Oboro's serious gaze and demeanor ultimately convinced Menchi and the other two.
Because they also knew they didn't belong here.
If not for Oboro, they would have died long ago on their journey.
And most importantly, without the three of them, their captain's abilities might have already led him to the 'gate' to the heart of the Dark Continent.
The captain was protecting them.
Their departure was also, in a way, helping Oboro.
"Actually... at our level, let alone reaching this point, we probably wouldn't survive a day even at the edge of the desert," Anthony scoffed, referring to the night they first landed on the coast, when Oboro's ghost fog had protected them.
The desert's temperature plummeted at night, and the life forms that emerged, large and small, were far more numerous than during the scorching daytime.
The three exchanged glances and, following Oboro, left the city within the house. They rode the flying creatures they had used to get there, retracing their steps, and sped towards the sea.
Over the past few years, although Oboro had been developing Thresh's abilities, his journey in the Dark Continent had made him realize the fundamental nature of energy. Therefore, abilities like teleportation and blinking were also optimized through the operational principles of energy. For example, before, teleportation was single-target, only affecting Oboro himself, and couldn't carry others. However, Oboro could now carry 'items' within his ability range during teleportation.
Items could be dead or alive.
This was equivalent to him being able to achieve the effect of 'group teleportation.'
But the problem was that the markers left beforehand, like wards in a game, had time limits.
Once the time limit passed, the wards would automatically disappear. The last place Oboro had placed a ward was in the 'safe haven' within the oasis, the training ground where they had spent so much time. Oboro could teleport directly and take them away, but the three of them wouldn't be able to leave the Dark Continent on their own afterward. Even if they reached the coastline, the nearshore waters were still inhabited by many giant creatures like pink octopuses, posing a continued danger.
To be safe, Oboro decided to personally escort them to the nearest island off the Dark Continent, to escape the nearshore waters.
Doing so would waste time, but for Oboro now, time had little meaning...
Based on his physical strength alone, his lifespan could support him for several hundred years.
The group flew through the sky, the wind whistling past.
Gebuwich used his ability to transmit mental signals for communication.
"Captain... those hopes," Menchi said.
"Don't take any of them back... Conceal the truth. Although humans have realized their weakness, they haven't grasped the essence. Human desire is infinite... Since escaping to the Island in the Lake, the best outcome has been humanity developing technological civilization through its own wisdom, which is also a result of being free from the Dark Continent's rules. But compared to the Dark Continent, human civilization is still too fragile... Perhaps one day civilization will evolve to the supernatural, even to the point of controlling rules, but not yet."
Oboro said calmly, "Evolution and combination are factors influenced by the food chain and ecosystem. The human world's food chain and ecosystem are too low-level... The speed of evolution here can never match the Dark Continent's; it will only fall further behind, never catching up. However, when it comes to technology, who knows... The only way to break through the Dark Continent is through mutated individuals among humans, integrating into the Dark Continent's game, and seeking breakthroughs on a single point... Don Freecss did it this way, and so will I."
"Gebuwich's notes can be kept for the V5 to reference, but much of the information needs to be redacted and deleted, only revealing 'limited areas' that they can understand and explore."
"Yes."
"Then... what about you..."
"Just say you were wandering the edges and lost contact with me, and my whereabouts are unknown."
Oboro replied.
He couldn't say he was dead. If they assumed he was dead, the V5 and some human world powers would undoubtedly become restless, and the Hunter Association wouldn't be able to enjoy such benefits and treatment.
As long as he was alive, his existence in this world, in any sense.
Enemies would be wary.
However, there was no need to worry too much, because although Menchi and the other two seemed weak in the Dark Continent, after their growth and changes, their current strength, upon returning to the Island in the Lake, would definitely rank them among the top-tier Nen users in the world.
Being able to return alive from the Dark Continent would be sensational news, worthy of being recorded in history.
They were fully qualified to be compared with Netero, Morel, and Knov.
From the coastline, crossing the desert and oasis, excluding the periods of training and refinement, it took them about three years. This return journey significantly shortened the time, taking only one year for Oboro to escort the three to an island. Although this island was still some distance from the human world, it was at least out of immediate danger.
"That's it then..."
At noon, outside the jungle on the island, on a golden, soft sandy beach, Oboro smiled faintly at the three, bidding farewell.
No excessive words, nor did he want to say anything more.
He prepared to activate his ability and teleport directly back to the Dark Continent.
Several flying species from the Dark Continent, their host souls having dissipated, would also die here, turning into dry bones.
Anthony's eyes were red.
Menchi hesitated to speak.
They all knew... this was likely the last time they would ever see Oboro.
Time and seasons seemed cheap on that land.
Their explorations over these years had only covered a tiny distance on the map. Upon returning to the human world, their lifespans might barely reach over a hundred years, similar to Netero's. Perhaps, by then, the captain would still not have finished exploring the entire Dark Continent... like Don Freecss, who had disappeared for centuries, let alone returning to the Island in the Lake.
Moreover, there were external factors like 'evolution.'
All three firmly believed Oboro would succeed, but they didn't believe they would live to see the day they met their captain again.
"Captain."
Gebuwich, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.
He called out.
He handed Oboro two items.
A pack of cigarettes and a diary.
"I think these two items... will be very helpful to you. You'll find a use for them." The current Gebuwich had lost the youthful innocence of his past, no longer stuttering, and like Fant, he had grown a beard.
"Thank you."
Oboro slightly turned his body and took them with his hand.
Immediately after, his body, accompanied by a rainbow of light that broke through the air, shot up into the sky.
He disappeared into the horizon.
"…"
First, there was silence.
Then, Anthony lay on the beach, looking at the beautiful blue sea, and scoffed, "It's over... It ended so suddenly. Our journey ends here."
Having been to the Dark Continent, and now seeing the environment near the human world, it was indeed beautiful and pleasing to the eye. But what he felt more was peace, a sense of release, and a touch of lingering regret.
"The scars on the Captain's face and body have never healed... He could have."
Gebuwich said gravely.
"He has already realized..."
Menchi looked towards the direction where Oboro had disappeared and said faintly.
Hearing this, Gebuwich and Anthony fell silent.
Yes... evolution.
Although the captain controlled that soul power, not through external 'combination' but through his own evolution... was he still considered a 'human' in the conventional sense?
At least, not a 'human' in the conventional sense.
In that case, in the human world... even if Oboro maintained his human appearance, sanity, and thoughts, he would become a 'disaster.'
Putting aside being ostracized by the human world.
Perhaps a single thought of his, a fluctuation of emotion, could destroy the entire human world.
Perhaps from a certain point on... for the captain, his home... was already the Dark Continent.
"Let's go, let's go back."
Anthony clapped his hands and shouted with forced cheerfulness.
"Although it's not as colorful as the Dark Continent, at least we can sleep soundly from now on and won't have to worry about dying at any moment... What a peaceful world, and the scenery is passable." He looked around and smiled.
"When we get back, I'll take over the Hunter Association," Menchi suddenly said.
She wasn't imitating Netero, but rather wanted to fulfill Oboro's will, to seal off the Hunter Association's curiosity about the Dark Continent.
"Then I'll go to the Fels family and become a gangster."
Anthony twisted his neck.
Although this sounded like looking down on the human world, it was the reality. With their current abilities, there were very few individuals in the human world who could stop them. Even in the realm of Nen users, they had reached the pinnacle.
"I won't do anything. I'll go to Rita's hometown and settle there,"
Gebuwich said calmly.
"Then... let's go."
With that, the three of them dove directly into the cold sea.
Before leaving the island, Anthony looked back one last time in the direction of the Dark Continent and murmured, "The human world... is truly dull."
____________________
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