Chapter 15: The Mother Gu

All the pale blue insects began to stir, and soon, they started to swarm towards me. However, their pace seemed deliberately slowed, as if they were holding back for some reason. Watching them draw nearer and nearer, I felt panic rising within me. With so many of them, wouldn't they devour me down to the last scrap? My panic quickened my heartbeat, but I knew this was the worst possible moment to lose my nerve. If I let fear take over now, it would truly be the end. Though I knew my time was almost up, I still couldn't accept the thought of being eaten alive by these insects—that was a death too gruesome to bear.

Forcing myself to suppress the panic, I wracked my brain for a solution. Suddenly, a thought struck me: why were these pale blue insects moving so slowly? They must have some misgivings. I'd suspected as much before—so, what were they afraid of?

As I pondered, the sound of a heartbeat thudded loudly. I glanced quickly at the heart-like organ inside the stone coffin—yes, that was it, the thing shaped like a heart. My eyes narrowed; determination flooded me. Without hesitation, I pulled the folding entrenching shovel from my pack and brought it down hard on the heart, striking the spot I'd shot earlier with my pistol. At once, pale blue fluid spurted out. With gloves on, only my face was splattered, but I didn't care whether the substance was toxic. Gritting my teeth, I hacked at it again and again.

The surrounding pale blue insects grew even more frenetic, as if thrown into a panic. Seeing this, I was elated—clearly, this heart-like thing was what influenced them. Renewed by hope, I hacked three more times, splitting the heart open. A torrent of pale blue liquid gushed out, and I noticed something writhing inside.

The pale blue insects were in chaos once more, their halted movement resuming. Gritting my teeth, I plunged the shovel into the heart, stirring it violently, then heaved it out and flung it with all my strength onto the ground.

Instantly, the pale blue insects recoiled as if possessed, retreating as though confronted by terror itself. Sensing an opportunity, I used the shovel to toss the heart toward the densest cluster of insects. Sure enough, they scattered frantically, confirming my suspicion: this heart-like object was the cause of their fear.

Moreover, the heart was oozing pale blue liquid—perhaps it bore some resemblance to the insects themselves. Suddenly, a memory surfaced: the blood-written note had mentioned venomous parasites, and a "mother parasite." Could this be it?

Was this heart the mother parasite? Were these pale blue insects its brood? The thought sent a chill down my spine as I recalled the places I'd been bitten. Yet, those spots now felt no different than mosquito bites—just small, swollen bumps. I dared not relax, but there was no time to dwell on that now.

Knowing that the insects feared the heart, I steadied myself. Did I need to destroy it to break the curse? But how? Smash it to bits? The blood-written note had warned that the mother parasite was extremely dangerous, yet I’d just attacked it wildly and it hadn’t reacted much. Where was its menace?

As I puzzled over this, the heart began to crack apart, bit by bit, pale blue liquid seeping out. Fissures appeared, and something seemed ready to emerge from within. The heart was as large as a calf, so whatever was inside would not be small—perhaps the fabled mother parasite itself.

My nerves tightened. I gripped my short knife in my right hand and drew my pistol with my left—blade and gun, a comfort in my hands. Acting on the principle of striking first, I fired three shots into the heart. Pale blue fluid sprayed everywhere, and the heart shattered, releasing a creature the size of a small dog, along with a deluge of blue liquid.

I looked closely: it had two wings, a pale blue translucent body, and a head resembling a cicada—a gigantic cicada, in fact. In that instant, my suspicions were confirmed: it was the same as the pale blue insects, only magnified countless times. This monster must be their progenitor, already evolved into something extraordinary—that explained why the others feared it.

Suddenly, a tremendous buzzing filled the air, drilling straight into my ears and sending waves of pain through my head. The giant insect let out an especially piercing and grating screech.

This thing was clearly no benign creature. After all, I’d just assaulted it—shot, hacked, and blasted it out of its lair. It had every reason to hate me.

I squeezed the trigger, pumping bullets into its body. Though there was some effect, it seemed limited—the creature appeared dazed, perhaps still adjusting to its sudden emergence, flinching only its wings as I shot. When my gun ran dry, I holstered it, realizing the bullets wouldn’t be enough. Seizing my entrenching shovel, I charged at it directly.

Suddenly, the surrounding insects fell silent. A sense of foreboding prickled at me, but it was too late to turn back. As I brought the shovel down, a shrill squeal pierced the air, stabbing into my ear like a needle and nearly robbing me of breath. My grip faltered; the shovel almost flew from my hand.

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I tried to strike again, but the creature flapped its wings and hurtled toward me. I blocked with the shovel, but a tremendous force slammed into it, sending a numbing shock up my arms and flinging me bodily through the air.

I hit the ground hard, numbness giving way to throbbing pain. Clenching my jaw, I struggled to rise, but a flash of blue streaked down and landed beside me. My heart sank—this was it. The mother parasite had landed right next to me.

It didn’t look that big, but its strength was astonishing. As I reached for the shovel, I froze. The blade, forged from solid steel, was starting to turn black at the tip, as if corroded and rusting. A terrible thought struck me—legend had it that parasites were lethally poisonous, and this one, being the ancestor of them all, must be the deadliest of all. Even steel couldn’t withstand its venom; what would happen if it touched flesh? I’d be dissolved on the spot.

At this, I rolled backward, putting two or three meters between us. But then I noticed—it wasn’t paying attention to me at all, but watching something else. Following its gaze, I saw the half-corpse lying nearby.

I had no idea why it was interested in that, but I quickly scanned the room. Though the altar was spacious, there was nowhere to hide—except, perhaps, the blasted stone coffin. And the pale blue insects still swarmed nearby; weak as individuals, but terrifying in their numbers.

But then, my resolve hardened. Why had I come here, if not to destroy this thing? The thought fired my blood, filling me with strength. With a sudden burst, I leapt to my feet, grabbed the shovel, and swept it at the creature where it perched, distracted. Caught off guard, it was struck and sent flying. Only then did I realize it wasn’t very heavy, though its strength was immense.

As it crashed down, it seemed to go berserk, launching itself straight at me. This time I was ready, dodging with a nimble roll. Its speed wasn’t great, and in the instant I evaded, I swung the shovel again. But before I could land a blow, the mother parasite reversed and slammed into the shovel, numbing my hands and knocking the tool away.

I knew then that I could not face it head-on. Who knew how potent its venom was? If it so much as brushed my skin, I’d be done for. Hadn’t it already corroded the steel shovel?

I sidestepped hastily, putting distance between us. The shovel was now out of reach, and my short knife’s range was lacking. I drew my pistol, preparing to empty another clip, but before I could, the mother parasite flew at me again. I barely managed to roll aside, my hand brushing against the stone coffin’s lid. It wasn’t too heavy, and right now, it was the largest object at hand. As the mother parasite swooped again, I grabbed the lid—far larger than myself, but surprisingly light, made of some kind of wood that I could just manage to lift.

As the mother parasite came at me once more, I hoisted the coffin lid and brought it crashing down.