The dangers of the land of yellow sand were self-evident.
However, for Morrow and his party, who had repeatedly run simulations in a virtual world, the sense of crisis they felt when actually facing it was not particularly strong.
But when the group left the desert and saw, from their current position, a massive, unidentified creature in the distant sky that was steadily devouring the horizon like a cumulonimbus cloud, their hearts were profoundly shaken.
For a moment, they almost thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.
After all, for a single creature to occupy half the sky like a cloud formation was simply beyond reason, even on the Dark Continent.
It wasn't until they saw translucent, jelly-like tentacles dangling from its grayish-black body that the group was forced to accept the shocking reality.
It was indeed a living organism.
Such a behemoth, suspended in the air by some unknown power.
Putting aside its cloud-like body, each of the dangling tentacles was like the spine of a continuous mountain range, stirring the high-altitude gales as they slowly coiled and uncoiled.
Despite the great distance, everyone could clearly sense that the colossal creature was moving.
The visual pressure it exerted was like the heavy cumulonimbus clouds that swept across the sky before a storm, enough to make one involuntarily forget to breathe.
As it moved, under the hazy sky, some flying creatures could be seen fleeing in panic, as if sensing a fatal threat, desperately trying to evade the translucent tentacles descending from the cloud-like body.
"This is... too much."
This unimaginable sight caused even the usually calm and indifferent Gel to mutter in a daze.
Looking around, the others had much the same reaction.
They were all dumbfounded, frozen in place as if petrified.
Only Morrow managed to remain composed.
After all, he had seen concept art of many of the Dark Continent's giant creatures and was mentally prepared for such a scene.
He knew well that the mature World Tree of the Dark Continent had roots that could pierce mountain ranges and feed on underground magma, eventually growing to a magnificent height that broke through the clouds.
Yet, in that concept art, there were even depictions of unknown behemoths taller than mountains, almost able to touch the crown of the World Tree.
The sheer volume of such an existence was something that truly and utterly subverted the human understanding of the word "immense."
When you truly witnessed it with your own eyes, the only feeling that welled up in your heart was one of absurdity, as if the scale of the entire world was collapsing before you.
At this moment, the unidentified flying creature, which had almost merged with the high-altitude clouds, belonged to this category.
In comparison, the Sandworms in the land of yellow sand, which swirled sand and dust to form their bodies, suddenly seemed small and insignificant.
"Chimera, turn around."
Morrow calmed the faint tremor in his heart, half-squatted, and lightly patted the Chimera's scaly back.
Receiving the command, the Chimera reacted extremely quickly, immediately changing direction in mid-air.
Like the other flying creatures fleeing in panic in the distance, it had long since felt the instinctual fear brought on by the pressure of its ecological niche.
But without Morrow's command, it could only forcibly suppress this warning that came from its bloodline.
In other words, the Chimera essentially placed Morrow's commands above its own instincts and safety.
Whoosh!
A fierce wind rose.
The Chimera carried the group away at top speed, fleeing from the cumulonimbus-like unidentified creature that was spreading across the sky.
Morrow and his teammates looked back, the dangling tentacles still swaying slowly in the air.
Although they didn't know the specific function of those tentacles, no one was willing to verify that unknown up close.
"Thank goodness we have the Chimera..."
Biscuit stared at the giant shadow in the distance, her slightly furrowed brows filled with gravity.
Her perception of the Dark Continent had once again been completely refreshed.
She had originally thought the gaseous lifeforms in the land of yellow sand were already outrageous, but she never expected to encounter an even more illogical existence immediately after leaving that desert.
Hearing this, Kalluto, Menchi, and the others, feeling a deep sense of agreement, leaned down and gently stroked the Chimera's scales.
Humans were simply too small here.
Even the Chimera, whose size far surpassed that of a blue whale, seemed insignificant on this continent.
But the biological abilities it possessed were indeed a reliance that was difficult for humans to attain.
And this sense of security was proving its crucial role at this very moment.
However, in the sky ahead, amidst the churning clouds, translucent tentacles like the spines of mountain ranges suddenly descended, neatly encircling the entire visible airspace as if in formation.
What!?
Everyone's heart jolted violently.
Could there be two of them?
The thought flashed through their minds.
Immediately after, an even more heart-pounding word emerged.
A hunt?
"Chimera, stop!"
Morrow's pupils constricted. He quickly lifted his foot and stomped lightly on the Chimera's back.
The Chimera immediately decelerated, attempting to hover in the air.
A human-like terror appeared in the beastly eyes on its arched, bird-like head.
At this very moment, the sky in all directions was shrouded by tentacles descending from the clouds, like a giant beaded curtain connecting heaven and earth.
And amidst the roiling clouds, the faint, grayish-black form of a colossal body could be seen slowly undulating.
Morrow's expression was grave, and an image of a blue whale feeding involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
These tentacles descending from all sides were just like the baleen plates on the edge of a blue whale's mouth when it opens its maw.
And they, along with all the fleeing creatures in their field of vision, were like krill trapped within that giant mouth.
The Chimera hovered in mid-air, and the fleeing flying creatures from behind gradually drew closer.
The smallest among them was several times the size of the Chimera.
But at this moment, they were all like startled birds, chaotically colliding within the limited airspace.
The tentacles descending from the clouds were already approaching the ground, like a giant net that was constantly closing in.
A few flying creatures, unable to bear the pressure, began to slow down and descend, crashing heavily onto the ground covered in brown, withered leaves.
The airflow from their fall stirred up a sky full of dead leaves.
Morrow focused his gaze and discovered that each leaf was as large as a human head.
And the giant creatures that landed on the pile of dead leaves did not suffer any attacks.
"The ground might be safe."
Witnessing this scene, Morrow speculated.
Although this place had an eerie feel to it, at least for now, it showed no signs of threat.
Just as he was pondering, the tips of the tentacles descending from the sky stopped extending when they were about forty to fifty meters from the ground.
That seemed to be the maximum length they could reach.
"What do we do now?"
Gel kept a close watch on the movements around them.
She also noticed that although the tentacles had stopped extending, they were closing in at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This sign was practically a hunt.
As for the other creatures trapped within, some had already landed on the piles of dead leaves on the ground, while others flew straight towards the encircling tentacles, seemingly trying to escape this barrier through the gaps between them.
"Let's wait. Let them scout the path."
Morrow calmly observed the movements of the creatures on the ground and in the air.
Being small had its advantages.
At the very least, these more conspicuous giants could test the potential threats first.
If the leaf-covered ground below was indeed safe, he could have the Chimera land temporarily to get as far away from the aerial tentacles as possible.
If the creatures attempting to pass through the gaps between the tentacles managed to get through safely without anything happening, then the Chimera could also follow suit and leave this place of trouble.
In any case, their presence was minuscule at the moment, and there were more eye-catching beings to test these unknown dangers.
The others deeply agreed with this and immediately watched the situation with grave expressions.
They had been on the Dark Continent for less than three days and had already been caught off guard by such a terrifying scene.
They had a faint feeling that no matter what bizarre sights they encountered next, they would probably be able to accept them more quickly.
In this ecosystem that defied common sense, no matter how powerful an individual was, they were nothing more than a speck of dust drifting in the wind.
What made one feel even more powerless was that, even setting aside these behemoths, this continent was still scattered with numerous calamities capable of easily overthrowing human civilization.
Gel and the others now seemed to understand why Chairman Netero had been so resolute in preventing the world from setting foot in this place back then.
Morrow's understanding of the Dark Continent was deeper than his teammates'.
His mood right now was also very complicated.
The six continents where humanity resided were perhaps situated on thin ice, liable to be overturned and destroyed at any moment.
Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, a sudden change occurred.
The creatures attempting to pass through the gaps between the tentacles were finally attacked.
Before this, Morrow and his party had at most anticipated that the tentacles would actively entangle and attack, or perhaps spray a corrosive acid-like liquid at the prey within their range.
But their thinking was ultimately limited by common sense.
What they saw before them was the jelly-like surface of the tentacles stretching open numerous sucker-like mouths, from which torrents of blue flames erupted, instantly engulfing all the nearby flying creatures.
The creatures at the very front didn't even last a few seconds before being burned directly to charcoal and falling from the sky.
Meanwhile, the other tentacles that hadn't participated in the attack coiled flexibly, precisely wrapping around the falling corpses of the creatures.
Witnessing this, Morrow's expression changed slightly, and he immediately dismissed the idea of passing through the tentacles.
This was because the flames erupting from the numerous tentacles not only had a terrifying temperature but also sealed off all possible space for evasion.
Even flying creatures of that immense size were burned to a blackened state within seconds.
Even if they were lucky enough to avoid the flames, they would probably be cooked by the instantaneous high-temperature airflow.
So, from any angle, the risk was despairingly high.
With the lesson learned from these flying creatures, the group unanimously turned their gaze to the ground below.
In stark contrast to the inferno in the sky, the land covered in dead leaves was exceptionally calm, with no abnormalities to be seen.
"Should we go down?"
Biscuit asked in a solemn voice, then calmly added, "But if the tentacles continue to close in, we'll have a hard time avoiding that scale of flame attack on the ground as well."
Faced with such a desperate situation, among the Nen system that humans had mastered, it seemed only avoidance-type abilities held the most practical value.
For example, Knov's Hide and Seek.
If he were here, the team could immediately retreat into that independent space and monitor the outside world in real-time through the Infinite Hive Window.
But reality had no "ifs."
Even in the original story, when the Hunter Association was coerced by Beyond into going to the Dark Continent, creating a huge demand for storage and transportation, they still couldn't persuade Knov to join them.
It seemed that people who could develop special avoidance abilities based on their personality traits were naturally inclined to be averse to extremely dangerous places like the Dark Continent.
This almost seemed to be a fated pattern.
"I don't think tentacles of that scale can close in to a very small area..."
Morrow looked up at the grayish-black body undulating amidst the churning clouds and sighed softly, "Besides, we don't have a better choice for now."
"Mm."
Biscuit nodded lightly, inclined to trust Morrow's judgment.
The others reacted similarly, all entrusting the decision-making to Morrow.
A moment later, the Chimera landed steadily on the ground covered in dead leaves.
Although its movements were already exceptionally gentle, the flapping of its wings still unavoidably sent a flurry of dead leaves flying.
Standing on the Chimera's back, Morrow reached out a hand, coated his palm with Gyo, and precisely caught a dead leaf that came fluttering over.
It was extremely light in his hand.
That was the most direct tactile sensation.
He looked down at the dead leaf in his hand, which had a diameter like a bowling ball. It was brown all over, its surface covered in dry wrinkles, and between the wrinkles, vein-like patterns resembling teeth marks could be seen.
This was indeed just a shriveled, dead leaf.
But for some reason, why were so many piled up here?
If they had been blown here from afar by the wind, it didn't seem logical.
After all, as far as the eye could see, there was no trace of any trees, let alone a forest.
Morrow tossed the dead leaf away, his gaze shifting to the flying creatures lying prone on the piles of dead leaves.
They had various forms.
The only commonality was their astonishing size and the defensive structures covering their bodies.
Either hard skin densely covered with sharp spikes, or layered scales like the Chimera's.
These physical traits were clearly defensive mechanisms evolved to resist predators.
This also served as indirect proof of the cruel nature of the Dark Continent's ecosystem, where the drama of hunting and feeding played out everywhere.
And for the creatures here, only by constantly evolving could they continue their species' flame in this endless race for survival.
Drip.
A raindrop suddenly fell from the sky, splashing into fine droplets on the Chimera's scales.
Feeling the raindrop, Morrow and his party subconsciously looked up.
Perhaps due to the influence of the earlier torrential flames, it had suddenly started to rain.
In just a moment, the rain suddenly intensified, pouring down like a shower.
And just as the sound of the rain grew louder, a terrified roar suddenly came from the distance.
The group immediately followed the sound.
In the pouring rain, a flying creature lying prone on the ground had, at some point, been covered by layers of brown, dead leaves.
Those dead leaves were now writhing like maggots. Soaked by the rain, the originally shriveled leaves gradually became plump, swelling at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Immediately after, the writhing speed of the dead leaves suddenly accelerated, and the flying creature's roars came to an abrupt halt.
In just two or three seconds, the swollen dead leaves scattered, and the massive flying creature had vanished into thin air, leaving not a single trace behind.
"What's going on?!"
Morrow abruptly looked at the pile of dead leaves on the ground nearby.
Countless dead leaves, washed by the rain, were rapidly floating up and swelling like shrimp crackers thrown into hot oil.
And the tooth-like patterns previously mistaken for leaf veins had now transformed into fierce mouthparts, writhing and tangling with each other, making one's scalp tingle.
So that flying creature just now, was it devoured completely in two or three seconds?
Thinking of this possibility, a chill instantly shot up everyone's spine.
Because this place, as far as the eye could see, was densely packed with dead leaves.