The boy's mind cleared quickly, and he drifted into dreamland.
This time, he dreamed of his past self and saw "Whip Shadow," "Electric Stick," and "Poisonous Insects"...
His hands and feet instinctively curled up.
Without being whipped, one wouldn't know how painful it is for a whip soaked in water.
Without experiencing electric shock, one wouldn't grasp the concept of fifty thousand volts.
Without being bitten by poisonous insects, one wouldn't understand the agony of convulsing while being poisoned.
Since the age of three, from his earliest memories, this was the daily training routine Roy had to endure.
Silva had led him, as a young child, into this endless hell, calling it the foundation for him to become a qualified assassin in the future.
And later, upon realizing Roy's limited talent, Silva gradually shifted his focus to Illumi, Milluki, and future children yet to be born.
Roy didn't want to say anything about it, nor did he want to evaluate it, because this was the fate of the Zoldyck family—a process every child born into the Zoldyck family must endure—nothing worth discussing.
But, as a human being, Roy had always felt he had the right to choose his own life...
'First of all, breaking free from control is the first step!'
"Roar!" As dawn broke, Mikai's roar arrived as expected.
Roy opened his eyes again and returned to his familiar bedroom.
Today, he lay in bed for an extra minute, savoring the experience of last night—the wild boar meat meticulously cooked by Kie Kamado tasted quite good.
Thus, for today's lunch, Roy instructed Wutong to fry an extra serving of bacon.
After eating and drinking his fill, he took Yubashiri with him.
Morning's electric shock training had concluded; the afternoon was dedicated to his personal training time.
Roy deliberately changed into comfortable workout clothes and strolled through the quiet corridors of the ancient castle. Through the window, he could vaguely see a woman with half her face covered by an electronic eye leisurely enjoying afternoon tea with a small child in the garden outside.
The child was very fair and chubby, with arms and legs stacked like bamboo sections.
To make matters worse, he wore a small flower hat on his head, dressed in a Lolita-style little dress, white knee-high socks, and round-toed little leather shoes...making people mistakenly believe he was a girl.
In reality, that was just a product deliberately arranged to satisfy the woman's peculiar fetish.
Roy almost experienced the same thing as a child, but he violently destroyed it.
As a result, the woman now saw him with animosity, which suited Roy just fine as it allowed him to maintain peace of mind.
"Young Master Milluki, you can't eat that!"
The chubby child caught a butterfly and tried to stuff it into his mouth, startling the butler following behind him.
Unfortunately, he was a little late, as half of the butterfly went into his mouth, and retrieving it would require digging through feces.
"Crunch~Crunch..." Milluki chewed with delight, a circle of powder forming around his mouth.
At a certain moment, he seemed to finally notice the gaze watching him from the corridor beside the garden, and with great effort, lifted his chubby head to look over, wondering to himself—
Who was that?
"That's your elder brother, Young Master Roy..."
The butler provided Milluki with the answer, who also noticed Roy by the window, and placed his right hand on his chest in a respectful salute.
Roy said nothing and chose not to disturb Milluki's remaining moments of happiness; his gaze lingered briefly on him before turning towards the direction of the training room.
As for the woman, since she pretended not to see him, why should he bother approaching?
After all—he was merely a 'failed product' in her eyes.
Roy smirked self-deprecatingly,
patted Yubashiri, and pushed open the door to the training room.
The pure white Samurai sword seemed to detest any dirt.
Held in Roy's palm, it was drawn with a resounding clang, casting a ghostly blue chill that scattered the dust dancing in the sunlight.
"Creak~" The door to the training room closed heavily.
The boy adjusted his Breathing, gently stroking Yubashiri, and began "Dancing"....
"Sun Breathing—Dance," "Sun Breathing—Clear Blue Sky," "Sun Breathing—Raging Sun," "Sun Breathing—Fake Rainbow"...
[Constitution +0.05...+0.05...+0.05...+0.05.....]
At a certain moment, a flash of sword light—
Yubashiri slipped from Roy's right hand, darted out, and struck an electronic eye in the corner, which let out a 'whimper' and died on the spot.
Together, the television in the master bedroom on the second floor also erupted in a flurry of static.
"Sizzle..."
Stripes of static streaked across the screen one after another....
The man shaking a glass of red wine had been lounging on a tiger-skin covered sofa for a nap, but seeing this, his lips tugged upwards, and he chuckled...
He made no move, wasn't angry, and didn't instruct Tsubone to turn off the television with her injuries, instead waving her over to take a sword from the storeroom.
As he stood, he firmly grasped the slightly curved Samurai sword.
The atmosphere transformed—becoming domineering, fierce, as if a beast about to burst forth and tear everything apart!
Striking fear into people's hearts!
Next to him, Tsubone wisely retreated two steps towards the wall, giving the man ample space.
Though her expression seemed calm, her mood was somewhat complicated, as Tsubone keenly noticed—recently, the patriarch seemed overly focused on someone.
'Where did it start?'
It seemed to begin when the person on television suddenly started performing that bizarre "Dance"....
"Whoosh~" A blade wind lifted with a chilling gleam, brushing past Tsubone's eyelids and pulling her thoughts back to reality.
Silva moved!
With both hands on the sword, he mimicked Roy's Dance, the blade in his hands came alive, slicing, slashing, stabbing, hacking, all the while his feet executing the "Dark Step." At this moment—
The bedroom was filled with haunting illusions, all composed of flying sword lights and sword shadows.
Until, the final stroke—
"Sun Breathing—Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance," accompanied by a sharp sword sound!
Silva abruptly halted, standing with sword drawn, and exhaled deeply.
"Ha ha ha..." Suppressed, deep laughter echoed from the man's mouth....
Silva squinted his eyes, confirming one thing—
"This isn't dance, but Martial Arts."
Tsubone's pupils contracted! Silva's words immediately brought someone to mind...
He was an elder with a sky-high braid, who enjoyed playing volleyball.
He demonstrated what Martial Arts meant with the identity of humanity's strongest and a grandmaster of Martial Arts, using one thousand earnest punches a day.
It was the true essence condensed during humanity's pursuit of transcending oneself...it was the capacity to observe Heaven and Earth, embracing nature in unity...it was the reverence for life, the tranquility in viewing the cycle of life and death....
Now, in this small bedroom, in a castle passed down for nearly a millennium, a glimpse of it revealed itself!
Truly astounding....
"Take it away, and maintain it well." As the dance concluded, Silva tossed the sword over.
Tsubone caught it mechanically, her mind still caught in the dazzling sword light and sword shadows...
In a daze, she cast her gaze toward the television...
Where in the snowy screen was the image of the youthful vigor of the boy?
Only the phrase—"Aren't you a dog too?"
Kept resonating in her mind....