It was over.
Just like that?
The unexpected outcome left Chrollo, Shalnark, and Pakunoda stunned in place for a moment.
A trash mountain piled dozens of meters high was certainly not a pleasant place, but as the three took turns sharing a single pair of binoculars, not one of them took the initiative to suggest leaving.
"That Bolton... and Elder Ilya, they just died like that?"
Shalnark swallowed hard, recovering after a moment to look at the boy beside him. "Chrollo, things are going to change in District 4."
Chrollo remained silent. His original intention was to drive a tiger to swallow a wolf, helping Boss Berus expand his territory. However... what he absolutely never expected was that this missionary, this priest... was neither a "tiger" nor a "wolf." Instead, he was like the giant dragon described in Clean-up Rangers—one that could coil its tail and surround an entire city!
"One thing is certain: with him there, even if Boss Berus wants to extend his reach, there's nothing he can do without his permission."
Pakunoda spoke deeply, "At least... in terms of martial force, the other party is far more terrifying than we imagined!"
"That isn't power a human should possess." Chrollo, amidst his silence, watched the young priest through the binoculars. The priest glanced casually in their direction, causing Chrollo to immediately lower the binoculars, his emotions fluctuating like a roller coaster.
He said, "That blade, that explosion, including Elder Ilya's ability that seemed to 'pull directions'... those aren't movements a normal human can make..."
"It is 'Nen'!" Pakunoda said with a solemn expression. "It is something called 'Nen'."
"Similar to the 'Magic' in Clean-up Rangers?" Shalnark's eyes lit up as he stared at Pakunoda.
The girl noticed Chrollo looking over as well and shook her head. "I'm not clear on the details."
Pakunoda crossed her arms, inadvertently lifting them to highlight her full figure, and recalled carefully, "I heard it from Sister Lotus in the church... That day, I saw her stitching up the body of the deceased Little Mary. She didn't use a needle or thread, yet she was able to stitch Little Mary back together perfectly. I asked her out of curiosity, and at the time... that's what she told me."
"Sister Lotus... Didn't you ask her if it could be learned? Superpowers, wow..."
"Shalnark!" Chrollo glanced at him, stopping Shalnark's chatter. He turned his head to look deeply at Pakunoda and said, "Paku, don't speak of these matters to outsiders in the future."
In Meteor City, the more you knew, the deeper the implications, and the closer you were to death.
"Mhm." Pakunoda nodded with great seriousness.
Seeing this, the boy said, "Let's go."
Shalnark stood up to follow. "Where to?"
Chrollo narrowed his eyes toward the gray-white church that had a hole broken through one of its walls. "There!"
Shalnark and Pakunoda were both stunned. "He's even more vicious than Bolton!"
"Yes. So, if he wanted to kill us, do you think we could escape, or do you think Boss Berus could protect us?" Chrollo said calmly. "He has already discovered us. If we don't go and explain, and let him misunderstand..."
The boy didn't say more about the consequences, but both Shalnark and Pakunoda fell silent.
The weak are prey to the strong; it is the law of the jungle. The weak have never had autonomy. Since they were caught "peeping," the young spiders—whether it was Chrollo's trio or the usually reckless trio of Uvogin, Nobunaga, and Machi—did not dare to gamble on the "broad-mindedness" of a "powerful person." To use Boss Berus's words... for those strong individuals, the less they care, the more disdainful they are, the luckier it is for ants like us. Conversely... when they do care, that is the nightmare for ants like us.
So...
Chrollo took a deep breath. "He can pretend he didn't see us, but we cannot fail to explain."
He took the lead down the trash mountain.
"Paku, what about you?"
Me? Pakunoda answered Shalnark with action, moving her feet to catch up with Chrollo.
Shalnark: "..."
Gritting his teeth, he followed.
Tap... tap...
The sound of footsteps rang out.
Accompanied by a final "Boom—"
Kastro delivered a heart-piercing flame hand-blade, punching through the heart of the last man in black...
The young man, with white hair wrapped in a thick scent of blood, stood before the open doors of the church like an Asura, admiring his "battle record"... the ground littered with broken limbs and blood. Then, his ears twitched, and he lowered his brow to look over...
They were close. The trio led by Chrollo paused their steps, holding their breath in unison!
"Seeing" also depended on angle, distance, and senses... Watching from afar with binoculars was far inferior to the depth and intensity of "smelling" and "seeing" at close range.
The pungent smell of blood drilled straight into their nostrils. Puddles of blood on the ground converged into a pool, bobbing with various human tissues, sketching a picture of hell. Paired with the spired church close at hand that symbolized "holiness," Shalnark suddenly regretted following Chrollo here. His legs were trembling completely out of his control, and yet... he was normally not a cowardly person. He could even fight Uvogin over a broken game console, though he ended up beaten black and blue every time.
"What do you want?" Three concise words came from Kastro's mouth.
Pakunoda couldn't help but grab Chrollo's arm. Chrollo, usually calm and composed, was suddenly suppressed by Kastro's killing intent and the aura of blood, rendering him unable to speak for a moment.
Just then, a gentle voice drifted from inside the hall: "Doulang, let them in."
Kastro wiped the bloodstains from his face, respectfully acknowledged the order, glanced at the three, and turned to enter the church.
"Chrollo..." Pakunoda and Shalnark looked over worriedly.
The boy stepped into a puddle of blood that showed signs of coagulating into jelly. After a moment of silence, he spoke softly, "Let's go."
They lifted their feet to follow...
Standing in the empty prayer hall, smelling the hot air that had been roasted by high temperatures and had not yet dissipated, ripples appeared in his pupils. They reflected the young man not far away, with his back to them, holding a scripture book, dressed as a priest, and admiring the church murals. Imitating the old priest of the church, Chrollo took Shalnark and Pakunoda, tapped his forehead and chest lightly, clasped his hands together, and greeted Roy, "Chrollo/Shalnark/Pakunoda, greets the Father. May the Lord's radiance protect your health and sweep away all worries..."
"Heh heh heh..."
A light chuckle swept away the remaining heat...
Roy turned around. Beside him stood Kastro, looking at them expressionlessly. Roy smiled and said, "I am not Daniel Lauren, and the one I worship is not the True Lord. Do not make that mistake in the future."
Daniel Lauren—he knew the old priest?!
Chrollo and the other two were stunned. Looking closely at Roy's attire, the sun pendant on his chest reflected an arc of light; it clearly wasn't a cross... They were immediately at a loss.
Preaching another sect in front of a pastor was no different from having an affair with a mistress in front of one's wife on the wedding night... It was a blasphemy against "God" and disrespect toward "faith."
"Master, should we just kill them as well?" Kastro's killing intent hadn't faded. In a trance... he made Roy seem to see a shadow of Gotoh.
"Ignorance is not a sin," Roy patted the young man's shoulder, looked gently at Chrollo and the others, and smiled. "No need to be nervous. I know you hold no malice, so naturally, there is no need to explain anything to me. Three days from now, if you are hungry, you may come here to receive a meal."
"Free?" Shalnark asked cautiously.
Roy: "Free."
"Then can we go?"
"Suit yourselves."
Pakunoda secretly tugged at Chrollo, and beside him, Shalnark was also desperately signaling him with his eyes.
Chrollo remained silent, bowing his head in a salute. "Apologies for presumptuously offending you. Please ask your God for forgiveness on my behalf."
"It has been watching you. If you have sinned, It will know."
"May I ask, who is It?"
Chrollo, Shalnark, and Pakunoda followed Roy's finger pointing toward the sky and looked up... A dazzling sun, recklessly splashing sunlight, nourishing the earth. While they were entranced, they heard Roy say: "My Lord is the Sun."
Chrollo, Shalnark, and Pakunoda were all stunned. Before they knew it, the young priest had sent them drifting out the door with a palm that stirred up a gentle breeze.
See you later...
The church door closed with a creak, leaving the three staring at the tightly shut door in a daze. After a long time, they looked at each other, all speechless.
"Shall we go?" Shalnark asked.
"Shall we go?" Pakunoda gently pulled Chrollo's sleeve.
The boy, currently sporting a bowl cut and not yet having slicked his hair back to look like an adult, suddenly spoke through the door, "Father, you killed the Seventh Elder. The Council of Elders will inevitably find out. Be careful of them causing you trouble."
A sentence drifted faintly from inside the door: "Praise the Sun."
It seemed like everything was said, yet it seemed like nothing was said. It was like a gust of wind, destined to sweep away all the noise. At the same time...
It separated the young men inside and outside the door into two different worlds.
"Chrollo..."
Shalnark and Pakunoda looked over...
After standing quietly facing the door for a moment, the boy finally said, "Let's go."
The result was just as he expected...
As soon as the three left District 4 and entered District 3, they were "invited back" to the residence of the Meteor City Ten Don... the "Hypocrite"—Berus Raymond.
Meanwhile, the commotion caused at the gray-white church, not having been deliberately suppressed by Roy, eventually spread...
In this land abandoned by the world, every district and every street was buzzing with rumors...
West District, First Street, True Lord Church.
Veiled, hiding her delicate features, Sister Lotus told the old priest, Daniel Lauren, the news immediately upon receiving it.
Meteor City had suddenly produced a missionary after the human traffickers, and the faith seemed different. Lotus was very curious about what Daniel Lauren's attitude would be.
However, "I am old. I won't have any attitude."
Daniel Lauren carried a small folding stool, leaned against a pillar in the courtyard, and basked comfortably in the sun. Without even lifting his eyelids, he said, "Whether it is good or bad, who to believe or not believe, that is other people's freedom... Lotus, my dear, when I die, if you want to find someone to rely on, that young man might be a good destination."
"He won't look at me."
"I am no match for him."
Lotus leaned her graceful body against the door frame, lightly twirling a lock of hair falling by her ear. "He killed Bolton and Ilya. Those two have complicated backgrounds. Meteor City... is afraid it won't be peaceful in the short term."
"Heh heh heh..." The old priest opened his eyes indifferently. Seeing a corner of the sun through the drifting clouds, he said to the woman after a moment, "Lotus, do you know what people crave when they get old?"
"What?"
The old man opened his withered right hand, letting the sunlight shine through the clouds onto his palm, and said warmly, "I crave that bit of sunshine the most. You... go busy yourself with your own affairs. Don't hinder this old man from sunbathing..."
Lotus: "..."
Fine... when you die, I'll expose your corpse in the wilderness and let you sunbathe enough...
Stomping her small foot, the woman twisted her waist and walked away gracefully...
Perhaps she thought the old man was being dismissive, but in reality, he truly loved sunbathing. Just like some people who naturally dislike the sun yet desire incomparably to walk under it, sparing no effort for a thousand years to find the Blue Spider Lily, attempting to cure their "strange illness" and hoping to become a true "Perfect Creature"!
"Kibutsuji Muzan has gone into hiding, and even those Upper Moons have restrained themselves significantly recently..."
Republic of Padokea, Kukuroo Mountain, Zoldyck Family Estate.
4:30 in the morning.
Roy (Main Body) disconnected from the Demon Slayer World, passed through the colorful dream tunnel, and returned to reality... After receiving the message delivered by Ubuyashiki Kagaya's crow, he realized he had underestimated the other party's understanding of the path of "cowardice," which had reached an extremely high realm.
Undoubtedly, he was using the same method he used against Yoriichi Tsugikuni against Roy... attempting to use a Demon's long, enduring life to outlast him, waiting until he died before popping his head out.
It was just that... was a certain Demon sure he could resist the temptation of becoming a "Perfect Creature" and walking under the sun?
Roy clearly remembered that the final ingredient Muzan needed, the existence he had sought for nearly a thousand years... the Blue Spider Lily, bloomed not far from his home. That is... deep in the mountains behind the Kamado family's ancestral wooden hut...
In front of the graves that once buried Yoriichi's wife—
"Uta" and her swaddled child.
If he was dead set on not coming out, Roy immediately decided that he would catch a Demon right in front of his face and make him open his eyes to watch closely... watch the flower field burn, dreams shattering—what a taste of despair that would be!
A cold sneer curled at the corner of his mouth...
Thinking of home, the wooden hut, Tanjuro, Tanjiro, his mother Aoi, his younger siblings, and grandma... having been away from home for nearly two years... it was time for him to go back and visit...
However, before that, he had to get his hands on the "Anti-conjuration" method!
The one-month deadline agreed upon with Ging was arriving... Speak of the devil. Roy rolled out of bed, finished a run, took a simple shower, and sat at the table waiting for his meal.
He heard Gotoh pushing the dining cart and reporting a piece of good news—
"Young Master, the other party sent a message. Meet at Willbes on the west coast of the Yorbian Continent at twelve noon the day after tomorrow."
The young butler pushed up the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and said in a deep voice, "According to them, they found a suspected silhouette of the 'Elephant Baku' in an undersea ruin near the West Sea, estimated to be three hundred nautical miles from Willbes!"
The Elephant Baku from the "Dark Continent," wandering on the edge of "illusion" and "reality," often lost in "real illusions" and "illusory realities." It was also the only known existence currently possessing "Anti-conjuration" means. After Roy's wait of nearly a month, a trace of it had finally appeared!
The boy scooped a spoonful of steamed egg into his mouth and said faintly, "There's more than just this message, right?"
"Yes. Young Master sees clearly." Gotoh narrowed his eyes and said, "She told Young Master to prepare early. Set off... for a jailbreak!"
Sure enough!