Wing's Call: Ghosts and Humans Are Different

"The Master held back, so don't worry. With your 'Qi' protecting you, even if you suffered some concussive trauma, you'll recover after a few days of rest."

The night was deep. Gotoh took over for Luke and carried Roy back to his bedroom on his back.

The young man had gauze wrapped around his forehead, and several bloody welts marred his back. The young butler knelt by the window, carefully applying medicine to his wounds.

The desk against the wall was already lit. The lamplight merged with the moonlight, casting a soft, diffused glow throughout the room...

Roy lay on his stomach, lost in thought. He appeared to be admiring the moonlight, but his mind was racing, replaying the day's battle.

There was no doubt that a massive gap in strength existed between him and Silva... This had nothing to do with the application of Nen; Silva hadn't even used Nen. He had achieved absolute suppression through sheer physical power and a speed that left no room for reaction.

"When it comes down to it, the difference is in the body..."

The man was in the absolute prime of his life, his physical form tempered through countless trials to reach a height that was difficult to attain.

"If I want to catch up to him, I need to at least be able to push open the Testing Gate completely."

The Zoldyck family's Testing Gate: one leaf weighed two tons, two leaves four tons, three leaves eight tons... To push it open completely required an absolute arm strength of two hundred and fifty-six tons.

The limit of an ordinary adult's strength was around four hundred to eight hundred jin. Converting that to physical stats...

In other words... Silva's current stat was at least five hundred. How much higher it went, Silva wouldn't say, and Roy wouldn't ask. He only knew that for the next stage... he had to grind his physical stats to a baseline of five hundred points first.

"Young Master, bear with it. It might sting a little." The ointment wasn't exactly soothing; it was quite harsh—very Zoldyck.

No sooner had Gotoh finished his warning than Roy gasped, all his plans momentarily forgotten.

Fortunately, pain was the sort of thing that only hurt more if you focused on it... Roy simply shifted his attention and asked Gotoh, "Have you made contact with that doctor near Heavens Arena?"

"I sent someone to inquire. The other party is available on Thursday."

"Then book a ticket for Wednesday."

Tanjuro's condition could not be delayed; the sooner he was treated, the better. On the other hand, whether "Conjuration" could be reversed into "De-conjuration" was a headache-inducing problem. Roy pondered whether, after mastering the four basic techniques of Nen, he should go take the Hunter Exam and look it up on the official Hunter website.

He heard Gotoh finish applying the medicine. As he wrapped the gauze, the butler brought up another matter: "That Wing called again, inviting you to watch the fight on August 17th."

"He said he would cover the tickets and all travel expenses. As long as you are willing to go, everything else is taken care of."

"What day of the week is August 17th?"

"Next Saturday." Gotoh adjusted his glasses and said in a low voice, "That guy probably hasn't given up on the idea of fighting you. He keeps harassing you, so perhaps..."

"I should kill him."

Gotoh made a throat-slitting gesture as he spoke.

Roy didn't look down on him, nor did he misunderstand his intent, but he was certain of one thing: if Gotoh dared to make a move, by this time next year, Roy would likely be bringing a bouquet of his favorite violets to pay respects at his grave...

"There's no need for such violence."

"Besides—"

"He isn't alone; there's an old man behind him."

Roy replied casually... thinking of a certain blonde, twin-tailed loli. If she were to get angry and "burst her clothes," he feared the entire Heavens Arena wouldn't be enough for her to tear down.

Furthermore, Roy had every reason to suspect that her stats were at least five hundred as well!

"Then shall I decline?" Gotoh asked tentatively.

Roy pondered for a moment and said, "Forget it."

"Since he invited me with such sincerity, I'll go over and take a look."

"It's been a year. I really want to see how much he has grown."

"It is said that his opponent in this fight is a veteran Transmuter. If you want to watch, Young Master, you will surely discover something." Heavens Arena had already released information about the fight; anyone interested could look it up online.

Roy gave a noncommittal hum. Once Gotoh finished wrapping the gauze, he waved a hand, signaling him to leave and prepare a report for tomorrow.

That night, he lay on the bed just like that and fell into a deep sleep.

Having endured a grueling battle...

Roy drifted, dazed, and entered his dream once more. Before him lay the colorful tunnel; passing through it brought him to the familiar Sea of Cognition.

He rolled up his pant legs, stepped onto the soft sand into the water, and let the waves wash over his body, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Ah—"

He emptied his heart of all the disappointment, frustration, and dejection, then rubbed his face and pushed open the door to the Demon Slayer world.

He stepped inside.

The familiar sensation of falling washed over him...

Roy woke up once more, snuggled against the kotatsu, lying on the heated floor. The first thing he saw was... Makomo, who was staring at him with her beautiful, wide eyes, looking curious.

The others had assumed that after he finished his leave yesterday and ate the hot pot Urokodaki Sakonji had specially prepared for him, he would have set off on his journey home to "critically strike" his father.

Who would have thought... Roy really did as he said, lying in the wooden hut with Urokodaki Sakonji for a whole day. When he did go out, it was only to hunt some game on Mount Sagiri, which he handed to Urokodaki Sakonji to smoke as winter rations.

Only late at night, when the master and apprentice blew out the oil lamp and wished each other goodnight, did Roy mention that he was going to fight... At the time, his master said nothing, and everyone else was confused. Shinsuke, that big-mouth, had a wild imagination and shouted, "Don't tell me he's going to fight in his dreams!"

This sparked a heated discussion among the group.

Some said indignantly... that they had been tricked by Eiichiro, and that he was just using it as an excuse to be lazy.

Others said... perhaps Eiichiro really did dream of Tanjuro. The father and son had long-standing grievances, and since Eiichiro was a filial child, he couldn't express it in daily life and could only vent in his dreams...

Shinsuke and Fukuda, having conflicting accounts, began bickering once again.

For some reason, only Makomo and Sabito exchanged a glance, choosing to believe that what Roy said was true.

"My intuition tells me that Eiichiro is not the type of person to lie." That was exactly what Makomo had told Sabito with such certainty the night before.

Because of this, she hadn't closed her eyes all night, keeping a constant watch on Roy to see if he would exhibit any unusual behavior, but unfortunately... other than frowning and tossing and turning a bit more than usual, Roy seemed no different than any other day.

This left Makomo somewhat disappointed...

"He's awake, Sabito, hurry and ask him if he killed his father..."

Seeing Roy open his eyes, Makomo urged Sabito... Sabito rolled his eyes helplessly and simply pretended not to hear.

Humans and ghosts were different; since they both knew the other party couldn't hear them, asking him to speak was...

"Makomo's curiosity really is growing heavier by the day." Sabito grumbled to himself... when suddenly, he heard Roy say: "I lost, and I lost miserably."

At that moment, Makomo, along with Shinsuke and Fukuda who were huddled in the Small Wooden Cabin, were all frozen in place!