Parasite (4)
The evening sun dipped low, casting long shadows across the land. “It’s cold…” The church’s guards huddled around braziers along the wall, soaking up what little warmth they could. Orders from above a few days earlier had left them no time to rest.
[Sirdan has betrayed us?]
[That’s right. If we can’t stop him, we’re all dead men!]
The soldiers snapped to attention. Sirdan, a traitor? He was a hero famous for his overwhelming strength and deep trust among the people. Not everyone in the church was truly loyal. Many northerners had become soldiers simply for the pay. Sirdan had been their spiritual pillar. To think that same man had betrayed them…
“Why would he betray us?”
“How should I know? Maybe he thinks there’s no hope left.”
“…Something feels off. Sirdan isn’t the kind of man who would abandon the North so easily.”
The soldiers traded theories, but in the end they were all just grasping at straws. None of them knew the truth—that the real traitor was Lacravan, and Sirdan was coming to make him pay for his crimes.
“Enough chatter! Back to your posts!”
Another day drew to a close. The soldiers gripped their weapons and resumed their watch.
“Huh?”
That was when someone spotted something and shouted.
“It’s a Snowstorm Bug!”
“What?! Where!”
Northerners had a bad habit of losing their minds at the sight of snowstorm bugs. The moment the cute, pure-white beetle appeared, the guards forgot all about their duty and crowded around to watch it.
…And not a single one of them noticed.
From inside the adorable little messenger of good fortune, the parasites began to wriggle out.
“Hm?”
One man caught a fleeting glimpse of the parasite. But it was already too late. The Akchichi’s Bug, its mana carefully concealed, moved at a speed that surpassed human eye reflexes. It hurled itself forward.
With a soft plick!
Like a mosquito, the bug moved faster than the human eye could track. No matter how hard you tried to follow it, it would vanish in an instant. That was exactly the trick the Akchichi’s bugs were using now.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… I just thought I saw something weird on the snowstorm bug’s leg.”
“Weird?”
Plit! Plit! Plit!
The Akchichi’s bugs latched onto skin with astonishing speed, then bored holes through the leather and burrowed into the body.
“Is there something…?”
While the soldiers tilted their heads in confusion, every last one of them became infected. The parasites naturally rooted themselves in the brain’s nervous system. Instead of following their own instincts to control the hosts, they waited quietly for orders from the Bug Tamer, Dante.
The preparations were complete. Silent. Swift. Undetectable.
“Are the watches going smoothly?”
“Yes sir! No abnormalities!”
A knight-level officer who had trained his mana made his rounds on patrol. He too had already been infected. If even a supreme warrior like Sirdan had struggled to resist, ordinary guards had no chance at all.
“It’s nothing important, but we’ve found snowstorm bugs here!”
“Here too?”
“?”
“People are saying they’ve seen them in other places as well.”
The watch captain smiled as he spoke.
“Looks like the Northern goddess is watching over us.”
The guards laughed along with him.
“Hah, maybe a snowstorm’s coming?”
“Could be. We’d better prepare just in case.”
They saw the snowstorm bugs only as symbols of good fortune. The goddess of the North must have sent her messengers to protect them.
“The temperature might drop even further, so make sure your cold-weather preparations are thorough.”
“Yes sir!”
The guards’ shift passed peacefully, just like any other day.
…As if nothing at all had happened.
Deep into the night, even the moonlight was swallowed by clouds, leaving complete darkness. In that blackness, Dante opened his eyes.
“Sirdan.”
Dante spoke quietly.
“It’s ready.”
“Already?”
Sirdan was inwardly impressed. Dante had clearly released the bugs during the day. For him to say everything was prepared the moment the sun set was nothing short of astonishing.
“Let’s move.”
“Right…”
Sirdan gripped his sword tightly and walked into the darkness. The warriors and Dante moved silently behind him.
If things go wrong, I’ll have to draw my blade.
Sirdan kept his tension high. Dante had claimed he would handle everything, but it wasn’t something he could easily believe. Sirdan had experienced firsthand how terrifying the Akchichi’s Bug parasites were. But could Dante truly control them perfectly? What if he made a mistake, or someone noticed the infection and prepared countermeasures? A fight would break out. Their plan for a stealthy infiltration would collapse.
…Of course, it would be best if Dante’s plan works.
Sirdan had no desire for bloodshed. The one who needed to lose his head was that bastard Lacravan, not innocent northerners. He wasn’t the kind of man who took pleasure in seeing his own people bleed.
“Begin.”
Dante’s voice was low. It was only a single short sentence, yet for some reason Sirdan found it incredibly trustworthy. He had already witnessed Dante’s magic several times and benefited from it. It wasn’t strange that trust had formed.
That was why Sirdan thought—Dante’s magic will succeed this time too…!
Dante closed his eyes and focused. A unique wave of mana that only he could emit spread outward. The insects’ mana pulse radiated from the center of the mage.
“Listen.”
Dante could sense the presence of the Akchichi’s bugs. He could feel them. Every bug he had released was safely settled inside the soldiers’ minds!
“I command you.”
Dante released the bugs’ mana and whispered.
“All of you—fall asleep immediately.”
The Akchichi’s bugs obeyed Dante’s order at once.
[Sleep.]
[Sleep.]
[Sleep.]
[Sleep.]
The Akchichi’s bugs embedded in the soldiers’ minds stimulated their brain nerves, inducing overwhelming drowsiness. Normally the parasites avoided this method because of the massive mana consumption. But when the Bug Tamer gave the order, they defied their instincts and manipulated the brains exactly as he wished.
“Haaaam…”
“Ugh… why am I so sleepy all of a sudden…?”
The soldiers began to nod off one by one. Dante whispered another command to a drowsy guard.
“You. Come here and open the gate.”
“…”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Soldiers collapsed and fell asleep one after another. One guard, still half-awake with bleary eyes, stumbled over and opened the gate. The moment the heavy doors creaked open, he too collapsed in slumber.
Sirdan followed carefully behind Dante. When he saw the scene before him, he was stunned.
“By the gods…!”
Countless soldiers lay completely unconscious. From between their skin, the Akchichi’s bugs crawled out sluggishly. Most died of exhaustion the moment they emerged. The few that survived would soon freeze to death. It was all because of Dante’s orders. He had no intention of letting any of the used bugs live. To him, they were nothing more than disposable tools.
“It worked,” Dante said. A faint smile played on his lips. “The range I can command is wider than I expected. Must be all the mana control practice.”
“…”
“Just putting them to sleep doesn’t kill them instantly from exhaustion. I might be able to mix in other commands midway…”
The Bug Tamer looked pleased as he reviewed his results. Watching him, Sirdan felt goosebumps crawl across his skin.
“Hey,” one of the warriors whispered. “Can we really trust that empire bastard?”
“…”
Sirdan found it difficult to answer with a clean “yes.” Sure, the man was technically on their side, but… why did he look like such a villain?! Seeing him command those bugs with such sinister skill made Sirdan want to keep his distance!
“Those parasites were definitely horrifying…”
Honestly, Dante’s magic was dangerous. Implanting parasites that could manipulate people’s minds? Anyone would call that extremely hazardous. Yet Sirdan shook his head. He and Dante had already survived multiple life-or-death crises together. Their goal—Lacravan’s execution—was the same. Most importantly, Dante had said it himself: many nobles were working for the North, and both the Northern Grand Duke and the next emperor candidate cared about the region. Dante was a mage who worked for those nobles.
“We have to try to trust him.”
“…”
“We don’t have any other choice now.”
After confirming that every soldier was asleep, Dante walked over to Sirdan.
“Where to next?”
“That way. Past the side gate is the rear courtyard.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Dante and Sirdan’s group passed through the wall without being noticed by anyone. As if nothing had happened at all.
When the guards eventually woke up, they were flustered, but none of them reported it immediately. Because… it would be like admitting their own mistake!
A night guard falling asleep on duty? It was strange, but no soldier wanted to say it out loud.
Captain! I don’t know why, but I fell asleep during my shift last night!
What kind of response would that get?
Oh my, how admirable, you little shit!!!
That was about it. So the soldiers kept quiet… and the report never made it up the chain until they had talked among themselves enough.
Hey, I think I dozed off during my shift yesterday…?
What?! You too?
You too?!
Only then did they slowly begin to feel something was wrong, but two full days had already passed. Reporting that they had suddenly fallen asleep from drowsiness two days ago was no easy thing. Because of that small hesitation, the report that “the guard line was breached” never reached Lacravan.
And—the same thing repeated.
Dante and Sirdan broke through the guard posts without hesitation. They released the parasites to infect the soldiers, then stimulated their nerves to put them to sleep. The speed at which Dante pierced through the defenses was enormous. Even when guards who noticed the anomaly late wrote reports, they still hadn’t reached Lacravan!
“This way?”
“Yeah. This is the path the supply wagons take into the castle.”
Their guide was none other than Sirdan. He found the route to Lacravan far too easily. It was only natural—he had come and gone through these passages many times before.
“Convenient,” Dante said. He looked satisfied with how useful Sirdan was. In truth, however, Sirdan was several times more shocked.
The magic Dante had shown… it lacked nothing when compared to that of high-ranking mages. A spell that could put dozens, even hundreds of people to sleep in a single night—who could use something like that so casually? Yet Dante had done it with ridiculous ease. All because he controlled a single special bug.
So this is what a Bug Tamer is…
Sirdan had never met a Bug Tamer before Dante. After all, they were extremely rare among humans, and lizardmen from the Bankatria continent rarely crossed over to this side.
“…”
“What are you doing? We’re almost there.”
“…Right. Let’s go.”
Sirdan found Dante’s bug magic both astonishing and terrifying. If Dante had been an enemy of the North, he would have cut him down without hesitation. But for now, they were allies.
“Dante.”
“Yeah?”
“I hope we can keep going together until the end. Without betraying each other.”
“?”
Dante looked at Sirdan as if he had said something strange. “Isn’t that obvious? Once we deal with Lacravan, we’ll each go our own way.”
“Of course.”
“Well, if you end up fighting Duchess Daina, we might become enemies again…”
“That won’t happen.”
Sirdan’s face twisted. “Once this is over, I’m retiring.”
“Smart choice.”
Dante gave a small chuckle and continued walking. Lacravan’s residence was now right in front of them.