CHAPTER 173: WHAT MONSTER WAS THAT ?

The room felt suffocating.

The humming of Grom’s artifact bench faded. The only sound left was the dwarf’s ragged breathing as dark mana slowly curled up from his spine like smoke no one else could see.

Except Zane.

And Caelum.

Lucen stepped back, hand instinctively drifting toward his sword.

"Zane... what exactly do you mean by parasite?"

Zane didn’t answer him. Not yet.

His gaze stayed fixed on Grom — the dwarf’s face drenched in sweat, completely oblivious to the danger radiating from within his own body as he leaned closer to the open technowatch components.

"...just a little more," Grom muttered, voice trembling with obsession, mind trapped in the intricate design he couldn’t decipher. His runic eye spun faster and faster, reacting to the swelling mana within him.

Zane sighed.

"It reacts to frustration," he said calmly. "To negative emotion. It feeds on mental strain. It slowly destroys the target from the inside by harvesting negative emotions from daily life. More negativity means faster death."

His eyes narrowed.

"And he’s been pushing himself harder with every second."

Vira’s expression hardened.

"So the Vassel organization implanted this without him knowing..."

"Exactly," Zane replied. "And listen carefully—someone like him, even if he is the weakest among you three, is still among the strongest in this kingdom."

Elena’s eyes widened slightly.

"That means..."

Caelum’s voice turned cold.

"A traitor."

Zane nodded once.

"Someone who knows him very well... and someone he trusted enough to stay close."

The temperature in the workshop plummeted as if the air itself sensed the corruption crawling beneath Grom’s skin.

Lucen’s fingers curled around his sword hilt.

"A... traitor? Someone close to him planted this parasite?"

Zane nodded, eyes never leaving the trembling dwarf.

"That’s the only possibility. Parasites like this can’t be forced into a host. They require proximity—trust. Maybe slipped through food... drink... or a friendly pat on the back."

Corvin’s jaw went rigid.

"Someone Elder Grom trusted enough to stand beside him."

Seris whispered, horrified,

"Someone from Gravundar... a colleague? A friend? Even a high official?"

Vira’s face darkened.

"A traitor within the academy leadership of dwarves and beastmen... Vassel’s influence runs deeper than we feared."

Before anyone could respond, Grom’s body jerked violently. His runic eye glitched—flickering, fading, then blazing again like something was fighting for control inside him.

A chill swept the room.

"When frustration, anger, or despair build up..." Vira murmured, "...the parasite feeds. It grows stronger."

"Exactly," Zane said. "And once it reaches its limit—"

Caelum finished grimly,

"—it devours the host."

Grom collapsed to one knee, clutching his skull as black veins crawled up his temple.

Lucen stepped forward. "Elena, can you contain it?!"

Elena’s expression tightened.

"I can extract it... but not without risking permanent damage. It’s too deeply attached."

A new voice cut through—calm, confident, almost amused.

"Lucky for all of you..."

Zane stepped forward, raising a single hand.

"...I’m here."

Blue mana condensed around his palm—dense, heavy, so sharp that the air vibrated.

Elena stiffened. "W-What are you doing?"

Zane didn’t look at her. "Don’t interfere."

Black threads writhed violently under Grom’s skin now—visible to everyone. They pulsed like veins of corruption, spreading faster as Grom’s frustration spiked.

He was still staring at the exposed technowatch pieces, completely consumed by obsession.

Then—

Zane grabbed him by the neck.

Grom roared, voice guttural and warped.

"L̴̘͌͗e̴͉̤̋t̵̙̅... ṃ̵̐͋e̴̠̐͜... l̶̡̂o̵̼̿o̴̝͂k̸̢͠...!!

R̴̻̋e̶͍̍ḻ̸͒e̴͚̒a̵̳͊s̵̟͒e̶̳̅... m̵͖̑e̷̠͝...!!!"

Elena paled.

"This is bad—he’s being overridden!"

Caelum exhaled sharply, the weight in his voice undeniable.

"If Zane wasn’t here... none of us would have sensed it in time."

Grom’s voice distorted further, echoing like something speaking through him.

"s̴̱͂t̶̼͠o̵̞͗p̸̞͝... l̴̘̒o̶̡̅o̷̤͒k̴̢̅i̷̳̇n̸͙̿g̸͔̍..."

Everyone froze.

The parasite was trying to take over the host.

Zane’s eyes sharpened, expression turning cold.

"And this... is why he must be freed now."

He lifted his mana-filled hand.

BOOM.

He slammed his glowing palm against Grom’s chest—not crushing, but purifying. Light surged through the dwarf’s body, blasting the parasite’s hold apart.

From Grom’s back—

a black-purple worm burst out, screeching silently as it hit the wall and curled into a convulsing mass.

The room went still.

Zane lowered his hand, smirk tugging lightly at his lips.

"That should do it..."

Zane let Grom’s limp body drop gently to the floor. The dwarf lay unconscious, breathing shallow but stable.

All eyes shifted to the thing writhing on the ground—the dark purple parasite curled like a malformed worm, steaming as if allergic to the air itself.

Zane walked toward it unhurriedly.

The worm twitched violently the moment his shadow touched it.

He crouched, reached down without hesitation, and picked it up between two fingers.

Its surface rippled like liquid shadow.

A distorted voice leaked from it—layered, broken, wrong.

"W͟h̶ơ... a̴r̵ę... y͘o͞u̡...?"

Everyone stiffened.

Even Lucen’s grip tightened. Elena erected a silent barrier around her. Vira stepped back, instinctively preparing a nature spell.

Zane simply tilted his head.

"Oh? You can see me clearly?"

The parasite convulsed harder, its voice scraping the room like broken glass.

"S̶t̶o̴p̸... l̴o̷o̸k̸i̴n͟g̴..."

Zane ignored the demand.

"Who am I?" he repeated, tone almost casual. "I am Zane Creed."

The worm jerked violently—as if recoiling in fear.

"Y͞o̶u w͜i̡l̴l̸ d̵i̴ę...

N͝o͏w̧ t͏h̛a̷t̕ w̵ę k͢n̡o͞w̕ y̸o̢u̵r̴ n̶a̵m̵e͘..."

Elena’s expression hardened.

"So it can communicate..."

The distorted voice continued, now filled with venom:

"Y͞o̷u̵...

Y̢o͘u͡ a͞r̵e̶ t͜h̷e̕ o͜n̵e͜...

w̸h̡o c͝a̶u̵s͢e̸d͢ o̡u͞r̵ p͜l̵a̵n͜s͟... t͞o̴ f̢a͘i͞l̴..."

Zane raised a brow.

"I’ve destroyed many of your plans," he mused. "Which one are you referring to? The new student examination... or the dungeon?"

The worm spasmed, its voice twisting with rage.

"A͏l͘l͡...

A͝l̛l̕ ơf͡ t̶h̸e͡m̵...

Y͜o͜u̡... p̸a͜w̢n...

i̢n̛ t͜h̴e̢i͢r̵ g̨r̕a̵n͜d̶... s͢c͢h͏e̴m͏e̷..."

The room chilled.

Lucen’s eyes narrowed.

Vira’s nature mana surged defensively.

Elena’s grip tightened on her staff.

Corvin’s breath caught.

Seris’s fingers trembled.

Zane, however, only smiled.

"...Is that so?"

His voice dropped to a low, amused murmur.

"Ohhh? Really?"

The parasite recoiled again as if it felt something far more terrifying than death.

Zane’s fingers began to tighten—

And the entire room held its breath.

Zane held the writhing parasite between two fingers as if it were nothing more than an insect.

The distorted voice inside continued hissing, ranting, struggling—

Until Zane finally spoke.

His tone was soft.

Too soft.

"Whoever you are... listen carefully."

The air grew colder.

"You will die for calling me a pawn."

Everyone stiffened.

Even Caelum’s calm expression flickered.

Zane’s smile sharpened.

"I’ll kill you myself. You can’t run. You can’t hide."

The worm convulsed violently, as if recognizing the truth behind his words.

"Pray," Zane continued, voice dropping lower, darker, "that in your next life... you’re a completely useless nobody. Someone no one ever notices."

His fingers slowly tightened.

"Because if you’re not..."

A faint crack rang out.

The worm’s form shattered like fragile glass—

"I’ll kill your reincarnation too."

The parasite dissolved into motes of white light, erased so completely it no longer existed in the world.

Silence swallowed the workshop.

Even the sound of breathing felt too loud.

---

Elsewhere...

Far away, in a pitch-black chamber lit only by a floating crimson crystal, a hooded figure lounged on a throne of bone and metal.

A massive scrying globe hovered before him—showing Zane’s face.

Then the image flickered.

Distorted.

Cut to static—

CRACK.

The globe shattered.

The hooded figure clicked his tongue.

"Fool. Overestimating himself."

His voice was cold, contemptuous.

"He thinks he can kill me? He can’t even find us."

A low chuckle.

"He will die long before—"

He froze.

Space itself... split open in front of him.

A thin vertical tear—

as if the world were paper being sliced open.

The hooded figure shot to his feet.

"W-What...?"

A hand emerged from the tear.

It was Humans hand and

Steady.

And impossibly fast—

It snapped forward and seized the hooded figure by the throat.

The man choked, legs kicking helplessly as he was lifted off the throne.

His mind screamed—

Impossible. No one can locate this chamber.

No one can cross that distance instantly.

No one should—

From beyond the tear, a familiar voice echoed:

"I told you..."

The hooded leader’s eyes widened in pure terror.

"...I’ll kill you."

The hand tightened.

CRACK.

His neck snapped like brittle wood.

His body fell to the floor.

The mysterious tear slowly began closing as the hand withdrew.

Just before it vanished completely—

The voice spoke one last time:

"Don’t ever call me pawn."

Darkness swallowed the chamber.

The leader’s final thought, already fading into death, was a single trembling question—

"...What monster... was that?"