The underground passage space was sufficiently spacious. The spiral-shaped light specks, like several streams suspended in mid-air, reached the door at the end of the passage.
The door's surface was covered with roots like protrusions, resembling tree roots extending downwards into the earth.
Kuro stood a few meters in front of the door, not advancing carelessly anymore.
The Aura leaking from the cracks was enough to heighten his vigilance.
Moreover, his assigned task ended here. The next thing to do was wait for Law and the others to come down.
After a while, Kuro heard faint sounds from behind, knowing that Law and the others were coming down.
He turned to look at the other end of the passage, seeing Law descend first, followed by the rest of the team.
Previously, through the synchronized vision of the fox Nen Beast, he had seen the inside of the passage, but seeing it with his own eyes was different.
If the several strands of light specks were DNA, then the root-like protrusions on the door were like dense blood vessels.
Seeing Law and the others come down, Kuro immediately switched forms and jumped onto Law's shoulder.
Law walked towards the door. As he moved, he twisted aside a few times to avoid the light specks flowing in mid-air, slowly approaching the door.
The Aura in the passage, writhing like evil spirits, clung tenaciously to everyone.
Law reached the door. The presence of the Aura grew stronger.
But he was unaffected. He examined up close the shimmering veins on the door and the light specks seamlessly inserted into it.
Looking closely, the Aura coming from behind the door seeped out through the tiny cracks beside the veins.
Aside from these cracks, Law didn't find any closing gaps in the middle of the door. That is to say, what stood before him wasn't so much a door as a giant stone slab.
The other team members successively came to Law's side, staring at the door, feeling the powerful residual Aura.
"This Aura is very strong,"
Nique, as the team's weakest member, gave an honest assessment.
"Yes, it's deep,"
Tonpa added.
He was very sensitive to danger, and this Aura seeping from the cracks made him feel a danger he couldn't ignore.
However, with Knov's Hide-and-Seek Dimension as a trump card, they could respond to any danger flexibly. At the very least, they could avoid danger in a timely manner. This was like walking a tightrope at high altitude with proper safety precautions.
"Tonpa, try to see if you can send your 'radar' to the other side of the door."
Law waved Tonpa over.
"Coming."
Tonpa responded, taking a few steps to the door. Nen emerged from his body.
The light specks in the passage were drawn by some force into a spiral, leaving much space and giving Tonpa room to use his ability.
The Nen around Tonpa turned into a film, slowly separating from his body, gradually changing shape in mid-air.
Tonpa was not eager to send his Nen to the other side of the door. Instead, he concentrated solely on manipulating the film of Nen. His spirit was like a hammer, continuously pounding the Nen film without physical form, shaping it to fit the cracks beside the veins on the door.
This kind of fine manipulation was still somewhat difficult for Tonpa.
However, he was no longer what he used to be and successfully accomplished it.
He split the pounded Nen film into a fork-like shape and then sent it together into the cracks beside the door's veins.
Everyone, including Chucu, was watching Tonpa.
The Nen manipulated by Tonpa successfully seeped through to the other side of the door, exploring steadily and calmly.
But less than a minute after his Nen seeped through, Tonpa's body jerked back as if shocked.
Law quickly reached out and steadied Tonpa, simultaneously frowning at the door.
The others reacted the same way.
Just as Tonpa moved back, they clearly saw the Nen film that had seeped through the door being forcibly torn apart by what seemed like an invisible force.
"Wh-What happened?" Nique said nervously, looking at the startled Tonpa.
"Did I see that right? Tonpa's Nen was torn?" Shiro stared straight at the cracks beside the door's veins.
"You saw correctly."
After Nobunaga came down the passage, even with no other enemies present, his hand habitually rested on his sword hilt, his spirit always highly concentrated. His eyes were sharp, and he had clearly seen what just happened.
At that moment, the edge of Tonpa's Nen film had torn in a jagged manner. It seemed like something on the other side of the door had violently torn it apart.
"I told you it's dangerous here, so you'd better not mess around!" Chucu's tone was urgent, her manner paranoid. She seemed the most sensitive to the Aura from behind the door.
Law glanced at Chucu, then looked at Tonpa and asked, "What's the situation on the other side of the door?"
"It's very spacious inside, but..."
Tonpa suppressed his panic, tilted his head to look at the DNA-shaped light specks inserted into the door, and said solemnly, "There are more than seven strands of petrified spores inside the door."
"The key is, what attacked you?"
Just as Tonpa finished speaking, Ging's next question immediately followed.
"I... don't know." Tonpa frowned, lowering his voice. "The Nen Circle was destroyed in an instant, but I'm sure there was more than one thing that attacked me, and their abilities are very similar to Law's."
Everyone looked at each other upon hearing this.
"They certainly seem similar."
Law looked at the door.
An ability to forcefully tear Nen away from the body?
The problem was, they didn't know what the things that attacked Tonpa were, or how many there were.
"In any case, we can confirm that on the other side of the door, there are multiple unknown entities. They have the ability to separate Nen. If used properly, they might be able to ignore our Nen defense and harm us."
Law looked around at everyone, thinking about how to open the door.
Even knowing there were an unknown number of threats behind the door, Law had no intention of turning back.
"Before opening the door, we need to prepare in advance," Ging suggested.
"This place looks spacious, but in a real fight, the space is still very limited. So, non-combatants should evacuate here first. Once the situation stabilizes, we can decide whether to follow."
Biscuit glanced at Sheila and the others.
Given the limited passage space, in the event of combat, non-combatants would be of little use and could even become liabilities.
Everyone discussed the arrangements and preparations before opening the door right on the spot. Apart from the ever-conservative Nique, no one chose to retreat.
Chucu watched from the side. No matter how anxious she was, she knew she couldn't convince Law and the others.
The other side of the door truly gave her a very bad feeling, a feeling that opening the door would bring destruction.
Soon, the discussion results came out.
Before opening the door, only Law, Stargie, and Ging would remain in the passage.
With fewer people, mobility would be higher. The others would retreat to the entrance and wait for the outcome.
Law would open the door. Stargie would stay in the middle of the passage to provide support. Ging would be at the rear of the passage. If things went wrong, he would seize the opportunity to help one of them out of danger.
Even if the situation became severe, Law still had the spare key to the Hide-and-Seek Dimension and could take Stargie and Ging out of danger at any time.
After the others withdrew from the passage, Law signaled Stargie and Ging to prepare. He then mobilized his Nen, gathering it in his palm, and began cutting the door.
As he damaged the door, the Aura leaking from behind it visibly fluctuated.
Law sensed it but didn't stop. Instead, he accelerated his cutting.
He wanted to see what had attacked Tonpa.
Law didn't intend to fully open the door, but rather to cut a window in it. This was the safest method.
With his Nen infused with sharpness properties, Law avoided the shimmering veins and cut a circular window in the door with his bare hands.
Before Law could remove the cut circular piece of material, the door suddenly shook. The material, made of unknown substance, flew out with a sound, as if kicked by someone.
Law reacted in time, sidestepping to avoid the kicked-out piece.
Whoosh!
A sound like a howling wind came from the window.
Law leaped back.
The moment his heels landed, a mass of black shadow squeezed out of the circular window.
Law took the Nyoi-Bo from Kuro's space, infused it with Nen, lengthened its shaft, and directly stabbed through the black shadow squeezing out of the window.
However, the black shadow continued to pour out from the window like thick smoke from a fire scene.
Law had an idea. He thickened the Nyoi-Bo, plugging the circular window he had cut, stopping the black shadow from emerging.
Despite Law's timely response, a lot of black smoke had already entered the passage.
Zheng...!
At that moment, Stargie's support arrived.
The many air blades formed by her harp music followed precise trajectories, passing by Law's body and striking the black smoke.
Amidst a series of air blade explosions, the black smoke in front of the door suddenly scattered.
But the next second, the scattered black shadows coalesced into clumps, their forms starting to change.
Each clump of black shadow formed into an elliptical sphere. On it were hollowed-out eyes and a gaping mouth, resembling jack-o'-lanterns on Halloween.
At the base of their spherical bodies, a tadpole-like tail extended. On the sides of their bodies, sickle-shaped objects that looked sharp floated, though their essence was black smoke, making their hardness questionable.
Gaseous Lifeform Guardians… that was the identity of these lifeforms.
They belonged to the Gaseous Lifeform lineage, undertaking a certain duty. From birth to death, they would never leave, eternally guarding this place.
As entities without physical form, one of their best abilities was immunity to physical damage. Additionally, their Aura's intimidating power was naturally amplified.
Thus, even through tiny cracks, they could emit an Aura that everyone took seriously, enough to make Chucu afraid to step half a foot into this place.
However, although they could amplify their Aura to create a certain illusion, their strength and threat were not weak.
Watching the six Gaseous Lifeforms transformed from black smoke, Law didn't recklessly engage in close-range attacks. He continued moving back, distancing himself from the Gaseous Lifeforms while also getting closer to Stargie. Ging at the other end of the passage also didn't act rashly.
Stargie accelerated plucking the strings. Impenetrable air blades flew through the passage, blasting the Gaseous Lifeforms, which were only about one meter in diameter.
Boom!
A considerable number of air blades caused an explosion in front of the door.
The surging air wave couldn't budge the Nyoi-Bo stuck in the window but scattered the Gaseous Lifeforms.
However, the scattered Gaseous Lifeforms recondensed in an instant, their gaping mouths chewing on something.
Stargie's hands, pressing on the harp strings, stopped for the first time. She looked coldly at the six Gaseous Lifeforms, temporarily abandoning her offensive.
"The Nen... was eaten, huh."
Law squinted, examining the Gaseous Lifeforms.
The moment the air blades collided and exploded, he had seen the Gaseous Lifeforms devouring the scattered Nen.
"It seems Tonpa's Nen was also eaten by them."
Ging stood at the rear. He had also seen the Gaseous Lifeforms devouring Nen.
They were not surprised, having seen so many strange existences in the Dark Continent.
A moment later, the six Gaseous Lifeforms stopped chewing. Their seemingly chiseled mouths did not close but remained open.
They paused for a moment, then suddenly rushed forward, pouncing towards Law and the others.
During their flight, their jagged, open mouths suddenly widened several times.
Six huge mouths almost blocked the entire passage space.
Strangely, the strands of light specks suspended in mid-air passed through the Gaseous Lifeforms without obstruction, neither affecting the other, as if they were in different spaces.
Seeing there was no avoiding it, Stargie's hands, which had stopped on the harp strings, quickly moved again, shaking out sharp air blades towards the gaping mouths.
The air blades were extremely fast, disappearing into the Gaseous Lifeforms' huge mouths in the blink of an eye, causing no splash at all.
Seeing the attack completely nullified, Stargie's cool face showed ripples.
"Ging, cover Stargie."
Leaving these words behind, Law charged forward.
Since the Gaseous Lifeforms ignored the Nyoi-Bo stuck in the window, Law decided to leave it. He met the Gaseous Lifeforms coming at him like gaping mouths with his bare body.
As he charged, Law raised his hands, mobilizing a small amount of black Nen, which spread through his Nen like tiny blood vessels.
The distance between them closed rapidly.
Law flicked a black and white Nen ball, which flew ahead into one of the gaping mouths.
Sizzle!
In the black void, a hole the size of a bowl suddenly opened.
'It works.'
Law's eyes flickered. He suddenly stopped, moved his hand like lightning, drawing a Divine Script in the air. He then pressed his palm onto it, infusing Nen into it.
Suddenly, from the circular Divine Script array, a rain of bullets shot out like a machine gun, tearing the pouncing Gaseous Lifeforms to shreds.
However, in that urgent moment, Law only thought about killing this group of Gaseous Lifeforms, without considering the door at the end of the passage.
The rain of bullets fired using the power of the Divine Script, after destroying the Gaseous Lifeforms, hit the door without obstruction.
Seeing this, Ging and Stargie, who had been pleased that Law had killed the Gaseous Lifeforms, both changed their expressions slightly.
...
Meanwhile, several uninvited guests were traversing the forest.
The figure walking in front suddenly stopped. The large bowl he held in his hands suddenly made a slight cracking sound. Fine cracks appeared on the bowl's surface.
"Hmm?"
The figure looked down at the stick burning at both ends inside the bowl.
Sizzle.
The flame, burning unhindered in the water, suddenly went out. Simultaneously, the cracks on the bowl widened.
With a pop, the bowl shattered in mid-air, the liquid stored inside falling to the ground.
The figure was momentarily stunned, a look of confusion appearing on his face.