Kuro brought accurate news.
Thus, the presence of the silver-haired woman imposed a layer of tangible pressure on everyone.
"Knov."
Law's eyes focused, suddenly looking at Knov.
Knov responded directly with action. With a raise of his hand, a pitch-black circular passage opened on the ground glowing with milky white light.
"Support members, get inside. Quick."
Law urged, then stared intently in the direction from which Kuro had come.
Kuro had come running back in a panic, then suddenly realized he could not ruin his image before Coo. He quickly adjusted his emotions, putting on a fearless look.
However, Coo did not notice him at all. Like Law, she stared intently in the direction of the Aura, ready for battle at any moment.
Support members like Sheila and Salin quickly entered the Hide-and-Seek Dimension. The Aura was approaching at a steady, unhurried pace.
Kuro retreated to Law's side and said calmly, "The Skeleton is with the Mender."
"Hmm?"
Law glanced at Kuro.
"But the Skeleton's situation is very bad."
"How so?"
"Though it was very rushed, I am certain... the red light inside the Skeleton's body is gone."
"Is that so..."
Law sighed softly. He knew very well what the extinguishing of the red light meant.
"That guy is quite unlucky. The Mender is carrying him like trash. I do not know why the Mender is doing that."
Kuro's tone when he spoke did not contain a trace of gloating, yet his words carried a hint of it.
Law did not respond. From the corner of his eye, he watched the situation with Knov.
Soon, only Knov was left at the entrance of the passage.
"Go."
Law nodded to Knov.
Knov pressed his lips together and jumped into the black passage.
Then, the passage closed.
With the support members hiding in the Hide-and-Seek Dimension, the only ones left on the scene were the combatants: Biscuit, Buhara, Uvogin, Nobunaga, Machi, Ging, Law, Coo, and Kuro.
In addition, there was Chucu, grabbed by Biscuit.
Nobunaga, holding the patterned stone longsword reinforced with poison, suddenly placed it against Chucu.
Chucu was startled, throwing a gaze containing a hint of anger at Nobunaga.
"This thing is useless now, shall we just cut it?"
"Yes."
Law agreed.
Originally, Chucu had been kept to guide them to the Mender.
Now that the Mender was coming to them, there was no need to keep her.
If Law were not currently controlling the silver-haired woman, he might not have needed Nobunaga to act for him... he could have used the White Smoke Font to absorb Chucu directly.
However, absorbing a corpse was the same in essence.
"Wait, let us talk nicely!"
Chucu shouted. What greeted her was Nobunaga's cold immediate chop.
Clang!
The blade landed on Chucu's head, creating a shower of sparks.
"Uh?"
Chucu blinked.
Everyone watched Chucu, unharmed, then looked at Nobunaga, frozen in place. The scene was momentarily awkward.
"Cough, this thing's head is too slippery."
Nobunaga earnestly sought the reason.
Law shook his head slightly. With a thought, he erased the half of Chucu's body sealed in the book page.
"You!"
Chucu suddenly looked at Law.
Just now, she had lost the connection to the other half of her body.
Law looked at Chucu's bottom cut mark, which showed no change, and raised an eyebrow. It seemed erasing that half had done no real harm to Chucu.
When Nobunaga struck Chucu with his blade, Biscuit in her muscular form was also applying pressure on Chucu. However, amidst the sky full of light specks, like Nobunaga, she could not focus all her strength on one point.
Thus, Chucu, whose Manifested Aura surpassed theirs, had the advantage.
"Here it comes."
The silver spikes on Coo's ears and even her back stood on end like fine hairs.
The vertical pupils in her eyes sharply contracted. Nen surged over her body like raging flames.
Everyone looked in the direction of the Aura. The Mender emerged from the light specks, its black, slender arms slightly bent, carrying the Skeleton, who looked like it was about to fall apart, in its hand.
As Kuro had said, the red light in the Skeleton's chest was gone.
The Mender's appearance had not changed, but looking at it up close, its feel was completely different.
It had become... more dangerous!
When it had come to the Hide-and-Seek Dimension before, it had no fighting spirit, so its sense of danger was relatively low. But now it was completely different.
'Was it because we had actively come to look for trouble?'
Everyone mobilized the maximum amount of Nen, ready for battle at any moment.
Their positions were also quite strategic. Not too far apart, but not too close either, in positions that allowed for timely support and encirclement.
The Mender's graffiti-like black eye swept over the situation on the field. Its reaction was very calm. The voice, like a mix of sounds, came from some unspecified location.
"When I saw him, I knew you were here too."
"..."
Law focused without speaking. He had never imagined the Mender would actively speak.
The Mender now gave him a completely different feeling, as if it were not so rigid anymore...
He did not know what changes the Mender had undergone during this time, but he felt it would be even harder to deal with.
Click.
The Mender suddenly let go, letting the Skeleton's bones fall to the ground with a sound.
"If you can leave immediately, I will not do anything to you."
Whoosh!
Before the Mender's words faded, Coo moved first.
Her powerful, streamlined body turned into a black bolt of lightning, striking the Mender's body in an instant.
The black light dissipated, revealing Coo's body.
Her dozens of silver spikes converged to a single point, landing on the Mender's graffiti-like eye, yet not even a spark was emitted, let alone piercing it.
"So, this is your response."
The Mender slightly raised its hand. Before it could make any obvious move, Coo quickly retreated, appearing very alert.
She looked at the Mender's unharmed eye, her expression gloomy.
She had to admit, the Mender's level surpassed that of the Magical Beasts. With her ability, even breaking its defense was extremely difficult.
As for breaking its defense, the only hope was Law.
The reason Coo valued Law's cooperative potential was his ability.
It was a powerful ability that could challenge beyond levels, and it was that ability that made Coo see the possibility of defeating the Mender.
The Mender looked at Coo, who had rapidly retreated, still showing little reaction. Its raised right hand pulled a branch-like pen from its cover.
"Actually, I am quite grateful for his arrival."
The Mender looked at the group of humans before it and said something they found inexplicable.
'He? Who was he referring to?'
"Ging, take this woman away."
Law put aside any meaningless speculation, his focus unprecedented.
Hearing this, Ging immediately activated his ability, selecting the silver-haired woman as his opponent.
In an instant, Ging and the silver-haired woman vanished from the spot.
At the same time, Law regained his freedom. As he pulled away Shin, he flashed to Biscuit's side and snatched the half of Chucu's body.
"No!"
Before Chucu's words could leave her mouth, she was absorbed by Law.
The black energy bar in the White Smoke Font's space immediately rose sharply.
At the same time, the absorbed Chucu left behind a small, milky white round stone that looked very much like candy.
Law instinctively caught the candy-like small stone. He could not help but think of something.