Drip, drip...
Cold rainwater plummeted from the night sky, striking the asphalt road outside the Mt. Tsuki Star Envoy Branch and splashing into fine spray.
Tendo stood in the middle of the street. When the rain drifted within a centimeter of his body, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier, its trajectory forcibly altered as it slid smoothly to the ground. Not even the hem of his black tactical suit was dampened in the slightest.
He looked down at the dying Elijah at his feet. There was no ripple of emotion in his pale blue eyes, only the cold light reflected by the rain.
"Speak. How many others in the Mt. Tsuki Branch chose to accept the parasitism, just like you?"
Indeed, in Tendo's eyes, Elijah's state—neither human nor beast—was not a simple case of being "coerced," but a proactive "choice." The unique survival relationship of "Symbiosis" dictated that Elijah must have reached some kind of agreement with the Star Beast inside him.
Had Elijah been forcibly controlled by a parasitic Star Beast, his "Star Source"—which possessed the traits of uniqueness and exclusivity—would never have been able to coexist with the Star Core inside the parasite. Naturally, he wouldn't have reached the point of being able to use two abilities simultaneously.
Therefore, regardless of how it happened, the result was that Elijah and the others had chosen to compromise and accept power from a foreign race. Tendo had no intention of judging whether this "choice" was good or bad; he only wanted to complete his mission and purge the "abnormality" of Mt. Tsuki.
Faced with Tendo's inquiry, Elijah displayed a rare flash of loyalty. Even as dark green saliva continuously leaked from the corners of his mouth and his life hung by a thread, his eyes held a stubborn defiance.
"Unwilling to talk?"
Tendo raised an eyebrow slightly, and an invisible vector field flickered for a fleeting second. If the man wouldn't speak, then he would find the answer himself.
Tendo crouched down, his pale blue eyes staring directly into Elijah's pupils. In the next second, his Eclipse Eyes glowed faintly. Elijah reacted as if trapped in a genjutsu; his gaze became hollow, and his expression turned vacant.
Before long, the chaotic memory fragments in Elijah's mind flashed before Tendo's eyes like a revolving lantern.
In a dark, damp basement, a mass of constantly writhing gray mist hovered in the center of an altar. The Branch President, his back hunched, sliced his own wrist and let his blood drip into the mist. Elijah and his teammates stepped forward in a queue, their faces written with a thirst for power, failing to notice the eerie green light that flared in the corners of their eyes as the mist surged into their nostrils.
A blurry silhouette whispered from deep within the mist, its voice sounding like countless insects crawling over an eardrum, repeatedly uttering the word "Purification."
"I... I don't know where the main body is..."
"Master only told us to spread the parasitic spores... said we must 'purify' all the Star Envoys in Mt. Tsuki..."
Elijah's voice was intermittent, his jaw chattering uncontrollably.
"Purification?"
Tendo raised his hand and tapped Elijah's forehead. As the invisible vector field seeped into Elijah's brain, the fragments of memory were sorted like tangled threads, presenting themselves clearly before Tendo.
It turned out that six months ago, the Mt. Tsuki Branch President had suddenly returned with a mass of gray mist, claiming it was a "gift for increasing strength" found during an exploration of an occupied zone. Initially, many were skeptical, but when the entire Third Squad accepted the parasitism and their Star Energy levels skyrocketed, the skepticism instantly turned into adoration. More and more people "chose" to join this "feast."
During this process, it wasn't that no one noticed the abnormality. However, those people either became part of those who embraced the "gift," or they quietly disappeared from the Association. It was only "small-fry" like Mitchell, whose strength was mediocre and thus "not qualified to receive the gift," who had luckily escaped the ordeal.
Having understood what had happened in Mt. Tsuki, Tendo began searching for the location of the parasitic Star Beast's main body within Elijah's memories. While Tendo could indeed perceive the abnormal energy within the city, these signatures were both numerous and cluttered. While he could find the main body by process of elimination if he were willing to spend the time, Tendo had always disliked unnecessary trouble.
Just as Tendo's "memory probe" was about to reach the most critical part—the location of the "Gifting Ceremony" and the ritual details—Elijah's body began to convulse violently. The veins beneath his skin surged like boiling water, and green scales re-covered his body at an even faster rate.
"Roar!"
Elijah's pupils turned a murky yellow, and his teeth grew jagged. Relying on the frenzied energy of the parasitic Star Beast, he briefly broke free from Tendo's vector restraint and lunged for Tendo's throat.
"Restless, aren't we?"
Tendo shifted his body to avoid the strike, sliding half a meter to the side as if pushed by the wind, perfectly evading Elijah's snap. Simultaneously, Tendo tapped the man's forehead again.
In the next second, Elijah's movements froze instantly. Like a puppet with its pause button pressed, he tumbled to the ground in a lunging posture, with only his eyeballs rolling frantically.
The scene switched to Tendo's perspective. In his vision, the hideous Elijah became "semi-transparent." The Star Energy trajectories within him appeared like glowing pathways. Tendo's tap just now had used his vector field to forcibly control the flow of Star Energy within Elijah and completely lock the connection point between his Star Source and the parasitic Star Core. He had forced both the man and the beast to lose control over the body.
Such an operation would be incredibly difficult for anyone else, but for Tendo, who possessed "Overclocked Calculation" and "Absolute Star Energy Control," it was as simple as breathing—an instinct.
Gazing at the frozen Elijah, Tendo pondered for a moment before deciding to transmit the situation outward. He could feel that the parasitic Star Beast hiding in Mt. Tsuki possessed considerable intelligence and was exceptionally skilled at hiding. If he wanted to find it himself, it would undoubtedly take significant effort. However, as the saying goes, everyone has their specialty. For a certain person, finding things was as simple as breathing.
Tendo pulled out his data terminal. The moment the screen lit up, it automatically filtered out the signal interference caused by the rain as he dialed a certain contact.
"Hello? Tendo? Aren't you on a mission? Did you wrap it up that fast?" Jing Liuli's voice carried the lethargy of someone who had just woken up, with the faint rustling of a pillow in the background.
Tendo replied calmly, "I've run into a bit of trouble. I need your help."
"Huh?! Even you think it's trouble? Did you run into a Natural Disaster-class beast tide?!"
Thump!
Hearing the sound of something heavy hitting the floor from the other end of the terminal, the corner of Tendo's mouth curled into an almost imperceptible arc. Though there was only audio and no video, Tendo could already imagine a certain clumsy girl rolling off her bed onto the carpet, her hair a messy bird's nest.
In truth, Liuli's shock was justified. Given Tendo's current strength, she couldn't imagine anything short of a Natural Disaster-class threat that would make him describe it as "trouble." This was Tendo, after all. If even he found something troublesome, it was bound to be incredibly dangerous.
Hearing the deadly serious tone on the other side, Tendo laughed and explained.
"Relax, it's not as exaggerated as you think. I've just encountered a fellow who is very good at hiding. Your Dream ability happens to counter it perfectly and can flush it out quickly, so I want you to come help."
"Oh, I see!" Liuli patted her chest on the other side. She had almost been scared to death, thinking Tendo was going to ask her to fight a Natural Disaster-class Star Beast.
While she had the means to fight a Natural Disaster-class entity in her "Godhood" state, Auntie Liu had told her it was best not to use that power recklessly before reaching that rank herself, as it might affect her future Domain formation. But if it was just using her Dream ability to find an enemy, that was no challenge at all. Back at the Marine Concert Hall, she had managed to link the dreams of over a hundred thousand people to create a collective paradise. Now, with her rising strength, subtly gathering the dreams of a single city was well within her capabilities.
And as everyone knows, people are honest in their dreams.
Thinking of this, Liuli said, "Alright, wait for me. I'll apply for Boundary Gate authorization right now. I'll be there within the hour!"
"Understood."
Tendo hung up. Just as he put away his terminal, he heard hurried footsteps approaching.
"Lord Tendo!"
Mitchell's voice called from a distance. Following behind him were four or five Star Envoys wearing the branch uniform. However, unlike the excitement on Mitchell's face, these people looked tense and guarded. The gazes they cast at Tendo were mixed with suspicion and unease; clearly, they didn't trust him.
Mitchell didn't blame his comrades too harshly. The upheavals in the branch over the past six months had made them wary of trusting anyone, even if the man had the General Association badge pinned to his chest.
"Lord Tendo, these are..."
Just as Mitchell was about to introduce his companions, Tendo suddenly raised his hand to cut him off.
"Later. We have uninvited guests."
Mitchell looked confused. But very soon, he understood who the guests Tendo spoke of were. Dozens of eerie energy fluctuations suddenly erupted from the branch building not far away. Subsequently, a large number of parasitic Star Envoys went berserk simultaneously, completely tearing off their disguises.
Windows shattered as figures covered in green scales and bone spikes leaped out, pouncing toward Tendo and Mitchell's group while letting out inhuman roars.
At this sight, Mitchell and the Star Envoys beside him turned pale. Some even instinctively took a step back. Every parasitic Star Envoy here was far stronger than them, and many were former powerhouses of the branch. Tearing them apart would be child's play.
Fortunately, their target wasn't the group itself.
Facing these uninvited guests, Tendo stood calmly in place. The rain carved perfect semicircular trajectories around him, and his silver bangs fluttered slightly in the night wind. There wasn't a trace of panic on his face. He watched the swarm of pouncing parasites, a faint arc touching the corner of his mouth, his voice tinged with amusement.
"It seems that as a guest who has traveled from afar, I am not very welcome."
The moment he finished speaking, the invisible vector ripples beneath Tendo's feet suddenly surged! Using him as the center, a semi-transparent force field wall instantly expanded, blocking the space in front of Mitchell and the others.
The first parasitic Star Envoy to arrive slammed head-first into the invisible vector field.
Bang!
In an instant, the parasite's body was sent flying back like a broken kite, crashing into the comrades behind it.
"Mitchell, take your people and retreat fifty meters. The situation here is no longer something you branch Envoys can interfere with."
Tendo's voice pierced through the curtain of rain, remaining terrifyingly steady. Mitchell finally snapped out of it. He looked at the parasitic Star Envoys who were slamming into the force field wall until they were bloodied, then looked at Tendo's tall, upright figure in the rain, and nodded vigorously.
Although the people in their branch often said they hadn't joined the General Association simply because they hadn't applied, they all knew the truth. For the vast majority of branch Envoys, there was only one reason they hadn't made it into the headquarters: lack of strength.
Without hesitation, Mitchell grabbed his stunned companions and turned to run. Once they reached a safe distance, they looked back curiously toward Tendo. They saw Tendo actively walking toward the swarm of parasites.
"A pathetic bunch, enslaved by power," Tendo said softly.
Immediately, a large group of parasites in front of him seemed to be seized by an invisible giant hand, freezing collectively in mid-air. In the next second, they were violently hurled in all directions by the invisible force, slamming into the branch walls with a series of thunderous crashes.
Even though green scales and dark green blood splashed everywhere, not a single drop landed on Tendo. It was as if the dry area beneath his feet was the only pure land in this chaos.
"Must we continue with these pointless probes?"
Tendo raised a hand to brush off non-existent dust from his tactical suit, his gaze sweeping over the remaining parasites. His voice wasn't loud, yet it caused every parasite to halt their movements, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. This was a fear born of instinct—the reaction of prey encountering a top-tier predator.
In the rainy night, Tendo stood alone before the swarm of parasites. The invisible vector field around him was outlined by the fine rain, creating tangible silver trajectories that looked like something out of a dream.
Tendo was clearly just one person, yet he was more chilling than a ten-thousand-man army.
Watching this, Mitchell clutched his fist tightly. At this moment, he suddenly understood that true strength didn't come from shouting or outbursts, but from this absolute confidence: the ability to easily control the situation no matter how many enemies appeared.