The Grass Jelly's dosage was small and carefully measured, allowing Coo to recover from her injuries without restoring much of her Nen.
Although her injuries were healed, Coo awoke listless.
Whether to attribute this to her maternal instincts, losing the child had indeed dealt her a blow.
Even though the child was conceived unwillingly and had only been in her womb a short time…
But due to the special nature of her Magical Beast physiology, from the moment of conception, Coo could clearly feel the child's presence and its slow growth.
It would take only a month for the child to be born healthy, also indicating the peculiarity of Magical Beast's physiology.
Kuro, becoming a caring male, treated Coo like a precious treasure, fearing any neglect, fussing over her constantly.
However, Coo completely ignored his existence.
Even so, Kuro didn't get angry. He persisted with a thick skin, his companionship very thorough.
But no matter what he did, Coo wouldn't respond, leaving him somewhat heartbroken.
Information about the Mender was urgent. Law couldn't accommodate Coo's emotional state over losing her child. He gathered all team members and came to Coo's side.
"The Mender attacked one of my companions."
Law first described Stargie's situation, which Coo didn't know about.
Coo remained expressionless. After a moment, she looked up and asked, "Dead?"
Law paused. "I don't know."
Such an answer was strange, but Coo still didn't react much, completely indifferent.
Indeed, from her standpoint, Stargie was a stranger, so she wouldn't react.
Watching the expressionless Coo, Law steered the topic to the child that the Mender had supposedly taken.
Mentioning this topic caused a noticeable emotional fluctuation in Coo.
Her eyes gradually showed anger, even a hint of hatred towards those present.
If not for these humans, would she be suffering this?
"Does 'taken' mean killed?"
Ignoring Kuro's nervous gaze and Coo's undisguised hatred, Law directly struck at Coo's sensitive point.
Hearing Law's words, Coo's face showed a human-like agitation. She shouted, "No, my child is not dead! Just taken away by the Mender...!"
Anyone seeing this would think it was a mother's rambling after just losing a child. But Law wouldn't.
He stared intently at Coo and calmly pressed, "So, what does that mean?"
Law's eyes were unprecedentedly sharp as he asked this, his Aura, enhanced by this intensity, bearing down on the recently recovered Coo at close range.
Coo was currently physically and mentally exhausted, both her body and spirit at a low ebb. Thus, facing Law's Aura, she was affected.
At that moment, she became the weaker one, kneeling under Law, the stronger one.
The hierarchy was easily established through Law's Aura.
If Law pushed further, he might break Coo's spirit.
Just then, Kuro intervened, blocking more than half of Law's Aura.
Thanks to Kuro's action, Law realized his impatience and quickly restrained his Aura.
Breaking free from Law's Aura, Coo was covered in cold sweat.
Regardless, this human was indeed formidable.
But no matter how strong humans became, they couldn't defeat the Mender.
The fate of ancient humans was a bloody example.
Coo took a deep breath, thinking of the child taken by the Mender. Her brow furrowed, and her tone was low. "The Menders are few in number, but each has a specific role."
Hearing this, everyone's spirits perked up, waiting for Coo to continue.
"I have only encountered two Menders. The one who took my child is one of them. Its role is [Annual Rings]. You can understand it as controlling life and death, but its capabilities are not limited to that."
"Spatial abilities?"
The Mender's ability to freely traverse the apartment had left a deep impression on everyone. Even now, they couldn't relax, worried it might reappear.
So, they thought that's what Coo meant by 'not limited to that'. But that wasn't the case.
"No. It can grant eternity."
"What do you mean?"
Law frowned. The others looked confused.
"It can embed within any living being a never-ending, infinitely circulating chain of time, freeing them from the cycle of aging and death."
"Immortality...?!"
Everyone was shocked.
"How is that possible? No matter how powerful Nen is, it could never achieve that!"
Shiro was the first to argue.
His Fool's Method was a fantasy-type ability, an unreasonable type divorced from realistic factors.
So, him being the first to argue was quite incongruous.
Nevertheless, everyone agreed with Shiro's argument.
Even with Nitro Rice, a miraculous item, there must be limits since its function was longevity, not immortality.
"I am one of the beneficiaries. My clan members are also beneficiaries. We all host an infinite chain of time."
Coo didn't expect these humans to easily believe such a thing. After all, compared to the active races on the Dark Continent, humans had pitifully short lifespans.
"If that's immortality, why did the Menders make your Gatekeeper Clan beneficiaries? Also, this seems... unrelated to the answers I want, doesn't it?"
Law looked coldly at Coo, his words exceptionally sharp.
Ultimately, what happened to Stargie had affected him to some extent.
Coo paused, then asked coldly in return, "What you want is deep insight into the Menders, isn't it?"
Law raised an eyebrow, speechless.
He was being impatient.
Beside him, Ging and the others also noticed this, but they could understand, or empathize.
"Continue."
Law ended curtly, letting Coo proceed.
Unaffected, Coo continued her calm narration of information about the Mender.
But she first answered the question Law had asked.
"My clan once had a cooperative relationship with the Menders."
"The Menders gave us eternity, and we took on the duty of maintaining order."
"But just recently, one could say that relationship has broken down."
"So, when a life that shouldn't exist appeared in me, it was completely unforgiving."
She then looked Law in the eyes, her tone cold.
"That woman was already a dead soul, wasn't she?"
Law had never told Coo that Stargie had been attacked.
But by looking at those present, she could tell who had been attacked.
But Coo's basis for deducing the victim was not based on who was absent.
Her basis was the term 'dead soul.'
The hazy veil over the Dark Continent was about to be lifted.