Psychic Parasite

Chapter 137: Wenina Marble’s Threat
”You can stop now.” Atika Light placed a hand on his shoulders, breaking his focus; her action nudged him out of his blue soul’s vision. Jyorta relaxed his arms, watching his Caterpillar dissolve into two blood tendrils and seep through his nostrils.

”Ma’am, do I need to be treated again?” Jyorta inquired, feeling the condition of his body slightly better off than before. He returned the rectangular box filled with Brain Crystals, inquiring with slight nervousness, unwilling to face a drop in his Sync Rate once again.

”It is no longer necessary; drinking the medicine I concocted will be sufficient. It will flush out the Brain Crystal impurities, preventing your condition from dropping like before.” Atika Light handed him a beaker, filled with the same viscous solution as before.

Jyorta downed it, feeling his internals warm up a little. Soon, his stomach became upset, urging him to rush towards the restroom. Taking permission from Atika Light, Jyorta exited the room. He hurried through the hall, arriving inside the cramped room situated next door.

He entered the attached restroom and emptied his bowels, feeling the sense of pollution in him abate a little. While in the process, Jyorta closed his eyes, sensing his Brain Crystal, noticing its state.

’Its polluted state has further increased. Despite not having a drop in Sync Rate, my Esper abilities are still affected. Unless I expel all the impurities from my brain, my Esper abilities will never recover to their peak for the current Sync Rate.’

Finished with his task, Jyorta took a bath, cleaning his body of the faint sweat that had formed patches on his skin. On closer inspection, the dried patches were a shade of white, the texture similar to chalk powder when he rubbed it with his fingers.

Jyorta scrubbed himself, watching the white powder fail to dissolve in water. He then used soap, turning the situation around, removing them from his akin. Ten minutes later, Jyorta exited the restroom, noticing a set of clothes placed on the bed, arrived at the scene without alerting his senses.

’I shouldn’t expect much as a Line Controller. Based on everything I have heard, the true powers of Espers are only displayed at Tier 3. Only Wave Controllers and above can be called bonafide Espers.’

The clothes consisted of a pant and shirt, coloured grey and yellow respectively, made from soft cotton. The clothes were tailored to fit his bodyline, having enough elasticity to ease his movements.

Jyorta sat on the bed, closing his eyes, taking in the view of his blue soul, watching his surroundings turn dark. He concentrated on his subsoul, feeling apprehensive.

The subsoul had bulged in size, almost to one-tenth the blue soul, filled with a chaotic cluster of memory fragments that were slowly beginning to settle in place, getting arranged into order through mutual convergence and divergence.

A persona had already taken shape, coating most of the memory fragments with a white layer. In the core of the subsoul, surrounding the dark blue sphere was a layer of white, the essence of the newly formed persona. Moreover, a faint red substance began to form around the region, condensed due to the influx of abundant memory fragments.

The excess memory fragments were birthing their own ego, forming into a collective whole. Jyorta’s ego—infused into the core of his subsoul—rose up, taking a humanoid form, its appearance similar to him from the previous life. It was a projection of his ego, the only connection that made it his subsoul.

The humanoid projection—light blue in colour—raised its arms, grabbing hold of the forming ego, shredding it into countless pieces until they dissipated into energy. As it continued to shred them, many red tongues coursed from the memory fragments, bolstered by the persona, accelerating the formation of the ego.

’The more I absorb, the greater the danger I subject myself to. But, only through this manner will there be some hope to save sister. Now, I only have to wait for the Tier 1 Frenzy Beasts to enact the final plan.’ Jyorta thought, exiting the cramped room to find Anruk Light standing at the same spot as before, looking slightly sad.

”Sir, did something happen?” Jyorta inquired, feeling his heart race, taking a hurried glance at the room where his sister was kept.

Anruk Light shook his head, signalling that the cause wasn’t related to Heima, ”There has never been an occasion where something hasn’t happened in our city. After all, we are constantly at war against our foes that border Marble City.”

He sighed, ”We lost some experts with pinnacle battle strength.”

Realising the recipient of the contents, Anruk Light stopped himself from speaking, putting a pause on the topic at hand. He then motioned with his hands, ”Let us have dinner now. Madam summoned for your presence in five hours, saying she had prepared something you had requested.”

’Are they finally here?’ Jyorta thought, feeling his heart skip a beat. As he accompanied Anruk Light, Jyorta wondered about the state of his sister before she had been forcefully put in a state of coma. Theoretically speaking, there were still many things about the Essence of Frenzy he was clueless about.

Even though he was inside the headquarters of Grapple Force, the place where the elites of Marble City gathered, he had yet to see any institutional gatherings to date. From the conversations he had listened in through his Soul Cornea, the place he was in was like an outhouse under Grapple Force.

It was where the elites gathered when they didn’t have anything serious going on. To be honest, he was very much interested in visiting the research and development department to watch the production of the various Artifacts, Relics, and Trait fruits.

’If I have an opportunity to visit here in the future, I will definitely check them out and broaden my horizons. First things first, I should save my sister.’ Jyorta accompanied Anruk Light, treading through the narrow hallway as before, taking the path that proceeded beyond the functional facilities.

The more something was guarded in secrecy, the more it triggered his curiosity. Jyorta reined in his thoughts, entering the dining section, watching the empty room, bereft of any people. In the entire room, other than him and Anruk Light, there was only one other person, the chef in charge of preparing food for the day.

Noticing their entry, the chef pointed them towards a table, motioning for them to be seated. He then entered the kitchen and brought out a large tray, supporting many plates, each filled to the brim with food.

”Sir, since we have only the two of you today, the dishes are prepared to your taste and physique.” The chef said, neatly arranging each food item. Jyorta took in the aroma, uplifting his spirits. He looked at the food arranged before him, a large bowl filled with thick gravy, the texture of butter causing a sublime sensation, watering his mouth.

The main ingredient used in the food was a variety of chickpeas, first boiled and later immersed in the gravy, allowing the contents to seep through, enriching the taste. Placed next to it was a type of bread, thin like a kerchief, folded many times until it formed a triangle the size of his palm.

Poured inside a tumbler was a fruit juice, the type of fruit he never knew but came to like the flavour of. The food items were limited in his case but, their quantity was immense, enough for him to stuff himself twice.

Jyorta happily ate the food, taking in the view of his blue soul, watching his surroundings turn dark. He could still make out the food items, allowing him to eat without causing any suspicion. Jyorta inspected his subsoul, watching the ego he had infused into it begin to waver, having to fight against a foreign ego without support.

The hands of his subsoul’s projection had turned red, with the seepage extending to its elbows, looking intent to proceed further.

’Why isn’t it making use of my corrosion?’ Jyorta wondered, looking at it in puzzlement. As his subsoul, it too possessed his ability of corrosion. It was a case similar to how Heima managed to come to possess the ability of space. He decided to name it the Soul Skill just for convenience.

The subsouls obtained the ability of the main soul, but they were incapable of invading the souls of others. Only the main soul was capable of creating the subsouls. Thanks to his discussions with Heima, he came to know that even subsouls would be able to use the Soul Skill of the main soul, experiencing a fright.

Until now, he had created 3 subsouls in total, barring the soul of the previous Jyorta which had now fused into his. The first was the soul of the late language teacher’s Wisdom Parasite; it had now been made into the curtain, the false persona—one of gluttony, focus, and filled with self-control.

The third was the soul of his Wisdom Parasite which had yet to produce the corrosion Skill to date. But, it was the second subsoul that unnerved him. In the final battle against the soul of the previous Jyorta, to deliver him the final blow, he had converted the soul of a certain nurse’s Wisdom Parasite.

The nurse was a lady by the name of Wenina Marble, an Area Controller. Even though she was just a Tier 2 Esper, and the one possessing the ability of corrosion wasn’t her soul but the soul of her Wisdom Parasite, Jyorta still felt perturbed.

Suppose the lady lost control one day, then the resulting monster will be controlled by her Wisdom Parasite; meaning, the monster will be able to use the corrosion Skill through its psychic arms. The corrosion derived from him was different from the Essence of Frenzy’s corrosion.

The Essence of Frenzy was filled with many mental states, chemical components, memory fragments, etc. forming into a cluster, possessing effects that varied with each Frenzy Beast. But, his corrosion was purely formed from energy, the effects unique. It was simple, its essence focused solely on the destructive aspect.

When she lost control, as someone part of the Marble family, the cause would be investigated. When the appearance of the mysterious corrosion circulated through their higher-ups, it would reach the ears of Psychic Ancestor Marble, one who knew of his existence and abilities.

At that time, his life would have to depend on the magnanimity of Psychic Ancestor Marble. Moreover, the Wisdom Parasite of Wenina Marble now had the ego of Kaushik. As it grew while absorbing her life experiences, it would soon give birth to his personality. Considering his voracious appetite for knowledge, the mental growth of the Wisdom Parasite would be accelerated.

So, the case of Wenina Marble losing control was definite. And, it was something that was bound to occur soon. Unless Jyorta could meet her and erase the forming personality, absorbing all the memory fragments, her doom was certain, leading to him developing animosity with Psychic Ancestor Marble.

’I hope she doesn’t lose control before I graduate from the military academy.’