Cough cough, cough cough.
Ging felt like his throat was filled with sand, burning and itchy, causing sharp pain.
His hair had curled and charred from the heat, and his clothes were barely hanging on.
Fortunately, they were caught between his thighs; otherwise, this would have been his most embarrassing moment.
Still, the burns on his body were minimal, and that alone was already a stroke of luck.
But maybe as a form of revenge, or perhaps to restrain him, just as Ging shakily stood up, he felt the ground suddenly tremble violently.
Crack—
The ground visibly cracked open, revealing a three-meter-long fissure that expanded rapidly.
It exposed the abyss beneath the earth, filled with blue veins.
That abyssal world—Ging had already witnessed it after jumping into the "Fissure of Ecstasy."
You could say the entire underground cavern was riddled with veins, stretching and intertwining like tree roots.
These veins were how it controlled the terrain.
Before he could react, a strong suction force from the crack tried to drag Ging back into the abyss!
If that happened, once he fell into the abyss, the fissure would immediately close, trapping him like a prison beneath the ground.
Ging remained calm. With a quick motion of his arms, he prepared to gather his "Nen" to break the structure of the crack and burst through.
However, the next moment, he heard a shout.
"Ging!"
Amidst the swirling smoke, a massive white hand with five fingers gripped his waist tightly and pulled him out just before the crack closed!
Smack!
The "Smoke Arm," like fishing line, lifted Ging up and flung him onto the ground beside him.
Ging rolled twice before steadying himself and getting back on his feet.
"Are you okay?"
The one who came to rescue and check on Ging was, as expected, Morel, carrying his large tobacco pipe.
His "Deep Purple" was the most versatile Nen ability among all the Nen users present, almost like it could change into anything, adapting in countless ways.
The nature of "Deep Purple"—the smoke—could be soft or hard, small or large, split or recombine...
This versatility was due to the "Manipulation" category being close to "Emission."
"Deep Purple" demonstrated effects similar to those of Zeno and Silva's Nen abilities.
If the "Transmutation" category wasn't so distant, Morel would clearly be able to do even more, with more finesse.
Seeing that Ging didn't respond immediately, Morel asked again:
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
Right now, Ging looked like a wild man with only animal skins tied around his waist and his hair all messy.
He stood in front of Morel, subconsciously scratching the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed.
His fingers touched his uneven, scorched black hair, which made him feel even more awkward.
Luckily, Morel didn't have any intention of mocking him at such a critical moment.
Morel could tell that Ging wasn't seriously injured, so he reported the latest battle status, his voice tinged with excitement.
"Germain's side has already won. Now we just have this 'Champion-level Demon (Mutant)' left. We can clear it together."
Ging glanced in the direction where Germain was.
He saw that Germain had already joined up with Bisky and Shizuku, but they had been forced apart due to the cracks in the ground.
Ging couldn't help but put his hands on his hips and sigh in frustration.
"I don't doubt that he can defeat that 'Champion-level Demon'," Ging said, "but as for us… we need to do something next. We can't rely on him for everything."
Morel showed a look of guilt.
"Ging, you're right. So, what should we do now?"
"Observe, then act... The first wave of attacks from the 'cracks' after the 'second-stage change' involves the cracks in the ground opening and closing continuously…"
As Ging spoke, two more cracks appeared under his and Morel's feet, attempting to swallow them up.
However, the two of them instinctively jumped upwards, landing lightly on the ground where there were no cracks, easily evading the 'Abyss of the Cracks' attack.
Ging continued:
"But this repeated attack pattern won't work on us a second time. We're already prepared. I think the 'cracks' are going to use its second move now."
"I agree. The 'crack' is rising up like a tower. Though it's high above us, it's also directly becoming our target… it must have more tricks up its sleeve…"
Almost as if to prove their thoughts correct, the ground of the underground cavern trembled violently once again.
This time, the cracks that had opened did not close, but instead, they stretched wide open, like mouths eagerly awaiting food.
The next moment, a sound that everyone was familiar with, especially Morel, came from the cracks.
Morel's eyes behind his sunglasses widened in shock.
"That's… the sound of running water!"
Pfft, pfft, pfft—
From the cracks all over the underground cavern, the flowing water that 'Ocean Hunter' Morel often dealt with gushed out.
It surged forth, splashing water mist everywhere!
Ging frowned.
"It's underground water… Could it be trying to flood this place?"
Morel wasn't worried about that. Due to his profession, he often needed to hold his breath and swim in the water for extended periods.
This was something he could proudly claim made him the best among all the 'Nen users' present.
Well, maybe Germain would rank above him because Germain had already reached an unreasonable monster level.
So, Morel wasn't worried about the water flooding the entire underground cave from the crack. Even if that happened, he could still move freely.
With his lung capacity, plus his "Deep Purple" and "Water Element Enchanted Pipe," he should be able to move his companions to a safe place as quickly as possible.
What he was actually worried about was something else.
This was also the reason why Ging was frowning.
Crack, crack—
Sure enough, from the raised "Fissure of Ecstasy" tower, stones shattered, and countless thin blue nerves emerged.
Sizzling, sizzling—
Electric arcs flickered on the blue nerves, shining brilliantly and beautifully.
But to Ging and Morel, it was a headache-inducing soul-chasing thread!
The "Fissure of Ecstasy" planned to use two methods—first, drown us with water, then send an electric current through the water surrounding us to completely end the battle!
If that happened, they would have nowhere to escape!
Things took a turn for the worse at this moment!
Boom, boom, boom—
The two of them turned toward the sound, only to see their path blocked by numerous stalactites and stone cones.
They locked together like sharp teeth, snapping shut and sealing their way!
The "Nen users" present were all top-tier, with lung capacity and resistance to electric shock far superior to normal people, but there was still a fatal limit.
In the worst case, it was likely that only Germain would survive in the narrow gap.
Ging and Morel quickly thought of this and decided not to let the "Fissure of Ecstasy" achieve all its goals.
But at that moment, someone acted before them.
The water flowing from the cracks suddenly twisted as if it had come to life, converging into a rope-like water dragon and rushing toward the same direction!
Shizuku held a mechanical long handle, while the "Blinky" greedily devoured the incoming water column, its throat gurgling loudly!
********
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