Germain stood up and saw Shizuku turning around on the extended platform of the tower, waving at the three of them.
"Come look over here, the blood sea below…"
The group gathered around, especially Buhara and Sanbica, who were both full of curiosity as it was their first time in the ancient labyrinth city.
As they stood next to Shizuku and looked out over the blood sea beyond the tower, they saw dark red waves rising and crashing within a vast reed forest surrounding the sea.
Gradually, a massive, scarlet whirlpool formed, sucking in all the surrounding blood, water, and flesh, swallowing everything toward its center.
Germain looked up again.
He saw that the sky's darkness was caused by swirling dark clouds, which twisted into tornadoes. At the end of the tornadoes, they pointed directly at the whirlpool in the blood sea.
Germain realized that the tornado in the sky and the whirlpool in the sea seemed to fit together perfectly, one bulging upward and the other dipping down.
This might indicate that these strange changes in the world were somehow connected.
Germain already had a sense of what was happening in his mind.
Buhara and Sanbica had never seen such a strange and grand scene before. They stared in shock for a while, then looked towards Germain.
Shizuku was unreliable, and they had never expected much from her.
Germain, now an expert on the Dark Continent, was the one to judge the cause of this scene and decide what should be done next.
After changing into a new Hunter black robe, Germain quickly made his decision and put it into action.
He released "En."
In that instant, even Shizuku, Buhara, and Sanbica couldn't react in time, and "En" had already swallowed them all.
Shizuku didn't mind much and simply relaxed her body naturally.
Buhara and Sanbica instinctively took defensive stances.
"En" not only allowed Germain to gather a lot of information but also exuded a kind of momentum.
Momentum is a somewhat mysterious concept. It doesn't entirely represent combat strength, but there is some connection.
For example, if a young tiger that's been kept in captivity meets a white goose, who would have the stronger combat power?
Clearly, the young tiger has greater apparent combat strength. Even though it's captive and young, it's still a tiger, and its sharp fangs could easily crush the goose's delicate throat.
However, when they actually encounter each other, the situation might be reversed.
The white goose spreads its wings, stretches its neck, and looks powerful. It even proactively pecks at the young tiger.
In this case, the goose's momentum overwhelms the tiger.
The young tiger, confused and driven by fear, ends up fleeing in panic from the goose's pursuit.
This is what momentum is like.
However, the "En" Germain released now was far purer than the "En" used by the Ant King and the Three Royal Guards. It wasn't evil enough to impact the mind or destroy reason.
He could achieve that level of intensity simply by releasing Malicious intent, but clearly, that wasn't necessary at the moment.
The "En" swallowed the high tower in the blink of an eye, consuming the sea of blood, the reed forest, and the cubic stone pillars, stopping only when it reached a radius of 350 meters.
There were two reasons for this.
The first was, of course, to search for the whereabouts of Ging, Bisky, and Menchi, and to check the current state of the ancient Labyrinth city.
The second was to make his presence known to all the life forms within the ancient Labyrinth city that could feel the "En."
When a large shark appears in a sea, all the fish within its food range must decide which direction to swim toward.
However, as "En" expanded and contracted, Germain noticed something strange, causing him to frown.
First, he confirmed the positions of Bisky and Menchi. They were at the bottom of the high tower, and there was no danger to their lives.
But he couldn't find Ging.
Perhaps Ging was outside the range of his "En," or perhaps Ging used "Zetsu" to shield his presence as much as possible. The exact reason was unclear.
In addition, Germain noticed that within the range of his "En," there were no more "Botanical Weapon Brion."
Maybe the entire ancient Labyrinth city no longer had any "Botanical Weapon Brion" wandering around.
Instead, from the depths of the blood sea vortex, a strong pulse could be felt, accompanied by the booming sounds of life.
Something was awakening.
Buhara and Sanbica, who had been on guard, lowered their caution and looked at Germain.
After thinking for a moment, Germain turned to the others.
"Bisky and Menchi are at the bottom of the high tower. Let's go down and meet them."
Knowing the whereabouts of their companions, Shizuku, Buhara, and Sanbica were relieved and nodded in agreement.
The group descended the spiral stone staircase.
Since the staircase was hollow, they soon reached the bottom of the high tower and noticed a figure flashing by.
Buhara's round, bulky body stood behind the crowd, but his height allowed him to be the first to spot the figure. He excitedly called out.
"Bisky! Menchi!"
His voice echoed through the interior of the tower, and it was likely that people at the bottom of the tower heard it.
After a while, two small heads poked out from behind the stone stairs, which had covered the bottom of the tower. It was, indeed, Bisky and Menchi.
Then, Bisky's slightly hoarse voice came through.
"Buhara... Germain! Shizuku! Sanbica! You guys made it!"
The two heads disappeared, and soon, the sound of running footsteps echoed—Bisky and Menchi were coming up.
The group met in the middle of the tower, all wearing smiles of joy.
Bisky and Menchi's smiles, however, were more filled with surprise.
Although Germain had said they would return to the Ancient Labyrinth City by the end of the year, there was no specific date mentioned.
Ging, Bisky, and Menchi had spent almost two months here at the tower since they last saw Germain and Shizuku on October 19th.
These two months weren't exactly boring, but over time, the ones waiting in the Ancient Labyrinth City always felt more psychological pressure.
Their supplies were more than enough, enough to last until February or March of next year.
But still, they couldn't help but worry.
What if Germain and Shizuku didn't come back for some reason?
It wasn't an impossible thought.
There were always unexpected events in the world, and if something happened, the people here on the Dark Continent would be in a very troublesome situation.
They would remain unaware and wait, only to fall into complete despair.
They might never even know what happened to stop Germain and the others from returning to help.
During such times, Bisky's "Magical Beautician Miss Cookie," Menchi's cooking skills, and their strong resolve as veteran hunters played an irreplaceable role.
Without these, if they were just ordinary Nen users or even regular people, two months would have been enough for them to self-torture and eventually choose to break out of the Ancient Labyrinth City.
However, after breaking out, what awaited them was an even more terrifying situation.
Fortunately, they finally received support from Germain and the others. Germain did not disappoint them.
********
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