"...How horrible."Â Her expression turning sour at the sight of Vilda's condition, Faith squinted to examine the esper more closely.
Jay on the other hand, having already activated his [Mental Network] ability, was trying his best to try to fix Vilda's energy leak.
His little ones were split into two groups, one that was tasked with bestowing energy on Vilda, and another that was going over the inside of his entire upper body, focusing especially on the wound.
As workers in a much less than suitable workplace, the parasites were quick to let Jay know their displeasure at having infected Vilda's body in this state.
Thanks to Jay being connected to the [Mind Network], he was receiving these complaints directly to his head, but even so, Jay didn't relent one bit, so the parasites only continued to reluctantly carry out their tasks.
Crouching down as her eyes began to glow, Faith also began to examine Vilda before asking, "Is it safe for you to touch him?"Â
It was a reasonable question, after all, the surrounding black liquid emanating from Vilda's wound really didn't seem like something a person, super or otherwise, would want to come into contact with.
What was more, the system itself confirmed to Jay that Vilda was sick, so Faith's question took on even more force.
Unfortunately, contact was something he couldn't avoid, for as long as his little ones could work, Jay had to be touching Vilda, otherwise, the parasites would be trapped if something went wrong.
"I'm not sure, but I can't leave him like this." Jay replied, not taking his gaze off Vilda.
"...I understand, then, let me help you."
With those words, Faith also placed her hand on Vilda's body and began to share her energy.
She, though not as accurately as Jay, had also sensed that the person in front of them was going through a pretty serious energy drain, so she couldn't think of a better idea to help him except for sharing energy.
Slowly, Faith's golden energy began to fill the esper's body, helping Jay in this task.
Normally, the effectiveness of this process would depend greatly on the compatibility between Faith and Vilda, but thanks to an unknown factor, namely Jay's parasites, the connection was a success.
"Thank you." Jay replied, giving a few more commands on his [Mind Network] to a few more parasites that had been released thanks to Faith's help.
With this, Vilda was now out of danger of running out of energy, but this was a temporary solution, as the energy leak was still happening, only now it was consuming other energy sources.
And until they found the source of why this was happening, they would have no choice but to keep doing this.
'It's got to be that black liquid, I'm sure of it... but I'd better ask the system for a solution...' Jay thought, starting to ask the system questions.
Although he really wanted to treat Vilda, he was not a doctor or anything like that, so to avoid making mistakes that could make the situation worse, it would be better to ask someone who was the closest thing to a doctor at the moment, the system.
Meanwhile, the parasites, under Jay's order, were now gathered around Vilda's wound, all not really wanting to get too close and having as little contact with the black liquid as possible.
One of these parasites, especially brave, got closer than the others to the wound, releasing energy every now and then while identifying the unseen wounds.
It was noticeable that this specific parasite was less afraid of the black substance than the others, which explained why it was willing to get so close, although it also continued to avoid the black liquid just in case.
Little by little, the parasite got closer and closer to the wound, reaching a point where all the paths it could see were filled with the black liquid, even the one it had come through.
Thanks to that, noticing that it had come as far as it could, the little parasite decided to retreat, opening a new path on its own.
*Chak*
"!"
However, the moment it dug its teeth into one of the fleshy walls, as if it had broken a water pipe, black liquid began to pour out in droves.
Quickly, the little parasite tried to move out of the way, but unfortunately, no matter the direction, all paths were blocked by the same liquid.
In a matter of seconds, the whole place was filled with the black liquid, submerging the parasite in it.
Normally, for parasites, which moved through the human body like fish in water, a little liquid would be no problem to move, however, this unfortunate parasite... seemed to have stayed still underneath all the black liquid.
Observing this, the other parasites, without waiting a second longer, started to move in order to help the parasite, losing all the care they had for the black liquid and even being willing to dive into it to help the parasite.Â
Of course, this event was shared in the [Mental Network] by the other parasites, so it reached Jay, who fortunately, had also finished asking the system questions and was able to focus his attention on what had happened.
Manifesting his will on the [Mental Network], Jay instructed the others not to dive into the black liquid as they intended, but to start tunneling throughout Vilda's upper body.
As to why he didn't want his little ones to have contact with the black substance, aside from their own repulsion they seemed to feel for it, it was because he didn't want to put them at unnecessary risk.
The final part would be for these tunnels to be connected to the wound, all so that all the black liquid could be concentrated in one place and then forced out.
Considering how deep this liquid had gone into Vilda's body, it would undoubtedly be a difficult task, but thanks to the [Mind Network], Jay was sure they could pull it off.
Letting out a sigh as he went over what he had to tell his little ones, Jay proceeded to give them more precise instructions, 'Now then-'
*CHIK!*
However, before he could say anything, a loud signal on the [Mental Network], accompanied by an audible sound of something wet moving inside Vilda interrupted him.Â
Emerging from within the small pool of black liquid that had trapped it earlier, a parasite made its way from there to another side of Vilda's body, specifically, to the wound on his left side.
It was also worth mentioning that aside from its greater-than-normal speed, its size had changed, now being slightly larger than the other parasites.Â
This came as a surprise to both the other parasites and Jay, with everyone sensing how in the [Mind Network], this parasite was repeating over and over again for the others to join him in interacting with the black liquid.
The parasites, on the other hand, simply stayed where they were, not knowing exactly what to do, although it also had to be mentioned that the enthusiasm the first parasite was showing was infectious as some parasites were looking convinced by the first parasite, Jay could feel it in the [Mental Network], while others were confused.
In any case, the gazes of all the little ones rested on Jay, with some asking for instructions, others asking for explanations and the latter resembling children asking permission to be able to go play with the neighbor's child.
Bringing his gaze towards the cause of this, Jay moved his hand in the direction of where the first parasite was before sending a single message on the [Mind Network].
'Enter.'Â
With that, although the parasite was still happy, there was no denying that its mood had dropped a bit as it seemed to it that Jay's message was on its way to a scolding.
Entering Jay's body again, as the parasite prepared to receive a scolding, the voice of the first mentioned began to be heard on the [Mental Network].
'I want to thank you for working so hard and being so brave, but please don't ever do something like that again.'Â
After saying that, Jay proceeded to examine the little parasite with the help of the system, with the latter staying still.
Thanks to Faith being nearby, he couldn't do anything really over the top, but fortunately, Jay didn't have to do much as the system soon gave him an answer that surprised him.
_____________________
Answer: After a simple analysis, it has been determined that the black liquid is an incredibly nutritious embryo of an unknown creature specialized in dealing with [Humans].
Growth Rate: 4% (Estimated time remaining -2 weeks, 4 days.)
Recommendation 1: Obtain more samples from the embryo for further analysis.
Recommendation 2: Although parasites normally feed along with the [Carrier], extra sources of nutrients are always appreciated.
_____________________
After reading the system's warning, Jay couldn't help but turn to see the black liquid coming out of Vilda, now in a new light, '...So this is... an embryo...'Â
Undoubtedly, with this discovery, Jay could understand why the monster hadn't killed them... because it wanted to reproduce using them!
Thinking about this, an unpleasant feeling began to fill Jay, who without much more thought, returned the parasite he was examining to Vilda's body before giving a simple command to his little ones through his [Mental Network].
'...Guide them.'
"!!"
With that, all of the parasites, under the leadership of the parasite Jay released, began charging towards the black liquid, their previous displeasure and hesitation having completely disappeared thanks to their partner's enthusiasm and Jay's command.
*Chack! Chack!
Soon, the sound of small bites began to become more conspicuous in the vicinity, and at the same time, Vilda's black veins were returning to their original color.
"What's going on...?" Faith asked, who, being so close, could hear and feel something happening inside Vilda.
Rising to his feet, Jay replied without looking at Faith, "It must be his body acting to counteract the infection."Â
This answer hadn't been for her to believe him or anything, it was simply an answer and that was it, anyway, Jay knew he wasn't going to be questioned any further at this point either.
"!"
A moment after Faith had frowned, a shiver ran down her back, forcing her to stand up and turn around.
Among the trees, similar to the first time they had met, the humanoid monster was emerging from the shadows, its tall, slender figure slowly advancing.
"...I guess we're out of time to look for the others and use their watches..." Faith said, not taking her eyes off the monster.
"That won't be necessary...look at its right arm." Jay replied.
Following his suggestion, Faith could see that on the monster's right arm, four smart watches were attached, with each of these cracked on the front, making it more than clear that they were broken.
"And that's why it took so long to come here... it really seems like a joke." Jay muttered, a resigned smile appearing on his face.
While he was thankful that the monster took his time as it allowed him to deal with Vilda's condition, or at least a part of it, he couldn't help but feel discouraged.
*Swoosh!*
The wind, once again, began to rampage, with the currents moving the leaves of the trees and the bushes on the ground.
However, this was not all, for with the wind, a flash also began to illuminate the surroundings, causing at least in this area of the forest, the darkness to recede.
It was clear, both esper now knew that they could no longer run away, and from the start, they activated their abilities in order to use them to the fullest.
In response, the monster merely moved forward slowly, one step at a time, dragging its sharp claws on the ground.
"Jay, we'll get through this, I know it." Faith said, looking at the esper out of the corner of her eye.
"...Sure we will." He replied.
And just like that, without another word, they both simply fell silent as the energy in their bodies erupted violently.
Now, the battle was about to begin!
