"The master showed restraint. With aura shielding him, the young master only suffered some blunt trauma. A few days of rest and he'll recover."
Night had fallen. Wutong had taken over from Luke and was carrying Roy back to his bedroom.
The boy had bandages wrapped around his forehead and fresh wounds across his back. Kneeling by the window, the young butler was carefully applying medicine.
A lamp had been lit on the desk against the wall. Its warm glow mingled with moonlight, casting a soft halo through the room.
Roy lay silently on his stomach, seemingly admiring the moonlight—but in reality, his mind was racing, replaying today's battle.
There was no question: the gap between him and Silva was massive. This had nothing to do with the use of Nen. Silva hadn't even activated his aura—pure strength and overwhelming speed alone had completely crushed him.
'In the end, it comes down to the body...'
Silva was in his prime. His physique, honed through relentless training, had reached a level Roy could hardly fathom.
'To even come close, I'll need to fully open the Testing Gates.'
Each door of the Zoldyck family's Testing Gates doubled in weight: one door, two tons; two doors, four tons; three doors, eight tons... To open all of them required 256 tons of raw strength in the arms.
The average adult male could push around 400 to 800 pounds. Translated to physical stats...
That meant Silva's current stats were at least over 500. How high? Roy didn't know, and Silva wouldn't say. But he knew this much: next step—grind his physical stat to a baseline of 500.
"Young master, brace yourself. This might sting a bit." The salve wasn't exactly gentle—very Zoldyck-like.
Wutong's warning barely ended when Roy hissed, all thoughts of grinding thrown from his mind.
Pain demands attention. Roy redirected his thoughts and asked, "Did you get in touch with that doctor near Heavens Arena?"
"I sent someone. He's available Thursday."
"Book me a ticket for Wednesday then."
He couldn't afford to delay Tanjiro's condition any longer—the sooner the treatment, the better. What worried him more was whether materialization could be reversed—could "conjuration" be undone? Roy figured once he learned the basics of the Four Major Principles, he might as well take the Hunter Exam, gain a license, and search the Hunter Database.
Wutong finished applying the salve and began wrapping new bandages as he brought up another topic. "That Cloud Valley fellow called again. He's inviting you to watch the fight on August 17."
"He says he'll cover the ticket and all travel costs—anything you need, as long as you attend."
"What day is August 17?"
"Next Saturday." Wutong adjusted his glasses, voice deep. "I suspect he hasn't given up on fighting you. He keeps pestering you... Should I just—"
"I'll kill him?"
Wutong made a throat-slashing motion.
Roy didn't judge him for the suggestion, nor did he think Wutong misunderstood the situation. But if Wutong ever tried it, Roy might be laying violets on his grave this time next year...
"No need for violence."
"Besides—"
"He's not alone. There's an old bastard behind him."
Roy said it casually, but he was thinking of that blonde twin-tail loli. If she lost her temper and blew her clothes off again, the entire Heavens Arena might not survive the tantrum.
And honestly... Roy suspected her stats were also above 500.
"Should I decline him?" Wutong asked cautiously.
Roy thought for a moment. "Forget it."
"If he's sincere, I'll at least go take a look."
"It's been a year. I do want to see how much he's grown."
"They say he'll be facing a seasoned Transmutation-type user. If you're watching closely, I'm sure you'll notice something." The arena had already made the match public. All Roy had to do was look it up.
He gave a noncommittal grunt. Once the bandaging was done, he waved Wutong off, instructing him to prepare a dossier by tomorrow.
That night, he collapsed on his bed and sank into a deep sleep.
After such a brutal battle...
Roy, drifting between wake and dream, found himself once again in the dazzling corridor of the Sea of Cognition.
He rolled up his pants, walked barefoot across the soft sand into the surf, letting the waves wash over him as he shouted, "Ahhh—!"
He screamed out all his frustration, defeat, and disappointment until he was empty inside. Then, rubbing his face, he pushed open the gate to the Demon Slayer world.
He stepped through.
The familiar falling sensation struck—
Roy woke again, curled beneath a kotatsu, lying on a futon. The first thing he saw was Makomo's wide eyes, curiously studying him.
Everyone had assumed that after taking a leave, enjoying Urokodaki's hotpot, Roy would head home and confront his father.
But surprisingly, Roy had done exactly as he said—spent the whole day with Urokodaki, resting in the cabin. He'd only gone out once to hunt some game, which he gave to his master to smoke for winter reserves.
Only at night, after the lamps were out and they'd exchanged goodnights, did Roy finally mention that he'd be going to fight. Urokodaki said nothing. The others were left bewildered—until Shinsuke, ever the loudmouth, blurted, "Don't tell me he's going to fight in his dreams!"
That sparked a lively debate.
Some were bitter, convinced Roy had just used it as an excuse to be lazy.
Others thought maybe he really did dream of Tanjiro. That maybe there had been years of father-son resentment, and Roy—being a dutiful son—just didn't dare express it while awake, so he vented in his sleep...
Shinsuke and Fukuda got into another argument over it.
Somehow, only Makomo and Sabito exchanged a glance and believed Roy.
"My gut tells me—Roy's not the kind of person who lies," Makomo had told Sabito the night before.
So she hadn't slept, watching Roy closely all night, hoping he'd show some sign of change. But... aside from a few frowns and tossing more than usual, he was no different.
It was... a bit disappointing.
"He's awake! Sabito—quick, ask him if he killed his father!"
Seeing Roy's eyes open, Makomo urged Sabito excitedly. Sabito rolled his eyes and pretended not to hear.
They were ghosts. Roy couldn't hear them anyway. Why ask?
'Makomo's curiosity really gets worse by the day...' Sabito muttered. Then he heard Roy say:
"I lost. And I lost badly."
Everyone froze—Makomo, Shinsuke, Fukuda—all huddled in the small cabin, completely stunned.
I'd truly appreciate it if you could leave a Review—Power Stones
patreon.com/Hard_Worker