novelraw Chapter 313 314 : Art is an Explosion X Poor Man's Rose
Chapter 313 314 : Art is an Explosion X Poor Man's Rose
With the blade in hand, it turned red for a moment, taking on the form of [Solar Eclipse],
then turned white, whiter than snow, taking on the form of [Yukibashiri],
and then shifted from white to black, as dark as ink, taking on the form of [Lunar Wane]... Flickering, it was gripped in Roy's hand and slowly raised, constantly changing its shape.
Upon it, a faint [Solar Halo] circulated, drawing the eye.
*Hum...*
In the outside world, an invisible torrent of drowsiness spread out subtly like clouds, steadily supporting Silva and Roy in the sky.
The man and the boy closed their eyes together. Like two miniature figures stepping out of a tiny kingdom, they were held in the palm of [Susanoo]. Their consciousness immersed in the unconscious domain, they suddenly stopped moving.
Noticing this scene, the Zoldyck family's butlers and servants, including the Kurapika siblings, stared blankly up at the sky. With bewildered expressions, they had not yet realized what was happening.
Beside the clear spring, Netero and Zeno simultaneously narrowed their eyes. Their noses twitched as they caught an unusual scent... It was neither [Heart Drop · Fist Listen] nor [Heart Drop · Sword Listen], but rather a catalyst... one that discarded the external world and forced others deep into a mental landscape!
"A dream?" Netero's white beard and eyebrows swayed in the wind, his loose martial arts uniform fluttering. He exchanged a glance with Zeno, and the two immediately closed their eyes, tacitly beginning to meditate. Then... they opened their minds, soaring upward to actively make contact with the [Forced Hypnosis] that Roy had initiated through his [Mangekyo] Sharingan.
They felt the world spin around them.
When they opened their eyes again, they slowly descended into a hazy, boundless expanse where time and space were indistinguishable!
"It seems this is the dream space of that child, Roy."
Netero narrowed his eyes, surveying the surroundings. As far as the eye could see, everything was empty—time, hell, physical form, and dimension were all void. Only his and Zeno's spiritual bodies were present, along with two vaguely discernible figures standing in silent opposition ahead.
*Hum...* Slowly, another ray of heavenly light pierced into the dream space from the outside world...
Maha, with his bald head and hands stuffed in his pockets, slowly descended.
Netero and Zeno's eyes flashed, and they hurriedly paid their respects to the old man. "Grandfather / Old Master..."
"Hmph," the old man ignored them, merely giving a soft snort as he found a corner and sat down cross-legged. *Swish, swish, swish...* Following his movements, the faces that dissipated from the crown of his head eagerly leaped out one after another.
Relying on the dream as an anchor for a brief stay, they lined up behind Maha, revealing their true appearances.
The leading three stood in the very front, their statures the most burly and tall. They were none other than Maha's former beloved generals: Brook Searle, Severus, and Blake Shaw.
Behind them was a dense crowd of men and women, young and old, stretching for an unknown number of miles.
If not for the fact that the concept of [Space] did not exist here, a single realm would likely be unable to contain the millions of unyielding souls who had marched to their deaths...
*Hiss...* As the final figure appeared, a curling wisp of smoke materialized beside Maha.
She was dressed simply, her blonde hair tied in a braid draped behind her head. Her lake-blue eyes shifted, as clear as a pristine pool. The moment she appeared, she cast a smiling glance at Zeno.
Zeno's expression froze. Then, under Netero's astonished gaze, he respectfully bowed to her. "Your grandson, Zeno, greets you, Grandmother."
*Grandson?!* Netero's eyes flickered as he turned his head to look at Betty thoughtfully...
Betty Zoldyck's gaze swept around, glancing at Netero as she spoke gently, "I have come to bear witness alongside my compatriots."
Hearing this, Zeno straightened his back. Together with Netero, he looked at the countless millions behind Maha and, in the silence, slowly replied, "Yes."
Although the two did not know the specific names of these people, the word "compatriots" made any further explanation unnecessary.
It was simply an entire nation bearing witness to a single battle.
Netero and Zeno exchanged a silent look, their hearts heavy as they clearly felt it—
Maha and his subordinate subjects' focus on Roy... was unprecedentedly stronger than they had imagined!
"Someone is here," Silva said faintly, looking at Roy. His silver hair cascaded down to his waist as he cast a casual glance at the surroundings. The shadowy, boundless figures spread out like wild grass all the way to the horizon, completely endless to the eye.
Roy, holding [Solar Eclipse] which turned into [Yukibashiri] and then into [Lunar Wane] in an instant, said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter."
Anyone who actively touched the [Dream] could enter it... Roy had sensed their arrival the moment Netero, Zeno, and Maha split their consciousness. However, what surprised him slightly was...
His great-grandfather had actually brought his subordinates and subjects in together. This method of having an entire nation spectate left him somewhat flattered...
Roy casually twirled his sword, creating a flourish. "Father, have you ever heard that in the dream, I am king?"
The boy stepped forward with his right foot, the tips of his beautiful silver hair overflowing with a glazed golden light as they fluttered wildly. "Here, I make the rules!"
Silva narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint erupting from the slits as he reached out and clenched his fist. "Then let me see... what kind of blade dares to call itself a nuclear explosion!"
"Hehehe... let this old man broaden his horizons as well..." Maha's leisurely voice drifted over from afar...
The old man's gaze was profound as he looked at Roy with a smile.
Roy bowed to him with his sword in hand. "I'm making a fool of myself in front of you, Great-grandfather."
He then straightened his back, raised his long sword high, and slowly closed his eyes... *Hum...* A hazy light slowly emerged from the boy's body... Level 5 Swordsmanship activated!
It carried Roy's mind, flying continuously upward,
sweeping past the clouds,
sweeping past the atmosphere,
straight into outer space,
then... passing through numerous planetary rings and orbits, heading straight for the very center of the nebula, toward the sun that recklessly sprayed light and heat into the surrounding universe...
Just as he had done when crossing swords and seeking enlightenment with Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, Roy emptied himself and threw his solitary being into the sun.
Soon, he saw the solar flares, the sunspots, the solar winds... Then, he pierced through the photosphere, advancing deeper into the sun, observing it from a negative distance.
He saw... countless streams of particles shuttling back and forth, colliding and fusing, submerging him completely...
In a flash, Roy opened his eyes again. The two massive suns slowly burning within his pupils erupted with a boom, exploding into brilliant flares of light!
[Bankai] [Atomic Fusion Slash]!
*Slash!* The blade rose, hoisted high by the boy, and swung down heavily!
The [Solar Halo] attached to the blade suddenly shifted from gentle to violent. In a mere instant, it locked onto Silva. Reflected in his abruptly shrinking pupils, right in front of Netero, Zeno, Maha, Betty, and the millions who had once followed Maha to face the national crisis, it directly engulfed Silva...
"Hehehe... Hahaha..." At point-blank range,
the man's silver hair flew wildly as he laughed unbridledly!
He let out a ferocious roar, "Perfect timing!"
With a *boom*, he erupted with all of his Nen, concentrating it into his right hand to form a blindingly radiant Nen fist. Without dodging or evading, he fiercely swung it toward Roy's descending blade!
*Boom!* The fist arrived, the blade fell!
Boundless light swept out from the epicenter of the collision. Visible to the naked eye, a massive mushroom cloud soared into the sky, carrying an unparalleled shockwave that rapidly expanded. In just a split second, it blew right in front of Maha, Betty, Netero, and Zeno!
[Ko]!
The expressions of the four changed, and they simultaneously deployed [Ko], forming a shield to block in front of them!
But the impact generated by this explosion was simply too strong!
Crashing into them, it was no less devastating than having a massive mountain smashed over their heads!
In the blink of an eye, everyone except Maha was blown away...
*Screech...* Netero and Zeno retreated continuously. One was pushed back a hundred meters with heavy steps, the other a hundred and twenty meters... When the two barely managed to stabilize their footing and looked up ahead,
only Maha had grabbed hold of Betty, not retreating a single inch. The rest, such as Brook Searle, Severus, and Blake Shaw, were all forced back dozens of meters. As for the others, aside from a select few standing in the second row behind Maha, the remaining millions were entirely reduced to ash in the shockwave. Comfortingly "swatted" out of the dream by the explosion, they turned back into memories and returned to Maha's body!
"This power is no less than... the Poor Man's Rose!"
High temperatures lingered in the surroundings, and the afterglow of the explosion spread out wave after wave like ripples...
Netero finally halted his steps, looking deeply toward the center of the explosion. His emotions surged, filled with shock and doubt... In just that split second, he had been completely astounded by Roy's strike!
*Ring, ring...* Warning bells chimed in his heart. The current "Strongest Human in the World" quietly touched his chest and took a deep breath... As far as his eyes could see—
Two riddled figures stood tall amidst the nuclear fallout. One was missing half his body, barely managing to prop himself up with his sword to keep from falling. The other was battered and torn, covered in holes pierced by the immense energy of the nuclear blast, stubbornly refusing to collapse. With his one remaining eye, he stared fixedly at Roy. His gaze held comfort, satisfaction, and an endless sense of relief...
"As expected, it is a blade of nuclear explosion..."
"Cough, cough..." Silva coughed up blood, trembling like a leaf. Finally unable to stand, he spread his arms and slowly fell backward...
The man seemed relieved, as if liberated from his own stubbornness, and said leisurely, "You win, son..."
Blood spilled from the corner of Roy's mouth. The remaining half of his face twitched as he stumbled and pitched toward the ground. All the Nen in his body had been expended with that single slash, just as Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni had once warned him: once this blade was drawn, there would be no strength left to fight... He managed to force a difficult smile and said, "Thank you for the match, Father."
With a wave of his hand, unable to maintain the [Genjutsu] any longer,
he actively disengaged,
causing the dream space to begin collapsing...
*Crack, crack...* The dream shattered like a mirror...
Betty leaned against Maha and said, "Maha, do you know? Perhaps, he really can do it?"
"Mhm..."
"The Queen is right. Congratulations, Your Majesty, you have a worthy successor!"
In the collapsing dream, the old subordinates led by Brook Searle, Severus, and Blake Shaw, along with the few scattered survivors, dropped to their knees in deep reverence behind Maha, loudly offering their congratulations.
To the side, Netero and Zeno watched in silence...
Maha's small, hunched body wasn't even as tall as Roy's neck. He didn't speak, but the corners of his mouth curled up, growing wider and wider until he burst into hearty laughter...
"Hehehehahaha..." The laughter pierced through space, soaring straight into the clouds, lingering endlessly until—
With a *pop*, the dream shattered. Everyone returned to reality from the dream, and only then did the laughter fade...
*Hum...* The visual prowess that had blanketed Kukuroo Mountain dissipated. The Sharingan slowly faded from Roy's eyes. As his consciousness returned, the Nen in his body was completely drained. [Susanoo] could no longer be maintained, and as Roy weakly opened his eyes, it instantly collapsed...
*Crack... crack... shatter...*
"Sister, that giant looks like it's about to shatter!"
On a large tree deep within Kukuroo Mountain, Kurapika looked up at the sky using Kurajing's [Gyo]. Noticing that [Susanoo] was beginning to disintegrate from head to toe, he turned his head to look at Kurajing.
The young girl, with her high ponytail draped behind her head, watched without a word. Her beautiful eyes shimmered with unshed tears, as if she hadn't noticed anything else, her entire heart tied to the sallow-faced boy.
"Lady Tsubone, is the Young Master alright?"
"You don't care if he wins or loses?" The old butler, with her two pink pigtails draped behind her head, looked down at Kurajing and reminded her, "If the Young Master loses, the position of family head might no longer be his..."
"But I don't care about that." Kurajing broke into a smile. "I just want the Young Master to be safe. Wherever he goes, I will go."
Tsubone was taken aback. She reached out to gently stroke the girl's forehead, then smiled kindly. "Child, you are right."
"Those things aren't important. The Young Master deserves better, and... he already has something better..."
The old butler cast an envious glance at Kurajing, then spared a subtle look toward the butler's villa...
Halfway up the mountain, in the butler's villa, the bedroom belonging to Gotoh suddenly bloomed with an excited, crimson light. The entire room was bathed in intertwining bloody glow, looking extraordinarily magnificent...
"Young Master,"
A slow murmur was drowned out by the wind...
High in the sky, beneath the blazing sun, the grandfather clock struck the hour...
At nine o'clock in the morning, the red sun had already crested the horizon, beginning to scorch the earth...
Amidst the rising heat, Silva felt a wave of sweltering warmth.
The man struggled to open his eyes from the dream space. In a daze, he looked ahead at the boy who was practically a carbon copy of himself. The boy forced a difficult smile at him, stumbled, and plummeted headfirst toward the ground!
Silva's figure flashed instantly. Unfolding his perfect-grade [Dark Step], he dashed in front of Roy in the blink of an eye. Reaching out an arm, he caught him in an embrace. For the first time in his life, he revealed a genuine smile to him. "This embrace,"
"will you use it as a joke in the future?"
Enveloped in weakness, Roy struggled to twitch the corners of his mouth. "Please allow me to defend myself. I never intended to make fun of you, Father."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Hmm," Silva said no more, merely smiling
as he held Roy, stepping on swirling winds to descend to the ground...
Before long, they returned to the clear spring. The first thing they saw was a head of black hair cascading down to the waist, moving with swift and agile steps as he strolled over...
"Who won?" Illumi waded through the water, slowly approaching Silva and Roy.
Father and son exchanged a glance and said in unison, "I lost."