The black sludge was only twice the size of a cockroach, appearing suddenly and acting bizarrely. Like a black hole, it devoured the cockroaches at an incredible speed, yet its volume showed no sign of increasing.
Even more bizarrely, the swarm of over ten thousand cockroaches, which had instantly noticed Law and the others, seemed completely indifferent to the black sludge consuming their companions.
It was as if the black sludge had completely erased its presence or was invisible to the cockroach swarm.
The black sludge acted like a bottomless glutton, gradually increasing its devouring speed until it could consume two cockroaches per second.
On the interwoven branches of the blood tree, Law, Biscuit, Tonpa, and Bruna shifted their attention from their surroundings entirely to the black sludge.
No one spoke, all stunned into silence.
None of them knew what the black sludge was, so they could only watch.
Night had fallen, and silver radiance covered the land.
Looking down from above, the black tide of cockroaches was visibly being carved out, gap by gap.
Over an hour later, the cockroach swarm had been completely devoured by the black sludge. Even the last cockroach showed no reaction, the eerie phenomenon sending chills down their spines.
After devouring the final cockroach, the viscous black sludge transformed into a shadow on the ground and moved back in the direction it had come from at near-light speed.
In the blink of an eye, it had reached the distant horizon and vanished.
"Gulp."
The sound of swallowing echoed on the blood tree's branches, unusually loud in the windless, utterly silent environment.
Such an exaggerated number of giant cockroaches had vanished just like that, and in such an unbelievable way. Tonpa felt that if he could call the police, he would have done so ten thousand times by now.
'What the hell was that thing?!'
Even though Tonpa had encountered Nen Abilities, he still couldn't fathom what the black sludge was.
'As expected of the Dark Continent that even the Chairman and the others were kept out of.' Biscuit pursed her lips, a shadow deep in her eyes, 'We had just arrived on the coastline and had already encountered such a bizarre existence. Who knew what else lay ahead?'
Law didn't respond. He watched the direction where the black sludge had transformed into a shadow and vanished at light speed, his eyes flickering slightly, lost in thought.
In the world of Nen Users, every era had its strongest.
Years ago, Netero was the strongest of his time. Along with two top-tier companions, he had knocked on the door of the Dark Continent as a trio, only to fail to even cross the threshold.
The key point was that Netero and his team were repelled by the immense ecosystem, for example, the Rock Island Crab lurking along the coastline.
But the black sludge they encountered today seemed more like one of the Calamities defined by humans attempting to explore the Dark Continent.
Humans had formally advanced into the Dark Continent multiple times, only to be completely repelled by the five known Calamities, failing to even bring back the miraculously effective hope.
Among the five known calamities were:
The mysterious spherical entity guarding ancient ruins, the Botanical Weapon, Brion.
The monster that can infect people with killing intent, the Twin-Tailed Snake, Hell Bell.
The immortal illness which tricks hope and plunges people into endless despair, Zobae Disease.
The equivalent exchange of happiness and life, the Human-Keeping Beast, Pap.
The desire-dependent entity, the Gaseous Lifeform, Ai.
Besides these five Calamities, there was also the non-living entity [Void] Law encountered in the underground ruins of Demon Island.
'Adding the black sludge we had just seen, which was likely another Calamity, the known Calamities now numbered seven.'
'If we ventured further inland, who knew how many more Calamities awaited us, not to mention the exaggeratedly vast ecosystem.'
'Moreover, what wondrous Hope might exist in the place where that black sludge resided?'
"This place should be safe for now." Law suppressed his racing thoughts and turned to examine the human footprints on the solidified resin, walking over slowly.
Biscuit followed him, and the two gathered around the barefoot prints.
There were thirty-six footprints in total, overlapping and messy, making it impossible to determine their sequence. However, they could at least discern that the footprints varied in size, conservatively suggesting that at least three different individuals had left them.
Tonpa watched as Law and Biscuit studied the footprints, silently expanding his Nen Ability. To him, this place was truly too dangerous. If he weren't constantly vigilant, he might die inexplicably the next second.
Everything he had witnessed along the way, along with the black sludge that had devoured tens of thousands of cockroaches, all settled in Tonpa's mind, fermenting and stewing.
Law didn't notice Tonpa's muddled state of mind, focusing instead on closely observing the footprints on the resin.
Rather than trying to find any detail confirming these were human footprints, he was more intent on finding evidence that they weren't.
Subconsciously, Law didn't believe there could be human settlements on the Dark Continent, 'But these footprints...'
Bruna leaned against Law's shoulder, quietly watching his expressionless face.
The Buru Tribe was naturally sensitive to emotional changes. At such close range and with the communication channel established between them, Bruna could sense the turmoil in Law's heart.
"Biscuit, do you think there could be human settlements here?" Law suddenly turned to Biscuit beside him.
"If the Dark Continent is everywhere as dangerous as this, it would be extremely difficult for humans to survive and establish bases." Biscuit replied indirectly rather than answering directly.
"But this place is suitable for humans to establish a base." Law said, patting the branch beneath his feet.
Biscuit lifted her eyelids, glancing at the surrounding blood trees, and whispered, "What are you implying?"
"On the tree…" Law's eyes gleamed with an inexplicable light as he said solemnly, "Those cockroaches climbing up from underground seem unwilling to touch the blood trees."
The tree they were on, whether in height or diameter, was below average. All around and further away, there were taller and thicker giant trees.
'If the potential threat on this crimson land was the cockroach swarm emerging from underground, and the cockroaches were unwilling to approach the blood trees, then the trees would be an ideal location for establishing a settlement.'
'More importantly, this was the coastline, likely the least dangerous area of the Dark Continent.'
Biscuit gently pinched her chin, feeling that Law's speculation held water, 'The terrain was flat and vast, with so many giant trees… it was entirely possible that humans lived in them.'
Just as the two reached a consensus, pomegranate-colored resin began seeping from the interwoven branches. Like tiny insects, it wriggled upward toward the canopy.
The resin was slightly viscous, semi-transparent, and pale red, emitting a faint glow.
After seeping out, it moved spontaneously to the flat canopy, solidifying into glossy red spheres the size of human fists on the numerous leaves.
The group on the tree watched in amazement. Looking around, they saw other blood trees similarly adorned with fruit-like spheres on their flat canopies, resembling cherry blossoms in full bloom.
At the same time, a large shadow appeared in the distant sky, like a swarm of locusts blotting out the sun during a drought.