Chapter 91 – Floor 13. How to Do That

I briefly looked down at the Bell of the End, which now lay motionless on the floor, before reaching out my hand toward it.

There was a slight feeling of pity, but also something I wanted to check.

Normally, onaholes entered a dormant state when incapacitated or “killed,” rather than truly dying, until they were recharged with magical power.

But this one remained in the same form as when it was pulled out of Kali.

Had some bug occurred when they were separated, releasing it from its onahole state?

“Wait!”

But my hand had already touched one of the tentacles extending from the cyst.

Twitch.

SCREEEECH─!!

“Agh!”

The Bell of the End, which I thought had been killed by Mateo’s staff, thrashed wildly like the nerve of a dissected frog.

I grimaced at the sharp pain shooting up my fingertips and wrapped my bleeding finger.

“This son of a… Was it playing dead? It’s still lively!”

Screech, gack!!!

Seeing the mass of tentacles thrashing even more vigorously than before, I clicked my tongue and searched inside the mimic for a bandage, which I tightly wrapped around my finger.

Fortunately, my finger wasn’t completely severed, and my hand wasn’t entirely blown off, so it would heal quickly—but until then, it would be uncomfortable to wield weapons with my left hand.

Mateo, who had been restraining the Bell of the End while watching me, raised his staff and struck it several more times.

Squish- Crack-

The Bell of the End was pierced repeatedly by the descending staff.

Bleeding and going limp again, the Bell of the End made me purse my lips downward, stunned at being attacked by an onahole.

This wasn’t the first insubordination—Severa was the first—but it had never happened after submission, which left me scratching my head.

“Compassion?”

“No… well. I was just a bit surprised.”

To be honest, Kali was the victim, and the Bell of the End was, according to what was said, a servant of the tentacle-eyes that shouldn’t exist in this world, so saving Kali was the right thing to do—but the Bell had still been one of my earliest members.

Even if I was a bit upset that it attacked me.

Mateo rolled his completely white eyeballs as if such concerns were meaningless.

“Why? Did this thing show even a shred of humanity? Or is it something else?”

“Well… it was obedient to me.”

“That’s because your magic suppressed its nature… and additionally because Kali’s temperament was gentle…”

Talk of Kali’s temperament during a discussion about the Bell of the End? Sensing that Mateo was starting to say strange things, I folded my arms and waited for him to continue.

“This parasite… connects to the host’s brain, learning and growing from their memories and experiences…”

“For something like that, its skill level didn’t seem that high.”

While its strength was considerable, its technique seemed inadequate to land effective hits on Albert.

Considering that Kali was a top-tier warrior called a hero on the continent, the claim that the Bell of the End used the host’s memory and experience seemed strange.

“Ha- this is not very rational… Human technique has an aesthetic that mere beasts cannot imitate… Even if it can copy every movement, if it relies on instinct for when to strike and how to parry, can that truly be called swordsmanship?”

He had a point.

In combat, missing the timing by even a moment could mean a sword through the neck.

The Bell of the End was just rampaging based on a hero’s high specs, which is why it died so easily.

“Then what did you mean by temperament?”

At my question, Mateo snorted dismissively.

“Still don’t understand what it means to share memories and experiences? It feels the host’s emotions…”

I unconsciously looked down at Kali, who was snoring in my arms. She was sleeping soundly now that the Bell of the End had left her body.

“This parasite has no emotions or thoughts by nature… It just moves by instinct until it finds a host, and once it settles, it feels emotions and thinks through the host’s brain…”

“So now that it’s separated from Kali, it’s just a mindless monster?”

“Your understanding is quick, which is good… The beast has finally returned to its place…”

Mateo’s explanation made sense, at least from a parasite expert’s perspective. To be honest, I knew nothing about the ecology of creatures like the Bell of the End that only existed in this world.

I wouldn’t find anything about them by searching RISS or KISS for papers.

When you have body problems, you see a doctor; when your dog has issues, you consult a behavior specialist. Similarly, I had to trust the parasite expert. So I decided to check Kali’s status.

『aaaa’s Onahole: Hero, Kali』Level: 25☆ [Status: No Self-Awareness, Sleeping]

Health: 330/330 ■■■■■■■■■■

Fuel: 12/30 ■■■■□□□□□□

【One of the 13 heroes gathered to save the world, but has been in a deep sleep until now. Also your possession.】

‘?’

Something was strange.

The “Wanderer” qualifier had changed to “Hero,” and her status indicating she was sound asleep made sense, but I couldn’t help but tilt my head at the “No Self-Awareness” status.

Originally, it would have shown “Subjugated” status…

‘Has the subjugation been broken because the Bell of the End was removed?’

It seemed to suggest that what I had subjugated was the Wanderer, which was the Bell of the End’s classification of Kali, not Kali herself.

And so I had to check the Bell of the End as well.

Whoosh─

Looking at the status window that unfurled like a scroll, I could only stroke my chin.

『aaaa’s Onahole: Servant Race of ????: Bell of the End』Level: 10 [Status: No Self-Awareness, No Host, Restrained]

Health: 3/30 ■□□□□□□□□□

Fuel: 07/10 ■■■■■■■□□□

【A servant race following the visitor who came to devour the world. Its tentacles settle in the crevices of the host’s brain and consume everything about the host.】

The Bell of the End had a lot more attributes attached to it compared to Kali.

‘The lack of self-awareness is the same… no host…’

It seemed that “No Host” was an important status for a species that couldn’t survive long without one.

And the newly added trait “Servant Race of ????”.

‘Why are there so many new things I’ve never seen before?’

With no explanations provided, I’d have to spend a long time figuring out what any new abilities meant when they appeared.

If they were going to give me such unfamiliar abilities, they could at least provide a user manual or a YouTube link—but these inconsiderate bastards seemed to have no intention of explaining anything to me.

“Hmm…”

“Is there a problem…”

“No, there isn’t… Anyway, what are you going to do with this thing?”

“Kill it.”

Fair enough. Mateo, who already hated the tentacle-eyes, wouldn’t keep its servant alive.

Besides, it wasn’t even subjugated anymore, so I wasn’t sure if my binding power would work.

‘With Severa, commands worked even without subjugation… but this one has no rationality, so it’s ambiguous.’

Things like Slime and Mimic could understand and follow orders, but only when they were subjugated.

Not having a manual for such situations was truly annoying, requiring experimentation for every new scenario.

“Yes… you’re quite compassionate… Well, go ahead. I’ll finish off this vile servant of the end.”

“Hmm…”

I looked down at the Bell of the End on the floor one last time.

The sight of tentacles thrashing wildly as if trying to escape Mateo’s staff made my injured finger throb again.

“There is no coexistence…”

“Ah, fine. I’m going, okay?”

Mateo, seemingly irritated by my lingering presence, shouted at me.

I had no choice but to leave with Kali.

***

“Ugh… this is heavy…!”

Wham! Screech─ Crash!

I kicked an old wooden table, smashing its legs and toppling it. The fallen table made a perfect size to flatten the bumpy stone floor.

Then I carefully placed Kali on top.

Thud!

I was careful.

She hit her head, but showed no signs of waking. After laying Kali down completely, I wiped the sweat from my forehead, panting heavily.

“Damn… why won’t she shrink…”

Either because she wasn’t in a “Subjugated” state or for some other reason, Kali wouldn’t enter portable mode, making my back and legs feel like they’d break from carrying her to a safe place.

Despite my increased Strength and Health, carrying an armored person for a long distance was an undeniably taxing task.

I emptied my water bottle down my throat to cool my overheated body, tapping out the last drops onto my tongue before wiping my mouth, finally able to catch my breath.

“Whew… I’ll live.”

The water rehydrated my throat, which had felt like it would crack and split. I smacked my lips and looked at Kali, who was sound asleep on the table.

『aaaa’s Onahole: Hero, Kali』Level: 25☆ [Status: No Self-Awareness, Sleeping]

Health: 330/330 ■■■■■■■■■■

Fuel: 12/30 ■■■■□□□□□□

Even after several dozen minutes, the Fuel gauge hadn’t decreased.

Though I wasn’t sure about the exact conditions, it seemed likely that Fuel didn’t decrease when not in “Subjugated” status, or when unable to receive commands or not in an active state.

Or maybe not.

“One parasite gone and her stats are already…”

Her already high Strength and Health had increased further, surpassing Alraune and Arachne who rode flowers, and her level had instantly jumped to 25—making it clear why heroes were called heroes.

‘But now I need to remove the blindfold.’

It was equipment that caused blindness while worn, but gave a combat technique in exchange. However, for Kali, who could use 『Moon Slash』 by default, it was nothing but a penalty item.

I’d have to upgrade it at the first opportunity when an object that could be enchanted appeared.

With such thoughts, I sat down next to Kali, intending to pass the time blankly. But I gave up after 10 minutes.

Sitting still for 8 hours? How is that even possible?

Since I’d already removed the long-embedded parasite, she’d probably forgive me for playing a little while she slept?

I’ll believe in what Mateo said about himself being kind.