Roy vs. Ging × Misaligned Mirror Images × Man vs. Beast

The Voyage Bureau, as its name suggests, is a secret organization directly under V5, specializing in ferrying people to the Dark Continent.

On the surface, they are responsible for negotiating with the Gatekeeper regarding entry and exit from the Dark Continent; behind the scenes, they actually monitor and contain humans who return from the Dark Continent but unfortunately perish in Calamity and eventually mutate into unknown monsters.

On the southwest corner of the south wall of the laboratory, marked [54-714-01], the first victim of July 14, 1954, is a twisted, rope-like experimental subject, a monster suspected of having suffered an unknown Calamity that erased human consciousness. Suddenly, an eye splits out, projecting several images of different sizes.

Following a report from the on-duty personnel, superiors held an emergency meeting to assess the situation and immediately notified... the person involved in the incident Netero, the Strongest Human in the world!

In early July 1954, Netero led a team, together with Jager Zoldyck and Gourmet Hunter Linne, to accept a commission from the Kukan'yu Kingdom to find the "Triple Water" and explore the Dark Continent.

Hunter Association

Headquarters.

An office building bearing the huge [Hunter Association] logo.

Top floor.

The four people were in a large volleyball court, each busy with their own things.

"Bang bang..." The volleyball was being used like a basketball, constantly sliding between the old man's legs. Netero, dressed in a vest and shorts, sporting a sporty outfit, was smilingly playing a ball-grabbing the Game with a well-mannered Sun-Earring Boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old who wore glasses.

By the window, two golden ponytails swayed in the wind. Biscuit, having acquired the "gem," forgot her apprentice and left Wing alone to keep Netero company. She secretly bribed the Beans, Browse the materials he brought, and searched for information about those rare gems.

At one moment, the phone rang. The Beans took out his phone, glanced at it, and noticed that it was a call from above. His bald, round head furrowed slightly, forming a groove. He answered the call without making a sound, and a few seconds later, his expression changed.

He quickened his pace, called out to Wing, and shouted "Chairman!" before rushing toward Netero.

"Bang!" The volleyball, in a pseudo-scientific manner, drew a curved parabola, dodging Wing's attack, and returned to Netero's hand after grazing the Sun-Earring Boy's cheek.

The old man pointed at it, and it came to rest steadily on his fingertip.

Netero, with his large face, white eyebrows, and white beard, and drooping eyes, looked over... The Beans gripped his phone tightly and whispered in his ear, "The higher-ups called, saying... the one who accompanied the guild master deep into the Dark Continent and ultimately perished seems to be showing signs of awakening..."

Netero's expression hardened. The pillar of "Nen Qi" that naturally emerged from the top of his head had been stabilized into an iron pillar by his extremely strong physical control, remaining unshaken for years.

Upon hearing this news, however, a rare tremor appeared on his face... a subtle movement that was keenly noticed by Biscuit by the window.

"Old man, what happened?" The Shingen-ryu the first step in cultivating the heart. A heart that is not disturbed by anything else, no matter how turbulent the outside world is, remains as immovable as a mountain. This is the wise saying that Netero often told Biscuit in the past.

The old man, who prided himself on having forged his heart into steel, found a crack in it at this moment...

Biscuit swung her two golden ponytails, struggling to pull herself out of the "jewel information," and looked on in surprise.

Netero remained silent, then beckoned to the Beans to turn on the television and connect it to the Voyage Bureau: "Take a look for yourself."

The snowflake-shaped electronic screen suddenly switched to the Voyage Bureau. In the laboratory on the third basement floor, the images projected by the twisted monster were displayed in split-screen format and transcribed to the Hunter Association.

This visit to the Hunter Association, ostensibly a formality, was actually arranged by Biscuit to let Netero see what kind of disciple she had taken on. Wing was surprised to find a familiar figure appearing in one of the scenes. The Sun-Earring Boy adjusted his glasses and blurted out, "Roy?"

"That's right,"

It was him...

In the hazy, central image, the sun and mountains are clearly reflected in the Sun-Earring Boy's earrings. His brows are deep and his expression is solemn, as he stares intently at the figure ahead, wearing a hood and carrying a red fishing rod on his shoulder.

On the Yorbian, at the northwest corner of the seaside town of Vibis, 270 nautical miles away, 10,000 meters underwater, lies an underwater ruin, inside a Gothic-style cathedral...

Roy, Razor, Jin... and Gotoh and Elena, who followed the three into the church, immediately had their vision shift as soon as they stepped through the tall church door, which was carved with reliefs of men and women of various professions and appearances. In the blink of an eye, they found themselves in a vast, Land of No Owner, instantly losing contact with the people around them.

"Young Master!" Gotoh, who was a step behind Roy, was startled. She reached out and grabbed at the spot where Roy had disappeared, but instead of catching him, she grabbed at nothingness.

The young butler's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately became extremely alert. Suddenly, he heard a strange noise beside him. He subtly tightened his grip on the [Infinite God Spear], his gaze following the source of the noise... The narrow eyes hidden behind the gold-rimmed glasses suddenly relaxed... It was Elena...

He lowered his hand and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he suddenly felt a sound of wind coming towards him quickly. It was a button wrapped around him. The owner was none other than Elena in front of him!

Gotoh bent his elbow and fired a shot, hitting the Button squarely. Only then did he look at the woman in front of him who looked remarkably like Elena. He noticed that her beautiful eyes, hidden behind blue-light glasses, had lost their usual liveliness and were instead dull and lifeless, like a puppet being manipulated behind the scenes. Gotoh immediately realized... this was not Elena!

Meanwhile, Roy, Kim, and Razor also noticed this anomaly... as well as the real Elena, who was alone, fighting against a magical Magic Beast that resembled an elephant but had the face of a tapir across the unclaimed space!

"Yes... the blurring of reality and illusion... this feeling... is somewhat similar to the Unconscious Realm."

The moment Roy entered the church, he was pulled into an unfamiliar space. Looking at the golden condensation of the misty fog ahead, he finally understood. With a clang, he drew his Cane Sword... realizing... perhaps it was the Elephant Tapir, or perhaps it was the church itself, that had created this illusion using its own abilities or rules... It seemed the only way out was to defeat the "enemy" before him!

On the other side, just as Roy had expected, Jin encountered a fake Razor... Razor encountered a fake Gotoh... One after another, the group was separated into their own spaces and encountered their respective opponents.

Hunter Association

Upon noticing Roy, Wing's gaze shifted, also taking in Gotoh. The Sun-Earring Boy, with a refined and polite demeanor, glanced at his master and advisor out of the corner of his eye...

Netero frowned and remained silent, staring intently at the center of the scene where Sun-Earring Boy with a sword was standing with Jin Dou. His old, dim, yellowish eyes occasionally flashed with a sharp light, as if he were deep in thought.

"King... Roy... Old man, what happened?" Why are those two involved?

Biscuit noticed in the scene that the Sun-Earring Boy, holding a knife, and the man, clenching their fists, clashed together, hard against hard, creating dazzling sparks. He then crossed his arms and glanced at Netero.

The old man stroked his beard. "Beans."

"Here." The Beans immediately came over and explained the whole story to Biscuit in detail. When he mentioned that the rope-like monster, who was suspected to be a victim of the [Calamity], was actually related to King and Roy and the others... Biscuit opened her mouth and was momentarily stunned.

"Hehehe... Don't look at me, this old man doesn't know what happened either?" Netero squinted as Roy raised his hand and unleashed an arc of fiery sword light, slicing towards Jin's neck, and said quietly, "The specifics... perhaps only by asking them can we figure something out."

Biscuit snapped out of her daze and looked up to see that King had somehow created a phantom image that had taken Roy's blow, while his real body suddenly appeared behind Roy and punched him in the back... The old woman's lips curled into a wicked smile as she said, "Putting everything else aside, facing King... Roy is definitely going to get a beating."

"Master, that doesn't seem to be the real Jin." Wing noticed Jin's punch coming and felt as if he were there, standing right where Roy. He couldn't help but feel a chill for the Sun-Earring Boy.

Biscuit glared at him; how could he not tell the truth from the falsehood?

Even if it wasn't real gold... Biscuit glanced to the side, where the real gold was exchanging Nen Bullet with the fake Razor. The power alone was enough to tell... The Fake Ging was a mirror image of the real gold, and even if it wasn't as powerful, its strength was still eight or nine tenths of the real gold. It was entirely created by simulating the real body, indirectly reflecting...

It can create numerous illusions out of thin air and create corresponding mirror images based on real people... The strength of the "Nen Ability" and the amount of "Nen" of the person behind the scenes should not be underestimated.

"That kid isn't so easy to deal with."

The scene shifts, and facing "Gold's" punch from behind, Roy instantly appears on a patch of mudflat beneath his feet, as if anticipated. He sinks into the ground, deftly dodging "Gold's" blow. In a flash, he circles behind "Gold" and suddenly thrusts a flame-infused spike towards the man's back...

Netero examined the move closely, recognizing it instantly as the Sun-Earring Boy had used during the Hunter Exam in the Zevil Island, where he had single-handedly annihilated the Onigumo army controlled by Botobai. Moreover, this attack was even more powerful and hotter than before, nearly distorting the air and surging outwards in waves...

The old man said softly.

Left and right, Wing and Biscuit witnessed this scene, exchanged glances, and both saw a look of shock in each other's eyes!

"Such sharp swordsmanship, and it's only been a short time... he's already mastered [hard]..." Wing adjusted his glasses, his bright eyes shimmering with emotion.

It was indeed [hard]... Biscuit laughed halfway through, but her gloating heart was suddenly doused with cold water, chilled to the bone. Looking up at the Sun-Earring Boy again... it was as if she was seeing him for the first time, almost not recognizing him.

A pair of beautiful, large eyes were fixed intently on the image.

Roy used the [Swamp Space] to counter the sneak attack, One-Blade Cremation that pierced the air, instantly using [Bankai]. With his back to the Sun-Earring Boy, "Gold" had no time to turn around. No one knew what method he used, but he simply murmured, "Turtle Come."

A phantom giant turtle descended from above, completely enveloping "Gold" and timely blocking Roy's thrust, which was wrapped in nearly ten thousand degrees of heat!

Black arcs of "Heavy Water" light flickered on the turtle's back, dissipating the sword's momentum while extinguishing the flames. Faintly, a vicissitudes of a roar could be heard, as if from ancient times, penetrating deep into the soul, causing Roy's mind to tremble and he immediately froze!

[Hint: [Monster Compendium] is now open... Detecting [Deep Sea] Magic Beast... Currently included...]

[Deep Water Turtle: Class C creature (rating based on Chimera Ant)]

[Manifested Aura: C(87/1,000,000))]

[Potential Aura: B(400/1000 (ten thousand))]

[Racial Innate Nen Ability: "Heavy Water" (Note: Heavy Water is extremely cold water, appearing as a solid state.)]

It will freeze upon contact, and because its zero point is far below zero, it is given the name "heavy".

The Deep Water Turtle is a rare Magic Beast capable of manipulating "Heavy Water".

The panel notification sound immediately appeared in Roy's ears upon the appearance of the giant turtle... The Sun-Earring Boy felt as if his sword had struck a block of ice, unable to get any closer. He withdrew his sword, and with a backhand strike of [Magnetism Repulsion], his palm wrapped in [Hardness], he heavily struck the giant turtle's hard shell... Attempting to avoid the [Heavy Water] freezing effect through non-contact while simultaneously using his internal energy to create a vibration within the giant turtle, breaking through its shell...

Just like before when he dodged Roy's first strike, "Jin" once again split into a phantom, took the blow from Roy's palm, and reappeared... already a hundred meters away, and in an instant, he had created a small distance between himself and Roy.

"Contract... My Nen Ability allows me to form Contract with various Magic Beast, Rare Beast, or Phantom Beast, establishing partnerships with them and utilizing or even borrowing one of their 'talents' or ' Nen Ability '..."

Roy's palm strike missed its mark. Immediately, he recalled the man's heartfelt words to him on the ship, and watched as the illusory figure dissipated into mist with his palm... Clearly, it was another group of Magic Beast or Rare Beast, Phantom Beast beasts...

As expected [Hint: [Monster Compendium] already includes it...]

[Phantom Wolf: C-Rank Creature]

[Manifested Aura: C: 24/1,000,000]

[Potential Aura: C+79/1,000,000]

[Racial Innate Nen Ability: Phantom (Note: The Phantom Wolf can create a phantom image from its own body to confuse enemies)]

It's not much different from Clone, but it excels in its agility and versatility... Roy narrowed his eyes, sensing the trouble, and patted his waist.

Clang~"

Snow Walk from its sheath, the snow-white samurai sword flashing with a silver fox-like light. The Sun-Earring Boy's empty left hand grabbed it, and the Cane Sword [Moon Wane], held firmly in Roy's grasp, one on each side.

Hunter Association

Wing was taken aback, not knowing when the Sun-Earring Boy had learned to use dual swords... A quick glance revealed a scene to the side...

The real gold and the Fake Razor clashed with "Nen Bullet," each replicating Razor's moves one-to-one. The refined Sun-Earring Boy was dumbfounded, wishing he had more eyes to carefully memorize these exciting battle scenes so he could study them carefully afterward.

"Hmm... the mirror image probably possesses about 80% of the power of the real body..."

Comparing the fight between Jin and Razor, and then looking at the fight between Roy and Jin... After half a year, we see the Sun-Earring Boy again...

Netero knew that with Roy's talent, his progress would be incredibly rapid, but... the old man had never imagined that the Sun-Earring Boy could already hold his own against Gold...

Suddenly, my hands were itching, and the volleyball I was spinning around my fingertips almost sparked.