God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Blaze frowned,

"How do we identify them? That crazy girl didn't say anything about that in here." He said, pointing at the stack of papers sitting on the table.

Cain's brows knotted together.

That was indeed an issue.

How exactly did Evangeline find all of this out?

"I guess we'll have to ask her, won't we..." He said after a brief moment of hesitation.

Then he turned to Calio,

"Where did you meet her?"

Calio's face turned pale. He cleared his throat, looking a bit embarrassed,

"I was in the middle of doing a few things, you see... Then, she suddenly jumped out of my shadow and forcefully handed them to me, saying I had to hand them over to you within the hour! I doubt she should still be within the area though."

Cain frowned. How was he going to find her now?

He shook his head.

'I don't need to look for her.'

There were many other ways to get answers to his questions,

'System, give me everything you've got on the {Parasyte Soulfiend}.'

***

{Replying to Host: The {Parasyte Soulfiend}, is an evolution of the {Sentinel Drone}. They are loathsome, profane creatures that defy the natural order, their existence a grotesque mockery of the existence of a creature with a soul. The abhorrent fiends are small, wretched things when detached from a host, their mouths a twisted, sinewy masses of blackened, pulsating flesh, slick with an ichor that reeks of decay and sulfur. Their bodies resemble a nightmarish fusion of centipede and lamprey, with rows of grasping, needle-thin limbs that writhe with unnatural coordination. Their heads are featureless, save for their terrifying maw lined with retractable, barbed proboscises, perfect for burrowing into warm, living flesh}.

{The Devil finds its host using special organs that detect mana levels. The host's mana levels should be high enough to provide sustenance, and low enough to discourage resistance. At the moment of invasion, the {Parasyte Soulfiend} latches onto a victim, its limbs clamping down with unnatural strength, forcing its writhing form toward the nape of the neck. The burrowing process is both agonizing and disturbingly silent—the Devil emits no sound, nor does it allow the host to scream, robbing them of even the mercy of expressing their torment. As it tunnels beneath the flesh, it secretes a numbing, necrotic fluid that keeps the wound from scarring but leaves behind a sickly, blackened patch of skin where it first entered}.

{Once inside, the Parasyte wraps its grotesque body around the victim's spinal cord like a leech, embedding itself within the delicate nerves. It secrets a tremendous amount of Devil Essence into the spine of the host. Though the host remains outwardly human, their mind is no longer their own. They may retain memories, speech, even the illusion of free will, but every action, every decision, is subtly twisted by the Soulfiend's influence. A victim cannot resist Devilish command, their thoughts clouded with whispers of doubt and malice. Their eyes, once vibrant, grow dull, lifeless reflections of the creature that now puppeteers their every move}.

{The magic of the Parasyte's directly influences the soul. The longer a Parasyte remains embedded, the more insidious its control becomes. The host begins to change, their body growing gaunt and sinewy as their willpower erodes. Their expressions become mechanical and their voices become slightly inhuman}.

{To remove a Parasyte Soulfiend is a near-impossible feat. Cutting it out is useless as it has fused with the body of its host, and any attempt to sever it will leave the host a twitching, soulless husk. Exorcisms using Divine power may work, but the creature resists with a ferocity that shatters the host's body and soul, using whatever it can to protect itself, as the most important instinct of this creature is survival. There is no salvation for those infected with the Parasyte. Their only relief is a swift death}.

***

'The description just about sums what Eva drew out here. And then, there's the symptoms.'

Cain turned to the others,

"Let's go catch ourselves a dead man."

Blaze's brows jumped up,

"You mean..."

Cain nodded, "It should be fairly easy to spot one out, although I don't know how the creature would react to being discovered."

***

Standing at the precipice of a tall dilapidated building, Cain hid in the shadows, scanning the busy street below.

Humans and Beastmen filled the streets.

It was a scene of life.

Bubbling with excitement, the cacophony of humans rising into the Evernight sky.

'I see... In other words, we have to find a way to get rid of these... Parasytes before any fighting begins.'

Cain nodded as he spoke with his mind,

'That is correct. A dagger hidden in the shadows is far more dangerous than one in the open. Who knows what the hell those Devils are planning to do with them.'

Hunter replied, a frown on his face as he tied his hair up to prevent the wind from whipping it all around,

'This is a rather unfortunate turn of events. How do we tell the difference between normal humans and those infected?'

'The symptoms should be apparent. The Parasyte Devils feed on their host's mana and nutrients, so they should look gaunt and skinny. Their speech patterns should also be strange.'

Hunter turned to Dan who stood beside him.

He shrugged,

"That's a bit vague, don't you think? I doubt we can jump to conclusions over those types of assumptions." Dan said.

Hunter nodded in agreement,

'It don't think hise are good determinants of whether a human is possessed or not. There are many people that have been unable to find enough food these days. We also can't just go up to every person and start analyzing their speech.'

'That is indeed true. Which is why we will only use it as our initial filter. The real test comes after. Well, you'll see what I mean in a moment.'

Hunter frowned.

He was a bit perplexed.

He turned to Dan. They both stood in a dark alleyway, hidden completely by the dark shadows.

Cain had asked them to lay in wait there.

Dan shrugged,

"Don't look at me. At this point, I expect everything that can happen, to happen."

"How the hell did those things get in here? Were they carried in by a single person already infected, or did the Hadalspawn bring them in to find hosts?"

The creases in Hunter's brows increased,

"That, I don't know. However, if what Cain says is true then we can narrow down the possible infection pool."

Dan nodded, his expression cold as ice,

"Those with decent mana pools and magic potential. Not too grand, not too little. We can rule you and I and the rest of the upper circle out in that case."

Hunter nodded,

"Which just leaves..."

Suddenly, Hunter's brows shot up.

His eyes shot to the side.

At the entrance of the alleyway stood a female Hunter. She was dressed in a mixture of leather and plate armor. With his keen senses, Hunter could smell the viscous scent of blood sticking to her body.

There was also another odor he was unable to pin down, like the scent of a fruit just about to go bad.

The woman seemed to sight them a moment later.

A surprised gasp escaped her lips.

Then she took a step back, her body language indicating she was about to bolt out of there.

"Wait!" Hunter called out, causing the woman to freeze in her steps.

"P-please, let me go! I beg of you! I don't have any mana shards to give!"

Hunter and Dan exchanged glances.

"It's okay. We don't want your money or anything like that." Dan said cautiously.

"We just want to ask you a few questions."

The woman still seemed suspicious,

"This... What do you want to know?"

Hunter sucked in a deep breath,

"There was a battle at the Dome's borders recently against a few Devils. Where you a part of the battle?"

The woman blinked, looking a bit surprised,

"How did you know? Have you been following me?!"

"No, ma'am. Nothing like that." Hunter said as he took a few steps forward.

"It's just we believe that your safety might be compromised. Tell me, what is your name?"

The woman now seemed even more suspicious,

"I–I don't know. I don't have anything else to say. Please, leave me—"

Her body fell to the ground with a thud.

Hunter grimaced and glared at Dan who had magically appeared behind the woman,

Sensing Hunter's gaze, Dan shrugged and smiled lightly,

"It was taking too long."

Hunter sighed, "If there is a Parasyte in her, I didn't want to take any chances."

Then he fell silent as he reached out with his mind.

'Cain, I think we might have just gotten our hands on one of them.'

'Well, would you look at that? What a coincidence...' Cain said, sounding a bit amused.

Standing on the building overlooking the streets down below, which so happened to belong to the Iron Beetle, Cain looked at the body of a human bound with glowing golden chains beside him.

'I just so happened to have caught one myself.'

Hunter raised a brow,

'Really? Are you certain?'

Cain nodded, 'I am very much certain.'

Staring at the black eyes, completely devoid of sclera of the human screeching and frothing at the mouth, Cain was even more certain that this was what he was after.

His slightly pleased expression darkened just a bit.

An idea appeared in his mind.

One he believed had brought him rather close to the figuring out the dark intentions of the Devils.

He turned back to the creature that looked more like a zombie than a human now.

Pulling in the golden chains, he summoned Lysander, the Silver Serpent. The space around him trembled and the massive beast appeared, coiling around him, its silver scales reflecting the soft vibrant moonlight.

Throwing the body roughly onto the back of flying serpent, he mounted his contracted beast.

Wrapping it in a veil of darkness, he gave it a mental command.

The Silver Serpent let out a shrill hiss before shooting into the sky, leaving a violent gust of wind behind.