In a dark world, a bright light shone on the little girl.
She wore a pink butterfly hair tie, her eyes and tongue bulged out, lolling down. She stretched out her hands, grasping at Meritonio. From the darkness behind her, countless more hands emerged. Some pulled Meritonio's hair, some clawed at his mouth, some choked his neck, some clung to his thighs, desperately dragging him into the boundless darkness.
"The resentment of those who died unjustly often returns to the heavens and earth after their vengeance is achieved, making it difficult to use or capture..."
"That child, Roy, is different. He seems to be able to absorb the power of spirits to strengthen himself..."
On the second day after Roy left home, Zeno came to give the old master his daily massage. As they brought up the children of the family, a bit of critique was inevitable.
Old people all seem to share a common affliction: they always like to talk about their grandchildren... Maha lifted his neck so Zeno could reach his back, letting out a comfortable hum. "Everyone's path is different. If he has that ability, it's his own skill."
"It's good that he's out. Being cooped up at home will sooner or later turn him into a giant infant."
The so-called "tempering the heart in the mortal world" – if one doesn't enter the mortal world, how can the heart be tempered?
A powerful "Nen user" must first have a sufficiently resolute will. Whether good or evil, in short, they must not be the type to "shatter at first touch."
"Grandfather is right," Zeno agreed. "That child's visualization is the 'sun,' and he takes 'saving all living beings' as his duty. It makes sense, from a Buddhist perspective, that spirits would be drawn to him..."
'Buddhism?'
Maha shot Zeno a sidelong glance. 'Is this kid trying to lecture me?'
'What Buddhism? What saving all living beings...' "Is that brat Netero coming over again?!" The old man's tone was sour, and his gaze... it even turned dangerous.
Ever since Zigg died, that brat had been finding excuses to come over every few days. Did he really think he, Maha, was just a decoration?
Zeno shut his mouth, neither confirming nor denying. He had always known that his grandfather held a grudge against Netero for luring his father away back then. But now, with the twentieth anniversary of his father's passing, the other party had requested to see his dear friend. As the son, he couldn't very well refuse, and so—
WHAM!
He was kicked away by Maha!
"Go find your Buddha! I don't have a grandson like you!"
Crash! Glass shattered. Zeno could be seen faintly, turning into a black dot on the horizon...
He was almost kicked into a state of "Post-Mortem Nen"...
It just showed how terrifying resentment could be when it accumulated to a certain point!
...
Gaslan.
In the darkness, the girl wrapped herself around Meritonio's neck, her voice spectral:
"Brother... I missed you so much... I really... really missed you..."
"It's been forty years. Can you tell me, why did you have to choke my neck that night?"
"You don't know... it hurt so much... It was so awful, I couldn't breathe at all... I begged you to let me go... but you just squeezed harder... So, my dear brother Meritonio, answer me!"
"Am I your real sister?!"
"Look into my eyes and answer me!"
Bzzzz....
Pitch-black resentment shot into the sky, startling away passing birds. Meritonio was torn and dragged down into hell. He, who had spent his entire life chasing astonishment, finally discovered that he, too, could feel fear, could feel terror. He didn't dare to face his sister's miserable, dead form. He could only turn his eyes to look at Roy, as if to say... 'Save me'...
Roy was unmoved. He yanked his cane sword free, bringing with it a spray of blood, and said calmly, "Your sister is right here. Why don't you ask her for help?"
Meritonio: "..."
He never would have imagined that the blade he had swung in his early years would, after all this time, finally circle back to cut him down.
He struggled, reaching out a hand, only to be quickly dragged back down by even more hands.
The resentment soared. This girl... she was the most vengeful of all the living souls Roy had ever seen. He couldn't imagine the kind of pain it would be, "to be brutally murdered by a loved one just because one's expression wasn't 'astonished' enough, and then to hold it in for forty years with nowhere to turn"!
He just watched silently...
Pop! Meritonio's soul was like a bubble. The moment it was completely submerged in darkness, it burst...
At that moment, an evening breeze swept into the alley, lifting Hisoka's red hair and pulling it back... The man stood on the wall, watching with great interest.
The resentment, having lost its anchor, froze in place, stunned for a long time. It then turned to look at Roy and curtsied to him.
Looking at the girl's bowed head, Roy could even see the pretty pink bow she used as a hair tie.
He vaguely heard her say, "Brother, thank you."
"You're welcome." Roy sheathed his sword and nodded slightly at her.
An understanding dawned in his heart. 'The girl is strong! Her resentment is heavy!'
She was completely unlike the other residual souls he had absorbed before. Their spiritual strength was insufficient, they couldn't establish a foothold in the world, so once they lost their anchor, they could only dissipate.
Instead, she had generated resentment from hatred, and coupled with the "blood tie"... even without an anchor, she could henceforth use the sky as her blanket and the earth as her bed.
She could live freely for a while.
It all depended on whether she wanted to...
The night grew deeper. A few leaves drifted down onto Meritonio's corpse...
The girl straightened up, floating up on the wind, as if to see the world... She looked at the flashing neon lights of the street, the endless traffic... The world had changed. Forty years had passed in the blink of an eye. Everything was different, and there was clearly no place left for her to set foot.
She didn't even recognize many things. Many people wore false masks. Many fake smiles were so unfamiliar they frightened her. When she landed again, she didn't hesitate, diving straight into Roy's embrace, as if only here could she find the trace of warmth she craved.
"No... Brother, I hate this world, and I don't want to be human ever again..."
[Hint: "Life Energy" +50]
Faintly, Roy seemed to hear the girl's sleepy murmur. He leaned on his cane sword, looking up at the sky, letting the evening breeze blow his bangs.
His emotions stirred, tinged with a faint sadness.
Clap... clap... clap...
A round of applause broke the silence of the night.
Hisoka opened his arms wide, exclaiming, "What a spectacular performance ¤,"
His expression was one of rapture, as if he hadn't had enough.
Gotoh shot him a glance and moved closer to Roy. The girl he had been protecting had already left the alley safely; she was probably home by now.
Now, only two people and one clown remained in the narrow alley. It was somewhat bizarre...
"If I told you... that you actually stole my prey... would you believe me ♣️?"
Hisoka, hands in his pockets, leaped straight down from the wall. His gaze locked tightly onto Roy as he licked his lips.
"Stop pretending." Gotoh also put his hands in his pockets, gripping several coins as he stared back.
In that instant, it was as if time had warped, arranging their fated encounter ahead of schedule.
The young butler shielded Roy behind him, looking coldly at Hisoka. "Meritonio was your leader. As his companion, you had countless opportunities to act. Why didn't you do it sooner?"
'In the end, after the man was dead, he blames it on the young master...' Gotoh had to let this man know that a butler's patience has its limits! Especially when it involves the young master!
"Hehehe..." Hisoka covered his face, peering at Roy through his fingers with a sinister laugh. "Because... your master... is far more tempting ♠️"
'Ah... Subarashii... So beautiful, so wonderful, I want to devour him...' His expression gradually twisted, and a wave of malice, with Hisoka at its center, uncontrollably rolled towards Roy...
Gotoh narrowed his eyes and silently took out his coins. Just as he was about to make a move, a hand pressed down on his. In the next instant, a gust of wind brushed past his shoulder... and in the blink of an eye...
The boy, wearing earrings of the sun and mountains, left a trail of afterimages. In Hisoka's widening pupils, two suns ignited in his own eyes, seeing through all the clown's movements... He grabbed Hisoka's head, and embedded his entire head and neck into the wall. Only his body was left exposed, twitching twice before falling still...
So...
"Why the fuck... do I always run into perverts?"