The Demon King's Invitation

"How... did you get out?"

Long then asked a question in return.

Based on the information humans have about the Dark Continent, at least outside of the Dark Continent, apart from the Gatekeepers, a subhuman species, there has never been a soul life like 'White Bones'.

Although the gas life form E in the five major disasters also looks like a spirit species, it may be a parasitic microorganism that reproduces through transmission and possesses special powers.

This is different from the skeleton in front of us.

Because this is a human being whose flesh and blood have been stripped away, but whose soul has been preserved.

It has human characteristics.

This kind of thing should be kept 'inside the door'.

"A demi-human race? The Demon King's offspring... bloodline?" However, the skeleton tilted its head, its soul fluctuations conveying a sense of doubt.

Then, the skeleton's soul suddenly began to chant, and two balls of soul fire boiled in its eye sockets.

In the hazy vision, those floating soul notes were suddenly imbued with an extremely terrifying will.

Some notes bounced and rearranged, becoming a completely new musical staff.

This makes the beautiful melodies sound even smoother and more pleasant.

Then, without warning.

Oboro's body burst into flames, and his limbs were instantly charred and turned black.

The silk clothing on the body cannot block this force at all.

An ordinary Nen user would not be able to see this kind of soul energy. They might only see a human body suddenly losing its vitality, its flesh turning black and shrunken, and dying suddenly.

Terrifying soul energy and oppressive aura.

"Hmm... So this is the original key to the Dark Sonata? Impressive... Even I can be affected by the same soul-based techniques. It seems... the power sequence that the Demon King has advanced to is on the same upgrade path as mine." Under the gaze of the skeleton, the fire elemental in front of him suddenly muttered to himself.

Then the flames enveloping his body suddenly turned into a sinister, eerie green.

Its chanting came to an abrupt end.

Boom! The burning soul fire of Oboro exploded, revealing a bone surface that resembled a skull, but was even more ferocious and evil.

That's exactly what Thresh looks like.

In an instant, Oboro broke free from the influence and constraints of the 'music' and flashed in front of the skeleton.

Thresh stared intently at the two clusters of soul fire in the skull's eye sockets with his terrifying green eyes, and a wicked smile appeared on his face. "After all, you're not the Demon King... You're still a bit lacking."

"However... I do appreciate your presence; you were a great help..."

As he spoke, the Chain of the Gray's Lamp, like a long serpent, coiled around the skeleton's skeletal frame, which was shrouded in black robes, and began to contract.

And in Oboro's hand was the other end of the Chain.

A giant, sickle-shaped axe, hanging from the ground, was already in his hand.

"Give me the chance... I'll find him myself and enjoy the Dark Sonata with him..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the giant axe was suddenly swung up.

It struck the skull.

Instead of destroying its bones, the axe blade pierced through the skeleton and touched the target's soul fire.

Then, images began to appear in Oboro's mind.

He's reading the skeleton's soul memories! And thus, he's learning about this unknown world.

In the scene that flashed by like a revolving lantern, he saw many humans, and 'he' seemed to be deep inside a magnificent castle.

It also resembles a meticulously carved underground space, with exquisite architecture and various human-used tools, a truly magnificent sight...

Then the scene shifts, and 'he' reappears in a large hall.

A blurry figure sat atop the high platform.

The rest of the people in the room, including women with bare breasts and wearing thin veils, were dancing to the music that started playing.

Others were raising their glasses and drinking heavily, sipping some kind of scarlet liquid.

Not all of them are human.

But it seems that every face is either in a daze or in a frenzy.

It felt like a chaotic mess.

Oboro seemed like an observer who didn't belong to this time and space, scrutinizing everything.

He turned his head and looked at a high platform where a naked child with pure white wings was playing a harp.

Its appearance is holy and pure.

Strangely, a seemingly drunk woman was lying next to the child, 'serving' him, creating a very discordant scene.

Long turned his head to look at the other side, where another creature was playing music. While playing the violin, it manipulated some kind of energy, twisting a human body into a pretzel from a distance, as if squeezing out the life essence from the human body, causing blood to flow out and fill the wine glasses on the table.

Inside the hall, most of the species retained some human appearance and characteristics, unlike the bizarre and varied life forms that Oboro had encountered before.

"These... are all highly intelligent life forms with extraordinary power."

Long suddenly realized something.

There are humans... but they are all servants, objects to be sacrificed and manipulated.

Then, he finally looked at the blurry figure sitting in the center of the hall, lying on a throne.

He knew... that this thing was the Demon King.

However, he couldn't see her face clearly.

The moment Oboro's gaze met the Demon King's, everything in the hall seemed to freeze, as if someone had pressed the pause button; the music also stopped.

"Humans..."

The shadow flickered, as if sensing the intrusion of the uninvited guest, Oboro, and let out a sigh.

"The poor wretch who crawled back ashore from that island in the lake."

This statement is very sarcastic.

Long did not respond.

Suddenly, the Demon King's arm emerged from the shadows, opening its large hand with long, sharp, black nails toward him. "You have been chosen... Come, become my servant."

Only if the Demon King desires it can Oboro see a part of his body; if the other party does not desire it, Oboro cannot look directly at the Demon King's form.

Even if... this is just a memory created by the soul.

"So powerful... that it can control everything related to the soul?"

Long stroked his chin, pondering.

They ignored the Demon King's invitation.

This already touches on the rules of spacetime misalignment.

"Or is it that... as a higher life form, your understanding and control of the source of energy has reached a transcendent level, rather than just a single soul... referring to all energy?" Long murmured again before looking at the Demon King. "Very impressive... looking down on me from a superior position, even just through the medium of the soul, you instantly know everything about me. In terms of understanding the soul, you are far more pure. I still need to rely on my abilities to search for and find fragments of the soul... you only needed to glance at it to know everything."

"You are special...you come from a parallel world that evolved from time and space, and your soul...has a different flavor."

The Demon King retracted his arm back into the shadow.

Although Oboro did not give a direct answer, her meaning was clear: she refused.

"So... you didn't choose me because of my soul ability, but because of... my identity as a transmigrator."

Oboro raised an eyebrow. "In other words, you have a way... to travel to other worlds?"

"Or... on this continent, there is some kind of power that can break the barriers between dimensions."

"..."

The Demon King remained silent.

Exploring the memories of a soul is also extremely dangerous.

If Oboro didn't possess this level of power, the Dark Sonata he just played might have already obliterated him in this situation.

It is precisely because Oboro's soul is powerful enough that the Demon King, existing here solely through the medium of 'memory,' cannot defeat her.

After all, it's not the real thing.

Only a small part, the remaining power.

Then, before Oboro could ask any more questions, the scene before him suddenly vanished.

The scene shifted to another location.

It is a scene created from other memory points within the skeleton itself.

The Demon King took the initiative to 'drive away' Oboro.

This is a mountain tribe inhabited by humans... Under Oboro's gaze, he discovered that the humans in the tribe and the species of the Dark Continent were able to coexist peacefully, helping each other. The humans cared for the enormous creatures, while the latter helped the tribe defend against external dangers.

In addition, Oboro noticed that some humans had very unusual appearances... showing signs of bestiality.

These species, which can coexist with humans, all possess a certain level of intelligence and a gentle temperament.

Ultimately, however, humanity has not changed its tendency to attach itself to powerful creatures.

Although the relationship isn't that direct.

"No wonder they asked me if I was human... On this land, what distinguishes races is not appearance, but power form..." Oboro understood.

Two points are unavoidable: evolution and reproduction.

Humans are also evolving and changing.

Humans are not unique; they are also part of the food chain and have existed on the Dark Continent for a long time. Therefore, it's natural that they would interbreed with other species to produce 'new life'. Most importantly, reproduction and propagation on the Dark Continent are not as simple as humans understand them... The life forms on the Dark Continent are incredibly diverse, reproducing asexually, without any medium, and it's even possible that a human might be infected by some spore or microorganism while venturing out, thus giving birth to 'mutated genes'.

Strictly speaking, the Chimera Ant King Meruem is also like this, except that he was born after the Queen Ant ate humans.

This method of genetic mating and reproduction is beyond common sense.

Alluka from the Zoldyck Family also counts...

All of these are the result of humans and other species seeking novelty and change.

"No wonder there are demi-humans, and even some Magical Beasts, like the Foxbear family that led Gon and the others to the Hunter x Hunter Guild Master's place... that's how they all came about..."

"So, the human world on the Lake Island consists of pure-blooded people who have not been contaminated by blood."

With that thought, Oboro exited the fragments of memory and returned to reality.

Purebred humans also mean those who lack the most basic genes of evolution, representing absolute weakness.

With a Thresh face, Oboro slightly opened his mouth and inhaled the soul flames burning in the skull's eyes like gas.

"The weight of the soul has weakened... Hmph."

Long returned to her original form and raised the corners of her mouth.

I know it was the Demon King who did it...