The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 327: The Front Lines

Chapter 327: The Front Lines

As they approached the site of the Gate, the number of parasite-infected humans became less and less. Instead, they encountered a different type of monster. With a body shaped like a panther, but significantly taller than an adult man. Their skin was dark and rough, but they had manes similar to horses. Their snouts were rather elongated, with long, strong fangs suitable for tearing meat apart. They were agile, powerful, and aggressive. As for their abilities...

They had incredible regeneration, as Damien’s team soon realized. Any shallow wound would heal within a few minutes at most...

And yet, some of them were already dead when they arrived at the scene. How they had died, it was unclear, as they didn’t have blood on them, aside from their snouts (which wasn’t their blood, but their prey’s... That is, the unfortunate civilians that had been in the vicinity when the dungeon break had started). No clear injuries that might indicate the cause of their deaths. Of course, none of the team members had much time to take a good look at them, as they were far too busy dealing with those that were still alive, but...

Perhaps they were the ones who had brought the parasite monsters out of the Gate. The parasites from them transferred onto humans, thus they dropped dead...

Which might confirm Lane’s theory that the infected couldn’t be saved.

And that was not all. After quickly scanning his surroundings with his Mana Scan, he noticed that there were still some of the parasites hidden in the panther monsters. Not all of them had transferred to humans just yet...

"There are still those parasites around," Lane quickly warned the rest. "I’ll handle them first!"

Then, without waiting for any answer, he charged ahead, dodging some of the panther monsters to get to the parasites first. The paws of one of the monsters swished right next to him, brushing against his pastel pink hair, while another monster tried to get a taste of his thigh, but Lane didn’t even flinch, no matter how close the monsters got to him. He just navigated between them, quick, agile, and precise, not wasting any time on attacking them, and going straight for the nearest host of a parasite monster.

The rest of the team could deal with the normal monsters, but he was the only one who could see the infected panther monsters at a glance. If he were here just with Damien, then that wouldn’t matter, since the parasites couldn’t transfer to them anyway, but with Hallie and Arlo...

It was the correct decision, from the logical point of view, but once again, according to the protocol... Lane shouldn’t act on his own, without waiting for Damien’s orders. As expected, just because Lane had memorized (some of) the laws and regulations, that didn’t mean he suddenly became any less unruly...

Damien didn’t think much of it, though. While he knew that he shouldn’t let people undermine his authority as the Team Leader... Between the two of them, Lane was far more experienced. And since he understood Lane’s actions - he rushed ahead for the sake of protecting his teammates - he didn’t stop the man. He might have to reproach him later, but he didn’t really mind it, Lane breaking the rules, when it was for a good cause... So, he just gave a few commands to Hallie and Arlo, and focused on fighting.

They had spent hours, fighting monsters along the residential streets. Reinforcements arrived at some point, but as the news about the parasitic monsters spread, fewer and fewer Espers were allowed to assist in the efforts to suppress the dungeon break. After all, if they ended up getting infected, they would become monsters themselves, not only dying, but also causing more trouble to everyone else in the process... A few Espers had gotten infected in the early hours, and as it turned out, the parasitic monsters could still use their hosts’ abilities to a terrifying extent, turning allies into formidable foes in a matter of seconds. Thus, as time went on, everyone below A-rank was slowly withdrawn...

Out of all the members of Damien’s team, only Damien and Lane eventually remained (and Ethan, but as a Guide, he was waiting at a safe distance, to provide guiding or any other assistance when necessary). They fought the monsters near the Gate with a few members of the Guilds the whole day, sweating heavily from the physical extortion and the summer heat... Even Damien’s ice ability, which he used every now and then (even though he still preferred to stick to his sword) only provided brief relief, after which the hot, stuffy air felt even more uncomfortable.

It was only once the sun was nearing the horizon, and the shadows were growing longer, than the two of them were finally recalled. By then, all the civilians seemed to have been evacuated, and the area had been sealed, with teams stationed all around on the barricades, ready to shot down any monster approaching...

Or any human approaching as well, unless they followed the correct procedures. Because of the parasite, no one could just leave, even if they wanted to. They first had to be taken to the arranged inspection center, where they would be checked by the experts to ensure that they didn’t carry a parasite monster with them... While the infected could be distinguished by their behavior - they could no longer act normal or talk, and they would attack anyone who approached them - there was still possibility that higher-ranking Awakened might become carriers, unaffected by the parasite themselves, but transferring it to others.

And that’s where Damien and Lane were taken. After fighting on the front lines for the whole day, they still couldn’t go home, but they first had to wait in line at the inspection center...

Lane let out a heavy sigh, throwing himself on one of the plastic chairs. There were a few pool beds, but they were all for the injured, and Lane wasn’t unreasonable enough (or couldn’t be bothered) to request one for himself. He wasn’t physically tired anyway, just... concerned. There was so much on his mind, that he wasn’t even in the mood to flirt with Damien, he just accepted the strawberry protein bar the man handed to him...

"You didn’t get infected, I see?"

All of a sudden, a cold voice spoke not far away from them, causing Lane to flinch.