Chapter 182: Bankai x Love Practice Song
"Yes!"
A gunshot triggered the nerves of everyone present...
Roy maintained his gentle smile, instinctively shielding Kastro in front of him.
"Young Master, be careful."
Ten
Milky-white Nen flowed... The white-haired boy, lagging half a step behind Roy, kept his guard high. The instant the black-suited man pulled the trigger, Kastro stepped forward, unleashing a devastating fist swing that whistled like a "Tiger Roar," instantly batting away the bullet aimed at Roy's face!
BANG! The bullet flew backward, hitting the black-suited man's face directly. Then came... BOOM! An explosion!
The black-suited man instantly detonated. The resulting shockwave pushed Kastro back until he was right in front of Roy. Only then did he manage to use Ten to protect his entire body and neutralize the blast damage. This was only possible because he was an Enhancer with naturally strong physical conditioning.
If it were a non-combatant, such as Kurapika from the Spiders (referring to the future member) or... the girl secretly watching from the garbage pile, they would be severely injured, if not killed, by this single blast!
"Here it comes! It's Bolton's Bomber Man!"
Shalnark and Chrollo shared a telescope, watching clearly. The latter frowned, silent, while the former was excited, even envious, of the sinister youth enjoying his steak inside the prayer hall. Shalnark said admiringly, "I wonder what Bolton told those guys to make Dean and his crew willingly become human bombs and die for him."
This ability to control and command absolute obedience... Shalnark's eyes glowed. He licked his lips. I want it!
"Are they truly willing?" Pakunoda leaned closer to Chrollo, looking through the telescope with him. Dean, whom Shalnark mentioned, was lurking near the edge of the battle, steel pipe in hand. His long face, shaped like a shoehorn, was etched with fear and uncertainty. He desperately swallowed, occasionally stealing glances at Bolton behind him... He hardly looked willing.
"Young Master, something is wrong with these people."
They were afraid but didn't retreat. Even with their comrade exploding right before their eyes, none fled in terror... This violated humanity's most basic reaction to fear!
Kastro calmed his surging bloodlust, frowning as he shielded Roy.
A faint aura surged into his eyes. Activating Gyo, he observed carefully... He detected wisps of Nen on the black-suited men. They didn't seem like Nen users; rather, it was as if something had been implanted in them, forcing them to act against their natural instincts.
"It's a brand," Roy said.
"You can also think of it as... a bomb..."
Roy looked past Kastro, his expression neutral, staring at the sinister youth deep inside the hall. He hadn't expected to run into the wielder of "Paired Destroyers" on his first day in Meteor City.
[Paired Destroyers]: Wields the "Sun" mark in the left hand and the "Moon" mark in the right. The user can imprint the "Sun" and "Moon" marks onto a target. Upon contact, the marks detonate instantly, with power increasing over time. The process takes 3-5 seconds to complete.
Limitation: Must be used with both hands. Prolonged contact increases risk of exposure. Furthermore, the ability does not vanish upon the user's death; instead, it strengthens. Once branded, the marks persist even if other abilities are used simultaneously.
In the original story, Chrollo used this ability as the basis to detonate the Heavens Arena and kill Hisoka.
But back then, Chrollo had a crucial prerequisite: he prepared thoroughly before the duel. Using his own Nen ability, "Skill Hunter," he borrowed the abilities of Shalnark and Kortopi, then used Shalnark's "Antenna" to control the clones Kortopi "Gallery Fake" copied. By forcefully constricting Hisoka's movements, he was able to detonate the bombs and kill him... But now...
Bolton was sitting inside the hall, making no move to touch his subordinates. So, even if he had already branded the black-suited men with the "Moon Mark," how did he bridge the spatial distance to deliver the "Sun Mark" and complete the necessary precondition for the "explosion"?
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions erupted everywhere... Steel rods and bullets rained down!
Even knowing the opponent would explode... Kastro had no choice but to maintain his stance, protecting Roy's flanks at all costs.
A punch, a kick—each was a "fist technique" or "leg technique" wreathed in "flames." Clearly... the boy was treating this battle as a trial ground to practice "Flame Breathing"!
"Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire... Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun... Third Form: Blazing Universe..."
Walking through explosions... refining himself in the fire... Gradually... notifications surfaced in Roy's mind, interrupting his thoughts...
[Notification: Your Believer "Kastro" is strengthening... Faith Power +0.1 +0.1 +0.1...]
[Note: Host can randomly allocate Faith Power to any skill point to increase "skill" proficiency...]
BOOM!
Another explosion. The shockwave surged forward, making the boy's dark hair sway...
Roy was silent, realizing that ever since his conversation with Great-Great-Grandfather Maha in the dream and his firm decision to follow the path of "Faith," his "Extraction and Binding" path had been opened. From now on...
As the "Sun" that everyone believed in and relied upon, whether he liked it or not, he was firmly entangled in a deep bond with Kastro, Gotoh, Kyojuro, Shinjuro, and... Vanessa, Old Kohler, and the others.
Their strength was his strength. They shared glory and ruin. Just like... Great-Great-Grandfather and his ten million comrades... From now on, he wasn't fighting alone!
Tap...
Footsteps sounded...
Standing amidst the gunfire, blades, and shadows...
Roy's clone, Taiichi, holding the scriptures, moved!
"Praise the Sun! Douro-kun, can you handle the outside?"
"Young Master, please go ahead!"
Kastro, punching a black-suited man with a flame-wreathed strike and dodging the subsequent explosion, smiled brightly. "Until I die, no one will disturb the Young Master!"
Roy smiled gently. A swamp appeared at his feet. Reappearing, he bypassed the heavy encirclement and stepped into the church hall!
"A Nen User?" Bolton's narrow eyes, sharp as a hawk's, locked onto him. Roy emerged from the Swamp Space ten meters away, looking at him faintly. He said nothing. He opened his right hand, specks of light appearing, instantly Conjuring the training blade into his grasp.
"Hoh... a Conjurer!" Finishing the last bite of his steak, Bolton tossed the knife and fork aside and stood up. In an instant, he unleashed his Ren, surging violently toward Roy!
BOOM! A thick, acrid scent of "gunpowder" rushed towards him...
Roy's dark hair flew back. He frowned, sensing... Bolton's Ren was unlike his father's or his own. It was climbing steadily, increasing with every explosion outside the door. He suddenly realized something... He narrowed his eyes and glanced at a corner of the side hall. He said calmly, "I didn't expect the esteemed Kakin Empire, instead of managing its own territory, to be playing around in a junkyard..."
"Your name is Ilya, isn't it?"
"Go back and tell your master, Morena, that Meteor City is a junkyard, not her breeding ground for 'plague'!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The battle outside intensified!
Living people with independent consciousness weren't emotionless dolls Chrollo used against Hisoka. They lacked coordination, and their resolve for self-destruction was weaker, which gave Kastro a chance to play guerrilla warfare...
He was like a "flaming assassin" walking in the shadows, constantly harvesting the lives of the black-suited men. Bolton, their master, remained expressionless and unmoved, yet upon hearing Roy's words... his eyes narrowed violently!
And another middle-aged man walked out from the side hall. One centered, one flanking, they formed a pincer movement, sandwiching Roy!
"What strong En!" The middle-aged man applauded as he emerged, looking sharply at Roy. "I wondered who it was. Turns out you're the one constantly stirring up my heart..."
Ilya, wearing a tailored suit, his slicked-back hair shining, appeared. His entrance immediately tensed the expressions of Chrollo and the others watching from the mountain!
Elder Seven... "The Dominator"... Ilya!
He was the mountain blocking Elder Belus, crushing his dream of changing Meteor City through legitimate business!
However, limited by their perspective and experience, the young Spiders wouldn't realize that...
To Roy, neither the Elder nor the "mountain" mattered. The boy held the scriptures, dressed like a pastor. The moment before Ilya appeared, Roy had sensed a familiar "Faith" scent from both him and the sinister Bolton!
It was a "Viral" Faith!
"You know Morena?" Bolton looked at Roy expressionlessly. "Then you should know better that this place is paradise for 'patients' like us."
"After all—"
Bolton paused, listening to an explosion outside. He spread his hands. "Only here can you kill people without consequence, Pastor. What do you think?"
Morena, full name Morena Prudo, was the illegitimate daughter of Kakin Empire's King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou and his mistress, a supporter of Fourth Prince Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou, and the actual controller of one of Kakin's three major underground gangs—the A-I Family!
Her Nen Ability... [Love Practice Song]: She can infect others by kissing and transferring saliva, creating new "Patients" (MEMBERs). The maximum number of Patients is 23 (including Morena). They gain levels by killing, increasing their total aura and power. When a Patient reaches LV20, they can awaken their own unique Nen Ability. At LV100, they become Patient 0 (MEMBER 0) and gain the ability to "infect" others, developing their own infection group at will.
This method of "transmitting a virus" was, in some ways, highly congruent with "Gifting"!
Perhaps in Morena's mind, "Patients" were "Believers," and the "Virus" was "Faith." The reason for setting a limit... was that she could only withstand the [Nature] backlash brought by a maximum of 23 believers. Furthermore...
Roy recalled Morena's future declaration aboard the Black Whale—"My only purpose in life is destruction"—and her subsequent instructions to her patients to fight indiscriminately against all factions on the ship. He strongly suspected...
She had already succumbed to a form of "corruption" and was on the verge of losing control!
Thoughts racing, Roy ignored Bolton's question. If Yoriichi Tsugikuni were here, he would furiously demand: "What do you think life is?"
But Roy wouldn't. Roy would only... answer the question with the blade in his hand!
"Bolton, Patient No. 17, Level: LV41. Aura Output: C- (14581/100,000)..."
"Ilya, Patient No. 5, Level: LV50. Aura Output: C (57414/100,000)..."
According to the original criteria Morena set for leveling up—1 level for killing a civilian, 10 levels for a Nen user, 50 levels for a Prince—and considering the escalating number of required kills per level... Bolton and Ilya, even judged by the civilian standard, had at least hundreds, if not thousands, of lives on their hands!
Fwoosh~ The training blade sensed Roy's rage. It turned red, ignited, and two long dragons of fire surged forth...
Ilya felt the scorching heat. He looked at Bolton expressionlessly. "Be careful. This guy's En can read minds. You'd better block him before making a move!"
"Don't tell me what to do." Bolton held out his hands. "The usual. Kill him, and the experience is split."
BANG! Left hand holding "Sun," right hand holding "Moon." Bolton smashed his fists together!
Preemptive strike... Instantly, a "skull" mark flashed from his hand, like a shadow snake, snatching the "explosion" during the 3-to-5-second activation window of [Paired Destroyers], and launching it straight at Roy's face!
Roy gripped his training blade, twin suns in his eyes. He executed a perfect, flaming slash, hitting the skull head-on. Then—
An explosion far more violent than the self-detonation of the "human bombs" outside erupted!
The [Paired Destroyers], personally activated by Bolton, was clearly several times stronger than the "human bombs"!
CRASH! The spire church shuddered. Debris and dust rained down...
Kastro, fighting outside, and the three Spiders, watching from the garbage mountain with the telescope, all looked over!
Chrollo, Shalnark, and Pakunoda—even the usually calm Chrollo couldn't hide his shock. They witnessed a scene they would never forget—
The boy with the blade, having cleaved the explosion in two, gazed tenderly at his training blade. He stroked the surface, muttering, "It's alright. My mistake. I just practiced Nen and forgot you. Be good... I'll make it up to you now..."
"Full Faith Power release! Allocate everything to swordsmanship!"
"BANKAI!"
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