At night, in a nameless cave on Death Queen Island, a pretty girl named Esmeralda was tending to Ikki.
Esmeralda had been born to a couple on a small, nameless isle near Death Queen Island. Because her family was too poor, she was sold to Death Queen Island as a slave. Her master was Guilty, the one who had just been beating Ikki. She labored daily under Guilty's lash.
It was thanks to her that Ikki could endure on Death Queen Island and survive the beatings from Guilty—who, driven mad by the Demonic Emperor Fist—had become deranged.
Esmeralda was pure and kind, like an angel, a flower blooming in hell. Unsullied by the mundane world. A year ago she met Ikki, who had suffered much the same fate. It was her presence that became the pillar supporting him.
Late at night, as Esmeralda wiped medicine onto Ikki's wounds and prayed for his recovery, that was the happiest time of Ikki's day.
When he first arrived on Death Queen Island, Ikki had resented Meruem for sending him here. From the day he met Esmeralda, though, he never resented it again.
Ikki didn't know what this feeling was. Maybe this was liking—love. If he could just be with Esmeralda every day, he felt happy.
How wonderful it would be to spend a lifetime together, Ikki thought.
It was because of Esmeralda that Ikki could grit his teeth through Guilty's merciless blows.
Put another way, without Esmeralda, Ikki would either have gone mad long ago or become a pitiful person who knew only how to hate the world.
Yet in the end, Ikki still retained his humanity.
By the way, apart from hair and gender, Esmeralda and Shun were almost identical. So Ikki's a total little-sibling (sister) lover.
"So that's it—Esmeralda isn't Guilty's daughter. Just like in the manga, she was a slave sold from an island near Death Queen Island. Looks like the TV version from the previous life influenced me too much and I overlooked this point. Makes sense—after all, Aquarius Gold Saint Camus never had any 'Crystal Saint' disciple. Still, this world can't be said to follow only the manga's setting; the manga had no so-called Asgard arc. But this world does…" Meruem had been watching Ikki and Esmeralda from the shadows. When he first saw Ikki, he'd planned to step out and say hello. Then Esmeralda appeared, and Meruem dropped the idea.
Thinking on it, it made sense. Guilty—who'd stayed on Death Queen Island for ages and blamed heaven, earth, and society—was a mentally ill shut-in, the kind who deserved to be "left to himself" for life. That such a man would have a daughter—one kind and beautiful at that—and one who looked exactly like Shun… that was the truly unbelievable thing.
Who knew whether Esmeralda had any relation to Mitsumasa Kido, that prolific "stud."
If Esmeralda were actually Ikki's sister, that would be a hoot. Mitsumasa Kido was already the father of over a hundred children. Who knew how many times he'd "become a dad" unknowingly.
If he showed up now, he'd probably be hated for it, right? A lovers' moment and all that—tsk tsk, Ikki really was precocious. Forget it—no need to rush this one night.
In the darkness, Meruem's figure gradually blurred…
"Ikki… why is your fist so soft and weak?" On an open patch of ground somewhere on Death Queen Island, Guilty made Ikki attack him nonstop.
Of course, Guilty fought back. So as a rule, whenever Ikki left an opening, he was relentlessly brutalized by Guilty.
He called it training Ikki's aggression, but it was no different than taking a beating.
Even if Ikki was far stronger than in the original story, he was still only a ten-year-old child. How could he be a match for Guilty, whose power surpassed an average Silver Saint's? Even without his Cloth, Guilty wasn't someone Ikki could handle.
"What did I tell you, Ikki? This world is full of injustice! This world is built on hate! Only hate is the strongest power in this world! The power of hate is inexhaustible…" Guilty poured negativity into Ikki nonstop. The searing pain across his whole body made Ikki feel increasing slivers of hatred toward Guilty.
That was exactly what Guilty wanted.
"Not enough! Not enough! Your hate is far too little. Want to kill me? With what? Come on, do it. If you can. Hahahaha…"
Why did Ikki later become like an immortal phoenix—falling again and again, rising again and again, ever stronger? It had everything to do with this hellish training from Guilty.
If you can survive the abuse of a violent psychopath like Guilty, you can become strong too.
Of course, there's no promise your mental state will be healthy while your strength grows.
That's why, during the Galaxian Wars, Ikki's mental state was extremely unstable for a time. Only after the Silver Saint assassins arc did he gradually recover—that was the side effect.
"A guy like a lunatic." That was Meruem's assessment of Guilty.
"I hear you have a younger brother? What if I go kill him? How about I do it in front of you—twist off his head, pull the guts from his belly… His name's Shun, right?" Guilty suddenly thought of something and began to needle Ikki, who lay limp at his feet.
"If you dare, I'll kill you!" Ikki, who had been helpless a moment before, erupted the instant he heard Guilty mention Shun. His eyes went blood-red, he sprang up off the ground, and drove a heavy punch into Guilty's right cheek.
Caught off guard, Guilty was actually knocked to the ground. Ikki, drenched in sweat and gasping, stared at the man he had felled.
Rage. For the first time, Ikki felt such fury.
"Hahaha… So your fist finally has some weight. You actually made me feel a twinge of pain. It feels wonderful." Climbing up, Guilty didn't fly into a rage—he laughed.
Not laughter from rage, but genuine joy from the heart.
A perverse gentleman with bizarre tastes.
Though the punch was heavy, Ikki hadn't reached the Sixth Sense and wasn't yet a formal Saint—at best a candidate with Cosmo. Such a minor injury was nothing to Guilty. Unless Ikki attained the Sixth Sense, he could never deal a mortal blow.
"But that's not enough! Come on, Ikki—make me hurt more. Swing at me! Go all out—come on, hahahaha…" With Guilty's mad laughter, the devil mask on his face looked even more hideous.
Guilty's fists hammered Ikki's body. Every inch of him burned with pain, as if he were being torn apart.
From pain and rage, Ikki's Cosmo actually rose a level.
"Come on, kill me! If you can't kill me, then I'll kill you!" Guilty raved like a madman, flooding Ikki's mind with pure negativity.
Deep malice—the evil born of Guilty's hatred of everything.
Even with his Cosmo boosted by a level, Ikki still wasn't enough before Guilty.
Same as always—without the Sixth Sense, Ikki could never be Guilty's match.
A savage kick to the stomach sent Ikki crashing down again. The pain in his abdomen left him unable to rise.
But Guilty showed no sign of stopping. He crouched in front of Ikki, grabbed him by the hair, and pulled his ear to his lips.
"I hear you care about that slave girl? Tell me—how about I chop off her feet right in front of you?" The emotionless words rang in Ikki's ear. His heart plummeted as if into the eighteenth level of hell.
Ikki knew: if this devil of a man said it, he would do it.
Ikki struggled to push himself up and stop him, but sadly… he failed. He could barely stand at all.
"Hey—look over there, Ikki. See who's coming?" Guilty wrenched Ikki's head to the right. A beautiful, blonde girl appeared in Ikki's field of view.
Why… at this moment?
"Run—run! He's going to kill you!" The raspy cry tore out of Ikki's throat like a broken gong, filled with despair.
Alas, in front of Guilty, who possessed at least Silver Saint–level power, how far could an ordinary girl run?
"Ikki, if you have to hate someone, hate this world! It's because of this world that life is so cruel." With that, Guilty stood and walked toward the terrified Esmeralda.
"No—don't." Mustering the last of his strength, Ikki wrapped himself around Guilty's leg, hoping to buy Esmeralda a sliver of time.
"Looks like you care for her a lot. That's exactly why killing her is such a tempting idea."
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