Truth X Are You... Human?

"No wonder we couldn't understand what was on those murals."

Anthony's lips were dry.

Although the stone statue in front of me has the appearance and outline of a human, it is not human.

Most importantly, the creatures carved in the stone statues, and the ornaments they wear... are actually human.

The rings on her hands and the necklace around her neck were made of human skulls strung together.

"That's the worst truth ever," Oboro said in a deep voice.

He had just shared his conjecture with the three of them, but now he felt like he had been proven wrong.

Long had once seen a scene in the stone paintings of the Botswa Tribe, in which the ancestors of the Botswa Tribe surrounded a mother monster, and one by one they willingly threw themselves into its mouth to be eaten... In fact, this had already foreshadowed the plight of the human ancestors on the Dark Continent.

However, Oboro felt that it wasn't that simple.

But what we see before us confirms the traditions of the Botswa Tribe.

Why would a human city build a stone statue of a monster and place it in the very center? Judging from the terrain, it seems to be a place of worship.

This creature, despite its hostility towards humans, is revered by humans as God.

This was the truth that Oboro least wanted to accept... so he didn't say it.

The stone tablet beneath the monster statue is inscribed with unintelligible characters and images.

It has the same pattern as the other buildings in the city.

The reason they couldn't understand it was because what was recorded on it wasn't the past or civilization of this human city... but rather the history of the monster before them, the history of this race—memories that didn't belong to humans! Long circled the stone statue, and even though he couldn't understand the murals in general, he could still vaguely discern some of their meaning.

Humans... are simply too weak, lacking any so-called halo or embellishment.

For countless ages, humanity's ancestors eked out a living on the Dark Continent, clinging to powerful creatures through a despicable means.

Although humans have developed their own ways of survival and methods of harnessing life energy, they are still no match for the powerful life forms that roam the Dark Continent.

The only thing we can do is reproduce.

Humanity has continued to reproduce and reproduce, thus preventing its extinction.

Keep the flame burning...

Until one day, a person returning from the sea discovered a small island in a lake. There were no terrible creatures there... It was suitable for human habitation, so they chose to migrate there.

Just as initially suspected, humans... were driven out.

Those that are eliminated by the food chain.

"In other words... throughout the long course of history, the human race has never truly risen above the Dark Continent, remaining at the very bottom of the food chain. It's precisely because they are so weak that they have been ignored..."

After a while, Long finished looking at the patterns on the stone wall and closed his eyes.

The appearance of the Lake Island saved the life of the human race.

That's all.

The truth... is always bloody and naked.

"Team leader..."

Seeing his expression, Menchi hesitated to speak.

Some thoughts flashed through Long's mind; his previous guesses were not without reason.

The gate and the wall that the gatekeeper was guarding were clearly creations of human civilization.

Furthermore, the patterns on the clothing of the Kurta Clan are very similar to those on that door, which means that humans live in the core area of the Dark Continent.

"This is probably not the whole truth, only part of it..."

Long opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "The human groups living on this continent must also have differences. The situation outside the wall and inside the wall is different."

"Based on my observations, from the perspective of food chains and ecology, the weaker the race, the more likely it is to be driven to the very edge of the Dark Continent, while the stronger the race resides in the center of the continent. The entire Dark Continent is very likely a hierarchy of high and low, eliminated by countless food chains, with higher races inside the gate and lower species outside... Humanity is not unified and is very likely to fight its own battles."

Despite his words, the facts were undeniable, leaving him no choice but to believe them.

He still had some unanswered questions in his mind.

Just then, suddenly, beautiful melodies resounded from the square where the stone statues stood.

Menchi and his two companions were terrified and instantly assumed fighting stances.

Looking around the area, there were actually many small animal sculptures that looked exactly like the stone statues. Each one was more than three meters tall. Perhaps sensing their life force, a dozen or so small stone sculptures suddenly started spinning like music boxes and began to pluck the strings of their instruments.

Although the stone statues had human-like appearances and physiques, the polishing was very rough, making them look like upright cylinders at first glance, with the lines of their bodies not being sculpted in detail. The objects they held were not musical instruments that Long and the others were familiar with, so they did not recognize them at first glance.

The bodies of both large and small stone statues appear to be covered with a thick layer of hair.

The back of the head protrudes outwards.

As soon as the melody was played, Menchi and the other two immediately used their Nen power to protect themselves and shield their five senses, but it was to no avail.

They still seem to be able to 'hear' the sounds.

Anthony's facial muscles began to twitch, as if his skull and skin were about to twist and deform...

Menchi's face quickly developed wrinkles, making him look old.

Soul attack!

Oboro was very familiar with this ability.

A wall formed of black mist instantly enveloped the three of them.

In Oboro's eyes, the space began to ripple with eerie fluctuations as the music played... Soul lines, like musical staves, floated in the air.

"The Demon King's Dark Sonata?"

"This is the Demon King?"

Long's pupils contracted.

Finally, he encountered a dangerous source who, like him, possessed soul abilities.

This was within Oboro's expectations.

However... this stone statue doesn't look like a demon king.

The Dark Sonata is a solo piece composed by the Demon King, played by piano, violin, harp, and flute... and the instruments held by these small stone statues are not these four.

Unseen by others, the 'staff' swirled within the space, constantly striking Oboro's body. Each note vanished with a bang, clearly having no effect on Oboro.

"No wonder I couldn't detect it... As fellow users of soul energy, it's not difficult for them to evade my senses."

Long suddenly realized something.

With a sudden wave of his hand, a roaring airwave filled the sky.

All the rotating stone statues were instantly reduced to dust and shattered.

But... the music didn't stop.

Long slowly turned around, looking at the base of the towering stone statue, and said softly, "Come out..."

As soon as the words were spoken, the stone surface, which resembled a base, suddenly parted to the sides, revealing an open passage.

Then, a group of bizarre creatures dressed in black robes and with disgusting appearances emerged from it.

Several still retained flesh and blood, but their limbs and appearances were completely deformed, even more repulsive than Worm in the Shadow Beasts... Among them, under a black robe, was a moving skeleton.

It's just a skeleton.

But the fire of the soul burns in his eye sockets... somewhat similar to the necromancer in Oboro's past life memories.

These strange creatures... are all human.

Oboro now understands what these stone statues are... they are humans! They are just humans who have undergone a mutation after listening to something that sounds like a 'Dark Sonata'.

Oboro used his Nen 'Spirit Vision' to scan the group. It was clear that these deformed and mutated creatures were not only physically deformed, but also had souls... The soul fire within their bodies was not burning, but rather resembled a clump of viscous fluid.

The only exception was the white skeleton.

"I should have thought of that..."

Seeing this, Long exhaled a breath of stale air.

Since weak humans need to attach themselves to powerful creatures and live like parasites, they will naturally become 'slaves' to all kinds of life forms.

In the human world, consciousness disappears after death. Only a few Nen user awaken Post-Mortem Nen, but it is just a single obsession, a mass of consciousness.

However, for advanced beings on the Dark Continent, such as the Demon King, it is possible to preserve their souls intact, allowing them to abandon their physical bodies and possess independent spiritual will through the act of Post-Mortem Nen.

The soul is also energy, but it is unconventional energy... This further illustrates that the Demon King's methods of controlling energy are unfathomable.

From this point of view alone, it is something that Oboro could never do.

The spirit within the Ghost Mist is controlled by him, just like a puppet.

There are no memories or thoughts from before death.

It's even less likely that they would stray too far and run off alone.

In addition, the unique environment of the Dark Continent makes things that seem impossible in the human world seem reasonable.

This black-robed skeleton is a true example of someone who is 'alive after death'.

"An apostle or follower of the Demon King?"

"I asked in a cold voice."

The soul fire in the skull's eyes flickered, as if it were very curious about Oboro.

Its mouth trembled, and the words and syllables it uttered were completely incomprehensible to Lone.

It is clearly some ancient language or a language of another ethnic group.

However, the two can communicate entirely through soul fluctuations.

Are you... human?

The words that the skeleton then uttered surprised Oboro.

This guy doesn't seem to think he's a 'person'.

So what is he...?