The full scene within the field was captured by Law from the air.
The dire situation of the Association side went without saying. As for the Masked Man, his Aura was like a streetlamp in the night, impossible to ignore.
However, what caught Law's attention more were the three swallowtail butterflies and the Core Energy body.
So much so that after landing, his gaze lingered on the Masked Man only briefly before shifting to the butterflies and the Core Energy.
This was an ingrained instinct developed from spending a long time on the Dark Continent.
Strange creatures, and strange items.
Both were the highest points of interest for adventurers. As for the Masked Man, in Law's view, he was equivalent to a relatively powerful magical beast species.
After all, that Manifested Aura was no joke, far exceeding the human limit, similar to magical beast species.
From Law releasing his Domain to slaughter the copper mechanical lifeforms surrounding the team, to suddenly landing on the ground in front of the Masked Man, the entire process happened very quickly.
"Law!"
Some blurted it out directly, some silently recited the name in their hearts.
When the team's defensive pressure drastically decreased, Association members present who knew Law all showed complex expressions mixed with various emotions.
Especially Cheadle and the others at the rear of the Association team… their gazes were all focused on Law's back.
They were shocked by Law's arrival, and overjoyed by it.
In such a situation, even 'sending charcoal in snowy weather' couldn't describe their current feelings.
Even though familiar faces like Menchi and Sanbica were there, Law didn't greet them after landing, instead directing all his attention to the enemy ahead.
Although his gaze was on the butterflies and Core Energy, his peripheral vision still included the Masked Man.
Just from the Manifested Aura and the wretched state of the Association members present, the Masked Man's strength was evident, so the necessary respect was still required.
The Masked Man's gaze towards Law contained a hint of wariness.
He had many ways to judge an enemy's strength. For groups like humans, he could discern some things through the strength of their life force.
Association members like Ginta were, in his view, just harder roadblocks, posing no threat at all.
That's why he was so confident in letting the butterflies guard the Core Energy.
It's worth noting that without the butterflies' assistance, he could only exert about fifty percent of his strength.
This man who suddenly appeared had, judging by his life force, much stronger than the previous enemies, but compared to himself, there was still a significant gap.
Yet, he felt danger from Law.
This was a somewhat inconceivable feeling for him.
It was like watching ants crawling on the ground, then suddenly those ants became dangerous.
Although Law gave the Masked Man an unusual feeling, that was about it.
To obtain the [Death Pattern] as soon as possible, the Masked Man took the initiative to attack.
He stretched his arms out to both sides, the ten sharp, elongated nails spread out like a pair of steel wings.
Thump!
The Masked Man pushed off the ground and charged at Law.
"Law, be careful of his..."
In the split second, Cheadle wanted to give Law, who had just arrived, some intelligence about the Masked Man's abilities.
But her words halted halfway.
In the field, facing the Masked Man's swiftly slashing nails, Law merely took a step back, then extended his hands, accurately seizing the Masked Man's wrists.
Immediately after, Law pulled back violently, throwing the Masked Man off balance, causing his body to lurch forward.
Then, Law raised his right knee, fiercely striking the Masked Man's face.
Bang!
A dull, heavy impact sound.
The Masked Man flew backward like an arrow, disappearing beyond the range of the light in the blink of an eye, plunging directly into darkness.
Moments later, another dull, heavy impact sound came from the darkness.
Cheadle stared blankly at this scene… the words she'd spoken halfway couldn't be continued.
Within the team, both Ginta and Dafifi were power-type Nen Users.
But even if they combined their efforts, not only could they not inflict damage, they couldn't even knock the Masked Man back.
Because the Masked Man had not only astonishing defense but also terrifying strength, coupled with Manifested Aura far above the norm. Knocking the Masked Man back was basically unimaginable.
Yet Law did it, and he didn't seem to exert much effort.
Watching this, Menchi and Sanbica completely relaxed.
The transition from extreme tension to relaxation nearly caused their legs to give way.
Menchi's stamina and Nen were still okay… it was just the injury to her right arm that was severe. But Sanbica's stamina and Nen were almost depleted… she was barely holding on.
If Law hadn't arrived at this moment, facing the Masked Man's attack, they would have had virtually no ability to resist.
"Law, you ran too damn fast!"
Just then, Kuro's voice came from the air.
A wisp of black smoke came through the air, instantly transforming into Kuro's form, then landing on Law's shoulder.
"You're too slow."
Law raised his right hand, signaling Kuro to return.
Kuro curled his lip, turned back into black smoke, and burrowed into the back of Law's hand.
He knew Law was about to fight, so he needed his space extraction ability.
After Kuro returned to the back of his hand, Law quickly walked towards Sanbica and the others.
"Law."
Sanbica approached him, her eyes sparkling with light.
Not far away, Menchi opened her mouth, then closed it without speaking.
"Sanbica."
Law had no time for catching up. Seeing Sanbica's Nen was severely depleted, he directly took out a piece of Lichen and said, "Eat this."
Sanbica took the Lichen and, without even asking, swallowed it directly.
The Lichen's effects immediately took hold, as if a warm current flowed through her body, causing a look of surprise to appear on her face.
'My Nen... is recovering?'
Sanbica couldn't help but look up at the close-by Law in surprise.
Meeting Sanbica's surprised gaze, Law explained with a smile, "This thing is called Lichen. After swallowing it, it can recover Nen and stamina in a short time."
"There's actually such a miraculous thing!" Sanbica became even more astonished.
"Yeah."
Law nodded without further words, first quickly glanced at the Masked Man's location, then quickly passed Sanbica, arriving beside Menchi.
"Don't move."
Using a commanding tone, he told Menchi not to move.
And Menchi obediently stayed still, but she was looking at the close-up Law with an undisguised gaze.
Law selectively ignored Menchi's gaze, taking only a few seconds to realign Menchi's bones, then fused in a small piece of Grass Jelly.
Next was the unconscious Pyon, then Ginta, whose consciousness was already a bit fuzzy.
What Law could do was fuse Grass Jelly into their bodies.
As for Saccho...
"He's dead."
After checking Saccho's condition, Law stood up, looking towards the Masked Man emerging from the darkness.
Cheadle followed behind Law, silently watching the lifeless Saccho, sighing inwardly, then thinking of the two unknown substances Law had just used.
She was both curious and puzzled, but given the current situation, it wasn't the time to ask many questions, so she had to suppress her desire for immediate answers.
"Law, I'll tell you the enemy's intelligence now," Cheadle said.
Law glanced at Cheadle and gave a slight nod, not refusing her offer.
Cheadle immediately began explaining the Masked Man's ability intelligence. Law listened quietly while watching the Masked Man emerge from the darkness.
Everyone present clearly understood there was no time for catching up or chatting now.
What needed to be done was eliminating the threat from the Masked Man.
The Masked Man stepped into the lit area… several obvious cracks now marked the mask on his face.
If not for the mask concealing it, Law and the others might have seen the Masked Man's incredulous expression.
"The mask... was damaged..."
The Masked Man murmured in his unique language, then moved to the Core Energy guarded by the butterflies.
Seeing the obvious cracks on the mask, Cheadle's voice recounting the intelligence suddenly paused.
The mask that had withstood at least five attacks from Ginta and Dafifi unscathed was cracked by a single knee strike from Law...
'If it's Law, maybe...'
Cheadle's spirits lifted slightly, and she immediately quickened her pace.
Sharp nails, immense strength, astonishing defense.
From Cheadle's account, those were basically the main points.
Having fought against the Gatekeepers, Law didn't find it particularly noteworthy.
What might be more curious was probably the Masked Man's species.
Judging by his physique, he was no different from a human.
However, humans, limited by racial traits, couldn't possibly possess such strong Manifested Aura, so from that perspective, he didn't seem human.
Watching the Masked Man regrouping and approaching, Law considered whether to capture him alive.
If Cheadle and Sanbica knew Law's current thought, they'd definitely think he was crazy.
The difficulty of killing him was already beyond S-Class, let alone capturing him alive.
"Don't interfere. You'll get in my way."
Law threw out this sentence and actively charged towards the Masked Man.
Hearing Law's words, Cheadle and the others' expressions grew complex.
The meaning of those words was clear, but they could only place their hope of defeating the Masked Man on Law.
If Law couldn't deal with the Masked Man, as time passed, the entire team would be slowly consumed by the copper mechanical lifeforms and the Masked Man.
Seeing Law charge over, the Masked Man let out a low, angry roar.
He had intended to retrieve the butterflies to assist in the fight, but concerned for the Core Energy's safety, he ultimately refrained.
Without the butterflies' linear attacks, all he could rely on were his sharp nails and powerful offensive and defensive capabilities.
While moving towards Law, the Masked Man flung out his ten nails.
This point was included in the intelligence Cheadle provided.
Being forewarned, Law didn't use his Domain to deflect the nails back.
From the available intelligence, nails deflected back wouldn't harm the Masked Man either, so there was no need to waste Nen on it.
However, to avoid stray projectiles causing accidental injuries, Law still chose to knock the nails down.
His method was simple: he took out a palm-sized piece of [Sea Mirror] from Kuro's space, knocked down the nails one by one, then stuffed the [Sea Mirror] back into Kuro's space.
Law's technique was concealed and swift. In Cheadle and the others' eyes, they barely saw a flash of white light reflecting off Law's palm, heard the crisp sound of nails hitting his hand, and then saw the nails knocked to the ground.
Seeing his launched nails easily blocked, the Masked Man didn't give up. He flung out his newly regenerated nails, attempting to disrupt Law.
However, such actions were meaningless.
Law didn't expend much effort, neutralizing each of the Masked Man's nail attacks.
The distance between them closed after several waves of nail assaults.
When the distance was sufficiently close, Law suddenly used [Instant], vanishing from the Masked Man's field of vision.
The inertia of vision caused the Masked Man to lose focus momentarily.
His adaptability honed in harsh environments now became a heavy stone binding his limbs.
He had already adapted to Law's charging speed, but Law's sudden disappearance meant he couldn't process the information in that brief instant.
Law circled behind the Masked Man. As he raised his hand, he retrieved Shin from Kuro's space, then slashed at the Masked Man's neck.
The moment Law appeared and acted, the Masked Man sensed it. His slender, ape-like arms quickly swept backward, using his sharp, elongated nails to form a defensive web behind him.
Sssshhh!
The rust-stained longsword struck the nails.
The expected sound didn't occur. Shusaku's blade directly sliced through the nails, its remaining force continuing towards the Masked Man's neck.
Not feeling a point of resistance, the Masked Man keenly sensed danger. His abundant Aura instantly exploded at his feet.
Boom!
The released Aura acted like rocket fuel, propelling his body forward.
When the severed nails hit the ground with a sound, it was also when Law's sword slash missed, and when the Masked Man created distance forward.
The Masked Man thought he had narrowly dodged this attack, but a sudden burst of white light spreading from ahead flooded his vision.
One move was an overt attack, the other a hidden attack.
The sword slash was the overt attack, while the White General cutting off the retreat path was the hidden attack.
Within the white light, the White General materialized. In the gap before the Masked Man could react, it slashed at the Masked Man.
Thump!
The Masked Man was directly slashed to the ground, cracking the solid floor tiles with countless fine lines.
Compared to the sharpness Shin gained by sacrificing destructive power, the White General's sharpness was somewhat lacking.
This slash was equivalent to a club's effect, merely smashing the Masked Man to the ground.
But that was enough.
Law flashed to behind the Masked Man.
Sensing danger, the Masked Man explosively released Aura from his body, forcibly shattering the White General.
Seeing this, a flicker of surprise crossed Law's eyes.
However, he didn't let this opportunity pass. In the opening after the Masked Man's outburst, he wielded Shin, slicing four cuts across the just-rising Masked Man.
Left hand, right hand.
Left leg, right leg.
The Masked Man's limbs separated from his torso.
Though he felt no pain, he keenly realized this.
Amidst his shock, a force struck his back.
It was Law. After sheathing his sword, he kicked the Masked Man in the back.
This kick sent the Masked Man flying into the air, while the severed limbs remained on the ground.
After kicking the Masked Man away, Law followed closely, flashing to a position above the airborne Masked Man, then stomped down on his back.
Just like that, he slammed the Masked Man directly into the ground, then reversed his grip on Shin, stabbing it into the back of the Masked Man's skull.
[Divine Script]
Law's right hand left the hilt, his index finger wreathed in Nen, quickly drawing a series of obscure characters in the air.
After finishing, he slapped his hand down, pressing the characters onto the ground. With the Masked Man's body as the center point, they formed a pattern-like arrangement of black characters.
Severing limbs, pinning with Shin, then suppressing with the Manipulation-type trait of the Divine Script.
Law felt this was enough to control the Masked Man, aligning with his plan to capture him alive.
This way, perhaps they could extract some intelligence from the Masked Man.
Outside the field, Cheadle, Menchi, Sanbica, and even Pyon, who received treatment and regained consciousness, and Ginta, who had a whole piece of Grass Jelly fused into him, all witnessed Law subduing the enemy in a single move.
"Is... is it over just like that?"
Cheadle subconsciously clenched her white-gloved hands. Even having seen it with her own eyes, it was hard to believe.
She thought Law had the possibility of defeating the Masked Man, but she didn't expect the entire process to be this simple.
In contrast, what they had just experienced was... a fierce battle!
Not just Cheadle… any Association member who noticed the result felt incredulous.
That was an enemy who had given Ginta and the others a hard fight, unable to gain an upper hand, and cost several elite members their lives.
Yet Law only needed a few exchanges to suppress the Masked Man?
It gave a sense of expecting a shark, only to find it was a guppy.