"…Understood."
Lieutenant Imosha pushed the office door open with a roughness uncharacteristic of her usual demeanor.
Lieutenant Colonel Banol just continued puffing on his cigar, knowing all too well why she reacted that way.
Carl Marcus had played a Lieutenant Colonel role in the recent battle—or perhaps even since the previous one.
From the Ark's perspective, he was nothing short of a benefactor.
For Lieutenant Imosha, it was no wonder she despised Lieutenant Colonel Banol's attitude of trying to exploit that benefactor.
Beep—
By the time the cigar Banol was smoking had burned halfway down, the private line on his desk rang.
With a practiced, mechanical motion, Lieutenant Colonel Banol pressed the button, as if he had been expecting the call.
"Report."
["Reporting first investigation results. As expected, there are unusual movements among the remnants of Kronos."]
"I see. That makes sense."
["However, we found no trace of collaboration with Carl Marcus. There were also no signs of supply runs to Mount Noah."]
"Is that so."
The suspicion that Lieutenant Colonel Banol harbored was simple.
The performance of the individual presumed to be Carl Marcus during the recent battle was nothing short of phenomenal.
Thanks to his actions, the western front of the Red Line had been given considerable breathing room.
The problem was that his performance far exceeded the bounds of common sense.
The NOA-8 Heavy Machine Gun consumes more than 10,000 rounds per minute.
However, according to Quartermaster Gedwin's report, the number of bullets Carl Marcus had amounted to just 110 rounds.
Considering the fire rate of the NOA-8, that wouldn't even last a single second.
And what about the TITAN-17 Anti-Behemoth Rocket Launcher?
The number of Type 17 Warheads in Carl Marcus's possession was merely two.
But the confirmed number of shots fired exceeded thirty.
In other words, taking all these factors into account, it meant that Carl Marcus had either resupplied or acquired ammunition from somewhere else.
If not, it would mean he somehow had his own manufacturing process to create bullets.
Since the latter option was practically impossible, the firepower Carl Marcus displayed was clearly abnormal.
Enough to raise suspicions of cooperation with another force.
Lieutenant Colonel Banol spoke with a complicated expression.
"Proceed with the mission."
["Understood."]
The line disconnected.
In truth, he would have liked to use reconnaissance drones to keep an eye on Carl Marcus in Mount Noah, but the unique ether waves of the mountain made drone operation impossible.
The only way to confirm anything was to send someone there directly.
Was Carl Marcus an enemy of the Ark?
Or was he pursuing some hidden agenda?
Or was he truly acting purely for the sake of the Ark?
There was no way to know the answer.
No, if he had known the answer, he would have made a decision by now.
Whether to kill Carl Marcus or to accept him into the Ark.
It was precisely because of this uncertainty that Lieutenant Colonel Banol was approaching the matter with uncharacteristic caution.
To Lieutenant Colonel Banol, Carl Marcus was both a potential threat to the Ark and a man with the qualities to become a hero.
Hiss...
The ash from his heavily burned cigar crumbled to the ground.
* * *
A place where the White-Scaled Alcazar was buried.
Before heading there, I made a quick stop at the hideout.
I needed to grab the Type-55 painkiller to domesticate the bone parasite.
Once I used it, I'd only have one left.
Of course, given that I had now secured a trade route with Quartermaster Gedwin, it wasn't a big deal.
But I still felt the need to replenish it.
'I don't plan to increase the number of bone parasites, but it's still a useful item.'
Bone parasites are certainly valuable monsters, but having too many of them makes controlling them difficult, and their growth efficiency drastically decreases.
It's easy enough to raise one or two by feeding them carcasses of beasts and monsters, but any more than that would just slow down their growth.
'There's no point in mindlessly increasing numbers. Better to focus on what's really needed.'
That would be the bone armor and the transport I'm about to make.
'Now then…'
I took out the heart of the Long-Necked Admon that I had prepared earlier and retrieved the bone orb containing the bone parasite from my pack.
Thud! Thud, thud!
The bone parasite kept hammering the inside of the orb, but there was no way a weakened creature like that could break through the orb made by the bone armor.
As soon as I opened the orb, the parasite sprang out.
[Gik! Kigigit!]
There was no way I would just let it run free.
Even in its weakened state, if it got too far, it would be a pain to catch.
"Grab it."
["…Of course, just make me do everything."]
"I wasn't asking you specifically."
To prove my point, even without Esther moving, the ether around me stirred.
[Grab?]
[Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it. Grab it.]
[Got it…]
The bone parasite was snatched up and suspended midair.
It was proof that my ether sensitivity had grown considerably.
["…Tch."]
Esther pouted, visibly dissatisfied.
Not that it mattered to me. She'd get over it soon enough.
I ignored her sulking and focused on the task at hand.
I first injected the Type-55 painkiller into the Long-Necked Admon's heart.
Hiss…
After a moment, the heart absorbed the painkiller, and its color changed, just like when I treated Kupf's heart in the past.
Next, I held the heart in front of the hovering bone parasite.
[Giggit… Kigigit…]
Originally, the parasite had controlled the Skull Centipede, a Grade 7 monster.
But the Long-Necked Admon was a Grade 3 named beast.
With the parasite's instinct to seek a stronger host, refusing was not an option.
The parasite had no choice.
[Gigit! Giiiit!]
Tentacles extended from the parasite and latched onto the heart.
Slurp!
The parasite's body seemed to be sucked into the heart.
Immediately, the heart throbbed violently as the parasite screeched.
[Kieeeeek!!]
──────────────
[Bone Parasite (Heart of the Long-Necked Admon)] [★★★★★★★ (7-star)]
—A bone parasite with the Heart of the Long-Necked Admon as its host.
—Currently domesticated through the use of a Type-55 painkiller, it has lost its monster instincts.
—When connected to a specific energy source, it can use some of the power of both the parasite and the Long-Necked Admon.
"View Details"
──────────────
'Good.'
Satisfied with the result, I headed to the location where the White-Scaled Alcazar was buried.
Though some time had passed, it shouldn't be a problem.
'There's no way a Grade 3 named monster would die just from being buried alive.'
'This should be the spot.'
I ordered the bone armor to start digging.
[Gik!]
Scritch, scritch—!
As expected of the bone armor, the excavation was done in no time.
[Kieek! Kieeek!]
Finally seeing the light again, the White-Scaled Alcazar let out a wheezing cry.
As I expected, it was barely clinging to life, but it wasn't dead yet.
"Hold still."
Bone tendrils sprouted from the bone armor and sliced open Alcazar's belly.
[Kieek! Kieeek!]
Ignoring its desperate struggles, I stuffed the bone parasite into the open wound.
Now, it was up to the parasite to take over from the inside.
[Kieek! Kieeeeek!]
Alcazar thrashed around.
But in its weakened state, it couldn't possibly resist a parasite empowered by the heart of a Grade 3 monster.
[Kieeeeeek…]
From its entire body, bone tendrils sprouted like armor.
Its muscles twisted and its form changed.
The once-proud white scales crumbled away, replaced by bone-like structures mimicking scales.
Crunch, crack—!
With the transformation complete, Alcazar's body became clad in a jagged bone armor, emanating a savage aura.
If it weren't deliberately created, such a monster would never have existed naturally, and it had no official designation.
[Giggit… Kigigit…]
The transformed beast looked down at me.
But there was no need to worry.
The domesticated parasite that controlled Alcazar's body now recognized me as its master.
The once-ferocious monster lowered its head like a dog begging for attention.
[Gigigit…]
"Yeah, yeah."
A monster powerful enough to tear me apart if left unchecked was now nuzzling me like a loyal pet.
The contrast felt oddly surreal.
Looking at the nameless monster, I suddenly felt the need to give it a proper name.
'Right… It's about time.'
Now, I had two domesticated bone parasites.
I couldn't just keep calling them both bone parasite.
Technically, the previous one was still called Alcazar, but that name belonged to its original body, not the parasite itself.
Proper names were essential for practicality and avoiding confusion in emergencies.
'It's not like I can keep calling them bone parasites forever.'
But naming wasn't easy.
I was the kind of guy who could spend over an hour just in the character creation screen.
In the end, I had no choice but to ask someone else for their opinion.
"Got any good ideas?"
Esther, who had been silent until now, puffed out her lips in a sulk.
["Are you asking me? No way. You've got plenty of friends, so why would you ask me?"]
It seemed she was still sulking from earlier.
It would take a bit of time to coax her into giving a suggestion.
"Come on, just give it a shot."
["I said no!"]
"Really? You don't want the chance to name it?"
Finally, her eyebrow twitched, and she spoke in a small voice.
["…Boney and Bonesy?"]
"Rejected."
["Then how about Sturdy and Lively?"]
"I'll do it myself."
'Why did I even bother asking a ghost?'
["Hey! Those are cute names!"]
"Cuteness must have died out."
The very idea of giving these monstrous creatures cute names was fundamentally wrong.
["Fine! What name are you planning to give them, then?"]
"Well…"