Chapter 64: Kastro's "Transformation" x The Peeping Illumi
It was the girl who had been raped and murdered, along with the several Nen users Harrison had tortured to death.
Roy came to a realization. His grandfather, Zeno, had said that the souls of the innocent dead harbor the deepest resentment. And now, looking at them... the girl had clearly not been a Nen user, yet her spirit was the most solid among them all.
This is the power of hatred. Roy lifted his right foot and stomped, crushing Harrison's head. Without the reinforcement of Nen, the body of steel turned to mush.
The lovely female figure and the spirits of the Nen users bowed to him. They straightened up, took one last, lingering look at the world, and then dissolved into points of fluorescent light, flowing into Roy's body.
"What was that?" Wing asked, confused, turning to Biscuit.
The old woman didn't answer, her eyes fixed on Roy as she fell deep in thought.
[Notification: Life Energy +10]
The system panel updated.
It was less than he had expected. Perhaps... this was the difference between a fugitive and a terrorist. The latter caused far greater harm than the former.
Roy felt the amount was a bit low. He was not satisfied, even a little displeased. He rested his hand on his cane sword, his foot still on Harrison's corpse, and his cold gaze swept across the spectator stands.
"The Divine Shot" and "The Ninja" both immediately looked down, pretending they hadn't seen a thing.
"Trash," Gotoh sneered.
"You!" Guy and Kikuta started to get up in a flash of anger, but they felt as if the seats beneath them were burning hot. They couldn't stay a moment longer and fled the scene in disgrace.
"Little Wing, ninety days doesn't seem like nearly enough," Biscuit said, propping her chin on her hand.
Wing pushed up his glasses. "Then we'll add another ninety." The young man's mindset was good. He smiled faintly. "A wise man adapts to the circumstances. Whenever you say it's time to fight, Master, that's when we'll fight."
"Good boy~" Biscuit patted Wing's head and gave him a playful wink. "I won't let you go up there just to get beaten up, you know."
"Elo... Elo...!" The chants for Roy finally grew louder as the bitter gamblers filed out. The boy watched Guy and Kikuta leave, then cast a casual glance toward a corner of the stands.
In the shadows, two boys stood, one on the left and one on the right. One was calm, the other was gritting his teeth. When they saw him look over, they both turned their backs and vanished into the crowd.
Indeed, it was time to leave.
Roy withdrew his gaze and, bathed in the lights and the attention of thousands, he walked off the stage.
Wing was sitting in his seat. Seeing him approach, he stood up in advance. "Congratulations," he said.
Roy stopped, looking at him calmly. There's no time like the present. "You can issue your challenge now."
Wing let out a dry cough, but Biscuit cut in before he could speak. "Hey... little Roy, would you like to become a disciple of my Shingen-Ryu school?"
"Our master is the strongest human in the world, you know!"
"No, thank you." Roy thought of the dream he'd had under the willow tree. Back then, Netero had made a rather pathetic escape because of his great-grandfather, Zzigg. If Roy were to switch allegiances, who knew if the old man, in a fit of rage, would beat him to death?
It was a gamble Roy wasn't willing to take.
"What a shame. After we part ways today, who knows when I'll see you again." Biscuit squeezed out two "sad" tears and opened her little arms as if to pounce.
Halfway there, Roy stopped her by placing a hand on her head, leaving her flailing at the air. He had no time to entertain the old lady's nonsense. He turned to Gotoh. "Let's go."
With that, he let go of Biscuit, left the stands, and walked back toward his room.
Having killed Harrison, Roy had now earned the right to advance to the 200th floor. He obviously couldn't stay in Room 1991 anymore and would move as soon as the officials assigned him a new room.
Tap... tap... Master and servant walked down the corridor. As they neared their room, they stopped. A figure stood there—unexpected, and yet, somewhat expected.
"Please, accept me as your student!" Kastro dropped to his knees at Gotoh's feet with a thud, his forehead hitting the ground. The movement was incredibly fluid, clearly rehearsed in his mind countless times.
Gotoh visibly stiffened for a second, then turned to Roy. "Young Master, should I just kill him after all?"
Roy remained silent, leaving the decision entirely to him.
The young butler gave him another tentative look, then frowned and lifted his right foot, hooking the toe of his shoe under Kastro's chin. "Can you transform?" he asked with disgust.
The Young Master had said he wanted a tool-man no worse than Tsubone, one who could "fly," "run," "jump," and "swim."
"?"
Kastro's face was a mask of pure confusion.
After a moment, he stammered, "How can a person transform? You mean... like that Rubber Man, Morris?" The young man glanced cautiously at Roy, then nodded fiercely. "I can! If you're willing to teach me, I'll dare to transform!"
It'd be great if I could turn into a tank and blow you to bits with one shot! Kastro added silently in his head.
"Young Master, what do you think?"
"You decide."
So Kastro, an Enhancer, is fated to train in the wrong Nen type after all? Roy thought it was amusing as he walked past the boy. At least he could be sure of one thing: once you entered the Zoldyck household, even dying wasn't so easy.
Click— The door opened, and Roy stepped inside.
Seeing this, Gotoh lowered his foot and followed him in, leaving Kastro with a final sentence. "You'll start as an apprentice butler."
"Yes, sir!" Kastro clenched his fists and scrambled up from the floor, letting out a long sigh of relief before following them into the room.
The corridor lights cast a long, slanted shadow from a corner.
At the far end of the hallway, a deathly pale face peeked out. Watching Kastro enter Roy's room, the dead fish eyes of the figure narrowed almost imperceptibly.
When he was gone, a piece of the wall, where his hand had been, crumbled away, revealing the concrete beneath.
"Dance... Blue Heaven... Burning Bones, Summer Sun... Fire Wheel..."
Evening came, and only Roy was left in the room. Gotoh had originally booked tickets for just the two of them. Now with an extra freeloader and worried that Kastro couldn't take proper care of Roy alone, he had taken Kastro with him to book another ticket and buy some dinner.
This gave Roy the perfect opportunity to add his points.
After finishing a set of the 'Sun Breathing', the boy let out a light breath and began to undress. At one point, his eyes focused, and he whipped his head toward the window, thrusting the cane sword forward. It stopped just before Illumi, who was hanging upside down outside.
Only a pane of glass separated the tip of his nose from the tip of the blade. The setting sun cast its last rays, and Illumi could clearly smell the grim, murderous aura.
He looked at Roy in silence. After a long moment, he asked in a dry, raspy voice, "Who is he?"
"Who's who?"
"The person you let into your room today."
Roy retracted the sword. "Oh, you mean him," he said faintly. "Kastro."
Illumi: "Kill him!"
"Give me a reason."
"There is no reason."
"Then it's none of your damn business!" Swish—
Roy simply pulled the curtains shut, blocking Illumi from view.
In the twilight, my foolish, dear little brother hung in mid-air like a spider, swinging in the wind, looking utterly shattered.
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