Perhaps only extreme heat capable of vaporizing even smoke could injure Kuro… and this was a severe burn at that.
"well enough?"
Law crouched down, looking at Kuro's bright red buttocks and the stub of a tail left behind, making him look like a bobtailed cat.
'A literal case of fire on the ass.'
Law couldn't help but pity him inwardly.
"Does this look okay to you?!"
Kuro shot Law a fierce glare. Whatever that magma bird was, it defied logic… somehow managing to injure him even in his smoke form, as if it had Nen properties.
'To recover, I'd have to expend at least 20% of my stored Aura, what a massive loss.'
Thinking this, Kuro gritted his teeth and channeled the Potential Aura within his body toward his butt and tail.
Law watched quietly as Black Cat enveloped himself in a Aura. Within moments, the burns visibly healed, and the stub of his tail regrew completely.
Only after his injuries were fully restored did Kuro's twisted expression finally relax.
He shakily stood up and turned to Law, demanding, "I don't care… you owe me 200 pages!"
"Why?" Law replied calmly.
Kuro's fur bristled, his eyes widening as he shouted, "You kicked me down there! And you made me check out some weird pattern, which cost me so much Aura! This is a work injury, got it? A work injury! So you have to compensate me!"
"Oh." Law pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and smirked, "Work injury, you say? Where is it?"
Kuro froze, glanced back at his perfectly healed rear, then twitched his whiskers before turning back to Law in outrage, "You're trying to weasel out of this?!"
"You're the one blatantly lying. What's there for me to weasel out of?" Law shrugged.
"You-!"
Kuro's expression twisted, suddenly feeling deeply aggrieved.
Law stared at him and said seriously, "Still calling it a work injury? Do you want me to get you some insurance while I'm at it?"
"Get lost, and don't expect me to help you again." Kuro grumbled resentfully.
"Alright, alright, I'll give your request some proper consideration."
Law waved him off and turned away, stepping back to the edge of the volcano's mouth to peer down at the unidentified creature in the magma.
It resembled a bird, displayed intelligence, and was reminiscent of a fire elemental from fantasy games.
'Starting from the forest at the mountain's base, the journey up included stone tablets and then the Divine Script on the volcano's surface… was all of it meant to restrain this firebird in the magma?'
'While it was just a guess, but for now, that seemed the only explanation.'
'The real question was: Who had set up such an elaborate Divine Script? And then there was the incredibly resilient Dark Continent plant, the Lichen, and this unidentified creature in the magma.'
'A small island like Whale Island actually hid secrets like this.'
With all these discoveries, if someone told Law that Whale Island had been a living whale hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago, he'd probably believe it. If it were a giant turtle island, that'd be even more plausible.
Kuro glared at Law's back, who is standing right at the edge. The urge to kick him straight into the volcano was overwhelming… but alas, he could only fantasize.
Just then, he noticed Law gathering Aura in his right hand. He quickly moved to his side and watched as Law raised his hand, forming an [Aura Slash Disc], then hurled it straight at the magma bird.
The spinning disc sliced cleanly through the volcanic smoke, shooting toward the magma bird and cleanly severing its elongated neck before sinking into the magma and vanishing without a trace.
The magma bird's head was severed, liquefying midair and splashing back into the pool, while the rest of its body remained intact, the flowing feather-like patterns on its surface unchanged.
Law observed silently. Suddenly, the magma around the bird's neck surged, quickly reforming its head.
At the same time, the restored magma bird thrashed violently, leaping upward as if enraged… yet its lower body remained fused to the magma pool, preventing it from rising more than three or four meters before being dragged back down.
'Regeneration, huh? It's kind like Void.'
Law stroked his chin, completely unfamiliar with this elemental-like lifeform. Even with his extensive knowledge of the Hunter x Hunter World, he couldn't find a suitable explanation.
Then again, if the World Tree could root itself in mountains and feed on magma, it wasn't too far-fetched for creatures to survive in magma too… though it was still unclear whether this magma bird was even a living being.
In any case, for any unexplainable phenomena or creatures, the easiest solution was to just blame the Dark Continent.
The more one comes into contact with the Dark Continent, the clearer an indescribable feeling becomes… and with it, an absolute boundary becomes visible.
If the six known continents of the world represent reality, then the Dark Continent could be called a world of fantasy.
In a place like that, it wouldn't be surprising if anything existed.
Humans are far inferior to species like the Chimera Ants, which can evolve without limits. Thus, for humanity, the Dark Continent remains an unknown, wondrous, and lethally dangerous place.
However, Hunters with an adventurous spirit see it as a holy land worth pursuing.
Law also wanted to go to the Dark Continent. He didn't need those stringent qualifications, but to even consider stepping foot there, his average data would have to exceed 80%.
And to go further, he'd at least have to be strong enough to defeat Netero… after all, even Netero himself had failed to cross the threshold of the Dark Continent back in the day.
'This thing isn't a Void. I can't even touch it, otherwise I could've used White Smoke Script to analyze it.'
Watching the frenzied magma bird, Law sighed softly. He condensed another low-cost Nen Bullet and fired it, blasting off the upper half of the magma bird's body.
Moments later, the creature regenerated, its rage palpable… but its wings were purely decorative, flapping uselessly as it hopped around like an angry rooster, utterly incapable of retaliation.
After several rounds of this, the only thing proven was the magma bird's function as a living target. There was nothing else to gain.
After some thought, Law decided not to waste any more time.
He'd wait for Ging to arrive before making further plans. As for the Divine Script they'd encountered along the way, it was absolutely off-limits… it was clearly meant to restrain this elemental bird in the magma pool.
Originally, he had even considered chiseling off a large chunk of the Lichen to take back for research.
After all, it was a product of the Dark Continent, seemingly a type of plant, brimming with potent vitality… perhaps it could be used as a life-extending medicine.
"Let's go."
Law called out to Black Cat, then dashed forward and leaped straight down toward the forest below.
Kuro didn't leave immediately. He glared at the thrashing magma bird below, then, considering it wasn't worth wasting more Aura, he picked up a rock and hurled it at the creature with all his might before turning to follow Law.
Man and cat descended from the volcano's peak, landing unscathed in the forest, bypassing the need to climb back down.