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'…' Thought
"…" speech
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(Sorry for the long wait, long chapter today)
The sky above the Havenridge Expanse bled crimson into deepening violet, the sun retreating behind the Crystal Spires as if fleeing from what lurked below. The crystal forest they called it , Ging Freecss adjusted the worn strap of his satchel, his Hunter license catching the dying light as it dangled from a chain around his neck.
"Feels heavier than usual," he muttered, thumb tracing the embossed emblem.
Insert stood a few paces ahead, his fingers manipulating a portable scanner that cast a blue glow across . The device projected a shimmering three-dimensional topographical map of the region.
"That's responsibility," Insert replied, voice low and measured as he tilted the screen. "For once it's not about finding treasure or chasing something—it's about stopping killers." His eyes narrowed as he studied the projection. "Sixteen dead just yesterday. Four of them children. All civilians."
Ging exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of the mission settle between his shoulder blades. The familiar thrill of discovery that usually accompanied his expeditions was absent, replaced by something cold and leaden.
They weren't here for a treasure, a mystery, or a breakthrough. This time, they were hunting their own.
It had started with a direct call from Chairman Netero—rare and serious enough that Ging had abandoned the greedi island project halfway through. The old man's voice had been stripped of its usual playfulness, instead carrying the edge of steel that reminded everyone why he remained the most formidable Hunter alive.
"Ging. Insert. I've been informed about the situation in Havenridge. A group of rogue Hunters has gone wild. We sent two cleanup teams. None came back." The chairman's pause had been heavy with implication. "Whatever they've seen, whatever they're doing—it's outside the code. I need people I can trust, and people who can finish what needs finishing."
Netero had sent the coordinates, along with a simple directive:
"Find them. Stop them. No matter what they used to be. And find out why."
The Havenridge Expanse had always been restricted—classified by the V5 as a buffer zone between the known world and the influence of the Dark Continent waters. But recently, its unique nature—a place where the boundary between the two began changing
The terrain shifted based on the time of day, on your mood, on the strength of your aura. Reality here was malleable, dangerous.
And now, seasoned Hunters were turning into predators.
"They're not just killing," Insert said, his eyes reflecting the dancing lights from the valley below. "They're slaughtering everyone. Anyone who's different. Anyone without Nen. Some of their victims were caretakers, scholars..." His voice faltered slightly. "Even children."
Ging crouched beside a warped tree root, placing his palm against its bark. The plant shivered beneath his touch, responding to his aura. "This place is weirder than the tombs I excavated in the Eastern provinces," he murmured. "Everything here feels... aware."
Down in Sector Seven, strange bioluminescent patterns danced between the trees like silent communication. The air was thick with ambient Nen, static and pulsing, as if the land itself was trying to warn them of what lay ahead. Crystal formations jutted from the earth at impossible angles, their structures defying known geology.
Insert drew his staff—a long, elegant weapon etched with intricate glowing runes. It could shrink to the size of a pen, expand to twice its normal length, stun on contact, and fire concentrated Nen bursts. Most importantly, it allowed Insert to teleport anywhere near it, a technique he had perfected over the years but most of you already knows that. Ging watched him check the chamber where a condensed Nen core pulsed with a soft azure light.
"Something from the DC did get here,It's using blood as a power source" Insert said, his voice uncharacteristically hard.
Ging nodded, understanding the gravity of what his companion was saying. Even among Hunters, there was an unspoken code—even during conflict, certain lines weren't crossed. That code was being abandoned tonight, they are using humans for farming something and inside the V5 territory.
"None of the rogue ones walked in here by accident," Ging replied, his casual demeanor belying the tension in his shoulders. "They chose this place . And they're making a playground out of murder."
A sound echoed through the valley—something between a howl and a scream. Not from a beast. Not entirely human either. It raised the hair on the back of Ging's neck, a sensation he hadn't felt since his expedition to the ruins beneath the Mitene Union.
The Crystal Spires began to flicker, their internal light resonating with the same wavelength as the creatures that occasionally slipped through the thinning boundary between worlds. The phenomenon was escalating—the Boundary Shift, as V5 researchers called it.
"We should track them first," Ging decided, his eyes scanning the treeline. "Find out what's causing this before we move in."
Insert nodded. "They're still using Nen," he observed, his expression tightening as he extended his En outward in careful pulses. "But something's off about their aura patterns. It's like..." He paused, struggling to articulate what his senses were telling him. "It's like they don't recognize their victims as human. Their aura shows no emotional response to killing, no remorse, no satisfaction—nothing."
Ging pulled a weathered envelope from his coat. The seal bore the Hunter Association crest and Netero's personal mark. Inside was a list—names of the Hunters believed to have gone rogue. He'd recognized three immediately, and the recognition had left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"I trained with Toka back in the day," Ging muttered, staring at the first name. "We spent six months tracking rare species in the Yorbian continent. He used to risk his life rescuing orphans from warzones."
"Now he kills them?" Insert's question hung in the air, unanswered.
........
As night swallowed the valley, the rogue Hunters began to appear—not emerging from shadows as they'd expected, but walking openly, their movements casual and coordinated. What disturbed Ging most was how normal they appeared—no visible corruption, no obvious signs of mental degradation. They looked like Hunters on any standard mission.
And they clearly knew Ging and Co were coming.
"Looks like the briefing was wrong," Insert said, spinning his staff to life, the runes along its length brightening with his focused aura.
"Oh?" Ging cracked his knuckles, his own Nen beginning to radiate around him in controlled waves.
"They didn't just go rogue." Insert's eyes narrowed as he processed what his En was revealing. "They believe they're on a legitimate mission. In their minds, they're hunting wild beasts—not people."
From the brush ahead, a voice called out. Familiar, yet somehow wrong—like hearing an old song played in the wrong key:
"Ging! Happy to see you again, buddy!" The figure stepped into the clearing, and Ging recognized Toka immediately—his old friend's face unchanged, but his eyes holding something alien. "Tell me, did you get the good stuff? Haven't had a drink in the past week or so."
Ging's expression settled into a grim smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Hi, Toka," he replied, his tone deceptively casual. "Why don't you get all your friends here? We've got a mission from the Chairman, and we could use your help." He paused, studying his old friend's face for any sign that this man was not the man he once knew. "First, though, we'd need your briefing about what you've been doing out here."
Toka grinned widely, the expression too perfect, too rehearsed—like someone had studied human expressions and was reproducing them with mechanical precision.
"Of course, buddy. Always happy to help the Association." Toka turned toward the trees and whistled—a Hunter's signal for assembly. "You won't believe what we've been hunting. The locals call them 'humans,' but trust me, they're anything but."
Ging's eyes met Insert's. In that moment of silent communication, they both understood the true horror of what they were facing. It wasn't that the rogue Hunters had abandoned their humanity.
It was that something in Havenridge had inverted it.
......…
"You think we're killing innocent people?" Toka laughed, the sound echoing unnaturally across the clearing. "Come on, Ging. I know you're better than that. Use your Gyo."
Ging maintained his neutral expression, though his mind was racing. He glanced at Insert, who gave an almost imperceptible nod.
"Show me," Ging said simply.
Toka gestured toward the research outpost at the edge of the forest. As they approached, Ging noticed the facility appeared untouched—no signs of the slaughter Insert's intelligence had reported. Inside, they found a dozen people working calmly at various stations, monitoring equipment and taking notes.
"See those researchers?" Toka pointed to a woman in a lab coat. "Now use Gyo."
Ging channeled his aura to his eyes, enhancing his vision beyond normal perception. What he saw made his blood run cold. The woman's human form was merely a shell—underneath, visible only through Gyo, writhed something alien. Her aura had an unnatural double-layer, with the outer human pattern masking an inner structure that pulsed with sickly yellow tendrils.
"What the hell?" Ging whispered.
Insert had activated his Gyo as well. "They're... not human."
"We call them Shifters," Toka explained, his voice dropping low. "They started appearing three months ago after the major Boundary Shift. They look human, act human, even believe they're human—but they're not. They're something from the other side, wearing human skin."
Another Hunter named Karis stepped forward, a specialized detector in her hand. "We've identified seventy-three infiltrators so far. They congregate around the crystal formations and extract something from them at night."
"The V5 research teams were compromised," Toka continued. "That's why your intelligence is wrong. The reports of us killing 'innocent civilians' came from Shifters who've infiltrated the communication channels."
Ging studied the facility through his Gyo. Nearly half the people present showed the telltale double-aura pattern.
"If they think they're human, do they know what they're doing?" Insert asked.
"Not consciously," Karis replied. "But at night, something changes. They gather at the crystal nodes and... harvest. They're using humans as livestock, farming us for something. The crystals are just a byproduct."
Toka led them to a secure room where glass containers held glowing blue crystals. "These form in the bodies of people who've been taken by the Shifters. We found a processing facility in Sector Nine. They're extracting these from human hosts."
"Why hasn't the Association been properly informed?" Ging demanded.
"We tried," Toka's expression darkened. "Our first reports were dismissed as paranoia. Then our communications were intercepted. Netero probably received doctored information."
"So the cleanup teams..." Insert began.
"We didn't kill them," Toka said grimly. "They were already compromised when they arrived. We had to defend ourselves."
Ging studied one of the crystals. "What are these for?"
"We think they're communication nodes," Karis said. "Or maybe power sources. Either way, they're building toward something big."
Dawn broke over Havenridge, painting the Crystal Spires in hues of gold and amber. Ging and Insert sat with Toka's team, strategizing their next move.
"The problem is identification," Rhea, the team's tactician explained. "Only Nen users can see the difference with Gyo, and even then, it's not foolproof. The Shifters are evolving, learning to mask their double-aura."
"We need to find their source," Ging said. "Where are they coming from?"
Toka unfolded a map of the Expanse. "We tracked several Shifters to this location—Sector Eleven, near the primary Boundary Distortion. There's some kind of hive mind coordinating them."
Insert studied the terrain. "Heavy crystal concentration there. Almost impossible to navigate without specialized equipment."
"Which is why we haven't been able to get close enough," Toka nodded. "But with your experience and abilities..."
Ging understood immediately. "You want us to infiltrate."
"We need to know what's on the other side of that boundary," Toka confirmed. "What's controlling them, why they're harvesting humans, and how to stop it."
As night fell, Ging and Insert prepared to join Toka's team on a reconnaissance mission to Sector Eleven. They equipped themselves with specialized gear designed to navigate the crystal forests without triggering the ambient Nen alarms that seemed to alert the Shifters.
"Remember," Toka cautioned as they set out, "these things may look human, may act human, but they're not. Don't hesitate if one attacks."
.....
The journey through the night-shrouded forest was tense. The flora responded to their presence, luminescent patterns rippling outward from their footsteps. Crystal formations grew more frequent as they approached Sector Eleven, jutting from the ground like frozen explosions.
"Hold," Insert whispered suddenly, his hand raised.
Ahead, a procession of what appeared to be ordinary people moved through the forest in eerie silence. Men, women, even children—walking in perfect synchronization, their eyes vacant. Each carried a small crystal that pulsed in rhythm with their steps.
Using Gyo, the Hunters could see the double-aura surrounding each figure—the human shell and the alien presence beneath.
"They're heading to the collection point," Toka murmured. "Follow, but keep your distance."
The procession led them to a massive crystal formation that towered above the forest canopy. The structure pulsed with internal light, its facets reflecting and magnifying the glow of the smaller crystals carried by the Shifters.
As they watched from concealment, the Shifters formed a circle around the crystal monolith. In unison, they placed their crystals at the base of the structure. The combined light intensified, creating a column that shot upward into the night sky.
"It's a transmitter," Insert realized. "They're sending something back."
Suddenly, the air above the monolith began to ripple and distort—a miniature Boundary Shift was forming.
"Something's coming through," Ging warned, tensing.
"That's their coordinator," Toka whispered. "We've never seen one this close before."
The coordinator moved among the gathered Shifters, touching each one briefly. With each contact, the Shifter's human shell seemed to refresh, becoming more convincingly human.
"It's updating them," Insert observed. "Like reprogramming."
Ging narrowed his eyes. "This isn't just an invasion. It's a conversion process. They're not replacing humans—they're transforming into them."
Ging watched as Toka's team prepared to move against another cluster of "Shifters" they'd identified in another research outpost. Something had been nagging at him since they'd arrived—a discrepancy he couldn't quite place.
"These creatures are getting better at mimicking humans," Toka explained, checking his equipment. "The newer ones can even fabricate convincing memories."
Insert stood silently beside Ging, his expression unreadable as he observed the team's preparations. Only Ging noticed the subtle tension in his partner's shoulders.
"Before we move out," Ging said casually, "I want to verify something."
He reached into his pocket and withdrew what appeared to be an ordinary handheld gaming console,he liked Insert direction of his hatsu, and decided to copy it ,it helped with better memory processing and amplified his scanning ability , better memory storage than the human brain too —a device that had earned him mockery from fellow Hunters who didn't understand its true purpose. Especially since he is a little childish, so he developed with his unique Nen abilities, the "gamer system" as he called it could analyze and categorize and copy everything than if needed said information he will use a small Vr like object to copy to memory onto his brain.
"Really, Ging? Now's not the time for games," Toka chided.
Ging ignored him, activating the device and pointing it toward the outpost. The screen flickered, processing data as it scanned the individuals moving within the facility. After a moment, text appeared on the screen:
ENTITY CLASSIFICATION: HUMAN (100%) ANOMALIES DETECTED: NONE THREAT ASSESSMENT: MINIMAL
Ging frowned, running the scan again. The results remained unchanged.
"What's wrong?" Toka asked, noticing Ging's expression.
"According to my scanner, those are ordinary humans down there. No anomalies whatsoever."
Toka scoffed. "Your toy must be malfunctioning. Use your Gyo—you can see the double-aura yourself."
Insert stepped forward, took out his phone. "Let me verify."
He aimed the device toward the outpost, running his own scan. After a moment, he turned to Ging, his face grim.
"My readings match yours. Those are human life signs. Nothing abnormal in their biological or Nen signatures."
Toka's team exchanged uneasy glances.
"That's impossible," Karis protested. "We've all seen their true forms with Gyo. The yellow tendrils, the double-aura—it's unmistakable."
"Show me again," Ging demanded, his voice taking on an edge of authority that few had ever heard.
Toka led them to a vantage point where they could clearly observe the researchers. "Use your Gyo now. Tell me what you see."
Ging channeled his aura to his eyes, enhancing his vision. Just as before, he saw the sickly yellow tendrils writhing beneath the human forms, the unnatural double-layer in their aura patterns.
Yet his scanner classified them as human.
Insert was checking something on his phone, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Ging," he said quietly, "I'm running an analysis on the ambient Nen in this region. Look at this."
He held out the phone, displaying a complex graph. Ging's eyes widened as he processed the information.
"The entire area is saturated with an unusual Nen frequency," Insert explained. "It's subtle—almost undetectable unless you're specifically looking for it."
"What does that mean?" Toka demanded.
Ging's mind raced through the possibilities, each more disturbing than the last. "It means," he said slowly, "that what we're seeing might not be real."
...….
While Toka's team processed this revelation, Ging and Insert conducted further tests. They captured visual recordings of the "Shifters" both with and without Gyo, analyzing the footage with their devices.
"The double-aura pattern is consistent in all our visual perceptions," Insert noted, "but completely absent in the instrument readings."
"A sensory manipulation Nen ability?" Ging suggested.
"On this scale? It would require enormous power and range."
They decided to approach the problem from a different angle. If they couldn't trust their Nen-enhanced senses, they would rely on objective observation of behavior.
For the next twelve hours, they monitored the research outpost, documenting the movements and activities of those inside. Nothing appeared abnormal—researchers conducted experiments, took breaks, conversed naturally.
"If they're harvesting humans as you claim," Ging said to Toka, "where are they taking them? Where are the processing facilities?"
Toka led them to what his team had identified as a "conversion site"—a cave system beneath a massive crystal formation. Inside, they found what appeared to be medical equipment and containment pods holding unconscious humans.
"See for yourself," Toka gestured. "These people are being processed to extract the crystals."
Ging approached one of the pods, examining the unconscious person inside. Blood was being drawn through an IV line into a collection container. Nothing unusual about that—except that the container led to a crystallization chamber where the blood was being transformed into the same blue crystals they'd seen earlier.
Insert scanned the equipment with his phone. "This technology isn't from the Dark Continent. It's human-made—advanced, but definitely our world's engineering."
"And the victims?" Ging asked.
"All human. No anomalies in their biological signatures."
Something moved at the edge of Ging's vision—a flicker of motion too quick to track. He spun, enhancing his reflexes with Nen, but saw nothing.
"Did you see that?" he asked Insert.
Insert nodded, his hand moving to his staff. "Something small. Near the primary crystallization chamber."
They approached cautiously. The chamber was a complex apparatus of tubes and containers, all feeding into a central reservoir where the blue crystals formed. As they drew closer, Ging spotted it—a tiny serpentine form winding between the machinery.
Using his exceptional speed, he lunged forward and captured the creature in one swift motion.
In his hand writhed a snake no longer than his finger—iridescent black scales with crimson markings along its spine. Its eyes glowed with an unnatural yellow light—the same color as the tendrils they'd seen in the "Shifters'" auras.
"What is that?" Toka asked, peering at the tiny creature.
Insert scanned it with his phone. "Not in any known database. Definitely not native to this region."
The snake twisted in Ging's grasp, its movements strangely hypnotic. As Ging studied it, he felt a peculiar sensation—a subtle pressure against his mind, like something trying to alter his perception.
"Don't look directly at it," he warned, securing the creature in a specialized containment vial.
Under controlled examination, they discovered dozens of the tiny snakes throughout the facility, always near the crystallization equipment. Each one emitted a faint Nen signature that resonated at the same frequency Insert had detected in the ambient environment.
"Illusionary parasites," Insert concluded after analyzing the data. "They're not from here."
"Dark Continent?" Toka suggested.
"Most likely," Ging agreed. "Calamity-class infiltrators. But they're not turning humans into monsters—they're manipulating Nen users into seeing monsters where there are none.and manipulating normal humans to do their harvest ,explain the yellow tendrils too"
......
The implications were horrifying. Toka's team hadn't been hunting infiltrators—they'd been killing innocent humans while under the influence of a powerful sensory manipulation.
"That's not possible," Toka protested, his face pale. "We've seen them transform. We've seen them harvest the crystals."
"Have you?" Ging challenged. "Or did you see what these creatures wanted you to see?"
Insert displayed his findings on a holographic projection. "We're calling them Yellow Vipers—Tiny serpents from the Dark Continent. They emit a specialized Nen frequency that affects the visual cortex of Nen users, creating consistent hallucinations."
"But why make us see other humans as monsters?" Karis asked, her voice shaking.
"To eliminate resistance," Ging explained grimly. "The real infiltration isn't the humans—it's these snakes. They've been manipulating Nen users, turning us against each other while they carry out their actual objective."
"Which is?" Toka demanded.
Insert pointed to the crystallization chambers. "They're not converting humans but making crystals. They're using human blood to grow something."
Further investigation revealed the horrible truth. The Yellow Vipers weren't just creating illusions—they were farming humans for blood, which contained elements they needed to reproduce. The crystals weren't weapons or communication devices—they were egg clutches, each containing thousands of tiny snake embryos.
"The V5 research teams didn't go rogue," Insert explained. "They were the first to be infected by the Vipers. The snakes manipulated their senses, making them see their colleagues as infiltrators."
"And we continued their work," Toka whispered, the weight of what they'd done crushing down on him. "We killed innocent people thinking we were protecting humanity."
Ging examined the crystal formations under a specialized microscope. "The Vipers nen enter through the eyes, attaching to the optic nerve and brain stem. From there, they can manipulate what a Nen user perceives."
"But why only affect Nen users?" Rhea asked.
"Efficient targeting," Insert explained. "Nen users are the only ones who could detect and stop them. By turning Nen users against normal humans, they eliminate potential threats while harvesting what they need."
"The coordinator we saw—" Toka began.
"A collective hallucination," Ging confirmed. "The Vipers can synchronize their effects across multiple infected hosts, only possible when several nen users get together that explain why we didn't see them alone too."
The captive "Shifter" they'd been examining was, in reality, an ordinary researcher who'd been abducted by Toka's team. The transformation they'd witnessed had been entirely in their perception.
"How many?" Toka asked, his voice hollow. "How many innocent people have we killed?"
Ging didn't answer. The number was too painful to contemplate.
.....
With the truth revealed, Ging and Insert faced the challenge of decontaminating Havenridge and stopping the Yellow Viper infestation before it could spread beyond the Expanse.
"The good news," Insert said, "is that we can develop a countermeasure now that we know what we're dealing with."
Using their combined expertise, they created a Nen technique that could neutralize the Vipers' sensory manipulation effect. It wouldn't kill the parasites, but it would prevent them from controlling what Nen users perceived.
"The bad news," Ging continued, "is that these things have been reproducing unchecked for months. The crystal formations we've been seeing throughout Havenridge? Those are all egg clutches."
Examining the biological data, they estimated that each crystal contained enough eggs to infect an entire city. If the infestation spread beyond Havenridge, the consequences would be catastrophic—Nen users worldwide would begin seeing ordinary humans as monsters, leading to a global purge.
"We need to destroy every crystal formation in the Expanse," Ging decided. "And we need to do it before the next Boundary Shift, when the mature Vipers might attempt to spread beyond this region."
Toka's team, now freed from the Vipers' influence thanks to Ging and Insert's countermeasure, pledged to help rectify their terrible mistake.
"How do we explain this to the Association?" Toka asked, the burden of his actions visible in his haggard expression. "How do we tell them we've been murdering innocent people?"
"We tell them the truth," Ging replied. "That we were all manipulated by something from the Dark Continent. Something designed specifically to turn Nen users into weapons."
As they prepared to destroy the first crystal clutch, Insert made another discovery—fragments of a journal kept by one of the original V5 researchers before the infestation took hold:
"The specimens were initially believed to be harmless—microscopic serpents that appeared during minor Boundary fluctuations. We classified them as non-threatening due to their size and apparent dormancy. That was our first mistake.
Within days, our Nen-sensitive staff began reporting strange sightings—colleagues with 'double auras' and 'inhuman movements.' We dismissed these as stress-induced hallucinations. That was our second mistake.
By the time we realized the specimens were affecting perception, it was too late. The infected researchers had already begun 'defending themselves' against what they perceived as infiltrators.
These creatures are not hunters or predators in the conventional sense. They are farmers. And we are their livestock."
The journal ended abruptly, its author likely a victim of the very deception they'd begun to uncover.
"The Vipers didn't choose Havenridge randomly," Ging realized. "They were drawn to the Boundary Distortion—a natural gateway between worlds."
"And the V5 brought them in for study," Insert added. "Creating the perfect conditions for their spread."
As night fell over Havenridge, Ging stood at the edge of a crystal field, watching as the structures pulsed with internal light. Within each beautiful formation lurked thousands of parasites waiting to hatch—waiting to turn human against human through nothing more than the power of manipulated perception.
"You know what the real horror is," he said quietly to Insert. "It's not that monsters can look like humans. It's that humans can be made to see each other as monsters."
Insert nodded solemnly. "And sometimes, the most dangerous threats are the ones too small to see."
The solution was Insert creating a "predator" got inspired by one of the bodyguards from the succession contest ,small yellow birds who in the future would be known as a local species of the crystal forest , It took the expedition around 3 months after that to end all viper threat , even the boundary shift began to disappear , about 230,000 victims were counted and the V5 decided to classify the threat of the Yellow Vipers as B- level threat .