Leechworm

Achilles and Sia stood frozen at the terrifying sight in front of them. It took them a second to snap out of their daze as they looked around cautiously while the latter was still activating "Darkness' Shroud".

[Ok...this is...much worse than we expected.] Sia said while gulping down a little.

The empty piece of land within the forest was infested with worm-like creatures. The animals and vegetation's bodies had been infected with these monsters as they moved throughout the hosts' rotten bodies.

These poor Corrupted were clearly the most severe cases of being infected as the other monsters that attacked the city didn't suffer from the Leader's leeching as terribly as them.

For instance, the giant Sia had fought earlier didn't show such an obvious sign of being under the parasite's command like what was happening right now.

The fate that the Corrupted had to experience under the parasite's control was eternal damnation.

They were not alive anymore, but also weren't entirely dead just yet.

Just miserable souls that got trapped inside their mindless puppets' bodies.

[You didn't expect that it controls multiple hosts?] Achilles asked sarcastically.

[No. We didn't expect that it has multiplied and spread its headquarters throughout a group of hosts.] Sia whispered in a serious voice.

[Which means we need to kill all of them for the Leechworm to die.]

[...You're kidding, right?] Achilles swallowed his saliva as a look of disbelief flashed across his face.

[We wish we were, darling.]

[But the aura coming from them-] Achilles said half-way through before the little elf finished his sentence:

[Higher Fallen.]

[Yes! And there's ten of them!]

[No need to worry. They're the same creature, their power is equally divided between all bodies.] The silvery-white-haired beauty reassured him as she stared intently at the Leechworm's hosts.

[Even then the two of us won't be enough!] He voiced out his disapproval vehemently.

Sia slowly turned towards Achilles, she smiled lovingly at him while touching his cheeks.

[Do you trust us?]

[...I.] Achilles felt his word stuck in his throat, he gazed deeply into the little succubus' eyes who were in his arms.

'Just say "No, I don't trust you" goddamnit! Is it that difficult to say?!' He screamed in his mind but words refused to escape his mouth.

He had no idea what was stopping him from saying those 5 simple words. After all, what Sia was planning was nothing but suicidal. If he follows her plan then both of them might end up dead here today.

A few seconds later, he succumbed to his subconscious' demand and let out a soft sigh:

[...If it doesn't work, we'll leave immediately. is that clear?]

[Don't worry. We can do anything with your help.] Sia said without a change in her expression. It was as if she truly believed it from the bottom of her heart.

[What's the plan?] Achilles asked as he turned his gaze back to the ten hosts wandering around the empty piece of land.

Sia subtly smiled seeing him agree to her. She put her mouth next to his ear before saying:

[All we need is...]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leechworm was a species that was born after the Remnants of Divinity's arrival.

It was a species that was born from the combination of cordyceps' mind-controlling ability and a type of brain parasite that controlled rodents.

With the modification from the remnants, the species had become able to infect every living organism.

It was one of the most dangerous Corrupted species that had ever been discovered by Divine.

Currently, the Leechworm was controlling both its ten main hosts and its other selves that were partially controlling other Corrupted creatures.

The task was nerve-wracking and could easily drive a person insane from all the data that his/her brain had to receive.

The Leechworm, however, was given a mutation that seemed simple at first glance but was incredibly dangerous.

A near-human level intellect along with super brain processing speed.

Thanks to this factor, it had managed to take control of a large amount of Corrupted as the mastermind behind the horde.

While the Leechworm was diligently doing its job, it suddenly sensed a sudden shift in the atmospheric temperatures. The surrounding air had become slightly colder but the change was so small that it was barely noticeable.

The parasite was a very sensitive species toward heat and cold so it wasn't difficult for it to sense the change though.

Out of nowhere, a human appeared in front of it while wearing some weird-looking mask.

The Corrupted with its high-level intelligence immediately understood what was going on as it gather all its ten hosts to surround the puny human.

They screamed crazily before dashing to where the intruder was under the worm's command.

"GARGHHH!!!!"

The human didn't try to fight against them but ran away using an opening in their attacks instead.

The monsters weren't going to let this human off the hook easily as they immediately chased after him.