Chapter 244: Tha Parasite.

[In the last two Chapters, Varek told Kael not to use any sort of mental attack here. That was a mistake, I was supposed to have him say not to use his mental domain instead. I’ve fixed that now, but for those who read it before the correction, I wanted to give you a heads-up before you start this Chapter.]

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With that, Kael moved.

He stepped closer to the clearing, his eyes remaining fixed on the massive serpent coiled around Ezra’s sleeping form. The moment he crossed into its territory, the creature’s eyes snapped open. Its slit pupils narrowed as they locked onto him, and its forked tongue slowly flickered out between its fangs.

"A visitor," the serpent hissed, its voice carrying a strange mixture of curiosity and amusement. "I wasn’t expecting one."

Kael didn’t answer.

His consciousness lashed out.

A grey tide of pure destruction erupted from his body, spreading across the clearing with terrifying speed. The strawberry-colored grass beneath his feet withered the instant the aura touched it, its soft blades turning black before crumbling into ash.

The fur-covered trees surrounding the clearing reacted immediately, their branches squealing as though they were alive and recoiling from the approaching destruction. Their pale pink fur blackened and shriveled, while the pleasant floral scent filling the air was replaced by the stench of decay.

The grey tide rolled forward.

It wasn’t simply spreading randomly. Kael directed it with his will, guiding the destructive force toward the serpent and its eggs while carefully keeping Ezra’s body outside its reach.

This wasn’t a normal battlefield where he could simply unleash everything he possessed. Every attack had to be controlled. Every movement of his consciousness needed to be precise. One lapse in concentration could mean accidentally damaging Ezra’s core consciousness, and Kael wasn’t willing to take that risk.

The serpent reared back as the grey aura reached it.

It hissed furiously as the destructive tide crashed against its body, its scales flickering with strange energy as they resisted the invading force. For a brief moment, the creature managed to hold its ground, its massive body trembling beneath the pressure.

Then the first crack appeared.

A thin hairline fracture spread across one of its scales.

Then another.

The serpent’s durability was clearly far greater than the eggs surrounding it, and the moment the grey aura reached those fragile little structures, they began to deteriorate. Their translucent shells darkened and collapsed beneath the destructive force, dozens of eggs withering almost instantly.

Some of the parasites had already hatched, however.

They moved desperately across Ezra’s body, their tiny white forms disappearing beneath her skin as they attempted to escape the grey aura. But Kael’s consciousness had already reached them.

The destructive force followed.

It seeped into Ezra’s body in carefully controlled streams, seeking out the parasitic worms hidden within her consciousness. One after another, the tiny creatures began to shrivel beneath the aura before disappearing entirely.

"You dare!"

The serpent shrieked.

Kael didn’t even bother listening.

The longer this battle continued, the more damage would be inflicted upon this mental world, and that damage would eventually reflect upon Ezra’s soul and spirit. He couldn’t afford to drag this out. He needed to kill the parasite quickly.

So he attacked.

In the waking world, Kael’s body was a weapon made flesh.

That hadn’t changed here.

His consciousness carried the same instincts, the same martial understanding, the same murderous efficiency. The moment he moved, his right hand thrust forward, his fingers locking together as his consciousness compressed into a single point.

CRACK!

Kael’s consciousness tore through its scales and plunged into its body, carving a deep wound through flesh and spiritual essence. Black ichor poured from the injury, splattering across the pale ground as the serpent recoiled with a deafening shriek.

Its tail lashed out.

Kael’s eyes widened slightly.

The massive tail tore through the clearing like a whip, destroying everything in its path. Kael was caught off guard before he could fully evade the attack, and the enormous limb slammed into his body with enough force to send him flying.

He spun through the air before regaining control, slowly descending toward the ground.

But the serpent was already coming for him.

It moved far faster than something of its size should have been capable of moving. Its massive jaws opened wide, revealing two elongated fangs as it lunged toward him, attempting to sink them directly into his consciousness.

Kael shifted to the side.

The fangs passed beside his head.

His right hand came down.

BOOM!

His fist crashed into the serpent’s skull with enough force to split the upper portion of its head open. Black ichor burst outward as the creature’s body slammed into the ground.

Kael didn’t stop.

His left hand transformed into a blade of concentrated will, cutting through a loop of the serpent’s body as it attempted to wrap around him. The grey aura followed his attack, eating through the creature’s form and eroding its existence with every strike.

Yet the serpent refused to die.

Its head began regenerating.

The cracked skull slowly pulled itself back together, flesh reforming beneath the scales as the black ichor was drawn back into its body. The section Kael had severed regenerated almost immediately afterward, reconnecting itself to the rest of the serpent.

Kael’s expression hardened.

Of course.

The serpent had been inside Ezra’s mind for a long time.

Its roots ran far deeper into this world than his own.

It had embedded itself into Ezra’s consciousness, feeding upon her fading strength like a parasite drawing blood from its host. Every fragment of energy it stole from her became fuel for its regeneration.

The serpent suddenly twisted.

Its scales began splitting open.

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

Dozens of tiny white parasites emerged from beneath them.

Then hundreds.

They poured from the serpent’s body like a living swarm, crawling over its scales before rushing toward Kael. Their tiny mouths opened as they attempted to burrow into his consciousness and establish themselves within him.

Kael gritted his teeth.

"How despicable."

The swarm closed in.

Then a sudden wave of cool energy entered his consciousness.

Kael froze for the briefest instant.

He recognized it immediately.

The Hive Mind.

Even in the waking world, it had remained connected to his consciousness. It had sensed the battle unfolding within Ezra’s mind and had intervened.

Kael’s eyes sharpened.

"Nice."

The surge of energy strengthened his consciousness, reinforcing his control and giving him the power he needed to push back against the swarm.

He didn’t waste the opportunity.

The grey aura erupted outward once again.

This time, it was far more intense.

The parasites screamed as the destructive force washed over them, their bodies collapsing into nothingness before they could reach him. The grey tide continued forward, consuming the serpent’s body while Kael maintained absolute control over its direction.

But as the battle intensified, so did the damage dealt to the world.

Right now, he was concentrating almost entirely on protecting Ezra’s core consciousness from his own destructive power. Preventing the grey aura from touching her while simultaneously attacking the parasite required an enormous amount of focus.

Trying to protect the entire mental world at the same time would be impossible.

There was only one option.

End the battle as quickly as possible.

Kael moved.

The distance between them disappeared in a single step.

His consciousness blazed with destructive energy as his hand shot forward and closed around the serpent’s throat.

The massive creature thrashed immediately.

Its jaws snapped open.

Its tail whipped toward Kael with enough force to tear through the clearing, but Kael didn’t release his grip.

The grey aura poured directly from his hand and into the serpent’s body.

The destructive force spread through the serpent’s throat and into its entire body, eating through its will like acid through silk. Its scales began crumbling from the inside, its flesh deteriorating as the grey energy invaded every part of its existence.

The serpent writhed violently in Kael’s grasp.

Its tail struck his body but Kael remained still.

His fingers tightened around its throat as the grey aura continued pouring into the parasite.

He wasn’t going to let go.

Not until every trace of this thing had been erased from Ezra’s mind.