Holding Roy's spirit, continuously flying upwards,
skimming through the clouds,
skimming through the atmosphere,
straight into space,
then... passing through numerous planetary rings, heading directly to the center of the nebula, to that sun which continuously sprays light and heat wantonly into the surrounding universe.....
Roy, just like when he was sparring swords with Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni and contemplating the Dao, emptied himself and threw himself into the sun,
very soon, he saw flares, saw sunspots, saw solar wind... then pierced through the photosphere, heading deeper into the sun, observing the sun from an impossibly close distance, witnessing... countless streams of particles interspersing, colliding and fusing, engulfing him....
In a fleeting moment, Roy opened his eyes again, those two great suns slowly burning in his pupils exploded with a bang into brilliant flames!
[Bankai] — [Atomic Fusion Slash]!
"Puch~" The sword rose, lifted high by the young man, and swung down heavily!
The [Corona] attached to the sword's blade suddenly turned from gentle to violent, in an instant locking onto Silva. In his suddenly narrowed pupils, before Netero, Zeno, Maha, Betty, and countless myriad of those who once followed Maha into national peril, it engulfed Silva directly....
"Hoh, hoh, hoh... hahaha....." Nearby,
the man with silver hair flying upwards laughed wantonly!
He roared savagely: "Just in time!"
"Boom!" With a loud noise, he released all his Nen energy, concentrating it in his right hand, forming a brilliantly shining Nen fist, neither dodging nor evading, fiercely striking down at Roy's descending sword!
"Boom!" The fist arrived, the sword fell!
Boundless light swept out from the collision's center, visible to the naked eye, a colossal mushroom cloud soared into the air, carrying an unmatched shockwave spreading rapidly, instantly reaching Maha, Betty, Netero and Zeno!
[Ko]!
The four of them changed their expressions, simultaneously resorting to [Ko], forming a shield in front of them!
But the impact from this explosion was simply too strong!
The force that hit them was nothing less than being struck by a mountain head-on!
In the blink of an eye, everyone except Maha was blown away......
"Siz... siz....." Netero and Zeno kept stepping back, one was pushed a hundred meters back, the other a hundred and twenty meters... as the two barely managed to stabilize their stances, looking forward again,
Maha alone held onto Betty, not withdrawing an inch, while others like Brook Sell, Severus, and Blake Shaw, all stepped back dozens of meters, as for the rest, except for a few standing in the second row behind Maha, the remaining myriad, turned to flying ash in the impact, comforted as they were "released" from the dream, transforming into memory, returning to Maha!
"This power is no less than... the Poor Man's Rose!"
The heat lingered around, the afterglow of the explosion spreading like ripples....
Netero finally stopped his footsteps, deeply gazing towards the center of the explosion, amidst surging emotions, full of amazement... for just a moment, he was shocked by Roy's slash!
"Ring, ring...." Alarm bells sounded in his heart, today's "strongest human" quietly touched his chest, deeply inhaled... his gaze reached——
Two riddled figures, standing in the nuclear explosion, one had half a body missing, barely holding a sword to prevent himself from falling, the other, body full of tattered holes caused by the massive energy of the nuclear explosion, stubbornly stayed upright, one remaining eye fixed on Roy, gaze filled with gratification, satisfaction, and endless relief....
"Indeed, it was a slash from a nuclear explosion....."
"Cough, cough...." Silva coughed up blood, trembling like a sieve, finally unable to stand, opened his arms, slowly falling backward....
The man seemed released, or liberated from stubbornness, softly said: "You won, son....."
Blood trickled from the corner of Roy's mouth, as half his face twitched, stumbling forward, his entire Nen energy following that slash, just as Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni had warned him, only this slash could be released, after which he had no strength left to fight... barely forming a smile he said: "Thank you, father."
With that, unable to maintain [Illusion Technique] any longer,
he voluntarily disconnected,
causing the dream space to begin collapsing.....
"Ka... ka... ka....." The dream, like a mirror, began to shatter.....
Betty leaned against Maha saying: "Maha, do you know? Perhaps he truly can do it?"
"Tap... tap...."
"The queen is right, congratulations to the king, he has a successor!"
In the collapsing dream, led by Brook Sell, Severus, and Blake Shaw, a few remaining old comrades fell to their knees behind Maha, loudly congratulating.
Nearby, Netero and Zeno silently watched....
Maha, small body hunched, not even reaching Roy's neck in height, said nothing, just raised his mouth, widening more and more, joyfully laughing...
"Hoh, hoh, hoh... hahahaha....." The laughter pierced through space, ascending into the clouds, endlessly prolonged until——
"Pop~" with a sound, the dream shattered, everyone returning to reality from the dream, then dispersed.....
"Buzz....." The pupil power surging towards Kukuroo Mountain dissipated, the Sharingan slowly faded from Roy's pupils, as consciousness returned, his Nen within drained to emptiness, Susa couldn't be sustained any longer, as Roy weakly opened his eyes, it immediately collapsed.....
"Ka... ka... ka....."
"Sister, the giant seems about to shatter!"
On a tall tree deep within Kukuroo Mountain, Kurapika borrowed Kurajing's [Gyo], looking up to the sky, noticing [Susanoo] beginning to disintegrate from head to toe, glanced at Kurajing.
The girl, high ponytail draped behind her back, silently watching, her beautiful eyes sparkling with shimmering waves, as if unaware, her heart wholly attached to the boy with a sallow complexion.
"Lady Tsubone, is the young master alright?"
"Aren't you concerned about his victory or defeat?" The old butler, with two pink pigtails draped behind her back, glanced down at Kurajing, reminded: "If the young master loses, the position of the patriarch might not be his....."
"But, I don't care~" Kurajing smiled brightly, "I just want the young master to be okay, wherever he goes, I'll follow."
Tsubone was startled, reached out to gently stroke the girl's forehead, then smiled kindly: "Child, you're right,"
"None of that matters, the young master deserves better, he already... possesses something better...."
The old butler enviously glanced at Kurajing, then discreetly cast a sidelong glance towards the butler's villa....
Halfway up the mountain, in that butler's villa, in Wutong's bedroom, suddenly bloomed an excited blood-red light, filling the entire room, intersecting in a magnificent display.....
"Young Master,"
A soft whisper was lost in the wind....
Above the sky, beneath the great sun, at that moment, the clock chimed the hour....
Nine in the morning, the red sun had already risen beyond the horizon, starting to scorch the earth.....
The summer heat swelled, making Silva feel a sense of hot restlessness,
The man, struggling to open his eyes in the dream space, looked forward in a daze, at the boy who looked almost like a mould of himself, managed a difficult smile at him, stumbling, about to fall towards the ground!
Silva's figure flickered, perfect grade "Dark Step" unfurled beneath his feet, in the blink of an eye reached Roy, extended an arm, catching him, making a rare smile: "Will this hug,"
"still be a joke for you later?"
Roy, enveloped in weakness, strained to pull a smile at the corner of his mouth: "Permit me to protest, I never intended to make fun of father."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Hmm," Silva said nothing, just smiling,
holding Roy, stepping on the wind, descending to the ground....
Soon, upon re-entering the clear pool, they saw jet-black hair cascading to the waist, a figure leaping out and, walking towards them.....
"Who won?" Illumi stepped on the water, approached Silva and Roy.
Father and son exchanged a glance, spoke in unison: "I lost."