With a single slash, Law eliminated the attacking hundred-plus Brions.
However, it also consumed the Nen recovery from the half piece of Lichen he had just chewed and swallowed.
The power generated by that slash inevitably alerted the group of Kincaid within the labyrinth city, as well as the magical beasts, including Ancient Claw, who had entered the labyrinth in pursuit of the remaining soldiers.
Five magical beasts had been teleported in. After destroying the International Permit Agencies' camp, they entered the labyrinth city one after another.
Among them, the sole female magical beast, Dice Nose, was chasing Kincaid and his group, while the other four magical beasts didn't immediately follow. After entering the city, they instead turned to pursue the fleeing Giles.
Giles was covered in blood, heavily injured. The traces and scent of the blood he left behind provided clues for the magical beasts.
Not long ago, they had been moving through the labyrinth city at extremely high speed.
While they were still some distance away from where Giles had fallen, they suddenly sensed the Nen Fluctuation and hostility emitted when Giles awakened.
Although it was very faint by the time it reached them, it still gave a direction.
Subsequently, they maintained their high speed, continuing towards Giles's direction. Immediately after, the disturbance caused by Law's slash that annihilated a hundred Brions alerted them.
Their hearts immediately tightened, only seeing a terrifying Aura Slash carrying numerous flesh and blood debris swiftly pass through the sky above them.
'Such a powerful attack was clearly not something that human on his last legs could produce. In other words...'
"It's that human." The lizard-faced magical beast extended its long tongue, eyes showing vigilance.
"The target of our mission this time..."
"Seems not far."
"Hey, Ancient Claw, that guy seems tough to handle."
The magical beasts looked at Ancient Claw, certain that the person who unleashed the Aura Slash was the threat they had come to eradicate… Law.
Ancient Claw stared at the sky where the Aura Slash passed and said coldly, "If he were easy to deal with, it wouldn't be us responsible for eliminating the threat."
"That's true."
A wolf-featured magical beast bared its sharp teeth and said.
Ancient Claw retracted his gaze from the sky, walked towards the wall, and said, "The threat's location is clear. Let's go straight to the rooftop."
The other three magical beasts saw this and followed silently.
Strong self-confidence made Ancient Claw disdain sneaky tactics.
Originally, the enemy was clear and they were hidden, so they could sneak over and seize the initiative.
But Ancient Claw didn't do this.
The four magical beasts leaped up, their toes embedding into the hard wall, then kicked off to ascend to the labyrinth building's rooftop.
When they reached the rooftop, they immediately received the collective gaze of Law's group.
Both sides noticed each other at the same time.
Actually, this statement was inaccurate because, before their eyes met, both sides already knew each other's position.
On Law's side, it was based on Giles's warning and Tonpa's detection circle.
On the magical beasts' side, it was based on the Nen Fluctuation Giles emitted and the slash Law used against the Brions.
Thus, they unexpectedly encountered each other on building rooftops separated by over a thousand meters.
The distance was considerable, but both sides clearly saw each other's identities.
Before the magical beasts appeared, Law had already put away White General and had Knov set up an entrance/exit, taking non-combatants into the Hide-and-Seek dimension. Only six members remained.
Namely: Law, Ging, Biscuit, Stargie, Uvogin, Nobunaga.
Giles, who had felt like retreating, also stayed. His thinking was essentially simple: if Law and the others weren't retreating, then he couldn't retreat either.
Most crucially, he now really wanted to know... the details of Law's team.
Why they knew the magical beasts that attacked the camp, and...
Giles raised his hand, looking at his thumb and index finger which still carried a faint scent.
Over ten seconds ago, he had taken a piece of Lichen Law offered. After experiencing its effect, he immediately understood the means Law's group used to treat him. Moreover, judging by everyone swallowing a piece, their stock seemed plentiful.
Although Law didn't reveal any information about this bark-like thing, Giles was certain this thing that could rapidly restore Nen must originate from the Dark Continent.
Law stood at the building's edge, gazing at the four distant magical beasts, and said calmly, "To explore the Dark Continent, we must eliminate them."
"Clearly, they also came here to eliminate us," Ging laughed.
"Yes. My understanding of them isn't deep, but that magical beast who tried to use a Calamity to kill us back then said that if not for the 'rules', he would have killed us long ago."
Law's gaze focused on the four magical beasts moving towards them. As the distance closed, his gaze concentrated on the gorilla-faced Ancient Claw.
That magical beast who almost killed them using [Wither]… even turned to ashes, Law would recognize him.
"Perhaps the rules the gorilla-faced magical beast mentioned have changed, which is why they are taking the initiative to attack."
Ging had long heard Law mention this aspect and said, "Although the opponent's motives are unclear, this battle was inevitable sooner or later… either we die or they die."
"Right." Law touched his left arm and said coldly, "I was even thinking of returning this thing."
Hearing this, Biscuit reminded, "Don't act recklessly. This place isn't suitable."
"I know my limits. And I believe that gorilla-face came prepared. After all, he's the one who shoved this Calamity into me. If it's him, he should have a way to deal with it."
Law lowered his hand, slowly releasing his Nen, and said, "Although I can steadily control Wither now, it's still like a needle stuck in my arm. If I can resolve it here, why not?"
"You're not planning to smear Wither on the magical beasts' faces, are you?" Biscuit widened her eyes.
"That's the plan," Law said.
"Sounds interesting," Ging chuckled lightly.
"What, what? Are you guys doing something exciting?" Uvogin eagerly chimed in.
Nobunaga slightly shook his head, not having as good a mentality as these few. From start to finish, his attention was fixed on the magical beasts rapidly approaching.
'This Giles was right. These attacking magical beasts were all monsters, stronger than the Chimera Ants we fought before.'
'If I can't cut them open with one slash, then I'm the one in danger,' Nobunaga thought silently.
Giles listened silently to Law and the others' conversation, his heart secretly stirring with huge waves, and his confusion growing.
'Calamities, Wither, the connection between magical beasts and Law.'
'Just what had this group done?'
'Could it be they weren't on the Dark Continent for the first time?'
The more he thought about it, the more complex Giles's emotions became.
A thousand meters was nothing to magical beasts with high mobility, and it would take just a moment. However, although the magical beasts were confident, they wouldn't be too reckless.
They at least gave Law some respect. So, when approaching Law's group, it was like a slow advance, not at top speed.
Law stared at the gorilla-faced one leading the charge, gave a cold smile, and said, "Biscuit, the scene later will probably be quite interesting."
Hearing this, Biscuit covered her forehead with a look of helplessness.
She knew Law would later extract Wither sealed in his arm and fling it at the attacking magical beasts.
This action carried considerable risk, but she also clearly knew Law held a deep resentment in his heart… what happened back then when Ancient Claw almost wiped them out.
Back then, she was a hair's breadth from death.
To this day, she couldn't forget Law's expression when he saved her... it was sheer terror.
And now, Law obviously wanted to vent this resentment.
Before their second trip to the Dark Continent, those in the know, including her, understood they would inevitably encounter interference from the Gatekeeper Clan during the journey.
But now, as Law said, the Gatekeeper Clan indeed had some changes. Judging by their cold-blooded elimination of the International Permit Agencies' team, it was no longer mere interference.
Now, clearly, they had chased here specifically to take their lives.
From this, it seemed the other side had the ability to monitor their movements. Thinking further along this line led to many possibilities.
But given the current situation, they couldn't afford to dwell on it.
'There's still one magical beast whose whereabouts are unknown. Could it be...'
Giles murmured to himself. He thought of the dozen-plus teammates who escaped under the cover and restraint of the camp soldiers, including Kincaid and Norman, and the Herb retrieved from the city.
'Could they have escaped successfully, with one magical beast pursuing them?'
'If the pursuing magical beast didn't join these four here, didn't that mean Kincaid and the others might still be alive?'
Thinking this, he quickly glanced at Law, a flicker in his eyes.
In this situation, he should quickly confirm the current status of Kincaid and the others.
'If they were still alive and the Herb wasn't lost...'
'With my timely assistance, perhaps there was still a possibility of success for this voyage.'
In the gap before confronting the magical beasts, Giles's thoughts became active.
However, although he understood that immediately leaving the team to find Kincaid and the others was the correct choice, his personal principles didn't allow him to do so.
He had accepted Law's treatment and a second piece of Lichen.
If he ran away now, even if he gained a sliver of possibility for success, he would lose himself here.
'I hope I won't regret this.'
Giles tightly gripped his staff, his gaze fixed on the gorilla-faced magical beast that had overwhelmed him.
He ultimately decided to stay.
1000 meters, 900 meters...
500 meters, 400 meters...
Until the magical beasts entered a 300-meter distance, Law suddenly moved. Pushing off with his foot, his body rose into the air, stepping on air as he charged towards the magical beasts.
Ging and the others knew what Law intended to do, so they let him charge out alone first.
"Is this really okay?"
Giles's understanding of this team was still lacking, and he couldn't help voicing his doubt.
Uvogin glanced at him and said quite bluntly, "Law is the strongest among us, so we trust his strength and choices. As for you, earlier you had no will to fight. I thought you'd be scared and run away."
Hearing Uvogin's blunt words, even though Giles was stronger than Uvogin, he didn't get angry or refute.
He stared intently at Law's back as he charged through the air, suddenly feeling a bit of anticipation.
From the fragments of conversation among Law's group, he had gleaned some information. For example, the Gatekeeper Clan weren't mere guides, and although they would guide humans to the Dark Continent for free, they would also attack humans on the Dark Continent.
Even knowing this, after fighting the magical beasts, Giles's remaining impression was… powerlessness.
He believed his strength wasn't weak, enough to rank among the top five in the world. But the natural racial difference made him feel what a gap was when facing magical beasts.
Naturally, he thought that for humans to defeat powerful magical beasts, they could only rely on numbers. Individual quality alone couldn't match them.
Yet, he sensed incredible confidence from Law's group.
On the other side, the magical beasts led by Ancient Claw, upon seeing Law charging out alone, all revealed cold killing intent.
"Finally... got this chance. You humans simply shouldn't set foot on the Dark Continent. Staying obediently in your cage is what you should do. Anyway, from now on, for every one of you that comes, I'll kill one!"
Ancient Claw's body erupted with terrifying Aura and killing intent.
Especially that extreme killing intent, amplified by Nen, formed an Aura sufficient to intimidate ordinary Nen Users.
However, when this Aura crashed against Law, it didn't cause the slightest ripple. Instead, the residual force of the Aura caused Uvogin and the others on the rooftop to unconsciously tense their nerves.
Law calmly endured the terrifying Aura from Ancient Claw. When the distance between them was only about 150 meters, he said, "I was wondering how to find you. I didn't expect you to deliver yourself. Thank you."
Law's words made Ancient Claw, who understood the common tongue, even colder.
Subsequently, including Ancient Claw, the four magical beasts noticed Law's actions.
"Could it be...?"
Ancient Claw's pupils contracted.
Law wouldn't pay attention to the magical beasts' reactions. He decisively removed the Nen characters from his left arm, then extracted [Wither] from within, enveloping it with his Domain, forming a quail-egg-sized pitch-black ink sphere.
Even before officially releasing it, it already emitted a dangerous presence.
Seeing the ink sphere controlled in Law's palm, expressions of horror and disbelief appeared on the faces of Ancient Claw and the others.
"You actually... can control it?!"
The killing intent on Ancient Claw suddenly dissipated. Even though the ink sphere hadn't bloomed, he recognized its origin… the Calamity he had forced upon Law back then.
The other three magical beasts naturally recognized it too.
Knowing the details of that Calamity, they were shocked by the sight of Law controlling it.
Seeing the magical beasts' reactions, Law gave a cold smile, hovered in the air, then raised his hand and threw it.
The Wither condensed within the Domain turned into a black streak, shooting towards the four magical beasts.
Swoosh!
The Domain membrane enveloping Wither suddenly split open. Countless thread-like thin branches, like roundworms, drilled out, growing with the wind, covering the sky as they enveloped the magical beasts.
Wither was attracted by the vigorous life force of the magical beasts.
"You all, retreat!"
Ancient Claw roared, thick veins bulging on his cheeks. Simultaneously, he pulled out a cross-shaped object from the fur on his abdomen.
'To actually reach this extent.'
'To suppress that mature form to a juvenile form and even control it freely!'
'I was wrong, utterly wrong!'
'Back then, I should have been more resolute and killed this audacious human!'
At this moment, Ancient Claw tightly gripped the object in his hand. Amidst his full anger, there was a trace of relief.
'This human before him was more threatening than the one in Ink Plain.'
'Fortunately, I came. I would kill this human right here.'
'Otherwise, the balance maintained for countless ages on the Dark Continent might be destroyed by this human.'