Chapter 157: The Crater!
"Ahahaha! Delicious! Too delicious! Chrollo... all your abilities... all your memories... are mine! Guhehehe..."
Hisoka's utterly maniacal voice also echoed overlappingly, full of sick satisfaction and the glee of revenge!
The power of the Blood Soul Card had actually undergone a terrifying mutation the instant Chrollo was driven to a desperate corner by Hisoka's Blood Soul in the real world and his mental defenses collapsed! It didn't kill Chrollo directly; instead, like a gluttonous feast, it forcefully "devoured" his soul, Nen abilities, and even part of his life essence into Hisoka's vengeful Blood Soul!
This scene was bloody, bizarre, and terrifying to the extreme! It was like a scroll depicting hell unfurling in the human world!
[Ding! Special soul fusion phenomenon detected... Blood Soul Card: Hisoka is undergoing unknown evolution...]
[Trait Plunder triggered! Target: Fusion Mutant (Chrollo's Soul Core + Hisoka's Vengeful Blood Soul)...]
[Plundering in progress...]
[Congratulations on acquiring a brand new composite trait: Wraith's Feast - Dark Gold!]
[Wraith's Feast - Dark Gold]: Formed by the mutation of the Blood Soul Card fused with a soul essence of extreme resentment and obsession.
Can be actively released or mark a target to devour their soul essence, memory fragments, and partial Nen abilities (success rate and completeness depend on the gap in mental willpower between both parties).
Upon successful devouring, a special "Wraith Mark" is formed, which can briefly channel parts of the devoured individual's former power (materialization degree and power depend on the fusion rate).
This ability carries a severe risk of backlash and requires powerful mental energy to suppress.
The icy system prompt rang out in Riku's mind, accompanied by a massive influx of cold, viscous information filled with resentment and maniacal thoughts! Even with Riku's formidable mental energy, he felt a sharp pain in his sea of consciousness. Countless memory fragments belonging to Chrollo (the true meaning of Bandit's Secret, the Troupe's past, the darkness of Meteor City) and Hisoka's twisted obsessions (his sick obsession with fighting, his hatred for Chrollo, his thirst for strong opponents) crashed against his consciousness like a burst dam!
"Hmph!"
Riku gave a muffled grunt, the lightning in his eyes surging as he forcefully suppressed this chaotic mental impact.
He looked at the twisting, expanding fusion mutant in the air, which was constantly emitting agonized and maniacal roars, a strange light mingling with the coldness in his eyes.
A Dark Gold-tier trait! And a powerful composite ability directly related to souls and plundering! The value of this unexpected harvest might even exceed that "key" crystal!
"Hisoka... Chrollo..."
Ging looked up at the writhing amalgamation of wraiths in the sky. He frowned imperceptibly, a trace of complexity flashing through his eyes before he recovered his detached, world-weary demeanor. "Truly... never a quiet moment."
Zeno, Beyond, and the others were also awed by this sudden, terrifying spectacle originating from the soul level. Even powerhouses like them felt an instinctive wariness facing this bizarre phenomenon involving soul devouring.
And right at this moment, the hovering seven-colored crystal, seemingly stimulated dually by the violently fluctuating wraith energy in the air and the peculiar "field" emanating from Ging below, suddenly erupted with an unprecedentedly brilliant light!
Buzz—!!!!
A seven-colored pillar of light shot into the sky, no longer a gentle flow, but carrying a sharpness and summoning intent that pierced the void! The top of the light pillar did not point toward the arena's dome, but... shot straight into the depths of the still-open spatial rift leading to the Dark Continent behind Ging!
Where the light pillar passed, chaotic energy turbulence was forcefully smoothed out, and the collapsing spatial structure seemed to gain temporary stability.
A grander, more ancient will, seemingly originating from the world's source, faintly transmitted from the other end of the rift along that seven-colored pillar of light!
"The resonance... has begun."
Ging watched the seven-colored light pillar piercing the heavens, putting away his cynical demeanor, his expression becoming serious and profound. "The coordinates of the 'door' are being activated. The true trial... or rather, the invitation, has been sent out."
His gaze swept over the arena, over Zeno, Beyond, Riku, and all the survivors, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears:
"This 'Ruler's Blessing' was never the final reward of Greed Island. It is a beacon, a ticket, and more importantly... the only 'key' to open the path to the 'Roots of the World Tree'—the true core and place of origin of the Dark Continent! Obtaining it only grants the qualification to step into that ultimate wilderness. Whether you can walk alive to the foot of the 'World Tree' and see the truth of everything... will depend entirely on your own fortune."
Ging's words fell heavily, like a final gavel strike!
The game rules of Greed Island were completely overturned at this moment! The so-called clearing of the game, the so-called rewards, were merely a trivial starting point for the truly grand adventure!
The core of the Dark Continent! The Roots of the World Tree! The origin and truth of everything!
This massive amount of information assaulted everyone's nerves.
Ambition, fear, greed, curiosity... various emotions boiled and clashed silently within the deathly still arena!
The crimson flames in Beyond's eyes burned to their peak; his ambition to conquer the core of the Dark Continent was completely ignited! Zeno's archaic face underwent a change of expression; among the secret intelligence accumulated by the Zoldyck family over a millennium, there seemed to be only fragmented words regarding the "World Tree"—a taboo that even the founding head kept deeply secret!
Riku, feeling the cold power transmitting from his newly acquired [Wraith's Feast - Dark Gold] trait within his body, looked again at the seven-colored light pillar and the profound rift. His plundering instinct generated an unprecedented, intense craving for those so-called "Roots of the World Tree"!
"Key... qualification..."
Riku slowly raised his head, his gaze bypassing the writhing wraith amalgamation, bypassing the brilliant seven-colored light pillar, finally settling on the profound spatial rift behind Ging, which seemed to lead to an endless abyss. A cold and aggressive arc slowly curled at the corners of his mouth.
"The scenery behind that door... I've booked it!"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an iron-clad decisiveness and unquestionable dominance, exploding like a thunderclap above this battlefield that had fallen into a brief, deathly silence due to the massive secret!
"Good!"
When the roar resembling an ancient dragon's resounded, the air in the entire "Crown Arena" seemed to be instantly sucked out.
Time stagnated, space distorted. All survivors—whether the still-terrified players or the administrators desperately maintaining the protective shield—felt their hearts violently squeezed by an invisible, cold giant hand, their blood nearly freezing.
That giant Nen Guanyin statue that had materialized with a crash before Zeno stood dozens of meters tall, its entire body circulating with a warm, vast, milky-white glow. Its thousand arms stretched out, covering a small half of the arena's dome.
Every single giant palm was incredibly distinct, the palm lines like ravines and mountains, containing a compassion that could soothe the earth's wounds, yet also hiding a terrifying might capable of tearing apart stars.
100-Type Guanyin: First Stance - Universal Compassion! The massive palm print carried a peaceful will that made souls tremble, as if aiming to encompass and dissolve all hostility and sharpness in the world, meeting the incandescent lightning spear that tore through space with a gentle yet irresistible force!
The compassionate palm print and the destructive lightning spear! Two opposing entities, both reaching the pinnacle of power, collided fiercely in the very center of the arena within a billionth of a second!
Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!!!!!
An ultimate roar impossible to describe with human language! That sound seemed to originate from the singularity explosion at the birth of the universe, or like the mourning knell of a collapsing plane of existence!
Pure, ultimate light and destructive energy squeezed, annihilated, and exploded frantically at the point of collision! Time lost its meaning in this moment, and space was torn into shattered streams of light.
There was no shockwave, no air current, only an absolute, all-consuming incandescence!
Immediately after, like a volcano suppressed to its absolute limit finally erupting, a substantive energy storm blasted outwards frantically in a destructive, spherical shockwave, centered on the point of collision!
Crack! Boom—!!!
The white arena floor tiles, harder than refined steel and carved with protective runes, were blasted, lifted, and instantly turned into the finest dust in massive sheets, like crackers thrown into a grinder! The ground caved and collapsed frantically, forming a massive crater over a hundred meters in diameter, the cracks on its edges stretching ferociously further out like ugly black centipedes!
On the edge of the arena, the few remaining giant stone pillars carved with ancient runes emitted despairing, mournful groans as the cracking patterns on the pillars instantly expanded and penetrated them! Amidst teeth-setting sounds of splintering, these giant pillars symbolizing the game's rules and stability collapsed and toppled in succession with a rumble, like rotten wood split by an invisible giant axe! Massive chunks of rock, wrapped in annihilating lightning fire and Nen residue, crashed down toward the chaotic crowd below like a meteor shower!
"The dome! The dome is collapsing!"
Someone among the administrators let out a mournful shriek.
The seven-colored Nen barrier enclosing the arena was now like fragile glass repeatedly struck by a heavy hammer, covered in dense, cobweb-like fissures, flashing and flickering frantically! An ear-piercing, sharp buzzing sound, like shattering glass, resounded through the sky. The barrier twisted and fluctuated violently, as if it would completely collapse in the next second, exposing this apocalyptic scene to the firmament of Greed Island!
"Arghhhh—! Save me!!"
A lone Hunter who was slightly too close had his Nen defense torn apart like paper. The violent energy turbulence instantly swept him in, his scream cut off halfway as his body turned to ash in the blinding white light!
"Block it! Hold the line, damn it!"
Soros had long lost his previous composure. His gold-rimmed glasses were shattered, his hair blown into a mess like wild grass by the energy turbulence. He roared hoarsely at Aaron and Lilith in front of him, his fat face twisted and deformed by extreme terror.
The rings on Aaron's ten fingers flashed frantically, invisible Nen threads weaving into overlapping nets in front of him. Lilith spewed out large amounts of pink, viscous poisonous mist in an attempt to corrode and delay the impact. But this fragile defense was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot before the destructive storm. The defensive line formed by the three was pushed violently backward, plowing deep trenches in the ground. Aaron and Lilith bled from their mouths and noses, and Soros was even grazed on the shoulder by a flying boulder attached with annihilating lightning fire. Instantly reduced to a bloody mess, he let out a pig-slaughtering squeal.
Under Razor's eye-splitting roars, the thirty members of the administrator team (original bodies plus Shadow Warriors) pushed their Nen to the absolute limit. The massive protective shield, like a soap bubble in a tempest, deformed and caved in violently, its light dimming rapidly.
Every energy impact caused the administrators within the shield to shudder violently, their faces as pale as paper, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.
Their eyes were filled with unbelievable horror and despair. Their proud guardian strength appeared so insignificant and laughable before the aftermath of the collision between these two non-human mighty powers!
"Pfft!"
Biscuit violently spurted a small mouthful of blood. The pink Nen shield she propped up fluctuated violently; protecting herself, Gon, and Killua was already her limit.
That destructive pressure, like substantive mountains, pressed heavily on her heart, making it incredibly difficult for her to even breathe.
She stared fixedly at the center of the storm. In her gem-like eyes reflected that indomitable giant Guanyin statue and that unyielding incandescent lightning. Stormy waves surged in her heart: "This kind of power... has already transcended the realm of 'Nen'! Ging... exactly what kind of monster did you provoke?!"
"Riku..."
Gon gritted his teeth tightly, his nails digging deeply into his palms, blood dripping through his fingers.
The muscles all over his body trembled instinctively—the fear of a lower organism facing a natural disaster, but mostly it was an unwillingness and a craving! He had never so clearly felt the chasm of power, nor had he ever so strongly craved to become stronger!
Killua's silver hair stood on end, his icy-blue pupils shrinking to pinpricks. The bloodline suppression brought by Illumi seemed to be diluted before this heaven-destroying scene.
He stared fixedly at the lightning pillar that still burned fiercely under the Guanyin's giant palm, his body trembling slightly with extreme excitement and some sort of realization: "So this is... what Riku meant by... 'my fists are the rules'!"
The dust and violent energy turbulence, like a muddy, raging tide, finally began to slowly recede and settle unwillingly after ravaging the area for what felt like a century.
The scene in the center of the arena was like a wasteland ruthlessly split open by a god with a giant axe and then casually discarded.
A massive crater, over two hundred meters in diameter and dozens of meters deep, had replaced the formerly smooth field.
The walls of the crater were scorched black, emitting wisps of green smoke, while dark red magma flowed at the bottom, radiating terrifying high temperatures.
The air was filled with a pungent smell—a mixture of ozone, scorch, and blood.
At opposite ends of the crater.
Beneath Zeno's feet was the only relatively intact circular platform, about ten meters in diameter.
The wide sleeves of his gray martial arts uniform were completely shredded, revealing lean, copper-colored arms as if cast from steel, with veins knotted on them like coiled, angry dragons.
His archaic face showed no trace of its previous relaxed ease, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity, and even... a deeply hidden trepidation! His hands, tucked in his tattered sleeves, trembled slightly, his breathing somewhat heavy.
That indomitable 100-Type Guanyin phantom had long dissipated without a trace, but the residual vast Nen pressure in the air was still suffocatingly heavy.
At the other end of the crater, the incandescent lightning had receded...