Once Human, Now a Parasite

Consumed by rage, Arthur tried to get up and return to the castle only for the Joker to sit on his back, rendering him unable to free himself . Moreover, whatever Leiu did to him previously, it’s still taking effect, causing his body to feel extremely heavy as if it refused to obey him .

"Calm down, will you . "

While grinning, the Joker raised his hand and chopped on the back of Arthur’s neck, surprisingly knocking the enraged beast unconscious . As he sat on his companion’s motionless body, the Magician laughed and proudly stated:

"There’s no one in the world who can resist my ultimate chopping move hahahaha"

Leiu, who was on the other side, could only shake his head and sigh . He was relieved that everything went according to plan, however, the discoveries they made were truly frightening .

The two women inside that throne room weren’t weak and they should not be underestimated, especially the hooded-one, who tried to snatch Arthur at the very last second .

"Anyway, what do you think they were?"-Joker

He glanced at Arthur for a split second before looking at the pale-faced youth .

"I’m not sure, never seen a race like that . We’ll get to know more details once he wakes up . "

While humming, the Joker nodded his head and added:

"It seemed that he had a blood feud with that woman, the Queen . Did she dump him or what?"

"..."Leiu

**

Arthur woke up after two days and the first thing that he saw when he opened his eyes was a lush forest and a campfire a couple of meters in front of him . Two men were quietly chewing on sum roasted meat, which emitted a smell that made Arthur’s stomach growl .

"You finally woke up!"

Delighted, the Joker passed the drowsy Arthur a piece of meat before asking

"Had a nice sleep?"

Confused on what’s going on, Arthur asked

"What happened?"

"You can’t remember?"-Leiu

Arthur tried recalling the past events but they seemed so blurry . He remembered facing Claudia but was miserably beaten then it all went black, anything after that wasn’t registered in his memories .

"You caused havoc inside the royal castle . . . "

Leiu briefly explained what happened and how things were when he and the Joker arrived . When he listened to the youth’s description and his previous state, Arthur was able to tell that he was under the effect of Dark Magic, his cumulated anger took hold of his body and fought in his stead just like when Claudia died back on Earth .

"You know, we’ve been eagerly waiting for you to explain what happened . What were those people? What are you?"

Strangely enough, the aura around Claudia and the others were very similar to the Cthulhu and the dark-skinned creatures living under the church .

However, for some reason, Arthur was different . Yes, they were of the same Race but he seemed to be a higher variant as the racial abilities they displayed were lackluster compared to what he could do .

Nevertheless, they’re still parasites and their presence here surely has a relation to why the three of them were summoned . After thoroughly weighing the pros and cons, Arthur said

"They’re parasites . "

"Parasites? As in the little things that human bodies? I don’t understand . "-The Joker

Unlike the Joker, who didn’t fully understand, Leiu pondered for a few seconds before speaking

"Parasites are part of a large group of organisms called Eukaryotes . If I understood you right then you and them are parasites who can possess other living beings? Does that mean this isn’t your real body?"

"Yes and no . I’m not sure about them but this is my real body . As for possessing other beings, I’m unable to do that in this world . "

Arthur decided to spill some of the truth but keep quiet about the important stuff such as gaining the host’s skills and techniques . They saved him from danger so he kind of trusted them but that shouldn’t mean he must tell them everything .

They, too, must be keeping a few things to themselves...

"Wow! I’ve never encountered a Race like that . By the way, what’s your relation with them? From the looks of it, you didn’t appear to be friends . "

"..."

Arthur chose to remain silent for his sake . Speaking of his ex-wife will cause him to speak of his past and so on and it’s not something he wishes to tell to everyone he meets .

Although he refused to speak, the Joker didn’t give up . He retrieved his deck of cards and threw them into the air before randomly snatching one of the falling cards . This technique of his is purely reliant on luck but, more of than not, it reveals shocking revelation .

The only thing that the carried showed was a bloody ring but that was enough for the Joker to guess a few things:

"Wife... no! Ex-wife! The blood means the relationship ended quite badly . "

Dumbfounded by The Joker’s words, Arthur sat there in disbelief, unable to comprehend how this goofy-looking man discovered the truth so easily .

"Look, I know you’re reluctant to speak of past matters, especially if they’re unpleasant . However, this is directly related to why we’re here so I think it’s best if we share information that may be beneficial to us . "

Leiu was never a fan of speaking but he had to voice out his opinion as it’s certainly not the time or place for Arthur to remain silent . Leiu didn’t ask him to recount everything, he just needs to know why is his companion’s ex-wife is here out of all places .

"I don’t know . "-Arthur

His answer came as unexpected and before they could ask again, Arthur continued:

"Last time I saw her was on Earth and she definitely died there . I don’t know how she became a parasite or ended up here . "

"Is it possibly reincarnation?"-Leiu

The Joker shook his head and denied that while explaining

"No, for all we know, we could be far into the future or in the past . Arthur previously told me that he met me yet the first time I saw him was when I was sent here which means we were picked from different times periods . As for reincarnation, it simply isn’t possible without using some kind of treasure or the machination of Fate BUT there’s another method that is a bit similar to reincarnation . "

He raised his hand, which was holding a blank card that transformed into a beautiful speck of light . The light was slowly heading upwards only to be snatched by the Joker, he firmly held it in his hand while resuming:

"If the soul is safely picked before it’s dispersed, revival is possible . There are strict requirements to revive in a human body but perhaps they can be neglected if the soul is put in a parasite’s body . Then again, why would they pick her out of all people, was she special?"

"No, she was a mortal with average strength . "

"Usually, people revive their parents or lovers so, it’s rather uncommon to see someone go through all that trouble to revive a complete stranger . "-The Joker

A bout of silence between the three of them before the youth speculated:

"I think she never died . You were given the illusion that she met her end but you were tricked . It must be the handiwork of Sloth, only he can trick a Sovereign . "

"Why would he trick me? We have a harmonious relationship . "

****

"Are you out of your mind? Why didn’t you call for reinforcements?"

Claudia was standing before a tall man with a green hair, he harshly berated her while shaking from anger . The commotion that happened two days ago caused a lot of unwanted attention and they were almost discovered . If the soldiers had seen the parasites in actions, this kingdom will crumble in days .

"B-but this is a personal matter . "

’SLAP!’

A crisp and loud sound rang across the dark hall . Claudia was slapped by the enraged man, who barely held himself from ripping her into pieces .

"Don’t forget your job here... no mistakes are allowed!"

Claudia glared at him venomously but didn’t dare talk back, she strengthened her back and accepted his reprimanding . The cloaked female who watched to snatch Arthur was standing next to the man, silently watching without uttering a word .

The man turned towards the cloaked parasite and asked

"You said he was a parasite?"

"Yes . "

"What’s his real form?"

"I think his real form is a human body . "

"You think? I don’t need you to think, I need facts!"

The man thought for a moment before saying

"Go investigate!"

Then he turned to face Claudia again while adding:

"Order every soldier to search for those three . Even if you have to flip this city upside down, you must find them!"

"Yes, sir . "

****

"What is he doing?"

Curious, Arthur asked the Joker, whom he was playing a card game with . The lunatic glanced at the silent Leiu, who was sitting in a corner alone with both of his hand resting on the greatsword .

"He’s trying to find whatever is restricting our powers . You seemed fine with that cool magic of yours but he only relies on raw power and doesn’t want to fall behind... as if he isn’t strong enough tsk tsk! What a maniac!"

Just as the two were about to resume playing, they felt something abnormal and abruptly turned their heads toward the youth clad in black armor .

At first, it wasn’t noticeable, however, as seconds passed, they both witnessed a creepy dangerous coming out of Leiu’s body . It wasn’t like Dark Magic, which corrupted everything, this one seemed immaterial and brought with it an odd chilliness .

It only remained for ten seconds before it vanished and unleashing it for such a short amount of time was enough for Leiu to profusely sweat and heavily pant . He shakily stood up then held the greatsword with one hand and started stabbing the air continuously .

The Joker clicked his tongue and repeated:"

"As I said... a maniac!"-The Joker

’No wonder he’s the strongest person in the multiverse *sigh*’