The ground shook violently without any gradual build-up from slow to fast.
Everyone's first reaction was that it was an earthquake, and a very high magnitude one at that.
If it weren't for the fact that they were all Nen Users, they would have been knocked off their feet by the intense tremors immediately.
Although the earthquake was fierce, it wasn't enough to threaten those who has Aura Defense.
However-
The countless creatures rushing towards them from the front made the sudden earthquake quite troublesome.
Moses decisively abandoned the idea of hiding the Shadow World's passage underground.
'At this moment, the only option was to have everyone take shelter in the Shadow World, and then have the shadow clone carry the passage away from the horde of creatures spanning the horizon.'
As his thoughts raced, Moses lightly lifted his right foot and flicked it forward. A shadow instantly detached from his body and landed on the ground, quickly forming a circular black shadow.
"Quick, get in first."
After conjuring the Shadow World's passage, Moses urged them quickly.
Upon hearing the sound, everyone quickly averted their gazes from the distant horde of creatures and gathered towards the Shadow World's passage.
But at that moment, a black hill about two hundred meters ahead suddenly rose with a deafening roar.
The loud noise coming from nearby inevitably drew everyone's attention.
"Huh!?"
Seeing the ground in front of them suddenly rise, everyone instinctively thought it was due to the earthquake causing the ground to compress and rise, and then they were shocked by the intensity of the quake.
But the next moment.
The ground that had risen due to the earthquake didn't stop at a certain height but continued to rise rapidly.
As the height increased quickly, the ground stood before them like a thick city wall, blocking the sunlight and casting a large shadow over everyone.
"Bii, bii-"
Before everyone could react to what was happening, a tender yet strange voice came from the 'thick city wall' that had risen from the ground.
"???"
Everyone was stunned as their eyes shrank slightly.
Their understanding-
Was shattered once again.
But they had no time to investigate further.
And the 'anomaly' that defied understanding continued to unfold.
The countless red creatures rushing towards them from a distance suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
It wasn't because they saw the thick ground standing upright, but because their six legs, while running at high speed, suddenly sank into the black ground beneath them.
This change in terrain was like non-Newtonian fluid, which becomes stronger when met with force, suddenly and unreasonably turning into a swamp...
Thus, countless red creatures almost simultaneously plunged into the ground, which had become like quicksand.
The abrupt halt caused these creatures to collide fiercely as they fell.
The sounds of collisions and screeches mixed together, echoing over the black hills.
The flood of red creatures that had filled the horizon in their vision was now firmly stuck in the suddenly swamp-like ground.
If viewed from above...
The scene would resemble flies stuck on a flypaper.
Some flies could step on their companions' bodies to avoid the trap, but the vast majority were unable to move.
Because the thick ground that had suddenly risen blocked Moses and the others' line of sight, they could only hear the chaotic noise but couldn't immediately see what was happening.
However, no matter what was happening on the other side of the shadow, it couldn't stop Moses and the others from wanting to get away as quickly as possible.
They jumped straight into the Shadow World's passage.
After everyone entered, Moses controlled 3D Hisoka to carry the shadow space passage and quickly moved away from the thick, unknown ground standing before them.
As 3D Hisoka ran across the black hills, on the other side of the thick ground that had risen, the red creatures with deformed heads, leopard-like bodies, and six limbs struggled frantically in the swamp-like ground.
In just a few seconds, many of the red creatures had completely sunk into the ground and disappeared without a trace.
This seems like...
A feeding scene.
But in the eyes of humans, it was as if the "earth" was devouring countless 'ants'.
"Bii, bii-"
The thick ground that had risen from the earth seemed to sense something and slowly turned its head, like a human, to look at 3D Hisoka running into the distance.
A pair of small white eyes appeared on the surface covered with undulating hills, revealing a strong sense of contrast.
Through 3D Hisoka's vision, Moses, who was in the Shadow World, saw the thick ground turning its head and revealing a pair of small eyes, sending a chill down his spine.
'So-'
'The white crack that Shizuku had discovered on a small hill earlier was actually... an eye slit?'
'And the black hill area we had walked through was actually a living creature?'
'No.
'How is that possible?'
'Even though there are many creatures in the Dark Continent that are so huge that they are beyond our comprehension, it is impossible for them to reach a size of tens of thousands of kilometers.'
'It's likely that only the area ahead is part of some colossal creature's body.'
'It was just that this creature relied on its camouflage ability to blend in with the environment and happened to be lying in ambush not far from where we were resting.'
Moses, controlling 3D Hisoka, locked eyes with the unknown giant creature. Strangely, he could vaguely sense emotions like curiosity and confusion emanating from its gaze.
Before Moses could react, the unknown giant creature suddenly closed its eyes, and its massive, hill-like face quickly sank back into the ground, merging with the black hills once again.
'It was as if...'
'It had merely lifted its head for a moment, then lay back down.'
'It was utterly absurd.'
Moses's heart raced.
But what was even more absurd and unbelievable was-
The chaotic noise that had been echoing just seconds ago suddenly ceased completely.
It was only when the unknown giant creature lay back down that Moses realized the previously unending cacophony had abruptly stopped.
In shock, he directed 3D Hisoka to look further into the distance.
However-
Not even a single red creature could be seen.
It was as if the flood of red creatures that had spanned the entire horizon had never existed.
But Moses knew that the flood of red creatures, which were numerous enough to flatten a town in a short time, had likely been 'eaten'.
Eaten by the unknown giant creature that had lifted its head just moments ago...
After realizing this, Moses felt a chilling threat emanating from the unchanging black hills around them.
'Perhaps, while walking across a patch of soft ground, we also could vanish into the black ground within seconds, just like the reckless flood of red creatures.'
Moses fell silent for a moment, then relayed what he had seen to his teammates.
After hearing Moses's words, everyone looked at each other in silence.
"I finally understand why we couldn't see any animals or plants along the way..."
After a while, Menchi, who had been coveting the Dark Continent's potential ingredients, muttered to herself.
As a Gourmet Hunter, she is the one who pays the most attention to 'flora and fauna' in the entire team.
However, after traveling tens of thousands of kilometers, they had barely seen any of the expected wildlife.
Now it seemed...
They had all been eaten!
The others were silent, thinking about what had just happened, and were unable to utter a word.
If they had to sum it up, it was exaggerated, absurd, and unbelievable...
'So this is-'
'The Dark Continent?'