On the icy surface, Toral lay weakly, jaw slack and body slumped.
The Seastone particles in the lake had already been absorbed by it, slowing the blood leeches' feeding rate. Its body had finally stopped trembling.
However, this time, it had stayed away from the volcanic lake for too long. The mother parasite had seized the opportunity to reproduce for several generations, growing significantly stronger.
Now, the blood leeches had developed resistance to Seastone. They no longer fell into dormancy but instead slowly continued draining Toral's blood.
'Are you done yet? Can you actually do this or not?'
Seeing that Ashen was merely observing without taking any action, Toral couldn't help but start to question its own decision.
The moment Ashen had said he could rid it of the blood leeches, Toral hadn't hesitated to believe him.
After all, Ashen had no reason to lie, if he wanted to attack, Toral wouldn't be able to resist at all.
"Why so impatient? Killing off the offspring is pointless if I don't find the mother parasite. It'll just reproduce and come back in full force."
As he spoke, Ashen's eyes scanned over Toral inch by inch. But he wasn't just looking at its body, he was using the power of the Nether Eye to search for the mother parasite.
The key was that mutated leech that had eaten a Devil Fruit. If he could find that one, the rest would be easy to deal with.
So Ashen used the soul-penetrating property of the Nether Eye to peer through Toral's body, screening for the mother parasite.
It wasn't easy. Toral's massive body and the sheer number of blood leeches made the search much longer, not to mention the interference from Toral's soul, which slowed things down even more.
"Got you. Damn, you really know how to hide."
After half an hour, his eyes sore from the strain, Ashen finally found a leech near the artery in Toral's thigh that was clearly different from the rest.
"Hold still, Toral. I'm going in!"
He gave a quick warning and placed both hands on either side of the artery. The chilling aura of the Nether Cold instantly activated.
The penetrating cold pierced through Toral's skin and muscle in seconds, freezing the blood on both sides of the parasite.
Roar!
Toral let out a deafening roar. The searing pain made its hind legs stretch out rigidly, muscles spasming so hard they cracked and popped audibly.
Of course, the pain wasn't just from the freezing itself. The real agony came from the mother leech struggling violently inside the artery.
Once the blood froze, the mother parasite immediately sensed the threat. It rammed furiously against the ice blocking its path.
But the blood in that area had already frozen into the surrounding muscle, leaving the parasite unable to break through. So it turned and began drilling toward the unfrozen side.
Exactly what Ashen was hoping for.
As the parasite wriggled into the muscle tissue, Ashen froze the area behind it again, forcing it forward, step by step, closer to the surface of Toral's body.
This, of course, was excruciating for Toral. If it weren't for the fact that it was actually working, it would've called off the treatment long ago.
Screech! Screech!
Finally, the mother parasite burst through the skin. Its gaping, tooth-lined maw hovered in the air, shrieking in a shrill pitch that sounded almost like a threat.
"Now!"
Seeing the leech halfway out, Ashen seized the chance. Suppressing his revulsion, he grabbed it with one hand and yanked it out.
The moment it left Toral's body, the mother leech went berserk. Its flexible head slammed over and over into Ashen's arm with terrifying force.
But Ashen had already cloaked himself in Armament Haki. No matter how hard it tried, the leech couldn't pierce his defenses. Instead, as Ashen tightened his grip, the parasite began to weaken.
But it had clearly evolved some level of intelligence. Realizing its life was in danger, it let out a sharp, unique cry.
In an instant, it was like someone had kicked a hornet's nest.
Responding to the call, thousands of blood leeches surged from beneath Toral's skin. The icy ground was instantly covered with writhing bodies as they flooded toward Ashen.
Some even used their elastic bodies to spring through the air, trying to reach him.
Boom!
Before Ashen or Tesla could react, Toral's front claws swept across the ice. Hundreds of parasites were torn to shreds in an instant.
Now that the leeches were no longer draining his blood and energy, Toral was no longer the withered, sickly creature from before.
Even though his body was riddled with wounds from where the parasites had exited, his strength was quickly returning.
He had only one goal left, to rip every last one of these disgusting creatures that had tormented him for years into pieces.
As Toral erupted into action, Ashen leapt back immediately. No way was he getting himself splattered in blood.
A few minutes later, Toral had exterminated every last parasite. The ice was soaked in blood flowing from the parasites' bodies.
Thankfully, Toral's regenerative blood production was strong, any other creature would've died from that level of blood loss.
"Hey, Toral! You done venting yet?"
Seeing that he was still attacking wildly, Ashen finally called out.
Roar!
Toral snapped out of his fury, lifted his head, and let out a triumphant howl. Then, flapping his leathery wings, he soared into the sky.
...
At the base of Delsalado Mountain, there was a small town with a few hundred households.
The town made its living through fishing. Down by the docks, the young men were busy sorting today's catch.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed from above, throwing the entire town into chaos.
"Everyone, get home! Don't stay outside! Pull the boats in too!"
A middle-aged man shouted from the shoreline, warning everyone.
Not that he really needed to, everyone there seemed to instantly recognize Toral's roar. Upon hearing it, people of all ages dropped what they were doing and ran for their homes.
Especially the fishermen still out at sea, they turned their boats around in a panic, racing back to shore.
"That's odd... didn't Toral already come out once today? Why's it out hunting again?"
"Don't tell me... the once-a-month cycle is broken?"
"Let's hope not. Otherwise, how are we supposed to fish anymore?"
"Sigh... this is all because of those idiots two hundred years ago. If they hadn't angered Toral, it'd still be our guardian deity today."
The townsfolk, indigenous to the area, gathered in groups after returning home, their faces full of worry.
...
"Captain, you don't think that thing took off for good, do you?"
Tesla couldn't help but voice his concern. It had already been over twenty minutes since Toral flew off, and there was still no sign of its return.
Now that it was free of the blood leeches, Toral no longer needed to stay in the volcanic lake.
If he chose not to come back, there wasn't much they could do. That was exactly what Tesla was worried about.
If they left and the quarry crew returned, and Toral decided to attack again... that would be a massive problem.
"I believe it won't."