Meruem

Japanese name:

メルエム

Name: Meruem
Gender: Male
Occupation: King of the Chimera Ants
Nen type: Unknown
Abilities: Aura synthesis, Shapeshifting, Rage Blast, Photon Transmutation

Meruem is the most powerful offspring of the Chimera Ant Queen, and the King of the Chimera Ants. He is the main antagonist of the Chimera Ant arc.
Meruem is initially seen as a cruel and violent leader. The Queen's intention to give birth to a perfect offspring is reflected in Meruem's mentality, with the Ant being haughty towards all. He speaks in an eloquent manner and has refined tastes for one of his species. He considers himself superior to all other forms of life and feels no concern for his dying mother after his birth. Meruem is also merciless, killing and cannibalizing any Chimera Ant he deems as disrespectful, although he still holds respect towards the strong, complimenting Neferpitou for surviving an attack that had killed many without much damage at all.

As the story progresses, Meruem starts to grudgingly respect Komugi, a human woman. He eventually grows to even care for her. From there on, Meruem begins to question the differences between the Ants and mankind. He battles with his identity as a half-human and half-insect, questioning the nature of violence and strength as true power.

He is quite adept and learns things at an astonishing rate, being capable of mastering any form seen of board games in just ten matches and defeat world champions with ease. During this time it is seen that he displays a code of honor and disapproves of winning unfairly as demonstrated when he rips his left arm after placing a bet with Komugi to scare her and disrupt her game and even allows her to rest so that she can be at the best of her ability as he sees no point in winning otherwise.

After a brief loss of memory he seems to become much more respectful and closer to his subordinates after being fed a part of them when he was dying, as he can feel things they can feel, and tell easily if they are hiding something or not from him, but at the same time he can sense their loyalty to him, causing him to put their loyalty to the test before considering to punish them, even more so if they answer truthfully despite doing so may inquire admitting to a miscalculation.

Meruem is the next to the last ant born of the Queen and is the Chimera Ant King. He is born prematurely, forcibly birthed through rupturing through her abdomen. According to the sociology of Chimera Ants, upon the birth of the King, the Royal Guards will solely follow his commands and he will leave the nest to find various creatures to mate with and impregnate in order to create the next Chimera Ant Queen. Soon after he was born, Meruem leaves his original nest in NGL with his Royal Guards in search of a place to start his kingdom. His name means "the light that shines on everything."

Wikia