Seeing the pigeons return to normal, everyone realized Larry had taken action, and they all breathed a sigh of relief knowing his method worked against Dark Sonata's influence. With that in mind, someone suggested, "Since the soul is at risk, let's start by experimenting with dead objects first."
After a moment of thought, Morel touched his chin, his face partially hidden behind sunglasses, as he stared into the gray mist ahead, signaling something important. The inside of the mist was too obscured to see clearly, and any creature venturing in would face serious risks. It was the perfect time for him to act. Raising a heavy pipe with one hand, Morel took a deep breath, causing his chest to swell noticeably.
"Hoo~" he exhaled sharply, releasing small balls of pure white smoke that stood out vividly against the dull gray fog.
Unlike the usual human-shaped smoke figures people imagined, this smoke twisted and formed tiny rabbits. These purple smoke rabbits weren't as strong or aggressive as the humanoid Purple Smoke Rabbits, but they were much lighter, more agile, and could be produced in large numbers, making them ideal for reconnaissance.
Thanks to Morel's skillful control, the smoke rabbits looked incredibly lifelike, almost like real white rabbits. In an instant, he blew out hundreds of them, then stopped. Under everyone's watchful eyes, the little smoke rabbits hopped into the gray mist one after another.
According to his senses, there was nothing unusual in the fog at first. But after a few minutes, he made a new discovery.
"Got it!" he exclaimed. "Looks like a ship, but... something's off about it." A faint sweat appeared on Morel's forehead as his confident expression shifted to one of confusion. Controlling these scouts remotely was still a challenge, even for someone as strong as him.
"What's going on with that ship?" Cluck asked anxiously.
Was there really a ship inside the strange fog?
"It's a very large ship," Morel explained. "After careful investigation, the Rabbits confirmed that the ship is actually at the center of the gray fog. In other words, this ship is most likely where the Dark Sonata is coming from."
He shrugged. "I'm puzzled about how the ship ended up here, but I guess it's not completely strange to find a ship at sea, right?"
After hearing this, Cluck looked puzzled herself. Morel's reaction seemed a bit more intense than expected. "So, what's happening on the ship? Who's playing the Dark Sonata?" she asked, eager to know more.
"Or did the music just appear out of nowhere?" Cluck wondered aloud, still unsure halfway through whether someone was actually playing the Dark Sonata on the ship.
It seemed impossible for anyone to keep playing such a haunting piece nonstop, no one could handle the consequences. She thought it was more likely that the death-like aura of the Dark Sonata had triggered some strange phenomenon, causing the music to keep playing on its own.
"That's what puzzles me," he added. "There's nothing on this ship except the hull!" Morel said grimly. "Nothing related to the Dark Sonata, nothing at all. The rabbit who went in earlier didn't find anything."
With every word, his face grew darker. This was far beyond what they expected. How could there be nothing on the ship?
Maybe the people who entered had died, their bodies sinking or drifting away, but how could there be absolutely nothing? Then what killed those people?
"It looks like I'll have to go in and check it out myself," Larry said quietly, his tone steady.
He knew Morel's Purple Smoke Rabbit intelligence wasn't perfect, and some crucial details were probably missing. He had a strong feeling that something unexpected awaited him inside the gray fog, probably the strongest gut feeling he'd ever had. No matter what, he was determined to go in.
Morel and Cluck exchanged looks and finally nodded, their expressions firm. With Larry by their side, there was nothing to fear. The mind-erasing skill Larry had just demonstrated was more than enough to protect them.
"Alright, let's go in and see for ourselves," Morel said, steering the boat into the gray fog.
As the boat moved forward, everyone was enveloped by the mist. Whether it was an illusion or not, Larry felt uneasy the moment they entered the fog.
Then, suddenly, strange music reached their ears. The beautiful melody didn't bring joy to Morel and the others, it made them feel uneasy, even scared.
The principle of give and take. The eerie feeling of death. The mysterious music playing out of nowhere. All of it was a clear warning: what lay ahead was the dreaded Dark Sonata.
clucks ear twitched slightly as she spoke with a firm tone, "That's the sound of a violin. Looks like this time, it's playing the dark sonata from the violin chapter."
As a musician, even though the dark sonata might have altered the sound somewhat, she could still clearly recognize the violin.
"The dark sonata's melody affects you deeply, even if you try to block it out." She added, "Back in the day, the dark sonata was seen as an unstoppable threat."
Everyone knew why Cluck said it was "in the past", because now there was Larry, who could handle it. Dark Sonata was definitely dangerous, but with Larry by their side, it felt safe.
Larry's eyes narrowed as he stared into the distance. Soon after hearing the eerie music, strange deathly thoughts began to swirl around, radiating a menacing aura.
It seemed like these thoughts were trying to latch onto people, just like they had with those pigeons earlier. Larry glanced thoughtfully at the gray fog surrounding them. It was likely that Dark Sonata sensed living beings through this mist. Whenever something alive appeared in the fog, these dark death aura would come flying.
"Come out, Gengar," Larry said calmly.
To the surprise of Morel and the others, a cloud of purple-black smoke rose from Larry's shadow, resembling a large purple sack. Gengar's scarlet eyes locked onto the deathly thoughts floating above, and it licked its lips eagerly. This was exactly the kind of challenge it needed to grow stronger.
"Ge-Ngar!" Gengar shouted, and its mouth created a powerful suction, pulling the death aura in.
The aura seemed endless, as if no matter what, they would keep circling around Larry and the others. But this actually worked in Gengar's favor, it was like a buffet being served just for him. Thousands of intense death aura streamed into Gengar's mouth, almost like eating a bowl of noodles.
"Another Nen beasts?" Morel stared at Gengar, trying to recall from his memory. Eventually, he realized this was one of the five nen beast from that day!
'Is it a Nen beasts that can swallow death aura?!' he wondered.
In this gray fog, Dark Sonata's death aura were especially strong, so strong that even Morel and the others could see them clearly.
"As expected, Mr. Larry can easily handle Dark Sonata's intrusion," Cluck sighed in relief.
Seeing Gengar's calm and confident expression eased her worries. It seemed that even against Dark Sonata, Mr. Larry was more than capable.