Gotoh remained silent and pretended he hadn't heard, standing expressionlessly behind Roy with his hands lowered.
After writing down the Time Cloth, Forgetting Stick, and Anti-Curse Charm, Roy added several more gadgets to the paper, such as...
Time Machine, All-Purpose Cleaner, Comfort Robot, Restoring Ray, and so on.
Without raising his head, he asked, "So? What do you want to do?"
"I want to become stronger."
Illumi forced himself to raise his head, using every bit of strength in his body to shout at Roy's back.
"I want to become stronger! I have to become stronger, Nii-san!"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
A mouthful of blood sprayed out, staining the boy's chest red.
At that moment, Netero was eating with Beans and Zeno, who had arrived after him.
At that moment, Maha was still rocking lazily in his chair.
At that moment, Kikyo, after watching the battle, was holding Killua in her arms and staring blankly into space.
At that moment, Silva had locked himself alone in his study, staring out the window in a daze...
When that shout traveled through the air and spread outward, all living beings fell silent, their expressions varied.
"Youth really is wonderful..." Netero said to Zeno.
"Heh heh heh..."
Inside the dim little room, a smile appeared at the corner of the dried-up old man's mouth.
"Illumi..."
In the second-floor study, Silva murmured quietly.
Inside the first-floor bedroom, Roy stopped writing.
As the panel flashed, Illumi's follower panel appeared, and every line seemed filled with yearning.
Roy turned around and looked warmly at Illumi, who was slowly lying back down.
"Do you know the price of becoming stronger?"
Illumi stubbornly raised his neck and looked over.
Roy calmly met his gaze and pointed at Gotoh.
"The condition for his strength is that he submits to my control."
In other words...
Roy looked deeply at Illumi.
"If I want him alive, he lives. If I want him dead, he dies. From now on, his world can only contain me."
"Isn't that... a wonderful thing?"
Illumi leaned weakly against the headboard and looked at Gotoh with incomparable envy.
"I really want to kill you!"
Gotoh smiled.
"My apologies, Young Master Illumi. I came first."
Roy: "..."
The corner of his mouth twitched.
He flicked out a drop of essence blood and promptly blocked Illumi's mouth with it.
[Notice: First Embrace begins...]
[Remaining First Embrace uses: 0]
[Current First Embrace target: Illumi Zoldyck. Evolution begins...]
[Name: Illumi]
[Loyalty: Overflowing Loyalty]
[Current Constitution: 1324 +1 +1 +1
(Note: continuing to increase)]
[Manifest Aura: C+ (70,000 / 100,000) +100 +100 +100
(Note: continuing to increase)]
[Latent Aura: B (850,000 / 1,000,000) +100 +100 +100
(Note: continuing to increase)]
[Category: Manipulation]
[Initial Nen Ability: Needle Manipulation]
[Note: can control others through Nen needles]
[First Embrace Nen Ability: awakening
(Awakening progress +0.1% +0.1% +0.1%...)]
[Evaluation: C+
(In Total Concentration state, can temporarily increase to B-)]
[Note: Using Chimera Ants as reference, Illumi has reached squadron-leader level and is only one step below the top. His current strength is roughly Kite-level, far below Neferpitou, Shaiapouf, and Menthuthuyoupi. During evolution, he is steadily moving toward B-rank...]
The moment the essence blood entered his mouth, Illumi felt his eyelids sink. He could no longer hold on and fainted.
As the boy's consciousness fell into darkness, he vaguely seemed to see a mass of blood-red light weaving together, forming a blood cocoon that wrapped around him.
Just like Gotoh before.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Illumi's mouth, and he sank into deep sleep.
Hiss...
A faint snore sounded, accompanied by the boy's strong heartbeat.
In one corner of the bedroom, Tsubone stood silently, watching the scene. Light flashed through her old eyes now and then, filled entirely with envy.
It has begun. Young Master Illumi's glorious evolution has finally begun...
I wonder what he will become when he wakes up.
Will his hair turn white too, like the Young Master's did back then?
As the old butler's thoughts churned, she carefully glanced at Roy.
Roy, his silver-gold hair falling around him, had lowered his head back over the desk and was analyzing and organizing the gadgets. Without looking up, he said, "Clean this up. Bury him. Dig him back out in a week."
Before Gotoh could respond, Tsubone took the task herself.
"Young Master, I'll do it."
As she spoke, the old butler's twin pink ponytails swayed. She reached out and scooped Illumi, now wrapped in the blood cocoon, under her arm.
"I know Young Master Illumi dug a cellar in his bedroom. He'll probably sleep better there."
Roy waved his hand.
Tsubone bowed respectfully and strode away.
Just as she was about to leave the bedroom, she suddenly heard a voice behind her.
"Tsubone."
The old butler stopped and looked back.
Roy gave her a slight smile.
"You've worked hard during this time."
Tsubone's rough, red-gorilla-like face suddenly reddened around the eyes for some reason, though she quickly forced it down.
"Young Master is joking. This is what we butlers should do."
"The Young Master is not joking," Gotoh said, placing his right hand over his chest and respectfully bowing to Tsubone. "Head Butler, you have worked hard."
Tsubone's throat worked. She opened her mouth as if wanting to say something, but in the end it became a smile.
"Young Master, I think I can probably be considered human now."
"You always have been, past and future alike."
Roy finally raised his head and looked deeply at Tsubone.
"What Gotoh and Illumi have, you will have too in the future."
"I promise you."
Tsubone bowed deeply once more.
"Thank you, Young Master. I am very happy."
The old butler straightened. Her eyes were wet now, no longer fully under control, faintly glittering with tears.
Then she turned to Gotoh and said, "I prepared chrysanthemums for the Young Master. They're in the storage room. Go retrieve them."
With that, she looked deeply at Roy one last time, then respectfully carried Illumi away.
A breeze rose, stirring the old butler's twin pink ponytails.
Step... step...
Her footsteps faded into the distance.
Gotoh watched Tsubone leave, then bowed respectfully to Roy.
"Young Master, I'll go get the flowers."
Today was the day he had awakened.
It was also the day another Zoldyck had "died"—
Grandfather Zigg's memorial day.
Roy gently stroked the back of his left hand, listening to the curse count down his life second by second. He gave a faint hum and lowered his head over the list of gadgets written on the paper, adding two words:
Reversal and Removal.
Reversal, such as the Time Machine, Time Cloth, What-If Phone Booth, and the like, could rewind time and return him to before the Hunter Exam, before the curse was planted.
Removal, such as the Forgetting Stick, All-Purpose Cleaner, Restoring Ray, and so on, could erase negative emotions and directly or indirectly remove the curse. Whether they could truly work against divine power condensed from a god's authority over Nature was still unknown...
But considering the materials required to exchange for the gadgets, his own basic strength, and the price he would have to pay...
after thinking it over, Roy helplessly discovered that with his current strength, the two gadgets he could barely aim for were the All-Purpose Cleaner and the Restoring Ray.
The All-Purpose Cleaner: after use, it could erase graffiti and stains on books or paper, indirectly clearing negative emotions caused by the damage of objects. By analogy, perhaps it could be used to wipe away the curse.
As for the Restoring Ray, it was even simpler. Compared to the Sun in the Heart, which could burn away negative emotions, the Restoring Ray emphasized restoration. After use, it could repair damaged objects and remove the frustration caused by that damage. Perhaps it could also have some effect on the curse.
However—
Roy frowned and dug deeper into the Four-Dimensional Pocket, trying to check the exact materials needed to exchange for those two gadgets.
One required the mucus of a Phantom Slug.
The other required spores of Luminous Seaweed.
And there were no substitute options.
Roy, who knew nothing about either of these things, felt like his head had doubled in size.
"I think you'll need the help of a Phantom Beast Hunter..."
Knock, knock, knock.
At that moment, someone knocked on the bedroom door. A smiling Buddha-like face appeared in Roy's view, accompanied by a round little bean standing by the doorframe.
Netero glanced once at the desk. Seeing the words slug and seaweed that the boy had written while thinking, the old man had no idea what things like Restoring Ray or All-Purpose Cleaner were, but he had traveled to the Dark Continent twice and managed a massive organization like the Hunter Association. Naturally, he did not lack knowledge or experience.
"The door's open. I didn't stop you," Roy said.
With a thought, a string of flames suddenly appeared at his fingertips and burned the paper clean in an instant.
The boy leaned back in his chair and made a welcoming gesture.
Netero laughed.
"You didn't stop me, but your bird may not agree."
As he spoke, there came a "Gao!" from beside Roy's pillow. Goldie, who had nearly slept itself to death there, had either had enough sleep or been disturbed by the blood cocoon formed around Illumi. It glared unhappily at Netero with its head tilted. Then its little fleshy wings shook, and it fluttered onto Roy's head, settling down into its nest.
Beans stood beside Netero, half a step behind him. Through the door, he carefully looked at Goldie.
Somewhere deep inside, his heart trembled.
For a dazed instant, it was as if he had seen "the one" who once enslaved his race. When he came back to himself, he instinctively shrank his neck and edged even closer to Netero.
Netero raised a brow, turned to look at Beans, and quietly sent a Nen message.
"What's wrong, Bean?"
"That bird is dangerous!"
Netero narrowed his old eyes, swept his sleeve, and stepped inside.
The first time he had seen this bird, he had felt it was strange—far too intelligent. This time, with Beans present, his guess was confirmed.
Everything connected to Roy seemed extraordinary and could not be underestimated.
For example...
the blood cocoon that had just wrapped Illumi.
"Gao! Bad old man!"
Goldie glared furiously at Netero, still remembering the "crime" of him barging into Roy's bedroom uninvited.
It would have been fine if it hadn't spoken. But the moment it opened its mouth, both Netero and Beans froze, almost thinking they had seen or heard wrong.
Only after quite a while did they realize who had spoken.
"You mangy bird really is something," Netero said, coming back to himself and looking at Goldie in amazement.
With his experience and knowledge, he had seen countless Nen beasts, but one intelligent enough to speak human language was truly unique to Goldie.
Of course, Biscuit's little girl Cookie could massage, interact, and act very considerately. She was also quite impressive. But the one thing she couldn't do was speak; she could only interact with Biscuit through Nen ability, which put her at a lower level.
As for other people's Nen beasts, such as Razor's Fourteen Devils or Squala's dogs, each had their own strengths, but in terms of intelligence, they weren't even as good as Miss Cookie.
"Who are you calling mangy, you stinky old man?!"
Goldie was furious. The golden ahoge on its head popped upright with a ding.
As a young Three-Legged Golden Crow, its plumage was uneven and far less majestic than an adult's. Just like young people went through tooth loss and voice changes, it was an awkward stage.
Once the young Golden Crow got angry, it opened its mouth and spat.
Whoosh—
A tongue of flame shot toward Netero, nearly setting the old man's topknot on fire.
"Oh? Quite the temper..."
"Fine, fine, this old man apologizes."
With a sweep of his sleeve, Netero rolled up aura into Sleeve-Wrap and scattered the flame.
Then he simply apologized to Goldie.
Seeing this, Roy patted Goldie's head to comfort it. Only then did he look at Netero.
"Chairman, is there something you need?"
"Can't I chat with you if there's nothing?"
Netero put on the air of a Hunter Association Chairman caring for one of his Hunters. With his hands behind his back, he walked to the window and looked out at the blazing sun pouring countless rays of light over the forest, forming patches of light on the ground.
With a hint of loneliness, he said to Roy without turning around, "Roy, I'm leaving."
"After I go visit Zigg in a bit, I'll set off."
Roy nodded and waved.
"Have a safe trip. I won't see you off."
Netero: "..."
He turned his head to look at the boy and couldn't help asking, "You don't have anything you want to say to this old man?"
"Say what?"
"Say..."
Netero fell silent.
The old man opened his mouth, then closed it again. The twilight aura wrapped around him grew even thicker.
He turned his back and laughed at himself.
"True. Young people don't need to waste words on old things. Whether it's this old man or your grandfather Zigg, we're nothing more than antiques abandoned by the times now. Maybe one day we'll simply fall asleep and never wake again. That would be lucky..."
"You won't die in your sleep. You'll die in battle."
Roy pushed back his chair and stood. He came to stand beside the old man, shoulder to shoulder, and together they looked through the window at the clear sky and blazing sun scorching the earth.
He recalled Netero's life from the original story.
There had been disgrace, darkness, devotion, hypocrisy, glory, defeat, and finally the battlefield death with a bomb planted in his own heart.
Each one of those was him.
And each one was not him.
Together they formed the contradictory, legendary existence known as humanity's strongest.
"So, do you want me to revive you when the time comes?"