Psychic Parasite

Chapter 242: Spiked Lizard

It was a wave, overbearing in nature. The air became mildly turbulent under the intensity. Small rocks near him were sent flying for a couple of metres. His aura gushed forth with full strength. His body felt a feeling of relaxation, finally able to exert its presence without having to tuck it all inside.

The Spiked Lizards around 20 metres from him trembled, their legs turning weak. Their bodies plopped one after the other. The ones who were positioned on the walls and the ceiling slipped, with the ones that fell from the ceiling falling to their deaths.

The ceiling was 30 metres high while the path was 10 metres wide. So, most of the Spiked Lizards had been on the walls at varying heights. Depending on their heights, their fall damaged them accordingly.

Jyorta began to sprint towards the nearest Spiked Lizard, gripping his sword with greater strength. He abruptly stopped, finding the path become as dark as to when he had entered. The Two-Faced Fireflies had flown too far for their light to reach him.

He controlled the barrier on him, assuming a state of invisibility. Since the ambient light would no longer change, he didn't need to expend mental energy to constantly vary it. Remembering the position of the Spiked Lizard he had last seen, he inched towards it, being careful about his step, unwilling to trip.

Suddenly, Jyorta raised his right leg, making a slash at its previous spot with his sword. His sword made contact with a wriggling creature that had drilled out of the ground, only lodging part way. He took a step back as his chakram slammed into the creature, beginning to spin.

A screech resounded, followed by a nauseating stench, making him want to throw up then and there. The chakram began to cut into its body at the spot where it had peaked above ground, preventing it from retreating inside.

Jyorta took a closer look, the darkness made it difficult for him to ascertain the creature. But, based on how it had attacked, he could easily figure out its identity. Only one Frenzy Beast attacked in such a manner; it was a Ring worm.

Based on the strength it displayed, it had barely begun its journey as an Observer. His chakram began to cut into its body, severing many nerves along its wake. He controlled his chakram, preventing the Ring Worm from burrowing into the ground.

Also, due to his aura, it couldn't react as fast as it usually could, soon getting severed into two. As his aura passed through the ground, it was significantly weakened. That was why the Ring Worm could pop out from underneath him without being deterred.

The moment it got severed, Jyorta didn't hurry to fish out its Heart crystal. He stood in his spot, noticing the twitching of the Ring Worm come to a halt through his domain. Even after that, he refrained from closing in.

His chakram began to sever the Ring Worm's body longitudinally. The moment it began to cut into its head, the Ring Worm began to thrash erratically. Its earlier act had been faked to lure him in. Having made enough research, and thanks to Madam Mila's guidance, Jyorta didn't fall for something this basic.

The Ring Worm was soon diced into two, longitudinally. His psychic arm dropped the chakram beside its severed body, seeped through a severed part, and came out with a Heart Crystal. It shaved off the blood and muscle tissue surrounding it, arriving before Jyorta.

Jyorta opened the pouch and watched his psychic arm drop the Heart Crystal into it. He then closed it and strapped it around his hip, placing it next to the rectangular bag. "That was 6 Credits."

As his psychic arm grabbed hold of the chakram, he began to walk forward, his senses trained to his domain. Soon, a Spiked Lizard came into the range of his domain. His psychic arm placed the chakram into the device on his back, pulling out a spindle strapped to his thigh.

Jyorta maintained a distance of three metres from the Spiked Lizard, staying beyond the reach of its tongue. The spindle gently moved towards it, beginning to spin along the way.

The Spiked Lizard could only make gurgling sounds, trying to move but failing to do so. It saw its brethren being in a state similar to it. It also noticed its brethren farther away shiver as they slowly head deeper into the Labyrinth. The farther from Jyorta, the weaker his aura became. Also, it was absorbed or negated by the countless obstacles and Frenzy Beasts it passed, becoming weaker as it progressed.

The effective range was only about 30 metres. Beyond that, the Spiked Lizards were able to resist and slowly escape with their trembling bodies. The Spiked Lizard was unable to even activate its Tier 1 Skill, lacking the mental capacity to do so. The aura was affecting its concentration, also dulling its primitive senses.

It was unable to see any enemy but could faintly feel the source of the aura inch closer. At the next moment, it noticed a thick needle-like object take up its vision, closing in alarmingly before a sea of crimson bloomed.

"Chiii! Chi! Chiiiiii!"

Hearing the high pitched shrieks of the Spiked Lizard, Jyorta hesitated. His spindle that had been drilling into its eye stopped. Despite its status as a foe, it was still a life. Hearing its screams of pain, Jyorta hesitated.

Until now, even though he had killed a few Frenzy Beasts, it was more because of self-defence and the fact that the Frenzy Beasts tried to kill him. The case for the Ring Worm was the same. It tried to kill him and he retaliated.

But, in the current situation, the Spiked Lizard lay helpless, unable to even move. As the shrieks of the Spiked Lizard increased in intensity, Jyorta pulled out his spindle, even retracting his aura. He felt disgusted, feeling his resolve lacking.

No sooner had he retracted his aura, the Spiked Lizard exerted all its strength in its legs, leaping. While in the air, it opened its mouth, shooting forth its tongue. Due to the darkness, he couldn't make out such a fast-paced motion through his eyes, failing to react in time.

He instinctively released his aura, feeling pain in his left hand. A tongue had wrapped around it, pulling his body towards it immediately. The force was strong enough to shake his balance. Jyorta widened his footing, firming his hold on the ground.

The Spiked Lizard had already lost control of its legs due to his aura. But, as it had been in the air, it contracted its tongue, which was strong enough to overcome the numbing effect of his aura for a moment. Its body shot towards Jyorta; everything happened in the span of a second.

Jyorta barely managed to notice the body of the Spiked Lizard clamping on his hand with everything it had. His heart sped up in response, thumping at the highest intensity he had ever witnessed. He watched the face of the Spiked Lizard close up, feeling icy cold fluid drip out from its mouth.

At the spot where its jaws had clamped shut, a spindle had stopped it, piercing through it as a result of the force. His left hand barely managed to remain intact. It was thanks to the spindle holding its two jaws in place, acting as a wedge.

Jyorta waved his left hand towards the ground, slamming the Spiked Lizard's body on the rough surface. He then stepped on its tail; his right hand hacked with the sword while he tried to pull his left out. The tongue had constricted itself, preventing him from pulling his hand out.

The Spiked Lizard tried to close its jaws shut, uncaring about its injury, willing to trade an injury for his hand. Leaving the spindle lodged in its jaws, his psychic arm pulled out another strapped around his thigh.

It quickly started to spin and drilled into the eye wound he had inflicted before. Copious amounts of blood splashed out as Jyorta hissed in pain. The teeth of the Spiked Lizard began to dig into his flesh. It was currently protected by his armour but it wasn't hard armour; it could only negate part of the damage, transferring the sharpness to his skin, causing a prickling sensation of a blade piercing into him.

His eyes widened as his right hand let go of the sword and grabbed the Spiked Lizard. His body tumbled, rolling on the ground, watching two Ring Worms peak out from his previous spot. The moment they emerged out, their bodies stiffened, affected by his aura.

The part of their bodies buried into the ground wriggled and contracted, pulling their upper bodies into the ground, soon escaping the area of his aura's influence. When they rolled, his body pressed on the Spiked Lizard's body, causing its jaws to close in further.

This time, he felt something pierce his skin. Despite the protection of the armour, the damage was being dealt to him. He also heard the sound of fabric being torn, little by little. His final layer of defence had been the barrier he had created with his weaker psychic arm. But, it didn't possess much strength.

In the earlier attack, it had shattered in the place the Spiked Lizard's tongue had wrapped around. This caused the portion of his hand beyond the spot to be undefended by the barrier. After all, it was a continuous, connected armour, originating from his head. As a place of energy flow shattered, it broke off the connection beyond it, causing the barrier on his left hand to dissipate into psychic energy.

Every time Jyorta sought to deal with the Spiked Lizard, his focus was redirected to the two Ring Worms that burrowed out from the ground to attack both the entangled parties.