Do You Fear Me?
"Why can he get in, but I can't..."
Long thought of a question.
He led a group of strange, intelligent creatures as they wandered aimlessly through the Dark Continent.
The creatures now following him are no longer the 'stones' of yesteryear, but a different species.
A group of species influenced by him, infected and evolved by the spiritual power he exudes.
Similar to the black-robed skeleton encountered in the City in the House, they have all become 'ghosts' in a state where their physical bodies are dead, but their souls are still alive and preserved in the world.
Because of the continuous absorption of souls, Oboro's physical body had become incredibly powerful. Even though the changes to his body were slow due to the enhancements in his armor and magic power, the cumulative effect over such a long period made the boost from a single soul seem less significant.
His position in the food chain has gone from upstream to top, and then from top to king.
The overall attribute evaluation has also changed from monarch to ruler.
However, he never found the 'door'.
His powerful physique resulted in incredibly abundant life energy, and the black mist he emitted could cover an unimaginable area.
Oboro has now become a perpetual motion machine that evolves automatically without needing to think.
Wherever he went, the area would be shrouded and submerged in black mist, and all creatures with soul characteristics, whether large or small, or strange and rule-based species, would die silently.
The fallen souls will be automatically absorbed, without him having to take any action.
His energy is passively absorbed from everything.
Some species will become extinct, while others will 'evolve,' a characteristic of the creatures of the Dark Continent, whose genes are so powerful that they can even fuse souls. The difference this time is that the 'person' who is being sown is Oboro himself... He has become an existence similar to the Chimera Ant Queen in the human world, selecting genes and creating 'swarms' as if devouring human flesh and blood.
It's a disguised form of 'reproduction'.
It has even spread to some creature groups on the Dark Continent.
There is a terrifying human who accompanies the 'Eternal Night' and can descend upon any part of the Dark Continent at any time. When he appears, the sky and the earth will turn pitch black, and the Sea of Souls will transform into a bridge to Hell, leading them to a new world.
These messages and feelings were all perceived by Oboro from the souls of various life forms.
Boom!
Suddenly, a Thunderbolt, powerful enough to shatter a city, descended from the black and red sky.
The enormous bolt of lightning was also crimson in color. Strangely, after it struck, the lightning did not disappear but connected heaven and earth, forming a flowing energy source like a waterfall, as if it were fixed in the air. Immediately afterwards, countless strange birds and beasts approached. Some large birds soared into the sky and actually stood on the lightning, pecking at the lightning bolts as if feeding on them.
There were also some large life forms on the ground absorbing the lightning...
This lightning bolt is a form of energy.
Whether or not one can absorb and transform depends on the strength of their individual life energy... Long is now quite certain that he is in the inland region of the Dark Continent. The farther he travels and the longer he stays, the more he will see, and he will become accustomed to all sorts of wondrous sights.
His arrival caused the creatures that were feeding to scatter and flee like startled birds.
The entire horizon was obscured by a continuous, Ghost Mist.
The scene was horrifying.
"Don Freecss".
A faint, mumbled murmur.
At first, he thought that his route or location was different from others, which was why he couldn't find the 'door', but now he realized that wasn't the case. The 'door' where the gatekeeper was located, or rather, the wall it guarded, was actually a territory filled with advanced intelligent life forms.
The ecosystem and food chain inside are the same as what Oboro had previously explored, with humans at the lowest level, a melting pot of genes.
However, its place on the Dark Continent is like that of a city in the human world.
He had no idea how long he had been traveling, but he was certain that he had gone further than Don Freecss had gone... The power he possessed brought him speed!
Although the Dark Continent is vast and boundless, he is now basically invincible. He can travel unimaginable distances in a single night using only his physical strength. Even so, after traveling for so long, he still hasn't found the "door".
Long had already realized that if he wanted to conquer further and achieve his goal, he needed to 'enter the city'.
We can no longer wander around in the 'wilderness'.
He needs to find the Demon King's territory, that is, the Demon King's city... and the territories of other higher life forms.
But nothing came of it.
Oboro confirmed that the Don Freecss had already entered the city...
A city here might be as large as an entire human world, but on the Dark Continent, it's not significant; it's just a region... The size of a territory depends on the power of its ruler. Oboro was also considering changing routes, returning to the edge of the coastline, finding the route Netero and Beyond had taken, and giving it a try.
However, this idea has now been abandoned.
He couldn't find the door, not because of the route, but because... someone didn't want him to 'enter the city'.
He was 'excluded'!
As for the human world, it's long gone...
His current power, if manifested merely on the human earth, could instinctively cause the death of all life in the human world.
The differences in their own energy levels are too great.
After thinking it over, Long stopped in his tracks.
With a thought, a vast mist of the soul, like a surging ocean, converged from all directions, and only after a long time did it recede back into the body.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that on the vast earth, many things that had been transformed into soul life forms were closing in on him.
These life forms will become another animal or plant with strange powers on the Dark Continent, and through them, new food chains and environmental ecosystems will evolve.
From initially integrating into the food chain, to disrupting the food chain, and now creating the food chain and single-handedly forging new genes... Oboro was not infected.
He has become the 'source of infection'.
He withdrew his gaze, slowly raised his head, and looked at the dark, deep sky, which resembled an abyss.
And there was still that lingering lightning.
That was actually a 'staircase,' a ladder leading to the sky. At the very top of the lightning, there was a suspended landmass, which was extremely large.
That place... is a city, and also the location of the gate.
However, Oboro knew very well that if he got close... both the door and the 'city' would disappear.
Because this wasn't the first time he had sensed an 'opportunity'.
"How long has it been? Decades? Centuries?"
Long's eyes were somewhat dazed.
He was clutching a diary in his hand.
It was the diary that Gabe Vich had given him, which recorded some of their early experiences when they first arrived on the Dark Continent, including some of Gabe Vich's inner thoughts. At first, when Oboro was bored or felt lonely, he would take it out to read it... but later, he no longer felt anything for it, as if it had become a habit, and he would just instinctively flip through and read it.
Because he had a gut feeling that if he threw away this diary, he would also lose something.
Therefore, I've always carried it with me.
Ignoring the army of souls that had followed him, Oboro continued on his way.
It's like a robot, carrying out some kind of command.
But this time, things are different from before.
A black dot hovered down from the sky and came into view.
Upon closer inspection, it was a huge, fleshy ball with wings, no hands or feet, and its entire body was completely naked.
"Supreme King, it is an honor to meet you."
After landing, the ball of flesh folded its wings, blinked its eyes, and leaned forward as if bowing in greeting.
A guide.
Long instantly understood the other party's identity.
It was completely different from the guide he knew, who was summoned by another gatekeeper; that guide was a headless human.
Aren't you leaving?
He said in a low voice.
He meant to ask the other party, and the master behind them, not to use some kind of energy or rule to shut them out or keep them away from themselves.
"Your arrival has alarmed us, but my master does not wish to antagonize you... He sent me to inform you that if you wish to create your own territory in the Dark Continent, he will help you."
"It's meatball," said the ball of flesh.
"You've divided up most of the advanced genes of human evolution... Would you be willing to share some with me?"
Her eyebrows were lowered, and her voice was cold.
"..."
The meatball lost its voice.
"Is it the Demon King?"
Long asked another question.
"...yes..."
The ball of flesh answered.
Just as I expected...
Long knew that there were many life forms as powerful as the Demon King in the Dark Continent, and some were even stronger than him.
The Demon King has existed on the Dark Continent for a long time, and they must have their own circle among themselves... Therefore, his arrival and appearance could easily be communicated through the Demon King's mouth.
The reason I was rejected was simple: fear!
Those rulers were afraid of him, a human who came to this continent from Lake Island.
From this perspective, while the Demon King is indeed terrifying and possesses an extremely profound understanding of energy manipulation, he cannot compare to Oboro!
The Demon King can control souls, but he cannot absorb them!
It's like Nen. The Demon King is someone who has a profound understanding and mastery of Nen. His Nen level and Nen skills are also at their peak, but his Nen itself is very weak. If we switch to the Dark Continent, it would be because he doesn't have strong talent. But Oboro is different. He can absorb and grow infinitely without any bottlenecks.
The Demon King only glanced into his soul before confirming Oboro's danger.
You can also 'see' his desire to conquer.
However... at that time, Oboro was not very strong... and there was a very high probability that she would perish in the wild.
Furthermore, the two were not enemies, and the Demon King seemed to take him lightly.
But it must be watching me in some way, otherwise it wouldn't be passing my message on to other rulers.
Although Oboro has grown to where he is today, he is quite certain that there are many beings on this continent who are stronger than himself and the Demon King... He is still far from the pinnacle.
Even so, it was enough to frighten some life forms comparable to the Demon King.
After discovering the Demon King's 'weakness' through conversation with the flesh ball, Oboro even felt that if he found the Demon King now... he could 'eat' him.
"Having the ability to create one's own race is a kind of qualification..." Long glanced back at the soul object leaning towards him, lost in thought.
Besides his soul, he also possesses extremely profound control over the power of rules, but he has not yet applied it to his target to construct a framework.
"So... they can be afraid too."
Oboro suddenly spoke up.
The disappointment was palpable in his voice.
It's like you've always been looking forward to fighting a strong opponent... but suddenly one day, before you even step into the ring, the opponent privately asks for a draw or admits defeat.
This is... more than just a minor disappointment.
"I have little interest in the weak."
Long's gaze swept past the fleshy ball and went straight up to the sky.
As his lips moved, a surge of spiritual will, like a sharp and enormous sword, shot straight into the heavens.
Even the crimson lightning was shattered into dust, turning into countless strands of electricity that dissipated into nothingness.
"Strictly speaking, you are not a real human being either... You do not belong to this world; you are a product of another dimension. Real humans cannot achieve what you have. To the Lake Island, you are no different from us; we are all unknown."
"If it weren't for this, you wouldn't even have the chance to set foot on this land."
A moment later, a massive mental wave swept down from the sky in response.
"Oh."
Long smiled.