Psychic Parasite

The Crust-Mantles were a weak race, always on the receiving end as any and every Frenzy Beast was out to eat them. After all, their flesh was beneficial to the evolution of their Essence of Frenzy and was also able to increase their Nurturing rate by a little.

Therefore, the higher the Tier of a Crust-Mantle, the greater the tonic it proved to be for the other Frenzy Beasts. It was not to mention their strength was weaker than most of the battle-oriented Frenzy Beast races.

Therefore, the Crust-Mantles always had to live out in hiding, solely relying on ambush tactics to hunt their prey while depending on their tough carapace to tank out the attacks directed at them during the hunt.

So, they never tolerated the invasion of other Frenzy Beasts in their territory. After all, it only meant one thing: The Frenzy Beasts had arrived with the intent to kill and gorge on their flesh. So, without any hesitation, the Crust-Mantles retaliated against the Steel-Porcupines, killing them swiftly.

Even though they were known to be a race weaker than most Frenzy Beast races, that was because of their Skills. But, at the level of Tier 2, the role played by the Skills and their importance didn't outweigh the natural fleshly advantages the Crust-Mantles possessed.

That's why they were able to succeed in their ambush, ripping apart the bodies of the Steel Porcupines using their mandibles with a couple of snaps. Their tough, sharp, and heavy mandibles shredded the Steel Porcupines, including the spikes that grew on their backs.

This was the sole attacking part of their body and was the strongest. Hence, the damage they dished out through their ambush was tremendous.

And, thanks to the aura personification of hallucination overlaid by Jyorta, the Crust-Mantles were under the impression that the Steel Porcupines had invaded their territory this time to slaughter them all.

So, without hesitation, all the Crust-Mantles appeared one after another as they ganged up on the Steel Porcupines, relying on their defences to kill their foes. As the battle had entered a dog fight, the Steel Porcupines were at a disadvantage.

After all, they always had a habit of dishing out attacks as a group from afar. At close range, they had to control themselves in fear they would hurt their brethren. So, they had to limit themselves to using the normal spikes that grew on their back and were unable to use their body-length spikes that dealt fatal damage. They didn't have enough space advantage to launch them properly.

This way, in the war that erupted between them, the Crust-Mantles were on the advantage. Some of the Crust-Mantles decided to sacrifice their lives for the betterment of their brethren. They sprinted through the path, stomping the Steel Porcupines as their foot was impaled by their spikes in return.

They increased their speed of movement before their legs gave out, using the momentum to roll on the sand. Using their body weight, they flattened the bodies of the Steel Porcupines, either killing them or severely flattening them.

When they were killed, the Steel Porcupines burrowed into their bodies and ripped out their respective Frenzy Parasites, swallowing them whole as they became invigorated. It was a gruesome scene as three to four Steel Porcupines burrowed into the bodies of the Crust-Mantles and ripped them out from the inside.

The Crust-Mantles though, on the other hand, were unflinching at the scene, having gotten used to worse treatment. They acted as one unit, sacrificing their lives for the greater good of their race, showing their bravery and camaraderie.

Even though the teamwork of the Steel Porcupines was impeccable, infinite times better than Frenzy Beast races that acted as lone wolves even while in a group, they were still Frenzy Beasts. So, they had the same trait as the other Frenzy Beast races, which was to prioritise their individual self over their race.

Only the Crust-Mantles were different, able to sacrifice their lives for the greater good of their race, just like humans.

"Why are your eyes red, Jyorta?" Duvic frowned as he turned around to look, immediately spotting the point of oddity. Their Battleship was hovering near the scene of war as Jyorta unleashed his aura personifications of hallucination and betrayal from time to time to keep the momentum of the war undiminished.

As for the rest of the team members, they didn't have to do anything for the time being, after all, all their attackers were fighting against the Crust-Mantles now. So, they were free. That was why Duvic was able to notice Jyorta's change in expression.

Jyorta's eyebrows trembled as his facial muscles contracted and relaxed at a rapid pace while his eyes had turned red; they welled up with tears, on the verge of cascading out like a torrential downpour. His breathing was also slightly ragged; he seemed to be on the verge of crying.

"It's not…" His voice choked as Jyorta tried to reply, coughing as he cleared his throat and controlled his emotions. "It's nothing. Let's get a move now."

"Alright," Even though he had his doubts, Duvic turned around and focused on the cylinder—containing a Tier 2 Spindle Bee—he controlled as he activated his Tier 1 Skill—Thermal Vision. He kept watch on his surroundings, prepared to spot any thermal signatures that closed in on the Battleship.

Seated behind him, Rishana shot a look at Jyorta, watching him wipe his tears as he closed his eyes, regulating his breathing for a couple of seconds before he had calmed down to a controllable extent. He then used his aura to control the five Tier 2 Floating Spiders, making the Battleship move.

'What…just happened.' Rishana was confused, clearly so. In the short week, she had been with Jyorta, she noticed how he was…different from the rest. At times, he was more humane than anyone she had ever met. But at times, he was colder than the most hardened soldier who had been on the battlefield all his life.

It was a conflicting image of sorts. Any one of them would have been something to note about, but when two conflicting states of the mind were present in one person, situated on either extreme of their spectrum, it baffled her.

She realised that Jyorta couldn't be understood using common sense. At times, she was greatly attracted to his character. But at other times, she also feared the same character. She hadn't yet confided about it with Sreshta and Bilena, wondering if they too felt the same.

'Let's leave it at this. I probably won't have other opportunities to meet him after this anyway.' Rishana mentally sighed, feeling both relieved and disappointed at the same time. In the past week, they had been interacting with each other, even though they had become close, it wasn't the closeness she had hoped for.

In that situation, he had always kept her at an arm's distance. It was the same for both Sreshta and Bilena too. After all, the other party was talented, good-looking, gentle-natured, and hailed from an Aristocratic Family to boot.

Now that they had some time to get closer to him, if they hadn't tried to make any moves on him, they would have to curse at their foolishness for the rest of their lives. After all, if one of them were lucky and managed to penetrate his heart, they would lead comfortable lives for the rest of their life.

That was what they had thought. Of course, they didn't have any ideas about what the Aristocratic Families had to face daily thanks to the power they wielded. But in the eyes of the general populace, people from the Aristocratic Families lead wealthy lives of comfort while also wielding tremendous authority.

Butt, no matter what they did, Jyorta never looked at them that way, nor did he misbehave with them by using their admiration towards him to his advantage. This character of his further made them steel their resolves.

But no matter what, Rishana could feel that there was a massive wall that was blocking her from proceeding beyond the zone of being friends. She could instinctively feel it. It was why she was jealous of Haesha from time to time.

'But, this is strange.' She thought, looking at the back of Jyorta that faintly trembled from time to time. 'Nothing happened for him to tear up. So, this is strange indeed.'

Finally, curiosity got the best of her as she mustered her courage, speaking, "Did something happen, Jyorta?"

"These Crust-Mantles…don't you think their lives are a pity?" Jyorta's melancholic tone resounded, followed by a deep sigh.

"They are Frenzy Beasts though. What's sad about their lives?" Rishana expressed her doubt.

Duvic, Sreshta, and Bilena too noticed something amiss as all of them looked at Jyorta. They then saw Jyorta let out a fake chuckle to lighten the atmosphere, "I just recalled the scene from before when the Frenzy Beasts had escaped the Labyrinth of Frenzy and headed into the city. Don't mind me."

"Right, you did witness what had happened to the children first hand. Sorry for asking." Rishana apologised.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." Jyorta waved his hand as the Battleship crossed the coil with the Crust-Mantles and proceeded into the fifth coil, flying above the One-Horned Rhinos that could only helplessly stare at them.

On seeing that his mood had been due to him recalling that horrible incident, his teammates didn't ask him further. It was silence within the Battleship as Jyorta felt some sweat form on his forehead. The blue soul had overlaid the face mask—the false persona of calm, optimism, and filled with focus—on him, helping him control his emotions that were spiralling out of control once again.

'This is bad. It seems I haven't fully negated the influence from the memory fragments of the Crust-Mantles.' The blue soul saw the memory fragments related to the Crust-Mantles break out of their respective soul husks, having used the fluctuation in his emotions as the harness to fuel their reaction.

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