(Part 8) Reincarnated as an Elf Mage’s Cell

Ba-dum

Ba-dum

Ba-dum

The sounds of soft, rhythmic beating ring loudly in the ears of Rukara and Zerk. As they regain consciousness, the soft beating becomes louder and bolder.

“Awake yet? Did such weak magic really have this much of an impact on you? How pathetic–utterly so.”

Not even waiting a moment for them to settle, a scoffing voice commands all of Rukara and Zerk’s attention. Now that their vision has fully returned, the image of the scoffer is abundantly clear.

A serpentine-like creature whose body is five times the length of the smaller cell-people. Its black skin appears oily and smooth, contrasting his many neon pink appendages along its slender figure.

Its reddish-pink eyes throb like the beating heart surrounding them all.

These observations were enough to elicit immediate reaction.

“...what…?! Ze, are you okay?!”

“...no. Not at all. Not with this creep staring at us. Who the hell is he? My instincts tell me to kill him immediately!”

“It looks like a monster…it must be a parasite! But why can it speak, let alone mention magic?”

The parasite lets out a loud, annoyed sigh. No anger or contempt, just disappointment.

“Are you daft? Do you really think I’m just a parasite? A mere parasite wouldn’t be familiar with the defensive backbone of the former hero’s party–isn’t that right, Zerk, Rukara?”

At the mere mention of their names, Rukara and Zerk’s initial shock is quickly overwritten by feelings of aggression. They tense up their bodies and press their backs against each other’s.

“There’s no way…Ru, do you think he’s the–”

“No, it can’t be him! He’s just an intruder that must die in order to protect this body; his identity is ultimately meaningless!”

“My thoughts exactly! You go high for the face, I’ll go low for the tail!”

“Tch. Tch. I wouldn’t do that if I were you…”

The parasite points one side of his appendages to the left wall and the other side to the right simultaneously. Rukara and Zerk each follow the direction they were already facing.

On each side, there is a demon grunt making contact with the wall of throbbing tender flesh. Their hands glow with dark yellow energy, almost as dark as the fangs that protrude from their mischievous grins.

“Are those…demons? Ru, little demon goons have infiltrated Lye’s body!”

“I can’t believe it. Then if those are demons who seem to be following that parasite’s orders…”

“Do you finally understand? Why don’t you be good little boys and girls and stay put while I’m speaking? If you dare even move an inch towards me, my men will give this ever so kind heart an equally kind shock.”

As though it could read their minds, the parasite halts Rukara and Zerk’s movement just before they could advance forward with their planned attack. The twins look at each other with a mix of conflicting emotions written on their faces. After contemplating, they let out a sigh, releasing their battle stance. In unison, all they can utter is–

“...damn it.”

“There, now that’s better. Count yourself fortunate to be the first non-demons to witness my presence, my rebirth. I am the greatest demon lord of all time, Grath!...kinda. It’s more accurate to say that I was the greatest demon lord since now I am a parasite, but that doesn’t sound as grand. Anyway, I’m still the all powerful Grath–the strongest demonic parasite ever!”

Grath crosses his appendages and chuckles pridefully. His chuckling prolongs the more flabbergasted Rukara and Zerk look on their faces.

“Grath?! You reincarnated too?! How did you recognize my brother and me?!”

“We aren’t even humans any more–Ru and I hardly look like twins!”

“It’s your aura. Though you may be reincarnated, your aura from your previous life lingers within your soul, and I could never forget the aura of the humans–and that damn elf–that defeated me. You should have immediately recognized my identity through my intense god-like aura, but it’s been too long for limited human memory, hasn’t it? Sigh, I was really hoping to see all of you together again, but one of you is missing.”

“Only one of us? Ru and I are only half of our party.”

“Oh, do you think I’m not aware of whose body we’re inside? That elf is the one who scarfed me and my men down with a cookie–a demonically delicious cookie, might I add. Since we were warmly invited in by this kind host, you should treat your guests with a better attitude.”

“Since you know so much already, oh powerful one, where’s Kaden? If you’re after him, then too bad, you’ve wasted your time!”

“He knows exactly where he is, Ru! I have a gut feeling!”

“All of your assumptions are nothing more than childish babble. Shut up and let me finish–time is on my side, not yours.”

In a casual, matter-of-fact tone, Grath reminds his adversaries of the reality of the situation. Of course, Rukara and Zerk’s natural instinctive response is to rebel, but they both grab onto each other, helping each other to subdue such nature.

Possessed with an unfamiliar spirit of humility, the twins lightly bow their heads.

“...please continue.”

“Thanks, Rukara, I always knew that you were the more sensible twin. Anyway, as I was saying, my youngest daughter, my most precious sweetheart, gave me a new life with a powerful resurrection spell that she learned at nine years old (in human years)! I knew she would be the only demon worthy to be my successor, papa couldn’t be more proud. Sure the best thing she could do with her power was reincarnate me as a parasite…at least that’s what she said. Though I have a suspicion that she intentionally chose this body for me so that I’d be forced to live inside her since I unfortunately can’t survive long without a specific host which so happens to be demons with extremely high magical aptitude, but I’m still proud of her nevertheless! What kind of father could be mad at such a cutie pie?...”

“...”

In the middle of Grath’s ranting, the twins look at each other in awkward silence; their minds cannot fathom the appropriate words to express their inner turmoil and confusion.

After gushing to himself over his “cutie pie”, Grath returns to using sensible language.

“Little did I know, she got into baking while I was dead, and she now wants to rule the world through serving the best sweets known in this age! Sure it’s not picking up my mantle, or working to reestablish my name and rule, but it’s her life, not mine. Therefore, I fully support my daughter’s sweet ambition and will dedicate my new life as a demonic parasite to supporting her to the fullest extent! How’s that?”

“You are…”

“...a surprisingly good father.”

Sharing one mind, Zerk and Rukara split their sentences respectively in genuine awe. Their praiseful tone made Grath’s dark skin plush pink.

“Aw shucks, as long as my little princess is happy, no other title or accolades matters. But putting that aside, let’s get to the part that involves you all.”

Without hesitation, the twins nod rapidly in agreement. Even an inaudible “whew” was breathed out of their mouths.

“In actuality, my grievance solely pertains to Lyrielle. Just before I was defeated with your team’s final blow, she stuck her tongue out at me and blew a raspberry. A raspberry! How disrespectful! How juvenile! Elves live for many centuries, meaning that she can taint my image for countless generations! I want all memories of that embarrassing moment erased from history! Even my daughter, my precious kindhearted daughter, is angry that such a travesty tarnished her dear papa’s legacy!”

“Dude, why did you attack us and drag us here?”

“Well let me ask you this, Zerk–are you and your sister going to let me torment Lyrielle’s body as I desire?”

“Hell no.”, the twins say plainly as they shake their heads.

“Then you are my enemies too, as I correctly assumed. The hero Kaden is too, but since he’s apparently absent, I’ll just take care of you first. While doing so, I’ll bring great pain to your precious friend–even more than I already have so far. Aren’t I so efficient?”

A wave of dark liquid carried within the blood flows into the heart chambers, consuming all within it. As the liquid touches Rukara and Zerk’s bodies, they passively absorb it.

From ear to ear, they grin at each other; the very same idea sparked in their minds.

“I don’t know what’s going on in your heads, but I hope you fools didn’t forget the situation–if you dare move, Lyrielle will suffer. Of course, she’s going to suffer regardless, but–”

“Ru…”

“Ze…”

“NOW!”

Splitting up, the twins move with impeccable speed to the left and right side of the heart respectively. As commanded, the demon grunts release their charged electricity to fatally wound Lyrielle’s heart…in their past thoughts.

In the two seconds it took for the demons to think, stretched out limbs snapped their necks, instantly incapacitating them. Like debris, their lifeless bodies are pumped out of the heart, leaving only the twins and Grath remaining in the fight. Grath is rendered immobilized as his jaw is agape.

“Where did this sudden power boost come from?! You can’t fool me, I know you weren’t this strong a moment ago!”

“While you were busy yapping, Ru and I communicated the situation to Lye. She hurriedly drank a potion full of vitamins to give her sickly body the boost it needs to fight back!”

“A potion full of vitamins? That just sounds like typical medicine!”

“Maybe it is, but to us, it might as well be a magical potion! There’s still one more little problem we need to eradicate from Lyrielle's body. Ready, Ze?”

“Hell yeah, I’m all pumped up! Let’s pulverize this freak!”

Zerk and Rukara give each other a strong high five, then pose with their arms crossed and backs touching each other. Every movement they made was perfectly in sync, it was as though Grath were seeing double.

“I’ll admit, I am impressed; your coordination remains strong as ever and the strength you boast now is no laughing matter. However, there’s one thing you all overlooked…”

“?”

Grath’s appendages rapidly dart out from his body and latch into the walls of the heart. Hooked firmly within, the many limbs absorb energy, feeding it all to Grath. The twins can only watch in horror as Grath’s body gets sturdier and even more powerful. Even if they could have anticipated this action, the process happened so fast, Grath was done before they could close the gap.

“Let me reintroduce myself! I’m Grath, the demonic parasite. Whatever helpful nutrients my hosts consume, I can steal it for myself! Tell the elf that I give her my gratitude; I’ll make sure she can feel it from the bottom of my heart to hers!”

The grieving sound of Grath’s cackling snaps Rukara and Zerk out of their daze. With their composure regained, they face their enemy with death in their eyes.

“Now come closer, let’s not delay any further; things have gotten more interesting!”

“The only ‘interesting’ thing is…”

“How badly…”

“WE’RE GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!”

Completely coordinated as one, the twins launch themselves towards Grath, who accepts their attempt, ready with his own counter response.