Tonpa's warning came without warning. The key points were the large numbers and the high speed at which they were moving from underground toward the surface.
"Head for the tree." Biscuit said calmly.
Law glanced at the nearest blood tree, which is about a kilometer away.
"Let's go."
Law shouted lightly, grabbing Tonpa like a chick and darting toward the blood tree like lightning.
Biscuit, enveloped in her Aura, ran swiftly alongside Law.
Two figures sped across the land at incredible speed.
When they were about five hundred meters from the blood tree, both Law and Biscuit sensed movement from underground.
It was a subtle, detailed sensation transmitted from the soles of their feet to their nerves, like the rustling of a swarm of insects.
Suddenly, rocks on the ground flipped over, and pitch-black insects emerged from tunnels like sewage gushing from a drain, arcing through the air before landing.
These insects had pairs of wings pressed against their backs, long antennae on their heads, and were the size of cattle. The segments of their limbs were wrapped in explosive muscles, with bulging crimson veins.
Aside from the muscular segments on their limbs, these black insects closely resembled American cockroaches.
Boom, boom, boom...
The sound of shifting rocks echoed incessantly as cattle-sized black cockroaches emerged, forming a long, dark dragon. Noticing Law and the others, the dragon's head turned, charging toward them.
"Run!" Tonpa screamed, his scalp tingling.
"Shut up."
Law shook Tonpa violently, nearly making him bite his tongue, but he quieted down.
"Bruna, hold on tight."
Law first glanced at the cockroach swarm ahead, then turned his head to gently remind Bruna.
Bruna nodded lightly, her body emitting only a faint green glow, indicating her fear wasn't extreme. Having spent time with Law, she had unconsciously developed a strong sense of security around him.
"Keep up." Biscuit looked at the insect swarm, a flicker of disgust in her eyes at the thought of having to tear these cockroach-like insects apart barehanded.
Law didn't respond. In an instant, he appeared beside Biscuit.
Side by side, they shot into the cockroach swarm like arrows.
The muscular segments on the black cockroaches' limbs weren't for show. Four of their six limbs bent, storing energy before launching them into the air, low to the ground, toward Law and Biscuit.
As they glided low, the cockroaches positioned their front two limbs like tridents, pointing straight ahead.
"Biscuit."
Law frowned, calling out to Biscuit. Then, he lowered his free right hand, palm facing up.
Seeing Law's gesture, Biscuit understood immediately. She pushed off the ground, suddenly changing direction and quickly approaching Law before stepping onto his lowered palm.
Leverage, jump.
Law's right arm shot upward, propelling Biscuit's petite body like a rocket into the air, over the low-flying cockroach swarm, and toward the blood tree ahead.
The swarm of low-flying cockroaches suddenly beat their wings downward, generating air currents that lifted them higher, attempting to intercept Biscuit mid-air.
Law summoned Shin with a flick of his wrist, slashing a crescent-shaped Aura Slash toward the rising cockroach swarm.
The crescent slash cut through the air, striking the cockroach swarm first and carving out a clean path.
The dark, densely packed cockroach swarm split in two. The energy exploded from the Emission-type Aura Slash blasted the lower half of the swarm to the ground, while the upper half continued toward Biscuit, though their numbers were greatly reduced.
Biscuit, still in the air, saw the remaining cockroaches coming her way, her expression cold and stern.
Suppressing the disgust rising from within, she gathered a large amount of Aura in her right hand. Twisting her petite body in mid-air, she struck downward from above, punching the lead cockroach.
Boom!
A planetary ring-like shockwave exploded from the point of impact, spreading outward in all directions. The direct force shattered dozens of cockroaches at the forefront, while the remaining momentum slammed the rest of the swarm to the ground.
The dragon-like formation instantly collapsed, countless broken limbs and blood splattering across the earth.
After delivering the punch, Biscuit's mid-air momentum weakened. Without a point to leverage, she would eventually fall onto the cockroach-infested ground.
At that moment, a rod entwined with faint black Aura extended beneath Biscuit's feet.
Biscuit looked down at Law, who held the rod a hundred meters away, and couldn't help but smile. It felt like someone had delivered a pillow just as she was about to doze off.
"I'll head to the tree first."
Biscuit called out to Law, stepped onto the rod's end, and pushed off forcefully, soaring through the air toward the blood tree hundreds of meters away.
As Biscuit stepped on it, the rod's end suddenly slammed downward. Meanwhile, Law increased his Aura output on the other end, thickening the rod and crushing numerous cockroaches beneath it.
The swarm, which had nearly reformed, was split in two again by this crushing blow.
Law released the Nyoi Bo, sprinted along its length, and headed toward the blood tree.
At that moment, the cockroach swarm, forced aside by the rod, surged forward like a spring, stepping over the scattered limbs, sending chills down their spines.
Being so close, Tonpa watched the swarm, his heart leaping into his throat, nearly missing a beat.
While sprinting, Law suddenly bent down, slapped the Nyoi Bo with one hand, instantly restoring it to its original form and storing it in Kuro's space.
As the rod disappeared, Law stepped on the air, walking mid-air.
The cockroach swarm followed closely behind, as if building a human ladder.
Law glanced back, his eyes cold. He released his Domain, reducing its control by fifty percent, enveloping the pursuing cockroach swarm.
Amidst the dense, faint sounds, cockroaches exploded into blood mist, falling from the sky.
Seizing the opportunity, Law accelerated, quickly escaping the swarm's pursuit and reaching the nearest blood tree, where he reunited with Biscuit.
Now, on the crimson rocky ground, lay at least seven to eight hundred cockroach corpses. But more cockroaches continued to emerge from the holes, numbering in the tens of thousands. From above, they looked like a dense, black tide.
Standing on the blood tree's branch, Law tossed the terrified, weak-legged Tonpa aside. As the last traces of the sunset vanished, he frowned at the cockroach swarm below, preparing for a prolonged battle.
"Law."
Biscuit's voice, filled with surprise, reached his ears.
Law turned to see Biscuit crouching on a branch, facing a semi-transparent, solidified red resin.
Biscuit pointed at a spot on the resin, her expression one of disbelief.
Law looked and his face changed. Imprinted on the solidified resin were messy footprints, strikingly similar to human footprints.
Meanwhile, the cockroach swarm gathered around the blood tree. However, for some reason, they only surrounded it without attacking, as if the tree were an insurmountable boundary.
The last glow of sunset disappeared, leaving only the silver moonlight spreading across the world.
The crimson ground no longer looked blood-red, covered instead in a layer of silver radiance.
Near the horizon, a black line approached faintly.
It was... a shadow like a cloud suddenly obscuring the moon, as if an eraser were wiping away the silver light, approaching from afar at an alarming speed.
The shadow reached the edge of the cockroach swarm, suddenly condensing into a viscous form and pouncing on several cockroaches. Like quicksand, it silently devoured them.
Law and Biscuit, still reeling from the shock of discovering the 'human footprints', now noticed the eerie shadow, their hearts chilling. They felt dangers are everywhere.
Bruna and Tonpa stood frozen like rigid dolls, staring blankly at the bizarre phenomena that arose one after another.
'What was that shadow?'
'It's viscous like liquid, yet mud-like. While it devoured the cockroaches, the surrounding ones showed no reaction, as if unaware their companions were being consumed.'