The insect was unnaturally circular—rarely did one see something so perfectly round.
The surface was covered in black and gold patterns, which at least Akira thought looked like a bunch of messy, scribbled lines.
Compared to before, there hadn't been any sign of this bug.
Akira casually tossed out a [Sealing Bag], wrapping it up on the spot.
At the same time, he didn't forget to use his illustrated guide ability.
[Illusion Terror Bug]: Small in size and easily overlooked, its presence initially goes unnoticed by living beings.
Simply appearing in its vicinity will draw creatures into an illusion through the energy it releases, conjuring visions of their deepest fears.
At first, these illusions possess little power, but if the target is successfully frightened, the illusions grow increasingly real.
Eventually, they reach a level of strength identical to the original beings they mimic.
However, if the truth is realized in time, the illusions' power will stagnate.
From there, all that's needed is to eliminate the illusions until the Illusion Terror Bug's energy is exhausted, pulling the victim back to reality.
...
After reviewing the information, Akira fully confirmed that everything earlier had been the work of this bug.
He had to admit, the bug's ability was impressive—directly dragging beings into illusions.
Not to mention its capacity to manifest their fears, though what he had encountered hadn't truly frightened him.
What puzzled Akira was why these particular illusions had appeared. By all logic, the shadow of the Demon King should have been first.
The Demon King's shadow was the strongest foe he had ever faced—Jin and the like paled in comparison.
Akira suspected the [Illusion Terror Bug] lacked the power to create an illusion of the Demon King's shadow, forcing it to settle for lesser fears.
Still, this was impressive in its own right.
After all, the Demon King was the Demon King—even a mere shadow was no small matter.
For the [Illusion Terror Bug] to achieve this much, it was certainly worthy of his collection.
Hmm, Meowth had another research subject.
Casually tossing the [Illusion Terror Bug], now wrapped in a [Sealing Bag], into the [Digital World], Akira gave Porygon-Z a brief warning before continuing forward.
Along the way, he encountered more and more [Cursed Stones], further confirming one thing—
The pool at the center was definitely extraordinary!
Without exception, he used his spatial abilities to hurl these [Cursed Stones] into the [Digital World].
According to Porygon-Z, it had been happily using them as training dummies, praising them as excellent practice targets.
Self-repairing "targets" were rare, after all.
Thus, in this "unhindered" manner, Akira successfully reached the edge of the pool.
The surroundings were the same white coral terrain, but before him lay a vast, ink-black pool that obscured vision.
What could be lurking in those waters?
The coral terrain was already warm, but as Akira approached the pool, the temperature dropped noticeably.
As he pondered whether to have Genesect fire a [Techno Blast] into the water, send Lapras to scout, or have Porygon-Z simply drain it dry—
Suddenly, a new incubation bar surfaced in his mind.
[Another incubation bar?] Akira raised an eyebrow, surprised that one had appeared just by nearing the pool.
He still had no idea what made this pool so special.
Moreover, this incubation bar was peculiar—its progress was agonizingly slow, barely inching forward compared to its length.
But Akira knew it wasn't stagnant—just difficult to advance.
Counting this, it was the fourth such incubation bar in his possession.
The first had already hatched—and from it had emerged the Legendary Kyogre.
The second one was granted upon reaching the Dark Continent.
It's currently close and still progressing, but hasn't fully manifested yet.
The third one emerged after encountering the Demon King's shadow.
It advanced a bit before stopping completely, remaining stagnant.
And now, this is the fourth—just like the previous three, a First-Class Deity!
But...
Could a small pond really nurture a First-Class Deity?
Akira couldn't help but doubt if something was mistaken.
The pond didn't look capable of producing something of that magnitude at all.
As Akira pondered, bubbles suddenly surfaced on the pond, their frequency rapidly increasing.
One after another, bubbles formed and burst on the water, producing a series of loud, crackling sounds—jarring in the otherwise silent surroundings.
Akira focused his gaze and realized something bizarre was happening!
...
Meanwhile,
In the calm waters between the Six Continents and the Dark Continent, closer to the Six Continents, several large ships sailed across the sea.
Their considerable speed left long ripples in their wake.
These vessels were the latest technological advancements from the Six Continents, designed for long voyages with high security measures.
Numerous soldiers occupied the ships, each performing their assigned duties with precision.
The most striking figure among them was a burly man seated on the deck.
His presence was entirely different from the other soldiers—like a crane standing among chickens, drawing all eyes toward him.
It was as if a bright moon shone amidst a swarm of fireflies.
Even his attire set him apart from the spacesuit-like uniforms of the soldiers; he wore only a thin tracksuit.
The man's white T-shirt clung to his sculpted, muscular frame, leaving little to the imagination.
Adding to his intimidating aura was a long scar running across his face.
He sat cross-legged on the deck, holding a slice of glistening watermelon, with a sharp, imposing broadsword resting beside him.
This man was none other than Jonah, the leader once commanded by Akira to eliminate the subordinates of Pride.
Jonah was an S-class powerhouse hidden within the V5.
After all, as one of the five superpowers of the Six Continents, the V5 had no trouble nurturing a few S-class experts through long-term cultivation.
Due to their classified status, their existence remained unknown to the outside world.
The so-called "World's Top Five Nen Users" were merely the strongest figures known publicly.
As the longstanding rulers of the Six Continents, the V5 naturally cultivated numerous formidable individuals.
Though their numbers were limited, it also meant the V5's true strength far surpassed surface-level assumptions.
Jonah was the only S-class powerhouse aboard this ship, ranked at S-.
As he enjoyed his watermelon, several large seabirds suddenly appeared in the sky.
With wingspans stretching over a dozen meters, these were rare, colossal specimens.
Their heads bore sharp, elongated beaks that glinted coldly under the sunlight.
No one would doubt that such beaks could pierce straight through steel plates—let alone the devastating consequences if they struck a human.
Faced with the sudden aerial threat, the ship's high-ranking sentries immediately raised their firearms, ready to engage.
Though they reacted swiftly, someone was even faster.
A massive blade flew from the ship, spinning through the air with sharp, piercing whistles as its keen edge sliced through the wind.
The razor-sharp blade seemed to have eyes of its own, accurately cleaving through each seabird, splitting every one cleanly in half.
Instantly, the bisected corpses, along with showers of blood, rained down into the sea below.
After completing its arc, the blade spun back toward the ship, only to be caught firmly by a powerful hand.
Jonah hadn't even glanced at the seabirds from start to finish, yet he had disposed of them with effortless precision.
On the other ship, several people witnessed the scene in its entirety.
Cheadle adjusted her glasses, her expression grave as he remarked with certainty.
"As expected, V5 has been hiding quite a bit of strength."
"This man called Jonah is clearly formidable, yet he's never made a name for himself before now."
"Though it might be a bit inappropriate to ask this now… if you were to fight him, who do you think would win?"
Standing beside Cheadle was a tall man dressed in a deep red robe, his face painted with an opera-like mask, two locks of white hair resembling dragon horns.
This was his signature look, making his appearance unmistakable—even in a crowd, he would stand out instantly.
This was Botobai Gigante, another member of the Zodiac Twelve alongside Cheadle.
Botobai stared at Jonah on the distant ship, his tiger-like eyes reflecting rare contemplation.
After a moment of silence, Botobai finally spoke in a slow, measured tone:
"It's hard to say, but if we really fought… it'd most likely end in mutual destruction."
A draw, then…
Cheadle didn't seem surprised by the answer.
Even from this distance, she could see the refined, battle-hardened Aura radiating from Jonah's body!
This was a true powerhouse!
Even Botobai, the strongest among the Zodiac Twelve, had no confidence in defeating him.
And Jonah wasn't the only one like this—there was another.
This expedition had three ships in total.
Aside from the central one carrying Hunter Association members, the other two were manned by V5 soldiers.
Their joint voyage was unexpected, to say the least.
The reason? Akira's idea—or rather, a plan he had devised long ago.
He intended for his forces to gradually encroach upon the Dark Continent, expanding humanity's reach step by step.
Of course, expecting them to explore the Dark Continent itself was still too difficult, so Akira planned to handle that part himself.
As for the others, their main role was logistical support—construction, transportation, and similar tasks.
The first step was the Imaginary Continent between the Six Continents and the Dark Continent.
Though called a "continent," the Imaginary Continent was actually a collection of scattered islands on Mobius Lake.
Akira's plan was to have his forces occupy these islands one by one, constructing facilities and establishing permanent settlements.
Starting with the simpler islands closer to the Six Continents, they would gradually advance toward the more perilous ones near the Dark Continent.
Given enough time, it wasn't impossible for infrastructure to eventually reach the Dark Continent itself.
Of course, that was a matter for the distant future.
For now, Akira would be satisfied if they could properly secure the Imaginary Continent.
After all, judging from past voyages, even this stretch of sea was enough to halt humanity's progress.
So Akira was only counting on them to lighten the load a bit, mainly just having them responsible for constructing facilities.
Currently, these three ships were merely the initial vanguard team.
Their primary task was to scout the path, arriving first at the nearest island to clear obstacles.
Only after completing this would the logistics teams be arranged to come and begin construction.
Cheadle didn't have any resistance to this mission—after all, expanding humanity's reach was a good thing.
What puzzled her, however, was why, apart from the Hunter Association, Akira could even command the hidden forces of the V5?
Whether it was top-tier powerhouses like Jonah or the elite soldiers on those two ships, these were forces the V5 had kept concealed for years, never before revealed.
Why would they suddenly be exposed now?
Had Chairman Akira reached some kind of agreement with the V5?
Or perhaps…
Cheadle's eyes flickered with surprise as she connected the recent events one by one, an audacious thought surfacing in her mind.
The V5's attitude toward their association had clearly shifted recently, followed now by this joint exploration of the hypothetical continent…
Though she was reluctant to consider it, the astute Cheadle couldn't help but entertain one possibility.
Perhaps the relationship between the V5 and Akira wasn't as simple as cooperation.
But rather… a hierarchical one!
Meanwhile, on the other side of Cheadle and Botobai, Kurapika stood near the bow of the ship, staring straight ahead.
A faint glimmer of anticipation flickered in his eyes, his normally calm pupils tinged with a faint red from his rising excitement.
According to what Akira had said earlier, on that mysterious land known as the "Dark Continent," some of his clansmen still lived.
Even though they had never met, Kurapika was desperate to see those kin of his.
The period of calm didn't last long, passing in the blink of an eye.
A gust of wind from nowhere whipped up waves one after another.
The cresting spray froze abruptly at its peak, solidifying in midair like a sculpture.
It was as if someone had sprayed ultra-strong hairspray on them—the droplets remained utterly motionless.
What had been soft, rolling waves instantly transformed into countless razor-sharp spikes, their glinting edges chilling to behold.
After some time sailing, this vanguard team finally encountered their first real danger.
One that Akira's squad had faced before—
The Sea of Thorns!
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