Menchi's ability had confirmed it was harmless, and the familiar spirit Youpi had practically verified the fire-resistant effect of the tentacle skin. With this, they were even more confident.
More importantly, Chimera itself didn't need this layer of protection, as it could completely withstand the floating behemoth's flame jets.
Otherwise, covering it with the skin without affecting its flight would have been an extremely difficult task.
Menchi skillfully cut the tentacle skin with her Poultry Scarlet Knife, quickly crafting a protective layer for each person.
Morrow, meanwhile, carefully folded and stored the remaining skin.
This skin was very light and thin, about the same thickness as common leather, and was translucent throughout.
It was truly hard to imagine that the colossal creature above could rely on such lightweight limbs to firmly ensnare flying creatures several times Chimera's size.
Judging from its material, since it could be easily cut by the Poultry Scarlet Knife, its toughness should be limited.
So, for it to accomplish such a feat was truly mind-boggling.
But the possibility that the tentacles became much more fragile after being detached from the main body couldn't be ruled out.
The tentacle Chimera had severed was huge. Even after cutting a protective layer for everyone, a large amount of material was still left over.
And the backpacks carried by each team member were already full of supplies.
It was only because they had consumed some of their supplies over the past two days that they could barely free up some space to store this fire-resistant tentacle skin.
Morrow believed this item was worthy of being classified as a "Hope," so he would take as much as he could.
He stuffed every available gap in his backpack with the tentacle skin before stopping.
Then, he immediately took the tailored protective layer and wrapped his entire body tightly.
The skin was translucent, allowing them to retain partial vision even when fully covered.
Moreover, with their abilities, holding their breath for a short time was not difficult.
So, for safety's sake, they had to ensure it was sealed as tightly as possible.
Once all preparations were complete, Morrow issued the command for Chimera to move.
Chimera had already flaunted its might before the tentacles earlier. Now, its morale was sky-high, showing not a hint of hesitation.
With a beat of its wings, it flew forward, its movements filled with valor and decisiveness.
The tentacles, hanging in the air like a beaded curtain, soon sensed Chimera's approach.
They seemed to follow a fixed attack pattern, lacking the ability to adapt flexibly.
So, upon detecting Chimera's renewed approach, the tentacles' surfaces, just like before, opened their sucker-like pores. Aided by the deflagration of hydrogen gas within, they shot streams of high-temperature flames at Chimera.
In an instant, Chimera's figure was engulfed by the intersecting blaze.
But the next second, Chimera burst through the scorching flames and unhesitatingly crashed into the tentacle formation ahead.
Swish, swish!
The moment it broke through the tentacle defense line, Chimera's scale-covered wings cleanly severed two tentacles. It then continued flying forward without a backward glance.
The two severed tentacle segments plummeted toward the ground, their broken ends erupting with even more violent flames.
The out-of-control propulsion sent them whipping wildly in mid-air, like two runaway fire whips.
Morrow looked back, deliberately raising his gaze toward the massive, grayish-black body faintly visible deep within the clouds.
It remained silently coiled above the cloud layer, seemingly showing no reaction to the severed tentacles.
It was unclear whether it was because it couldn't feel pain, or if a creature of its terrifying size simply didn't care about the loss of a few tentacles.
"Fortunately, the 'defensive strength' of these tentacles isn't that high."
Morrow murmured to himself. His gaze then shifted to the few flying creatures still struggling within the tentacle encirclement.
They were not foolish. Noticing the gap Chimera had torn open, they all changed direction and scrambled toward the opening.
But their frantic wing beats undoubtedly betrayed the terror in their hearts.
Morrow watched all this quietly.
Although a breach had been torn in the defensive line, the tentacles' primary attack method was not entanglement, but an overwhelming barrage of flame jets.
Without a means to resist fire damage, even if a few more tentacles were severed, these flying creatures could not escape the fate of being incinerated.
And so it was.
Under Morrow's silent gaze, the few giant flying beasts that thought they had found a path to survival were ultimately reduced to charred husks amidst the intersecting flames, before being tightly ensnared by the spreading tentacles.
Watching this scene, Morrow's feelings were somewhat complex.
Any one of these giant flying creatures, had it appeared on the Six Continents, would have been enough to pose a huge threat to a small country like East Gorteau.
Yet in this hunting ground, they were like ants and insects, easily hunted and devoured.
The other team members also witnessed the fate of the flying creatures, and a similar wave of emotion washed over their hearts.
They subconsciously tightened their grip on the tentacle skin covering their bodies.
Although this continent might indeed hold wondrous "Hopes" everywhere, it also concealed deadly threats from countless predators at every moment.
To touch hope, one had to face the risk of disaster.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
This point was demonstrated to the fullest on the Dark Continent.
"Kalluto, confirm the direction."
Morrow's voice, carried by the wind, jolted everyone from their chaotic thoughts.
Kalluto snapped back to his senses, immediately took out the living paper doll, and after a glance to confirm, pointed the way forward for Chimera.
Chimera promptly adjusted its course and flew in the correct direction.
In just a short while, they were far away from the behemoth hidden in the clouds.
As the distance increased and their altitude rose, Morrow and the others looked back once more at the perilous situation they had just escaped, and finally saw the true form of the colossal creature with its countless hanging tentacles.
It was an umbrella-shaped creature occupying a vast expanse of the sky, grayish-black in color, yet with a faint, translucent sheen.
Its form resembled a jellyfish, or perhaps a giant umbrella suspended high in the sky. Its boundless body pulsed within the clouds like a beating heart, undulating at a specific frequency.
The tentacles, capable of spewing massive amounts of fire, extended from beneath its bell-shaped body. From a distance, they looked like the tails of a kite.
But when they hung down, they were as steady as soldiers in formation, like the bars of a cage, trapping and killing the flying creatures inside.
"It's not quite what I imagined."
Gazing at the indistinct silhouette in the clouds, Ponzu said in a daze.
Menchi glanced at her and asked, "What did you think it would be like?"
"I thought it would be very oppressive, but looking at it now..."
Ponzu chose her words carefully, speaking softly, "Instead, I feel it has a strange sense of lightness, even fragility."
"There is a bit of that," Biscuit chimed in.
When the behemoth fully revealed its true form, it did indeed give an impression of incredible lightness.
To describe this perception more concretely, it was like seeing a giant beast from afar in a city, one that towered over skyscrapers, only to look closer and realize it was just a giant inflatable model.
That being said, beneath that strange sense of lightness was hidden the power to easily hunt numerous giant flying creatures.
Morrow stared at the distant, grayish-black, umbrella-shaped shadow, silent.
Such a massive volume, yet it could float so stably above the clouds. It must be thanks to that astonishing lightness.
But the most dangerous aspect of this unidentified floating creature was not its seemingly paper-tiger-like form...
Perhaps, within that body occupying a vast expanse of the sky, was an enormous amount of flammable gas.
It could both help it float stably among the clouds and provide it with a long-lasting means of attack.
"But as long as we can find a way to deal with it, the risk will be greatly reduced," Morrow murmured to himself.
Whether it was the gaseous lifeform at the Klein Bottle coordinate point or this behemoth that could easily hunt down numerous giant flying beasts.
As long as they could grasp their characteristics, they could find a way to avoid the danger.
However, the most crucial factor in their escape was their possession of a flying magical beast like Chimera.
Otherwise, relying on human speed alone, they would have struggled even to evade a direct threat, let alone escape a perilous situation quickly.
Morrow retracted his gaze.
It had only been two days since they arrived on the Dark Continent, and they had already encountered one incomprehensible existence after another.
The journey ahead would likely only become more fraught with peril.
At this thought, Morrow crouched down and gently patted Chimera's back.
Thank goodness he had it.
Although the sky was equally fraught with danger, compared to the unpredictable mountains, forests, swamps, canyons, and deserts on land, at least in terms of the frequency of encountering danger, continuously choosing an aerial route would definitely allow them to avoid the vast majority of threats from the ground.
It could be said that Morrow's confidence in setting foot on the Dark Continent did not stem entirely from his own aura output level that surpassed human limits.
What he truly relied on were magical beast partners like Chimera.
Chimera flew steadily at a high altitude.
The people on its back did not let their guard down, each using their aura to enhance their vision, vigilantly observing their surroundings.
After flying like this for about an hour, the landscape below gradually changed, transitioning from barren, desolate land to a moist wetland area.
It was as if they had crossed some invisible boundary, and greenery began to spread across the land.
Countless rivers stretched out like naturally growing branches. From high above, the winding waterways resembled the chaotic lines on a palm, crisscrossing and intertwining with no discernible pattern.
As the scenery changed, Chimera banked slightly, and the people on its back couldn't help but cast a few more glances at the ground.
"Something's a bit strange," Menchi said with a slight frown.
As a Gourmet Hunter, she had spent years trekking through all sorts of terrains in search of rare ingredients.
And this wetland before her gave her a strong sense of dissonance from the very first glance.
"How come I can't see a single living thing?"
Her gaze carefully scanned the water's surface, but she couldn't even catch the slightest ripple caused by a swimming aquatic creature.
This was really not right.
A place so rich in water should have been a paradise for all sorts of creatures.
Yet this body of water was terrifyingly still, without a single sign of life.
The others soon noticed the strangeness as well.
However, they were currently high in the sky, so they didn't need to worry too much about this peculiar wetland.
But if they had to cross this eerie wetland on foot, they would probably have to be on high alert.
After all, behind the eerie and the dissonant, unknown dangers often lurked.
Menchi also felt there was no need to worry about it, so she suppressed the doubt that had arisen in her heart.
According to the operational principles for humans exploring the Dark Continent, unless influenced by factors such as their route, they must do their utmost to avoid all potential unknown risks.
Right now, with Chimera carrying them across at a high altitude, whatever strangeness was hidden in the wetland below had nothing to do with them.
Chimera flew steadily forward.
The surrounding airspace, just like the wetland below, was devoid of any living creatures.
Since leaving the land of yellow sand, the most flying creatures they had seen were the group that had been driven down from above the clouds by the tentacled floating creature.
It seemed the aerial ecosystem of the Dark Continent was likely similar to that of the Dark Ocean; to compete for airspace, flying creatures would engage in endless battles and struggles high in the sky.
However, at Chimera's current flight altitude, they didn't need to worry about this.
Even if they did encounter those highly aggressive flying creatures at this height, Morrow would immediately direct Chimera to turn and evade.
Unless it was truly unavoidable, he would never consider a head-on fight.
After all, proactively engaging these creatures would entail unnecessary risks with no benefits to speak of.
Of course, it was best to avoid them if possible.
—--
At the edge of the wetland, reed-like wetland plants grew in dense thickets, their lush leaves interwoven into a green curtain five to six meters high.
Several pairs of eyes quietly appeared through the gaps in the leaves, staring intently at Chimera as it passed overhead.
The creatures hiding within had a physique somewhat similar to humans, but were generally more slender.
Their legs were as thin as bent bows, their eyes protruded like a chameleon's, and their large, fan-like ears were constantly rotating, keenly capturing the sounds of their surroundings.
These unique physical traits seemed to be the result of evolution over long ages to adapt for survival.
They were currently looking up at Chimera in the sky, while also glancing nervously towards the depths of the wetland from time to time, their eyes a mixture of unease and anticipation.
And in the next second, the source of their unease suddenly appeared!
On the vast lake surface where the waterways converged, a towering splash of water erupted without any warning.
An immense black shadow, pushing a sky full of lake water, lunged straight for Chimera in the air.
The lake water cascaded down the black shadow's silhouette, gradually revealing its true form.
It was a gigantic, pitch-black, five-fingered hand. On each finger grew dense, unknown objects resembling enoki mushrooms.
In front of it, Chimera was smaller than its little finger's nail.
This sudden turn of events instantly startled the flying Chimera and the people standing on its back.
—--
"A hand!?"
Gazing at the giant arm that shot out from the bottom of the lake, everyone's expression jolted.
Although they had long sensed that this area exuded an indescribable strangeness and dissonance, they could never have imagined that such a massive, pitch-black hand would suddenly shoot out from under the water to attack without any warning.
—--
At the edge of the wetland.
The instant the water splashed into the sky, the strangely-shaped figures lurking in the grass shot out like arrows loosed from a bow, rushing straight toward the core area with the most abundant water.
It was as if they had long known about the existence of this giant black hand, and perhaps wanting to seize something from the depths of the wetland, they chose this exact moment to make their move.