Chapter 75: The Parasites Have a Natural Predator… and It’s Disappearing

Mana examinations.

Isolation for anyone showing irregular mana loss.

Autopsies.

Water had to be boiled in addition to being filtered.

Raven listened to the new protocols, then asked:

"What about the toads?"

Garran looked at him in disbelief.

"We just discovered parasites living inside our patients, and you’re still thinking about the toads."

"The two may be connected."

That stopped him.

Raven pointed toward one of the containers.

"Hollow Threads consume mana."

"Yes."

"Mana Reservoir Toads store mana."

"They do."

"And they started disappearing before the human outbreak."

Maelor interrupted.

"That proves nothing."

"No."

Raven looked at him.

"But it is a very specific coincidence."

The older physician frowned.

"Reservoir Toads eat almost any small organism in the swamp."

Maelor turned toward her.

"Insects."

"Larvae too."

"Yes."

She looked at one of the jars.

"And worms."

Raven focused on her.

"Have they ever been studied with parasites?"

"Not these."

Maelor shook his head.

"Reservoir Toads have mana-reactive digestion. Many parasitic species can’t survive inside them."

Raven straightened slightly.

"Why?"

"The reservoir isn’t simply a bladder," the alchemist explained. "It filters ambient mana, and part of that flow passes through the digestive system. Their mucosal tissue contains enzymes capable of breaking down organisms that attempt to feed on that mana."

Valeria understood first.

"They could eat Hollow Threads."

Maelor hesitated.

"Theoretically."

Raven pointed toward the jars.

"We have samples."

Garran looked at him.

"What are you proposing?"

"Find a toad."

"We’ve been searching for them for days."

"A live one."

"That narrows the options even further."

"I don’t need a large specimen to test this."

The captain remained silent.

Raven continued.

"If they can eat Hollow Threads without becoming infected, then we have two new questions."

"Which are?"

"Why the toads are disappearing, and what is controlling the parasites now that they aren’t."

The physician added, "Or what removed the toads first and allowed the parasite population to explode."

Exactly.

The outbreak might not have started with humans at all.

It could have started with the ecosystem.

That made it more dangerous.

And more interesting.

They found a Mana Reservoir Toad before sunset.

Not in the swamp.

Inside the medical storage facility.

It was the last living specimen captured that morning.

The creature was roughly the size of a medium dog, with dark green skin covered in crystalline protrusions. Its abdomen was partially translucent, revealing a pale blue organ that pulsed slowly beneath the skin.

FORGE reacted the moment Raven entered.

[Potential Project Component Detected]

[Species: Mana Reservoir Toad]

[Level: 9]

[Rank: Common]

[Relevant Biological Structure:]

[Crystalline Mana Reservoir]

[Preliminary Project Compatibility: MODERATE]

[Additional analysis recommended.]

Raven studied the toad.

Finally.

The creature he had actually come to find.

Maelor carried one of the containers holding a juvenile Hollow Thread.

"If this kills the specimen, the captain is going to tear my head off."

Garran stood behind him.

"Correct."

Maelor grimaced.

Raven watched as the alchemist placed the parasite in a shallow container filled with swamp water, then moved the toad closer.

Nothing happened.

The creature remained motionless.

Valeria tilted her head.

"Impressive."

"Wait," Maelor said.

He disturbed the water.

The Hollow Thread released a faint pulse of mana in response.

The toad’s eyes opened.

Its tongue shot out.

Fast.

The parasite vanished.

Everyone waited.

Raven activated Predation.

[Foreign organism consumed.]

[Hollow Thread viability:]

[Declining.]

[Mana Reservoir Toad infection probability:]

[NEGLIGIBLE]

Ten seconds passed.

Then fifteen.

[Hollow Thread destroyed.]

[Digestive neutralization confirmed.]

Raven smiled faintly.

"It ate it."

Garran looked at him.

"We saw that."

"No. It destroyed it."

Maelor moved closer to the toad and used an analysis crystal. His expression changed almost immediately.

"No integration."

The physician looked at him.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. The reservoir’s mana is stable."

Valeria crossed her arms.

"Then the toads are natural predators of the parasite."

Raven looked at the animal.

"Probably one of them."

Garran understood the implication.

"And they’re disappearing."

"Yes."

No one needed to say the rest.

Fewer Reservoir Toads meant more Hollow Threads surviving long enough to reach humans.

But one question remained.

What had made the toads disappear?

Raven looked at the Common specimen.

FORGE was still analyzing it.

[Crystalline Mana Reservoir]

[Capacity: MODERATE]

[Stability: HIGH]

[Prototype Rifle Estimated Compatibility: 61%]

[Output Sustainability: BELOW TARGET]

[Current specimen insufficient for primary project requirement.]

Raven closed his eyes for a moment.

Valeria noticed.

"Let me guess."

"It doesn’t work."

"Of course it doesn’t."

Maelor looked personally offended on the toad’s behalf.

"That is a perfectly healthy reservoir."

"For you."

"What the hell are you building?"

Raven looked at him.

"Something demanding."

Valeria smiled.

Garran was no longer listening to that part.

He was still watching the toad.

"If we find more, we need to keep them alive."

Raven looked at him.

There was the problem.

"I need a better one."

The captain slowly turned.

"No."

"I haven’t asked for anything yet."

"I already know how this conversation goes."

Raven pointed toward the toad.

"That one is useless to me."

"Excellent."

"Which means I need a more developed variant."

"Less excellent."

Maelor thought for a moment.

"Deepwell."

Raven looked at him.

"What?"

The alchemist hesitated.

"There are records of an evolved variant in the deeper regions of the swamp. Extremely rare. Reservoir Toads that absorb enough mana over several years can develop a much larger crystalline reservoir."

FORGE reacted to the name.

[Potential advanced species data detected.]

[Additional information required.]

Raven felt his interest rise.

Garran felt something else.

"No."

Raven ignored him.

"Where?"

Maelor looked toward the captain.

Then toward the map.

"Deep Mire."

Naturally.

Valeria gave a short laugh.

"Of course."

Raven looked at Garran.

"The red zone."

"The forbidden zone."

"Where the hunters disappeared."

"Yes."

Raven glanced at the small toad, then at the containers holding the Hollow Threads.

The component he needed was probably located in the same place where the natural predator of the parasite had started disappearing before the epidemic began.

That was becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss as coincidence.

Garran clearly reached the same conclusion.

"You are not going into Deep Mire just because your damned project needs an organ."

"No."

The captain looked surprised.

Raven continued.

"I’m going because something in Deep Mire is eliminating the toads, contributing to a parasitic outbreak, and is probably sitting on top of the only specimen I actually need."

Valeria looked at Garran.

"In his defense, that is considerably worse."

Garran rubbed his forehead.

"Tomorrow."

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"What happens tomorrow?"

"We discuss Deep Mire."

"I thought it was forbidden."

"It is."

"Then?"

Garran looked exhausted.

"I now have thirty-seven transparent reasons to reconsider some orders."

Raven glanced toward the jars.

"Fair argument."

The captain pointed toward the door.

"Get some rest. Do not leave the clean district. And for the love of the Light, do not eat any of those parasites."

Raven looked at him.

"Nineteen percent compatibility."

Garran went completely still.

"I don’t know what that means."

Valeria walked past him.

"It means he had to think about it."

"I did not have to think about it."

"Your ability gave you the option."

"That doesn’t make it a real option."

Garran looked at Raven.

Then at the Hollow Threads.

Then back at Raven.

"I’m going to pretend this conversation never happened."

Raven followed Valeria toward the door.

"That strategy has worked for me before."

He had not come to Mirevale to stop an epidemic.

He had come for a reservoir.

But now the pattern was becoming clear. Hollow Threads fed on mana, Mana Reservoir Toads fed on Hollow Threads, and something had been removing the toads before people started dying.

Raven had seen enough predation to recognize a broken food chain.

The only question was what had moved into the space left behind.

And if FORGE was right, the answer was probably waiting for him in Deep Mire.