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The Dark Continent is perhaps the single greatest mystery in the entire Hunter x Hunter series. On the map Ging showed Gon at the end of the 2011 anime adaptation, the Dark Continent makes up most of the Hunter x Hunter world and completely surrounds the group of continents most people live on, also known as the Known World. In fact, the Known World is only a small portion of Lake Mobius in the Dark Continent.
When Hunters and other soldiers exit the Known World and enter the Dark Continent, they give up their lives to explore what nature holds for them. They are more likely than not going to die from one of the Five Great Calamities that lie in wait or massive animals will end up killing them accidentally. Either way, the Hunters in Hunter x Hunter will stop at nothing to get what they want and explore the unexplored.
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Disclaimer: This article contains massive spoilers for both the Hunter x Hunter anime and manga.
The Dark Continent holds both immense danger and marvelous wonders for the entire Hunter x Hunter world
The Expeditions
The Dark Continent expeditions were both led by Isaac Netero and his son Beyond Netero. The father-son duo represented the peak of humanity as they led their respective teams throughout the Dark Continent in an attempt to explore the incomprehensibly vast area surrounding them. Despite their immense strength and the team of master Nen users they led, both Isaac and Beyond Netero barely made it out alive during their expeditions.
The horrors of the Dark Continent were able to effortlessly overwhelm many of the world's strongest Nen users to date. This resulted in only Isaac Netero, Zigg Zoldyck, and Linne surviving their first expedition to the Dark Continent. Although they survived, they could only describe the experience as a losing battle the entire way through. Nature would constantly throw bigger and stronger obstacles in their way until they decided to turn back. Despite this, Isaac Netero decided to explore the Dark Continent many more times before his death in the Chimera Ant arc.
Like his father, Beyond Netero has led an expedition team to the Dark Continent and explored part of its vast landscape. He teamed up with a group of Nen users from the Kukan'yu Kingdom to search for Metallion, an alchemy plant rumored to be in the Dark Continent. Beyond and his team were eventually able to reach the plant, but on their way back to the Kukan'yu Kingdom, many of the hunters contracted a disease known as Zobae. The disease decimated Beyond's expedition team, leaving only six survivors.
Beyond Netero is once again leading an expedition to the Dark Continent with the help of King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou during the Succession War arc.
Lake Mobius
Lake Mobius is technically not a part of the Dark Continent, instead, it is the border separating the Known World from the Dark Continent. The Known World sits in the middle of Lake Mobius and Lake Mobius sits in the center of the Dark Continent. This is interesting to think about as the Known World is completely unaware that they are sitting in the center of the most dangerous area in the world.
Lake Mobius most likely acts as a defense against the monstrous creatures of the Dark Continent. Any creature that tries to cross the waters and make it to the Known World will drown before they can make it to land. Besides this, not much is known about Lake Mobius. However, much more might be revealed as the Black Whale continues on its way to the Dark Continent.
The Chimera Ants
The Chimera Ants were the main focus of the Chimera Ant arc in the Hunter x Hunter series. They are a species of ant native to the Dark Continent, brought over to the Known World most likely during the return of an expedition team. Although they originally did look like an average ant, after the Queen Chimera Ant performed phagogenesis continuously, they became intelligent humanoid creatures.
By consuming powerful Nen users, the Queen Chimera Ant gave birth to some of the strongest characters in Hunter x Hunter, including Shaiapouf, Menthuthuyoupi, Neferpitou, and King Meruem. As a result, the Chimera Ants became one of the greatest threats to humanity ever seen in Hunter x Hunter.
However, the Chimera Ants led by Meruem were classified only as a B-level threat by the Hunter Association. This is most likely due to the Chimera Ants Gon and Killua fought being nowhere near as powerful as most of the unexplored Dark Continent.
The Five Great Calamities
The Five Great Calamities are five different specimens brought back from the Dark Continent that are believed to pose the greatest threat to humanity in the Hunter x Hunter series. Each of the Five Great Calamities has received a threat level of at least A from the Hunter Association, solidifying them as nature's greatest dangers.
Pap
Pap is the first of the Five Great Calamities. The creature is a parasitic beast capable of completely taking over the nervous system of its human victims. It inserts its sprout feeler on the top of its head into its victim's skull, making direct contact with the brain. This allows Pap to tame humans and keep them as pets, suggesting they may have a collection of humans hidden somewhere in the rugged mountains.
Pap also acts as an unintentional guardian for the Unmanned Rock, a mineral found only in the Dark Continent capable of producing an immense amount of power. A small piece of the Unmanned Rock is capable of powering an entire Hunter x Hunter empire for a whole day without any issues. The Unmanned Rock also resides in the same rugged mountain range as Pap, making it impossible to retrieve without casualties.
Brion
Brion is perhaps one of the scariest of the Five Great Calamities due to its ability to completely destroy an entire team of advanced Hunters using its overwhelming power. Despite leaving two members of the elite forces sent by the United States of Saherta alive, the two could not even describe what had happened to them when they encountered Brion.
The large spherical shape on top of its body is most likely a spore, similar to that of a plant. This is further proven by the fact that Brion is also known as the Botanical Weapon. Brion most likely exudes certain pollen from its large spore, causing untold damage to the human body.
Like Pap, Brion is an unofficial guardian for an object native to the Dark Continent. To gain access to special herbs that can cure 10,000 different diseases, Brion must first be overcome.
Hellbell
Hellbell is another member of the Five Great Calamities, which resides south of Lake Mobius in the uninhabited swamplands. Unlike other calamities, Hellbell resembles an actual organism, a snake with sharp fangs and defined body segments. Although not much is known about Hellbell, its sharp fangs are most likely where its dangerous nature is rooted.
Hellbell has been described by Ging as inflicting murderous desires into the humans that come across it. This is most likely done through a fang bite, which allows it to transmit venom that then clouds the minds of individuals sending them on a killing spree.
This happened to the Federation of Ochima's expedition forces when they were looking for Nitro Rice, a longevity-increasing crop in the Dark Continent. The Hunters encountered Hellbell and quickly fell victim to its tactics. In the end, 99% of the entire force was annihilated.
Ai
Ai, meaning love in Japanese, is the name of the fourth of the Five Great Calamities in Hunter x Hunter. Ai is a gaseous species. It has no fixed shape but can produce appendages that appear to be limbs from its dark clouds of gas. Not much is known about Ai besides the fact that it is capable of killing humans in devastating ways, mostly by making them go insane.
The Mimbo Republic sent their best soldiers along with a team from the Hunter Association to the Dark Continent to retrieve the Trinity Elixir, a substance that acts as the base for all liquids in the world. Unfortunately, the team was ambushed and quickly surrounded by groups of Ai.
As a result, they all lost their sanity and only three members of the team were able to return alive. It is also important to note that Ai is the only member of the Five Great Calamities that has received an A threat level in all of its known categories on the Dangerous Creatures Evaluation List, making it the most dangerous calamity known to mankind.
Zobae
Although Ai is the most dangerous of the Five Great Calamities, Zobae is easily the most terrifying. This is due to Zobae being completely different from the other calamities. Instead of an intelligent organism, Zobae is a mysterious illness known as the 'Immortal Disease'. This makes it almost impossible to fight against, allowing for anybody to easily get infected.
During Beyond Netero's expedition to the Dark Continent, he and his team encountered Zobae on their way back to the Known World. Fortunately, Beyond was unaffected by Zobae but much of his team was. Zobae makes its victims practically immortal and self-sustaining. They consume their own flesh for sustenance and can quickly regenerate any tissue lost.
Unfortunately, no cure has been found for the disease despite the efforts of the V6 and the Hunter Association.
Nanika
Despite the terrifying power of the Five Calamities and the Chimera Ants, nothing known about the Dark Continent comes close to the danger of Nanika. Based on what has been displayed in Hunter x Hunter, Nanika is capable of granting any wish that is asked of it. This immense power makes it impossible to defend against or counter, causing anybody caught up in Nanika's death rampage to surely meet the end.
However, after it was revealed that Nanika is a Dark Continent calamity and various other coincidences, many fans believe it is heavily implied that Nanika is Ai. Both have the same color style, a deep black color made up of various scribbles. They both also have to do with the desires of someone else. Nanika grants a person's wish, thus fulfilling their desire, and although Ai's abilities are still unknown, is known as the Codependence of Desire.
Final thoughts
Yoshihiro Togashi has a tendency to make sure humans know they are not the top species in the Hunter x Hunter world. The Chimera Ant invasion during the Chimera Ant arc and various Dark Continent expeditions in Hunter x Hunter showcased to the Hunter Association that humans are not nearly as powerful as they thought they were. Being a master of Nen is not good enough to make it through the massive abyss that is the Dark Continent.
