As a parasite, Arthur wasn’t that sensitive to pain. However, having one’s bones crushed was still agonizing enough to muddle his mind and make it difficult, if not impossible, to properly counterattack or cast spells.

Still, as the gargoyle was exerting more force, green mist spread from Arthur’s body. Before the enemy could extinguish it, Arthur used [Air Decay], which, surprisingly, didn’t affect the monster.

It let out a grunt of annoyance and waved its hand, pushing all the mist away as if it was a mere hindrance.

“Borrowed power will avail you naught.”

When his vessel was literally pulverized, leaving nothing but a crushed chest and flailing limbs, Arthur was lifted by the gargoyle, which licked its lips in eagerness as it concentrated on the intangible soul dwelling within him.

“I’ll leave the children for dessert.”

Right when it was about to bite down on Arthur and rip his heart and soul out, a radiant purple-colored blast cascaded from above, destabilizing the gargoyle and freeing Arthur.

Slightly surprised, the nonchalant monster turned around and looked at the new arrival.

Unlike its usual countenance, it looked a bit worried when it laid eyes on Amare Na Xivia. However, once it was confirmed that the girl was alone, the mocking and arrogant grin returned.

“It’s just you? You had me worried for a second.”

“...”

Amare was stupefied by the unsightly abomination, but she didn’t do anything rash. She maintained a safe distance, sneaking a glance at the seemingly lifeless body of the parasite.

The gargoyle performed a grabbing motion, causing a powerful gale to surround Amare and pull her closer. In retaliation, she invoked her magic; Purple magical threads intertwining with each other formed around the young vampire, protecting her from the gale before slithering around like snakes, quickly transforming into an unknown type of bird.

It seemed that Amare was tired before the fight started, nonetheless, she went all-out from the start and used her strongest spell.

She controlled the bird made of translucent threads and made it clash with the gargoyle, which couldn’t take the hit head-on.

Meanwhile, Arthur, whose body became entirely dysfunctional, used the little bit of strength left to dig his fingers deep into the dirt.

‘Far’ha’

As muttered the incantation for [Enhanced Spell], a surge of Mana traveled across his body before empowering the next skill: [Wither Touch].

Slowly but surely, the dirt and flora around him began to wither as their energy and Life Essence were absorbed into the parasite.

When he could no longer absorb any more, Arthur, with a bit of difficulty, moved his hand and took out Leonis’ body, which was the only available host. The rest were in the other storage, which was currently in Evelyn’s possession.

Then, he ejected himself and possessed. The injuries he had sustained were gone, moreover, he was considerably strengthened thanks to the efficient combination of [Enhanced Spell]and [Wither Touch].

With his weapon destroyed with the previous host, and nothing useful in the bag, Arthur gritted his teeth and took out something unexpected, carefully wrapping it around his chest while avoiding any contact with the skin.

Once he was done, he directed his gaze at Amare and the gargoyle. Even though the latter was equipped with monstrous physical prowess as well as the ability to use magic, it still couldn’t defeat the magical bird.

Amare did well in controlling the bird, making it shoot aerial attack while swiftly dodging out of the gargoyle’s sweeps, but that ruined its mood and made it angry.

It leapt in the air and landed next to the cage. It was trying to use the children as a hostage, but right as its hand was about to rip the metal bars, the gargoyle’s rear was hit by a rapidly moving wall-shaped barrier.

Arthur caused it to stagger, then he changed the shape of the barrier, forming it a cube that trapped the relatively massive entity within.

Then, with the little bit of time bought, Arthur signaled the girl to take the children the safety. She hesitated for a split second then nodded, jumping atop of the bird, which descended to the age and lifted it with its arched claws.

Arthur didn’t have any thought of directly confronting the gargoyle. He ran toward the unconscious Anna then immediately fled, obscuring his rear with a dense swirling mist.

Alas, he ran for barely ten seconds before a giant shadow came from behind, merging with the darkness as it extended its arm and pulled the air.

Arthur’s body was like a leaf, helplessly following the violent gale as it brought him closer to the gargoyle. However, before he was caught, there was a deafening sound of shattering glass, followed thereafter by the appearance of several silhouettes.

Upon seeing the knights wearing glistening silver-plated armors, the gargoyle clicked his tongue and retreated to the shadows, planning to pursue Amare instead.

Pale-faced and mentally exhausted, Arthur looked at the new arrivals. They weren’t Solas’ men, but they were knights.

Their leader, a woman with delicate facial features and a halberd in her hands, approached Arthur, scrutinizing him with a frown.

Even though there wasn’t any illumination, she recognized him as Leonis Sanguis, whom she had met in the past, but that only deepened her surprise and confusion.

She had been sent here to check on the ruined Smithy Town and Warmcross as well as meet up with the Holy Knights and force them out of Kirn Sparrow’s territory. Unexpectedly, she stumbled upon a devilish creature battling someone.

“Form a perimeter and send a signal to the fort.”

“Y-yes!”

Her squad wasn’t wary of the parasite, after all, it was clear that he was saving the unconscious girl from the monster.

Unlike her master, Knight Veronica knew precious little about the Blood Purge. Therefore, she didn’t suspect Leonis of being an imposter.

Arthur, on the other hand, maintained a long silence. He managed to calm his breathing and slowly stand up.

“Mister Sanguis, are you alright?”

“Yes. Let’s take the girl back to her mother… please.”

“Of course.”

Fortunately, Veronica neither bothered him with questions nor suspected anything. She, along with her squad, safely escorted him back to the shack.

There, Evelyn was inside with the hysteric Nayri.

“Anna! Anna!”

Once she saw her daughter, Nayri hugged her and wept loudly. Everything happened so fast, from their child’s abduction to her husband’s death. It was too much for the woman, so much so that she cried non-stop and didn’t acknowledge anyone’s presence.

“Master?”

Evelyn approached the parasite and leaned closer, examining his face. She noticed his distorted expression, which contained grief, guilt, anger, and fear.

Yes, through sheer luck, Arthur survived this ordeal and Anna was saved. However, Arthur wasn’t the least bit pleased or relieved.

He remembered how weak he was when facing the gargoyle, how he was defeated so easily. It was like the past was repeating itself and he could only watch and run like a coward.

The fate of the other children was in Amare’s hands, and though the gargoyle was outrageously fast, maybe he wouldn’t able to catch up with the magical bird, or so Arthur hoped.

“Mister Sanguis, we’ll have to take you to a safer location. Cultists are running amok in the forest.”

She paused for a split second then stated, “My master, Viscount Sparrow, sent me here to deal with them and help the survivors.”

The parasite didn’t give an immediate response, he turned his head and looked at Nayri.

It was only a couple of hours ago that they were enjoying a hearty dinner yet now, William was dead and Nayri was in unprecedented emotional distress.

“We will take them too. Please do not worry, Mister Sanguis.”

“I see… thank you.”

With so many eyes and ears, Arthur couldn’t recount what happened to Evelyn. Therefore, with Veronica and the other knights leading the way, they embarked at the break of dawn, heading straight to Green’s End.

Veronica’s task might not have been completed, but she couldn’t take Leonis with her and continue her investigation, and nor could send a couple of knights to take him to safety, at least not after seeing that abominable monster.

Veronica knew the forest like the back of her hand, which made the trip utterly devoid of troubles. Arthur thought it was going to take a few days, but it took exactly 24 hours to reach the massive fort standing atop the cliff.

Admittedly, they traveled at an incredibly fast pace, and even when they got tired, Veronica would hand them specially-crafted elixirs that would temporarily remove fatigue.

She didn’t want to risk Leonis, who was a noble, being hurt due to an avoidable misstep. Nayri and Anna were cared after too, but they mostly kept to themselves and didn’t object to anything.

Thanks to Veronica, Arthur and Evelyn were admitted to Green’s End, where they met the ruler of this region.

Viscount Kirn Sparrow first talked with Veronica in private and learned of what had occurred.

Even though he was aware of Arthur’s identity, he didn’t persecute him or lock him up. In fact, he acted like a benevolent and hospitable host, offering the maid and her master spacious and luxurious rooms. Although, that might’ve been a subtle attempt to keep Arthur under the Kirn’s watchful gaze.

“...”

“Master, what really happened out there?”

Evelyn sat next to him and inquisitively asked despite seeing the expression of anguish, which didn’t leave his face for the past day.

“I lost, that’s what happened. I couldn’t do a thing to… whatever that was.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that. It must be some kind of summoned Demon. However, I don’t think it was behind the killings in the settlements.”

Arthur raised his head and wryly smiled. Evelyn was ever-so-perceptive so it wouldn’t have taken long for her to figure it out.

Seeing him keep silent, she continued, “The villagers were dead but their bodies were intact. In contrast, William had his head ripped off. Additionally, if it wanted to reveal itself, it would have done so sooner. One more thing I noticed was that, amongst the killed villagers, there were children too, whereas that monster abducted the young ones instead. The inconsistencies are clear."

“You’re right. It’s highly-probably that the ones behind supposed ‘mass suicide’ aren’t in cahoots with that creature. Or… all of that could have been purposeful as to make us think this way. Whatever the reason, it’s fortunate that we survived. At least in here, we don’t have to worry about Addy.”

“What about Amare? Do you think she was killed?”

“I honestly don’t know, Evelyn. Our differences notwithstanding, she did help me prior to escaping with the other children.”

Evelyn bit her lips and lowered her head, lost in thought as a bout of silence flowed between the two. Eventually, she spoke up again,

“I don’t know if Veronica noticed, but Mort has been following us ever since we left the forest. Do you…” She hesitated, sadness washing over her eyes, “Do you know if Furball survived?”

Due to the urgency of the situation, Mort/Arthur couldn’t retrieve the unconscious and heavily injured rabbit. The gargoyle didn’t seem interested in killing it, but with its injuries, it wouldn’t be able to survive on its own for long.

“I think I would know if Furball is dead.”

Arthur had a connection with the vampiric familiar. It was an intangible bond, a connection of some sort, one which was frail and unsolidified. Nevertheless, through it, he would get ‘notified’ if Furball were to die.

As she breathed a sigh of relief, Evelyn walked to the window and looked at the relatively large town down below.

“Viscount Kirn Sparrow is the Seat of Deliverance, equal in rank to Terden Sidus. He’s an Alchemist and adept at Summoning magic, but that’s all I know about him.”

“Summoning magic?”

As if she caught the hint, Evelyn solemnly shook her head and stated,

“I know what you’re thinking, Master, but I don’t think he’s the one who summoned that creature. We’re assuming it is, and going forward with that assumption might complicate things. It’s best if we recuperate and leave.”

“...”

Arthur looked at her but didn’t open his mouth. His mind was chaotic and he couldn’t collect his thoughts. The logical procedure would be to do as Evelyn said and steer away from trouble and danger.

However, after meeting that gargoyle again, not on Earth but here, his past obsession resurfaced. He wanted to know the truth behind those massacres, and most of all, he wanted to exact vengeance.

Evidently, he lacked the strength to face the gargoyle, but that was only a hurdle that could be overcome with the use of his unique racial ability.

The symbol of the gargoyle, or the people behind it, was deeply imprinted in Arthur’s mind.

He saw it for the first time after surviving the massacre back on Earth, and for the second time in the basement of one of the buildings in Smithy Town, which he destroyed thereafter.

Back then, he thought it was a fabrication of his mind. He had been re-experiencing the same nightmare, so the parasite blamed his unstable mental state and considered the symbol he had seen a mere illusion, a realistic one meant to destabilize him.

But now, more pieces came to play and he needed to work harder than ever before.

He had people chasing after him, his prowess was not up to par, and he lacked critical information about his enemy.

‘It cannot continue like this, not after that. Traveling aimlessly would lead to nothing, nor would it resolve past and present problems. I need to change my methods and plan ahead. First, I need to get Addy and Amare off my back.’