Chapter 68: Body Snatchers (2)

It was a quivering lump of flesh, the size of a child's head.

It had neither feet, hands, nor eyes, yet it could move by wriggling its flexible and resilient body or extending parts of itself like tendrils.

This was a byproduct of the magic I had practiced and researched for a while.

Similar to the creature I used in the underground parking lot last time, it was created with the life creation spell, but unlike before when control was an issue, this was the latest version after several improvements.

The stolen research materials from Helistic were quite helpful, too.

I gestured towards the moving lump of flesh that was writhing alone in its place.

Then, the thing that accepted my command moved in a way that seemed to replicate the process of cell division and split into two pieces.

"Good. Well done."

Compared to the [Black Goat's Body Fluid], which has the power to transform humans into monsters, it was a rather ordinary spell.

It can't do much yet... but who knows what it will become as research progresses.

I sent my thoughts to the writhing lumps, gave them a command, and then whispered softly.

"Go."

The lumps of flesh began to roll away at a ferocious speed. They were aiming to infiltrate the building while avoiding the surveillance team.

Alright, this should do for now...

I gestured towards Chae Tae-won, who was far away. Now that the preparations were complete, he was welcome to come out if he wished.

[Leap]

As the Leap spell activated, a dazzling magic circle was formed on my clothes.

Whooosh....pat!

I leaped forward with tremendous force and rapidly closed the distance to the surveillance team while activating several spells in rapid succession.

First, I immobilized them.

[Grasp of Frost]

Crack, crack, snap...

Frost and ice began to surge from beneath the feet of the surveillance team.

Before they could even scream in surprise...

[Sound Refraction]

I created a barrier of magical power that distorted sounds towards the entrance of the warehouse. Now, no matter how loud the noise here, those inside wouldn't be able to hear it.

"An, An enemy!"

"Come out! It's the enemy!"

As the surveillance team members found themselves unable to flee due to their legs freezing, I drove the [Butcher's Hook] into one of them.

Crunch...

[Absorption]

Whizzzzzzzzzz...

The spell was a unique magic I had acquired from the [Silent Scripture of the Dreaming Path]. It had the attribute of necromancy, so it was highly compatible with the Butcher's Hook.

[The unique effects of the S-rank weapon 'Butcher's Hook', 'Proof of Slaughter' and 'Time of Slaughter' have been activated.

// Time of Slaughter: The probability of causing critical damage and bleeding in all attacks against 'humans' increases by 100%.

// Proof of Slaughter: The power of necromancy spells increases by 100%.]

The Butcher's Hook began to absorb the man's blood and vital essence.

"Aaaaaaaghh..."

The man was rapidly losing his bodily fluids and, unable to resist, he collapsed, leaving nothing but bones and skin behind.

The woman beside him pulled out a gun, but...

"Are you really going to shoot that?"

"What, what...?!"

[Ignition]

[Spell Enhancement: Range Increase]

A zero-order spell that heats flammable materials to start a fire. A magic circle containing the formula for Ignition appeared behind the gun the woman was holding.

Bang!

The intended targets of ignition were, of course, the bullets loaded in the gun.

"Kyaaah!!"

Why do they always go "Kyaaah" like that?

Though a few fragments from the exploded ammunition flew towards me, their direction scattered away from my body due to the effect of the distortion field.

[Blood Whip]

From the butcher's hook unfurled a whip made of bright red blood which lashed out and struck the woman's body.

With a ferocious force, the whip of blood split her body into two.

From her left shoulder diagonally down to her right waist. The copious amount of blood spewing from her body was absorbed back into the butcher's hook through the blood whip.

I can't help but think it's a bit excessive, but...

But from the moment their bodies were taken over by the parasites, they were already dead.

The first step for the parasites in taking control of a human body is to devour the brain of the host they infest.

This method seemed to be the most effective for these creatures.

The easiest way to deal with the parasites is to launch an overwhelming and swift attack and destroy the bodies they control.

Once the body they inhabit is rendered immovable, they reveal their true form.

"It's impossible... Even for a mage..."

"To destroy my body... This vile human..."

Crack-crack, snap-crackle.

The heads of the two people who were now unable to move burst open.

Their brains which had died a long time ago and had rotted black were splashing in all directions... And strange life forms burst forth from their heads.

Tiny beings, small enough to crouch within a human skull.

These were the parasites that had been controlling the bodies.

At first glance, their bodies might bear a resemblance to those of humans with their similar silhouettes, but a closer look would reveal a form so grotesque that one would never wish to compare it to humanity.

Unpleasant-looking compound eyes.

Skin that is wet and shiny with blood and brain fluid.

Bizarre ganglions sprouted like the roots of a plant where limbs should be.

A bizarre snout that spreads vertically instead of horizontally.

As this mouth opened, an unbearable noise poured forth.

"Screeeeech!"

"Your body, give me your body!"

Merely beholding these repulsive beings could induce nausea.

[System: Attempting to resist the fear with your mental strength stat. Mental strength failed.]

The fragile human psyche could easily shatter at the mere exposure to such horrific sights and sounds.

[System: The unique trait 'Madness of the Abyss' has been activated.]

Of course, I was an exception.

Though without my unique trait, I would have succumbed to madness and distortion right here.

The creatures attempted to extend their bizarre ganglions in place of limbs.

These ganglions contained a potent hypnotic substance capable of robbing the target of their physical freedom and will.

But... right now!

Cha Tae-won emerged from behind the parasites and spun his body with incredible speed.

Woosh!

A fierce kick flew towards the parasites with a terrifying sound that cut through the air.

Crack!

A sturdy shoe sole reinforced with metal plates. The alien life form, which had evolved to shed most of its defenses in favor of parasitizing other creatures' bodies, was reduced to mush and sent flying with a single kick from Cha Tae-won.

At that very moment, my magic activated.

[Rope Manipulation]

Whoooosh!!

The nearest rope. It was a spell I had always used for intestines, not rope, but today I cast it against something other than intestines. Of course, that didn't mean that intestines were rope either.

The magic was triggered on the ganglions of the parasite, which were now mushy and flying in the air. My rope manipulation spell swiftly took control of the dead parasite's tendrils, sending them flying in an unexpected direction.

Toward the other parasite that had not been hit by Cha Tae-won's attack.

"Don't, don't come here!"

It was futile.

Shwalala!

The ganglions of dozens of tendrils began to entangle the creature chaotically.

Soon, the two parasites were knotted together so tightly that they couldn't be separated by normal means.

"Ah, was my assistance unnecessary in this situation?"

"It seems so... but your help was appreciated. Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"Re-release meee!!"

The last scene was a chilling scream from the parasite entwined with the corpse of its comrade. The creature struggled to free itself from the tendrils of its fallen ally, but the more it moved, the more deeply it became entangled and intertwined.

"Are you having fun?"

"Can't you untangle this now? If you don't free me immediately, I'll kill you all!!!"

Although beings from other worlds tend to look down on humans, these creatures were particularly arrogant.

"Are you dumb? Do you think we'll release you just because you ask?"

"You bastard!!!"

Its screams were so loud that I had to check if the [Sound Refractor] I had set up at the entrance of the warehouse was still functioning properly.

These small ones sure had powerful lungs.

The act of parasitizing and dominating a human body was just the beginning for them. They continually sought out humans of higher status to take over their bodies. Eventually, they planned to infiltrate the bodies of the ruling class and manipulate humanity from behind the scenes.

"You pathetic humans! You're nothing but livestock to us! We feed on you; we ride upon you. Killing me now is pointless! We will continue to multiply, and you will never be able to find us all! Someday, the bodies of your family, your friends, and your lovers will fall into our hands. When that day comes... Urk! Urgh!!"

The noise was truly unbearable. I moved a tendril still under my control to silence the creature's mouth. Despite this, it writhed vigorously in an attempt to escape.

It had almost become like a tightly balled-up skein of yarn at this point.

"Do you realize that the more you squirm, the less likely you are to get free?"

"Mmph, mmph, mmph!"

Given that its bronchial tubes were somewhat similar to a human's, it would inevitably suffocate to death if I just left it alone.

I stopped paying attention to the guy who could no longer make a sound and activated the detection spell again. There are exactly 60 magic power sources detected inside.

Since two sources of magical power constituted one body, the actual number of parasites inside was...

"There are 30 more of these guys inside."

"I see..."

Cha Tae-won spoke with a hint of confusion in his expression. It seemed he had managed to maintain his calm upon witnessing the grotesque parasite, but the sight had still visibly shaken him.

"I've encountered monsters before, but never anything like these. What on earth are they?"

"They're ones of the illegal aliens that the management bureau is looking for. The difference is that they are real aliens, not foreigners."

"Do you know how to deal with them?"

"There's nothing particularly remarkable about it. Once you kill one, smash the head and the main body will emerge. If you come into contact with its tendrils, you could be hypnotized or even have your body taken over. Be careful not to touch them."

"You make it sound so simple. Is this why you refused backup?"

Bringing too many people along carelessly could have led to chaos if any of them had been taken over in an instant.

Moreover, if I ended up attacking members of the Triad whose bodies had been taken over, I could be wrongly accused.

"I wasn't entirely sure, but I suspected these creatures might be here. Yang Seo-ho wouldn't have acted without good reason."

"I see. Wait a moment. Then, could it possibly be they who have kidnapped the young lady?!"

Indeed.

Since there's one creature per human head, the numbers wouldn't add up if there were an even number of hosts.

Including the kidnapped Jeong Hyun-ah, the magical power sources that must be detected within the warehouse should be an odd number.

"Right now, a coming-of-age ritual is likely taking place inside that warehouse."

"Coming-of-age ritual? What's that?"

"It's a ritual where a juvenile who is yet to possess a human body is granted a new human body."

[! Time limit: Jeong Hyun-ah will die in (30) minutes. !]

And the subject of this ritual is none other than Jeong Hyun-ah, the daughter of Cheong-ho, who was kidnapped today.