From the other side of the twisting spatial rift, an unimaginably vast wave of negative energy pulsed outward. Ryker knew with absolute certainty that the apocalyptic battle they had just survived was nothing more than an opening act.
The true trial had only just begun.
"Gon. Killua." Ryker turned around.
The two boys were battered, bruised, and utterly exhausted, yet their eyes remained wide open, staring tensely at the ruined environment around them. Biscuit and List had managed to stabilize their breathing, but the absolute vigilance in their eyes hadn't relaxed for a single microsecond.
"Are you guys alright?" Ryker asked.
"We're fine," Gon wiped a streak of soot and sweat from his face. He forcibly swallowed his exhaustion, his gaze resolute. "As long as you're okay... but, Brother Ryker, what was that thing?"
"A vanguard from the Dark Continent," Ryker replied, his tone heavy with cold contemplation. "It wasn't a complete biological lifeform. It was more like an ideological projection—a manifestation of the Dark Continent's will. It's highly likely that the enemies we face moving forward will all be extensions of these 'conceptual entities'."
"The Dark Continent..." Killua's eyes narrowed. A spark of dangerous curiosity ignited beneath his lingering dread. "Sounds like a completely terrifying place."
"It is," Ryker nodded grimly. "And the fact that the vanguard was this powerful only proves that the true strength of the Dark Continent is far beyond human comprehension."
"So, what happens now?" Biscuit frowned deeply, her jewel-like eyes fixed on the sky. "Are you saying we have to directly confront the 'true power' of the Dark Continent right here, right now?"
Ryker didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he mentally pulled up the newly acquired, EX-Rank trait on his System interface—[Domain Guide: Dark Sacrificial Authority]—and attempted to activate it.
[Activating "Domain Guide: Dark Sacrificial Authority"...]
VMMMM—!
Suddenly, the empty void surrounding them began to violently tremble!
An aura of freezing, absolute, corrosive darkness instantly enveloped the group. Ryker could actually feel a bizarre vibration deep within his System core. This EX-Rank power was aggressively "resonating" with the System's fusion engine. He could vividly sense his Lightning Core and the newly introduced dark energy undergoing a bizarre, unprecedented mutation inside his body.
"Get behind me!" Ryker roared.
Biscuit, Gon, and Killua instantly closed ranks, while List stood on the outer perimeter, his eyes darting frantically as he scanned the ruins for incoming threats.
In the very next second, the ambient dark aura violently erupted! It condensed into an overwhelming, physical pressure that swept toward them like a tidal wave.
"What is that?!" Gon shouted in shock.
"Don't panic. Stay calm," Ryker ordered sharply.
He could feel the dark aura expanding endlessly outward. Inside his body, the blazing lightning and the abyssal darkness were engaging in an incredibly delicate, terrifying resonance, as if the two fundamentally opposing forces were attempting to adapt to each other.
"ROOOOOOOAR—!!!"
Suddenly, an earth-shattering, primordial roar echoed from the void!
Immediately following the roar, a colossal, grotesque "Eye" manifested on the other side of the spatial rift.
It wasn't a biological eye. It was a literal tear in reality shaped like an eye, and inside its pupil swirled an abyss of endless, suffocating darkness.
"An emissary of the Dark Continent..." Ryker took a deep breath, a chilling light flashing in his eyes. "It's finally here."
The moment the Eye locked onto them, the surrounding dark energy began to violently expand, surging like the churning waters of the underworld.
In the next microsecond, a colossal, pitch-black hand burst out from the void!
Carrying an apocalyptic, suffocating atmospheric pressure, the massive hand slammed down toward the group like a collapsing mountain!
"Dodge!"
Ryker instantly deduced the enemy's trajectory. He violently threw his right hand up! A blinding explosion of lightning erupted, instantly wrapping around the four of them and forcefully launching them out of the impact zone!
KABOOOOOOOM!!!
The colossal black hand slammed into the ruins, generating a terrifying shockwave that practically tore space itself apart. Even though Ryker had activated every single defensive trait at his disposal, the sheer, residual kinetic force of the impact still sent them flying violently through the air.
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