Chapter 78: The Ritual
During the few days that Kanji and Darma returned to base to contact the Association, Haze conducted live experiments using several of the strange insects confirming his hypothesis even further.
In the grass, Haze and Hisoka stood over the corpse of a fallen soldier.
The man's head was shattered, but his limbs were mostly intact, showing only partial damage.
A faint crackling sound…
Then, with a grotesque movement, the corpse slowly rose from the ground, a wave of aura surging from its body.
Haze looked toward Lance—
who instantly raised his gun and fired.
However, the bullet's impact did little. The body barely flinched, as if its mass had absorbed the shock.
Hisoka flicked his wrist, throwing several cards that sliced through the air, severing one of the soldier's arms and a leg in a single motion.
Even so, the fallen corpse continued to crawl, then suddenly leaped upright using only its remaining limbs, lunging toward them.
Bang!
Haze's leg whipped out like a steel blade, cleaving through the soldier's torso in a single motion. The body burst apart violently.
"When these insects possess someone alive, they control the mind," Haze explained calmly. "The host's life essence weakens slightly it's drained. After death, through the insect, the telekinetic force is stimulated again. It's pure qi with a natural tendency toward Nen. The way the energy contracts is a defensive mechanism."
"In other words," Hisoka added, "once possessed, the brain becomes the insect's its commands take over. But since these creatures lack intelligence, they can only act on instinct, pushing that Nen outward like a reflex. After the host dies, the leftover energy is released through the insect, which first absorbs and then transforms it…"
As he spoke, two insects wriggled out from the ruined flesh of the corpse.
Originally one,
now two divided.
The instant they touched open air, they reflexively leapt toward Haze and Hisoka.
Their wingbeats made no sound at all.
That was the most dangerous part they were barely visible. Anyone untrained would be taken over before even noticing.
"The energy or will they carry," Haze muttered, "has a certain protective hue. When they ambush, they act just like Zetsu… completely suppressing their presence. When attacked, they can use that same energy defensively. No wonder the soldiers stood no chance."
With a casual flick of his fingers, Hisoka's cards flashed. The two insects were cut cleanly in half.
They hit the ground, dissolving into faint wisps of aura before vanishing entirely.
"These insects are unique," Haze said grimly. "They don't multiply through ordinary parasitism laying eggs, feeding on blood and flesh. Instead, they split their own energy and the will bound to it, transferring it into a new host."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, the sound of heavy gunfire and artillery erupted from behind them.
Without hesitation, Lance grabbed Hiramori and Dangeri by the arms. His calves glowed a molten crimson, like heated metal. In the next instant, he shot off like a race car, retreating in the opposite direction with both in tow.
Haze and Hisoka disappeared from sight, heading toward the source of the commotion.
As they neared the outskirts of the city, they saw it—
Countless soldiers in white hazmat suits were firing desperately at a flood of beasts animals of every shape and size, alive and dead alike.
It looked like an ocean of monsters.
There were so many that counting them was impossible.
Tens of thousands, at least a seething black tide.
The East Gothic army, which had been stationed closer to the Sawtooth Mountains, was being forced back. Less than a thousand men remained.
The infected included birds, beasts, and even reptiles. Their attacks were so varied that ordinary firearms were almost useless.
A swarm of birds overhead spun like a living cyclone, raining down in waves a deadly downpour that shredded through the soldiers below.
Under the hail of bullets, beasts at the front collapsed one after another… but moments later, they rose again.
Even when their flesh was torn apart, insects flew out of the wounds to infect new hosts.
Some soldiers screamed as their protective suits tore open and beasts dragged them down.
Others broke rank and fled in panic.
It seemed as though every creature from the Sawtooth Mountains had abandoned its habitat and joined the assault.
Division.
That was the most terrifying part.
What might have begun with a few insects had multiplied beyond imagination through parasitism and division.
Then, in the chaos, a single figure stood out.
A man in the uniform of Donggudo but without protective gear.
A Nen user.
He stood alone amidst the stampede, unwavering.
His aura flared brighter than Haze's devastating, immense.
Every creature that neared him was obliterated instantly, crushed by sheer power. His Nen was so destructive and wide-ranging that Haze was reminded of Uvogin.
"Donggudo really has a user that strong…" Haze muttered.
He and Hisoka hid in the forest beside the military camp, using Zetsu to suppress their presence completely.
With that powerhouse on the field, the army's losses had slowed somewhat, though the retreat continued.
"The tide's turning against them again," Haze said flatly. "We're about to lose this sector… the battlefield's going to expand."
He turned to tell Hisoka to withdraw—
But froze.
From within the tide of beasts, a figure emerged.
A man with long braids, his face marked with dark totem-like tattoos, wearing a white robe.
A Bozwa.
The surrounding beasts didn't attack him.
Haze's pupils shrank.
The Bozwa raised his hands toward the sky…
Then drew a dagger—
—and slit his own throat.
He died on the spot.
But instead of reviving like the other corpses, the surrounding parasites gathered over him, devouring his body and blood until nothing remained.
Not even bones.
And then—
The tide of beasts surged violently. Their aura grew more vicious, more feral.
"Retreat!!" Haze shouted.
He took off immediately, sprinting at full speed.
Hisoka followed close behind.
…
Half a day later, they finally stopped far from the Sawtooth Mountains, where silence had returned.
A faint rustle broke the quiet. Hisoka paused.
"What is it?" he asked.
Based on what he knew of Haze, he could tell—he'd seen something.
"This isn't a cursed energy," Haze murmured. "Nor is it normal posthumous life. It's something passed through a medium... It carries the will of the dead and it follows specific rules."
He ignored Hisoka, lost in thought. The image of the Bozwa's suicide replayed in his mind.
Then suddenly—
A flash of realization.
"It's… similar to the Egg of the King ceremony from the Kanjin Empire," he whispered.
Though its functions and results differ, the structure was nearly identical rules, a designated site, sacrifices, and participants.
Given his earlier deductions, the Bozwa tribe clearly held something special.
"The birth of the primordial worm…" he muttered.
"It seems complex but in truth, it's simple. Far simpler than the Egg of the King. Its purpose is to preserve the life of the race. The participants are the Bozwa and the royal monarch. The site… the entirety of East Gordal. They aim to overthrow the regime and destroy the royal family. The sacrifice is the Bozwa themselves."
"Once the ritual begins, the Bozwa must continue to sacrifice themselves until only one spark of life remains the final individual. Only then will the division and parasitism end."
Haze's eyes glazed as he continued muttering, oblivious to Hisoka watching him.
"Hm?"
It was the first time Hisoka had seen him like this lost in thought, mumbling like a madman.
A crooked smile formed on Hisoka's lips, but he didn't interrupt.
"Something created this primordial insect… gave it specific powers… and thus began the ritual," Haze went on.
"It's far weaker than the Egg in the Jar. That ritual allowed princes to manifest spiritual beasts. This one doesn't affect the Bozwa directly it relies on division and evolution. The rules aren't as rigid or obvious."
"The ritual's scope is too vast, which weakens its potency. If the first generation of these insects had been destroyed early on, the Bozwa would have perished, and all this would've been avoided. The ritual would've ended prematurely."
"If I'm right, once the remaining Bozwa fail to kill their king after all sacrifices, the ritual ends anyway the other side wins, but the Bozwa's spark persists."
He recalled how the beasts had attacked Hisoka, not him.
Because Hisoka had shown hostility toward the Bozwa.
Just like Nen abilities, rituals operate under rules. That was why Haze understood it so clearly.
In the Egg of the King, the princes' spiritual beasts also defend their hosts a passive safeguard. Outsiders can intervene, but the focus is always on the participants.
The purpose is succession.
This ritual, however, lacked strict rules or confinement the "site" wasn't fixed, the scale too large.
If unchecked, it could engulf an entire nation.
That alone proved the creator of the ritual wasn't particularly powerful the framework was loose, unrefined.
Even so, the insects' rate of division was horrifying.
"If only they'd been wiped out at the start… But no the kingdom's own army nurtured this disaster," he concluded grimly.
"Whatever the conditions were, they've now been fulfilled. The ritual is active."
"All of this is still speculation… we'll confirm it step by step."
"If the ritual's purpose is to preserve their race, it can only end in two ways," he muttered. "One: kill every Bozwa except one. Two: kill the king and let the Bozwa win."
Hisoka tilted his head, frowning slightly. "You've… figured it all out?"
"I'm not certain," Haze replied. "Let's regroup with Lance and the others first, then return to base."
Hisoka's expression shifted slightly. He knew Haze and Haze didn't speak nonsense.
After some searching, they found Lance and the others.
Together, they retreated toward the border.
Days later, they arrived at a temporary base near a checkpoint where Kanji and Darma were waiting.
Haze picked up a communicator and called Netero.
He explained everything the Bozwa, the insects, and his theory of the ritual.
"Hmm… your deduction sounds very likely," the old man said after a pause. "It seems the situation is more serious than I thought. Still… I must praise you. You've found the truth so quickly. You're truly worthy of my choice."
"Enough of that," Haze cut in coldly. "If it really is a ritual, it won't threaten the world beyond. But Donggudo itself may vanish. If this division keeps spreading, the entire country will fall with few survivors."
"We'll need something special to stop it before that happens."
"You mean… nuclear bombs?"
"The Eastern Gordal regime won't allow foreign interference," Haze said sharply. "Besides, the war zone's already massive. One man or team can't stop this. Drop a nuke and end it all surely the V5 can handle that?"
"Maybe," Netero replied, chuckling softly. "But that would start an international war. The political fallout would be catastrophic. Better to do it manually."
Haze's brow twitched. "Why don't you come handle it yourself—or send reinforcements? Don't tell me you expect me to clean this up alone."
"Ahahaha… That's not my job," the old man said cheerfully.
"…"
"As you said—it's a ritual. Can't you just interrupt it or end it directly?"
Netero yawned. "Ahh, getting old… makes me sleepy. You'll manage, I'm sure."
"Damn it…"
Haze slammed the receiver down.
His eyes narrowed.
"Old bastard…" he muttered under his breath.
(End of Chapter)