Chapter 21: Sacrifice and Gift
"Young people sure have plenty of stamina."
Maha wiped the sweat from his face, casually pulled a compressed air canister from his backpack, and released some air into the surroundings. Inside the Baira Stone Vine sphere, there was simply no air at all.
"You said earlier this thing has a diameter of ten kilometers. We've advanced at least eight kilometers now. Are we supposed to drill straight through it? Or maybe this thing has a consciousness, and it's blocking us from reaching the central area."
Su Xiao's breathing was also starting to grow slightly labored. If anyone else saw Su Xiao and Maha in their current state, they would be utterly shocked—two such powerful individuals now looked like ancient miners toiling as laborers.
"Not sure. This is my first time penetrating this deep either. Water."
Maha tossed a bottle of water to Su Xiao. Su Xiao gulped down several big mouthfuls and poured the rest over his head.
Su Xiao had cooperated with plot characters many times before, but most of those plot characters harbored ulterior motives. Only two had cooperated with him sincerely: one was the old Godfather from the Holy Grail World, and the other was Maha.
"I probably won't be making it out of here alive this time."
Maha looked at Killua and Alluka, who had already fallen asleep. His gaze was that of an elder's care for the younger generation.
"An old guy like me dying here isn't so bad. Once we reach deep into the center and find that plant, stay within three meters of me at all times. If my Nen changes to another color, kill me immediately. I'll buy you a few seconds—no, maybe even less time than that."
"No problem."
Su Xiao didn't know the specific reason, but if killing Maha was also part of the cooperation, there was nothing to hesitate about.
"Thanks."
Maha patted his left ear, still unable to hear.
Su Xiao and Maha continued clearing the path. Thirty hours later.
Su Xiao crouched on the ground, while Maha stood before a large expanse of shattered vines and punched them.
Boom!
The vines shattered open into a large hole. Maha's body swayed, nearly collapsing outright.
"Can't judge the direction with this thing."
Su Xiao tossed the compass in his hand aside. After thirty hours of groping around, he had figured out why they couldn't break through the vine cluster—they had been circling within it the whole time.
At first, because the vines had regenerative properties, Su Xiao and the others hadn't noticed this. But when they discovered a large mass of crushed vines compressed together while clearing the way, they understood what was happening.
Simply creating enough space to accommodate themselves was absolutely not enough. While clearing a path within this sealed vine cluster, they also needed to leave room to pile up the crushed vines.
From the moment they were surrounded by the vine sphere, space became limited. The shattered vines also took up space. Although Su Xiao could store these broken vines in his storage space, that was a last resort.
"Regeneration requires nutrients. I don't believe this thing can keep regenerating forever."
Maha's expression turned fierce. He was exhausted. Already looking somewhat like an alien, he now resembled a vengeful spirit—no makeup needed for a horror film.
The current situation was a war of attrition. It was a matter of whether Su Xiao and the others would collapse first, or whether the Baira Stone Vine would run out of nutrients and stop regenerating.
Once the Baira Stone Vine stopped regenerating, Su Xiao and the others could break through the vine sphere quickly.
Initially, the Baira Stone Vine would recover within a dozen seconds. Now, it took at least ten minutes or more to regenerate new vines.
Another six hours passed.
Su Xiao slashed through the vines ahead with a few strikes. On the broken vines before him, a hole the width of a bowl appeared, and several severed vines fell out from within.
"This is…"
Su Xiao's pupils contracted sharply. He immediately stepped back.
Crack, crack…
Large cracks spread across the surrounding vines. The entire vine sphere began to tremble.
With a loud crack, the ground beneath Su Xiao's feet gave way. A massive cascade of vines fell from above, burying him like an avalanche.
After falling for a few seconds, Su Xiao felt the sensation of landing. He was inside a pile of crushed vines, with heavy pressure on his back. This immediately told him he was lying face-down in the debris.
Like swimming, Su Xiao pushed upward through the crushed vines. Without immense strength, there was no way to break free.
A few minutes later.
With a rustling sound, a hand emerged from the crushed vines. Su Xiao's hand pressed down on the vines as his body pulled free from the debris.
"Huff, huff…"
Su Xiao took deep breaths. He had held his breath for nearly ten minutes—he had been facing the wrong direction earlier.
Bubu Wang trotted over quickly. That guy was lucky; he hadn't been buried very deep. And since he happened to be with Amu, Killua and the others weren't crushed to death by the falling vines.
Su Xiao had nearly shattered the entire Baira Stone Vine cluster. This vine had a self-awareness; it had been blocking Su Xiao and the others from reaching the center the whole time. However, it was worn down in the prolonged battle. When it could no longer bear the weight of the crushed vines, the entire cluster collapsed.
Su Xiao surveyed his surroundings. This was an oval-shaped space about a dozen kilometers in diameter, located at the center of Kukuroo Mountain. He knew this because the second ring of his hidden mission was already complete.
Su Xiao checked the third ring of the hidden mission and raised an eyebrow.
A withered hand emerged from the crushed vines, black Nen enveloping the arm.
Just as Su Xiao thought Maha might be controlled by the "king" within the plant, Maha's head poked out.
"Quick, help me pull it out! I can barely hold onto it!"
Maha's jaw muscles bulged. One arm was wrapped around a large mass of crushed vines, as if he were wrestling with something below.
Su Xiao rushed forward and grabbed Maha's arm.
"Amu."
Hearing Su Xiao's call, Amu also charged forward and grabbed Maha's head, pulling upward like yanking out a radish.
Maha stared blankly at Amu. Though his current experience was far from pleasant, Amu was still a considerable help.
With Su Xiao and Amu's immense strength, Maha was dragged out from the crushed vines. In his right hand, he tightly gripped a plant root.
Su Xiao and Amu also grabbed this root. With the three of them pulling together, the thing hidden beneath the vines was dragged out.
It was a wilted little white flower about twenty centimeters tall. Its stem had a few emerald-green leaves, oval-shaped and fleshy.
Though this little white flower's "body" was very small, its root system was extremely long—dozens of roots stretching a hundred meters. Even with the combined strength of Su Xiao, Maha, and Amu, they couldn't snap them, showing how tough this thing was.
"It really exists."
Maha held the little white flower in his hands. The flower seemed to have resigned itself to fate, lying limply in Maha's palm.
"What ritual comes next?"
Su Xiao felt that Maha going through all this trouble to bring Killua and Alluka here couldn't be simple.
"Ahem."
Maha coughed dryly, his old face showing slight embarrassment.
"Before seeing this thing, I didn't know exactly what to do either. Most of my information came from the V5 organization. The only thing I was sure of was that to resolve my immortality, I had to go deep into Kukuroo Mountain. As for bringing Alluka and Killua, that was purely a precaution.
My immortality is related to Nanika inside Alluka. But once Alluka enters Kukuroo Mountain, Nanika inside him will never appear. That's why I brought Killua—he's the only one who can summon Nanika within Kukuroo Mountain. I tested this many times at the volcanic crater."
Maha looked at the white flower in his hand. After hesitating for a moment, he stuffed it into his mouth.
"I left you a little gift at Zeno's place. T3M77854—that's the code. As for the way out, break through the eastern rock wall. It won't take long to get out. Killua and Alluka are in your care. Farewell… my friend."
As soon as Maha finished speaking, Su Xiao received a notification.
[The Hunter has initiated personal favorability with plot character Maha Zoldyck. Current favorability: 93 points.]
Maha bit down on the white flower. The flower's roots surged up, instantly wrapping around Maha and forming a cocoon.
Black Nen erupted from the root cocoon. The roots began to wither rapidly, turning into dust while evaporating.
In just a few seconds, Maha and the white flower both vanished, transforming into a black, ashen powder. Had Maha come seeking a cure? No—he had come to die, to seek death for the continuation of the Zoldyck family.
[Notification: The Hunter has completed the hidden mission: The Zoldyck Family's Curse.]
[Mission completion assessment in progress…]
[Final evaluation: A+.]
[Because the Hunter has completed the hidden mission (three rings total), choose one from the following options:]
Eternal Flower Fruit.
Time-Space Coin.
Grandmaster Power Scroll.
Forced Escape Exemption Letter.