The Dark Rebirth of Pandora: Revenge of the Abyss

Chapter 471: First Warning in the Abyss… Parasites.

I spend a few hours walking in the Abyss area, and it was a rather strange time. The Abyss is absurdly silent; even my hearing, which can pick up ridiculously quiet sounds down to a molecular level, can't hear anything in the Abyss.

It's as if atoms and matter don't even have any real movement here. It's utterly insane, honestly. Not to mention, I haven't found any life forms for kilometers. Not because there aren't any, but because they hide so well they evade any detection I might have.

'The Abyssal creatures are truly dangerous... Delphina once said that aside from the Goddesses, the only beings who can also kill a goddess are the inhabitants of the Abyss...' I wonder who created the Abyssal beings.

It wasn't my mother. The system makes it clear that the Abyss already existed and that there were already beings here before my mother fused with this place. That means something else created the Abyssal beings.

'It wouldn't be the Primordial Goddess herself, right?... I don't think so...' There are many unanswered questions that I might be able to figure out over time by living here in the Abyss, especially if I talk to my mother. She should be able to answer many of my doubts.

"...Huh?" I look down, seeing some kind of "worm"? In this case, it looks more like a leech, only it's very large, like about 50 centimeters long, crawling on the ground. Its color is so dark I almost missed it.

'A parasite?...' I start following the parasite. It seems to be heading in a fixed direction and is ignoring me.

"Strange... if it lives here, then it's at least level 80,000... but it seems so weak." I refuse to believe this thing has 80% of the strength I had when I was living on the planet before Delphina kidnapped me.

And supposedly in terms of level, it might even be stronger than Mikael himself, because I can say for sure that this parasite doesn't seem strong at all, and I don't just say that because I'm very strong now.

'Maybe it's not an inhabitant of the Abyss. Maybe it's a skill belonging to some being in the Abyss?... That makes more sense.' I grab this thing, picking it up off the ground and holding it up.

It's slimy and tries to move, but soon stops when it realizes it's been captured by something. It seems to be blind and deaf since it only noticed the capture when it happened.

"GHHHHHRAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH" The thing immediately lets out a screeching sound, like an alert cry that echoes through the silent forest. It's so loud it disorients me for a second before my instincts warn me of danger.

'!!!'

'IT'S BAIT!!?' I throw the thing away, realizing this is how it functions. It's slow precisely because it was made to be captured, thus alerting its "owner" or "group" when it's been caught.

'Dammit, I can't believe I fell for that.' I try to run away since I don't know the strength of what I'll face because of that leech, but immediately something drops onto my back. I stop and see one of those leeches stuck to me.

"Where do you think you're...!!" Before I can remove it, two more appear, jumping onto my front and latching onto my breasts. I immediately try to pull them off, only for another one to jump onto my face, covering it.

And that's when I see it: its interior opening into something full of teeth, with needles in place of a tongue, made specifically to latch on and drain blood.

'!!!' I feel more of these things jumping on top of me. I don't know where they came from, only that there are many. I first yank the one on my face off with force, tearing it away before it can bite my face.

"You disgusting pests!" I crush it while a black liquid drips out, but soon my hands start to melt.

'Corrosive blood!? Are you fucking kidding me!' I look at my body, covered in these things stuck to me. It doesn't hurt, probably because it's a stealthy parasite, so causing pain would alert the host to its location.

"..." I look back and forth, and finally look up, realizing that the trees above are full of this filth. Hundreds of them are crawling on the trees, ready to jump down.

'They seem to have stopped... but if removing the one on my face—which hadn't even latched on properly yet—was difficult...' I look at these things drinking my blood as if it's something good, their bodies contracting and pulsing in a way that disgusts me.

'These pests can even ingest my blood...' My blood, which literally devours other living organisms, and yet this parasite can drink it without any problems.

"Hahahaha, Abyssal beings are truly terrifying creatures." If a mere parasite can do this, just imagine what other powerful monsters can do? Drink my blood and corrode my skin, piercing through my mana armor instantly.

"I need to get them off my body without killing them..." I don't want my body to start melting. There are at least ten of them stuck to me.

I start with the ones on my thigh. I grab one and try to pull, but as expected, its teeth are already dug into the flesh, and pulling it will rip a chunk out.

'It's truly like a leech... hundreds of teeth grip while a needle is inserted and it drains blood... although normal leeches don't use needles like this...' I squeeze the thing, but it's so soft and malleable it doesn't feel anything.

"First day in the Abyss, and I got infested with parasites... wonderful," I mutter with sarcasm, trying to pull it, even if it rips a chunk out, I need to get rid of this thing.

"..." I pull with considerable force until it comes off, and I'm creeped out by what I see on me.

'W-What the hell...' It wasn't just torn flesh; it's a perfect circle going down to the bone, and not a single drop of blood. I shouldn't just rip them off, seeing what removing one did to me.

"..." I have another idea. Going for another one on my thigh, I try to cut it with mana, but as soon as I cut it, I feel a lancinating pain that makes me fall to my knees with a stifled scream.

All the leeches on my body seem to react to this. I feel their needles piercing deep into my body, inside my vein, while the ones on my breasts pierce so deep that one of them hits my heart directly.

The sensation, which was null before, is now easily perceptible as a warning. I breathe heavily, feeling that the ones on my breasts hurt the most because they hit vital areas.

"..."

"Damn pest..." I end up squeezing it angrily, and it bursts, spilling acid onto my thigh. The sizzling sound of melting flesh bothers me as the liquid drips onto another one, and I see these things are acid-resistant. Expected, I guess.

'...' I start walking with them on my body. Eight left to remove, but I need to get them off in a way that doesn't hurt me too much, because I don't know when an emergency might happen, so I can't just keep injuring myself.

The whole time, I'm thinking about how to remove them while being careful that no more latch onto my body, until I encounter a second Abyssal being.

It looks like some kind of beast similar to a giant wolf. It's fallen on the ground, infested with leeches that are draining its blood.

"...Looks like it died." I look around to see if it was killed by the leeches or not, but I see deep cut marks on its belly, so I know it was something else.

"..." I crouch down and observe, thinking maybe this way I can figure out how to get these things off me. The feeling of their needles inside me is like a constant, dull ache that never stops, slightly hindering my reasoning.

'Wait...' Seeing the dead body, I remember something: the trait I stole from Lilith, to control my body temperature, says it's useful for getting rid of parasites.

I try using it, making my body so hot inside that my blood boils. I wait about a minute until the parasites on my body let out strange shrieks and most of them detach, crawling away.

"..." I see only two remain, and they are the ones on my breast. Their needles are deep inside my body. The needle that was in my heart retracts, but other needles in my breasts remain.

'If they didn't leave... it's because they're not just drinking my blood...'

"Y-You pests." I give an irritated smile while clenching my fist tightly. I superheat my body so much that steam starts rising from me and my own skin on the outside becomes hot.

The parasites writhe and leave my body, trying to crawl away as they get burned, but I step on them, crushing them despite the acid.

"..." I look at my body: needle holes and round marks from teeth imprinted in some places, superficial wounds that will soon close.

I look at my breasts; blood and milk are dripping from my nipples where one of the needles pierced. I also feel that 3% of my Mana was taken. It seems these pests feed on anything a living or dead body can offer.

'I get it now. No more following things that seem weak...' These things aren't weak at all; they just seem weak, and they aren't even edible because of the acid. I don't want the flesh of my jaw melting if I try to put one in my mouth.

'I'm hungry...' I start wandering again, more carefully now. The hunger I had before has only increased. Looking up, I see the whole area only has these disgusting parasites.

'The system said ecosystems in the Abyss don't interact with each other, so certain types of monsters will be abundant in some places... I should get out of here, or I won't find any food.' I decide to start running.

It's not like running consumes much energy if I don't use mana. I'll try to find something alive and weaker than me that I can eat, and if nothing works... I can maybe drink my own milk for a while.