"Nanika!"
In his mind, Alluka cried out anxiously.
He didn't understand why a "request" had suddenly turned into a "demand"!
But this wasn't allowed.
He was her big brother!
How could his brother...
What happened next was beyond Alluka's expectations.
Outside, Coleman only smiled and said calmly, "All right."
The moment the words fell, everyone in the monitoring room shot to their feet.
From the house where Alluka was imprisoned came Silva's panicked voice.
"Coleman, if you—"
Before he could finish, Silva could only watch as his second son cleanly sliced off his own left arm with a strand of thread.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
It splattered across the floor.
Coleman casually wiped the blood from his face and smiled.
"Here you go, little Nanika."
The severed arm rested quietly in Coleman's other hand.
Though he had suddenly lost an arm, Coleman acted as if nothing had happened.
His smile never wavered, and his movements remained gentle.
Nanika stared blankly at the arm being offered, then looked up at the boy standing before him.
Carefully, he took it and felt its smooth skin.
A few seconds later, he handed it back.
"Do you have a wish?"
Coleman smiled faintly at the arm being returned to him.
Looking straight into his "little sister's" eyes, he slowly spoke.
"If someone from the Zoldyck Family clearly refuses your demands, you're not allowed to make demands of him. Can you do that?"
"I can."
Without hesitation—almost instantly—Nanika nodded and agreed to the request, which wasn't all that unreasonable.
An unfamiliar presence suddenly rippled through the room, sweeping across the entire Zoldyck estate.
Then, just as Zeno sensed it, it withdrew.
In Coleman's eyes, an unknown "thing" had suddenly enveloped the entire Zoldyck estate, only to disappear again.
The "monster" hidden behind Nanika seemed deeply satisfied.
Its presence no longer lashed out wildly. Instead, it settled obediently inside Nanika.
Seeing this, Coleman eased his smile, which had begun to stiffen, and slowly straightened up.
"All right. The danger's passed!"
He weighed the severed arm in his hand, looking quite satisfied.
This way, Nanika could no longer threaten the Zoldyck Family members to the same extent.
That meant Nanika's presence could, for the time being, be considered "safe."
The creature lurking in the darkness had been appeased for the short term.
Coleman believed that, at least for a while, Nanika wouldn't be triggered into making "demands."
"What?"
Nanika asked, puzzled.
Coleman looked at the child's adorable face and smiled.
"You're going to be free soon. Aren't you happy?"
"Happy!"
"When you can control your power, you'll be able to leave the house and go play~"
Coleman patted the child's head, speaking with fondness.
He didn't know where the power in his little brother came from.
But he knew that his little brother was the one who possessed it.
And any power could be controlled.
So why wouldn't he be happy?
Their family had gained a powerful new member.
Why be unhappy?
A principle his master had taught him in his previous life:
Never fear or reject the power within you. Believe that if it exists inside you, you can control it.
Fear and disgust would only make you lose your grip on that power.
Until, in the end, it consumed you completely, just as you had imagined, and drove you mad.
So why not control it before it controlled you?
Make it a sharp weapon in your hand.
And plunge it into your enemies' hearts.
That was why he had never understood what his father was trying to resist.
What was he fighting against?
This was clearly a devastating weapon!
And it was still young, completely unaware of the world around it.
So why not take advantage of this chance to shape and use it? What was he waiting for?
Suddenly, a familiar killing intent came from the corridor.
Coleman raised an eyebrow.
He'd known this would bring his father rushing over to kill him!
"Cage!"
He manipulated his Nen Ability, and fine threads slowly wrapped around the half-open door like a spiderweb.
Before long, silvery-white threads had sealed the door shut.
It looked like the entrance to a spider's nest.
After glancing at the bound door, Coleman paid it no more attention.
His father was making a fuss over nothing.
The arm could be reattached. What was there to panic about?
An arm in exchange for a promise. Wasn't that a good deal?
Wasn't that better than living in fear every day?
Coleman scooped Nanika up from the floor and held him securely in his arms.
Resting his chin on the child's head, he muttered, "Dad is so annoying!"
Nanika could feel the warmth slowly spreading through his back as Coleman's chest vibrated.
It was warm and comforting, and he didn't want to move.
He snuggled closer to Coleman and settled quietly in his big brother's arms.
"Yeah, yeah. So annoying!"
If not for him, Nanika would still be having fun playing with Killua right now!
A quiet chuckle came from above. Nanika heard his second brother say, brimming with amusement, "So you don't like Dad either, little brother?"
What a coincidence. Not one of the kids in the family liked Silva.
It was quite something for a father to have come to this!
"Be good, Nanika. I'm going to go talk to that annoying old man, okay?"
"Okay~"
Coleman rubbed his cheek against the child in his arms.
Honestly, why couldn't Mom have given him a real little sister?
Little sisters were great. They could wear little dresses.
And they were soft, too.
Much better than these little brats who were always making Illumi or Mom angry!
At the thought, Coleman immediately pictured that damn white-haired brat of his.
He was always disobedient and making Mom angry!
If Kikyo hadn't stopped him, Coleman would've slammed Killua into the ground long ago!
So hard they'd have to dig him out!
He set the adorable child down and sighed helplessly.
Rubbing his head, Coleman ambled toward the door.
Never mind. He'd go "scare" Killua a little.
Mischievous kids like that needed some discipline!
Before you continue