Void Evolution System

Parasites.

Damien hadn't encountered many parasitic species in the universe, even during his many years of exploring its sights. It was strange. Considering the mystical properties of mana, parasitic species should've thrived in its advent.

However, while he'd experienced some similar scenarios, he'd never seen a true parasite in the past 10 years.

Why was that?

At its core, mana was a form of energy. But at the same time, mana was a core trait of the universe that allowed it to maintain its functionality.

With the advent of mana, the universal law could develop more thoroughly and become accessible enough for humans and other sentient lifeforms to comprehend and utilize, heightening the connection between the universe and its residents.

While regular parasites could function without mana, it was obvious what evolved parasitic species depended on. The blood that used to sustain them wasn't enough anymore. They needed to consume something more intrinsic, something like lifeforce or mana.

The problem was, mana flowing through the body was far more in tune with an individual's psyche than their blood flow. The senses of a practitioner also far outstripped those of an average mortal.

Being parasitic without alerting the parasitized being was nearly impossible. This led to the natural decline of parasitic species as most species evolved away from that trait.

The only parasitic species that existed more commonly were those controlled by existences, parasites like the one Lucius was living with.

But…what would happen if a race appeared that didn't have this kind of prolonged contact with the rest of the universe? And what if this race was belligerent enough to openly parasitize others without fear of death?

The current situation was exactly that.

The struggles that led to the natural decrease in parasitic species didn't apply to the Nox, who forcefully parasitized their hosts with the aid of others.

'I need to get closer. If I can get a vial containing a parasite, it'd be revolutionary.'

Lynn Carter's image immediately appeared in Damien's mind. She wasn't just a genius researcher and scientist, she was also someone who was once a double agent within Niflheim, a Nox influence.

'The serum in the Human Domain most likely didn't contain parasites, since the war hasn't reached our sector yet. Instead, the experiments conducted there are likely for the goal of creating artificial Nox, or a slave-like fighting force of some kind.'

If Lynn Carter had encountered the Nox parasites before, she would've told Damien. That wasn't something they'd hide from each other when attempting to build mutual trust.

But if she were to encounter the parasites…

'I'm almost completely certain she'd find a way to counteract them.'

Damien observed for a few more minutes and collected his thoughts.

'I should head back.'

Getting into the lab area and observing from close proximity was the most important thing at the moment. Before anything else, Damien needed to get Zara's help.

As soon as he made the decision, his body silently vanished from the area, leaving none the wiser to his presence.

***

Damien was observing the laboratory for almost 3 hours without pause. During that time, Zara took the three young geniuses to investigate the rest of the cavern.

The cavern floor was largely barren. Besides the blood lake that took up around a third of the cavern, the rest was empty.

However, after ten minutes of scouring the ground, the group located two small hidden passages that led deeper into the world's surface.

Zara silently motioned towards one of them, leading the group down the tunnel.

While Zara was a powerful practitioner, she was also of a wolf bloodline. Her sense of smell was much more heightened than her other senses, allowing her perception to expand to greater limits than others.

From the passage she picked, she could smell something vile, something unknown.

But at the same time, it was something familiar.

The group made it to the end of the passage and…

"Heuk…!"

Ash almost vomited immediately.

The room at the end of the passage was actually quiet small, only fitting for around a thousand people.

However, the number of bodies within was double that.

'This…'

Even Zara couldn't hold back her disgust.

It was a room that once held a thousand pregnant women. These women had been forcefully kept locked in this cramped space until they gave birth.

And their children…

…were half-breeds with Nox genes in their bodies.

The second they were born, they "cannibalized their hosts" to gain sustenance, leading to the current scene.

One thousand skeletons that were stripped down to the bone of any nutritious meat, and a little over one thousand children with blackened sclera and ash grey skin sitting curiously among them.

Evidently, the birth of some of these children was recent, as the blood stains formed by their first meal had yet to disappear.

With disgust in her heart, Zara spread her awareness to check for anything beyond the room, but when she found nothing, she immediately took the three geniuses and left.

They didn't need to see more. The connotations of the horrific scene they'd just barely been too late to witness were enough already.

'Cannibalistic tendencies…'

Zara noted it down in her brain as moved to the second secret passage.

As she expected long ago, it was the guards' quarters.

Even before reaching the passage's opening, Zara could clearly sense tens of Higher Nox auras populating the end of the tunnel.

'Without concealment, we'll cause too much of a scene.' She realized immediately.

The guards themselves were at most at the mid-levels of 4th class, but fighting with them would inevitably bring down the cavern, which was more beneficial to the Nox than it was to them.

Zara made the executive decision to leave that tunnel unexplored for now and began returning back to the main cavern, and at that time, a body appeared in front of her.

Her guard didn't raise even once. Her shadow extended and enveloped the body before it could even fully materialize.

When Damien appeared before her, she flashed a small smile.

"Finished scouting?"

"Mm, all done."

"Then, we should accompany you there, no?"

"Are you reading my mind or something?"

Zara and Damien casually went back and forth as they walked through the tunnel and moved to the lab where Damien was just a moment ago.

Internally, however, they were exchanging notes.

'Cannibalistic babies, huh…' Damien thought as he listened through what Zara and the rest experienced.

Cannibals and parasites, he really couldn't believe his luck to find both in the same place.

'These are two of the primary methods that were used to take over Apeiron.'

The story he heard from Kurt Galloway long ago began to replay in his head. Apeiron's destruction that was barely prevented by the sacrifice of a few heroic Demigods came not from the Nox themselves, but instead from those denizens they corrupted.

It wasn't just Apeiron, but countless worlds who encountered the same problem.

'If we can find a method using what we learn from here…'

It might be possible to save a few more worlds.

Damien's eyes hardened.

He already had other plans in Calypto, but taking a little extra time to carry them out wasn't too much of a problem.

Just like that, yet another objective was added to his mission.

There were definitely more research areas hidden around Calypto, and Damien didn't plan to leave even a single one untouched.