Ron heard a startled cry and quickly looked at the laptop screen. There, in Sasuke's live feed, stood a young girl—apparently alive. The shout had come from Gogus.
"Finally found someone still breathing!" Gogus exclaimed, clearly excited at the prospect of questioning this survivor. If he could learn what happened to the village, it would be a huge step for his research.
Ponzu also fixed her gaze on the screen. The girl's eyes, however, were dull and vacant, showing no reaction even after Gogus spoke to her. She sat motionless, breathing steadily, like a living corpse.
Gogus's excitement immediately dipped. A white thread emerged from the girl's body, lifting like a snake to observe him. At almost the same moment, a black thread slipped out from Gogus's own body. Sensing it, the white thread recoiled in alarm, darting back into the girl's body.
He took a step closer. Suddenly, more white threads poured out of the girl. As they left, it was as though her life ebbed away with them. The very last thread pulled free, and the girl collapsed onto the ground, lifeless. The white strands headed away, clearly wanting no contact with Gogus.
He looked at the fallen girl for a moment, then acted. With a quick motion, he snatched a trailing piece of white thread out of the air. It wriggled desperately in his grip. Without hesitation, Gogus forced it into his own body, closing his eyes as a large sphere of aura formed overhead.
In it, Ron and the others could see visions tied to the white threads.
"These bugs only infest corpses," Gogus explained. "That girl was already dead. The parasites just kept her body going like a puppet. Once they finish maturing, they leave to find somewhere else to breed, and the host reverts to a simple corpse."
He turned to address the wireless camera Sasuke held. "Ron, the situation in this village is extremely complicated, and there are no true survivors. I can't figure it all out in just a few days. I've decided to stay here. What do you plan to do?"
Ron glanced at Ponzu. In truth, there was no reason for him to wait around indefinitely. Who knew how long Gogus would be at his research before getting any definitive answers, and these parasites had limited value to Ron.
"Ponzu, what do you want to do?" he asked.
She was silent for a moment. "Captain, I think we can leave. My grandmother is gone. The village is gone. With my current strength, if I went inside, I'd just be another host for those parasites. Grandma wanted me to survive. Since there's nothing else I can do, I don't want to betray her final wish. You also have other things to do. And Ruco has no reason to stay here either."
Ponzu longed to learn more, but she understood that this village's plight concerned only her. It wasn't fair to ask Ron—who'd already gone out of his way to come here and bring Gogus—to spend weeks or months investigating. Without Ron, she'd never have discovered what truly happened, and might have died like the rest of them.
Ron nodded. "Even if we found the truth, if there's some enemy behind it all, you'd need to be a lot stronger to get revenge. Waiting around won't help. Let's leave this to Gogus. If he does figure it out, we can always contact him later. Meanwhile, you'll be training and growing stronger."
Stepping up to the laptop, Ron addressed Gogus through the camera. "Gogus, we're heading out."
"Figured as much," Gogus said. "Before you go, can you do me one more favor? I can't be around anything with a battery right now, or the parasites will react. I need my team here for support."
"Sure."
He gave Ron a number, which Ron dialed. Before long, a woman's low, resonant voice answered, demanding to know who she was speaking to. Ron explained that he was at the village with Gogus, who needed immediate backup. Initially suspicious, the woman calmed down once Ron provided specifics.
"Got it," she said. "I'll head there right away."
She arrived far faster than expected—just a day and a half later, a strange winged beast descended from the sky, bearing a lone figure on its back. Spotting Ron and the others, the woman dismounted and walked over.
"Gogus is in the village," Ron told her. "We're in touch through the wireless feed. You can speak to him here, and he'll recognize your voice."
Relaxing at last, the woman gave Ron a grateful nod. "Thank you."
Ron shook his head lightly. "No need for thanks."
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