Chapter 25: Silencing |
It usually took some time after a Nest Beast''s fur parasitized a person before it turned them into a nest.
Generally speaking, during this incubation period, pressing on various parts of the body would reveal small black dots.
As long as a nearby cleric was capable enough, the black fur hadn''t been parasitizing the host for too long, and the quantity was small, it could be cured.
However, once a certain amount of time passed and the black fur burrowed into the brain, the individual would be completely controlled, officially becoming a Nest Beast. At that point, unless a god intervened, they were fundamentally beyond saving.
Yet now, this incubation period had vanished.
"How is this possible?" Benjamin exclaimed, wishing he had been born with an extra pair of legs. He sprinted as fast as he could, running for his life while holding out hope for rescue.
The current situation completely defied his cognitive understanding of reality. While Nest Beasts were dangerous, they were ultimately just animals with a unique method of parasitism. Their infection and spread required time.
"This isn''t right. Even heavily aberrated Nest Beasts shouldn''t possess this kind of ability!" Benjamin glanced back, and his soul nearly left his body in terror. Seven or eight parasitized individuals had completely synchronized their movements, pursuing him in perfect unison.
Furthermore, these people were even employing "ranged weapons" and tactics.
Black threads squirmed within the gory projectiles—clearly, the Nest Beast''s fur was still residing inside them.
As for tactics, some had chosen to flank him, deliberately herding him toward the outskirts of the village. If Benjamin hadn''t possessed years of experience running for his life as a frontline black-market dealer, he wouldn''t have even noticed their strategy.
Moreover, in just a few short seconds, their bodies underwent an abnormal mutation. Their speed and strength surged, entering a temporary state of explosive power.
"The person behind this... they can control the Nest Beasts!" Though he didn''t want to believe it, it was the only logical explanation for the current nightmare.
The danger level of a manipulated Nest Beast skyrocketed exponentially.
Previously, there was still hope if one was parasitized. Now, he feared that those black hairs would instantly burrow into his brain, controlling him in the blink of an eye.
"Are the waters surrounding the Whalehide Ore really this deep?!" Benjamin desperately tried to use his Breathing Technique to boost his speed, but the sin nail in his chest restricted his breath, gradually dragging him into dire peril.
He just couldn''t wrap his head around it. The issue with the Whalehide Ore wasn''t actually that severe. Although it was a controlled material, compared to non-renewable resources that caused fundamental damage to the Floating Whales, this ore was ultimately regenerable.
As long as it wasn''t excessively mined, giving the Floating Whale time to adapt, the worst outcome would be some slight turbulence in its flight, which might result in the deaths of a few dozen or perhaps a hundred people.
However, when scaled against the millions of people living on the Floating Whale''s back, such an incident wasn''t worth causing a massive uproar.
Was this matter truly worth mobilizing a transcendent capable of controlling Nest Beasts—an ability he hadn''t even imagined existed?
To some, the value of such an ability was far more important than a meager amount of Whalehide Ore.
"I can''t escape!" Benjamin caught a fleeting glimpse of black out of the corner of his eye. A sharp pain flared in the back of his calf, making it painfully clear that he had been struck.
''We became far too passive after our intelligence was exposed.'' Despair washed over Benjamin''s heart, yet that very despair brought him an eerie sense of calm.
Neither Isabella, Jacques, nor he himself had expected to be exposed so quickly. Furthermore, the enemy had actually seized the brief window when he was away from those two, launching a strike with absolute decisiveness.
And it was an incredibly dangerous strike at that.
He could feel the entity rapidly burrowing upward from his calf into the rest of his body.
''Finback Village definitely harbors a massive secret. What Opper is doing is absolutely not as simple as smuggling Whalehide Ore.''
''Under these circumstances, if Isabella discovers any of their secrets, Opper might very well take a desperate risk and murder a cleric!''
''I... I absolutely cannot let Priestess Isabella face such danger!'' An image surfaced in Benjamin''s mind—the memory of Isabella saving him when he was in peril, gently asking if he was alright. Making a reckless decision, he reached up, grabbed one of the sin nails embedded in his chest, and yanked it outward with all his might.
In this chaotic era, everyone was like a Floating Whale, carrying heavy burdens and living under this sky bound by countless restrictions.
Their hearts were just as untethered, making it incredibly difficult to find someone who cared for them or someone worthy of their care.
Perhaps it was only in critical moments that a person could truly see what kind of individual they were.
''I, Benjamin, grew up in the slums. I thought everything in life was just a transaction, all about benefits and interests. I never expected that in the end, I would actually choose sentiment!''
As one of the sin nails was pulled out, Benjamin''s entire body violently trembled. A massive surge of electrical current flowed through him, stiffening his limbs and nearly freezing his very thoughts.
Consequently, the black fur was affected by the shock, its upward progression halted.
Miraculously, however, Benjamin himself was still able to move.
He forcefully plunged the extracted sin nail directly into his thigh. The nail''s power flared to life. While dealing the least possible damage to his body, it successfully restricted everything in the immediate vicinity of the wound, including that strand of Nest Beast fur.
The sheer agony forced a muffled groan from his lips, but it also violently tore him out of his full-body paralysis.
Covered in cold sweat, Benjamin took a deep breath. With one sin nail removed, his Breathing Technique was partially unsealed, and he pushed it to its absolute limits.
In that instant, he felt an immediate surge of strength coursing through his entire body. His complexion turned as ruddy as a newborn''s, and even the excruciating pain in his thigh seemed to vanish entirely.
He rolled to dodge an attack from a controlled host, then swiftly bolted in another direction.
He needed to warn Priestess Isabella. He had to make her understand the gravity of the situation so she could prepare to flee this place.
His inner conviction became exceptionally unwavering at this moment.
''My thigh is being torn apart...'' The thought flashed through his mind. Plunging the sin nail into his leg and then sprinting so violently naturally led to such consequences, but Benjamin no longer cared about these things.
''I''m almost there. I can almost see...'' Various thoughts flickered through his mind until Benjamin was eventually left with only a single prevailing thought.
''It''s just... did something slash past?'' Benjamin felt a subtle, faint sensation against his neck.
At the same time, his body felt incredibly hollow. It was as if he were flying, entirely losing all sensation of his physical form.
''Is it an illusion?''
''No, I''m actually flying.''
''But it''s only my head...''
The severed head tumbled through the air, and Benjamin''s vision spun along with it.
He saw his own headless body collapsing to the ground behind him.
And just past his falling corpse, a thin, bloodstained rope gave a slight twitch before swiftly vanishing into thin air.
Standing hidden in the shadows, Nemus lightly flicked his fingers, shaking the blood completely off the Oath Rope.