The Dark Continent's Kill Line X House of the Colorless Security Corps!
"Young Master..."
"Young Master..."
In the basement, after several days apart, Roy reappeared. The One-Eye, Scarface stood guard in front of the iron gate, his right hand on his chest, bowing respectfully.
They pulled open the gates on the left and right, revealing a dark passage leading to a secret room.
"Hmm." Roy nodded briefly to the two of them without smiling, then resumed his steps and disappeared into the passage. Soon, under the dim light, he walked to the airtight door.
The pot of yellow chrysanthemums placed in front of the door is well cared for. From spring to summer, it is the chrysanthemum season... The petals are in full bloom, just like life, blooming and fading, endlessly repeating.
"Tread..."
Roy stopped in his tracks, gently touched the back of his hand [Curse], took a deep breath, and said, "Grandpa, I've come to see you."
"Boom!" The airtight door, made of fine steel, suddenly swung open, and [Demon Eye] abruptly extended a tentacle, just as always, wrapping around him and dragging him into the secret chamber... As his consciousness sank, he heard the familiar voice again...
[re: The Game of the Dead] Start!
The Sun-Earring Boy was momentarily dazed, then opened his eyes and looked around... He found himself in a completely different world, in a lush, verdant forest of towering trees that stretched as far as the eye could see.
The Uzuki Great Forest...
haven't seen you for a long time..
A gust of wind blew by, carrying with it the fragrant scent of earth...
Roy closed his eyes, took a deep breath of fresh air rich in negative ions, and his memories drifted back to the past...
[Fortress] Frank Becky and the [Storm] Archbishop behind him... Benjamin's [God Descent] and the "Thunder Spear" he threw seem still vivid in our minds...
The Sun-Earring Boy conjured wisps of light with a flick of his wrist, materializing the "Strategy Guide map" given to him by Silva into his hand using a "Anti-Conjuration" technique. With a swift movement, leaving afterimages in his wake, he sped towards Bandle City, the "House of the Colorless," a settlement for the "Abandoned People," using a masterful "Shadow Step" imbued with the rhythm of "Shunpo." With the "Curse" in effect, countries and territories controlled by the Seven Great Orthodox Gods, such as the Samir Principality and the Hoin Kingdom, were clearly off-limits. Furthermore...
Roy still doesn't know which being he has offended, or... what his grandfather Jager did to incur his wrath... The Sun-Earring Boy feels that, given the current situation, the best course of action is to remain in the Abandoned People Territory, gathering intelligence, preaching, and secretly accumulating strength.
"Whoosh..." He moved like an arrow, piercing the wind, map in hand, Marking locations while relying on [Magnetic Field Control] to determine direction...
Along the way, I picked up some Magic Beast... adding to the [Monster Compendium], as indicated on the panel.
["Life Energy" +10 +15 +20...]
[Monster Compendium complete...]
[1. Plague Bat: D-rank Magic Beast. (Note: Rating is based on Chimera Ant. Elite squad leader is D, Squadron Leader is C, Three Royal Guards are B, and the Meruem B+)]
[Manifested Aura: D+(9741/10000)]
[Potential Aura: C-(1250/100000)]
[Innate Nen Ability: "Plague" (Note: When attacked, Plague Bat can spread the plague to induce illness in their enemies, allowing them to escape)...]
[Hint: "Plague" has been extracted... It is suspected to be highly similar to the [Spider Poison] originating from the Lower Rank Five "Rai"... Host's [Venom Resistance] +10... [Venom Seed] Ability +10...]
[II. Earth Eel: C-rank Magic Beast. (Note: Rating is based on Chimera Ant. Elite squad leader is D, Squadron Leader is C, Three Royal Guards are B, and the Meruem B+)]
[Manifested Aura: C-(4715/100,000)]
[Potential Aura: C(72540/100,000)]
[Innate Nen Ability: "Laser" (Note: Earth Eel... a snake-like eel that roams the earth's surface. When attacked, it reacts on the spot, stimulating its compound eyes to create a Laser beam to kill the enemy...]
[Hint: "Laser" has been extracted... seemingly highly similar to [Eyes of Truth]... now upgraded to [Laser Eye]... [Yang Release] +10...]
Third, the Man-Eating Vine, whose innate Nen Ability "Disguise," highly overlaps with [Deception]... Fourth, the Howling Crayfish, whose innate Nen Ability is "Sound of Despair." Note: A pincer-like Magic Beast that feeds on "sound." It can use its howl to intimidate humans, magical Magic Beast, and any other life form with reproductive instincts, forcibly inducing depression in the target's heart, causing them to lose their will to plummet or even become despondent... losing all hope of survival, until... suicide...
"This is somewhat similar to [the Heart Bug]'s ability to absorb and release Negative Emotions."
Ring ring...
The notification sounds continued incessantly. As Roy approached Bandle City, the "House of the Colorless," the Sun-Earring Boy slew one strange Magic Beast after another, extracting their "Nen Ability" to replenish himself. He focused on the [Laser] skill, which was derived from [Eyes of Truth], and glanced at it a few more times.
Unlike the Sharingan... it requires stimulation from Negative Emotions such as [evil] and [twistedness] to activate [Yin Release] and further upgrade it...
[Laser] is pure [Yang]... like... the sun is impossible to look directly at. A burning red light flickered in Roy's eyes. Upon careful consideration, he felt that this skill was extremely suitable for him, especially his "Visualization object"... the sun!
"Whoosh..." With the knife in hand, one after another, bizarre Magic Beast fell at Roy's feet. The Sun-Earring Boy traversed the towering, dense forest, constantly harvesting "Life Energy." At one moment, he paused, and a circle covering nearly two hundred meters in radius clearly captured a chilling scene: Magic Beast with a body resembling a tiger but a lion's head was relentlessly tearing at an old woman...
The old woman was missing half her body, leaving only one hand, which was strangely being held by another elderly man... This man was so thin he was practically skin and bones, his chest pressed against his back. He watched numbly and quietly as his wife was eaten, neither running away nor crying out, without shedding a tear, just like... a plate of food being served, quietly awaiting its "fate of being eaten"...
The "person" was clearly alive, yet exuded a strong sense of death, causing Roy to involuntarily frown!
Why are you unmoved?
"Don't you feel sad and heartbroken watching your wife being eaten?"
Roy had many questions he wanted to ask, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn't say a word... His past life had taught him that in the face of the world's wickedness and the decline of human nature, one should strictly adhere to the "Three Laws"...
"Respect the fate of others, set aside the urge to help others, and avoid self-pity," especially in the present day, in this Dark Continent fraught with crises. Don't listen to what you shouldn't hear, don't look at what you shouldn't see, and don't ask what you shouldn't ask, but...
As a human being, and as someone determined to fulfill his promise to his great-grandfather to be a beacon of light in the hearts of others, Roy stepped forward... and with a sudden, extended "hundred-meter-long sword," he pierced through the "tiger-like" but not quite tiger-like Magic Beast with a lion's head!
[Hint: "Life Energy" +30...]
[Monster Compendium entry included...]
[Liger: C-rank Magic Beast, defeated!]
[The Nen Ability "Ferocity" is being extracted...]
[Note: Extraction complete...]
["Ferocity": Trading "reason" for a significant increase in "power"... The fiercer and more ferocious, the more insane...]
"No madness, no life..." Did this Liger go mad because it ate too many people... or did it choose to eat people because it was insane?
Roy, taking the Liger by surprise, finished it off with a single God Spear. With a flick of his arm, he sent it flying like trash, crashing through several large trees before emerging from the dust amidst the crashing of falling trees, and standing before the old woman who had been half-eaten...
He crouched down, extended a hand, and unleashed a wisp of "Nen Qi" imbued with [True Meaning of Scorching Heat], transforming it into a ball of fire that enveloped... cremated...
"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, clouds and moon to clouds and moon, Mrs. Nora Lawrence, may you be reborn in paradise, and if there is an afterlife, may you live in the sunlight forever, undisturbed by darkness."
"Whoosh!" The flames swelled instantly after Roy gently blew on them!
Beside him, the numb, lifeless old man, like a fish on a chopping board awaiting the executioner's blade, finally seemed to react. He turned his stiff neck, staring blankly at Roy and his wife, who was gradually melting away. His throat moved, and he weakly asked, "How do you know her name?"
Old Mark could swear to the Storm that he had never seen such a handsome young man with thick, dark hair in his entire life.
"She... told me herself..."
The fire is burning... the flames are leaping...
Roy didn't glance at Old Mark, letting his "Nen Qi" imbue the old woman with [True Meaning of Scorching Heat], instantly cremating her... As the last bone fragment disappeared... a hunched figure emerged in the flames... She possessed kind eyes, like a kind old lady next door... Lifting her skirt, she bowed to Roy, then turned to Old Mark with a smile, just as Sun-Earring Boy when they first met, got to know each other, and fell in love... This caused Old Mark's numb heart to suddenly clench, and his deeply wrinkled face finally couldn't hold back... two lines of tears streamed down his face...
"I see."
"I thought it was someone else... You told him, Nora..."
The old woman smiled without saying a word, her hand gently stroking Old Mark's face with Infinite love. Unexpectedly, her hand passed straight through his body... After a fire, they were separated by life and death...
"Hehe... don't worry, I'll be there to join you soon..." Old Mark struggled to lift his head, tears streaming down his face, and smiled at Roy, saying, "You killed that beast, preventing me from dying... Sun-Earring Boy,"
"You will kill me in that beast's place!"
Old Mark's stiff neck was visibly contorted with veins... Roy turned his head, frowned, and looked at him, then fell silent for a moment.
He knew the old man wasn't joking; he meant it... but it was precisely because it was real that Roy felt a lump in his throat, his mind filled with confusion...
He had lived two lives, and whether in the Hunter world, the Demon Slayer world, or the Hokage world, he had always seen people struggling to survive. This was the first time he had ever seen someone... yearning for death.
The Sun-Earring Boy silently met the old man's gaze, and after a moment, asked in a deep voice, "Why?"
Old Mark tried to take his wife, Lady Nora's, hand, exchanged a glance with her, and smiled, saying, "There's no reason why. Only if we die can our granddaughter, Little Matty, live on."
Little Matty?
As the circle emerged and the Heart Bug wriggled, it followed the causal branch that was so close at hand, disappearing into Old Mark's heart...
Beneath this desolate and gloomy sky, Roy paused, gazing... He saw Little Matty, a little girl with hair as dark and withered as straw... He also saw the past of Old Mark and his wife Lady Nora... their struggle for survival, their yearning for "Entry Permit" to move into Bandle City and escape the Shantytown... their desperate work for meager wages, their monthly "taxes" levied by the City Lord's Mansion under various pretexts, their helplessness in being forced to sell their "mind" to survive... the heartbreaking loss of their son who succumbed to illness due to exorbitant medical costs... the despair of their daughter-in-law forced into prostitution to support her family, her whereabouts unknown ever since... their granddaughter, their friends, everything about them... all woven together a vast tapestry of Hell...
This picture is filled with suffering, and it is also the story of the vast majority of Abandoned People like Old Mark's family!
They've hit rock bottom... First, they were abandoned by the Seven Gods for "disrespecting the gods," and then they were exploited by those big shots led by the "House of the Colorless" Security Corps... They were born to be used as waste!
Roy walked along the barren, desolate path of Old Mark's heart, silently observing his life, and finally... found the answer to the two men's shared desire for death.
In Bandle City, known as the "House of the Colorless," there's an unwritten rule... a "redemption" granted out of pity by the city's Security Corps for the Abandoned People outside the city, fellow Abandoned People —that is...
[If you don't enter the city before the age of forty, you'll die.]
[And they will die inside the belly of Magic Beast.]
[Once death is confirmed, the Security Corps will gather their descendants and grant them a chance to enter the city for an assessment.]
Old Mark and his wife Nora were doing this for this very reason: to exchange their own deaths for Little Matty's survival. At least... once they got to the city, Little Matty might be able to get better job opportunities, and perhaps... if they could find her missing mother in the city, Old Mark and Nora would... die without regrets.
The scroll was drawing to a close... In his silence, Roy saw Old Mark and his wife Nora laughingly tricking Little Matty into going out to pick mushrooms to make her soup. Then, without hesitation, he left the Shantytown, left the protection of Bandle City, and resolutely ventured into the Uzuki Forest without looking back...
Roy felt a surge of emotion, sharing in the feelings of others and putting himself in Old Mark. For the first time in his life, he experienced "happiness"... It was the beautiful vision of his granddaughter being able to move to the city and live a good life... Yes, it was hope!
"Squeak-"
Old Mark's life story comes to an end here.
Having absorbed enough "Negative Emotions," the Heart Bug let out a satisfied burp and wriggled back into Roy's body...
When appropriate, the panel will display a prompt.
[Negative Emotions +300%... Automatically transferred to the "Unconscious Realm"...]
Roy took a deep breath, regained his senses, and met Old Mark's exposed neck... He swung his knife in a swift motion.
It severed the sharp arrow that was aimed at his back and wrapped around [Zhou]!
Hehehe... Where did this wild monkey come from?
"How dare you meddle in the Security Corps ' business?!"