(Bonus chapter NB:2 for +200 Power Stones, enjoy ^-^)
"A ghost!"
Shinsuke was originally hiding in the rafters. Hearing the commotion, he looked down, let out a strange cry, and hid behind Fukuda.
'A ghost crying 'ghost'... who the hell are you talking about!'
Fukuda grabbed Shinsuke's neck with a reverse grip, and with a "Kaba" twist, the room instantly fell silent...
"It's not a ghost." Urokodaki Sakonji possessed the keenest sense of smell, second only to Tanjiro.
He could easily distinguish between "dead things" and "living things" by scent, and could even faintly smell exactly how many people a specific demon had eaten before it died.
Right now, the windows and doors hadn't moved. Unless a demon used a Blood Demon Art to make the sword vanish into thin air... Yet, there was no trace of that nauseating bloody scent characteristic of a "Blood Demon Art" in the room...
This proved it wasn't the doing of a demon.
Giyu Tomioka was the quickest to react among them. The moment he saw the short-hilt dissolve into specks of light and disappear, he flashed over and lunged at the south wall. Unfortunately, he still grabbed empty air, watching helplessly as the specks of light slipped through his fingers....
"No one touched it. It disappeared on its own." Giyu Tomioka was silent for a moment, clenching his hand. In that instant, he had felt a sensation of "substance turning into emptiness." It was very mysterious. When he tried to grasp it, he found it vague and indescribable.
Sabito crossed his arms, glanced at Roy who was sleeping soundly on the kang, and pondered: "Could it be related to Eiichiro?"
"The sword is his; it's closest to him. If the sword disappeared, he should have sensed it."
The fox-masked boy looked around at everyone and said calmly: "I suggest we just watch for now... and wait until Eiichiro wakes up tomorrow morning to discuss it."
'Senior Brother really dotes on Eiichiro... he can't even bear to wake him up...' Makomo propped her chin on her hand, crouching to the side, looking at this and that, quietly waiting for dawn to arrive....
"Let's leave it at that..." After a moment, a faint sigh passed through the paper window....
The oil lamp was blown out. The people/demons, each with their own thoughts, either slept or found a place to hide, listening to the mountain wind howl. It was a rather sleepless night.
At ten o'clock in the morning, the sun was bright. Perhaps it was because the quiz town was too desolate... the sunlight shining into the dilapidated alley still felt gloomy and cold.—
In the corner where the camera was hidden...
Roy carefully visualized the form of the "short-hilt" in his mind. On his open palm, under Kurajing's astonished gaze, specks of light suddenly appeared... They then connected into a line, gathered into a surface, and in the blink of an eye, formed a katana, which the young man snatched with one hand, holding it firmly.
It was none other than the Asauchi that had been hanging on the south wall of the wooden house!
'He... succeeded so quickly...—'
Nakajima Sachiko looked at the young man in surprise, praising him: "You are very talented."
'He is my young master, after all.' Gotoh straightened his back, sharing the honor... Kurajing had only been in contact with "Nen" abilities for a short time, but it didn't stop her from discerning the meaning of "amazing" from their words. She became even more determined to cling to the Zoldyck family's thick thigh!
On the airship.
The scene was captured by the camera.
Netero wasn't particularly surprised. He just glanced at Zeno, believing what he had said earlier... that he knew nothing about that kid Roy's Nen type.
"Ho ho... now there's no need to waste effort guessing. Turning emptiness into reality, conjuring from thin air... Zeno..."
"I recall this is the second 'Conjurer' in your family since Zigg, right?..."
The old man thought of Zigg, and a trace of gloom appeared in his wise eyes. 'The old man always said I lured him away, but in reality, he knows clearly that Zigg wanted to go to the Dark Continent himself to gather materials and perfect [The Game of the Dead], which is why he ran away from home...'
"In the blink of an eye, it's been twenty years. Some things... you just have to let them go..."
"Can't let it go." Zeno, with his back to Netero, watched the young man on the screen. Roy seemed to have grown taller in just a few days, already having the appearance of a young adult. He said coldly: "The rights and wrongs don't matter. The old man doesn't like you, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."
'Is that so...' Netero wasn't annoyed at being pushed. He glanced at the Asauchi Roy held and said in surprise: "Conjurers are somewhat neurotic. Your family doesn't have any swordsmen, yet he managed to conjure a sword through visualization. That's rare..."
'The old man is an Enhancer, Zeno and Silva are Transmuters... Among the younger generation, Illumi is a Manipulator... Netero is right, there hasn't been a single sword-user in the Zoldyck family for five generations... but...'
"This child, Roy, is different."
Zeno, hands behind his back, stared intently at the young man on the screen and said without turning his head: "You're wrong. His visualization object isn't the sword."
"Hmm?"
Netero raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.
Zeno took a breath, turned his head to look out the window—at ten in the morning, the sunlight was just right—and the corner of his mouth hooked up. "It's the sun!"
"Ho ho ho..." Netero was startled, then sat up straight, laughing. "The kid sure has big ambitions... As if the sun is something he can control..."
'The morning glow that drives the dawn to tear through the darkness... The great sun that nurtures all things and pulls the tides... The tragic, beautiful sunset that burns the skyline... No living thing can be separated from that sun overhead... It's like an eye, silently observing the human world. Regardless of the changing times, whether I'm here or you're here, in any case, it is always there....'
"Zeno, when you go back, talk to the old man... How about you let this child be adopted by me? His destiny is too strong; you can't hold him down."
Zeno scoffed and said bluntly: "Give him to you... to raise another Beyond?"
"If you don't want to die, you just go ahead and try!"
'See if the old man doesn't beat you to death!'
Netero: "..."
"Ho ho.—"
He laughed.
This time, his laughter was somewhat gloomy, making Beanman's hair stand on end... Pretending to brew tea, he lowered his head and quietly wiped away his cold sweat. 'This is really torture, being caught in the middle, trembling... This is no job for a human....'
He took the opportunity to sneak a peek at the monitor. The young man who caused all this had drawn his cane sword with a "Clang," admiring the light from the blade as it reflected the sun, casting specks of light on the opposite wall....
He smiled slightly and said sincerely to Nakajima Sachiko: "Compared to you, Granny, it's nothing."
'It's just conjuring a sword. I'm still a long way from a "Nen Beast."...'
Roy had at least this much self-awareness.
He held the short-hilt and imbued it with [Scorching True Intent]. He twirled the blade in a single-handed flourish. The short-hilt was instantly wreathed in surging flames.
The air hissed as it burned... Nakajima Sachiko and her "children" couldn't help but take two steps back, clearly sensing just how scorching that wall of flame was.
"Ho ho..." Nakajima Sachiko forced a laugh. "This old woman is telling the truth. With your talent, conjuring a 'Nen Beast' is just a matter of time."
'All things are difficult before they are easy. As long as you take the first step of 'conjuration,' the rest is just a matter of exchanging 'imagination' for 'reality' through 'aura'....—'
'Like Kurapika and his "Chains"... Shizuku and her "Blinky"... Pariston and his "Chess."'
Combining "sun" and "beast," Roy withdrew the [Scorching True Intent], sheathed his sword, and with a single thought, released the Asauchi back to the Demon Slayer world, watching it dissolve into specks of light before his eyes.
'An idea was faintly forming...'
At the same time, this once again startled the people/demons in the wooden house...—
The specks of light reappeared...
Fukuda slapped Shinsuke. "Look quickly, Eiichiro's sword... it's back again!"