"Failure?"
The shadow mass spoke with an aged female voice.
Simultaneously, an eye manifested on the right side of the pitch-black head shape.
The eye's pupil was slender and ink-black, standing vertically within the white of the eye, as cold as snow.
It was a black vertical pupil. After opening from within the shadow, it was surrounded by a bright aura glow.
Opening its eye, Coo stared at the magical beast with its head lowered.
Feeling Coo's gaze upon him, the magical beast's body trembled slightly.
Red Shadow turned to look at Coo and explained, "The companions sent to eliminate the threat failed."
Hearing Red Shadow's words, the pupil in Coo's eye suddenly shifted, looking at Red Shadow with its gloomy expression. "How do you define a threat?"
Red Shadow remained silent for a moment before responding, "Any human coming from Lake Mobius is a threat that must be eradicated."
Upon hearing this, Coo snorted coldly and didn't pursue the topic further. Instead, she asked, "How many died?"
Red Shadow's gaze deepened. He didn't answer immediately but looked at the lowered-head magical beast. "All of them?"
"Y-Yes!"
Having the answer, Red Shadow turned his gaze to Coo. "Ten."
Coo's eyes instantly narrowed. She said in a tone devoid of any emotion, "You obtained the Mender's key. Was it ultimately for good or ill?"
Red Shadow remained silent.
This was an unknown question existing in the future.
Therefore, there was no need to explore it.
Looking at the silent red figure, Coo closed her eye, reverting to a pure mass of shadow. Immediately after, she said coldly, "Take me to see the Mender."
"Alright."
Red Shadow agreed, then led the way ahead.
They walked one after the other in the passage.
The former's footsteps were heavy, while the latter walked soundlessly.
The magical beast that came to report remained motionless, not daring to raise its head even after the footsteps faded.
Red Shadow led Coo to the stone chamber where the stone book was placed.
The magical beasts who had witnessed the battle in the Ancient Labyrinth City through the True Sight Eye were all there. Spear Flower, having overused her ability, was sitting exhausted on a large puddle of sweat, resting with her eyes closed.
Seeing the shadow mass standing alongside Red Shadow, the magical beasts in the stone chamber were all startled, their glances at the shadow mass containing a trace of wariness.
Coo ignored the reactions of the many 'clanmates' present and went straight to the stone book.
She stood there, quietly looking at the stone book, saying nothing.
Red Shadow came behind her, also silent. The other clanmates present watched them holding their breath.
About a few minutes passed. Coo suddenly sighed, "Long time no see, Mender. No, I should call you now... the deceased Mender."
After saying this, she suddenly turned around to look at Red Shadow.
Although the shadow had no visible eyes, Red Shadow could still feel a gaze falling upon him.
"Open it," Coo said.
Red Shadow didn't hesitate in the slightest. He stepped forward several steps and pressed his hand onto the handprint outline below the stone book.
With his action, shadowy images slowly materialized on the open page of the stone book, hovering between clarity and blurriness.
The images were divided into several clusters. One vaguely showed Don Freecss sitting silently on the Ink Plain. Another showed Law's group gathered inside a building in the Ancient Labyrinth City. Yet another showed the Hunter Association and Beyond's teams in another huge ruin.
The shadowy images paused for a moment, then dissolved into vortices and vanished.
Coo's black vertical pupil abruptly manifested, still the single eye on the right, as she said flatly, "He's still there."
"Yes."
Red Shadow acknowledged, knowing Coo's 'he' referred to Don on the Ink Plain.
"How many were sent to deal with him?"
"Five, because Spear Flower can only transport five at a time."
"What about the other five?" Coo sensed something, a glint flashing in her pupil.
"They went to the Ancient Labyrinth City. The humans there are also strong."
"Oh?"
Coo was clearly a bit surprised. After a moment, she said coldly, "I want to know everything."
Subsequently, Red Shadow told Coo all the information he had.
Since the clan's transformation, they had initiated two operations.
One was targeting Don on the Ink Plain, which ended in failure.
The other was targeting Law's group in the Ancient Labyrinth City, also ending in failure. But it wasn't without gains… they at least wiped out the International Permit Agencies' team.
However, one of the Calamities, Wither, was now in the hands of that human in the labyrinth city, a hidden danger that couldn't be ignored.
As for the other two human groups that came to the Dark Continent, Red Shadow discovered they were fighting each other, so he temporarily had no plans to act.
Those two human groups were the Hunter Association and Beyond's team.
The Gatekeeper Clan's goal was to eliminate all humans coming from Lake Mobius. Because the Hunter Association and Beyond's teams showed signs of fighting each other, Red Shadow shifted his focus first to Don and Law's group.
Coo silently processed the information from Red Shadow. A trembling arm suddenly extended from her shadow mass, pointing directly at Spear Flower sitting in her own sweat. "Have her send me to the Ink Plain."
Red Shadow looked at Spear Flower, who was resting with her eyes closed. "Spear Flower, can you do it?"
Spear Flower opened her eyes, exhausted. "For one, I can barely manage."
"Alright."
Afterwards, Spear Flower used her ability to send Coo to the Ink Plain.
At that moment, Don, wearing tattered black robes, was sitting cross-legged on the ground. About a meter before him stood the approximately three-meter-tall, entirely crystal-clear, leafless Y-shaped tree.
Don tilted his head slightly, gazing at the leafless tree so close with a calm, water-like look, as if admiring one of the world's most beautiful things.
He had been sitting here for a long time.
Suddenly, on the Ink Plain several meters behind him, an eye-plant manifested out of thin air.
As Aura flowed, Coo's figure materialized accordingly.
Sensing the Aura Fluctuation, Don didn't even turn his head. He simply raised his hand, used the algae, converted Aura into pure water, and put it into his mouth.
Coo looked at Don's back. After a moment, she took several large strides to Don's side and sat down cross-legged.
Her movements while walking were large and intense, seemingly disregarding the [Water Consumption Rule] on the Ink Plain.
After sitting down, the shadow covering her face dissipated like dispersing dark clouds, revealing a pair of aged yet still sharp black vertical pupils.
She stared at the single leafless tree on the vast Ink Plain and said, "This is a good thing."
"Yes," Don replied calmly.
"Not taking it?"
"No."
"Then why are you here?"
Hearing this, Don looked strangely at Coo and said, "Because I haven't been here before."
"..."
Looking at the suddenly silent Coo, Don then asked, "Here to kill me?"
"Not now," Coo said coldly.
"Oh."
Don turned back, continuing to admire the flowing luster on the leafless tree's body.
Silence reigned for a long while. Coo suddenly said, "Staying here, you'll die sooner or later."
Don said, "I still have unfinished business, so I won't die."
'Here' didn't refer to the Ink Plain, but the Dark Continent.
Coo turned her head to stare at Don, saying coldly, "Those standing above the boundary line aren't just us Gatekeepers."
"I know. Besides you, there are also those 'people' fond of 'relics'."
Western Dark Continent, Ancient Underground Ruins.
In a dilapidated passage overgrown with mottled vines, some sunlight filtered through stone crevices, falling on the ground, forming irregular globes of light.
A tall, slender figure rushed out from a cross-shaped corner within the passage, stepping on the light globes before quickly vanishing into darkness, then pressing close against a wall.
The figure cautiously peered out with half its head. The sunlight falling through the stone crevice illuminated its appearance… it was the Zodiacs' member, Gel.
At that moment, her expression was tense, her breathing exceptionally rapid.
'Damn it...!'
She bit her thumb hard, hurrying to calm her breathing.
She was separated from the team...
In this environment full of unknown dangers, being separated from the team was fatal.
Clack, clack.
Suddenly, from the direction she was looking towards, the sound of gears turning came from the end.
'It's here!'
Gel's pupils contracted, nervously staring at the faintly visible ruin lifeform at the passage's end!