Once the series of unexpected twists and turns finally concluded, Seung-Hyun and Grace received treatment from Davey.
Grace, a combat novice and literally newborn, had been taken down with ease, but quickly recovered once resting. Seung-Hyun, however, struggled to recover. His injuries were just too severe, and the traumatic experience had dealt him significant mental harm.
“These injuries are strange. They’re certainly not on the level an ordinary person could inflict—not even Tike Myson...”
While Davey quickly healed their bodies back to tip-top shape, he didn’t immediately do the same for Seung-Hyun’s mind, holding off on interfering with the process.
Grace grabbed Davey and tearfully cried, “Why... why isn't Seung-Hyun waking up?!”
“Healing his physical injuries isn't a problem, but interfering with his mind could do more harm than good,” Davey solemnly informed her. He then let a smile show, reassuring Grace, “Keep an eye on him for a day or two. His injuries aren't serious, so he should wake up soon.”
He might’ve been annoyed at being called for such a small matter, but he walked over to Evangeline and still gave her a faint smile.
She looked down, shamefully muttering, “Dad... I’m sorry. I know you must be busy.”
“Of course I am. I can’t just leave it all for trivial matters,” he answered, but the warm smile didn’t leave his face. “But if it’s a call from my little girl? I’ll immediately drop whatever I’m doing and come to your side, no matter what.”
She just stood there, so stunned she even forgot to respond.
He gave a sly smile, haughtily raising his chin and asking, “Well? Does your dad look any different now?”
Seeing his earnest performance, her expression immediately soured. “Go! Just go!”
It was a typical tantrum, but Davey seemed completely satisfied. “No worries, I’ll head out soon.”
“But Dad,” Evangeline began. “Didn't you place a barrier around the amusement park?”
“I did,” he confirmed.
“Then... how did a monster get in?”
The two men Evangeline had subdued were monsters. Yet, given their apparently human forms and clear intelligence, it felt strange to simply call them monsters.
“Parasitic monsters. Dagon parasites.”
“Dagon... parasites?”
“You know what hairworms are, right? Well, they’re parasites that lay their eggs inside an insect's body, slowly control its brain, lure it to the water when it's time to hatch the eggs, and then emerge from under their skin.”
Elysia and Si-Woo’s faces turned pale at Davey's explanation.
“I-is there really something like a hairworm monster?”
“It's a similar case, but the monsters who did this are not from Earth or Tionis. Dagon parasites exclusively parasitize humans, absorbing and controlling everything about the host. It’s a full-body takeover, without even doing the courtesy of leaving after a period of time when eggs hatch. You could say it's more vicious than a hairworm.”
It meant it parasitized a person and even controlled their mind.
“Isn't that... a serious problem?”
“If allowed to spread, of course it’d be a problem, but all the gates where dagon parasites appear are currently under strict control. Still...”
Si-Woo saw his train of thought, continuing where he left off. “The narrative would change if someone who entered a gate had deliberately concealed the fact that they were parasitized.”
Evangeline’s head shook, not buying it. “Well, people aren’t dumb. Why would they hide the fact that they're infected when they know?”
Si-Woo and Davey remained silent for a moment, as if lamenting her naivety. Si-Woo then said, “Eva. You like movies, right?”
“Movies? Yeah, I like them.”
“Well, you know those zombie movies? Why do you think there are always people who hide the fact that they've been bitten and sneak into safe zones?”
“I still don’t really get why they would do it, I don’t even think that example makes sense. It's not like the infection can't be cured.”
Davey wanted to argue against the ridiculous reasoning, but, since they'd already found two people under the influence of dagon parasites, it wasn't something they could take lightly. He just noncommittally responded, “Who knows.”
“Will you... make a public announcement about this?”
“What do you think will happen if I do?”
They didn't know where the infection came from. The two who had initiated the assault were ordinary people, so they couldn't have been infected at a gate.
There was only one conclusion they could draw—someone had been infected at a gate, secretly slipped out, been fully assimilated, and turned their base into a breeding ground.
If the truth came out, there would be mass chaos, the consequences immeasurable.
Detection wasn't hard, but the process would take time. They needed to give themselves that time while everyone was still calm. The panic wouldn't help anything.
“Well, I guess people like them aren’t exactly unheard of. Some people just want to watch the world burn. But still, why did they target Grace of all people?”
“While Grace has no combat ability, she has a spirit residing in her, and her resistance is low. For beings like dagon parasites who want to take over beings on higher levels, she’d be the ideal host.”
Davey lightly drew across the air, opening a space. “Don't worry, though. Dagon parasites care about the host's safety more than you'd think, so they won't outright kill them. It would serve no purpose, only working against their own goals.”
Fortunately, that meant it wouldn't escalate into a large-scale catastrophe.
“Is... is there anything I can do to help?”
As a priestess of the church, Elysia tried to help with her faint divine power, but Si-Woo stopped her.“No, Elysia.”
“But Si-Woo, I’m a priestess! I can heal those who are suffering.”
She still didn't know the exact state of her father. Although Willow had sealed his soul in the soul stone, he apparently intended to simply watch in silence until Elysia could find happiness on her own.
“I haven't even shown you what this world is like yet, or what kind of good things are out there. I don't want the dark side of humanity to be the first new memorable experience you have with me.”
Her face flushed red at his words. She had almost no immunity to men, even showing repulsion, yet, just as Willow had said, red threads were red threads. She had fallen for Si-Woo at first sight, and that was enough to overturn her instinctual aversion.
The same was true for Si-Woo, loving her with all his heart.
Perhaps it was the feeling Davey had experienced when he first saw Perserque’s portrait in the hall, falling in love at first sight.
Just then, Elysia clapped her hands as if something occurred to her. “Ah!”
“What's the matter?”
“I... I think I might be able to help.”
* * *
“Tell me the truth, now!”
“Heeek!! I... I’m sorry!!”
A scream echoed in a special interrogation room for Awakened criminals. It was there that the two men who had assaulted Grace and Seung-Hyun were being questioned.
The intimidating detectives and their interrogation completely terrified the two men.
Of course, they could barely remember anything. They had simply been infected by a being that had become a host to the dagon parasite. Their memories were left hazy after the infected creature had been dealt with, offering little insight.
One of them desperately shouted, “I-I really don’t know anything! Honestly!”
“T-that's right! All I did was go to work like usual...”
“Work? Come to think of it... You two... You're both employees of the Awakened guild Valtan, correct?”
“Y-yes, that's right! We’re just low-level admin staff there, though.”
Not everyone in an Awakened guild was an Awakened. Most were ordinary people, with the proportion of actively working Awakened exceptionally low.
“We're just ordinary people, so we really had no way of knowing what was happening to us...”
“Hmm. So you're saying you were infected at the Valtan Guild?”
“P-please spare us! If the guild finds out about this, we'll be fired on the spot! Please!”
“Please!! I have a mother to take care of back home!!!”
They struggled desperately to resolve the situation. The existence of parasitic monsters had already been classified as extremely dangerous by the Awakened Association, and they were at the heart of it all.
In the room next to their interrogation room, Kouna and Shin Hyun-Ah, who were watching the situation through a one-way mirror, sighed.
“What do you think?”
“Even if the infection came from outside, the symptoms are different from the usual cases.”
Shin Hyun-Ah nodded. “Then there's only one answer I can see.”
“Only one?”
“The only explanation is that someone hid the fact that they were infected, came out of the gate, fully assimilated, and then infected those guys.”
“This... this is serious! How the hell could they get out like that?”
“It's not impossible. The person themselves must have known about the infection, deliberately spreading it.”
There was a good reason the dagon parasite wasn't treated as the most dangerous monster. When infected, the victim would immediately be aware of the parasite, able to seek assistance as soon as possible.
“But why would they hide it?”
“If one is known to be infected after coming out of the gate, they are grounded for several days to be handled.”
“Then...”
“The first person to be infected must've hidden it to avoid being quarantined.”
“That's just moronic!! Doing so only means they’ll eventually become fully infected!”
“I’m sure they tried to remove the infection on their own afterward. It's not like it wouldn't have any effect, if they found the right treatment.”
In fact, there were a few known methods to remove dagon parasites.
“Unless they were a complete idiot, they wouldn't have ignored it on purpose, so there shouldn't be a problem as long as they found help afterwards.”
“I’ll head back first.”
When Shin Hyun-Ah turned to leave, a nearby detective looked at her retreating figure with a look of displeasure.
Emerging from the interrogation room, Shin Hyun-Ah spoke to Kouna, who followed her with a calm expression. She said, “There shouldn't be a problem, but clearly things went wrong somewhere. Someone got infected, which is generally impossible, but there is one way.”
“You mean someone powerful or influential stepped in to make it happen?”
“Yup.”
However, since the Valtan Guild hadn't been to a gate where dagon parasites recently appeared, the pool of suspects was too wide.
“Seriously... there's never a quiet day in this damned Awakened industry.”
“Still, thanks to our hard work, accidents have dropped a lot compared to before. Since the history is short, establishing a working manual and guidelines is bound to give some growing pains.”
She answered calmly and sighed, “Haah. Davey said he's completely washing his hands of this one, but it looks like Eva's going to take action and help us out.”
“Should I help too?”
“Aren't you busy too, Kouna? I thought you’re trying to spend more time with Davey.”
“I am. But I've been a bit of a burden recently with my pressuring, so it's probably best I spend time helping out here.”
“Pushing too hard never works out. Honestly, as that octopus’s sister, I can’t say I’m too happy.”
She had no clue why Kouna would fall for a married man, let alone her brother. It was a downright nuisance to deal with for a married man who had other things to care for.
Kouna smiled faintly. “I know.”
“Alright, then I’ll pull some strings this time. You’ll guard Grace and Park Seung-Hyun for a while.”
Whatever the case, those parasites were targeting Grace. The fact that two people deeply connected to the Church of Neltarid were getting hurt wasn’t something Hyun-Ah was exactly thrilled about, either.
“You and I have to stand on our own feet. We can’t keep leaving everything to that ugly octopus.” Shin Hyun-Ah had no intention of asking Willow or Davey for help. She wanted to solve the problem on their own. “It seems like what that octopus wants, too.”
She texted Davey to let him know their decision, and his reply was simple.
[You need to learn how to solve Earth's problems on your own now. Nothing is more dangerous than overdependence. Grace and Elysia belong to Earth now. Think it over carefully, and who knows? Maybe the slime will get mad enough to awaken.]
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