'How many years had it been since the last human visitors…?'
He couldn't quite remember.
Blue Shadow swept his gaze over the group led by Netero and got straight to the point. "Visitors, present your sincerity."
'So direct…'
The Zodiac members, who had never interacted with a Gatekeeper before, couldn't help but think.
"Sorry for the intrusion. Please forgive us."
Netero first bowed to Blue Shadow, then looked back at Ginta. "Bring the gift over."
Like guests visiting, etiquette and gifts are necessary factors.
Now, they were the guests, seeking the host's assistance. They had to act courteously in every aspect.
Ginta picked up the leather bag containing many foods brought from the Six Continents and came to Netero's side.
Netero took the leather bag from Ginta, took a few steps forward to stand before Blue Shadow, then slowly placed the bag on the ground with a smile. "A modest gift, please accept it."
Blue Shadow nodded slightly, hooked open the bag with a finger, and sniffed, detecting the pleasant aroma coming from inside.
'Food. That's acceptable.'
He thought to himself. His sharp nail hooked back, flicking the leather bag behind him, inside the wall's boundary.
Then, he looked calmly at Netero and asked according to procedure, "State your purpose."
"We require the assistance of a [Guide]," Netero replied swiftly. He didn't lower his stance, but his words and actions were very polite.
Blue Shadow didn't speak further.
He wouldn't ask visitors their reason for going to the Dark Continent, nor their purpose.
He only needed to confirm the visitors' sincerity, then assist them. After that, whether the visitors lived or died was none of his concern.
The Nen on Blue Shadow's body suddenly rippled like waves, emitting a powerful Aura.
Netero and the Zodiac members focused their gazes, staring intently at Blue Shadow, who seemed to have opened his Aura Nodes to their maximum extent.
'Is it coming…?!'
The Zodiac members thought.
They saw the hair covering large parts of Blue Shadow's upper body flutter without wind, drifting to the sides, revealing his unclothed torso.
Then, both the Zodiac members and Netero saw the square-shaped, red and black characters inscribed on Blue Shadow's body, appearing very similar to Divine Script.
"Divine Script?"
Pyon muttered under her breath.
Not just her, everyone present recognized Divine Script.
However, their observational skills were not weak. Within seconds, they discerned that the characters were different from Divine Script, though the similarity was extremely high.
'Ahead… is nothing but unknowns?'
Gel's hands, resting below her chest, subconsciously moved to her sides.
A moment later, under everyone's gaze, Blue Shadow raised his right hand and casually flicked it to the side. The Aura gathered in his palm detached, becoming a ball of energy that landed on the ground.
Subsequently, the energy ball twisted like a bubble, taking on a vaguely humanoid shape, roughly two meters tall based on height.
Everyone silently watched the writhing energy ball.
Soon, the energy ball materialized into a true form: a half-human, half-bird Nen Beast.
Its body was covered in red and white feathers. Its limbs were no different from human arms and legs, but its hands and feet were bird-like claws, and there was a series of feathers on the inner sides of its arms.
The Nen Beast's head bore a bird crest extending about half a meter backward. Its mouth was a sharp beak, but its other facial features were human, fair and clean.
Kanzai looked at the summoned Guide's appearance and instinctively glanced at Cluck, who wore white-feathered clothing. "Could this be your relative?"
"...!"
Cluck's brows and eyes widened as she glared at Kanzai, lowering her voice to threaten, "Want to die?"
"Yeah, want to kill me?" Kanzai grinned.
Cluck's forehead immediately bulged with a cross-shaped vein. However, given the occasion, she couldn't act recklessly.
Once the bird-man Nen Beast was summoned, it stood motionless like a puppet, its eyes hollow and empty.
"This is the Guide. If you follow its guidance, you will reach the Dark Continent safely."
Blue Shadow came to the Guide, who was much shorter than him. He used his thumbnail to make a cut on his index finger, and a bead of bright red blood instantly seeped out.
Then, Blue Shadow raised his index finger and, using blood mixed with Nen, quickly wrote several characters on the Guide's body.
By the time he finished, the wound on his index finger had already healed.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but Netero and the others watched as Blue Shadow wrote the characters, and then the Guide's vacant eyes suddenly gained vitality. Additionally, a thin layer of Nen now covered the Guide.
After writing the necessary characters, Blue Shadow very simply turned and walked back inside the gate, not giving Netero and the others any chance to ask questions, and closed the great door with a bang.
Everyone looked at the tightly shut gate, then at the Guide, feeling the entire process had been astonishingly fast.
Then, the Guide looked at the group and spoke in a pleasant male voice, "My time is limited. Please make the most of it."
"You mean your existence time?" Mizaistom asked.
"Yes."
The Guide glanced at Mizaistom.
Hearing this, the others couldn't help but look at Netero.
Netero stroked his beard. "Then let's make haste."
The group didn't linger further and embarked on the return journey towards the coastline where their ship was anchored.
In their hearts, they actually had a doubt, but it wasn't appropriate to ask the Guide for clarification.
That was: the Guide's appearance resembled a demi-human species, yet its nature was that of a Nen Beast, summoned by the Gatekeeper using Nen.
Furthermore, the voyage from the imagined continent to the Dark Continent would take at least a month.
Over such a long distance, how terrifying must the gatekeeper's Emission-type mastery be to sustain a Nen Beast from here to the Dark Continent?
This answer was unknowable, but they couldn't help but think of the characters the Gatekeeper wrote on the Guide using blood mixed with Nen.
'What… were those things?'
…
Two days later, in the sea north of the imagined continent.
The massive B·W ship cut through the waves. Ahead, the coastline of the imagined continent was now visible.
In the room holding fourteen coffins, with the floor engraved with strange patterns, Nasubi stood before the central machine, calmly looking towards the room's entrance.
Behind him stood that Nen Beast covered in chests, with a human head, also looking at the entrance.
Around them, thirteen of the fourteen coffins now held the princes' bodies. The Nen Flames at the front of the coffins burned fiercely, varying in size.
Thud, thud…
Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded outside the room.
From this, one could tell the newcomer was certainly a tall, burly man.
Ten or so seconds later, a person arrived at the entrance. His tall figure almost filled the entire doorway. It was the First Prince, Benjamin, with the face of a lion and an exceptionally robust physique.
He walked directly into the room. Behind him, a Nen Beast four to five meters tall followed.
"Father."
Benjamin looked expressionlessly at Nasubi standing before the instrument.
'Of the fourteen princes, only I remained.'
'So, would I be the victor in this ruthless struggle?'