Illumi gripped the wooden nail tightly in his palm, holding it close to his heart. His hollow, lifeless eyes flickered with a rare ripple of emotion—a mixture of surprise and excitement. He watched in a daze as Roy disappeared into the mountain forest before he realized something.
The wooden nail was no ordinary object; it was a Nen tool inscribed with Divine Script. It still carried the lingering warmth of Roy's hand. The youth pressed the nail against his cheek, whispering softly, "Divine Spear... Divine Spear..."
'Is Nii-san telling me to be the spear in his hand?' Illumi lowered his head, his long, waist-length black hair swaying in the wind. When he looked up again, he took a deep breath and vanished in a flash, giving chase.
Thud... thud... The sound of footsteps echoed through the quiet path.
Having entered the main grounds, Roy and Gotoh ascended the mountain stairs at a leisurely pace. From a distance, they spotted a guard—a girl with a disciplined blonde ponytail, leaning on a staff. She stood motionless as a stone statue, her expression stern, until the moment she saw Roy. Only then did her beautiful eyes, hidden behind the Scarlet Eyes, show a hint of a reaction.
From ten meters away, Kurajing lifted her skirt and bowed deeply to Roy. "Welcome home, Young Master."
The ethnic Kurta dress she usually wore had been replaced at some point by a sleek tuxedo.
'Once you enter the Zoldyck estate, you must forget the past. The Young Master is merciful; he allows you to contact your family and keep your identity, so you must repay him twofold.' Gotoh's instructions from her first day were still fresh in her mind.
Kurajing's hard work had finally paid off. Two days ago, she had successfully pushed open the second Trial Gate, officially joining the Zoldyck butler corps. Now, she had been entrusted with the important task of guarding the mountain path—a position she likely obtained thanks to her connection with Roy.
"I see." Roy stepped up to the girl. He had heard that her training had been exceptionally grueling during his absence. Her once pale, rosy skin had tanned slightly from the constant sun. He reached out to help her up, smiling warmly. "When you're away from home, you shouldn't let your family worry."
"If you miss them, tell Gotoh. I'll have him adjust your shifts."
"I'll grant you a week's leave. Go back and visit them."
Home... Kurajing thought of her younger brother, her parents, and her tribesmen. Despite her training, she was still a young girl at heart, and her eyes welled up with tears. She sniffled and lowered her gaze, hiding her embarrassment from Roy. She spoke loudly, "Report, Young Master! This place is my home!"
Her voice trembled, but her resolve was as firm as iron.
A common man is innocent, but his treasure makes him a target. The Kurta Clan, possessors of one of the World's Seven Great Colors, were like children carrying gold through a crowded market. They would never escape the eyes of the greedy until the entire clan was wiped out.
Roy could clearly feel Kurajing's determination. If given the choice, she would likely trade her Scarlet Eyes for a chance at a normal life. He patted her shoulder twice in silence, saying nothing more, and walked past her.
Gotoh followed Roy, giving Kurajing a deep look before catching up.
The young butler dropped a quiet remark as he passed: "If the Young Master tells you to go home, then go. With him backing you, no one will question it."
"And no one is going to take your spot while you're gone."
Kurajing's body trembled, and she bowed even lower. "Understood!"
When she looked up again, the master and servant were gone.
Spring had turned to summer in just over a month. Though he had only been away for a few days, it felt like a blur—a fleeting dream.
A mountain breeze swept through, carrying the scent of fresh earth and forest greenery.
As Roy walked ahead with Gotoh trailing behind, the silhouette of the old castle became visible through the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves.
Roy suddenly said, "We can initiate her into Nen now."
Gotoh nodded. "Should I teach her the Breathing Styles as well?"
Roy stopped abruptly and looked back with a half-smile. "Aren't you afraid she'll get too strong and take your position?"
Gotoh chuckled, his tone candid. "I don't care about that. I only hope that the people by your side are as numerous and powerful as possible."
The young butler's beard had grown out, and his time away seemed to have matured him, adding a layer of seasoned charm. He confidently adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Besides, if I can be surpassed that easily, it only proves I'm not worthy of being the Young Master's personal head butler!"
"Hahaha!" Roy laughed heartily, his voice carrying a trace of aura that startled the birds in the trees.
Gotoh scratched his cheek and joined in the laughter.
The master and servant resumed their walk, their shadows intertwining. Crossing the final mountain steps, they stood before the towering castle, its massive shadow engulfing them both.
"You're back." A voice called out. It was his father, Silva, supporting a heavily pregnant Kikyo as they strolled through the garden.
Walking late in pregnancy helped the baby drop into position, stimulated contractions, and built up the mother's stamina for the upcoming labor.
Kikyo's belly was prominently rounded. She had long since traded her favorite Lolita-style ruffled dresses for loose maternity wear. As she leaned carefully against Silva, the rhythmic, powerful heartbeat of the baby was almost audible through her clothes.
Thump... thump... A declaration to the world that he was coming soon.
"Father. Master Silva." Roy and Gotoh greeted them.
Roy straightened his back and smiled softly. "It looks like he'll be a healthy little brother."
Kikyo lifted her chin proudly. "Of course he will."
Not just healthy... "This one will definitely have silver hair."
Silva wrapped an arm around Kikyo's waist, his large hand resting on her belly. He looked at Roy with a serious expression. "Don't go out for a while. The delivery will be in the next few days."
"You're the eldest brother. You should be here."
"Of course."
Illumi walked up silently behind them.
Inside the dimly lit room on the first floor of the castle, the great-great-grandfather was enjoying a cartoon while rocking in his chair. Behind him, Grandpa Zeno was massaging his shoulders. Nearby in the garden, Milluki lay unconscious after being shocked.
In this family, not a single person could be missing.
Roy nodded. For some reason, he suddenly thought of the shifting faces of Alluka and Nanika. Following that, the image of the "King of Skeletons" stroking the corpse of the giant Elephant Baku surfaced in his mind.
'Ai, did even you fail?'
The skeleton's voice, a sigh echoing across time, still lingered in his ears. Silva keenly caught the momentary shift in Roy's expression.
The man continued to walk with Kikyo without changing his pace. As he turned his back, he said in a deep voice, "Once you've seen your grandfather and great-great-grandfather, come to my study."
Roy remained silent for a moment before answering quietly, "Yes."
He stepped forward, and when he reappeared, he was in the weathered corridor of the castle, draped in the golden light of the morning sun. He walked toward the small room.
"Father chose the name you suggested. He'll be called Killua."
Step... step... A second set of footsteps followed his own.
Illumi, using Dark Step with his hands in his pockets, caught up to Roy. As they walked through the corridor, Illumi spoke expressionlessly. "Father places great importance on your opinion."
Roy gave a non-committal hum.
Illumi glanced at him and added, "He loves you very much."
"I know."
"I do, too."
"I know that as well."
"No, you don't."
"Illumi," Roy stopped and looked at him. "I'm not happy."
Illumi stopped as well, frowning. "Why aren't you happy?"
"Because," Roy reached out and palmed the boy's head, "my foolish little brother, you need to learn to love yourself first."
Roy released his En, and a Heart-Consumption bug followed the bond of blood into Illumi's heart. For a moment, Illumi saw a glimpse of a potential future—the one from the original timeline.
He saw a version of himself so obsessed with Killua that he threatened him using Nanika, even longing to die at Killua's hand. It was a future that was both twisted and frantic, entirely ignoring one thing.
"Me, Father, Mother, Grandpa, Great-Great-Grandpa... everyone you protect and care for wouldn't be able to bear your death either."
"Do you understand?"
Illumi stammered, "I..."
"Shh..." Roy placed a finger to his lips.
While Illumi was in a daze, his hollow eyes losing focus as his pupils trembled, Roy ruffled his hair. He tapped Illumi's forehead with two fingers, leaving a trace of Wind Breathing behind, and turned to leave.
Whoosh! A fresh breeze blew in through the window, knocking Illumi to the floor. The youth lay spread-eagled in the corridor, tasting the Wind Breathing and sinking into deep thought.
He remained there, light-headed, unable to snap out of it for quite a while.
Around the corner was the dim little room.
The old man was lazily enjoying a scalp massage from his grandson. He let out a dry hum, his eyes closed. Beneath his lids, his ancient eyes seemed to travel beyond his body, seeing everything. He let out a chuckle. "Zeno, do you see that? He's stronger than you."
"Grandpa, you're biased." Zeno applied more pressure to the massage, sounding unconvinced. "I was an only child; I didn't have a younger brother to dote on."
The Zoldyck family had been a single-child line for three generations until Silva's time. While it was an objective fact, Maha wasn't having it.
Maha opened one eye and shot Zeno a sideways look. "Just your habit of talking back makes you inferior to Roy."
Zeno: "..."
He decided to shut up. Comparing people was a losing game. The saying that grandparents dote on grandchildren was true, even if it skipped several generations.
"Hmph. Don't think your old man is just being harsh. Your grandmother said so herself."
"My grandmother?" Zeno froze, looking down at Maha. The old man's shriveled body seemed to carry a hint of loneliness.
"She said Roy is the most like me. He's the same as your father—none of you are easy to handle."
Zeno's eyes flickered with agreement. "Grandmother was right."
"If only I could see her face to face again."
"You?" Maha let out a cold, mocking laugh, regardless of whether Betty would want to see him. "You'll have to beg your grandson for that. See if he's willing to take you."
A being capable of connecting with dreams... he was the only case in the history of the Zoldyck family.
The wind whistled through the window frames, the warm sun spilled into the corridor, and Zeno's eyebrows twitched as Roy's footsteps approached.
It was nine in the morning. The morning glow had faded, and the red sun had climbed steadily toward the center of the sky. Outside, the youth appeared, leaning against the window frame. He looked at the two grandfathers and smiled warmly. "Great-Great-Grandpa, Grandpa, I'm home."
Maha sat up abruptly, his chair no longer rocking. He shoved Zeno aside with one hand and beckoned to Roy with the other. "Good boy, come here. Give your great-great-grandfather a back rub."
Zeno glared. 'So the massage I've been giving you for the last half hour meant nothing?' He patted Roy's shoulder in annoyance and stepped into the shadows, vanishing instantly.
The eight characters on his chest—One Kill a Day, Active Career—fluttered in the wind. This time, Roy's eyes tracked him, catching a glimpse of his coattail. The youth noted with surprise, "Grandpa seems a bit resentful."
"Ignore him," Maha snorted. "If he shows resentment, I'll send him to see your great-great-grandmother."
"She's probably lonely with no one to keep her company."
Cough... cough... A faint, distant cough came from outside. A certain white-haired man had accidentally slipped up and lost his footing for a split second before speeding away.
Left alone with Maha, Roy suddenly recalled the endless forest of tombstones he had seen in the old man's dream, one of which belonged to his great-great-grandmother. With a heavy heart, he began to massage the old man's back.
Sensing Roy's mood, Maha closed his eyes and stopped talking.
The two enjoyed the rare warmth of the sun, savoring the reunion after their separation. After a moment, Maha spoke softly. "Child, your plan to set the stage in Meteor City was the right move."
The old man tapped the armrest of his chair. "That place is a cradle for evil, but it's also the perfect place to spread faith and revolution."
As the saying goes, the more chaos there is, the more people crave order; the more oppression there is, the more they must resist. Roy moved his hands up Maha's back, imitating Zeno's technique as he massaged the "old revolutionary's" shoulders. "I didn't think that far ahead at first," he admitted. "I just wanted to find a few believers. I didn't expect the darkness and filth there to be far worse than I imagined."
Human trafficking, casual murder, harvesting parts to sell... and that was just one street, one corner. It was hard to imagine how much evil lurked in other parts of Meteor City, or how many villains like Bolton and Elijah were treating people like objects.
"Hehehe... how many people or things have you actually seen?"
Roy remained silent. If he included his experiences in the Demon Slayer world and the battlefields of the Naruto world...
He answered truthfully, "Great-Great-Grandpa, I have actually seen quite a bit."
"Is that so?" Maha stood up with a smile. The old man turned to face the youth with his hands behind his back. "Why don't you let your great-great-grandfather see for himself?"