Summoners War: Only I Summoned Divine Beasts

Chapter 1844: Patient Zero

"Please take a look at this." Misty Frost presented one of the god-level aliens to Nathan.

She brought out a tube that isolated the black cell. Even though it was already dead, she needed to seal it as a precaution.

"It looks like you’re done." Nathan smiled.

"Yes. Removing the black cell is actually not as hard as I imagined." Misty Frost nodded.

Nathan was quite surprised since Vivian and Charlotte had a hard time adjusting its content. They couldn’t do it as efficiently as Gregory.

Yet Misty Frost could actually do it faster than him.

"I see. That’s very good." Nathan nodded. "Do you need a lot of time for the other two?"

"Not really. It will take one day at most." Misty Frost reassured Nathan. "However, I do have a different finding that you may be interested in. Take it as my thanks for killing the third alien."

"Another finding?" Nathan raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah." Misty Frost pointed at the black cell. "This thing is a parasite. It needs a host to survive. Even though you call it a singularity, it actually can’t exist without a carrier. In other words, there is actually a Patient Zero."

"!!!" Nathan widened his eyes in shock. "Patient Zero?"

"Indeed. Although it’s already dead, I can see its cell regenerating automatically. In a way, you can think of it as a cell that continues to reproduce exponentially. However, its weakness is the fact that this thing can’t exist without a host."

Nathan looked down, contemplating.

Misty Frost raised three fingers. "Let me give you the summary. First, because of its characteristics, we need to find Patient Zero. If we know what kind of existence this patient is, we can figure out the way to defeat the black cell. I doubt the alien race is the one we’re looking for.

"Instead, it should be a living being that is connected to the aliens in one way or another. Using this living host or even the living being of the entire planet, they’re infecting the aliens."

Nathan crossed his arms. "If we kill this ’Patient Zero,’ can we kill the black cell?"

"That’s exactly the problem. We need to find it to figure out what’s going on. If Patient Zero has the mother cell, it will be possible. If there is no mother cell, it means we have to exterminate all hosts of the black cell, or else it won’t even matter."

Nathan narrowed his eyes. "The infection... How does it spread?"

"There are three ways I can think of, which I’m not exactly sure of yet. The first method is direct contact. You will let the black cell regenerate its cell and expand itself outside the original host’s body to the infected."

Nathan looked down, thinking this was what the Godfather was doing in his world.

"The second method is by moving directly to the new host’s body. This thing can expand but can also kill itself. By chopping its own cell, it will return to the original state very rapidly. It will sever the connection to its original host so that it can latch onto a new body."

"So, it’s also a direct contact?"

"No, not exactly. Yes, a part of it can be done with direct contact, but the black cell might also be able to use spirit energy to make that connection."

"Ah!" Nathan never thought about the possibility of using their energy.

"Now that it has grown to this point, there’s a possibility of a third method. It’s through a special connection. For example, it might be able to use the original host’s power to parasite the next target. It includes souls or even divinities."

Nathan’s expression turned grim. "Is that how it’s able to infect Azathoth?"

"Excuse me?" Misty Frost tilted her head in confusion.

"I’m talking about the strongest being in this universe. This being governs the reality we’re currently living in. Everything comes from this being. Our thoughts, our existence... The moment we’re being marked by this being, all that will be shared directly to that existence. It’s probably the closest existence to singularity in this universe."

Misty Frost sucked in a cold breath. "That sounds scary."

"Yeah, I know. But is it possible like that?"

Misty Frost nodded. "Definitely. This might be the black cell’s first big target. After all, this being also has the power to erase its existence."

Nathan smiled wryly. ’If I remember it correctly, it should sound like this... At the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon-sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and so on...’

Nathan sighed inwardly, ’I swear. If all this chaos starts because Azathoth is just eating blindly, I’m going to crash out.’

Nathan couldn’t exactly laugh because he thought this was what had happened.

Nathan asked, "Is that all?"

"Not exactly. As I said, we need to figure out whether this black cell is the same as all of the other black cells or if there is a mother cell. If it’s the latter, killing the mother cell will be enough. If it’s the former..."

Misty Frost sighed. "You need to exterminate all of them. It can infinitely grow, so it’s basically impossible to stop it."

"..." Nathan scratched the back of his head. That was indeed true. If the black cell could infinitely reproduce, the moment Azathoth died, the black cell would definitely hide or infect as many living beings as possible and hide in all corners of this universe.

At that time, he didn’t know if he could exterminate the black cell even if he somehow won against Azathoth or Yog-Sothoth.

"Any chance of removing the black cell without killing the other person?"

"I don’t know. Even if there’s a possibility, it will be extremely low, not to mention the resistance it will have."

"Don’t mind that. Can I ask you to maybe research the black cell? I may end up returning to this world in the future since I’ve promised to return to my world if it’s possible."

"Certainly. We are fighting against the same being, and this black cell is kind of interesting."

"Just don’t play around with it too much. We all know what kind of existence it is. I’ve seen plenty of scientists destroy the world just because they’re doing it in the name of science."

"Don’t worry. I know the risks. Besides, my title is not God of Research or something." Misty Frost chuckled.

"In that case, please take this. This is a space ring, it has a thousand cubic meter space inside. You can copy the book once you’re done with the other two aliens. I plan to stay here for another six days. Will it be enough?"

"It will be enough."