Moving forward, the trio no longer encountered Brion but instead came across the main body of the parasitic plant. The stone walls in the depths were no longer just covered in profound divine inscriptions but were now entwined with chaotic, vine-like plants.
Even the previously barren ground had grown a layer of abrupt grassland, which looked quite unnatural at first glance.
Covering it was a layer of black stains, resembling blood that had been exposed to the air for too long.
"It seems this is the site of the incident" Ging said, staring at the bloodstains on the grass and glancing at the vines on the wall, deep in thought.
"This should be the main body of the Brion, its form before parasitizing anyone."
After using his Pokedex to analyze it, Akira confirmed that this was indeed the main body of the parasitic plant.
He also noticed that the analysis indicated it was an immature parasitic plant, which meant it was definitely aggressive.
If the mature form of the parasitic plant was the herb that could cure all diseases...
"Then let's see if we can burn it down."
Facing unknown dangers, taking the initiative to test them personally was clearly unwise.
So, they had Arcanine test it with a long-range skill.
What Akira didn't expect was that the plant main body was surprisingly sensitive. Before Arcanine could even unleash its Flamethrower, the vines on the wall began to move.
In an instant, countless deep green vines covered in thorns lashed out toward Arcanine. The surface of the vines faintly gleamed with a metallic sheen, making their attacks even more fierce.
It was this detail that Ging had noticed earlier, leading him to his speculation.
Vines of various shapes and sizes continuously struck, intertwining into a dense, impenetrable net, seemingly intent on capturing Arcanine.
At the same time, the weeds on the ground also underwent a noticeable change.
Streaks of yellow-green powder were released from them, and a single whiff would cause anyone to collapse into unconsciousness.
The parasitic plants on the ground were responsible for adding negative effects.
The parasitic plants on the walls were responsible for direct attacks. In this way, the main body was similar to the Brion, both having two forms.
Facing the sudden attack, Arcanine reacted extremely quickly, unleashing a fierce Flamethrower in an instant.
To ensure safety, Arcanine used Extreme Speed to retreat a distance and positioned itself beside Akira.
When the Flamethrower met the vines, the relentless parasitic plants finally suffered a significant blow. The woven net immediately burst into roaring flames, covering each vine with a brilliant blaze.
Just as Akira thought the fire would continue to spread until all the vines were burned to ashes, the vines suddenly severed!
Moreover, they only severed the parts that were on fire, resembling a lizard shedding its tail to survive.
"It actively detach themselves?"
Upon seeing this, Ging murmured softly, growing increasingly intrigued by these parasitic plants.
Akira frowned slightly. If that was the case, there was no need to hold back.
After all, according to the Pokédex, these parasitic plants were far from maturity and were practically useless to him. At most, he could take a segment to keep.
Under the astonished gazes of Ging and Pyon, Gengar, Gardevoir, and Arcanine lined up in a row. They began to unleash their moves one after another.
Gengar — Will-O-Wisp!
Gardevoir — Mystical Fire!
Arcanine — Flamethrower!
In an instant, the entire cave was filled with dazzling flames.
There were eerie, ink-black flames. There were radiant, fluorescent flames. There were intensely hot, columnar flames.
The three flame attacks spiraled counterclockwise, striking forward and bursting into a spectacular display of sparks.
If this were showcased in a Pokémon Contest in the Pokémon world, it would undoubtedly earn a high score.
Under such a terrifying onslaught of flames, even the parasitic plants, which could shed their tails to survive, were unable to withstand it.
Almost all of them caught fire, and even if they tried to sever their tails, they couldn't. They could only silently burn to ashes.
Whether on the walls or the ground, these parasitic plants were completely wiped out.
"All three of them can use Fire-type abilities?"
Ging was startled by the combined attack of the three Pokémon.
He truly hadn't expected all three to wield flames.
The large orange-red dog was one thing, but the other two, based on their appearances, didn't seem like they would use fire at all.
Looking at the now-cleared path, Ging couldn't help but marvel once again.
Inviting Akira over was absolutely the right decision!
It seemed that with Akira alone, any problem could be solved.
Ging could have made it through here on his own, but he couldn't have done it as effortlessly as Akira.
After clearing the obstacles once more, the three of them finally made it to the depths of the cave.
****
"Is this… a stone door?"
Before them stood a partially open stone door, engraved with faintly glowing divine script.
Divine script had many uses, typically inscribed on objects to add certain effects. In the original story, the Greed Island memory card left behind by Ging, among other things, was stored inside an iron box engraved with divine script.
"Judging from the earlier situation, this divine script was likely meant to prevent them from coming out."
"But for some reason, the door was opened."
"That's how the parasitic plants escaped, and then V5 sent people in, who ended up being parasitized into Brion."
Ging pieced together every detail, arriving at a highly convincing explanation.
The only thing that didn't make sense was why the stone door engraved with divine script was open. Ging had a vague guess about this.
Recalling the use of divine script in the original story, a flash of insight struck Akira, and he roughly understood why.
"It's probably due to insufficient energy."
Akira voiced his thoughts directly.
The divine script likely required the activation of Aura, serving as fuel, to manifest its effects.
Ging had channeled Aura into the iron bar box engraved with divine script, causing the bars to disperse and allowing access to the contents inside.
Similarly, Dalzollene blade needed Aura to be concentrated on it to unleash the effects of the divine script.
"That's right. It must be that too much time has passed, and the divine script can no longer maintain its effects."
Pyon, who had some understanding of the divine script, agreed with Akira assessment.
"So, I wonder what's inside?"
Filled with anticipation, the three of them stepped through the stone gate and finally uncovered the secrets hidden deep within. Inside, they were greeted by a vast space, with divine script glowing on the stone walls all around.
The intricate patterns of the divine script were carved into the walls, exuding a comforting aura.
Above them, unknown plants resembling light bulbs provided illumination.
But these were not the true reasons for their astonishment.
What caught their eyes were the small buildings, their appearance rather ancient in style.
At the very least, they were quite distinct from the architectural styles of the Six Continents.
The walls had a noticeable metallic sheen, somewhat similar to the heads of Brions. The buildings were constructed from a special, hard mineral material. Perhaps this was why these structures had stood the test of time.
The area was also filled with Death Aura, allowing Gengar and Mega Sableye to feast to their hearts' content. The overall space wasn't particularly large, as the three of them could see the end at a glance.
The buildings inside were arranged in a chaotic manner, turning the place into a labyrinth.
It looked like a flawed imitation of some kind of terrain.
"Is this... an ancient labyrinth city?"
"No, perhaps it should be called a small ancient labyrinth city."
Pyon exclaimed in surprise but then dismissed her own statement, as this place was far too small compared to the recorded ancient labyrinth cities.
If the one on the Dark Continent was called the "Ancient Labyrinth City," then the one before her should be called the "Ancient Labyrinth Village."
But one thing was certain, this place was undoubtedly connected to the "Ancient Labyrinth City."
"That's right! With the appearance of Brion, it makes sense that this place resembles the ancient labyrinth city."
Ging figured out some things and roughly understood the origins of this place.
It wasn't something humans had brought back from the Dark Continent, as he had imagined.
Instead, it was a small ancient labyrinth city built by ancient humans long ago.
Perhaps due to the small population, the scale of construction here wasn't large and since it was built inside a mountain, there was no need for massive walls like those in the "Ancient Labyrinth City" on the Dark Continent.
All that was needed was to inscribe divine script with a "fortification" effect inside.
Unfortunately, parasitic plants had still invaded, leading to the downfall of this place.
"From the looks of it, the number of brion inside remains a mystery. No one knows how many there are."
As if to confirm Ging words, the three of them soon spotted several Brion approaching. The Brion that had been wandering near the building seemed to sense the presence of living beings and suddenly lunged forward.
Despite the large movements, there was no noticeable sound. Their speed was much faster than outside and within a few breaths, they were about to rush in front of Ging.
Ging narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the Brions, noticing that they were somewhat different from the ones he had encountered before.
First, their aura.
The aura of this batch was significantly stronger than those outside.
Second, their appearance, especially their heads, which were particularly large.
Based on the previous estimation, these Brions should have been transformed from ancient humans.
Akira, who was beside him, also noticed that something was off with these Brions, their strength had almost reached A+ level. It seemed that S- level enemies might appear later.
Seeing that some interesting enemies had finally arrived, Ging took the initiative to confront the Brions.
He clenched his fists, and flames-like aura gathered in his hands, suddenly striking towards the heads of the Brions.
It turned out that Ging also possessed a flame-like attack method.
Ging lightly stepped on the ground, but his body shot forward with a speed that didn't match his movements.
His fists, wrapped in blazing flames, directly struck the cold, gleaming heads, seemingly about to shatter them into pieces.
The next second, the situation changed abruptly.
The Brion split open like they had eaten the Split-Split Fruit, their smooth spherical bodies instantly splitting apart, scattering like petals.
This just revealed a large space in the middle, allowing them to dodge Ging fiery fists.
'What is this?'
Ging was startled in his heart, stopping behind the Brions due to his momentum, pondering silently.
The heads that had just scattered came together again, fitting perfectly without any gaps.
The exterior was extremely smooth and even, with no visible seams that could split apart.
"It should be that the parasitic plants inside can control the external metal shell to split apart through their branches."
"They can use this method to dodge many attacks and protect the most important head."
Akira analyzed carefully, also somewhat surprised in his heart.
The previous Brion had not shown this ability.
Was it because they didn't have time to show it, or were these two different?
At this moment, Ging had roughly figured out a countermeasure. The Brion could control their heads to split apart and their speed was fast enough to avoid attacks in advance.
A glint of light flashed in Ging eyes, this was exactly the kind of challenge he wanted.
With a swift step forward, Ging suddenly appeared in front of the Brions, his fists wrapped in flames fiercely striking their chests.
The chests, which couldn't split apart, shattered into a large hole under this punch, and their bodies fell to the ground.
However, the other Brions took this opportunity to charge straight at Ging.
Each attack from the Brions was not to be underestimated, their powerful strikes creating bursts of sonic booms, seemingly about to land on Ging.
Suddenly, several small spheres struck the Brions, the intense impact also creating large holes in their chests.
Nen: Sphere Game, Emission Type.
Covering the entire body with aura, a small sphere of aura is protruded and then slowly moved, increasing the number of spheres while moving them.
The size and shape of the spheres can be changed, or the speed and direction of different spheres can be altered, and so on.
Just now, Ging had the spheres orbiting around his body, so as soon as the Brions approached, they would automatically be attacked.
This was originally a rather mediocre Nen Ability, but under Ging development, it achieved remarkable results.
Although a large hole had been torn in its chest, the important head remained unharmed, allowing the Brion to continue moving.
However, Ging attack wasn't random, he deliberately targeted the chest area.
The Brions parasitic target was humans, which undoubtedly elevated its potential but also exposed it to other weaknesses. With its chest directly pierced, the Brions spine, as a human body, had been severed.
Unable to stand, the Brion could only writhe on the ground.
Streams of blood, red with a hint of purple, flowed from the wound. Surprisingly, when it hit the ground, it had a corrosive effect. It was clear that the parasitic plant only occupied the head, while the rest of the body remained that of a normal human.
As for the toxins in the blood, they were likely caused by the parasitic plant. It seemed that only parasitizing the head was the most cost-effective, avoiding the need to expend extra branches elsewhere.
Just as Ging thought the matter was over and that he could end it by delivering a final blow to the head, what happened next made him fully realize how unreasonable creatures from the Dark Continent could be.
A Brion that couldn't stand suddenly pushed off the ground with both hands, causing the ground to shatter and spiderweb cracks to spread.
Its entire body soared into the air, charging toward Ging.
Its heavy fists aimed directly at Ging face.
Meanwhile, the other Brions took this opportunity to repair themselves. Branches extended from the interior of the spherical bodies into the gaping holes in their chests.
The previously empty chests were now filled with countless branches, quickly filling the voids.
They actually managed to stand up again.
------------------------------
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