CHAPTER 174: TRUTH ABOUT THE PARASITE

In a room, Astralis Arcanum ,

Grom’s eyelids fluttered, then opened fully.

"Wha... where am I...?"

A familiar, annoyed voice answered immediately:

"Wake up, old man."

Grom jolted upright. "HA—!!"

His eyes darted around—Zane, Caelum, Lucen, Elena, Vira, Seris, Corvin... all staring at him with stiff, unreadable expressions.

He blinked rapidly.

"What... happened to me? Why am I waking up? And when did I even fall asleep?"

Caelum stepped closer. "Tell us the last thing you remember."

Grom rubbed his forehead. "I remember unlocking the back of that watch... trying to understand its inner design..."

He paused, frowning deeply.

"...and that’s it. Everything went black."

He looked around nervously.

"It seems I failed. That artifact is too advanced... too intricate even for me..."

But no one responded.

They just stared at him.

Not with disappointment or with irritation.

But with something else—caution.

Except Zane.

Grom’s eyebrows knitted.

"Why... why are you looking at me like that? What happened while I was out? Why do you all look so tense?"

He scanned their faces—Lucen stiff, Elena shaken, Vira troubled, Seris and Corvin pale .

Even Caelum’s calm expression carried weight.

Grom swallowed.

"... Did something happened or explode? Did I break the artifact bench?!"

Still silence.

Then Zane stepped forward at last, hands in pockets, eyes cool.

"Old man," he said quietly, "you weren’t asleep."

Grom’s breath hitched. "Then... what—?"

Zane’s gaze sharpened.

"You were dying."

Grom froze, beard stiffening as if someone had poured ice through his veins.

"W-what the hell are you talking about...?"

Caelum exhaled and stepped in.

"Let me tell you."

He explained everything—Grom’s rambling fixation on the technowatch, the parasite waking up, his body losing control, Zane pushing the creature out of him, and the twisted voice speaking through it.

Grom sat there in shock, mouth slightly open.

"That thing... inside my body..."

Zane tilted his head.

"Yes. A parasite. A nasty one. You didn’t notice, your academy didn’t notice—hell, even your runic eye didn’t notice."

He tapped his temple lightly.

"It was meant to watch you. And slowly kill you."

Grom’s breathing turned shallow, shaky.

Zane rolled his eyes. "And guess what, old man—it was planted by someone close to you. Someone you trusted."

Grom collapsed to his knees.

"S-someone... I trusted...?"

His eyes widened suddenly. "Him... Dren? It can’t be—"

Everyone stiffened.

Seris stepped closer, whispering, "Dren is his most trusted disciple... he practically raised him..."

Zane thought, wow, a full tragic drama arc. Unexpected bonus.

Grom’s voice cracked.

"...I am ready now."

He lifted his head toward Zane.

"Please... kill me. I failed to understand your artifact."

Zane’s expression didn’t change. He simply raised his hand—blue mana coating it like a blade.

Elena gasped. "Zane, stop!"

Vira stepped forward, tense. "Enough—!"

Lucen shouted, "Zane, NO!"

Grom closed his eyes...

Waiting.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Nothing.

He slowly opened his eyes—

Zane wasn’t killing him.

Zane was offering him a hand.

Grom’s voice trembled. "Why... are you breaking our deal...?"

Zane snorted. "I didn’t break anything."

Everyone blinked.

Grom stared blankly.

"What...?"

Zane crouched slightly, smirking.

"Well... I did kill you. As part of the deal."

Complete silence.

Even Caelum’s expression froze.

Zane continued casually:

"I found the parasite the moment you entered the meeting room. I wanted to see how it behaved. Turns out, when you got grumpy about my watch—"

He pointed toward the technowatch lying open on Grom’s workbench.

"—it reacted. Fed on your frustration. Perfect."

Grom stared speechlessly.

Zane continued:

"I pushed you further. The more frustrated you got, the more active the parasite became. Once it reached its peak, I could trace the exact location of the one controlling it."

He paused, smirking internally.

Although I could’ve found them instantly... this is for the love of the game.

"And when I pushed that worm out of you," Zane said with a shrug, "you died."

Grom’s face went pale.

Lucen exploded. "YOU WHAT—?!"

Zane held up a finger.

"But I resurrected him. Instantly."

Elena’s eyes widened.

"You... can use resurrection magic...?"

Zane glanced at her. "It wasn’t magic. I used nature mana."

Silence.

Then Vira nearly staggered.

"Nature... mana? That’s impossible. No one but me—"

Zane raised a hand.

A soft green orb bloomed above his palm.

Vira’s breath hitched.

"He... really can use it..."

Zane dismissed the mana calmly and looked at Grom again.

"Get up, old man. We’re not done. We still need to catch the bastard behind this."

Inside, he thought:

I already killed the main one. But the others in that hideout should still be alive...

Grom pushed himself up, still shaken.

Caelum stepped forward.

"You said you found the location of the one behind all this?"

Zane nodded.

"Yes. The source is in the Gravundar Kingdom itself."

Grom’s eyes widened in horror.

Lucen’s face drained of color.

"The one behind this... is in Gravundar Kingdom itself. That’s..."

He exhaled sharply. "That’s terrifying. Just how deep has Vassel burrowed...?"

Elena’s grip tightened on her staff. "Then our course of action is obvious. We must destroy them immediately."

But Vira shook her head, calm but firm.

"Elena, we are not citizens of Gravundar Kingdom. We cannot interfere with internal affairs without their king’s permission."

Grom, however, was past reason.

His fists trembled, beard bristling with fury.

"I will destroy them myself. Tell me the location, Zane!"

Zane didn’t even hesitate.

"No."

Grom blinked, confused. "Why...? This is my kingdom. My people. I have to save—!"

Zane raised a brow.

"Think for a minute, old man. Did the parasite eat part of your intelligence on its way out?"

Grom flinched, beard puffing indignantly.

Zane continued, voice cool and cutting:

"Now that the parasite is gone... do you really think the caster—your precious disciple, Dren—won’t notice the severed connection?"

Grom’s eyes widened.

Zane’s tone sharpened.

"And the second he realizes it, he’ll alert their entire base. And Vassel...?"

He tapped his temple lightly.

"They can vanish in a single day without leaving a single footprint."

Silence swallowed the room.

Lucen finally exhaled. "Then what should we do...?"

Zane raised his hand.

Resting on his palm...

was a worm.

Identical to the one he had crushed earlier.

Vira’s eyes widened.

"Didn’t you crush that...?"

Zane shook his head casually.

"I did. But this one is an exact replica I created."

Elena and Lucen stared at him, speechless.

"You... created that parasite... while we were talking?"

Zane rolled his eyes.

"Oh, save the shock for later."

He turned toward Grom, eyes narrowing with sharp intent.

"This," he said, holding up the perfect replica,

"is part of the plan."

Zane lifted the replica parasite between two fingers, mana humming faintly through it.

"Let me explain," he said calmly. "This worm is an exact duplicate. Structure, mana signature... even the tether to the original caster."

Everyone stiffened.

Zane smirked.

"Now, what I’ll do is simple. I’ll implant this one back into you, Grom. But unlike the real one, mine won’t harm you. It will only create the illusion that the parasite is still active."

Grom’s eyes widened, and for the first time since waking, a fierce grin spread across his face.

"That’s perfect...!"

He slammed a fist into his palm.

"Then Dren won’t be alerted. And those rats won’t vanish!"

Zane nodded. "Exactly. We keep them comfortable. We let them think everything is normal."

A glint passed in his eyes.

"And then we kill them by surprise."

Elena and Vira exchanged uneasy looks at how casually he said kill, but neither objected.

Grom exhaled in relief and excitement.

"Good—good! Then once you implant that thing, we head straight to Gravundar and—"

Zane cut him off.

"Oh, I’m not sending you alone."

He smirked, tapping the side of his technowatch.

"There’s no way I’m missing out on this kind of fun. Of course I’m coming with you."

Grom blinked—then grinned even wider.

"Perfect! I’ll arrange an official reason for your arrival. A guest lecture! You and Mira Sorenhal can come together—that will serve as the perfect cover."

Zane dusted off his hands as though everything were already decided.

"Good. Then it’s settled."

A soft crackle of mana rippled across the room as he prepared the replica worm.

"Looks like," Zane said lightly,

"I’m going to Gravundar Kingdom."