Once Human, Now a Parasite

Chapter 691

Right outside the golden metropolis, Arthur stared at the passage, which heavily shook for some time. He was pondering whether to go inside or not. He knew that Lucy, which he considered his slave, saved him from something but he can't just sit around and do nothing.

He desperately wanted to restore his memories to know how he obtained those stats and what happened with Lucy in the past. He felt like there was a forgotten gap in his memories and that made him uncomfortable and unable to roam around and do whatever he wanted like he previously wished so.

After thoroughly weighing his options, Arthur entered the passage and flew in a straight line before appearing in the city again. The moment he appeared, he transformed into what he deemed the best host to defend himself in, the black turtle, which was one of the four Divine Beasts he can transform into.

The ginormous black turtle conjured a translucent yellow barrier and its thick scales were enveloped by a green defensive layer. Although the current Arthur isn't as efficient in using the good skills as the old one due to his inability to get accustomed to his cultivation and Realm and the sheer amount of skills in his arsenal, all which seem overpowered.

After making sure he is well-protected, Arthur looked around and apart from two falling buildings, everything else seemed perfectly fine.

The huge Divine Beast slowly descended toward the broken golden building and in no time, Lucy's figure could be seen. She was laying in a pool of blood and was unconscious, a bit of small rubbles had fallen on his left shoulder and thighs.

A distance away from her, in mid-air, there was a crimson silhouette bound by black and grey threads. The moment Arthur caught wind of it, his body froze. It was easy to guess that this was the source of what happened.

The parasite warily circled around the bound Headless Soldier before floating closer to Lucy from the other side.

The serene and calming Life Energy wrapped around Lucy and healed her while Telekinesis raised her in the air and pulled her closer to the gigantic black turtle.

Once he had gotten hold of the unconscious white specter, Arthur left the area, heading deeper into the shiny yet eerily quiet city. Strangely enough, the passage was littered with the dangerous buzz-sized machines but the city's machines were either unresponsive or are doing their job without bothering with the intruders or 'visitors'.

In a breath-taking open plaza decorated with silver ornaments and statues made from dark gold, a black turtle, which became smaller in size, landed on its center.

Arthur used Telekinesis and put down the unconscious Lucy, his Life Energy was slowly healing her but the damage done by the Mythical Being was more than it was shown.

Normally, Lucy's high recovering ability along with Arthur's Life Energy would heal her back to full within minutes but even after a whole hour, Lucy was still wounded.

With nothing in particular to do, the parasite sat down next to Lucy and gazed at her face, his mind lost in thought. No matter how much he tried to remember, the memories wouldn't come up, which, sometimes, made him wonder if everything that was said by Lucy was just a lie. Then again, as his slave, she cannot lie, moreover, his high stats and his current state is proof that many things happened after he killed himself back on Earth.

…

Even more time passed but Lucy showed no signs of waking up so Arthur just put a barrier around her before leaving the plaza to explore other areas of this hidden golden metropolis.

The city wasn't that big, especially for the parasite, who can move around very fast and can even teleport, nonetheless, he decided to wander around slowly so as to not alert the busy machines. Plus, he didn't come here to cause trouble and only hoped to find a way to restore his memories.

The reason he came here was because the race which built this city is known for its exceptional intelligence so it was safe to assume that they crafted something that allows the user to peek through his past memories.

Arthur, back in his human form, entered a special district with dome-like houses and a frightening amount of humanoid machines, all armed to the teeth. They held rifle-like black objects and tight golden armors which made them merge with their radiant environment.

The amount of gold in this city would make anyone on Earth drool with greed but, for Arthur, it was unnecessary and uncomfortable to look at. Even without the artificial sun hanging way up, the illumination of the golden city is enough to see everything.

All was well and calm for Arthur but it didn't continue to be so, of course. He abruptly stopped marching and groaned while holding his head. A splitting yet momentary pain assaulted him and it brought with him a joyful thing, something that he hoped but did not expect right here and right now.

They were vivid images, memories of the past but they were brief. They depicted a golden city a bit different than this one, a gigantic snake that spits fire, a fire giant and…

"Black Rose? Red Seat? When was this?"

Arthur tried to remember but those images vanished as fast as they had appeared, making the parasite slightly disappointed, nevertheless, he didn't give up and kept looking around, trying to find some clues.

It seems that he visited a place similar to this one in the past so there's a strong chance that he'll experience the same thing again the more he ventures in.

Five minutes later, Arthur was assaulted by the pain again and saw other memories, which explained to him a few more things. Like how that golden city was in a world called Green-Leaf and used by one of the sects there.

….

While Arthur was touring the golden metropolis, the Headless Soldier was soon about to break free. The grey and black threads originating from the Joker's card were being ripped one by one and some even turned blurry, seemingly unable to handle the pressure.

The Mythical Being, which was missing his head, angrily growled, his hand clenched the bloodied rusty sword.

******

Author's note: Hello, I just wanted to say that this volume isn't long but is necessary for the next one, which is the conclusion of Arthur's adventurers and the next step for the grand final of the story. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!