Hao Ren had no idea what the Thirteen Saints had released, nor what kind of ritual they had performed. But some things were certain: Hassu had brought back news of the Original Sin of Divine Blood from Ankatro's territory, and the Saints had been terrified by it. They must have known about this Original Sin long ago, or at least had some understanding of it. That was why they had acted so hastily. They had found and activated a "sacred artifact" among Corpus Space's ancient relics, but the ritual had caused an unexpected "monster" to awaken from a nightmare. While everyone was completely off guard, it had "infected" the entire garrison stationed in Corpus Space.
The influence had been deep and difficult to detect. It had not crudely controlled the minds of the Saints and the Elder Council. Instead, it had changed the controlled victims' thought patterns while allowing them to remain conscious, making them believe they were awake and rational as they carried out a series of irrational actions afterward—for example, arresting the elder Demon Hunters, including Hassu, and launching a sweeping purge of all Demon Hunters from other factions.
Throughout the entire process, the Saints had never left the Hall of Rituals. All their orders had been relayed through messengers and attendants waiting outside the hall. No one knew what state they had been in during those days, nor whether their minds had completely collapsed and surrendered to the voices in their heads. Judging from the orders they issued, their temperaments had already changed drastically. Yet they had never left the hall. Based on Betoris's dying words, Hao Ren guessed that they had remained there to trap "that thing" at the ritual site.
"That's contradictory," Vivian said, filled with confusion after hearing Hao Ren's analysis. "They followed the