It was as if a mountain wind was blowing through the unseen world. In the garden, the green grass bowed flat, and the flowers bent their stems, listening to the thunder within the tranquility. After Roy's single strike, he stood there quietly, the young man neither servile nor overbearing, his face devoid of joy or sorrow. Zeno, who had been watching the fight intently, frowned slightly. He suddenly heard the old man say softly, "Look at the sky."
A gust of wind splashed up, shattering the clouds.
Zeno and Illumi raised their heads simultaneously. The latter's vacant, emotionless pupils suddenly shrank, his mouth falling open in a rare display of shock.
It was a meteor!
"Did that child, Roy, slice a meteor down with one blow?" Zeno stroked his beard. The boy was exaggerating.
"To be precise, not 'slice,' but 'pull'..." Maha's gaze was profound, as if he could see through everything. He watched the meteor in the sky, dragged by the purple [Dragon of Magnetism], rub against the atmosphere and turn into a fireball, heading straight for the garden. He chuckled lowly, "He's finally showing some growth."
The old man smacked his lips. "A pity... its speed is a bit slow..."
"Rumble!" The meteor descended from the heavens. It grew from a black dot to the size of a basketball, and then, within just two seconds, it became large enough to be seen with the naked eye without [Gyo].
It fell, wrapped in 'celestial fire' and carrying the might of destruction. At that moment, whether it was butlers or magical beasts scattered in every corner of the Zoldyck estate, all sensed it. They raised their heads in unison, letting out bursts of panicked screams!
At that time, Tsubone was having afternoon tea with Kikyo. Kastro was guarding the mountain path, reviewing the gains and losses from yesterday's battle. Gotoh stood by the edge of a water pool, holding a samurai sword and resting with his eyes closed. They heard the wind, looked at the sky, and their mouths fell open, their expressions of disbelief shattering.
'Is this... a natural disaster or... man-made?'
Those not on the scene couldn't know the gravity of the "incident." Kukuroo Mountain, usually quiet to the point of being deathly still, seemed to "come alive" in an instant. Beasts fled and birds scattered in alarm.
As the meteor drew closer and closer, even blotting out the sun overhead...
Silva, holding his "Nen whip," glanced indifferently at Roy. The young man's Nen was completely exhausted. He was barely using Yukibashiri to keep himself from falling, already a "spent arrow."
"You have the ability to pull it down, but not the ability to clean it up," Silva took two steps forward, coming to stand in front of Roy. He faced the meteor, retracted his Nen whip, and faintly shielded him with his body. The man said coldly, "Are you trying to destroy this family?"
A tide of weakness washed over his heart. Roy answered honestly, "I was only thinking about creating something of my own. I never thought about hurting anyone."
'What is this... a whim of the strong becomes an unbearable mountain crashing down on ordinary people?'
"You've grown, and you've also become less self-aware." The man, his back to the boy, tossed out a cold sentence. Wind swirled at his feet, forming a "Nen vortex," and he shot up from the ground, charging straight for the meteor!
Like a tiny ant rushing towards a towering elephant. The visual difference in size made one sweat for him.
"Hehehe... Your father is right. You, having an epiphany wherever you please, without even checking the occasion..." Maha's low laugh came at the right time.
Zeno, leaning against the window ledge with him, couldn't help but glance at the old man. He seriously suspected that his grandfather was actively shifting the blame. 'It was clearly you who was guiding the child. The child had a real epiphany as a result, and in a moment of carelessness, couldn't hold back. Now... why is it all the child's fault again?'
One could only say that old men really didn't care about face. Zeno suddenly thought of Isaac Netero. He had to admit that "Enhancers" were cut from the same cloth in some respects.
"Rumble-rumble-rumble..."
Three hundred meters, two hundred meters, one hundred meters. The meteor, trailing a long tail of flame, drew near. Only now did they realize just how enormous it was!
It seemed to be looking down, as if mocking Silva for overestimating himself, for trying to stop a chariot with his bare hands. It accelerated its descent, determined to crush him!
Silva, in mid-air, opened his palms and condensed two "Nen orbs." They didn't look particularly impressive. But unexpectedly... as he clapped his hands together, aimed at the meteor, and suddenly fired!
"BOOM!" The "Nen light wave" turned into a thick "pillar of light" and instantly struck the "meteor." Then... in front of Roy, Illumi, Zeno, Maha, and all the other Zoldyck masters and butlers, and even the fleeing beasts and magical creatures, a spectacular "fireworks show" unfolded!
"Crack... crack..." The meteor paused. Sinister cracks crawled across its surface. A second later, it exploded violently!
Flames and dust turned into streamers of light and vanished into the sky.
The man landed lightly, his back to Roy, as if he had just done something trivial.
He said, "Welcome home."
He stuck a hand in his pocket and walked away.
Roy watched his back disappear from the garden, down the corridor, and finally into the second-floor bedroom. He collapsed, spreading his arms and lying down on the soft grass, facing the sun, lost in a daze.
'This is [Stats]. Simple, crude, and unreasonable!'
'Father is like this. Razor scaring off the Spiders alone was also like this. Even grandfather Zeno's Dragon Star Cluster and Isaac Netero's Hyakushiki Kannon... and that giant wreathed in black lightning I vaguely saw yesterday from Great-Grandfather...'
'All of them demonstrate just how important [Stats], or rather [Aura Quantity], is to a "Nen user"!'
"Tap... tap..." As Roy pondered, he heard a set of footsteps. It was Illumi.
The foolish older brother lay down right next to the boy and said, "Father asked me to tell you that at your age, he was not as good as you."
Roy remained silent.
Illumi rolled over to look at him, pulling open his collar to expose his chest. "Don't you know how to eavesdrop on people's thoughts? Listen to mine, and you'll know if it's true."
"Get lost."
"Okay."
Illumi rolled over, giving Roy his back.
It was almost noon, the sunlight was just right, and the Zoldyck brothers lay side by side, sunbathing.
Not far from their feet was Milluki, being dragged into the garden like a dead dog by a young butler.
Further away, the butler squad was filing in, beginning to clean up the mess under Tsubone's direction. The old butler, flicking her two pink pigtails, glanced at Roy from time to time. The young man, having recovered a trace of Nen, rolled over and got up from the ground. He grabbed Yukibashiri in one hand and the Staff-Sword in the other, and under her gaze, slowly walked towards his bedroom.
It was noon. He was hungry. His stomach began to rumble. Gotoh had been sent to wait by the pool. The one pushing the cart to deliver the meal was... his grandfather, Zeno.
"Your great-grandfather told me to have you make some new dishes for him to try tomorrow." The old man hadn't eaten Roy's cooking in a long time and specifically requested it.
Zeno, with the thought that he could also snag some fresh food, came into Roy's bedroom on his own. Without waiting for him, he pulled up a chair at the dining table, cut himself a piece of steak, tossed it into his mouth, and casually threw a book to Roy.
Roy sat down opposite him, caught it with one hand, and grabbed a slice of pizza. He ate as he looked at it. The book was quite old. On the title page, a few large words were handwritten:
Records of the West Continent
It instantly made Roy's gaze freeze!
He knew very well that the [Lakeside Island] surrounded by Mobius Lake had no "East" or "West" continents to speak of.
Unlike the "Yorubian Continent" or the "Ejen Continent," the so-called "East" and "West" specifically referred to—
The Dark Continent!
"These are the notes your grandfather Zigg left behind from his exploration of the Dark Continent. You can consider it the second volume to the one you have." Zeno said nonchalantly. As Roy's gaze flickered, he thought of one person—Ging Freecss's ancestor, Don Freecss!
It was rumored that he had traveled alone to the Dark Continent more than three hundred years ago. After many twists and turns, he wrote New Continent Travelogue, divided into an East and a West volume.
The East volume was later known to have been found by the V5 and Ging Freecss. The West volume, however, had no follow-up.
According to Ging Freecss's speculation, it was either lost, or Don Freecss simply hadn't finished exploring, or he had finished but hadn't written it, or... to this day, it was unknown if Don Freecss was even still alive.
After all, the Dark Continent also had miraculous crops like "Longevity Rice," which could greatly extend one's lifespan and maintain a certain degree of "eternal youth."
Roy stared blankly at the Records of the West Continent in his hand. He didn't open it immediately. Instead, he felt increasingly certain that his grandfather Zigg was not dead, and even...
That "Gate of the Dark Continent" in his cognition was connected to the real Dark Continent, and...
Zigg's Nen ability, [The Game of the Dead], was also based on the real Dark Continent. His own ability to "resurrect" repeatedly using "mental energy" was also related to his "rebirth" and "transmigration" activating this "Gate of Cognition"!
'The world is [Material], but it is also [Idealistic]. What you think is [Real] might be [False], and likewise...'
The boy took a bite of pizza and narrowed his eyes. 'Memories are not necessarily [False]. Thinking they are [False] is just "thinking"...'
"What are you thinking about?" Zeno took a sip of cream of mushroom soup and glanced at him. The boy smiled gracefully, "Nothing. I just feel it's a bit unreal."
"Tell me."
"For example, Great-Grandfather clearly told me not to go to the Dark Continent, yet he gives me this book to read. It's a contradiction."
"If he tells you not to go, you won't go?" Zeno took out a napkin, wiped his mouth, and shot the boy a look. "Don't overthink it. Giving you the book is just to let you know some information in advance for when you go to pay respects to your grandfather Zigg, so things go more smoothly when you enter the [Game]. As for..."
"The real Dark Continent, it's not a place you can go just because you want to."
'Indeed. Entering and exiting the Dark Continent not only requires a departure certificate from the Navigation Department, but also a guide, the backing of major powers like the V5, and a ship sturdy enough to... reach the Dark Continent. This point alone is clear from how Beyond prepared for half his life, even willing to kill his father for it.'
'But... I have a gate.'
Roy said impassively, "Grandfather's lesson is correct."
"Mm." Zeno gave a noncommittal grunt and disappeared in a flash, leaving only a sentence echoing in Roy's ear: "Since you're back, go see your grandfather Zigg more often."
"Yes." Roy finished his lunch and placed the book and the medal Isaac Netero had given him together in a drawer.
He climbed into bed, planning to nap for a while to replenish his depleted energy and kill a few more demons to accumulate some life energy. Soon, he fell into a deep sleep.
In a daze...
The boy once again passed through the colorful dream tunnel and arrived at the familiar Sea of Cognition. This time, he stood still for a moment in front of the locked "Gate of the Dark Continent" before reaching out and pushing open the "Demon Slayer" gate.
[Tip: "Life Energy" +2+3+5+4....]
One by one, demons fell in the hazy night.
Under the moonlight, Roy glanced down at the intelligence and stepped into the territory of Natagumo Mountain.