Hiro was alert. He didn't need to sleep, but when his host slept, his senses were limited to his tentacle. Fortunately, thanks to his metamorphic ability, he could regenerate an eye within the tentacle to scout his surroundings.
His appearance resembled something straight out of a Lovecraftian novel—an eyeball protruding from a writhing tentacle.
Since nobody was approaching, he could only stare off at the empty hallway, swinging his tentacle left and right like a security camera. Hiro's antics had already frightened several knights, leading to hilarious moments where some pitiful knights who were about to relieve themselves nearly peed themselves in the corridor.
When morning came, soldiers lined up for a parade. Behind them, civilians gathered to watch as Seraphine—not the real one—rode in on a white horse.
The fake Seraphine technically had similar features to the real one: golden hair and fair skin. Nevertheless, Hiro couldn't shake a strange sensation when he looked at him. It felt... off.
He was similar, though, even to Hiro, who had met Seraphine before. This fake was convincing. Hiro didn't feel as if he were a different person. He simply wondered whether this Seraphine was a bit under the weather or not, like whether the real Seraphine gained weight or cut his hair or so.
"Will he be able to fool everyone? I can sense something's not quite right," Cecile said as she watched the impersonator parade down the street. Many people had seen Seraphine, so it was right for Cecile to be cautious. But since the troops around him said so, and there were no photos or cameras to compare with, they simply thought their minds must be playing tricks on them.
"Well, not many share Lord Seraphine's features. He's the closest match we've got," the general replied.
"What if the crowd asks him to show his powers?"
"He has the sword and armor. With those, he can at least mimic some of Lord Seraphine's abilities," the general said.
Hiro scanned Nana's surroundings. At the edge of her vision, he noticed a faint distortion on a nearby rooftop. It was just a glimpse—but unmistakable.
"Hm? What's the matter, Hiro?" Cecile asked.
Hiro suddenly slithered out from her crotch, curled around her head, and forcibly turned her gaze in a specific direction. At the same time, he emerged from Marissa, Nana, and even Rebecca—each of whom had been discreetly escorting the parade from a distance.
"What's in there?" Cecile asked. The distortion had fully vanished, and Hiro wondered if his eyes had played tricks on him. However, moments later, a silver arrow shot out from the invisible figure—flying straight toward the fake Seraphine. A black shadow emerged from the rooftop. It was Jonathan.
Hiro was amazed. Jonathan didn't waste any time—he attacked Seraphine in broad daylight, mere moments after he arrived in the city.
"Kyaa!!" Chaos erupted as blood spilled across the parade. The fake Seraphine collapsed while the black shadow retreated into the distance.
"We should get to him—fast! We might still be able to save him!" Rebecca said. With her petite build, she weaved through the panicked crowd toward the fake Seraphine.
Where is the real Seraphine when you need him? Hiro muttered. The real Seraphine was nowhere to be seen. Only after a few minutes did he finally appear.
Wearing a cloak and armed with gear from his knights, Seraphine led ten others in pursuit of the assassin while Rebecca rushed to the fake Seraphine.
"Chase him!" Seraphine ordered, as they disappeared into some alleys. Meanwhile, Rebecca had reached the fake Seraphine, and Hiro immediately slithered out from her.
"Are you okay?" Rebecca asked. The fallen knight could only groan—the silver arrow had pierced his red armor and gone through his heart. Hiro moved his tentacles and carefully extracted the embedded arrow.
Then, he activated his Flesh Mending skill.
"Uwah… his heart was blown to pieces…" Hiro muttered as he slithered his tentacle into the gaping hole left by the arrow. The heart was made of muscle, so his flesh mending should work, and the fake Seraphine was technically still alive.
Humans could survive for several minutes even without a heart. Thanks to Hiro's skill, he managed to close the wound and repair the damaged heart. He couldn't do anything about the blood loss, though—nutrients were expensive.
Cough cough.
"Are you okay? The wound was sealed, so you should be fine now."
The ground suddenly trembled as explosions echoed in the distance—Seraphine had blown his cover in an attempt to fight Jonathan. Cecile and Nana tried to flank him, but the commander signaled them to keep their distance.
"You're Seraphine?" Jonathan was stunned when his bone dagger—capable of cutting through ordinary steel—was caught by Seraphine's bare hand. Through Nana, Hiro could see that Jonathan had all of his limbs back.
Ralph emerged beside him, engulfed in searing flames. The heat was so intense that Nana, standing twenty meters away, could feel it washing over her like a furnace blast.
"Die!" Ralph shouted, shrouding Seraphine's fist with his tentacles. The tentacles hardened into red scales, adding several jagged spikes for good measure. Jonathan blocked the punch, but the flames engulfing Seraphine's fist scorched his symbiote.
Jonathan's symbiote screeched in pain, its tentacles flailing wildly from beneath his bodysuit.
"Die!" Jonathan roared, ignoring his symbiote's agony, and swung his dagger. Ralph moved to intercept, but the blade sliced deep into Ralph's dragon armor.
"No! You die!" Seraphine countered, charging again. But this time, Jonathan retreated. Like a frightened dog, he darted away, tail between his legs, as he jumped to the rooftops.
"Come back here, you coward!" Seraphine shouted, attempting to pursue—but Jonathan was too fast. He leapt across rooftops with impossible agility. Though Seraphine could match his leaps, he lacked the finesse and dexterity to keep up chasing him. Several fireballs shot out and hit nearby buildings in vain.
"Argh!! Fuck!! He got away again!" Seraphine screamed as Jonathan vanished into thin air—his cloaking ability once more rendering him invisible.
"Well, we knew it would be difficult to catch him," the general muttered. He turned to his men. "Casualties?"
"None, sir! Other than some minor damage to buildings, there were no casualties."
"None? Even Rodrick—the one who stood in Lord Seraphine's place?"
"He was wounded, but his life was saved by Rebecca… with Hiro's help, of course."
"Hiro has proven himself once again," the general nodded. "I noticed Hiro seemed to spot Jonathan before he even fired the arrow. Right, Cecile?"
"What did you say?! Why didn't you tell me, asshole?!" Seraphine, who had just descended from the rooftop, overheard their conversation. His blazing armor made him look like a god of war—and he was most certainly not pleased.
"Eh?" The general looked at Seraphine in shock.
"We lost a good knight because you withheld information! If I had assaulted him faster, I might have caught him!" Seraphine roared, grabbing the general by his collar. His flame scroched him a bit. He then turned to Cecile, Hiro, who was weak to fire immediately retreated to her bosom. "And you too! If you noticed anything, you should have told me! Communicate better! Hiro is your partner!"
"I-I-I'm sorry…"
"Sir, Seraphine… Rodrick is alive, sir. The medic checked him. He just needs a little rest," one of the soldiers reported.
"That means all of this ruse was for nothing! Jonathan is still out there!" Seraphine roared, then suddenly stopped himself.
"Stop it. In the end, it's our fault… Ralph," Seraphine said more quietly. "We've ambushed Jonathan twice—and he escaped both times."
"Argh!! I can't believe he slipped away again!" Ralph burst out of Seraphine's shoulder, unleashing several fireballs at the paved road in frustration.
"Sorry. I was just a little annoyed. You did nothing wrong, General. And you too, Cecile. This was our incompetence. I apologize." Seraphine bowed while a copy of red Seraphine was pounding on the ground in frustration.
"Well, we always knew Ralph was a little hotheaded. No offense taken, Lord Seraphine," the general replied with a salute. "We'll improve our information network. We'll learn from this."
"Yes. Good. As long as I'm around, their armies will go nowhere," Seraphine said.
It was no bluff. Hiro knew it—so long as Seraphine remained in this village, no matter how many soldiers Latvin sent, they would never be able to conquer it.
"Yes, sir! We'll do our best to support you!" the general said, saluting once more.
"Let's meet with Rodrick. I need to verify for myself that he's alive," Seraphine said. A scout led him toward the barracks.
Cecile, still feeling timid, quietly asked the general. She was shaken by how harshly Seraphine had scolded her earlier.
"Was that… not him, earlier?"
"Well, yes and no. Symbiotes can take control of their master's body. If I remember correctly, it's called full synchronization," the general explained.
"I see. I didn't know that," Cecile muttered.
"Has Hiro never taken over your body?"
"Well… only at night, I guess. We play together."
"I see. What a considerate fellow. But you should lend him your body from time to time. If he's stressed, he won't be able to show his full power."
Cecile nodded quietly.
When the group arrived at the barracks, the knights all knelt before Seraphine. The soldier then led them to Rodrick's room, where the fake Seraphine lay—eating cereal with gusto. Apart from being a little pale and having a scar on his chest, he looked fine. He wasn't even bandaged.
"Rodrick! You're fine!" Seraphine exclaimed and embraced him.
"Yes, milord. I am well. I apologize for not being able to greet you. And I also apologize for damaging the armor," Rodrick said while glancing at the red armor in the corner of the room.
"Well, as long as you're safe," Seraphine replied with a relieved smile.
"Your kind words are wasted on me, Lord Seraphine," Rodrick said humbly. He then turned to Rebecca. "Once again, I thank you and Hiro for saving my life. I had resolved myself to die for the cause, but apparently, fate had other plans."
"You're welcome! It was no big deal, right Hiro?" Rebecca puffed her small chest proudly.
Hiro flicked her on the forehead for being too boastful. Her mood certainly swung fast. A few months ago, she had been depressed—and now she was flaunting Hiro for the world to see.
"Ouch! Come on, you don't need to be so humble! It was an achievement!" Rebecca pouted. Hiro promised to himself he will punish rebecca after this is over — in her ass that is.
"Lord Seraphine, what's our next plan?" Cecile asked.
"First, we shall let the populace know that no one was killed, Seraphine was barely wounded, and Jonathan was repelled. I'm sorry, but you'll need to continue acting as Seraphine for a while."
"Wasn't the plan already ruined? Jonathan knows he's a fake, right?" Rebecca asked.
"At the very least, we must calm the masses," Seraphine replied. "I'm sorry, but I must ask you to do this. You'll need to parade through the village again tomorrow."
"Leave it to me, Lord Seraphine! I will do my duty!" Rodrick saluted—while still lying in bed.
"Ralph, can you fix his armor?"
"Yes." Ralph extended a tentacle toward the armor and sealed the hole cleanly.
"Hm? Ralph can make armor too?"
"Armor and weapons made by symbiotes degrade over time. And we can't produce many of them. Ah—but this is a military secret, alright?" The general answered.
"I see. So there are some drawbacks, huh." Rebecca said.
"Well, that's how it is. Hm… This time, I'll watch from Cecile's position. Cecile, if Hiro says anything, you must tell me. Alright?" Seraphine smiled at her.
Hiro sighed, wondering if he had overdone it. Now everyone was depending on him.
"H-Hiek! Yesh…" Cecile nodded nervously.
The following morning, the parade resumed.
"Lord Seraphine! He's fine!" the crowd murmured.
"Of course he's fine—he's a symbiote user. Yesterday was nothing!"
"Everyone! I am fine!" Rodrick announced. "That assassin fiend is only good at running away. We have repelled him once again! You have nothing to fear. As long as I am here, this village will never be invaded!"
"He's so convincing," Cecile whispered.
"We went to the military academy together. He was always the mood maker," Seraphine muttered beside her.
Of course, nothing happened during the parade this time—because danger never showed up when you were prepared for it. Seraphine couldn't help but frown at the fact that he hadn't gotten his vengeance.