Chapter 160: The Phantom's Threat
Riku stood amidst the flickering lightning and the chaotic dark tide, feeling the oppressive pressure originating from the void. His gaze was fixed on the gradually manifesting phantom, his chest heaving slightly, his heartbeat suddenly accelerating. The man in the phantom, wearing a worn exploration jacket, his face weathered by wind and frost, yet those eyes were exceptionally clear and profound, as if able to pierce through everything.
"Dark Continent?" Riku's voice was calm and steady, but the fluctuations in his heart could not be ignored. He could feel that the appearance of this phantom heralded the descent of some unknown, terrifying power.
Gon's voice once again shattered this deathly silence. "Dad?!" His eyes were filled with confusion and shock. That feeling of disbelief made Riku's heart sink slightly.
The man in the phantom wore a cynical smile at the corner of his mouth and slowly spoke: "Heh, I really didn't expect my son to be having so much fun playing with you guys." His voice was full of mockery, yet carried an indescribable oppressive might.
Riku was not completely awed by the situation before him. He raised his right hand and rapidly operated his "AT Field - Modified". Even facing such a massive threat, he did not shrink back the slightest bit.
However, the man's eyes shifted, as if seeing through all of Riku's defenses. "You people still don't understand the true test you are about to face." He suddenly smiled, his words full of provocation. "Are you ready to welcome the descent of the 'Dark Continent'?"
Instantly, an unprecedented dark aura erupted from the phantom, and the entire arena seemed to be enveloped by this power. The oppressive feeling in the air grew stronger, and everyone could feel a heaviness in their bodies and minds, as if the gravity of the entire world had multiplied in an instant.
Riku clenched his fists, holding his breath, and the Lightning Core within his body erupted with a brilliant radiance. He knew that the enemy this time was absolutely unlike any he had faced before.
"You think you can threaten me like this?" Riku said coldly, the Lightning Core in his hand gradually being stimulated to release more energy. He would not allow anyone, especially such an unfamiliar existence, to challenge his bottom line.
The man in the phantom laughed even more wantonly, as if everything was already under his control. "Your efforts are nothing but in vain." Before his voice faded, suddenly, the entire dark tide swept towards Riku like a flood.
At this moment, Riku's expression did not relax the slightest bit. He rapidly operated the lightning and Nen around his body, preparing to meet the menacing dark fluctuation. However, he did not expect that the dark tide was not a simple energy impact; it was full of a bizarre aura, and that power was seeping into his consciousness.
He only felt a violent, piercing pain in his mind, as if countless dark thoughts were twisting his thinking. Riku forcefully focused his mind, relying on his "AT Field" to desperately protect his body, but the fluctuations in his heart still could not be calmed.
"Oh no..." Riku's heart tightened. This power was extremely bizarre, seemingly challenging the limits of his willpower.
However, right at this moment, a dangerous smile curled at the corner of the man's mouth in the phantom, his words low like thunder: "This is only the beginning. The true 'Dark Continent' has only just descended."
The power of the dark tide grew more turbulent, gradually exceeding the range Riku could control. His "AT Field" seemed to have begun to show cracks, and the dark aura seeped into every inch of his skin like a venomous snake, making him feel incredibly weak.
"Gon! Killua! Biscuit!" Riku shouted urgently while activating his Nen.
He knew the enemy before him was far more than a simple phantom. Behind this projection seemed to lurk a much larger conspiracy, a more powerful dark force, and the "descent of the Dark Continent" signaled that an unknown catastrophe was about to unfold.
His heart rate accelerated; the situation before him was becoming increasingly critical. In this suffocating dark tide, the only thing he could rely on was the strength of his own soul, which would not yield.
"Must break through all of this..." Riku muttered to himself, a flash of determination in his eyes.
The dark Nen tide tore through space and scoured his mind. Every wisp of that aura seemed to hiss, whisper, and tempt. Riku gritted his teeth, channeling the Lightning Core with all his might to shield his body, but the surface of the AT Field was already covered in cobweb-like fissures. Its pale golden radiance was precarious, on the verge of total collapse.
"Retreat!" He barked a sharp command, his figure darting swiftly as he swept Gon and Killua into his remaining field, surrounded by scorching lightning.
Meanwhile, where Razor had vanished, the vortex of dark Nen stabilized, and the man's phantom still hovered in the air. Only now, his body was beginning to solidify, as if he were truly utilizing the polluted rule core to materialize!
"My name..." the man whispered, his gaze drifting across everyone, finally locking onto Riku. A smile of extreme danger slowly spread across his lips. "Ging Freecss. You may call me—the Hunter of the End."
Riku's eyes narrowed!
"Ging... no, this isn't Gon's father!" His eyes squinted, the Lightning Core quietly condensing, his combat instincts igniting his vigilance in an instant.
This wasn't the real Ging, but some sort of consciousness projection hijacked by Dark Continent rules! If it were truly as he claimed—that he was one of the Will Fragments projected by the "Dark Continent"—then his arrival was perhaps the prelude to this entire world collapsing.
"Your power... the system cannot record it..." Alarm bells rang in Riku's mind. His system panel was currently a gray, blank screen—indicating the opponent exceeded the boundary of trait identification! This was the first time. Yet the "Ging" phantom approached step by step like a ghost. Everywhere he walked, the ground cracked inch by inch, and space, like thin paper being ignited, was devoured bit by bit.
"But... your power is very interesting to me..." His voice rang out in everyone's minds, mixed with noise and thunder.
"Riku, don't face him head-on!" Biscuit roared. Her pupils were extremely contracted; she keenly sensed that this was not a level she could interfere with.
But Riku did not retreat. He gently stroked the Lightning Core with his left hand, and his right hand violently flipped his system panel, forcefully unlocking an emergency trait awakening mechanism—
[Forced Activation · Hunter's Mark]: When encountering an unknown lifeform with an unidentifiable level, one can use the traits of residual corpses within a five-kilometer radius to construct a defensive fusion module. Duration: 30 seconds; Cooldown: 30 days.
Riku didn't hesitate; he activated it immediately!
—Hum!
The next second, countless silvery-white electric arcs flashed beneath his feet. Those were the remains of the enemy he had just killed—"Gotoh"—which hadn't completely cooled yet. In a flash, the system screen flickered with a golden light:
[Plunder Successful: Trait · Enhancement Type · Giant Ape Arm Bones (A-Rank)]
[Plunder Successful: Trait · Nen Needle Perception Link-Break Resistance (A-Rank)]
[Plunder Successful: Trait · Semi-Body Hardening Reinforcement (B-Rank)]