Chapter 135: A Brutal Necessity

Exactly two hours, that's all it took for the parasite to fully mature within the prisoners.

Aron observed the entire process with keen eyes, missing nothing. He saw how the eggs hatched, how the parasite adjusted itself to the limited space in the chest, and most importantly how its root snaked throughout the body, weaving itself around the veins.

What particularly caught Aron's attention was the way these roots resembled a thin, almost second-skin layer enveloping the veins. It was as if the parasite was actively trying to mask its presence, cloaking itself from the host's internal defenses.

"A clever tactic," Aron mused, a chilling admiration creeping into his thoughts.

Now, with its grotesque form fully developed, the parasite entered a dormant state. It leeched only a minimal amount of mana from its hosts, just enough to sustain itself in this semi-hibernation.

"Hmm... Waiting for activation, perhaps?" Aron speculated.

Aron left the four cooks hanging there in the cell and turned his attention to the fifth man—the one who attempted to escape and the provider of this parasite as the cooks said.

As he approached the man, he could see the fear and desperation in his eyes. The man cowered in the corner of his cell, his body trembling with each step Aron took closer and his wounds didn't help either.

"Who are you?" Aron demanded, his voice cold and commanding. "Wait, don't answer that. I don't care about your pathetic life story. I care only about the parasite. Where did you get it from?"

The man flinched, his lips moving silently for a moment before a raspy voice emerged. "I... I don't know," he stammered, his eyes filled with a mixture of fear and defiance.

Aron released a deep sigh, recognizing the telltale signs of a lie. "I don't have time for this... Isolate," he muttered, his patience wearing thin.

With a gesture and a word of power, he sealed off the entire dungeon. He then grabbed the man by the throat, forcing him to make eye contact.

"Look in my eyes," Aron commanded, his voice low and menacing, as he tightened his grip on the man's throat. The man's eyes widened in terror as he complied, unable to look away from Aron's intense gaze.

In that instant, the man's brown eyes flared red. His mind began to drift, a sense of disorientation washing over him. He didn't understand what was happening, but when he somehow snapped back to awareness, he found himself trapped in a suffocating darkness.

"W-What's happening?" he stammered, his voice barely a whisper in the void that surrounded him. Panic coursed through his veins as he struggled to make sense of his surroundings, but the darkness seemed impenetrable, suffocating him with its oppressive weight.

He tried to move but to no luck. Looking down, the man's eyes widened in shock as he saw his entire existence wrapped in chains.

The chains seemed to materialize out of the darkness itself, wrapping around the man's limbs with an otherworldly grip. No matter how he struggled, the chains held him fast, binding him in place with an ironclad certainty.

Suddenly, a chilling voice resonated through the darkness, sending shivers down his spine. "You are in my domain now," the voice intoned, its words carrying the weight of authority and power.

"You will answer my questions, or you will suffer the consequences."

The man's heart hammered against his ribs as he fought to maintain his composure. "Please," he pleaded, his voice trembling with fear and desperation. "I know nothing... I swear!"

"LIAR!!" Aron's voice boomed through the darkness, echoing with a menacing fury that seemed to reverberate off the walls of the void. The man's pleas fell on deaf ears as Aron's rage consumed him, fueled by the frustration of his unanswered questions.

"You dare lie to me?" Aron's voice thundered, laced with fury. "A hundred years of torment would surely teach you some manners."

"Eh?…W-Wha–...AHHH!" The man's screams pierced the darkness as Aron's wrath manifested in terrifying forms. Shadows twisted and contorted, taking on shapes of grotesque creatures that closed in on the man, their claws and teeth gleaming with malice. They were the Faceless horrors and other twisted creations of Xenodrake that Aron had slain in that very dungeon.

Aron watched with a cold detachment as the shadow creatures descended upon the man. Their hideous forms move with unnatural fluidity. Their claws tore into his flesh, shredding him apart with merciless efficiency.

"P-PLEAS!...AHHH!" The man's pleas for mercy were drowned out by the cacophony of his torment, his body writhing in agony as the shadow creatures tore him apart piece by piece. Blood and ichor stained the darkness, mingling with the despair that permeated the void.

But even as the man's screams reached a fever pitch, Aron remained unmoved. His eyes glinted with a cold determination, his resolve unshaken by the horrors that unfolded before him. And when nothing was left of the man, Aron would just snap his fingers and the man would be whole again.

The torture went on for exactly a hundred years as Time seemed to stretch on endlessly within the confines of the man's mind, each passing moment filled with unimaginable suffering. But for Aron, it was merely a blink of an eye.

"Ready to talk now?" Aron asked the 'Broken' man in front of him.

The man's mind was shattered beyond repair. He barely registered the question, but when the words finally penetrated the fog of his mental state, he blurted out an answer.

According to him, he got the parasite from a palace guard in the southern city. This broken man was a thief when they threw him in the dungeons waiting to be executed. A palace guard approached him with an offer.

The offer was simple, he would give him a few bottles containing a substance and his job was to make sure that it reached the mouths of everyone inside Frostguard keep.

If he managed to do that before the monster waves. In return, the guard promised freedom and a hefty sum of coins.

Naturally, the man accepted and even enlisted the cooks in his scheme.

"How do I find this palace guard?" Aron pressed.

"He has a... big mole... under his right eye," the man stammered, the information spilling from his broken mind.

Aron absorbed the information with a calculated calmness, his mind already strategizing the next steps. He closed his eyes for a moment, then snapped them back open, finding himself back in the cell.

Releasing the man's throat, Aron stepped back, his expression unreadable. The man coughed and gasped for air, but his eyes remained vacant, devoid of any light or recognition. He didn't even react to the sudden change in scenery.

Aron turned his attention to the four cooks, their eyes widened with fear, their bodies trembling in anticipation of their fate. Aron's presence loomed over them like a specter of doom, his every movement calculated and deliberate.

"Now, let's see if I can get that parasite out of you," he announced, his words sending shivers down their spines. Their faces paled, and their hearts skipped a beat.

Take it out? How? Don't tell me...the old-fashioned way?

Aron didn't care what was on their mind; his sole focus was on eradicating the parasite.

He got four subjects, well three; he decided to leave one untouched to test Eldarion's cure on him.

Approaching the cook on his left, he retrieved a healing potion from his storage. With a firm grip, he forced open the cook's mouth and administered the potion, watching closely for any reaction. The cook grimaced as the liquid trickled down his throat, but the parasite within showed no signs of distress.

'Hmm, no effect. Perhaps healing magic?' Aron thought, but he shook his head. 'Potions and healing magic cure wounds and the parasite is clearly not a wound…Holy magic maybe?'

Tapping his lips in thought, another idea sparked in his mind. Placing a hand on the cook's bare chest, he focused his will, thinking, 'My flames could burn anything.'

Immediately, his flames, infused with his potent mana, surged through his hand, radiating intense heat. The cook's eyes widened in terror as the searing energy flooded his body, but Aron remained focused, his mind honed on his objective – eradicating the parasite.

With precise control, Aron directed the flames to target the parasite within the cook's body. The intense heat enveloped the creature, searing its grotesque form and burning away its connection to the host's veins.

"AHHH!" The cook writhed in agony as the flames consumed the parasite; his screams echoed off the dungeon walls. But Aron paid no heed to his suffering, his concentration unbroken as he continued to unleash the full force of his fiery magic.

Minutes crawled by like an eternity as Aron maintained his relentless assault, refusing to relent until every trace of the parasite was reduced to ash. Finally, as the flames subsided, he withdrew his hand, his dragon eyes scanning the cook.

The parasite was gone, but at a significant cost. Since its roots intertwined with the host's veins, Aron's flames couldn't avoid causing collateral damage. The cook's mana veins were severely singed, rendering him incapable of wielding magic ever again.

"Not an ideal solution," Aron acknowledged, "but at least we have it as a last resort."

He turned to the remaining two cooks, contemplating his next move. 'Since flames damage mana veins, perhaps devouring it would be a better option?' he thought.

Placing a hand on the next cook, he activated one of his skills

[Gluttony]

A dark aura enveloped his hand, crackling with hungry energy. The cook recoiled in terror, sensing the malevolent power emanating from Aron's touch.

Like a hungry predator, the dark energy plunged into the cook's body through his mouth, targeting the parasite. The creature writhed and struggled in a futile attempt to escape, but it was no match for the insatiable hunger of Aron's skill.

With each passing moment, the dark aura devoured the parasite, tearing it apart and assimilating its essence into itself. The cook convulsed in agony, his screams echoing off the stone walls of the dungeon, but Aron's focus remained unwavering.

The process was swift and brutal, and the parasitic creature was reduced to nothingness within seconds. Yet again, it came at a heavy price.

A system notification chimed in Aron's mind:

[You have killed: A Human]

[+50 XP]

"Well, this definitely isn't a viable cure, is it?" Aron turned asking with a smile to the head-cook who froze, forgetting even to breathe, his mind racing to comprehend the situation.

He stammered for a moment before managing to speak. "N-no, my lord. I... I don't think so. It's... it's not a cure, it's…death," he managed to say, his voice trembling with fear.

Aron shook his head in agreement. "Yeah, I think so too." He approached the head cook, his eyes filled with a predatory glint. "Now, your turn."

The head-cook's eyes widened further in terror as Aron approached him, his heart pounding in his chest. He struggled to find his voice, his mind still reeling from the horrors he had just witnessed. But as Aron placed a hand on his chest, he accepted his fate.

This time, however, Aron didn't resort to flames or Gluttony. Instead, he utilized something far more potent.

"Cure," he uttered in a Draconic tongue, wielding a word of power. It was as if reality itself bent to his will. The parasite simply vanished, erased from existence as if it had never been there.

There was no surge of energy or some ethereal glow or anything of that kind; the parasite existed and then BOOF! It was no more.

"Nice," Aron said with satisfaction, the grim mood finally lifting. With no need to linger in this depressing dungeon any longer, he deactivated the isolation barrier and made his way out.

"KAAAH," Raum landed on his shoulder the moment Aron stepped out. Though no words were exchanged, Aron understood his feathered friend's concern.

"My lord," one of the soldiers guarding the entrance approached fist to the chest, in a respectful salute.

Aron acknowledged the soldier with a nod before requesting to be shown to his chambers. As they walked, he could sense Kasumi and Viper trailing behind him, Both girls were tired as hell, and through the magic seal, Viper informed him that her invisibility wouldn't last more than a couple of minutes.

Thankfully, the Lord's chamber wasn't far. With a silent nod, Aron signaled for them to remain vigilant as they entered his chambers. The soldier bowed respectfully before taking his leave, leaving Aron alone.

"HAAA!!..." Viper collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath. "That was... whew... a close call. I'm out of mana."

Kasumi followed suit, collapsing onto the king-sized bed in the center of the chamber. Aron chuckled, pulling out some snacks from his storage. He offered some to the girls and shared a portion with Raum.

"Tell me," he said, grabbing their attention, "what did you find?"