Hunter x Hunter Episode 123: Centipede x and x Memory

Ikalgo is underground when he remembers that his mission is to find Palm, and that pushes him to keep moving instead of dwelling on his failure to finish off Brovada. He then runs into Welfin, and the two immediately turn on each other in a tense confrontation that becomes the episode’s main conflict.

Welfin tries to take control by threatening Ikalgo with his Nen ability, but Ikalgo attacks first with his rifle. Welfin’s attack lands on Ikalgo, and at first it seems ineffective, but black centipedes begin growing inside Ikalgo’s head, creating severe pain and making it clear that Welfin’s ability is more dangerous than it first appeared.

Ikalgo refuses to back down and keeps pressing the fight, even as Welfin warns him about the pain. After repeated exchanges, Welfin tries to bluff and act weak, but Ikalgo is not fooled and prepares to kill him. Welfin finally admits that he does not know how to remove the centipedes, and Ikalgo realizes something important: when Welfin suffers and begs for mercy, the centipedes begin to weaken.

This shifts the battle into a psychological standoff. Ikalgo demands to know about Welfin’s past, and Welfin is forced to open up and speak honestly about himself. As he does, he begins recovering some of his lost memories from when he was human, and his confession becomes the key that loosens the hold of the centipedes on Ikalgo.

Once the centipedes fade, Ikalgo asks about Palm. Welfin tells him that a captured woman is trapped in a cocoon upstairs near the elevator, so Ikalgo heads off to find her. Before he leaves, Welfin reflects that telling the truth and opening up feels freeing after years of lying and mistrusting others.

Upstairs, Palm emerges from her cocoon, but she has been transformed into a Chimera Ant.