"Roy Zoldyck…"
"[Mental Morphine] Guzman…"
Through [Targeted Tracking Art], Roy had locked onto Guzman's location. This time, he cut off all other viewpoints and focused all his Nen on the green-haired boy. And at last, he finally saw it clearly…
The so-called [Substitute Death Doll] was actually connected through Guzman's crown straight into the void—a thick [line of causality], its end disappearing into some unknown place.
Following that line of causality, Roy's pupils suddenly trembled. Just as his sight was about to fly beyond the lake island—
his consciousness followed it, then with a sharp snap, it broke apart.
In that dim, half-understood instant, Roy seemed to see a river, coiling around the entire continent like the World Serpent. It not only blocked some unseen gaze from the Dark Continent, but also seemed to be protecting the lake island itself from harm, vaguely warning him…
Danger.
In that dazed moment, Roy vaguely understood something. Lowering his eyes to Guzman below, he narrowed them and said, "So you came from that continent."
The moment those words fell, all the private soldiers—including old brigade commander Grant—and even Benjamin Hui Guo Rou on the throne, instantly focused their gazes on Guzman.
Since his origins had been exposed, the green-haired boy simply stopped pretending. He pressed his palms together and softly recited, "Truth above all…"
Then he straightened his back and said in a deep voice, "That's right."
"I am the most devout and humble servant of the great Creator of Truth, the source of all manifestation. I was sent down by divine decree to spread the faith and purge heretics."
"And among them…"
"Are you."
"And the entire Zoldyck family behind you."
An uproar followed at once.
Guzman's sudden honesty was like hurling a bomb into a still lake.
The blast made Grant and the others' scalps go numb. As Benjamin Hui Guo Rou's personal guards—men who existed to die for him at any moment and to fuel his Nen ability—they instantly caught the meaning hidden in Roy and Guzman's words:
that continent.
What continent could that be?
Only the Dark Continent.
The very continent their king and prince hoped Beyond would one day lead the entire Kakin Empire to ascend toward.
Wasn't the Black Whale being built day and night at the docks beside the royal coast precisely for that reason?
Grant and the others stared at Guzman in stunned confusion, their minds rapidly recalling all the intelligence they had gathered on the [Church of Truth]. Suddenly, many of the strange inconsistencies in that information started to make sense. In fact, they lined up perfectly, one after another.
Grant quietly glanced at Benjamin Hui Guo Rou.
The First Prince of Kakin had only shown a flicker of surprise. In the next instant, he returned to that ancient-well-still, majestic expression of his, as though he had already expected everything and was not the least bit shocked.
But as he withdrew his gaze from Guzman, he shot Roy a sidelong glance and said, "This is not your house, Roy Zoldyck."
Benjamin Hui Guo Rou narrowed his eyes and coldly continued, "You come when you want, leave when you want, and don't even bother with a greeting. Don't you think you're taking yourself a little too seriously?"
Benjamin Hui Guo Rou…
Looking down at the First Prince from above, Roy recalled all the descriptions of him from the original story. Compared to the Second Prince's madness, the Third Prince's scheming, and the Fourth Prince's pure evil… this man didn't need to flaunt anything. He simply sat there, and he alone became an army, a nation—perhaps even a world.
The invisible Nen aura radiating from him was as overbearing as Silva's, yet it carried an additional trace of kingly authority.
Clearly, the Nen ability [He Who Inherits the Stars], which allowed him to absorb the Nen quantity and abilities of fourteen private soldiers at once, gave him immense confidence.
Then, with another glance, Roy noticed the strange Nen beast crouched behind Benjamin—something that looked suspiciously like a fly. As Roy's Nen stirred, he heard Little Gold calling to him. It belonged to the same "rank" as the [Fitcher's Parrot] he had once summoned upon first meeting Ging…
Roy pressed his palms together and softly recited an honorific title. "Praise the Sun. Your Highness, please understand this: no matter how vast the world may be, sunlight can reach it at any time…"
The boy said sincerely, "The reason I appear here is not my fault. The fault lies with the sun. The fault lies with the sunlight…"
"Heh heh heh…"
Benjamin Hui Guo Rou's tapping fingers on the armrest suddenly stopped.
For one rare instant, he laughed.
The sound was deep and heavy as thunder, exploding through the air with dull booms as the imperial aura flowing through his body shook violently.
"The sun?" Benjamin Hui Guo Rou's presence kept rising, layer upon layer, as he stared into Roy's eyes. "Are you sure?"
There cannot be two suns in the sky.
For thousands of years, ever since life and thought had first appeared in this world, there had only ever been one sun.
"Don't tell me Roy Zoldyck is using the sun itself as his [Visualization Object] to condense his [Ren]?" Old brigade commander Grant instantly understood something. He lifted his head in shock, just like Benjamin, and stared at Roy.
At the side, Guzman lowered his eyes. Killing intent overflowed from his eerie pupils as he suddenly thought of Zigg Zoldyck.
Sure enough…
Birds of a feather flock together.
Every last one of them was so broad-minded—so utterly arrogant—that even gods would be alarmed by them and remain on guard.
In an instant, everyone's attention shifted away from Guzman and focused on the sky above.
Roy remained expressionless. He gave Benjamin a calm look, and two suns ignited within his pupils with a whoosh. Then he spoke leisurely:
"There's nothing to be sure about."
The silver-haired boy stood there like a spilled river of stars, with a few strands at the tips of his hair faintly glowing gold. Reaching out, he pinched a wisp of moonlight between his fingers and said flatly:
"Above heaven and below earth, I alone am supreme. I am the sun, and the sun is me—whether in the past, the present, or the future."
Boom!
A clap of thunder split the night.
Guzman jerked his head up and stared at Roy with danger blazing in his eyes. Then he shouted at Benjamin Hui Guo Rou, "You heard him yourself, didn't you, Your Highness?!"
"A Nen user's source of power comes from the heart. If he dares to say such a thing, then that means that's exactly what he believes in his heart!"
Grant and the other private soldiers immediately stepped in front of Benjamin Hui Guo Rou, their faces dark.
To them, the only sun in the world could only be Benjamin. It had to be Benjamin.
Otherwise, what meaning would there be in their existence as the "stars" chosen by [He Who Inherits the Stars], private soldiers ready to sacrifice themselves for him at any time?
In other words—
if you're the sun, then what are we supposed to be?
Silence filled the prince's palace.
As Guzman's words faded, Benjamin Hui Guo Rou cast off his lazy posture. Suddenly, he reached a hand toward the sky and swept it outward.
A vast, pure torrent of Nen shot straight at Roy—
but before the stream of Nen could even reach him, Roy had already traced the source of the [Substitute Death Doll] and marked Guzman with [Targeted Tracking Art]. He immediately withdrew his Nen, and his gaze retreated from the Kakin Empire.
Bang!
The eyes vanished.
The torrent of Nen lost its target and blasted straight into the palace ceiling, instantly blowing a huge hole through it and exposing the eternal full moon high above.
Grant and the private soldiers exchanged uneasy glances, then quietly looked at Benjamin Hui Guo Rou—and at Guzman.
The First Prince of the Kakin Empire, and the divine servant sent down beneath the projection of a god specifically to eliminate Roy…
both tilted their heads up to the deep night sky, where the moonlight drifted like mist.
And both of them fell silent.
…
[Ding…]
[Notice: A "potential believer" has watched your battle with Hisoka Morow and developed admiration and reverence toward you. They long to learn "Nen ability" from you and are urgently awaiting formal conversion.]
Dong…
Deep in the night, the huge clock atop the pale cathedral rang out, reminding Roy that the night had officially entered its second half.
The boy forcibly pulled his thoughts back from everything he had just seen in the Kakin Empire and elsewhere. Then he looked again—
at Chrollo, Uvogin, Nobunaga, Pakunoda, Sarasa, and finally Shalnark, who had failed to stop Chrollo in time, as they stepped out one after another from the garbage heaps outside the courtyard.
The corner of Roy's lips curled upward. Holding a scripture in his hand, he smiled gently at them and asked, "Praise the Sun. Why have you come?"
"For power." Chrollo placed a hand over his chest and bowed solemnly.
"Damn it, that bastard beat me to it!" Uvogin jumped out second and thumped his chest. "Father, me too! I want to train under you and beat Kastro!"
Nobunaga and Pakunoda stepped forward as well, one beside Uvogin and one beside Chrollo, each bowing respectfully to Roy.
At the side, Sarasa smacked Shalnark hard on the back. "What are you standing around for?"
Then she stepped up and bowed too.
Roy's clone, [Taiyi], nodded in satisfaction. The hand not holding the scripture began to glow with tiny specks of light. Reaching into the moonlight, he pulled out the "Ama-no-Murakumo Sword" directly from it, then lightly tapped each of them twice on the shoulder.
The panel notifications appeared.
[Detected: "Potential believer" Chrollo has formally converted. "Faith Power" +10…]
[Detected: "Potential believer" Uvogin has formally converted. "Faith Power" +8…]
[Detected: Nobunaga, Pakunoda, and Shalnark have formally converted. "Faith Power" +8 +8 +8…]
And finally, Sarasa…
[Faith Power +20]
Roy paused slightly, then gave the little girl with the two golden ponytails swaying behind her a long, deep look.
In the original story… it was her death that had truly sent the Spiders down the path of darkness. The causality tied to her was far deeper than ordinary.
"Get up, all of you. Stay here tonight. We begin training tomorrow morning."
As Roy's gaze shifted, he coldly swept a glance over the shadowy spies lurking in the darkness all around. Then, when he spoke again, he uttered only one word:
"Scram."
Tap, tap, tap…
A chaotic flurry of footsteps broke out as they fled in panic.
In the end, the only one left was Belus, the so-called "false moralist," standing in the neighboring district with binoculars in hand. Through the lenses, he met Roy's gaze.
Then his body stiffened uncontrollably.
He stood frozen at the window like a stone statue, unable to recover for a long while.
"Boss," one of his subordinates finally asked cautiously, "what do we do next?"
Belus said nothing for a long time.
At last, he let out a faint sigh. "Nothing. There's nothing we can do."
In the end, they had been too slow to make contact…
And once they had fallen a step behind, it was like triggering a row of dominoes. Every step after this—even every single one of them—would be slower too.
The only blessing in the midst of all this bad luck was…
"At least Chrollo and the others entered the church."
Belus sat back down at his desk, lit a cigar, and quietly comforted himself through the haze of smoke.
Rustle…
At that moment, the night wind stirred the curtains with a soft whisper.
As Chrollo and the others followed Roy into the church, the mottled church doors creaked shut behind them.
Kukuroo Mountain, Republic of Padokea. Zoldyck family estate.
Roy withdrew [Shared Vision], and when he returned to his bedroom, Zeno's old maidservant Tsubone—was no longer there.
"Gululu…"
After giving her report, the old butler had already cleared away the dishes and pushed the dining cart downstairs for the night.
Just like Canary, before going to sleep, Tsubone had gone to check on the progress of the clothes the tailor was making for Roy. As she passed the third-floor hallway of the butlers' villa, she suddenly spotted a high golden ponytail by the window, where someone was strenuously doing squats.
Tsubone paused.
Then, as she took her next step, she found herself walking over as if guided by instinct.
"It's this late. Why aren't you asleep yet?"
With two pink ponytails hanging behind her head, Tsubone's burly frame was no less imposing than a gorilla's. As she suddenly appeared behind Kuraging, her head nearly brushed the ceiling of the corridor, and her shadow fell over the girl so completely that it almost swallowed her whole.
The girl had been fully focused. The sudden greeting startled her so badly she nearly jumped.
Bracing herself on her sore legs, she stood up and turned around. The moment she saw it was Tsubone, she hurriedly bowed.
"Good evening, Chief Butler."
Straightening up again, the girl wiped the sweat from her forehead and caught her breath. "I'll sleep after I train a little longer."
"Why?" Tsubone suddenly asked.
Kuraging froze for a moment, then blurted out instinctively, "What… do you mean, why?"
The old butler looked down at her, her weathered eyes seeming able to see straight into the girl's heart. "Why are you pushing yourself this hard?"
"Isn't everyone working hard?"
"That's not a reason." Tsubone's aged eyes, filled with the weight of long years, fixed firmly on her. "You've already been promoted. You're no longer a trainee. There's no reason for you to work this hard anymore. Besides… none of the other trainee butlers are working as hard as you are now."
Being a trainee butler for the Zoldyck family was, without question, one of the hardest jobs in the world.
Tsubone had seen people collapse from exhaustion. She had seen people break down mentally, cry, and run out of the Zoldyck estate. She had even seen people work themselves sick.
And yet here she was, seeing a girl—
a girl personally brought home by the young master—
grit her teeth and endure it all.
And not only had she endured it, she had already been promoted.
But even after becoming a full butler, she still showed no signs of slowing down.
Staring deeply at her, Tsubone asked again.
Kuraging's blonde hair swayed in the night breeze. She lowered her eyes and stayed silent for a long while before finally saying softly, "Because I don't want to be left behind."
She counted on her fingers as she spoke.
"Chief Butler Canary doesn't count. She's been with the young master since childhood. And Huashi Doulang was the second to come up the mountain. He didn't become a butler that much earlier than I did, but now I hear he's already following the young master too."
Kuraging bit her lip, then raised her head and looked at Tsubone with unwavering determination.
"I want to follow the young master too."
"Even if it's only for one day."
At those words, Tsubone suddenly fell into a daze.
Looking down at Kuraging, she seemed to see her younger self, the little Tsubone of long ago, following Zigg around all day long. Only after quite a while did she come back to herself.
Then she looked at Kuraging and said quietly,
"I thought you were doing this for your tribe."
"At first, I was," Kuraging replied. Then she raised her fist and puffed out her chest. "But now, doing it for the young master is doing it for my tribe too!"
"I believe in the young master."
"He won't abandon me!"
Tsubone: "…"
~~~
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