As expected, his wife was still the same as ever.
"Then, 18, what kind of Hunter are you planning to become?"
"What else would I be? A Bounty Hunter, of course. Catch a couple of S-Class criminals, and that should be enough to become a One-Star Hunter."
Roy: "..."
Since when had S-Class criminals become as common as cabbages, for 18 to say it so casually? Ever since the Hunter Association was founded, fewer than ten S-Class criminals had ever been captured.
Even the Phantom Troupe were only A-Class wanted criminals.
But when his wife said something like that, it did not really sound wrong at all. In 18's eyes, S-Class criminals probably really were no different from cabbages. She was just that strong.
Still, the reason S-Class criminals were so difficult to catch was not only because they were powerful, but also because many of them were extremely good at hiding, making them hard to track down.
Roy handed 18 a phone. "The guy on the other end is named Shalnark. Give him a call and he can get you information on some S-Class criminals."
At the moment, Shalnark had the underworld at his fingertips. Looking up criminal intel was basically effortless for him.
Come to think of it, under the rule of Shalnark and Ilo, every dissenting voice in the underworld had been killed off, and things had already begun to fall into proper order.
"OK." 18 took the phone. "By the way, have you figured out what you're going to do about that dark clone of yours?"
"Yeah, I have. I'm planning to take Ilo to the Zoldyck family and sever all the connections between the two of us. That way, he'll be like my Four Bodies Technique—just a slightly more advanced clone."
"Suit yourself." 18 shrugged.
…
After finishing his conversation with 18, Roy directly used Instant Transmission to come to Ilo.
"Roy-sama! It really has been a long time!"
Ilo was stunned for a moment by Roy's sudden appearance, then immediately greeted him warmly.
Although Ilo's face was full of smiles, Roy still saw it in the depths of his eyes...
Emptiness?
Perhaps noticing Roy's strange look, Ilo smiled breezily, took a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, inhaled deeply, and then exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"When I first came to this world, I thought it was beautiful. I thought I could do whatever I wanted. But then I realized reality was nothing like I imagined."
Ilo laughed at himself.
"Roy-sama, what do you think people live for? Pleasure? Or something else? I used to think killing people would make me happy, and that ruling the world would be interesting too, but..."
Ilo flicked the ash from his cigarette, and a clear expression of loneliness appeared on his face.
"After becoming the ruler of the underworld, I've eaten every delicacy worth eating, drunk every fine liquor worth drinking, and enjoyed everything there is to enjoy. Even killing has become numbingly routine. Yes, controlling the underworld gave me power, but after tasting what power feels like, it turns out it's just that. All you get is people below you desperately flattering you and currying favor with you. Heh. There's nothing left I want to try anymore."
After hearing that, Roy felt a wave of bitterness.
He knew Ilo was not boasting. He could genuinely feel that world-weary emotion coming off him.
"Roy-sama, tell me this—if a tiger had countless ants around it every day, each one whispering praise in its ear and kissing up to it, how would it feel?"
Ilo suddenly asked Roy.
Then he shook his own head and looked at Roy, his gaze flickering faintly.
Given Ilo's rotten personality and overwhelming strength, if he had developed normally, there were only two paths he could have taken.
One was to become completely anti-human and anti-society. The other was to become world-weary and nihilistic.
And Ilo had successfully developed into the second kind.
Which made sense. In terms of strength, the people of these Six Continents were far beneath him. The adoration of those around him had changed from something enjoyable into something unbearably noisy.
"If you don't want to stay in this world anymore, then come with me." Roy was silent for a while before speaking to Ilo.
"All right." Ilo stubbed out the cigarette and revealed a smile that looked almost like release...
…
Kukuroo Mountain, the Zoldyck family estate.
There was a place there that was regarded as taboo.
It was a place no member of the Zoldyck family was allowed to go.
Because locked inside that place was a monster, a monster from the darkness powerful enough to destroy the Zoldyck family—and even the entire Six Continents.
That place was sealed behind a huge iron door. The moment anyone touched it, alarms throughout the Zoldyck family would go off, and the situation inside the iron door was constantly monitored by the Zoldyck family's servants.
And today, the Zoldyck family was probably about to be thrown into chaos.
Because just now, as the surveillance feed of the forbidden area abruptly dissolved into static, the Zoldyck family's iron door was smashed open by force!
"So this is the Zoldyck family's sealed room? It looks like a dollhouse."
Roy brought Ilo directly into the room where Alluka was being kept by Instant Transmission, and the moment they appeared, he shattered the surveillance equipment inside.
Meanwhile, Ilo looked around at the room, which was decorated like a princess's bedroom, and showed a weary smile.
"Who are you?" Alluka, who had been playing with a doll, looked at the two people who had suddenly appeared before him. There was not the slightest fear or vigilance on his face. Instead, he tilted his head and asked curiously.
"My name is Roy, and his name is Ilo. We've come to ask you to grant a wish." Roy crouched down and spoke softly.
"Grant a wish? Okay!" After hearing Roy's words, Alluka immediately smiled and stretched out both open hands together.
"Please give me your pinky nail." Alluka smiled happily.
A flash of light passed through Roy's eyes as he looked at Alluka.
Alluka Zoldyck, the Zoldyck family's fourth son, shared one body with Nanika, a being from the Dark Continent. Because Nanika had attached itself to him, Alluka had displayed strange abilities since childhood and had been locked away.
Alluka's biological sex was male, and he was the fourth son of the Zoldyck family. But the Nanika inside him was a girl. Killua had always treated Alluka as a younger sister and had repeatedly said in front of Alluka that she was a girl. Alluka had never objected to that.
(End of Chapter)
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