But there is no time to regret what I did, or what I didn’t. We are still at war, even though we hold a big advantage, the humans and the rest of the impure breeds fight harder than they ever did.
“What happened?” Zeliph snapped as his eyes shone with a furious light. “What did you do?!”
However, Kai hadn’t even the strength to lift his head, let alone reply. Panic washed over his entire body as he coughed and gripped whatever he could to stabilize himself. Sweat dripped down his blazing forehead. He knew he had no time for words. He had to hurry.
Kai pushed himself forward, leaning on his knees and hands as he reached for Lilith. Nobody tried to stop him, not that they dared to. As far as they knew only he was able to stabilise her.
As soon as Kai sent mana into Lilith’s body, he understood the gravity of the situation. All of the red dots disappeared completely, but that didn’t give him any relief. Working his way up toward the Mana Core, he noticed a large, vertical crack going from one end to the other. Out of that crack seeped a viscous, somewhat fleshy liquid-like substance. A shiver ran down his spine as he noticed it move and wriggle about, slowly covering Lilith’s Mana Core.
It used me! He exclaimed inwardly with as much anger as one could feel. It didn’t take a genius to understand that the parasite allowed Kai to take over the red dots, then recalled them and devoured his mana as soon as he was almost done. I was a fool, fuck!
He didn’t allow himself to cry for too long, though, as he began to think of ways to resolve the situation.
Attacking it with mana? No, what if it just absorbs it? Maybe trying to fight for control of it? That would be too dangerous… Sealing the Mana Core away while I chip at the parasite’s health? That could kill her first… What then? How do I save her? It’s clear that the parasite is going to take over her core, that is its goal, and it’s smart enough to play me. Is there nothing I can do?
His desperate thoughts echoed in his head, making it so even Onyx heard them whether he wanted to or not. Sadly due to Onyx’s age and limited intellect, he could only offer a sharp whine to comfort Kai. That didn’t help much, though, besides reminding him of the outside world.
Minutes passed and his anxiety increased, regardless of how much he tried to remain calm. I should have never said I could do it, never should have given them hope… What do I do? His confidence crumbled and panic rose as he stared helplessly at the parasite spreading its influence over her core. It wanted to devour it completely, to take over, but for what purpose? Kai couldn’t tell.
He recalled what it looked like, or what he thought he saw when the thing attacked him.
So ugly… scared the life out of me… Wait… attacked me? It wanted me more than it wanted Lilith! Even willing to give up all progress to transfer itself to my core. Could it be… A crazy idea began blooming inside Kai’s mind. However, he stopped before he acted. Questioning himself.
Would he risk his life to save a stranger? Would he risk losing everything he worked for just because of an old acquaintance? Conflicted, he hesitated. Yet, the more he looked at the parasite, the angrier he got. He wasn’t sure why, but seeing that thing wringling about made him want to tear it apart.
Besides his urge to do just that, he felt that the pressure leaning on his shoulders to save Lilith was too much for him to bear. Could he live with himself after speeding up the woman’s death? He couldn’t.
So, in a last-ditch effort to save her, he acted. Without any further hesitation, he opened up his mana veins and blasted as much mana into the thing as possible. Just like last time, he acted without any caution, and even worse than that, he opened himself up for the thing to attack him.
It shuddered upon feeling Kai’s rich, abundant mana and the movement of his now Large Mixed Core, and detached itself from Lilith’s. Within the blink of an eye, it disappeared and rushed up Kai’s mana veins, reaching his core in less than a second. There, it immediately began trying to assimilate Kai’s mixed core.
The wriggling mass that was the parasite opened up and encompassed it without any resistance from Kai, swallowing it entirely.
The boy collapsed into a coughing fit, blood seeping out of his nostrils, mouth, and pores. Léandro and the rest jumped, and the former’s ocean-blue eyes widened as he grasped Kai’s hand. However, he immediately let go as a ‘tsh’ sound escaped his body. A small burn-like mark pulsated on his palm.
Onyx didn’t have any luck trying to lift Kai either, as he too recoiled from the intense heat radiating from the boy’s body.
Zeliph’s eyes shone with soft light, and his face paled as he noticed that the parasite was consuming, or assimilating Kai’s core.
“What’s wrong? Boy, what’s going on?” The short, bald man asked as glanced at Lilith, whose pained expression faded away for the most part. However, she was deathly pale and her shallow breathing made her resemble a corpse more than a woman.
“He-” Zeliph’s mouth opened as he looked at Kai’s core, yet he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the parasite. It took Léandro shaking him awake for the man to come back to his senses. He blinked rapidly as the shine within his pupils faded.
“The parasite is inside him right now,” Zeliph said slowly, yet these words alone made Léandro’s stomach fall.
“What?!” His head snapped back toward the collapsed Kai as he yelled. A crimson puddle formed below him, soaking his black clothes and seeping out of his mask. “Kai!”
“It looks like whatever the illness was, was tied to that parasite. He decided to fight it in Lilith’s place.”
“That’s madness!” The bald man said, rushing toward Kai. The cook let out a grunt, nodding and helping the bald man. However, they too recoiled back from the heat.
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“Bring water, now!” Léandro barked as his fists shone with a faint layer of magic. The cook grunted and left the tent, accompanied by the bald man.
At that same moment, Léandro grabbed Kai by the collar and lifted him. Bearing through the pain of his hand getting burned was no easy task, evident by the veins bulging on his forehead. “We can’t allow his body to overheat!” His voice escaped through pained grunts. Zeliph joined in as well, flinching at the amount of heat. Yet, by relying on the protection provided by mana, they managed to push Kai upright and take off the blood-soaked clothes.
As Léandro reached for the mask, Onyx let out a low, warning growl as he snarled. He gulped at the sudden ferocity and decided to lift it just enough for the blood to flow down.
…
Whilst the other tried to keep his body from overheating, Kai fought another battle. He didn’t think of what to do after he allowed the parasite to invade his body, but now was the moment for him to think. However, thinking while your core was being devoured by an unknown illness wasn’t as easy as one would think. Intense amounts of pain washed over him every second, and he felt his mana reserves lower as time passed. His life was on a timer, now more than ever.
Having no mana wouldn’t harm him outright, however, what he feared most was what would happen after that. He didn’t want to find out.
His Mixed Mana Core was more resilient than other cores, though, as its surface was protected by a sturdy Body Core layer. Kai didn’t know how much that would last, though.
I can afford to use attacks now. I know my own body better than anyone, I just hope that thing doesn’t do anything else. It clearly has some sort of intelligence, and it’s not acting on pure instinct. If that’s the case I need to be even more careful than before.
Without waiting for the parasite to fully assimilate his core, Kai acted. First, he stopped the flow of mana. Doing so would allow him to keep whatever he had within his veins. He also had his star, which was more than halfway full. Kai planned to use it in a key moment, whenever the moment would present itself. However, to say that he had a plan would be an overstatement. But he couldn’t afford to waste any time. He tried to control the mana within his core, but it was unresponsive. There’s still a link to it but it’s as if it’s in another location altogether…
As the mana stopped, the parasite flinched as it continued to assimilate Kai’s core. A sinister scraping sound rang in his mind, into his very bones and blood. The parasite wriggled as it dug deeper and deeper into Kai’s Body Core layer. Yet, because he couldn’t reach the Mana Core, it had little to no mana aside from what it absorbed from Kai previously.
That gave the boy a good amount of time to counter-attack. However, with no spells, blade, and only some mana and his consciousness, such a task would be difficult.
Do I let it absorb all the mana within my core and then let it starve? No, it could do too much damage to my core. Fuck, I guess attacking is the only good option.
He then acted and willed the mana under his control to form into sharp, thin, needle-like weapons. In total, around two hundred of those needles shot toward the parasite. They were smaller than a grain of sand and sharper than a scalpel. Kai could tell some sort of micro wound opened up within his mana veins, yet he would much rather have to heal those than deal with a broken core.
They flew toward the parasite with an incredible speed and, just as it looked like they were about to hit, the parasite’s surface wiggled in a weird way, and it expanded as it turned soft. However, the needles stopped dead in their tracks, shattering into mana particles which then got absorbed by the parasite. It didn’t take any damage and even profited from the entire ordeal.
Kai’s anger grew upon seeing that and immediately created sharp, long mana swords which he then willed to cut away at the expanded parasite. However, as if sensing the incoming attack, the parasite contracted until it was as thin as a razor, completely avoiding the multiple and simultaneous blades. It then opened up its surface and a vacuum-like pressure pulled the swords toward it, digesting the mana they were made from. After eating them, it returned to its original shape.
Damned thing! Kai cursed and willed an even greater amount of mana than before. This time didn’t create any weapon. Instead, taking inspiration from the parasite, he created a small mana tornado that flew toward his Mixed Core. As it neared, its speed and size increased exponentially until even he feared it. That will kill you!
However, as it got closer, a sharp, sudden pain spread through Kai’s entire being from the center of his core. Both his body and mind screamed. He let out a loud, unconscious grunt that echoed in his flesh.
He felt the parasite’s countless teeth, feet or anchors dig into his core in order to not get dragged away by the tornado. He felt them penetrate past his Body Core layer and reach his innermost Mana Core.
His heart raced with panic as the parasite greedily absorbed the mana to fuel itself. Although it did so at a slow rate, Kai felt the mana within his core deplete. Whilst that fact alone didn’t scare him immensely, he had to put a stop to it before it proved to be too late.
Attacks don’t work on it… He gave up the idea and dispelled the tornado, gathering the mana under his control as far away from the thing as possible. Isolating it won’t work either, it has enough mana to thrive for a few hours or days. I think that by the time it’s done consuming my mana, it would be too late for me. I need to find a way to get my mana back under control… and fast!
He willed upon the mana inside his core, trying to make it exit or disperse it, however, no matter how much he tried, it didn’t follow his commands. Frustrated by the outcome, his anger flared as he thought about the unsightly parasite eating away at his mana. Fine then, let’s try something else.
The mana within his veins gathered into a thick, almost opaque drill-like formation. He sent it spinning toward the parasite, which reacted the same way it did with the needles. However, this time around, the drill dug through its flesh. It shuddered and wriggled, letting out a high-pitched, brain-scratching sound that made Kai’s consciousness shiver. However, he stood strong and endured through the pain, willing the drill to spin even faster.
It reached the other side, and Kai felt his link to the mana within the core immediately strengthen. He commaned it as fast as he could, and managed to extract a meager amount of it before the parasite’s flesh collapsed onto the drill. It lost some flesh but in the end, destroyed the ethereal object and absorbed most of it. Fuck! Kai cursed as another wave of pain washed through his body. This shit is worse than poison!
However, his cursing did little good to appease his anger, which rose with every passing moment, as did his anxiety. Yet as he glared at the parasite happily eating away at his life, a sudden, even crazier idea than before popped into his mind. Poison… I could use that, then!
…
Kai’s body convulsed as it jolted awake, with the boy’s consciousness now aware of his surroundings. He coughed violently as blood trickled down his naked, damp chest. The entirety of his body spasmed, and he almost fainted once again from the pain. However, he held strong and hurried to do what he needed. His blurry vision didn’t have time to adjust as he reached for his storage ring, and several vials filled with a dark, pungent substance appeared in his hand.
They were the vials filled with impurities that Kai kept from his experiments and successes with absorbing mana from plants. A wicked smile creased his lips and a hint of ruthlessness shone within the crimson of his pupils. He didn’t hesitate, nor think about it twice. Pushing his mask to the side, just enough for his mouth to be visible, he downed all of them in quick succession.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” Léandro yelled and rushed to stop Kai, however it was too late. The pungent smell of impurities inundated the tent, mixing with Kai’s blood and sweat, creating an incredible stench that was hard to endure.
Kai didn’t fare any better, as his body convulsed and collapsed, his eyes rolled backward, though the wicked smile remained on his face.
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Will Kai succeed?
