FLASHBACK

"Hey, Wolfram, you still haven't told me about the fourth type of parasites."

Arthur was facing his brother, the two filling their stomach with some freshly cooked meat. Leiu, as usual, was endlessly swinging his huge sword on the size, not minding the eerie atmosphere or the suffocatingly hot weather.

As he heard Arthur, the Joker seemed to have remembered that topic. He pretended not to notice his brother's intense gaze and slowly enjoyed the rest of the food before licking his fingers then finally answering:

"In terms of Hierarchy, Calypso parasites are considered the highest. There's only three in existence and they are born infertile, one was killed but I doubt the other two will die anytime soon. In fact, Zaarae only created two types and the rest were born of mutations or copulation between a parasite and a different race. The records mention the Calypso parasites and the Night Parasites."

"Night Parasites? What a strange name."

The Joker laughed and continued: "It really is. However, don't be mistaken, they were undeniably strong. Only eighteen were created and they are unable to reproduce either, furthermore, they can only exist in the night. Meaning that any environment that is subjected to the sun's light is deadly for them, extremely deadly. For this reason, Zaarae put them in a special realm that has an eternal night and let them live peaceful there. I don't know much about them but from what I've read or heard, they're a strong bunch that does not care about the outside, they properly manage their realm and are hostile to outsiders."

"Have you met one of them?"

"Hell no! Their individual strength is equal to the Calypso parasites. If I go to their home they'll gang up on me!"

As he heard the much-awaited answer, Arthur pondered for a while before asking again:

"Then what type of parasite am I classified at?"

The Joker retrieved a card, pointed its back at Arthur then glanced between the two of them.

"In my eyes, you have the body of a parasite but the soul of a human. While the body can be replaced, the soul is unique for each living being. Basically, you're a human, at least from my point of view."

**********

"So, what do you want?"

Arthur asked back the energetic lion named Noktox, kind of guessing what he'll hear next.

"A fight, obviously. You and me."

He pointed at himself then at the parasite, his mouth arching upwards, showing his sharp and deadly fangs. The golden fire covering his back, limbs, and a long tail became bigger, showcasing the beastmen's rising emotions. Honestly, he didn't look like a bad guy and he didn't hide his intentions, something Arthur liked.

Moreover, when he was defeated in that short exchange earlier, he had been itching for a rematch so Noktox's proposal wasn't so bad, after all. With Lucy nearby, there's no need to be cautious of sneak attacks and it's not like their fight would last a long time.

"So, what do you say, parasite?"

Arthur cracked his neck and said: "The name is Arthur."

"Hahaha I'm Noktox. Let's have fun!"

The parasite smiled back at the beastmen and readied himself, taking a fighting stance. His body was enveloped by the Green Natural Lightning and his hand covered by twirling Dark Magic. The two shot at each other at the same time, their speeds causing loud rumbling that affected their quiet surroundings. Noktox threw a punch again but Arthur jumped high in the air, spun like a wheel before axe kicking the opponent.

His leg was like a thunderbolt, descending on the lion and clashing with the big fist emitting golden flames. The fire and lightning faced each other but in the end, the two disintegrated and what was left was the parasite's leg and the beastmen's fist.

A few seconds passed by before Arthur was forced to jump back, feeling a small numbness from his leg. The enemy also clenched and unclenched his fist, surprised that Arthur's kick affected him, though only slightly.

"You're really the perfect opponent!"

Noktox roared then lunged at Arthur again, his body crazily spinning, resulting in a fire tornado rising in the air. The parasite didn't face the lion head-on and, instead, opted for a safer tactic as the spin was dangerous. If he's carelessly hit, it would cause serious damage. The skill's level was over 4000, something Arthur had never seen.

Sure, he has a variety of skills to counter the spin but when he decided to fight Noktox, he wanted to win using physical advantage and not those absurdly devastating ultimate skills and techniques, such as Rizaki, Dragons words, and so on…

The spinning was becoming faster and the golden fire's range was widening, forcing Arthur to do nothing but retreat for ten seconds. At some point, Noktox started catching up to Arthur as his speed increased with every passing second.

There was no point wasting more time dodging so Arthur used [Griffin's Bloody Switch], converting all of his Intelligence and Wisdom into Strength and Agility respectively. In addition to that, he changed forms, becoming a Tiger beastmen covered in a red medium armor from head to toe.

When the spinning lion got close enough, Arthur used his newly acquired long claws to slash at the opponents. It was a simple attack but it was backed with his insane speed and overpowered brute force, breaking the metallic white ground and sending supersonic sound waves to all sides.

Unlike the previous impacts, this one was brief and flung both parties in the air. Noktox had bloody slash marks on his abdomen while Arthur, who was in the form of a tiger beastmen, had his left arm and some of his ribs shattered.

Both crashed on the ground but Arthur was able to recover faster than his opponent. Life Energy entered his body and healed the injuries within seconds, as for Noktox, he growled and held his bloody, chanting some incantation. The golden fire burned the claw marks and, slowly but surely, got rid of them.

"Arghhhh so exhilarating!"

Noktox took his usual martial fighting stance and faced Arthur, who changed forms again. The tiger appearance became a humanoid cat with silver and white fur. The cat tribe is secretive and very rare to encounter, nevertheless, Arthur managed to unknowingly possess one of them in the past, allowing him to use their abilities and good and agile bodies.

"Veracity cat tribe, good good!"

Arthur ignored the lion's comment and rushed at the latter with a speed that defied all logic. Even a body cultivator such as Noktox wasn't able to react in time and ended up getting hit in the chin by a powerful punch which sent him staggering a few steps.

The cat left afterimages as it bombarded the lion with kicks and punches from all sides. In fact, were it not for his tough body, Noktox would've been defeated already.

The lion beastmen crossed his arms and defended his vitals while staying rooted to the ground, receiving the full might of Arthur's super fast attacks. This continued for half a minute before Arthur unleashed a devastating blow in the form of a spiraling kick that hit the lion's knee, forcing him to kneel. The parasite grasped this opportunity and used a skill called [Beggar's mercy], which is a special skill that belonged to the cat he possessed.

He somersaulted to the back a transparent image of a cat appeared before him, it was thrice his size and was facing the kneeling Noktox. Arthur didn't waste any time and unleashed the sky, making the transparent grey cat lunge at the opponent. It was as if a mountain slammed onto Noktox, a feeling that he never experienced. His body was sent flying hundreds of meters away, rolling dozens of times and becoming all bloodied, nevertheless, he quickly got up while coughing blood.

The lion beastmen didn't seem angry or sad, in fact, he was still grinning from ear to ear.