Boom!
Just after Daniel seized the urn and entered the mirror dimension, the door to the chamber was violently smashed open. Nasubi Hui Guorou, despite his large, corpulent body, charged in with surprising speed. When he saw that the urn, which had been in its place, was now gone, his expression darkened, and a wild aura of Nen erupted around him, swirling violently.
"Father, what is—" The first prince, who had followed closely behind, was about to ask something when he noticed the coffins scattered throughout the chamber. His face immediately twisted in disgust.
Soon, other princes arrived, one after another, and they too saw the coffins. Silence filled the room as their gazes turned toward Nasubi, their father, the king.
"What could have happened to make him so angry?" Beyond Netero smirked slightly as he glanced at the wall Nasubi had broken through from the banquet hall. Then, after casting a brief look at Isaac Netero in another direction, Beyond rose from his seat and led his group out of the hall.
From the moment the Black Whale set sail, the alliance between Beyond and Nasubi had ended. Whatever trouble was brewing within the Kakin Empire had nothing to do with Beyond now.
Isaac Netero waved at Beyond with a cheerful smile, showing no sign that he was supposed to be hunting him. He, too, soon left the banquet hall. After all, the internal affairs of the Kakin Empire were not something the Hunter Association could interfere with.
"I can make a contract with you, giving you immense power," pleaded the fairy-like girl in the qipao. After realizing she couldn't defeat Daniel, her demeanor shifted, becoming pitiable and tearful. Her appearance was undeniably disarming, evoking sympathy. But when one understood her true, bloodstained nature, her charm only became more terrifying.
The Egg of the King ritual was a dark and brutal process, sacrificing family members for power. While such a thing might appeal to those who craved strength above all, Daniel had no interest in such bloodshed.
This ritual was even more gruesome than Molena's Nen ability.
"You're quite charming. I can see how many would let their guard down around you, but that won't work on me." Daniel remarked, unfazed by the girl's weeping and pleading. He clenched his left fist, his hand wrapped in black Haki and reinforced with Nen's "hardening." He delivered a powerful punch, shattering the urn into pieces. As the urn broke, the girl let out a final, piercing scream before vanishing completely.
If this urn had housed a different ability, like Molena's Nen powers, Daniel might have studied it. But the cursed urn, which required kin to turn against each other, held no interest for him.
"I wonder if they'll start fighting now," Daniel mused as he watched Nasubi Hui Guorou confront his children through the mirror dimension. Quietly, he returned to his room on the second level.
With the destruction of the urn, the Kakin Empire's ritual was over, and so was the succession war. Even if the princes continued their power struggles, the tenth, eleventh, and fourteenth princes would no longer be involved.
"Their Nen abilities haven't disappeared, just their Nen beasts. It makes sense; Nen is a development of life energy, and the Nen beasts were merely the catalyst for awakening their powers. With the beasts gone, the princes' total Nen reserves have decreased significantly."
In a way, this was good news for the princes. The Egg of the King ritual had forced their Nen beasts to rapidly form and grow in power, but it came at a steep cost—draining the princes' lifeforce. It was similar to Kurapika's Nen abilities, which came with harsh restrictions.
The ritual offered no way out; it was either victory or death. Only the winner could absorb the life force of the others and extend their own lifespan.
The disappearance of the Nen beasts was quickly noticed by both Nasubi and the princes. Those with no ambition for the throne were relieved, while the top-ranking princes, who had been eager to claim the crown, were visibly displeased.
"Thank you," Melody said emotionally after meeting Daniel. The fact that the two princesses were now safe was a great relief to her.
"No need to thank me, but they're not out of danger yet. The safest option would be to return to the Kakin Empire." Daniel offered.
"We've already made plans for that. Now that the succession war is over, the surveillance on the princes has loosened. Ginny will accompany the two sisters on their way back," Melody explained.
While Melody was motivated by her empathy for Fugetsu and Kacho, Ginny's reasons were more personal—the two princesses reminded him of his daughter, who had passed away tragically. In the original story, Ginny had gone as far as sacrificing himself to protect the sisters.
"That's good. So, you're heading to the Dark Continent for the Dark Sonata?" Daniel asked, shifting the conversation.
"Yes." Melody's expression was resolute. The Dark Sonata had forever altered her life, and she had never given up on it. Her participation in the Hunter Association's expedition was a testament to that. The association's access to information was unparalleled, which was why both Kurapika and Melody had been recruited, with their respective quests in mind.
Kurapika's cool-headedness, his multiple abilities, and Melody's ability to hear heartbeats might yield unexpected advantages in the Dark Continent.
To survive there, raw strength wasn't the most important factor—other skills were far more crucial. No matter how strong you were, the Dark Continent was a different beast. Even among the guides, few could match the creatures that roamed there.
With the succession war canceled, the rest of the Black Whale's voyage proceeded without major incidents. But from the tension among the princes, it was clear that once they reached the hypothetical continent, there would be fierce battles.
Several princes, including the fourteenth, returned to the Kakin Empire before reaching the continent. Kurapika was finally freed from his duty of protecting the fourteenth prince, no longer having to endure the life-draining burden of his Nen ability.
"We've finally arrived," Daniel remarked as the Black Whale approached the massive continent. The sight sent waves of excitement through the ship, especially among those on the lower levels. To them, their hardships were finally over.
"The losses weren't too severe." Thanks to Daniel's intervention, Molena hadn't been able to unleash her plan, and the Phantom Troupe had been dealt with early. Compared to the original events, far fewer people had died on this voyage.
Had Daniel not intervened, the succession war would have become a convoluted, bloody mess—worthy of a drama spanning a hundred episodes.
"This continent is enormous, yet it's only an island. This world is even more over-the-top than the One Piece world." For those unfamiliar with the truth, it would be hard to believe that this massive landmass was merely an island.
"This is no paradise." Watching the eager faces of the many explorers setting foot on the new land, many of whom ignored the official guidance of the Hunter Association and Kakin Empire, Daniel shook his head.
After landing, Daniel used Observation Haki to scan roughly ten kilometers around him and quickly detected many powerful creatures. This was not like the Six Continents, where humans ruled and magical beasts were endangered. On this new continent, there was no established order. It was inevitable that a bloody conflict would erupt between the native creatures and the invading humans.
Even if the humans eventually won, the cost would be immense. However, Daniel was certain humanity would prevail—not because of Nen, but because of their advanced technology. The creatures here were no match for the combined forces of technology and Nen.
After all, even the formidable Chimera Ant King, Meruem, had been brought down by human technology.
But none of this mattered to Daniel and his group. Their destination wasn't the hypothetical continent, but the Dark Continent. While the Kakin Empire busied itself establishing camps on the new land, those heading for the Dark Continent quietly gathered on the opposite shore, ready to board a new ship.
In truth, those who had planned to explore the Dark Continent had already sent their ships ahead before the Black Whale even set sail. If not for the need to act in concert, Beyond would have likely headed for the Dark Continent long ago.
Reaching the Dark Continent wasn't simple. Though one could technically set sail in any direction from the Six Continents, only one path was considered safe. All other routes had led to total disaster, with none surviving after multiple attempts.
This one safe route was where the guide resided. Anyone wishing to enter the Dark Continent had to negotiate with the guide, and only with their permission could travelers safely make the journey.
Generally, the guide wouldn't refuse anyone passage to the Dark Continent, but if someone wished to return, the guide would place a curse or calamity upon them, which they would bring back to human civilization.
Historically, out of 149 people who ventured to the Dark Continent, only 28 returned. These 28 returned in five separate groups, and each time, they brought one of the five great calamities back with them.
Of course, the exact truth was unclear, as there was no concrete evidence. Even A Chronicle of the New World didn't offer detailed explanations, only hinting that the calamities might have been contracted in the same locations where the five great hopes were discovered.
The guide was mysterious, and human civilization knew very little about them. For example, no one understood why the guide allowed humans to enter the Dark Continent in the first place. In
fact, without the guide, humanity had no means of entering the Dark Continent.
As for the idea of attacking the guide to force answers, it was laughable. The guide was immensely powerful, stronger than even Meruem, the Chimera Ant King. Among them were even mightier beings. Defeating them would be impossible, even with all of human society's resources.
Even using the Poor Man's Rose wouldn't guarantee success. And without the guide, humanity would never be able to set foot on the Dark Continent again.
This time, because the group heading to the Dark Continent was so large, the V6 had sent someone to negotiate with the guide. Having dealt with the guide before, the V6 understood one thing: the guide hated those without proper etiquette.
"So, this is the guide. Impressive." The guide was not human. To be precise, it was a magical beast—perhaps even a beastman. In the Six Continents, magical beasts couldn't use Nen, except for the Chimera Ants, but here, all the beasts were brimming with powerful Nen.
The guide that appeared before the group was a single beast with a purple wolf's head. Its gaze was calm, devoid of any emotion, as it looked over the humans. Without saying a word, it summoned a wolf-shaped Nen beast to lead the group to the Dark Continent.
The guide's duty was not only to lead the way but also to ensure safe passage back. Once in the Dark Continent, travelers only had to reach a designated sea area and signal for the guide, who would come to take them home.
"The Mobius Lake… An interesting boundary, like the Calm Belt in the One Piece world." Daniel was fascinated by the natural phenomenon. The giant sea creatures in the Mobius Lake didn't cross into its interior, similar to how the colossal Sea Kings stayed within the Calm Belt.
Now Daniel understood why human society could only reach the Dark Continent through the guide and why Netero had said the continent was unimaginably vast.
The sea creatures in the Mobius Lake were as large as the Sea Kings of the One Piece world. Without the power levels seen in that world, there was no way to get past them. And unlike in One Piece, these massive creatures weren't confined to the sea—they ruled the skies as well, something even the Sea Kings never managed.
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