Chapter 68: Body Snatchers (2)

Chapter 68: Body Snatchers (2)

It was a quivering lump of flesh, the size of a childs 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 Goats Body Fluid], which has the power to transform humans into monsters, it was a rather ordinary spell.

It cant 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 wouldnt be able to hear it.

An, An enemy!

Come out! Its the enemy!

As the surveillance team members found themselves unable to flee due to their legs freezing, I drove the [Butchers 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 Butchers Hook.

[The unique effects of the S-rank weapon Butchers 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 Butchers Hook began to absorb the mans 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.Follow current novels at novelhall.com)

Toward the other parasite that had not been hit by Cha Tae-wons attack.

Dont, dont 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 couldnt be separated by normal means.

Ah, was my assistance unnecessary in this situation?

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

Dont 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?

Cant you untangle this now? If you dont free me immediately, Ill 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 well 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! Youre 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 creatures 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 humans, 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.

Ive encountered monsters before, but never anything like these. What on earth are they?

Theyre 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?

Theres 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 wasnt entirely sure, but I suspected these creatures might be here. Yang Seo-ho wouldnt have acted without good reason.

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

Indeed.

Since theres one creature per human head, the numbers wouldnt 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? Whats that?

Its 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.