"The hosts affected by the parasites are not directly harmful to anyone, as the parasites will not spread to another host unless someone eats the current host's body — which no race would do to their companions."

  "Huh?"

  Arther, silent for the whole time, showed a hint of curiosity and surprise, as if saying, *"This parasite that controls and eats you alive is not considered harmful because they don’t spread?"*

  But Harin Lovarno showed a faint smile, as if he had already anticipated this reaction, and continued to explain.

  "But when affected by them, the host will forget their brothers, their land, their birthplace, and will start hiding from dangers and abandoning their comrades. That’s because they are controlled by the strong will of the parasite — their will to live."

  "Because these parasites have almost no intelligence, mostly instincts, they won’t betray or use their companions as meat shields. They lack that kind of intellect. Their only escaping mechanism is to flee by controlling the host."

  "Because fleeing or cowardice is not an offense in our human race, and these parasites don’t make any fuss other than increasing the host’s fear of death and slightly raising their food consumption."

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  Arther was slightly confused. He had already thought of the possibility that these issues caused by the parasites were manageable for the human race, but then why did Cristus, the previous owner of this body, die from the same strayfish and parasite?

  But Arther didn’t speak. He decided to listen.

  "Because of these reasons, our race won’t bother eliminating mild cases. But in severe cases, where the host’s internal defenses are outnumbered hundreds of times by the parasites, it may cause higher soul essence consumption — and there’s a chance the host will go mad, sometimes even leading to death."

  Arther nodded, indicating he had understood the reason why the *Tactic Connectors* were not seen as threats until it was too late.

  "In mild cases, the host will remain as productive as before, but they mostly can’t be used in battles because of their increased fear of death and the parasite’s will."

  Arther was slightly taken aback. He hadn’t thought of this — seemingly small in words, but huge in reality.

  "If soldiers get affected by these, won’t the army be at a great disadvantage?" Arther asked directly to Harin.

  "It is not an issue, as strayfish won’t appear on the battlefield. Their fragile bodies can’t survive the pressure of the warriors from several races. Even if brought in by other means, they will die."

  Arther started facepalming, thinking to himself, *"Why is this world becoming even more absurd? Is this really a coma? I need to confirm it!"*

  Butler Harin Lovarno bowed slightly.

  "My lord, it is said that the demons — and even our humans — used it in the past against weaker army squads, in ancient times before defensive arrays or formations came into the world," Harin said respectfully.

  *"Strategy too? How can a coma contain strategic uses of bioweapons? It seems this is not a coma... but I need more confirmation before I’m sure,"* Arther said to himself.

  But before Arther could say anything more, the earth trembled slightly.

  "??????????????????!!!"

  A booming voice rang from outside, echoing through the balcony of the room.

  **End of Chapter 8**