The old and the young stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the red sun break the horizon and spill ten thousand strands of dawn light across the world. Behind them, the lamps stretched their shadows long, twisting the two into one.
Roy was silent, something lodged in his throat.
At Maha's age, after living through so many changes and seeing every kind of splendor, there was almost nothing left that could truly stir the old man's interest. It was like Netero—clearly holding a nuclear bomb in his pocket with a thousand ways to blow the King to bits, and yet instead of sending some nen beast to plant Poor Man's Rose, he chose to challenge Meruem head-on, calling it "fun," while somewhere deep down clearly also wanting to die.
Roy had never been old. He had no idea whether, if he lived that long, he'd end up like Maha and Netero—standing atop a mountain, undefeated, utterly bored, looking down at a world that had nothing left to offer.
After a while, he rubbed the cursed brand on the back of his hand, took a breath, and said quietly:
"I'll do it myself."
He turned to Maha, smiling a little.
"You know what I'm like. I'm scared of dying… but I'm even more scared of feeling guilty."
"You, Grandpa, Father—anyone's favor, I don't want to owe it."
He paused, then blinked playfully.
"If you get yourself killed because of me, that's one thing—but the guilt I'd carry after that would kill me."
Maha's eyes snapped open, glaring.
"You brat, looking down on me?"
"Yup~"
Roy was now a head taller than Maha. He reached out and ruffled the old man's hair.
"Please just keep living, Great-Grandpa. Once I kill that 'god' and come back, I'll sit and sunbathe with you again."
"Brat, asking for a beating!"
Maha raised a fist in mock anger.
"Haha!"
Roy slipped aside, laughing as he bolted down the corridor.
In a shadowed corner, the darkness squirmed and a figure stepped out—Zeno, slightly hunched, hands behind his back, watching the boy vanish around the bend.
He said quietly to Maha:
"Grandpa, you can break his legs now."
"You going to do it?"
Maha slanted him a look.
Zeno fell silent and pretended he hadn't heard, taking a couple of steps forward to stand behind the old man. As always, he started kneading his shoulders, occasionally glancing at Maha's nearly bald head. On impulse, he reached out and patted it.
The next second—
He went straight through the window with a crash and shot into the sky.
"Did I say you could touch me?"
Maha dropped his fist, face dark.
Zeno: "…"
In an instant he turned into a streak of light across the sky and disappeared.
A mountain breeze swept through, carrying a hint of chill.
After those few words with his great-grandfather, Roy went to the training hall, stripped off his shirt, and revealed a tightly-built, sculpted physique.
Luke was already waiting, electric baton in hand, blessed with the "god" kanji. He stole a glance—Young Master was taller and more solid now, yet not bulky; his body looked like finely carved stone. Envy flickered through Luke's eyes as he bowed.
"Young Master, forgive me."
Crackle.
Electric light burst into a glowing ball.
Luke thrust the baton forward. Roy barely seemed to notice, casually glancing at his status panel.
[Name: Roy Zoldyck]
[Constitution: 343.4 (Note: normal human = 1)]
[Nen Ability: Gate of Cognition]
[Manifest Nen Capacity: C– (27,500 / 100,000)]
[(Scale: D = elite squad leader ant, C = squadron leader, B = Royal Guard, B+ = King)]
[Potential Nen Capacity: C (34,590 / 100,000)
Followers: 2]
[Faith Power: 2 points]
[Title: Apple Tree in Full Fruit – fully qualified to be an elite Hunter]
Compared to the past, he was simply on a different level.
Three hundred thousand volts… three hundred fifty thousand… four hundred thousand…
Roy remained relaxed, fully in control. Luke was drenched in sweat, nen flaring at full output. When the number on the baton's display hit 500, his hands trembled. That was his limit.
"I'll do it."
The training room door creaked open.
Silva stepped in, expression flat, Illumi at his back.
Silva took the baton from Luke, electricity crackling as the indicator skipped straight from 500 to 800. He drove it into Roy's chest in one clean thrust.
"Zzzzzz—"
Roy's hair frizzed up in an instant. His brow furrowed as a tide of sharp pain and numbness surged through him. Compared to Luke, this "Emitter" father of his was in a different class in both output and volume of nen.
The physical sensation made that clear. After forcing himself to endure for thirty seconds, Roy finally lost control of his body and dropped onto his backside.
"And you?" Silva looked at Illumi.
Illumi didn't say a word at first. Finally, he stepped forward.
"I want the same as him."
"Zzzzzz—"
Eight hundred thousand volts poured down. Before he could even finish the sentence, Illumi's vision went black. He fell flat on his back, knocked out instantly.
Silva flipped the baton back to Luke, still not looking back.
"Bury him with Milluki later."
Then he pushed the door open and walked out.
Luke bowed and replied respectfully.
"Yes, Sir."
He turned and looked at Roy.
"Young Master, let me help you up."
"No need."
Roy exhaled, summoning the golden crow.
"Caw!"
The plump bird burst out of his head, landing with three feet on the floor and swelling in the wind. It ducked its head under Roy, scooped him onto its back, then flapped toward the garden.
Luke blinked, then hefted Illumi and followed. A moment later he tossed another pig into the grass and left the two brothers sunning beside it.
By noon, the sun was high and blazing.
Illumi lay half-buried in a pit, only his head sticking out. He blinked blearily and glanced over—Roy was sprawled on the soft grass, hands folded over his stomach, peacefully basking in the sun.
Illumi rasped, voice dry:
"Mom's about to give birth."
Ten months had nearly passed. Kikyo had been counting the days. If all went as expected, she'd give birth around the fifteenth of next month.
He watched Roy, who still kept his eyes closed and ignored him, then continued in that flat tone:
"I've only ever wanted one thing from you."
His empty, doll-like eyes locked onto Roy.
"If you say you need me—just once—I'll stand on your side. I'll hold you up as family head."
Beside them, Killua let out a soft whine, twitching twice in his sleep.
Illumi waited in silence.
Roy's answer was to roll onto his feet without a word and walk away.
Footsteps faded down the path.
Illumi clawed himself out of the pit, fists clenched.
"You won't say a single word now… don't regret it later."
"Tap, tap…"
Roy didn't look back. He left Illumi to kick Killua once and went alone down into the underground.
"Young Master…"
"Young Master…"
Scarface and One-Eye were waiting as always, pulling open the vault-like door.
This time, when he entered re: Game of the Dead, Roy had fully rested and prepared.
He stepped through the corridor at an unhurried pace, arriving at the airtight door. The magic eye's tendrils reached out, wrapped him, and dragged him in.
The system's chime rang in his mind.
[re: Game of the Dead – Booting…]
[Loading Save Data…]
When Roy opened his eyes, he was back in the Uzuki Great Forest, staring up at the titanic sandworm as it brought down that faith-charged tail strike, blotting out even the sun.
"Kid, why are you still just standing there?!"
Zigg flicked out a card, summoning the double-headed ogre and jumping onto its shoulder. With one swing of its spiked club, it smashed several rampaging lice. Zigg shot Roy a glance.
"This isn't a fight you can join in. Move it!"
The tail hadn't even landed yet, and the wind pressure alone was enough to pulp lesser men into mist.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Quite a few of their companions exploded like overripe tomatoes before they could even scream.
Roy's ears rang; blood seeped from his nose. Even with a full Ken hardening his body the instant he appeared, his internal organs churned under the shockwaves. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
This wasn't something he could just run from.
He couldn't get away quickly enough.
"The tail will kill me no matter what…"
But he wasn't here to win. Not this time.
He was here to figure out its pattern—and to survive.
He wiped his mouth, eyes darting past Zigg to Linne and Netero. One had ballooned into a giant, the other had already manifested the Hundred-Type Guanyin. The three of them braced as the tail came down.
Roy never got to see how that clash ended.
He burst like the others and was kicked out of the game.
[Magic Eye Consciousness detected – Dark Continent Gate is open…]
The black gate in his inner world creaked open a little wider.
He'd kept just enough nen to maintain his Gate of Cognition. This time, when he woke up, he didn't go all the way back to reality.
He washed up on the shores of his Cognition Sea, sprawled out in a starfish on the sand, staring up at the blue sky.
The gap is still too big, he thought.
Zigg was right. Against an A-class creature like the sandworm, he was just a newly minted C-rank kid. Joining the fight would be suicide.
But going off what Netero had told him back in the Swamp of Smiles, it was that one tail strike that blasted them apart and scattered their party.
His goal this run was simple—not to fight, but to live through it.
To slip past the sandworm.
He slapped his own cheeks, rolled over, and got up. This time, he kept his blade with him—glimmering fragments coalesced into the short sword in his hand.
He took a breath and dove into the Dark Continent gate again.
Ten seconds later, he was kicked back out, splashing down onto the Cognition Sea's shore.
He didn't stop.
He dove again.
Three times. Four. Six. Eight…
On the ninth attempt, Roy didn't come back.
He'd burned through eight "lives" learning the sandworm's timing and attack pattern. On the ninth, he slipped through that gap and survived.
Boom.
The titanic tail struck earth.
The ground split open.
Magma geysered up from below like fire arrows, launching Netero, Linne, Zigg, and Roy in different directions. Roy hardened his entire body with the True Meaning of Scorch, preventing the lava from cooking him like a crab.
A new notification rang in his mind.
[Stage One: "Landing Battle" cleared.]
[Remaining Continue Credits: 3]
[Note: Player has three remaining revives. Once they're gone, you will be permanently removed from the game.]
Wind roared in his ears.
Molten rock boiled below his feet.
Carried along by the flow, Roy was flung toward some unknown part of the forest. While he rode that wave of magma, he couldn't help thinking:
So that's why Zeno and Silva don't show up here anymore…
Chances were, they'd burned through all three continues and been kicked out by the Magic Eye. The game had locked them out of the Dark Continent.
What about me?
Roy thought of the black gate standing in his Cognition World. What would happen once his continues ran out?
Or… was that "Continue" system itself a piece of Authority Zigg had stolen from Nature?
With something this broken, what had Zigg paid?
Those thoughts flickered like heat-shimmers. Roy, pinned in midair like a trapped animal, was carried through the sky by the magma plume, turning into a meteor streaking toward the horizon.
Then the lava's force ebbed. As it weakened, Roy finally wrestled back a bit of control. He kicked free and launched himself toward solid ground.
Midair, he invoked the Wind Breathing he'd learned from Sanemi, stepping on swirling gusts to slow his fall.
Below him, an endless forest stretched away in all directions, so vast he couldn't tell east from west.
Each tree was colossal—ten men couldn't ring their arms around one trunk. They towered into the sky, brushing the clouds. It made Roy think of the World Tree.
They said a true World Tree rooted in magma, drank molten rock to grow, and soared so high it could support entire pocket worlds. Gon's "World Tree" back home—already dead and petrified—was just a sapling by comparison: a seedling that had stopped growing, yet still scraped against the heavens.
Roy tilted his head back, feeling precisely like a "little person" who'd stumbled into a land of giants.
He picked out the rough direction by memory and flared his aura.
En.
Carefully, he began exploring the forest.
According to Zigg's notes in West Continent Records, this should be the Uzuki Great Forest—wedged between the Samir Principality and the Hoin Kingdom.
It was also one of the places God's power couldn't reach.
He listened. He walked. Every so often he'd mark a tree as he passed. Near the edge of his En, he spotted two or three strange beasts—some radiating danger, some weak enough to kill for practice. He avoided the strong ones, cut down the weak.
Then, at some point, his eyes narrowed.
He spotted a person.
"Over here! We've got another survivor!"
Roy saw him—and the man saw Roy. Both froze for a heartbeat.
Then the stranger's lips curled into a crooked grin.
He smiled.
~~~
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