Chapter 101: How to Defeat a Sectarian Parasite
"So when you were in the settlement, if you had stayed to fight, your techniques...?"
"They would have killed. Everything. Every controlled resident that had killing intent toward me. Every guardian. Anyone within range. And the killing intent, Yorel, isn’t controlled by your neighbors. It’s controlled by the parasite. The parasite wanted to kill me. And that intent was being transmitted through every controlled body."
"Meaning."
"Meaning that if I fought, I would have killed your neighbors. The adults. The children. Everyone. Without being able to control it. Because the parasite had given them killing intent, and my Class was going to respond with automatic lethality."
Yorel was silent.
For nearly a minute.
Nathan and Liaraen waited.
Without rushing him.
Then Yorel spoke, with a very low voice.
"So it wasn’t that you couldn’t do anything. It was that if you did anything, everyone would die."
And with a calm voice:
"Yorel. This isn’t something I can solve by myself. My Class is effective, but it’s not the right tool for a parasite of this nature. I’m going to leave this part to Liaraen’s knowledge."
Liaraen turned to Nathan.
With visible surprise on her face.
"Nathan."
"Sprout."
"You’re going to let me lead?"
"Yes. You know more about the world than I do. You have over a hundred years of accumulated information from elven treatises I’ve never seen. And you have the training to think strategically about these things. I know how to fight—or at least I try. You know how to handle this. Role reversal."
Liaraen looked at him for a moment.
With an expression that combined surprise with something softer behind it.
Then she nodded.
"Alright, Nathan. I’ll lead."
"Go ahead."
---
Liaraen settled into the chair with a moderate posture but with restored confidence.
She turned to Yorel.
"Yorel. I’m going to explain what I know about these parasites. Then we’re going to design a plan Nathan can execute without killing innocents."
"Yes."
"The elven treatises call them ’vidhraki.’ The word comes from an ancient root meaning ’dark roots’ or ’roots that grow between things.’ They aren’t individual organisms in the common sense. They’re colonies of a single distributed intelligence. Each infection is a cell of the larger organism. The main entity resides where the mother parasite is anchored."
"The tree."
"Previously, yes. The meat tree was the anchor. When Nathan cut it this afternoon, he killed the main root. But since the parasite had already distributed itself across dozens of organisms over decades or centuries, the main root’s death didn’t eliminate the colony. It only destabilized it."
"And now?"
"Now the main consciousness likely migrated to the most suitable available host. Which is the alpha creature we saw emerging from the forest as we escaped. A host with more body mass, more magical power, and A-Rank abilities. The alpha creature is now the parasite’s new anchor. And from there, it controls all the infected residents and the guardian creatures it assigned to the forest."
Yorel nodded.
Nathan listened attentively.
Liaraen continued.
"Vidhraki have three characteristics important to us. The first is distributed communication. The main consciousness can speak through any host in real time. We saw that at the feast when the residents began speaking with different voices but the same cadence. The second is transmission by ingestion. The only documented method of infection is eating bodily material from the main host, which in this case was the tree’s meat. The third is the anchor’s weakness. If the main consciousness dies, the entire colony collapses within hours. The secondary hosts regain their autonomy if they survive the collapse."
Nathan raised an eyebrow.
"Wait. Secondary hosts survive when the colony collapses?"
"Most do. It depends on infection time and accumulated damage. Recently infected likely survive without major aftereffects. Those infected for years likely suffer memory loss from the infection period. Those infected for decades likely don’t survive."
Yorel straightened.
"The settlement’s children."
"The settlement’s children likely have recent infections. The youngest probably haven’t been infected more than five years. They’ll survive the collapse."
"And the adults?"
Liaraen thought.
"It depends on each one. Yorel. Do you have any idea how long this has been going on in the settlement?"
Yorel thought.
"The triennial ceremony—I knew it since childhood. Thirty years ago, it was already being done. My parents didn’t mention it before that. Approximately thirty to forty years, probably."
"Then residents over forty years old—about half—likely won’t survive the collapse. The younger ones will."
Yorel was silent.
Nathan intervened with a calm voice.
"Yorel."
"Yes."
"That means if we eliminate the alpha creature, we save approximately half the settlement. Including all the children."
Yorel nodded.
Slowly.
"Yes. We save those who can be saved. The others would likely be lost anyway if the parasite continued. It’s the best possible solution."
Liaraen continued.
"Nathan. This is where you come in. The alpha creature is the main consciousness. It’s a single host. There’s no innocent inside. Just the parasite. If you eliminate it with full Class lethality, you kill the parasite and save the secondary hosts who can survive."
"And the guardians?"
"The guardians are infected hosts. Forest creatures that ate from the main host. If the main consciousness dies, the guardians collapse too. You can eliminate them with full lethality without weight. They’re hostile infected creatures."
"And the settlement residents during the attack?"
"That’s where you have to apply containment. If the residents are nearby during the fight against the alpha creature and have killing intent toward you, your Class will respond with lethality. We have to separate the fight from the settlement. Attack the alpha creature away from where the residents are. Outside the distributed consciousness’s range if possible."
Nathan nodded.
"Can we lure the alpha creature away from the settlement?"
Liaraen turned to Yorel.
"Yorel. Does the alpha creature protect the settlement or use it?"
"Use it. The residents are energy food for the parasite. The alpha creature passively protects them but won’t mobilize to actively defend them unless the distributed consciousness is in direct danger."
"So if Nathan challenges it directly, it’s likely to come out to face him. Away from the settlement if necessary."
"Probably yes."
Liaraen turned to Nathan.
"That’s the basic plan. We’re going to lure the alpha creature to a secluded place. You face it there. I support you with the sword. Yorel stays at a safe distance. When we eliminate the alpha creature, we return to the settlement and observe the collapse. We help the survivors stabilize."
Nathan thought about it.
"Sprout."
"Yes."
"The alpha creature is A-Rank. Maybe high A-Rank. The fight is probably going to be difficult."
"Yes."
"Even though the system doesn’t recognize my real rank, and even though the official stats say F-Rank, you and I both know I can face A-Rank if the killing intent activates."
"Yes."
"We’re going to do it."
Liaraen nodded.
"Let’s go."
Yorel spoke then, with a voice that had regained firmness during the conversation.
"I also want to participate."
Nathan looked at him.
"Yorel. You’re not a fighter."
"I’m not a fighter. But I know the forest. I know the paths. I know the secluded places. I can take you to the best spot for the fight. And I can help organize the survivors afterward."
Liaraen interjected.
"Yorel. That’s useful. You’re going to be the guide and the liaison with the residents who survive. Nathan and I handle the fighting. You handle the logistics."
"Yes."
Yorel nodded.
With the first full expression of purpose Nathan had seen from him all night.
---
Nathan looked at the fireplace.
The fire was low. The red embers pulsed with the calm of a fire that had fulfilled its function over the past few hours and was now entering its maintenance phase.
He looked at Liaraen.
"Sprout."
"Yes."
"We rest now. Approximately four hours. At dawn, we head toward the settlement."
"Alright."
He looked at Yorel.
"Yorel. Sleep as much as you can. We’re going to need you with a clear mind in the morning."
"Yes."
Nathan stood up from the table.
He moved to a corner of the room. He lay on his back on the floor with his pack as a pillow. He closed his eyes.
Liaraen lay down near the table, her sword within reach of her right hand.
Yorel lay down on the shelter’s small bed.
The fire continued to die down.
And in the shelter’s silence, with the three of them breathing at their own rhythms, with the outside forest quiet for the first time since they’d left Greywall, Nathan internally processed the next morning’s plan.
*We’re going to lure a high A-Rank creature to a secluded clearing.*
*We’re going to kill it with full lethality.*
*We’re going to save the residents who can be saved.*
*And we’re going to return to Greywall with information about parasites.*
*Good.*
*Tomorrow.*
He closed his eyes.