𐀔𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓮𐀔

(Btw, I'm glad you're back!)

(I'm always glad to make a comeback, but even more glad that people notice when I come and go <3)

It's been a bit since I've seen the whole arc, so I'll answer based off my memory; I've seen the CAA somewhere near 3-4 times + read through it in the manga as well, so I feel at least a little confident in my approach lmao

I think there's a couple of major pieces to that scene that offer an explanation, but I firmly believe that Meruem himself is the key piece in how he chose to handle the situation (which I feel goes without saying, but I want to be as clear as possible). At this point in the storyline, Meruem is only a minute or so away from remembering Komugi, and is also wavering between his human and ant components; there's also the huge piece of Pouf and Meruem having a psychic link, being able to feel each other's emotions. Before going any further into this, I'd like to show some manga panels of the scene (taken from the @/everyshaiapouf blog):

I feel like it's fair to say that these panels are almost definitely back-to-back, considering how Pouf was commandeering the scene. It's pretty explicitly stated that Meruem fully understands Pouf's feelings, which would include a dual-edge of secrecy, guilt, and devotion; Pouf's secrecy doubles back directly into the devotion since he fully believes that killing Komugi is the right thing to do for Meruem. While Meruem doesn't know that this is what's being hidden from him, he can still pick up on Pouf's intense loyalty, as well as his guilt, through his inherited usage of Spiritual Message.

Surprisingly, I haven't done a lot of examination of Meruem and his arc; I feel like a lot of people have already done so, with more attention to detail than I could provide. That being said, I'd like to give what feels like a more base-level analysis, with such being: him sparing Pouf can be seen as another manifestation of his humanity. The lines immediately before this are overdub narration, roughly saying that "loyalty and animosity were equally meaningless before [Meruem]", which then leads into the panels I've posted (if my memory serves correctly). Even though Pouf is completely willing to die to protect his secret, Meruem spares him in a simple act of humanity. I believe it's the same base impulse that allows him to spare Welfin after he says that he'd never bow to Meruem.

For the latter, it could easily be said that Meruem's priorities had shifted to Komugi, so it wouldn't have really mattered for him to linger, especially with him knowing that his time was limited, but I'd like to bring up another major event that points to Meruem's change in character: at the beginning of episode 135, where all these major events happen, he kneels before Palm in a gesture of equality. This act alone is unthinkable for Meruem at the beginning of his arc, as well as his act of sparing Welfin, and I think that both of these events tie in nicely with Meruem sparing Pouf.

Something else I would like to point out is that this is all visible in Meruem's thoughts towards the guards as a whole. Earlier in the arc, he struck each of them across the face, with enough force to knock Youpi down and throw Pouf across the room; in Meruem's last moments, he mentions how he was unworthy of his guards. His changes are more well-displayed through his interactions with Komugi, but they're visible with the guards in more subtle ways (the most overt I can think of off the top of my head being when he asked Pitou to take care of Komugi after her injuries).

The final piece I want to discuss is how he spared Pouf after remembering Komugi. Once more, it could just be said that Meruem likely wouldn't have wanted to waste any more time, but I'd like to argue against that - he took time to stop and wish Welfin the best of luck in living as a human. His refusal to deliver any sort of punishment upon Pouf, even when only a minute ago Pouf was prepared to let himself be killed, speaks volumes.

The chimera ant arc explores the human condition as an attribute that is not inherent to human beings, and how it manifests in an alien, newborn animal species. Contrary to the fandom’s general perception, i believe Meruem was always human. Yes, he was violent and selfish and cruel but aren’t those human traits? Are we so different from the ants? Chimera ants always had human emotions, feelings and desires. And there is not a more human trait than free will, the potential to become something different from what others made of us. That is what separates us from animals and angels. The human side and the ant side, wich are relentlessly struggling in the inside of the characters along the story, doesn’t correspond to good or evil, or compassion vs ruthlessness, but to individuality and collectivity instead: the dilema of choosing between sacrificing oneself for a common benefit or rather break away from the colony in the pursuit of a higher purpose.

Meruem’s journey is about finding his own path. He has to choose between the role that was imposed to him prior to his birth (ant side) or something that gives him peace, joy and meaning (human side).

Shaiapouf’s character represents Meruem’s role as the chimera ant King, future world’s ruler. As you already know, he’s named after the egyptian god of Fate. In the narrative, Pouf being by Meruem’s side means he’s still living a life decided by others. This is also why Shaiapouf is the last guard to die, and we get to see his death right after Meruem’s abdication (performed in the symbolic act of bowing down to Palm).

After being nearly killed by the poor man’s rose, Meruem is reborn as a different person: a fairer, less sadistic, more tolerant monarch. When Youpi admits he let the enemies escape Meruem spares his life just because he told the truth, though what he did put the King at disadvantage. The old Meruem would have obliterated him for way less. This King, on the other hand, is willing to accept his subjects’s flaws instead of just suppressing them. And it seems that he values their honesty above their blind obedience.

The scene we’re talking about reminds me a lot of a ceremony described in the egyptian mythology, known as The Judgement of Osiris or The Weighing of the Heart. The ancient Egyptians believed that, after your death, you would be judged by a court of gods, among whom Osiris was the most influential one. They would decide if you were worthy of the eternal life based on your heart’s testimony. If your heart lied you’d be devoured.

In Shaiapouf’s psychostasia the narrator tells us that for Meruem, who’s able to read his guard’s heart like an open book, ´´loyalty and animosity were equally worthless’’.  Those two feelings coexist in Pouf. This man’s heart is an unsolvable paradox, even for Meruem. It’s imposible to tell if he’s a martyr or a traitor. Or better, he’s both.

The answer Meruem demands doesn´t need to be pleasant nor treacherous, it needs to be honest. The only thing that could save Pouf is the truth. And what is Pouf if not loyal to his truth? He’s a manipulative liar, but in some deviant, heartbreaking way his intentions were always sincere. He may have betrayed Meruem, but he never betrayed his heart. And his heart didn't betray him before his God.