The entire island had fallen into complete silence, devoid of any trace of life.
The green mist drifting in the air carried lethal elements.
Law and Ging were protected by the God Hand and were shielded from the deadly effects of the green mist. In addition, all the creatures on the island were dead, so they advanced swiftly and unhindered toward the underground ruins.
The deformed meat ball monster sat motionless at the harbor, while the bandage-wrapped Void was nowhere to be seen.
Though all life on the island had been extinguished, aside from Law and Ging, a number of military personnel were still active there.
After two days of travel without encountering a single soul, Law and Ging safely arrived at the entrance to the underground ruins.
"It seems that the government still hasn't dealt with those two big problems."
Ging remarked after carefully inspecting the open area, confirming there were no signs of human activity. Combined with the persistent green mist, he reached his conclusion.
"The monster created by the [Surprise Box] are huge, so it's not difficult to avoid it. But the Void is different. They might be right here." Law stood at the edge of the entrance and raised his hand to point at the darkness below.
"Void's threat level is indeed higher, but your ability happens to counter it. If things go south, just have Kuro spit out the protective suit for me. Given Void's mobility, evading them shouldn't be difficult." Ging said.
Having shared all relevant information, the two discussed without any gaps in understanding, fully aware of what each term the other used meant.
Law nodded, a glint of anticipation flashing deep in his eyes, "Let's move quickly before the government extends its reach here."
As soon as he finished speaking, he jumped down alone.
Ging's adventurous blood started boiling with excitement, began to boil, then he pulled out a flashlight and gripped it tightly before following suit.
The entrance had been collapsed by explosives, leaving the ground below piled with rubble.
Law landed first, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. Then, Ging also landed on the ground, stirring up an even larger dust cloud that momentarily obscured their figures.
Click.
The two beams of light lit up almost at the same time and both pointed directly at each other's faces as if playing a prank.
The light was so intense that it was hard to open one's eyes when facing them head-on.
Soon, the lights shifted away in mutual understanding and swept across the surroundings.
One beam was more steady, and after a rough shake, it quickly settled on a fixed direction. That was the light from Law's flashlight, as he knew exactly where the entrance was.
The other beam was erratic and curious, darting around wildly. This one was Ging's flashlight. After all, it was his first time here, so he naturally wanted to take a good look around.
"Come with me."
Once Law confirmed the path, he strode forward without hesitation. As he took his first step, Kuro lazily descended from above, looking utterly disinterested.
"Why don't you hurry up and explore the way ahead?"
Looking at the uninterested Kuro, Law ordered.
"Yeah, yeah."
Kuro sluggishly drifted toward where the light was pointing.
If there had been anything edible here, he might have been more enthusiastic, but he knew very well that this place had nothing, not even insects. The underground space was only filled with tens of thousands of human corpses.
Nen Beasts were the perfect scouts, and Kuro was no exception. Sending him ahead was like walking through a minefield, he could trigger every trap in advance, eliminating all dangers for Law.
Only after watching Kuro reach the edge of the light's range did Law proceed.
Ging was no longer surprised by Kuro's unique autonomous ability. While following Law closely from behind, he kept sweeping the flashlight in his hand around.
"Which pillar were the stone carvings on?"
There were many stone pillars around, but Ging hadn't spotted any carvings yet.
"There's no need to search for them specifically. Those graffiti-like carvings are everywhere below." Law responded casually.
After hearing this, Ging temporarily stopped his actions.
After a while, the two reached the man-made tunnel.
He stood quietly at the entrance for a while, waiting until Kuro's voice echoed from within before stepping inside.
The passage was still covered with thick dust, and every step would kick up a lot of dust.
The winding, downward-sloping passage led them deeper and deeper until they reached a massive boulder blocking the way.
Law skillfully dug a passage on the boulder, and then a flood of seawater-blue light poured in, illuminating both of them.
"Thank you for your hard work." Ging said habitually, then was stunned for a moment. Seeing that Law showed no reaction, he chuckled silently.
When he was fifteen years old, Ging organized a group of like-minded companions to explore and restore an unknown noble's tomb. Each person had a clear role, functioning like cogs in a well-oiled machine.
As the initiator, Ging is also one of those cogs. During their operations, he'd grown accustomed to saying 'Thank you for your hard work' to his teammates.
Since descending into the ruins, Law had been doing most of the heavy lifting. Now, watching him carve the path, Ging instinctively treated him as a comrade-in-arms and said a catchphrase that was not really a catchphrase.
"Let's go."
Law took the lead and walked in front, not noticing the slight abnormality revealed by Ging.
After a month, Law finally arrived at this underground space again. Above them, the same unidentified crystals emitted an eerie blue glow, their numbers just as vast as before.
The two stood on a platform resembling an outward-jutting cliff formation, silently observing the scene before them at this very moment.
Above, clusters of rhombus-shaped and columnar crystals stretched in chaotic formations, while below lay a flat, barren expanse. Scattered across the ground were the weathered remnants of ancient structures, few of them intact.
Tens of thousands of corpses still lay silently on the ground, showing no visible changes from when Law had last seen them.
Whether it was Law, who had come here for the second time, or Ging, who was seeing it for the first time, both only briefly scanned their surroundings before ultimately focusing all their attention on the corpses, which showed absolutely no signs of decay.
In the underground space, only the soft whisper of wind and the sound of their breathing could be heard, creating an eerie stillness.
Kuro wasn't particularly interested in any of this, but since he was currently serving as a scout at the moment, he couldn't afford to stand still and admire the corpses like Law and Ging. Instead, he drifted downward, carefully surveying the area.
Law and Ging looked at each other, then walked down the slope toward the ruins of what had once been a human settlement.
The bodies weren't densely packed, but rather, they were somewhat scattered, with a few even lying on the outskirts of the ruins.
The last time Law had been here, he'd been preoccupied and hadn't had the chance to examine the corpses up close. But now, he could.
He squatted down in front of the body of a woman who was about eighteen years old. This was the body at the outermost edge and also the closest to the two of them.
Ging also half squatted down, looked at the corpse closely, and at the same time, he threw a pair of white rubber gloves to Law.
The reason he brought rubber gloves was not because he was disgusted by the corpses, nor was it because he was afraid of being contaminated by bacteria or viruses. Rather, they were a gesture of respect.
With God Land, the gloves were entirely unnecessary for Law, but he put them on anyway.
After putting on the gloves, Law raised his hand and slowly reached out toward the female corpse's eyes.
Ging also put on gloves, and when he saw Law taking action first, he just watched quietly from the side.
The female corpse had a pretty face, with long jet-black hair, and was wearing animal skin clothing that barely covered her chest. She was also wearing a short skirt and her skin that was exposed to the air appeared slightly rough.
Ging noticed something unsettling, as the corpse looked as if it had just died moments ago, and the long hair seemed unnaturally smooth and clean, without a trace of grease.
Law's fingers gently touched the female corpse's eyelids, and with a slight movement of his thumb and index finger, he pried open the eyelids.
The dark, empty eye sockets suddenly appeared in front of Law and Ging.
The faint blue light from above unable to penetrate its emptiness, carrying a chilling, almost imperceptible coldness.
'No eyes.'
Law and Ging looked at each other first, then leaned closer to observe more carefully.
If the eyes had been gouged out, the method had been flawless, as it left almost no trace behind.