A blind man… is the young master of the Zoldyck family?!
The crowd of tourists froze, their jaws slack with disbelief.
Ke Kelu rubbed her eyes. For years she'd led tours to Kukulu Mountain. Not once had Roy revealed who he truly was. Like everyone else, she had assumed he was just a blind servant—maybe a housekeeper.
Never had she imagined…
"He's… the young master?!"
Behind Roy, the Mani brothers stiffened.
The blade returned to Roy's neck in an instant, gleaming in the sun like a warning.
"Alright, brat," Mani growled, lips curling with menace. "You played us real good."
His hand trembled slightly—not with fear, but with excitement. The young master of the Zoldyck family… if we take him hostage, how much is he worth?!
Roy remained calm.
"I never said I was a butler," he said mildly.
He turned his head toward the guard near the gate.
"Ji Bu Jie, open the door."
"Yes, Young Master Roy." The gatekeeper glanced coldly at the Mani brothers, then walked back into the guardhouse. Moments later, with a heavy grind, the enormous stone gate creaked open, revealing a shadowed path into the forested interior of the Zoldyck estate.
Roy took a step forward and motioned calmly. "Let's go."
Still holding the knife to his neck, Mani followed, his brother just behind him.
This is it, Mani thought, our lucky break! With this kid, we'll get inside and strike gold!
He turned to his brother with a grin. "Sonny, after we finish this, I'll treat you to ten girls and a mountain of food!"
But—
"ROOOAAAAR!!"
A shadow swooped down from above.
Before Mani could even blink, his massive younger brother was gone—devoured in one bite by a hulking beast that landed with a thunderous crash.
The only thing left behind… was a pair of bones—spat out in disgust, clattering at Mani's feet.
"SONNY!!" Mani screamed, stumbling backward in shock.
Above him, the monster glared down. A hulking chimera beast with silver fur and dark plating loomed, casting a long shadow across the path. Its slit pupils glowed gold, its jagged teeth stained red.
It was Mikay, one of the Zoldyck family's gate guardians—an experimental beast raised from birth to patrol the outer grounds.
Mani's knees buckled. Terror gripped him like a vice.
"D-Don't come any closer! I'll kill the brat!" he shouted, grabbing Roy and yanking him close, the blade pressed harder against his throat.
He was desperate.
But Roy?
He only tilted his head slightly.
"…Why should I tell my pet to leave?" he said softly. "He's quite well-behaved."
In that instant, something shifted.
Though blind, Roy's presence suddenly sharpened. His eyes, once dull and unfocused, took on a terrifying stillness. A strange pressure filled the air.
Mani froze. He couldn't explain it, but suddenly—
The blind boy was more terrifying than the beast.
The next moment, Roy gently lowered his grocery bag and gripped his cane with both hands.
Then—shing!
A flicker of silver light.
Mani felt something cold and wet hit his shoulders.
Then his vision spun sideways.
Wait… why is my body still over there…?
With a dull thud, Mani's head hit the ground, rolled twice, and stopped just before Mikay's claw.
CRUNCH.
Two chews. Gone.
Roy calmly wiped the blade, sheathed it into his cane, and exhaled.
"I even gave you ham sausages. You could've walked away."
He patted Mikay's fur and gave a soft command.
"Let's go."
With a howl, Mikay crouched, offering his forelimb. Roy climbed onto the beast's back. Then, in a single leap, Mikay shot forward and vanished into the forested estate toward the main mansion.
At the gate, the bones of the Mani brothers were all that remained.
The tourists stared in stunned silence. The same men they feared not long ago had been reduced to discarded bones—within seconds.
One sharp-eyed tourist recognized the torn clothes.
"It's… those bounty hunters! They're dead!"
A wave of gasps and cries followed.
The elderly man who had just moments ago pitied Roy now looked utterly humiliated.
Ke Kelu stood quietly at the front, staring after Roy's fading silhouette.
"So… we really will see each other again."
Then she huffed, cheeks puffing in annoyance.
"That guy! He never told me he was a Zoldyck!"
She stomped her feet in frustration, then turned sharply toward the bus.
Behind her, the rest of the tourists—shaken and wide-eyed—rushed aboard as well. No one wanted to linger in front of the infamous Zoldyck gates any longer.
If bounty hunters were reduced to bones in seconds, what chance did civilians stand?
As the bus roared away down the mountain, one whispered voice spoke what they were all thinking—
"The Zoldyck family really is the world's number one assassin clan…"
"Monsters. Every last one of them."