Red robes dragged across the floor, embroidered with thunder and cloud patterns. Benjamin revealed his form hazily, using a [Divine Power Seed] planted inside Frank Becki's body as a coordinate... In that instant, Roy tensed up, feeling as though he were being stared at by a prehistoric beast. While his vigilance climbed to its peak, he tightened his grip on the Asauchi in his hand, and Frank Becki's words from moments ago suddenly echoed in his mind...
'In the eyes of those big shots who rely on [Righteous Gods] to wield authority, people like us abandoned ones... whether it's Little Mary or him, Frank Becki, are nothing more than dogs marked and collared. If we die, we die. And even...'
'After death, we are still used!'
Just like Frank Becki. While he was alive, he likely never imagined that Lord Benjamin, whose boots he licked so sycophantically, would "borrow a corpse to resurrect the soul." It was unclear...
Whether it was "possession" or "divine descent."
Crackle. Benjamin stretched his body and grabbed at the air. Lightning flashed, gradually condensing into a "Lightning Lance" wrapped in electric snakes, which he thrust straight at Roy's head!
Danger alarms rang loudly. Carrying the might of nature, the Lightning Lance locked onto Roy in an instant. It reminded him of the scene from a few days ago when his father, Silva, gathered "Nen orbs" with both hands and fired a sky-piercing "Nen blast" to destroy a meteorite...
He narrowed his eyes and summoned the "Magic Eye"!
"Disconnect!"
It was close. Even from ten meters away, Roy could smell the intense stinging and numbing scent, just like when he had been electrocuted by Silva that morning. He raised his hand, sending out two "Nen threads" wrapped in "Magnetism" to hook onto Frank Becki. He dragged the body away, along with the "Nen Pistol" limp in Frank's hand, which was imprinted with the "Divine Character" [Infinite], signifying "infinite rapid fire"...
Then, his vision went black, and he vanished into thin air from beneath Benjamin's projection.
Boom!
Having lost its target, the "Lightning Lance" plunged into the forest, blasting apart an unknown number of trees and ploughing a deep, shocking gully nearly a thousand meters long into the ground!
'Illusory reality... Conjuration Type...'
Vaguely, at the moment his consciousness completely faded, Roy saw Benjamin frown. He then closed his eyes, connected to the "Cognitive World" through [re; The Game of the Dead], and stepped through the [Dark Continent Gate]. When he opened his eyes again...
Just like in the past, he was lying on the beach of the "Sea of Cognition." His nose twitched, smelling a thick scent of blood. He saw Frank Becki lying quietly by his feet, dead as a dog!
'It worked...' Roy rolled up from the ground and beckoned with his hand. The pistol flew up and he grabbed it. The boy gently stroked the [Divine Character], lost in thought. He hadn't expected that a fleeting, intuitive attempt... would actually allow him to bring Frank Becki's corpse back. Combining this with the final words of that Lord Benjamin... Roy vaguely felt he had touched upon the truth of the "Conjuration Type"!
'Illusory reality... or real illusion? What path will the Conjuration Type eventually lead to?'
Roy pulled the slide and abruptly pulled the trigger. Bullets formed a tongue of fire, pouring out... blasting open the seawater and raising giant waves!
'It is a good gun!'
It was a pity he wasn't an "Emitter," so he couldn't bring out the true power of this "Infinite Pistol." However... Gotoh, with the boost from this pistol, would see his immediate combat power rise significantly. At the very least... if he encountered Hisoka in the future, relying solely on "Infinite" firepower suppression, he wouldn't be toyed with and killed before his "Nen" ran out.
having made a mental calculation, Roy familiarized himself with the specific structure of the "Infinite Pistol." He only needed to return to reality to conjure it immediately. He looked up at Frank Becki again... Because of death, Frank could be dragged into the "Cognitive World" as an "inanimate object" using his grandfather Zigg's Nen ability. It was actually quite a decent "shell carrier."
Roy thought of the "Blood Demon Art" he obtained from the "Clone Demon"—[Clone].
He squatted down, pried open Frank Becki's mouth, forced out a drop of "Heart Blood" to pour into the body, and then used imagination to channel "Nen" to wrap him in a cocoon-like shape. The panel prompted...
[Current "Clone" incubating...]
[Incubation progress: 1/7 (Days)]
In the unseen realm, the boy felt a thick bloodline bond with the "Clone" inside the "cocoon"... In the original work, the "Clone Demon" split into three. To be precise, they weren't so much "clones" as they were demon brothers from the same mother. Each had its own independent "personality" and "thinking." They were bona fide independent individuals, yet controlled by the "main body," existing in a contradiction of being "independent" yet "unified"... They strictly followed the "primary and secondary relationship," just like "Roy" and "Gotoh"—overflowing with loyalty, coming immediately when called!
This was far beyond what Kastro could achieve by forcing a "Conjuration Type clone" with a "Enhancement Type" body, which could only be maintained for a few seconds. And... it was far beyond the "copies" created by Kortopi relying on [God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand], which could only copy "inanimate objects" through touch and ultimately only persist for 24 hours...
This was the real deal—a person with a physical body of flesh and blood, independent personality and thinking, who obeyed only Roy's commands!
"Sleep quietly." Receiving the panel prompt, Roy gently patted the large cocoon flowing with the light of "Nen." He straightened his back and looked once more at the [Dark Continent Gate] standing on the "Sea of Cognition"... The pitch-black gate, imprinted with complex patterns, closed and locked, standing quietly as usual...
The boy took a deep breath, stood silently for a long time, closed his eyes to detach from the "Cognitive World," and when he opened them again, he was carried by the tentacles of the "Magic Eye" to the outside of the airlock door, returning to reality.
March. Early spring was pleasant, exactly the season for chrysanthemums.
The airlock door closed heavily.
Roy stood at the door for a long time. He bent down to pinch off a yellow chrysanthemum petal, putting it into his mouth and chewing carefully. Using the bitterness to stimulate his taste buds, he shook off the hazy, illusory feeling brought about by frequently entering and exiting the "Cognitive World." Then he lifted his foot and walked unhurriedly through the corridor to the security door.
"How long was I gone?" he asked.
Creak. The security door opened. Scarface, holding a pocket watch, said respectfully, "Two hours and fourteen minutes."
'Young Master has broken the record again...'
'That long, yet it felt like only an instant had passed...' Roy looked up at the sky. The setting sun had gone down, leaving only a trace of afterglow. A hint of red clouds could be faintly seen, but the rest... the entire sky was already shrouded in night. In silence, he turned and left...
Step... step...
Leaving the basement and arriving at the mottled long corridor where the lamps had just been lit, he saw Illumi walking toward him. Just like him, Illumi was heading toward the basement to pay respects to Grandfather Zigg...
The Zoldyck brothers walked toward each other. As they were about to pass shoulder to shoulder, Roy stopped and suddenly said, "Illumi."
The boy with hanging black hair and hands in his pockets turned around indifferently. His body immediately stiffened as his small head was grabbed by Roy's large hand, which stroked him gently. "If you don't need me, you don't need to live for anyone."
The large hand rubbed the boy's head, then slid down to pinch his cheek... Roy, having continuously absorbed "Life Energy," was already a head taller than Illumi. He stood before Illumi, seemingly enveloping him entirely, and said gently, "Anyone can be the head of the house. I don't care. But..."
Roy let go of Illumi, stepped into the light, and resumed his pace. Turning to leave, he said faintly, "You just need to remember, you are my brother, and that is enough."
Whoosh. A gust of evening wind poured in through the bright glass window.
The lights flickered, dragging Roy's shadow, which swayed uncertainly along with them.
Illumi was stunned. He touched his own face, where the lingering warmth of Roy's pinch still remained. He tilted his head foolishly against his palm, trying to keep it there, even if just for a second. He stood there obsessively in the corridor for a very, very long time, unwilling to leave.
Step... step...
The footsteps faded into the distance...
Roy left the light and Illumi behind, disappearing from the boy's view. When he reappeared, he was next to a dim little room. It happened that the television in the room was playing a cartoon called Those Years of Love and War with My Childhood Friend. He stopped, bowed as usual, and looked into the small room...
Maha was covered with a blanket, rocking in his rocking chair, feigning sleep. After Roy walked away, he spoke leisurely, "Roy, this old man wants to eat stir-fry..."
"I'll make it tomorrow."
"Good. I'll be waiting..."
A smile surfaced on the corner of Maha's mouth. He turned over and soon emitted faint snoring sounds...
'When people get old, it seems they can't even sleep through the night. Sleeping here and there all day, intermittently. Who knows which day I'll just sleep forever... Being able to eat the food made by my obedient grandson, this old man is already secretly rejoicing.'
Zzz...
The snoring grew louder...
Roy glanced at the back of his hand. The "Curse" counted down his life every second and minute without stopping, attempting to destroy everything good about him. The boy took a deep breath, returned to his bedroom, took off his outer clothes directly, went to the bathroom, and began adding points.
[Prompt: "Constitution" +94...]
Everything belonging to Frank Becki, the hooded man Nelson, Katie, Muto... and the members of the 4K Party who followed Frank Becki to hunt the abandoned ones everywhere, was completely consumed by Roy!
The pain this time was far more intense than any previous time, forcing Roy to support himself against the wall. He let out a muffled groan, his fingers carving through the wall surface, leaving ten deep finger marks!
[Prompt: "Constitution" increase complete...]
[Roy Zoldyck]
[Constitution: 343.4 -> 437.4 (Note: Average human is 1)]
[Nen Ability: Gate of Cognition]
[Manifested Aura Output: C- (2750/100000 -> 3841/100000) (Note: Grading uses Ants as reference. Elite Squadron Leader is D, Squadron Leader is C, Royal Guard is B, Meruem is B+)]
[Potential Aura Quantity: C (34590/100000 -> 47510/100000)]
Compared to yesterday... his height had uncontrollably shot up another two centimeters. Looking closely, he had an extreme sculptural beauty without losing the texture of power...
"Stronger than Silva when he was little."
Humph... Maha slept briefly for five minutes, tilted his head, mumbled something, and fell into a deep sleep again...