That beam of light, over five meters in diameter, contained extremely powerful energy.
The beam was fired from the disc and clearly aimed at Law and his group.
The moment he sensed it, many thoughts raced through Law's mind.
But the highest priority was still to evade this energy beam attack.
In an instant, Law grabbed Ging and Coo, then expelled a large amount of Nen, using Shun repeatedly. Utilizing the teleportation characteristic of Emission-type abilities, he quickly covered several hundred meters.
As for Kuro, without needing Law's help, he was desperately clinging to Law.
Red Shadow and his group also moved to dodge.
The beam arrived in the blink of an eye, striking the ground not far away.
The energy instantly converged into a single point of light. After a brief silence, it violently erupted.
In an instant, a dazzling flash, accompanied by shockwaves and intense heat, swept outwards from the ruins' ground.
Law and his group had barely run out of the explosion's range when they were sent flying by the subsequent shockwave.
This residual force wasn't enough to injure them.
Law adjusted his posture in mid-air, then stepped on the air, landing steadily on the ground.
"Pinpoint strike? They spotted us from that far away?"
Law turned back, looking at the lingering aftermath of the explosion, his gaze passing over the rising dust and smoke, landing on the black disc still in the distance.
He had thought the distance was relatively safe, but he hadn't expected the disc to have such long-range attack capabilities.
It seemed that the Masked Man had skimmed over some details regarding this.
Ging looked gravely at the black disc rapidly approaching and suggested, "We can't stay here. We need to rendezvous with the main group as soon as possible."
"Yes." Law nodded at Ging.
The disc's ultra-long-range strike instantly defined it in Ging's mind as a weapon on the scale of an aircraft carrier.
'Was this one of the relics left behind by ancient humans?'
'Truly, seeing was believing.'
'How had ancient humans even created such a thing? And the Mountain Ship we had seen passing by the ancient labyrinth city earlier.'
'Could the power to drive such a massive object, and fire beams of such strength, really come solely from that so-called Core Energy?'
He had originally thought the disc was coming to retrieve the Masked Man, but it seemed less simple than that.
Regardless of the disc's true intentions, they had to leave this place as quickly as possible.
Using the characteristics of God Hand, Law confirmed the location of Knov and the others. Then, without pausing, he sprinted across the ruins' ground.
On the other side, dust and smoke from the explosion spread everywhere.
Suddenly, four figures dashed out from the smoke.
"Damn it, Metatarsal...!"
"No help for it, he was the slowest among us."
Only four had escaped the explosion... the Magical Beast named Metatarsal had perished in the blast.
It showed the immense power of the beam, enough to kill a highly defensive Magical Beast.
Red Shadow looked back at the rapidly approaching disc, then quickly scanned the area. The two humans were already far away.
"Coo..."
Prominent veins bulged on Red Shadow's face. A series of setbacks had built up considerable fury.
"Chief, the Black Stone has acted again!"
A clan member beside him suddenly reminded him.
Black Stone was their term for the disc.
Regarding the relics of ancient humans, the Gatekeeper Clan, while not knowing every detail, possessed considerable information.
Among the relics, large objects like the Black Stone were few.
According to known information, the Humanoids controlled only five large relics, and the Black Stone's threat level ranked second.
To operate such a large relic, a Core Energy was required.
The Gatekeeper Clan believed that the Core Energy was not renewable and would eventually be depleted.
When that happened, the Humanoids' stronghold advantage, based on large relics, would disappear.
Hence, the Gatekeeper Clan had never actively provoked the Humanoids.
Another beam of immense power shot over.
This time, three beams.
Red Shadow's expression changed. He signaled his companions to evade.
The three beams struck the ground one after another, jointly causing a violent explosion.
Red Shadow and the three other Magical Beasts scrambled out of the explosion's range, unharmed but covered in dust, looking utterly miserable.
'If only the Ginhanabi were here...'
Red Shadow's eyes were dark with gloom. Multiple failures even stirred an impulse for a full-scale assault.
Ginhanabi was currently the dwelling place of the Gatekeeper Clan, also one of the large relics left by ancient humans.
Moreover, inside Ginhanabi, a corpse of a Mender was embedded.
To counter a large ancient relic, only another large relic of the same kind would do.
As it was, Red Shadow and his group could only flee, waiting for Spear Flower to recover her strength and teleport them back.
The Black Stone's flight speed was clearly faster than Red Shadow and his group's. Before long, the distance between them would likely close to within five hundred meters.
On the other side, Law and his group also narrowly escaped the explosion's range.
"So this is the power of an ancient relic."
Even while fleeing, Law had the presence of mind to observe the silhouette of the black disc.
He thought to himself, 'If I could acquire one, wouldn't the difficulty of reaching the World Tree be greatly reduced?'
'And we already had a Core Energy, so power wouldn't be an issue.'
Thinking was one thing... actually doing it was another.
"It's hard to imagine how ancient humans built these things," Ging remarked.
"It was Nen. From nothing to something."
Law's eyes flickered slightly.
Ging was silent for a moment, then said seriously, "Perhaps."
Law couldn't help but smile and said, equally seriously, "Personally, I believe only Nen could have allowed ancient humans to achieve such feats."
"..."
Ging had also speculated along these lines, but it was only speculation.
Without a key piece of evidence, he wouldn't be so certain.
The most wonderful aspect of Nen wasn't enhancing power or speed, but, as Law said, creating something from nothing.
Not limited to objects, nor to humanoid Nen Beasts.
Using Nen as a foundation, bringing imagination into physical reality from nothing.
Taking this as a starting point, the possibilities were infinite.
If Law and Ging knew about Golem, an Emission-type genius in Beyond's team, that might serve as a small piece of evidence.
The topic, sparked by speculation, ended there.
The threat of the black disc, however, was growing closer.
Law began to realize that they seemed to be specifically targeted.
Considering the disc's direction, it should have passed by Beyond and his group.
But the disc's first attack had been aimed at them, not at Beyond's team, who were closer.
In fact, Beyond and his group had a false alarm.
The shadow cast by the disc had passed over them not long ago.
And indeed, the disc had not attacked them.
First the giantified Coo, then the highly technological black disc.
In a short span, both brought them indescribable shock.
This included the Hunter Association's members.
The black disc flying overhead made the expressions of Beyond and his group extremely grave.
Beyond silently watched the disc recede into the distance, then said heavily, "Leave this place."
Before his words faded, he turned decisively.
The gravity on his weathered face lingered.
His teammates silently followed Beyond.
Who could say that everything they had witnessed today was still just a fragment of the Dark Continent?
Perhaps at some point in the future, they would see even more exaggerated things.
With mixed and heavy hearts, Beyond's team fled the ruins at top speed.
Their team had lost over half its members, but considering the outcome, it was still acceptable.
However, they deeply realized that unknown and immense dangers lay on the path ahead.
The Hunter Association's team, in another direction, had also suffered severe losses.
The Dark Continent revealed its truly terrifying side to them. The speeding black disc and its long-range energy beams filled them with fear and gravity.
With Netero's fate unknown, Cheadle, as Vice-Chairman, naturally assumed the role of leader.
She led her teammates to stay as far from danger as possible, but did not intend to immediately flee the ruins.
While ensuring their safety, she kept an eye on the disc's movements.
What exactly was that thing? Cheadle and the others had no idea.
Their mission for this journey, it seemed, could only end in failure.
Afterwards, Cheadle's main concern was to ensure as many of her teammates survived as possible.
Thus, she took a certain risk by staying at the ruins, hoping to rendezvous with Law's team.
Above the ruins' ground, the black disc cast a heavy shadow, looming over Red Shadow and the Magical Beasts, and also forcing Law and his group into a dangerous situation.
Whether the Gatekeeper Clan or Law's group, facing the threat from the black disc, all could think of was escape.
The Gatekeeper Clan knew that, lacking a large relic, they could not counter the disc.
Law's group, having no reason to tangle with the disc, chose the most rational option: directly evading the danger.
The disc wreaked havoc above the ruins, its occasional energy beams blasting the ruins into pitted chaos.
Before Spear Flower's teleportation cooldown ended, Red Shadow and the Magical Beasts could only scramble desperately through the bombardment zone.
Law's group, however, had it much easier.
When the disc launched its assault, Law reacted faster than Red Shadow and his group, getting further outside the energy beams' attack range first.
From then on, he kept the danger safely behind him.
With Lichen support, Law didn't care about Nen consumption. He carried Ging and the others, continuously using Emission-type teleportation techniques, maintaining a safe distance from the disc.
The disc fired about thirty energy beams, turning over half the ruins' ground into scorched earth. The Gatekeeper Clan unfortunately lost two members.
After that, the disc ceased firing, only persistently chasing after the Gatekeeper Clan and Law's group.
The disc stopped its long-range attacks, but Red Shadow wasn't surprised.
Energy was finite... using it meant losing it. So the disc couldn't expend energy recklessly.
However, judging from the thirty or so beams it had already fired, their energy reserves seemed quite ample.
'The time is about right...'
Red Shadow glanced coldly at the disc behind him, then looked ahead at Law and Ging.
The current situation no longer allowed them to retrieve Coo.
'If not for this disc's interference...'
Red Shadow was reluctant, but had no choice.
A moment later, an eyeball plant suddenly appeared on the ground before them, radiating liquid Nen light.
Red Shadow and his group were moving at high speed, and the eyeball plant's timing was perfect. After activating its ability, it enveloped the fast-approaching Red Shadow and the others.
Then, as the light faded, Red Shadow and his group vanished, teleported to the Gatekeeper Clan's dwelling far away.
On the other side, though Law and Ging didn't know why the disc had suddenly stopped attacking, it no longer mattered.
They fled the ruins, rendezvoused with Knov, who was waiting near the entrance, and entered the Hide-and-Seek Dimension together.
Thus, the disc's pursuit ended in failure.
Having lost its targets, the disc hovered motionless above the ruins like a flying saucer.
In the distance, Cheadle saw the disc suddenly stop. Her expression moved slightly, and she immediately signaled her companions to leave.
Her mind was sharp. She guessed that Law and his group had likely entered the Hide-and-Seek Dimension.
Therefore, the risk of them staying put was now very high.
Anyway, with Cluck's Path of Letter's Return, they could always get a general idea of Law and his group's position.
Until then, they had to ensure the team's safety.
The Hunter Association's team also began to move away from the ruins. Thus, the three parties previously at the ruins had all but dispersed.
However, deep in the collapsed negative first floor of the ruins, a Scarecrow remained, along with Netero, clinging to life.
…
Inside the Hide-and-Seek Dimension, everyone gathered.
Law's return also brought back the little fox Nen Beast attached to Kuro, thus losing the outside view.
This was irrelevant, as the apartment was an absolutely safe domain.
Coo's Nen was depleted... she could hardly cause any trouble. Moreover, having had her innocence taken by Kuro earlier, she was now dazed and listless, appearing completely non-threatening.
Nevertheless, Law still set a circle of Divine Scripts, sealing Coo inside.
Kuro, seemingly already considering himself Coo's man, stayed by her side, occasionally licking her cheek with his tongue.
But little did he know that as long as Coo was alive, she was a ticking time bomb.
If Coo were to giantify inside the Hide-and-Seek Dimension, she could probably break through the Nen mechanism and destroy the entire place.
Given this potential risk, Law leaned towards quickly eliminating Coo.
Not a few teammates shared his view.
However, judging by Kuro's performance... he would probably be the first to object.
After all, the rest of the team, through Nique's ability, knew full well that Kuro had slept with Coo.
"Law, aren't you going to snap Kuro out of it? Letting him continue like this isn't a good thing," Biscuit said, coming to Law's side and speaking softly.
Just then, Tonpa also joined them, whispering, "Law, better to rip off the band-aid quickly and end this tragic bond!"
Law looked at Tonpa and Biscuit beside him. They were arguably the two closest to Kuro in the team.
But right now, they looked exactly like a certain torch-wielding group.
The key point was that their advice was correct. It was just rather cruel for Kuro.
Law's gaze shifted, landing on Kuro.
As Kuro's master, he understood the cat's attitude better than anyone else.
'That guy was serious this time.'
Law scratched his forehead, completely unsure how to handle this.