Gods… and cockroaches…
Roy stared at the words, and a line surfaced in his mind on its own:
[God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
God said, "Let all sins fall into darkness," and there was Hell…]
If a god decides human life and death, their reincarnation and punishment, then… who decides the life and death of gods?
[It's precisely because, among this swarm of "cockroaches," as eras change, there will always be a few who don't believe in gods and don't revere gods. With no fear in their hearts…]
[…they can't offer "faith" as food, so they are not favored by the gods. And yet…]
[Humans, as higher intelligent beings, can provide a far greater quantity and quality of "faith" than unawakened beasts and monsters. So the gods still have to take care of those faithful mortals and do not completely exterminate these "blasphemers." They simply exile all the godless and god-disrespecting heretics together to the lower realm…]
[As far as I know, places similar to the "Lake Island" exist in at least seven other locations on the Dark Continent—each one a mass dumping ground for those judged heretics by the Seven True Gods.]
[That is the premise—]
Sunlight poured through the clean window, falling on the boy's body. Roy's thoughts surged like waves. For the first time, he had a rough picture of that unknown Dark Continent.
First: the Dark Continent really has "gods"—whether they're defined by pure stats or by rules, they hold terrifying amounts of authority.
Second: it's a land built on faith, which means there are human nations out there devoted to worshipping those "Seven True Gods."
Third: because the exiles are "unwanted," there are "gatekeepers," "catastrophes," beasts and monsters and worse, all set up to stop these branded "blasphemers" from ever going back.
Roy read the "preface" again and again, then rubbed the back of his hand.
If everyone born on the Lake Island is descended from "heretics" or "godless trash"…
Then what does that make someone like him, who was directly cursed by a god?
If he sets foot on that land, will they spot him instantly and put his face on wanted posters across the entire Dark Continent?
His mood grew heavier. Roy realized he'd been too optimistic. To kill a god, he might first have to cut his way through a god's own kingdom—which meant his enemy wouldn't just be one being, but an entire nation.
In the original story, even a monster as strong as the Chimera Ant King, a B+-class creature with potential nen in the millions, still died to a human nation's "weapon": the nuclear bomb Poor Man's Rose. First it blew him to the brink of death; then, after he revived by absorbing Pitou and Youpi, the poison finished him off.
One thing was crystal clear:
If personal strength doesn't reach the kind of level that forces everyone to look up in fear, then in front of a state, or a god-backed theocracy with real divine power… you're basically worth nothing.
So the question was: what did Grandpa Zigg do back then to make a god reach across Mobius Lake just to curse him?
Roy thought of the "Gas lifeform Ai," of the younger brother who hadn't even been born yet—Alluka and Nanika—then frowned, turned the page, and kept reading.
A hand-drawn map filled the next spread—
Map of the Western Continent
Dozens upon dozens of marks: some for nations, some for forests, some for seas.
Roy skimmed once and noticed it immediately: the West Continent was mostly forests and oceans. The areas marked as "human countries" added together didn't even seem to reach 20% of the map.
In other words, compared to humans, the Dark Continent was far more suited to monsters—fantastical beasts, magical creatures, and all kinds of weird "disasters." And then he saw it:
In those remote forests and seas far from human lands, Zigg had circled some places in red and left a note:
[The human world belongs to humans; the monster world belongs to monsters.
In places where humans are inactive, the gods' reach cannot extend.]
So faith really is critical to gods. Where faith can't reach, even gods can't easily meddle.
Roy lingered on those forests and seas, then let his gaze drift to the lower left corner of the map. Between a place called Samir Principality and another called Hoin Kingdom, on the southern edge of a massive forest, he found the landing zone where the young Netero, Linne, and Zigg had once arrived with the backing of the Kukan'yu Kingdom in search of "Trinity Elixir"—
The territory where that sandworm—Devourer—once roamed:
[Uzuki Great Forest]
That thing had crushed him with pure Ren, making it hard to even lift his head. Who knew what rank it really was? The Monster Encyclopedia was itching to be updated.
He rubbed his temples and glanced out the window. For now he closed the book. Whatever the truth was, he'd have to feel it out directly from Zigg's memories.
Afternoon was already sliding by; he'd promised to teach breath-style to Wutong by the pond before dusk. No time to lose.
But first…
He pushed back his chair, stood, slipped off his sleepwear, and headed for the bathroom. Better to absorb the accumulated Life Energy before anything else.
[Notice: Physique +71]
[Current Physique: 242.8 → 313.8]
The familiar pain tore through him. But now that "putting in points" had become routine, it didn't feel quite as unbearable—nothing like the first time he'd nearly passed out from it.
Yesterday's body crumbled away; today's was reforged in the furnace. Less than a minute later, Roy stepped out of the bathroom. His height looked roughly the same, but his muscles were more sharply cut, every line tight and honed—there was no mistaking the difference.
He laced his fingers, pushed his arms overhead, stretched his back and twisted his waist, testing the feel of this new body. Then he changed into a training uniform. It had fit perfectly before; now it pulled a bit too tight across his chest and shoulders. One more "level up" and it would be useless.
"Better go the next size up," he thought.
That way he wouldn't have to keep replacing clothes every time he added points.
He made a mental note to tell Wutong later, slid the door open, and stepped out.
Tap… tap…
His footsteps echoed through the old stone hallway of the Zoldyck manor, full of age and dust.
With the sun at his back, the boy walked toward the underground. At one corner he glanced out at the garden. After the butlers' frantic repairs, the grounds were back to their usual calm: Silva was walking with Kikyo, supporting her arm. Her belly was high and round; rumor had it the due date was two months away.
Two months… when that tuft of silver hair finally appeared, the heir would be decided.
"So fast…"
Roy opened his hand, letting a single dead leaf spin down into his palm. Just a year ago he'd been worrying about stalled "Physique." Now he was racing against a curse. Things like "successor" and "head of family" honestly didn't rank that high anymore.
Silva seemed to feel the gaze and looked up at him.
"Caw~"
Roy's thoughts nudged, and Jinwu burst from his head, flapping its wings and spitting a thread of flame that burned the leaf in his hand to ash.
Apparently it was still sulking about not getting a share of lunch.
To be fair, he'd been too drained at noon to manifest more—let alone feed it—which was why he'd skipped it.
Roy smoothed down the little golden tuft on its head. The fat crow pecked his hand in protest, then settled in on his head, curling up like usual.
Silva watched this scene quietly. As boy and bird slipped around the corner and out of sight, he only came back to himself when Kikyo tugged at his sleeve.
"This one will definitely be a silver-haired baby," she said.
Silva didn't argue. "Mm," he hummed.
That was the five-hundred-and-sixty-fourth time she'd said it.
Without another word, he guided her forward.
Three in the afternoon. The sun slanted west.
"Young master…"
"Young master…"
Scarface and One-Eye stood guard in front of the underground vault door. They straightened and bowed when Roy came into view.
"It's been a while," Roy said with a smile.
"It has," Scarface replied. He and One-Eye opened the door on either side, revealing the dark corridor beyond.
Now that Roy knew re: Game of the Dead connected to the real Dark Continent, walking down this path felt different. He paused at the entrance, shoulders tight, then drew a deep breath and stepped inside.
Scarface and One-Eye bowed until he vanished into the darkness. Only when the echo of his footsteps had faded did they pull the door closed again.
"The young master's changed," Scarface murmured.
"Stronger… and… different," One-Eye added quietly. "Hard to put into words."
"He's got something on his mind. If there's worry, that means he's grown," Scarface said. "He's maturing."
"Like Zigg-sama?" One-Eye asked.
"No… he's not the old master," Scarface said. "But the old master seems to like him very much…"
Their low voices faded with the breeze.
Roy walked through the tunnel, following the faint yellow lights to the airtight gate. He glanced once at the potted chrysanthemum. Spring had already withered it; it no longer burned with autumn's gold. He drew a breath, raised his hand, and knocked.
"Grandpa Zigg, I'm here to visit."
Whoosh—
The airtight door snapped open. A thick tentacle whipped out, wrapped around Roy, and dragged him inside.
Right then, the panel chimed as promised:
[Monster Encyclopedia: New entry…]
[Demon Eye: B-class "Rare Beast"]
[Manifest Nen: 177,851 / 1,000,000 (Note: Ant scale. Elite squad leader = D, Squadron Leader = C, Royal Guard = B, King = B+)]
[Potential Nen: 177,851 / 1,000,000 (Note: This is a "Demon Eye" that has been artificially modified; its potential is already exhausted. Suspected to be used as a memory vessel with its original consciousness erased.)]
Yeah, no doubt—that had Zigg's fingerprints all over it.
Roy remembered what Zeno had told him: that it was Zigg's "Nen beast," Biscuit Soldier, that had brought this thing home. His thoughts spun; his vision went black; when clarity returned—
He was back at Zigg's side, seeing the young Netero and Linne beside him.
"ROAR!"
The towering sandworm erupted from the earth, its massive body wrapped in violent Ren that shook the world. Roy looked past the trio at the endless forest formed by ancient trees, and behind them the sea smashed against the rocks, sending up sprays of foam.
No mistake: this was the very moment Zigg had landed with Netero and Linne on the Dark Continent—the south shore of Uzuki Great Forest.
"You spacing out, kid?"
"Get down!"
The familiar warning hit his ears.
But this time Roy didn't duck.
"No… I need to see this thing clearly."
[Monster Encyclopedia… expanding…]
He refused Zigg's advice. With a thought, he gathered nen in front of himself, forming a shield of purple, magnetized nen—Ken hardened into a wall. His silver hair stood up in spikes, less neat than Silva's and closer to Killua's future mess.
Zigg glanced at him, surprised. He hadn't expected the no-name boy to not only stand but use high-level Nen application techniques so smoothly.
This kid's got talent, he thought. Whose son is he?
Boom boom boom— Sand and wind exploded outward. The sandworm's Ren rode the storm, ripping up earth, smashing ships, uprooting trees, tossing boards and planks and masts like rain.
This time, with nearly 300 Physique backing him, Roy checked his own numbers mid-blast:
[Manifest Nen: D+ (6,874 / 10,000 → 9,825 / 10,000)]
[Potential Nen: C– (1,542 / 100,000 → 22,580 / 100,000)]
He had no idea how many times stronger he'd become since before the Hunter Exam.
"Hoho… the kid's standing pretty straight," Netero said easily, standing beside Zigg. Linne was on the other side.
Both looked at Roy—Linne's staff body glowed with a faint Buddha-like light, and her Laurie-style outfit and red Lolita dress were barely ruffled. She flicked away a flying plank with a cooking spatula she'd summoned and called out:
"Hey, kid—what's your name, and who are you with?"
Young, and already using Ken so freely—clearly a talent. With the mainland this dangerous, one more reliable fighter was always good.
"Roy," he said, bracing his shield and knocking aside another chunk of debris. He didn't elaborate.
Given what Netero had hinted about their eventual separation, Roy knew something would soon happen that none of them could control.
Right on cue—
The giant sandworm rolled its body, stirred the clouds, and looked down to see the "little insects" still stubbornly standing. Angry, it let out another roar.
Its massive bulk shuddered and shed countless scales, which hit the ground and turned into wall-high lice. Its writhing legs drummed against the earth as a vast army of parasites swarmed toward them.
Roy's scalp went numb. His panel blinked again:
[Monster Encyclopedia… new entry…]
[Rampage Louse: C-class monster]
[Manifest Nen: C– (2,451 / 100,000)]
[Potential Nen: C (14,280 / 100,000)]
[Note: A parasitic lifeform whose strength varies significantly depending on its host. Because it feeds primarily on the host's nen, it forms a symbiotic relationship and is often controlled directly by the host.]
Summary:
Charging at them right now was a small army of Rampage Lice—each roughly on the level of a Chimera Ant Squadron Leader.
~~~
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