Author note:
With this, we wrapped up volume 2 of Reincarnated as parasitic tentacle. next chapter, The sweets will finally come back, starring your lovely girl, Cecile!
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When the alarm rang, Cecile and her team gathered before the gate with their fellow soldiers. In the distance, enemy soldiers lined up.
"That's Latvin's main army," the beastmen said.
"What the hell? They're not even wearing armor. Are they trying to pass as civilians?" The general was confused, but James knew Latvin had adopted a modern type of combat.
Soldiers no longer wore heavy armor—instead, they invested all the iron they had into guns and bullets. Rough linen and possibly some leather armor were all those soldiers had. Even if they did wear armor, these peasants were low-level and could never stand toe to toe with real knights who had received proper training.
Part of Hiro still questioned whether what they had done was truly effective. This world had status. People could break stones with their bare hands.
The Latvin army began to march. Seraphine stood at the center of the formation. Ralph had taken extra precautions, covering Seraphine with full armor this time. Hiro couldn't help but frown at how this world didn't obey the law of conservation of mass. A horse was perfectly fine when Seraphine rode it with Ralph inside him—but when Ralph turned into full metal armor, the horse could no longer support them. Seraphine had literally become heavier.
By the way, Hiro could also do the same. In fact, the iron he had stored could weigh tons. However, neither Rebecca nor Marissa ever felt any change in Hiro's mass until Hiro extended his tentacle.
From this, Hiro inferred that all the mass inside the system was non-existent—or at least not physically present. Only when it was manifested would it truly affect the real world.
Seraphine raised his red sword, and several red spikes sprouted from his back. Then, he unleashed fireballs from the tip. His body blazed brightly. The marching Latvins quickly scattered, breaking their orderly lines.
James thought it was over—but it wasn't. The Latvin soldiers scattered and then charged toward them, muskets in hand. Hiro was amazed at their numbers. There must have been at least five thousand soldiers.
How had they convinced these Latvin soldiers to charge like that? Most people would panic and flee from fire.
When the enemy reached the hundred-meter mark, gunshots began to pop from their muskets. As expected, the bullets ricocheted off Seraphine's armor, not harming him in the slightest.
Then, Litmus knights began to chase the Latvin musketeers. The musketeers hastily retreated while reloading. Despite being lower-leveled, they were faster than the heavily armored knights, easily outrunning them. Then several gunshots rang out—
A hail of bullets rushed toward the charging knights. A single shot didn't take them down, but it was enough to injure them. Another bullet bounced off armor. Then another struck a knight in the eye—he screamed as the bullet tore through his right eye, blinding him.
Similar injuries struck other charging knights. The bullets didn't kill them outright like Hiro had expected from Earth's Italian wars, but they were enough to cripple. It was one thing to use kiting tactics against monsters, but another thing entirely when it was used on you.
Nevertheless, Litmus was winning. Seraphine completely dominated the battlefield, with Ralph firing artillery cannon blasts at the retreating Latvin soldiers. Since they kept their distance during the retreat, there was no friendly fire on Litmus's side.
Then, Hiro noticed a blade of grass swaying through Nana's vision. Another one looked like it was being stepped on. Hiro acted immediately. He relayed his thoughts to Cecile in an instant. Thanks to his new skill, there was no delay.
Jonathan was cunning and cautious. Even with invisibility skills, he took care to avoid Seraphine's line of sight.
James thought it was over—but it wasn't. The Latvin soldiers scattered and ran toward them, muskets in hand. Hiro was amazed at their numbers. There had to be at least five thousand of them.
How had they convinced these Latvin soldiers to charge like that? Most people would be afraid and run from fire.
When the enemy reached the hundred-meter mark, gunshots began to pop from their muskets. The bullets ricocheted off Seraphine's armor, just as expected. They didn't harm him in the slightest.
Then, the Litmus knights began to chase the Latvin musketeers. The musketeers retreated in haste while reloading. Despite being lower-leveled, their lack of armor allowed them to outrun the Litmus knights.
Then, several gunshots rang out.
A hail of bullets rushed toward a charging knight. A single shot didn't take him down, but it was enough to injure him. Another bullet hit and bounced off his armor. Then another struck his eye—the knight screamed as the bullet tore through his right eye, blinding him.
Similar events occurred with other charging knights. The bullets didn't kill them outright, unlike what Hiro had expected from Earth's Italian battles, but they were enough to cripple. It was one thing to use kiting tactics against monsters—but another thing entirely when it was used on you.
Nevertheless, Litmus was winning. Seraphine completely dominated the battlefield while Ralph unleashed artillery fire on the retreating Latvin soldiers. Since the enemy kept their distance, there was no risk of friendly fire on Litmus's side.
Then, through Nana's eyes, Hiro noticed a blade of grass sway unnaturally. Another looked like it had been stepped on.
Hiro acted immediately. He relayed his thoughts to Cecile in an instant. Thanks to his new skill, there was no delay.
Jonathan was cunning and cautious. Even with invisibility, he made sure to stay far from Seraphine's gaze.
Hiro immediately roused all of his tentacles from his girls—Elysia, Nana, and Rebecca. He then formed a huge arrow above their heads. The girls were far away, but with such a clear signal, Seraphine couldn't help but notice them.
But it was too late.
Hiro shot a tentacle forward, coating the tip with sharp iron pikes—only for it to bounce harmlessly off the invisible shadow. The figure revealed itself. Like a grim reaper, it brandished its bone daggers like scythes. Cecile raised her buckler and sword to defend, but the dagger sliced through them like paper.
Hiro stabbed a tentacle into the ground and yanked Cecile backward just as another dagger slashed dangerously close to her throat. The sudden motion threw her off balance, and she fell on her butt. The shadow didn't waste any time—it plunged a bone dagger straight toward Cecile's heart.
Hiro felt the horror through their link as Cecile gasped.
He wanted to rush his tentacle to her, but held himself back. Jonathan was still there.
It didn't even take two seconds before searing heat licked across Hiro's tentacle. Seraphine had arrived. His blade carved the air like a hammer of justice.
Hiro wanted to complain—the searing heat from this devil had prevented him from healing Cecile. But fortunately, Jonathan had already retreated, with Seraphine chasing after him.
Despite Seraphine's usual gentle nature, his current form could only be described as demonic. A long, sharp horn jutted from his forehead, and red dragon wings sprouted from his back. His roar sent shivers down Hiro's tentacle, and Hiro was glad Seraphine was on their side.
The heat had cauterized Cecile's wound, making it harder for Hiro to heal her—but it wasn't too late. He regenerated her heart and reconnected it to the slightly charred vena cava and aorta. As blood pumped through her veins once more, Cecile's breathing stabilized.
Meanwhile, the battle had reached its peak. Seraphine was relentless. His anger fueled the flames as the surrounding grasslands turned to scorched earth. Ralph transformed him further—Seraphine grew two or three sizes larger, his neck lengthened, and rows of sharp teeth jutted out from his mouth.
Seraphine went berserk.
He was too close for Jonathan to escape. If he turned his back, Seraphine would cut him down in a blink. So even as he retreated, Jonathan had no choice but to keep his eyes on Seraphine, blocking strike after strike from the god of war. His bone daggers clawed their way through Seraphine's armor, but Ralph ensured none ever reached Seraphine's body.
Still, Jonathan couldn't win in a direct fight. He was slowly, inevitably being overpowered. Smoke rose from his black suit as his symbiote cried out in pain. An opening came—and Seraphine didn't hesitate.
"AARGGGH!!!" Seraphine roared, putting all his strength into one final blow. His blade cleaved Jonathan down. The black shadow howled one last time before falling still on the bloodied field.
Seraphine then turned to the retreating Latvin soldiers. Their weapons might be modern, but the era hadn't changed—symbiotes still ruled the battlefield. Once the enemy's symbiote users had fallen, the battle was lost. That doctrine still held true.
Ralph withdrew, and Seraphine returned to his kind, old self. He dropped to the ground with a sigh, finally overwhelmed by exhaustion. Litmus knights pursued the fleeing Latvin soldiers on horseback, leaving the battlefield nearly empty—save for a few remaining defenders.
The battle was over. Litmus had won.
"Cecile!" Nana ran over, finding Cecile lying on the ground—weak, her leather armor and breastplate torn. A hole exposed her plump breast, still bearing the remnants of a scar.
"Ah… Nana… Sorry. I'm a bit weak. Could you help me stand up?"
"No need. I will carry you," Seraphine said as he approached, offering to lift Cecile in his arms and carry her back to Marissa's manor.
Cries of victory echoed across the battlefield, but they no longer concerned Seraphine. He had done his duty. He had slain the enemy's symbiote.
It might sound unbelievable, but this was actually Seraphine's first time killing another symbiote user. Yet he felt neither joy nor triumph in that fact.
As the sun began to set, soldiers cheered through the streets of Quantora. The enemy's symbiote user had fallen. Villagers welcomed the returning warriors with beer and freshly harvested fruit, and the soldiers raised their fists in triumph.
"All hail Lord Seraphine! He has slain the enemy's symbiote user! The first Symbiote Slayer of our era! Everyone, raise your cups to our lord!" the general declared, rousing the crowd.
But Seraphine raised his hand to silence them.
"General and captains, I may have delivered the final blow," Seraphine said calmly, "but this battle could not have been won by me alone. Without Hiro and Cecile, I might have been the one to fall today. So I forbid you from cheering for me alone."
He turned to the gathered soldiers.
"You must also cheer for Cecile, Rebecca, Nana, and Elysia—for they were the ones who spotted our invisible enemy."
"Hurray!!!"
"Yeah!! We have two Symbiote Slayers!"
"Hiro is amazing! He healed Rodrick!"
Praise flooded from the soldiers, their voices loud and eager. Hiro felt a little embarrassed, but the praise… was nice.
The soldiers celebrated until morning, their arms now stocked with the enemy's newly crafted guns.
Hiro thought, finally, he'd get to unleash some of his pent-up desires with Cecile and Nana—but alas, both were exhausted.
And so, the abstinence play continued.