Parasite

For a couple of days, they had no choice but to stay near the lift while they finished off the few supplies they had brought up with them.

They had enough to last them for a week at most, but that didn't give them any peace of mind.

After Nathan had found out why he had gone up to the attic, the atmosphere was a bit heavy. The three of them had remained silent for most of the time, only talking when necessary.

Still, it was not as if Nathan really wanted to talk to them.

The woman's name was Jean, and she was a mercenary. Mary had promised her a good deal of money if she would help her to get rid of the third rank calamity... although in the end it didn't work out so well.

As for Herfir, the man simply wanted a piece of the pie.

But all that aside, Nathan now had a goal to get out of this place.

'I'm going to kill that bitch as soon as I find her'

Not only had he tricked him, but he had also destroyed the lift so they couldn't get off. Something that was not unlike wanting to kill them, surely with the aim of keeping them quiet.

During those few days, Amelia had woken up. Nathan told her everything that had happened since then, and her reaction was similar to his.

'Fucking bitch'

Nathan snorted with amusement as he heard Amelia curse.

The rest of the time he focused on regaining his essence, taking advantage of the fact that the mist didn't reach this place, so there were no hallucinations and no tentacles.

But they all knew they couldn't sit still for long, they knew they would eventually run out of food, so they would have no choice but to explore the attic to hunt for more calamities.

Not only that, but water was much harder to come by, and they had already run out that morning.

With a hint of resignation, Nathan opened the small supply bag and pulled out a glass bottle.

'Really?' Amelia whispered to him when she saw what he had taken out.

Nathan sighed.

'I'm thirsty... it's all that's left'

Nathan uncorked the bottle and smelled its contents.

'It smells like grapes...' Nathan sighed.

Nathan had never tasted wine before, never really tasted anything with alcohol in it.

Smelling it for a couple of seconds, Nathan took a sip of wine before grimacing.

'Ugh... I wasn't expecting that'

Amelia sighed, but she didn't really know what the wine tasted like either.

Nathan tasted it in his mouth and then took another swig from the bottle.

After a couple more sips, Nathan felt that he was finally no longer thirsty. He put the bottle aside and noticed that Jean was looking at him curiously.

"What?" Nathan said as he saw her looking at him.

Jean simply turned her head and shook her head.

"Nothing"

It was then that they both heard footsteps approaching slightly towards them. Without a second thought, all three stood up and raised their weapons.

"Who?!" Herfir raised his voice somewhat tensely.

The approaching figure had his head down, but it was hard not to recognize him thanks to his large body.

"S-Seinor?" Herfir stuttered slightly at the sight of the man.

Nathan frowned for different reasons.

'How could he survive for several days?'

Nathan had thought Seinor had left with Mary and Roderick, but it turned out he had been wrong and somehow the man had stayed behind. But that didn't remove his doubt.

"H-Herfir" Seinor whispered even without revealing his face.

It was the first time Nathan had heard it. But he knew that Herfir and Seinor had been friends since the first day he had met them in the dining room.

"Hey, Seinor!"

Seeing that it really was his friend, Herfir lowered his weapon and went over to him to help him. Then Nathan noticed how Jean was running towards them at that very moment.

Seinor raised his head and looked with a pained smile at Herfir.

"Help me, please… help me"

Two tentacles came out of his eyes and moved irregularly, then Nathan noticed how Senior's clothes in the area of his stomach swelled slightly.

Seconds later his stomach exploded, and a large black tentacle came out of his body and flew dangerously towards Herfir's head.

Jean barely managed to deflect the tentacle and it only managed to wound Herfir's arm.

"Go back!" Jean shouted at Herfir who did not hesitate and took a couple of confused steps backwards.

Seinor simply stretched out his arms trying to reach him.

"Help me... Help me!"

Nathan felt quite uncomfortable when he saw Senior's state. Now several tentacles were coming out of his stomach and moving in total disarray.

Somehow Seinor was still alive... only now he was nothing more than a shell for a parasite that had stolen his body from the inside.

Jean also stepped back with a look of displeasure as did Nathan.

"Now it can occupy the bodies...? Gross"

Nathan couldn't help but think what would have happened to him if he had let himself be overcome by the tentacles at that moment... but just thinking about it made him shiver.

If it had been clear to him before, Nathan was now completely sure. He had to get out of the attic at any cost, or he might be the next victim of the calamity.

"H-Herfir... help me"

Herfir clamped his arm to stop the bleeding and looked at Seinor with a sour, pained expression.

"Yeah... I will help you"

Herfir raised his sword again and pointed it at Seinor... especially at the tentacles coming out of his stomach.

At that precise moment the tentacles began to flail wildly and Seinor grunted terribly in pain. 

That grunt of pain was the prelude before the tentacles extended like spikes towards them.

While Herfir had to retreat and dodge while blocking some of the tentacles, Jean deflected most of them with fluid movements of her spear.

Nathan simply placed the greatsword in front of him, taking advantage of its large size to cover himself from the attack.

The tentacles bounced off his sword but somehow pushed him back.

Nathan tightened his bite, realizing that the tentacles were nothing like before. Now they were much stronger and more lethal.

This gave him an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time. 

Being more lethal, Nathan could now use his death premonitions... but at the same time it would be much more difficult to survive.

Keeping a firm grip on his sword, Nathan pulled it out of the ground and lifted it up, preparing to face the calamity, even if he didn't know how he was going to do it.