Chapter 122: Zanka no Tachi x The Strongest Human's Covetous Gaze
"A ghost!" Shinsuke shrieked, who had been perched on the rafters. Hearing the noise and looking down, he scrambled behind Fukuda.
A ghost yelling 'ghost'... Who the hell are you talking about! Fukuda grabbed Shinsuke by the neck, and with a sickening krnch, twisted it. The room instantly fell silent.
"It wasn't a ghost." Sakonji Urokodaki, second only to Tanjiro in sensory-m, possessed an extremely keen sense of smell. He could easily distinguish between inanimate objects and living things by their scent, even able to tell how many people a demon had eaten.
The windows and doors hadn't moved. Unless a demon had used a Blood Demon Art to make the sword vanish—and yet, there was no trace of that sickening, bloody scent unique to such arts in the room—it proved a demon wasn't responsible.
Giyu Tomioka was the quickest to react. The moment he saw the training blade dissolve into specks of light and disappear, he lunged for the south wall, only to grasp at empty air. He watched the light particles slip through his fingers.
"No one touched it. It vanished on its own." Giyu Tomioka was silent for a moment, clenching his fist. In that instant, he had felt a strange sensation, as if "solid" had become "illusion." It was bizarre, and upon reflection, impossible to describe.
Sabito crossed his arms, glanced at Roy sleeping soundly on the bed, and mused, "Could it be related to Eiichiro?"
"It's his sword; he's the closest to it. If it vanished, he should have sensed it." The fox-masked boy looked at the others. "I suggest we wait and see," he said calmly. "Let's ask Eiichiro when he wakes up tomorrow."
'Senpai really dotes on Eiichiro... he can't even bear to wake him up.' Makomo propped her chin on her hands, crouching nearby, looking from one person to the next, quietly waiting for dawn.
"Let's leave it at that..." A moment later, a sigh escaped through the paper window. The oil lamp was blown out. Humans and ghosts, each with their own thoughts, either slept or found a corner to curl up in, listening to the mountain wind howl. It was a restless night.
Ten o'clock in the morning. The sun was high. Perhaps the Quiz Town was too desolate, but the sunlight shining into the dilapidated alleys still felt strangely cold.
In the corner where the camera was hidden...
Roy meticulously constructed the "training blade" in his mind. On his outstretched palm, before Kurapika's astonished eyes, specks of light began to appear. They connected into a line, gathered into a plane, and in the blink of an eye, formed a katana, which the boy deftly caught. It was none other than the training blade that hung on the south wall of the cabin!
He... he succeeded? This fast? Sachiko looked at the boy, surprised, and praised him. "You are very talented."
'He is my Young Master, after all.' Gotoh stood up straighter, sharing the pride. Kurapika, despite her short time learning about Nen, could tell from the others' reactions that this was an "amazing" feat, making her even more determined to cling to this Zoldyck thigh!
On the airship.
The camera captured the entire scene. Netero wasn't particularly shocked, just cast a faint glance at Zeno, now believing his earlier claim of not knowing the boy's Nen type.
"Hoho... well, no need to guess now. Turning illusion into reality, conjuring from nothing... Zeno," Netero recalled Zzigg, a flicker of sadness in his otherwise sharp eyes. "I remember, this is the second 'Conjurer' in your family since Zzigg, isn't it?"
"The Oldest Master always said I lured him away, but in truth, he knew Zzigg wanted to go to the Dark Continent himself, to gather materials and perfect [Game of the Dead]. That's why he ran away from home."
"In the blink of an eye, it's been twenty years. Some things... you just have to let go."
"I can't let it go." Zeno stood with his back to Netero, watching the boy on the screen. Roy seemed to have grown taller again in just a few days, already having the frame of an adult. "The right or wrong of it doesn't matter," Zeno said coldly. "The Oldest Master resents you. There's nothing anyone can do."
Is that so... Netero, though rebuffed, wasn't angry. He glanced at the training blade in Roy's hand. "Conjurers are often a bit... neurotic," he mused. "Your family has no swordsmen, yet he managed to conjure a sword through visualization. How strange."
Maha was an Enhancer, Zeno and Silva were Emitters... among the younger generation, Illumi was a Manipulator. Netero was right; in five generations, the Zoldycks had never produced a swordsman. But...
"This child, Roy, is different." Zeno, hands behind his back, stared intently at the boy on the screen. "You're wrong," he said, not turning around. "His reference point isn't the sword."
Hmm? Netero raised an eyebrow, waiting.
Zeno took a breath, turning to look out the window. It was ten in the morning, the sun shining brightly. A small smirk played on his lips. "It's the sun."
"Hohoho..." Netero froze, then sat bolt upright. "Hoho, the kid's got ambition... but does he really think he can control the sun?" The dawn that tears through darkness, the great sun that nurtures all life and commands the tides, the tragic sunset that burns the horizon... no living thing can exist without it. It's like an eye, silently observing the human world. Whether the seas dry up or the mountains move, whether I'm here or you're here, it is always there.
"Zeno, when you go back, talk to the old geezer again. Why not let the kid be adopted by me? His destiny is too strong; you can't handle him."
Zeno scoffed, retorting bluntly, "Give him to you? To raise another Beyond?"
"If you don't want to die, you'd better not even try." Go and see if the Oldest Master doesn't beat you to death!
Netero: "..."
"Hoho..." He laughed. This time, the laugh was a bit sinister, making Bean's blood run cold. Pretending to brew more tea, Bean ducked his head, secretly wiping away cold sweat. This is torture, being caught in the middle... this is no job for a human.
He stole a glance at the monitor. The boy who had caused all this, Roy, had just sheathed his cane sword. He admired the light reflecting off the blade onto the opposite wall. He smiled and said to Sachiko, "Compared to Granny, this is nothing." Just conjuring a sword is still a long way from a Nen Beast. Roy was self-aware.
He held the training blade and imbued it with 'Searing Essence'. He flourished the blade, which was now wreathed in roaring flames, hissing as it burned the air. Sachiko and her "children" instinctively recoiled, clearly feeling the intense heat.
"Heh heh..." Sachiko forced a smile. "This old woman is telling the truth. With your talent, conjuring a Nen Beast is just a matter of time."
The first step is always the hardest. Now that he had taken that first step into Conjuration, the rest was just a matter of converting "imagination" into reality through "Nen." Like Kurapika and his "Chains," Shizuku and "Blinky," Pariston and his "Chess"...
Combining "Sun" and "Beast"... Roy retracted the 'Searing Essence', sheathed the sword, and with a thought, released the training blade back to the Demon Slayer world. He watched it dissolve into specks of light. An idea was beginning to form...
At the same time, he startled everyone in the cabin.
The specks of light reappeared.
Fukuda slapped Shinsuke. "Look! Eiichiro's sword... it's back!"
☆☆☆
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