The bone wall used to defend against underground creatures had been destroyed to such a miserable state.
It was predictable that the human tribe inside the wall couldn't have escaped unscathed.
And the result Tonpa probed was empty, no one, just like the situation in the Slu Tribe's settlement.
However, there was an essential difference between the Slu Tribe's settlement and this tribe's settlement.
The Slu Tribe's settlement was built inside the Vein Stone. The entrance's height and width were limited, making it difficult for Bone Clan creatures, whose size far surpassed humans, to pass through that entrance.
But this settlement was different, with only a wall as defense.
Once the wall collapsed, countless Bone Clan creatures could swarm in, devouring all the humans inside the settlement.
So, when Tonpa probed and found the settlement empty, the first thing Law thought of was that the Bone Clan had overrun this human settlement.
"Stay alert."
Everyone slowly passed through a breach in the wall.
The light algae's illumination range was limited, so Law had Kuro carry a sufficient amount of light algae, flying into mid-air to become a large light bulb.
With the light converted from Nen by Kuro, everyone instantly saw the situation inside the human settlement clearly… it was already a scene of devastated ruins.
Looking around, not a single intact building remained.
Everyone silently looked at the settlement ruins, deeply feeling how incredibly difficult survival on the Dark Continent truly was.
Building a home here, like this one, must have required immense effort, no one knew how much.
But no matter how long it was maintained, a home could be destroyed overnight at any time.
Then, the team split up to search. Half an hour later, they regrouped… almost everyone had made some discovery.
"The houses were destroyed by brute force collision. Things scattered on the ground have been trampled on."
"I checked many places, and couldn't find a single trace of blood. Same for you guys?"
"Right, only found some scraps of cloth."
"Same here."
"Really strange. If it was a large-scale Bone Clan invasion, it's impossible there isn't a single trace of blood."
"Could it be...?"
After integrating all the information, everyone inevitably suspected that the culprit behind this human settlement's downfall was the same unknown entity that wiped out the Slu Tribe.
But unfortunately, besides these discoveries at the scene, it was difficult to find any more useful information.
No matter what traces were left behind afterward, none were as important as a survivor.
Having gained virtually no knowledge from this, the group didn't linger and headed directly to the lava region.
By now, Law also began to have a sense of crisis.
He didn't know what kind of dangerous unknown entity had infiltrated the underground world, nor whether that entity was still in the underground world, and even less why human settlements were destroyed while the Bone Clan remained alive and kicking?
Just thinking about it was like a ticking time bomb, causing anxiety.
With limited intelligence at hand, Law didn't plan to investigate further.
That was the Dark Continent for you: just when you thought you'd seen enough, some unimaginably bizarre entity would appear and easily wipe you out.
Three days later, the team arrived unimpeded at the entrance to the lava region.
It was a cave opening emitting red light. Even from far away, they could feel the hot, sulfur-scented wind blowing against their faces.
Initially, when they heard Law was going to the lava region to collect Grass Jelly, they thought it would be like operating near a volcanic crater.
But upon arrival, they realized it meant going directly into the lava.
"Law, are you going in alone?" Machi asked worriedly.
"Yes, I have my Domain and Grass Jelly. Don't worry about me. Besides, Kuro is accompanying me. If the situation gets critical, I can use him as a stepping stone," Law smiled at Machi.
"..."
Kuro forced a polite smile.
Nique quietly cast a sympathetic glance at Kuro.
Ging really wanted to go in too, but he knew following in wouldn't help and might even hold them back.
"The Grass Jelly quantity is limited. Even if I wanted to take you all in, I couldn't. Anyway, just wait here."
"Be careful!"
Everyone watched as Law and Kuro entered the cave opening emitting high-temperature red light.
"I'm really envious of Law's abilities. It seems he can overcome any dangerous environment," Shiro sighed.
"And he can make swords," Nobunaga stroked the hilt of his sword.
Ging regretted not being able to witness it firsthand, but then he thought of Nique and had him use his [Unseen Things] ability.
The little fox Nen Beast was summoned by Nique, projecting the live feed onto a wall.
Thus, everyone was only lacking chairs.
Watching his teammates all focused on the scene reflected by the little fox, Biscuit shook her head slightly and reminded, "We can't let our guard down here either."
This place was adjacent to the lava region entrance, with a harsh, stiflingly hot environment.
Even so, Bone Clan creatures still visited.
Tonpa, responsible for the perimeter alert, nodded and suddenly suggested, "Hey, how about taking out the Silk Cocoon Pearl? It's weirdly hot here."
Just staying here for a short while, he was already sweating from the stifling heat.
"Good idea!"
Sheila's eyes lit up.
Knov remained silent for a moment. Seeing almost everyone agreed with the idea, he could only comply with popular opinion and took out the Silk Cocoon Pearl, which functioned as a 'refrigerator', from his Hide-and-Seek.
The cold emanating from the Silk Cocoon Pearl instantly dispelled the heat coming from the lava region.
Everyone felt the comfort of suddenly moving from a hot region to an air-conditioned room. Watching the projected scene became much more pleasant too.
Inside the lava region, Law and Kuro were unaware of the situation outside. Who knows what they'd think if they knew.
"The terrain seems to have changed a lot."
Following the sloping tunnel downward, after traveling a distance, the ground, walls, and cave ceiling were all covered in vein-like lava patterns, shimmering with red light indicating high temperature.
Law advanced by stepping on air and found the terrain structure was very different from before.
Thinking it might be caused by a lava eruption, he didn't pay it much mind.
Soon, the man and cat arrived at the lava field where Grass Jelly and Fire Chickens might appear.
Everywhere within sight was a fiery red, casting a vivid crimson glow, as if made of red-hot iron.
"Help me look."
Law, stepping on air, looked around in all directions.
They could do without Fire Chickens, but Grass Jelly was absolutely necessary.
After wandering around a large area, they finally found one stalk of Grass Jelly rooted in the scorching lava ground.
Law quickly lowered his altitude and carefully dug out the Grass Jelly, roots and all.
Placing the Grass Jelly into Kuro's space, the two continued to wander in the heart of the lava field.
…
An hour passed, and Law hadn't come out yet.
With the live broadcast, Ging and the others weren't worried, just lamenting the scarcity of Grass Jelly.
They watched Law wander in the lava region for almost forty minutes, only managing to find three stalks of Grass Jelly. As for the Fire Chicken, which is praised by Kuro as a top-tier ingredient, they hadn't seen even a single feather.
"Don't know why, I keep feeling an inescapable sense of guilt," Nique said, watching Law diligently searching for Grass Jelly in the scene.
"Those who can, take on the task," Shiro exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Alright."
Nique glanced at Shiro, feeling he made a good point.
Tonpa suddenly said, "Something's coming. One."
"Oh?"
Everyone perked up immediately.
"Which direction?" Uvogin asked eagerly.
"That way."
Tonpa pointed in a certain direction.
Everyone looked in the direction Tonpa pointed. They didn't see anything yet, but they heard a slightly rapid clattering of bones.
Soon, a skeletal figure stepped into the light range and came into everyone's view.