Council's Fury and Parasite Nursery
“Missing persons in the labyrinth have been on the rise lately.”
In the Sonisia Council chamber, a blonde woman rose from her seat, scanning all the members seated around the round table.
“No bodies, no gear— they've vanished into thin air.”
It was Elia, head of the Adventurer's Guild.
“I firmly assert that this is the work of the Hunter Guild.”
The elf woman, over two hundred years old yet still youthful and beautiful, clenched her fist and shook it in the air, her voice laced with conviction.
“What's your evidence?”
A man seated near the table asked.
“It's obvious. Monsters can kill people, but they don't touch gear. Only humans commit murder and looting at the same time. This is clearly deliberate, and the only ones with motive are the Hunters.”
It sounded plausible at first glance. The animosity and disgust the Adventurer's Guild harbored toward the Hunter Guild was infamous enough that everyone present knew about it. And it wasn't unfounded. The two were polar opposites, and the damage the Hunter Guild had inflicted on the Adventurer's Guild over the years was incalculable in monetary terms.
Yet the Adventurer's Guild hadn't aggressively moved to eradicate the Hunters for more pragmatic reasons. Their very existence served as a check on the Adventurer's Guild.
Sonisia had three major powers. One was the governor directly ruling the city and their administrative organs. Another was the adventurers led by the Adventurer's Guild, and the third was the Merchants' Guild.
Among them, the Adventurer's Guild wielded the mightiest power. They were a formidable military force in their own right and commanded immense economic strength. The revenue they generated from the labyrinth rivaled that of the other two factions combined, and if the guild's adventurers so chose, they had more than enough power to overthrow the city.
Thus, the other two powers had covertly kept the Adventurer's Guild in check, but it was becoming increasingly inadequate. Enter the Hunter Guild. A den of outlaws, yes— but also incredibly useful. For the nobles, they were expensive but reliable tools who would take on even illicit commissions for the right price. For artisans dealing in dangerous drugs or gear, they offered a high-profit market. They also served as a warehouse for sourcing rare materials without kowtowing to the Adventurer's Guild.
That was why the two major factions had pulled strings behind the scenes to ensure the Adventurer's Guild couldn't target the Hunters. Elia knew this full well, which was why she'd tolerated their existence until now.
But here she was, condemning the Hunter Guild publicly in the council— a rather weighty venue— for the first time in exactly ten years.
“Sixty Gold-rank or higher adventurers have gone missing this month alone. This isn't something we can brush off. We must put a stop to this outrage. No matter what anyone says, I won't take it back.”
No one dared voice dissent against Elia's hardline stance right away. True, they'd tacitly sheltered and tolerated the Hunters, but if her claims were accurate, even they found the situation distasteful. The mass disappearance of Gold-rank adventurers spelled obvious trouble.
The materials they brought back from exploring the labyrinth were invaluable to the city. The mid-floors produced core ingredients for gear crafting and potion brewing, so a drop in mid-layer producers would hit the market hard.
“But if what you say is true, Elia, starting an all-out war with the Hunters now would shake an already unstable market even more. Who's going to handle the fallout?”
An executive from the Merchants' Guild asked.
“No need to worry about that.”
The response came from elsewhere.
The silver full-plate armored figure, who had listened silently until now, finally spoke.
“I'll be commanding the operation.”
The chamber erupted in murmurs. The Silver Knight was mobilizing. No one in the city was truly ignorant of her renown— not even a child just learning to talk.
She was a fairy-tale hero, part of legend, woven into the city's history. One of the first six to enter the labyrinth, the only one to reach the deepest layer— floor 8— and return alive. Rumor had it she'd suffered only one defeat in her career: clashing with the labyrinth's master on floor 8, where her entire raid party was wiped out, and she barely escaped with her life.
After that, the Silver Knight retired from adventuring. But who could mock her as a failure? Since then, no one had even set foot on floor 8, let alone crossed the door beyond floor 7.
Now she commanded the city guard, but as the mentor to the current Adventurer's Guild master, Elia, their ties were undeniable. Her statement implied prior coordination between them.
“So the governor has consented as well?”
The Merchants' Guild executive pressed, and the Silver Knight replied curtly.
“It's for the city, so of course.”
That alone let most imagine the full picture. The Silver Knight's authority rivaled— or surpassed— the governor's in this city. If she wanted permission, she'd get it, consent or not.
“Don't worry. I won't hold your bounties on my head or your illicit sales against you. This is a lesson. We'll cut off the head, leave the toes. These hydras regenerate from the bottom up anyway— give it ten years, and they'll sprout again. By then, they'll have learned some sense.”
No one could refute her or raise objections. They could only inwardly lament the loss of a useful tool.
I lay on the bed, reading the letter that had arrived for me. Meanwhile, Ray diligently sucked my cock from her perch on my lap. For reference, Sylvia was giving me a lap pillow at the headboard, occasionally feeding me snacks whenever I seemed peckish.
All three had massively swollen bellies. They were pregnant, but not with ordinary mammalian babies. Filling their wombs were the offspring of the Parasite α I'd possessed— my extensions, in a sense.
But I felt no paternal affection. They were mere tools to achieve my goals.
Yet the three women, nurturing parasites that devoured their experience points from within, often caressed their bellies with motherly, benevolent smiles, as if feeling maternal love.
“The Adventurer's Guild is teaming up with the city guard to attack the Hunter Guild.”
I read the letter's contents aloud. It had come from Carl, one of the Merchants' Guild executives— the man I was currently impersonating.
Carl was the guy who'd boldly offered to buy Rena and Ray during my last Poly Market visit. Also the one who'd put a bounty on my head.
After he offed himself under hypnosis, I judged his position useful and took it over. Using my new Mimicry Necklace.
The plan worked flawlessly. No one suspected a thing, and I'd fully embedded myself in his mansion.
I'd been dipping into the labyrinth now and then for level-ups while plotting my next moves. Then this letter arrived.
“Isn't that bad news?”
Ray licked the precum from her lips and swallowed, asking.
“Sure, it'll cut off my income stream short-term, but... it might be an opportunity.”
“An opportunity?”
Sylvia brushed my bangs aside and asked.
“With the Adventurer's Guild and city guard's attention elsewhere, it's perfect for making moves.”
And conveniently, I was impersonating someone in just the right position to exploit it.
“Might as well check on things— go see Rena.”
I hopped out of bed with a grunt. Sylvia and Ray quickly followed, clinging to my arms on either side.
Like raising clingy puppies.
I led them to the basement. As soon as I opened the door, a woman's lascivious moans echoed out.
This spacious, open former storeroom had recently been repurposed as a parasite breeding ground. Strictly for impregnating, birthing, and raising parasites.
“Ah, Papa♥”
Rena, fucking a maid-outfitted woman in the corner, spotted me and beamed happily.
Between Rena's legs hung a thick, long cock wildly disproportionate to her slender frame. Not hers, of course— an artificial one fashioned from parasite gear.
I'd ordered her to use it to impregnate the mansion's maids with parasites. Naturally, Rena's own womb was packed full of parasite young.
The maids' parasites were lower-grade than those in the three women. They couldn't fully drain their hosts' experience, birthing at low levels.
Still, they weren't useless. Not everyone in the city was an adventurer. Level 3 or 4 was plenty to hijack an ordinary person's personality.
“Coming along well?”
“Yep♥ All of them are carrying healthy babies♥”
Rena answered, thrusting the foreign appendage into the maid's pussy.
The breeding room was filled with women, bellies swollen like full-term pregnancies, sprawled or seated with dazed expressions, stroking their protrusions or breathing shallowly.
Having levels drained meant losing chunks of memory, in other words. High-level adventurers like Sylvia, Rena, or Ray only lost combat knowledge, but for these maids, whose life experience was their levels, it meant their very memories of life were being eaten away.
By birth time, they probably wouldn't even remember who they were. Whatever— make them lifetime mansion staff. A job for life. How generous.
I approached Rena and placed my palm on her swollen belly. She blushed shyly, clutching her cheeks.
“Hng♥ Papa's hand touching makes the babies wriggle like crazy inside♥”
“About time to give birth.”
I murmured, sensing the parasites' energy inside had grown far stronger.
“Really? We finally get to see the babies?”
Rena asked, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
I then placed my hands on Sylvia's and Ray's lower bellies in turn. And made my decision.
“Let's birth them tomorrow.”