Chapter 76: Poison Resistance Training x Zzigg's Three Soul Questions
"I heard you went to see that Kastro?"
November 17th. Overcast. As autumn turned to winter, the days grew colder. It seemed people's luck was taking a turn for the worse as well.
In the long corridor leading to the training room, Roy walked through the morning light as usual, Snow-Walker hanging at his waist. Beside him walked Illumi, hands stuffed in his pockets, his face fixed in its usual dead-eyed expression.
The Zoldyck brothers walked side-by-side, yet apart, neither touching the other. From a distance, they looked like two parallel lines, destined never to intersect, always maintaining their distance.
"Does it concern you?"
"Yes," Illumi replied flatly. "He's not worth your effort."
Roy didn't break stride, his eyes fixed ahead. "Are you?"
Illumi faltered, stopping in his tracks. He watched Roy's retreating back merge into the morning light, then chased after him with a muffled sound. "The fourth gate—if you can do it, so can I."
In short, don't think you can ditch me! the boy added silently in his head. He covered the remaining distance in just a few steps, using 'Shadow Step'. Not only did he catch up, but he actually overtook Roy, pushed open the training room door first, and stepped inside.
He tilted his chin up. "I got here first."
Childish.
Roy entered right after him, brushing past his shoulder without a second glance, completely ignoring him. He looked ahead. Luke was already waiting, but this time, he wasn't holding an electric baton. Instead, he held two vials of poison.
The lethal dose neurotoxin LD50, and the semi-lethal dose LC50.
"The Master said that while electro-shock training is necessary, poison resistance training cannot be neglected either." Luke pushed the "lethal dose" vial toward Roy and the "semi-lethal dose" toward Illumi. "Young Masters, if you please," he said respectfully.
With lightning speed, Illumi snatched the "lethal dose" vial and swallowed its contents in one gulp. He wiped his mouth, stuck out his neck, and glared defiantly at Roy. Then, the whites of his eyes rolled up, and he collapsed, stiff as a board.
I'm not weaker than him, Roy could faintly hear his thoughts.
"Young Master Illumi!" Luke cried out in alarm, rushing to catch him. In just those few moments, my foolish, dear little brother's skin had visibly turned purple.
"What was that all about... Young Master Roy, you have to bear witness for me! Young Master Illumi did this himself!"
"There's a camera in the corner. Someone is watching," Roy said calmly.
Sure enough...
Zzzt~ The electronic eye in the corner flashed red. Less than three minutes later, two more test tubes were brought in. One contained poison—still a lethal dose. The other held the antidote.
The poison went into Roy's mouth. The antidote went into Illumi's.
Luke calmed down and checked Illumi's condition. Noticing his breathing stabilized from erratic gasps, and seeing him even open his eyes a few minutes later, he finally relaxed.
"Young Master, that was too reckless," Luke said, acting as a cushion to make Illumi more comfortable.
But the boy just stared with his vacant eyes, watching Roy, who had finished the poison and was now digesting it with his eyes closed. His older brother stood firm, Snow-Walker held upright like a staff, looking... much better off than he was.
"Bury me." November. The mountain wind had shifted to its frigid winter mode. It blew into the training room, chilling Illumi's body and making his heart even colder. He desperately needed the comfort of the earth.
Luke followed his instructions and buried him in the pit, leaving only his head exposed, facing the training room. Illumi reluctantly closed his eyes.
Inside, Roy savored the numbness and intense pain as the poison ravaged his body. After letting himself adapt for a moment, he drew Snow-Walker with a sching and began to practice the 'Sun Breathing'.
Having just dealt with Illumi, Luke turned around to see this and felt a splitting headache coming on. Never before had his job felt so miserable. "Young Master, you mustn't move!" he pleaded. "It will accelerate the spread of the poison!"
But the more it spread, the more numb he felt, the more it hurt—the more he needed to train, the more he needed to move!
"An enemy won't let you go just because you've been poisoned."
Dance... Blue Heaven... Burning Bones, Summer Sun... Fire Wheel... As the final slash, Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance, connected into a roaring sheet of flame, the boy pointed his blade diagonally at the camera and smiled silently. "Am I right, Father?"
Second-floor master bedroom. Ever since Kikyo's pregnancy, Silva had switched back from medicinal tea to red wine. He swirled the glass, watching the monitor and the boy across from him. A corner of his mouth lifted. He summoned Tsubone. "Double it!"
Good. Very spirited. That means the poison isn't strong enough. "I don't want him standing."
Tsubone: "Then I shall make him lie down."
A few minutes later, a larger dose of poison was delivered to the training room.
The result... that afternoon, as sunlight filtered through the bare willow branches in the garden, Roy groggily woke up. Beside him, Illumi's eyes fluttered open as well.
Illumi watched him silently. "I thought you were supposed to be so tough."
Roy didn't reply.
Luke, who had been watching over them, acted as his mouthpiece, informing my foolish, dear little brother that the Eldest Young Master had downed three more lethal doses before finally collapsing.
Illumi: "..."
He retracted his head completely into the pit.
The fresh earth didn't smell like Milluki. Apparently, that kid had also started poison resistance training and hadn't left the toilet since. Roy finally regained feeling in his limbs, broke free from the earth, shook off the dirt, turned, and walked away.
Tap... tap... The footsteps faded into the distance. Illumi finally poked his head out again, silently staring at Roy's retreating back. The sunlight cast a long, slanted shadow on the ground. For a long moment, he couldn't bear to close his eyes.
"Young Master."
"Young Master."
Grandpa Zzigg's "brain repository" welcomed the boy as usual. His expression serene, Roy gave a slight nod to Scarface and One-Eye, who guarded the entrance. They bowed respectfully and pulled open the security door.
The deep, lonely passage stretched before him. Roy stepped inside, then paused and turned back to the two butlers. "On behalf of Grandpa Zzigg, thank you both for your many years of service." His tone was utterly sincere. "If conditions permit, I will tell him of your deeds."
Scarface and One-Eye exchanged a look, then placed their right hands over their chests and knelt on one knee. "It would be our honor."
"Please, Young Master, be sure to tell the Old Master that all is well at home."
Roy was silent for a moment, remembering the phrase, "Whose kid are you?" He took a deep breath. "I will."
He turned again and walked through the passage. He saw the well-tended chrysanthemums before the airtight door, saw the writhing tentacles, saw the kind eye, and then everything went black as he entered the "Game of the Dead."
"Get down!"
Before the familiar shout could even finish, Roy, now experienced, dropped to the ground the instant the first syllable was uttered. He unleashed his Ren, forming a "Nen shroud" to withstand the sandworm's Ren and the debris it flung up from the earth!
Ten seconds, thirty seconds, fifty seconds, one minute... Finally, at one minute and five seconds, a head of spiky silver hair leaned in, studying him curiously. "Whose kid are you?" the voice asked again. "How did you get on the ship?"
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