Roy's Nen Beast × Three-Legged Golden Crow (4.2K)

The scattered spots of light materialized and coalesced into the shape of Short Blade, which was then re-hung on the south wall.

Giyu Tomioka and Urokodaki Sakonji, who were still awake, got up, lit an oil lamp, and examined it closely... The latter, fiddling with his Short Blade, said, "It's definitely Eiichiro's Short Blade."

They exchanged a glance, speechless... Their swords, capable of "traveling," were just like Eiichiro, absurd in every way!

After a moment, Sabito said, "Let's ask Eiichiro tomorrow morning."

He remained convinced that this matter must be related to the Sun-Earring Boy.

The Sun-Earring Boy was fast asleep, leaving the adults in the room, who were worried sick about his knife, speechless.

"Go to sleep, everyone." It's only a few hours; the old man can wait.

Giyu Tomioka nodded and blew out the oil lamp.

There was a flurry of rustling and noise inside the cabin before it fell silent again.

The group looked at each other in bewilderment. "..."

Hunter World.

In the Q&A town.

Roy put away his Asauchi and gripped the Cane Sword stuck in the ground again.

Smiling, she said to Nakajima Sachiko, "I won't disturb Grandma proctoring the exam any longer."

He twitched his ears and could vaguely hear footsteps coming from the alley entrance, which must have been a group of examinees following closely behind him.

Nakajima Sachiko smiled and nodded. Through the Share vision of the "children," she saw two Sun-Earring Boy, one on her left and one on her right, emerge from the woods and stand in front of the town.

The one on the left has a face full of nails and a blank expression, while the one on the right has a samurai sword at his waist, wears a blue baseball cap, and has sharp eyes... he doesn't look like a nice guy either.

Nakajima Sachiko sighed inwardly, thinking to herself that this year's test takers were really tough. She turned to the "children" and opened the door to the next stage of the exam, forcing a smile as she said to Roy, "There's a cedar tree on the hilltop; the tour guide lives there."

As for whether the "tour guide" would take the children on a flight... Nakajima Sachiko couldn't guarantee it, after all... the other party's identity was special, and she didn't have the other party's phone number.

"Boom!" The heavy stone door opened, revealing a deep passage.

Roy nodded slightly to Nakajima Sachiko, and under the watchful eyes of Illumi and Court who arrived shortly after, he stepped inside first... Gotoh and Kurajing behind him, one on each side.

The stone door closed.

Only Illumi and Kite remained, facing Nakajima Sachiko, lost in thought.

"Young Master... we've been watched all along." As he walked through the dark passage, Gotoh could vaguely hear some subtle "rotating sounds"... always sensitive to cameras, he keenly detected several camera positions.

"That's normal." Kurajing followed his gaze, and a few red lights flashed by. She struggled to keep up with Roy's pace, panting, "The exam started the moment we boarded the ship."

"Whether it's official or not is just a phrase the Hunter Association can change at any time."

Kurajing moved closer to Roy. A woman's intuition told her that the cameras seemed to be filming her. She glanced suspiciously upwards... on the airship.

Netero noticed the girl's gaze and chuckled, "You're quite perceptive, aren't you? That outfit looks unusual."

"It's the Kurta Clan." The Beans, knowledgeable and experienced, recognized Kurajing at a glance. He glanced cautiously at Zeno and carefully chose his words, saying, "These ancient people are in dire straits. That girl is probably participating in the test with the intention of becoming Hunter to support her tribe."

The Beans expression spoke tactfully, but his words subtly hinted to Zeno that the girl's motives were impure.

Zeno stood with his hands behind his back, expressionless and completely unconcerned.

Who cares about her ethnicity... as long as she has a big butt and can give birth, if anything happens... the Zoldyck will settle things for her.

On the contrary, what concerned him, as the grandfather, even more was... Roy!

Netero was right when he said that the child's mind is quite large when he uses the "sun" as Visualization object... It's probably not so easy for him to easily manifest the "Nen Beast".

Just as "Nen Dragon" was to Zeno, and "100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva" was to Netero... The stronger the Visualization object generated by "Heart Inquiry," the greater the difficulty in manifesting a "Nen Beast" or developing "Nen Ability."

He frowned and remained silent...

At that moment, his ears twitched, and he heard Netero, as if he could read Netero's mind, say softly, "The combination of 'sun' and 'beast'... I can't imagine what it would correspond to..."

Whether it's a "dragon" or "Guanyin," you can find real-life counterparts. For example, the former actually exists; the Zoldyck keeps one. The latter is a depiction of the Great Sage of Buddhism, and clay statues of him can be found in the homes of some Believer at any time.

But while the "sun" and the "beast" are easy to find individually—one rises every day, the other is everywhere—when combined, it's difficult to pinpoint a single "symbolic" element...

"It's understandable that people's imaginations become dulled as they get older." Zeno didn't know if he was mocking Netero, referring to himself, or both. His gaze lingered on Roy in the scene, the Sun-Earring Boy walking and pondering, clearly also thinking about this question.

Both Kurajing and Gotoh noticed his unusual behavior and wisely kept quiet.

About an hour later, a sliver of light appeared directly ahead in the passage...

The group quickened their pace, exited the passage, and were greeted by a small, shimmering lake.

A small boat was moored beside the lake. Gotoh Kurajing took the initiative to row and picked up the oars.

Looking back at Roy, the Sun-Earring Boy, lost in thought, leaped onto the bow of the boat, bobbing with the waves as they sailed towards the opposite shore, his mind still pondering Nakajima Sachiko's words... "Because of the deepest longing in one's heart, the rag doll unconsciously materialized..."

Gradually, he focused his thoughts on his "Visualization object," the sun.

Just as Biscuit longed for youth and thus manifested the humanoid Nen Beast "Cookie-chan," Razor loved "volleyball" and manifested the volleyball player "14 Devils."

"The Nen Beast" is not without trace; it is driven by the "mind"... Therefore, I must ultimately return to the "Sun," using it as a blueprint to manifest my own unique Nen Beast.

Roy vaguely grasped something, his thoughts began to clear, and his gaze became focused. He looked up and scanned his surroundings, noticing some stone slabs floating on both sides of the lake and even in the water, with some unknown characters recorded on them.

"This is script left behind by the ancient Ink Clan. It is said that they once possessed a glorious civilization." Kurajing held the oar still and began to "paddle."

Gotoh glared at her, realizing she couldn't do anything about it. Noticing Roy's gaze, the girl explained further, "I don't know the specifics either. If you want to know, Young Master, I'll go back and look through some history books, then I'll give you the answer."

"No,"

"There are professionals here."

Roy suddenly turned his head to look at the mountains and forests on both sides, and then Gotoh silently fired a coin wrapped with [Entanglement], which grazed his ear and hit the spot where his gaze was focused!

"Young Master, it looks like a fox!"

"Ding--" The coin was flicked back by an outstretched claw, spinning as it was caught in Gotoh's hand.

The young butler suddenly stood up, and just as he was about to make a move, a milky white Nen Thread pierced through the air and, with a "whoosh," bound one of the butler's feet at a speed far faster than a coin.

Amidst its terrified screams, it was yanked over and landed with a "thud" at Roy's feet.

"It really is a fox!" Kurajing's eyes widened.

This fox was enormous, almost as tall as two adults, and it seemed to have a pair of fleshy wings growing from its flanks, suggesting... it could fly?

"Ouch! That hurts so much... Is this how you guys treat tour guides?"

"A tour guide?" Gotoh frowned, Kurajing: "."

The fox crashed onto the boat, immediately scrambled to its feet, and transformed into a woman. "Yes," it glared fiercely at the group, saying, "I am!"

As she spoke, she grinned at Roy, who had "arrested" her, while the "Nen Thread" tied to her foot was still being held by the Sun-Earring Boy.

That wretched brat, so young, yet his mastery of "reading" is already quite remarkable...1

She could be subdued in the blink of an eye; she shouldn't be underestimated...

"How dare she bare her teeth at the Young Master!" Gotoh glared, then turned to Roy for instructions, "Young Master, shouldn't we just kill her?"

A mere Magic Beast thinks it can turn into a human and impersonate a tour guide? How laughable!

Kurajing; she did think that what the "fox girl" said didn't seem like a lie.

Roy withdrew his "Nen Thread," calmly looking at the woman, especially the mark on her wrist. Not worried that she would run away, he cut to the Gate of Opening: "Are you the Kiriko mother or the Kiriko daughter?"

In the original story, a family of Kiriko lived in Small Wooden Cabin under the cedar trees on the hilltop. The family consisted of parents and children, and since the fox had transformed into a woman, it was clearly female.

The fox girl was clearly startled, and her gaze towards Roy shifted to one of apprehension.

Roy smiled and said, "I mean no harm. I'd like to ask you, what is the connection between the marks on your body and the script of the Ink Clan?"

A lost civilization and Magic Beast that seems to be "guarding" the ruins... Roy felt like he had grasped a glimmer of light, but it wasn't quite clear.

The fox-girl quietly took a step back. She hadn't expected that the Sun-Earring Boy before her would not only recognize her identity at a glance but also seem to know quite a bit about her kind. She swallowed hard and said, "It's a 'god's' inscription, just like the mark on my body. I was born with it. My father said..."

"It involves the ancestors' worship of 'gods'... As long as one believes in 'gods' and makes offerings to 'gods,' 'gods' will send down divine pronouncements and bestow 'blessings'... This mark is clear evidence of 'blessings'..."

"God..." "Worship"... Roy frowned, carefully considering these two words. In the original work... it was this very woman who told Kurapika about his own mark, and it was almost identical to what she would say in the future.

"Thump~"

"Young Master, she's jumped into the water!"

Seizing the opportunity while Roy was deep in thought, the woman plunged into the lake and swam quickly towards the shore...

As expected of a cunning fox...

Gotoh raised her foot to chase after him, but was stopped by Roy halfway.

"Let her go; we'll be seeing her again later."

The woman was right about one thing: she really was a tour guide, not just herself, but also her brother and her parents.

"It seems she's the tour guide." Kurajing the underlying meaning in Roy's words, looked up at the Sun-Earring Boy again, and was slightly taken aback...

Roy seemed completely oblivious to the escape of the Kiriko's daughter, his mind preoccupied with the words "god" and "worship," staring blankly at the shimmering lake ahead.

"Yes, 'gods,' 'worship'... these ancient Magic Beast and remnants of civilization all had ancestor worship and totem worship..."

As a transmigrator and reincarnated individual, Roy seems to have forgotten about his "past life" as he gradually integrates into the Hunter world.

How can we forget the "Gate of Cognition" that was opened in our past lives?

We live in the present, look to the future, but we must not forget the past...

In that previous life, myths and legends about the sun were quite common.

For example, "Kuafu Chases the Sun"...

For example, "Golden Crow Pulling the Chariot"...

"Golden Crow... Golden Crow..." Two suns suddenly ignited in Roy's dark eyes, a smile playing on his lips, his gaze burning with unprecedented intensity and brightness...

A three-legged crow in the sun, Jade Toad in the moon... Golden Crow riding Sun Chariot, the "sun" and the "divine beast"...

"My ' Nen Beast ' should be Three-Legged Golden Crow!"

A clear understanding has been reached!

Clear-headed!

"Boom!"

The Aura Nodes opened completely in an instant!

The Sun-Earring Boy seemed to understand something, and let his [training] surge forth, forming a fiery red storm centered on him!

Before Kurajing could even comprehend what had happened, she and Gotoh were escorted to the other side by two large, fiery red hands... In a daze, the two looked back... to the center of the lake...

Roy spread his hands, his palms swirling with "True Meaning of Scorching Heat"... He closed his eyes and began to construct the image of the "Three-Legged Golden Crow" in his mind.

"Hiss... hiss..."

The lake water heats up, boils, bubbles, evaporates...

The fiery red Nen Qi surged forth, causing smoke, fire, burning, and melting wherever it touched...

The Kiriko girl, who had just crawled out of the water and darted into the forest, suddenly felt a heat on her back. Turning around, she saw her slender, narrow fox eyes widen in shock, causing her to lose her footing and fall with a scream...

"Is... it on fire?"

What exactly is that red "thought" thing?

The fear brought by the unknown assaulted my heart... The woods behind us were set ablaze, and the hidden cameras within, unable to withstand the intense heat, emitted mournful cries.

A series of "beep beep beep" alarm sounds!

Even through the surveillance footage, you can tell... they could break down at any moment!

On an airship bearing the huge "Hunter Association" logo, an old man sat up abruptly, while another old man's pupils contracted... both staring intently at the Sun-Earring Boy in the scene... vaguely seeing a pair of enormous wings, radiating golden light and Scorching Heat, unfolding with a "whoosh" from behind the Sun-Earring Boy!

Immediately afterwards, a chilling crow's cry was heard...

The resounding clang of a great bell swept across all directions... as if someone had struck a massive bell with a hammer right next to it.

"When"

Tinnitus, palpitations, and temporary hearing loss.

"Are you stupid? Cover your ears!"

Are you blind? Didn't you see I covered it up a long time ago?

Upon hearing Gotoh's reminder, Kurajing was even faster, immediately covering her ears!

Standing amidst the raging inferno, with the steaming lake before them and the burning forest behind them, the two were beyond words, simply staring blankly at the center of the lake...

Wings of light unfurled behind the Sun-Earring Boy, and a Gilded Bird slowly emerged!