-1 hour earlier. Phil POV:

I jumped down from the last house and I looked at the building before me.

"This is the place where I set up the rendezvous. Let's hope that they aren't aggressive to their…creator."

I passed through the door, meeting with a swarm of rats, all seemingly infected by the mold.

Even though I turned invisible, they seemed to sense me, they all turned their heads towards me, stopping what they were doing.

"Well, this is quite scary."

As I walked deeper into the house, the rats opened a path for me, being careful not to be in my way.

"Super creepy."

Feeling like I had to go there, I walked upstairs, meeting with more and more rats.

On the second floor, things were even creepier.

There was still a carpet of rats, but amongst them were creatures, ugly parodies of flesh, looking horrible with its exposed flesh, which was moved by the mold.

When I stepped before them, there was a deep silence, making the air tense and awkward.

What should I say? They call me their father so that means that they think of me as their leader. Should I act like one? Worse case I can still run.

Gathering some courage, I breathed in, took off my glasses, and spoke in a firm voice.

"My children. Kneel."

The creatures around me looked at me for a while, then one by one, they bowed their heads.

Soon I was the only one standing straight, as all the creatures around me were facing the ground, bowing before me.

This feels quite strange…pleasant even.

"…Father…orders…please."

Hmmm?

I looked where the voice came from.

It was a man, wearing a ragged closing and had a bag over his head, with two holes cut out for the eyes.

It is…like me?

"You who talked. Show me your face."

The one with the bag slowly stood up, took off his mask.

His face was mostly human. He had no hair or skin neck down, just green flesh. His facial features were distorted by the mold growing on his body. From his green eyes, nose, and mouth a small amount of small smoke was leaking, spores.

This ugly thing…is my creation?

"My child, tell me your name."

"I…don't have…one…can't remember."

As he spoke, more smoke escaped from his mouth.

"…Then I shall name you. As the first who can speak, I shall name you….Erste." (German for First)

As I said his name, a little amount of energy left my body, traveling into Erste.

[You named your first child]

[Name been set as [Erste]]

[ Title [The First Born]] been given to Erste]

So, I really recognized him as my child. Damn it, I died as a virgin, I am still one and now I have a child. Guess I won't have a harem then.

"First, my child, allow me to test out something. Hive Absorption."

When I activated the skill, I felt sudden fatigue. Without my control, a black cloud formed around me covering the infected surrounding me. When I could only see darkness, the cloud entered my mouth, crawling to the deepest part of my being.

Once the smallest fragment entered my mouth, I could see that there was no one around me.

[[232,166] infected been absorbed and placed in storage]

Storage? Does that mean that I can store the hive in my body? How broken is that?

"If there isn't a limit of how much infected ii can store in my body, then I could become a walking army, releasing an armada of monsters whenever I want. This shit is broken. I finally have an offensive skill!"

Feeling super happy I put my sunglasses on and looked outside the window.

What should I do now? I got the infection problem under control for now, but there is no telling how many carriers currently infecting other people without them are noticing it. The best thing I could do is make the antidote public and spread it all around the city. But then the guards of this town could use it against me. What should I do?

As I was wondering I heard somebody behind me.

I checked from the faint reflection on the glass, even in this darkness, I could tell that a girl figure was standing on the stairs leading down here.

Shit, who is that chick? That silhouette…it's that girl who has been chasing me around! How did she find me?! Wait, I threw a potato at her, didn't I? Does that mean that she is infected and came here when I called the infected? …Then that should mean that she has far gone, she is almost entirely turned. Right act cool, you are now an evil mastermind!

"I have been waiting for you. You are not as stealthy as you presume to be."

Nice, nice one-liner.

I slowly turned around, facing her.

She wore the same brown leather armor as before, but now I could see the signs of infection on her body.

Discoloration of the skin, the apparition of rashes, she is in a crucial state, it's a miracle that she can move right now.

"Are you the father who controls the monsters?"

Father? Right, she must have heard the voices of those monsters.

"Right, we never exchanged out names before."

I bowed like an elegant gentleman and when I looked at her again, I took off my glasses, showing her my burning eyes.

"I am indeed the Father or whatever you people call me. Nice to meet you, my soon-to-be daughter."

Yeah, this sounded creepy, perfect for the mood.

The girl stayed silent, looking at me horrified.

"…if you don't have anything to say to me, then I shall leave you be. I have other methods to attend to."

This seemed to shock her awake, as she grabbed the hilt of her sword, unsheathed them, and pointed one of its tips at me.

"You are under arrest for a series of serious crimes against the Holy City and the Empire! Give yourself up and I can make your capture painless."

"Painless…Well, it sounds tempting, but I cannot accept it. See you later!"

I turned invisible and intangible as I jumped through the window behind me.

Fighting her is a bad idea. I need to retreat to the hideout.

As I landed on the ground, the window from where I jumped got smashed, with that girl diving towards me.

"I can see you!"

I jumped away at the last second evading her blades by the skin of my teeth.

She can see me?! How?! Is it the mold or does she have some sort of magic that makes her detect me?

"This is bad. I need to distance myself from her."

From my pocket, I grabbed several potato bombs and threw them towards her.

"Wind Shield!"

Conjuring a strong burst of wind, she swept the potatoes aside where they detonated harmlessly.

"Oh yeah? Then why don't you try this? Hive Repulsion!"

Hoping for the skill to do what it was called, I quickly activated it.

As I felt the energy leaving my body, a thick cloud of smoke escaped my mouth, from which several hundreds of rats emerged.

Not what I was aiming for, but I can work with this.

Working out the plane in a nanosecond, I smiled towards the girl, who was still in the bobble of wind, looking at me horrified.

"If I, were you, I would give up. These rats are full of spores. If you attack me, I will send them out all over the city, infecting everybody. Imagine the chaos. Hundreds upon thousands turned into horrible beasts. Their lives rest upon your shoulders. What will you do?"

As I spoke, I have already formulated a plan to escape.

If she can see me while I am invisible, then I have to assume that she also has weapons able to harm me. I can't risk a direct fight. The best thing I can do is stall for time while I look for an escape. The sewers should be under me, so I can pass through the ground, land in the tunnels, and disappear.

While I was forming the map back home, something horrible happened.

The sphere of wind became brighter as some sort of green tattoos appeared on her face, even making some of the mold disappear on her.

"What?"

Before I could react, she zoomed around the place, killing, and stabbing the rats one by one, faster than I could comprehend it.

Probably thanks to the instinct coming from the monkey bones in me, I lifted one of the knives I was holding, blocking her sword which was aimed at my heart.

"Did you go super saiyan or something?!"

I jumped back as I tried to get some more distance away from her.

"DIE!"

"I would rather not."

Fully abusing the bestial instincts of this body, I paired her attacks with my knives, which were breaking a lot, thanks to her enhanced strengths.

"Lady, this look doesn't look good on you! So unladylike!"

"SHUT UP!"

Thing! Thang! Thing!

"What are these knives made of?! PORCELAIN!"

When my last knife broke, I grabbed something else.

Thing!

"Finally! Saw for the win!"

A bone saw. A bone saw beats a magically enhanced sword! Who through?

Actually, this thing was a butcher knife, but it now had a serrated edge, perfect to cut bones! I got it from...i cant remember. Bah, who cares, it works.

I parried and slashed, God knows how I managed to not be cut into pieces. I still sustained wounds, like having my nice cloth cut, even though I made sure to turn my body intangible.

So, my guess was correct, she can harm me!

"Do you know how much this thing costs? Because I need to buy a new one later!"

"DO YOU EVER SHUT UP!"

She slashed towards my head, forcing me to duck my head, feeling the wind able to cut me in half.

"Sorry, I talk when I am nervous and when I am about to be killed."

"SHUT UP!"

The shining wind surrounding her, gathered around her blades, making my skin crawl.

"Ehhh, can I still give up?"

She probably didn't hear me, she just screamed in range while swinging her swords at me, creating several miniature tornados which raced towards me.

"Okay, now that's just cheating!"

How the hell am I supposed to beat that?!

Not having any other option, I turned around and ran, sadly too slow, the tornadoes hit me in the back.

Gah, that hurt!

It was like having a cheese grinder pressed at my back, but worse.

Once the attack ended, the cloth on my back was ripped into pieces and my green mold meat was visible.

I feel on my knees, looking at the night sky, trying not to faint.

Keep it… together… if you blackout…won't wake up again.

I could hear her footsteps coming nearer towards me, probably savoring her victory over me.

"Damn it… I almost escaped. If I could…just… AAAAAAAAAAA!"

As I screamed in anger and pain, the black smoke started to pour out from my mouth and wounds, creating a carpet of darkness around me.

From this carpet, the mold monsters crawled out, squeaking, and roaring in rage.

Fully knowing what I need to do, I gave them my orders.

"Rats. Scatter and infect. Rest. Kill her."

As I said, the monsters roared as they rushed towards her, their mouth dripping with saliva, as the rats ran into the dark corners, looking for their prey.

I slowly stood up and faced the knight girl, who was busy turning my monsters into sashimi.

"I will kill her… I will kill her…"

As my anger grew in me, I noticed something strange.

The mold muscles under my fake skin started to shift, break out even, wiggling like tentacles.

"Right… This is the perfect time to go all out."

I tore my destroyed clothing off me, exposing my naked upper body to the wind.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

As I screamed, my skin tore open revealing the countless vines hiding underneath it, some even combining, forming even longer ones.

Once my transformation was done, I looked like a ball of various-sized vines and tentacles, covered in black blisters.

I will kill her!

While she was occupied with my monsters, I extended several appendages, trying to chock the crap out of her.

Unfortunately, I didn't take into account the shield which surrounded her, which cut them off before they could reach her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Angering greatly, she launched herself towards me, cutting into pieces the rest of the monsters in front of her.

Bring it on!

Controlling them as if they were always part of my body, I made the tentacles grab stuff around me to throw at her, but it was in vain.

Be it rock, wood, or meat she shredded through the stuff like nothing.

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

Once she was a meter away from me, she released the shield of wind by a shock wave, which cut off most of the vines.

"NO. YOU DIE!"

I don't know how but somehow, I did something.

The pieces of the fallen monsters and rats. quickly started to sprout various sized appendages which grabbed her, immobilizing her movements.

"Ghaaa! LET GO OF ME!"

Screaming, she waved her arms, cutting the vines apart like paper, giving me the chance to grab her with one of my remaining appendages and slammed her into a nearby house.

Not stopping, I twisted the vine, slamming her into another building before she could do something about it. Then another one, and another, and another…

I kept this up till the strange light around her faded.

This should be it. But I need to be sure about it.

Still being able to rationally think I tightened my grasp around her as I brought her closer towards me.

Considering what I just did to her, she looked fairly well, if not a little bloodied.

While I inspected her, I slowly retook human form, only keeping the tentacle that held her coming from my left shoulder.

"I decided not to kill you. I will instead use you for something."

From my miraculously undamaged pants, I took out a small glass vial containing a black liquid.

"Wasting a good test subject would be a crime. Open up."

I pried open her mouth and poured the content of the vial into her mouth.

Once I was done, I let her go and stepped back, waiting for the result.

While I waited, I looked around the battlefield.

Several hundred rats died, and some monsters are out of commission. Well, dead is kind of a stretch, I could already see that the cut of bits has started to slowly combine, forming further unholy combinations.

"Well, you guys did great. Time to go back home. Hive Absorption."

Once the entirety of the battlefield was cleared, leaving no trace of the monsters behind, I inspected the girl.

The green rash on her face now covered the entirety of her body, eating her from the inside.

It seems like it works.

What I gave her was a huge amount of mold spores, diluted in water, creating a sort of cocktail, which, when ingested, will eat the victim in record time.

"I wonder what will be left of you after the mold eats you entirely."

To my answer, the letters in my head answered.

[Enemy killed]

[[Blessed of the Wind] Killed]

[You received: 3.324 Exp]

[You reached lv:65]

[You lost 365 Familiars]

[You received 1 familiar]

[Congratulation]

[You Discovered a variant strain of mold]

What?

As I pondered about what I just read, the corps of that girl bloomed.

Several, small white flowers appeared on her body with the pollens in them were pitch black.

[New strain been named as: Calmed Wind Flower (fungus)]

[

Name: Phil Smith 'Plague Father'

Race: [Low Molded Chimera Skeleton] Lv: 10/70 (20/60)

Main Class: [Life Scholar]

Sub Class: [Runner]

HP(Health Points): 34/115

SP(Stamina Points): 125

MP(Magic Points): 75/75

TMN (Tamed Monster Numbers): [231.803]

Blessings: [Blessing of Nergal]

Active Skills: [Basic Steady Hand] [Basic Fast Eye] [Formula Creation]] [Hive control] [Hive Absorption] [Hive Repulsion]

Passive Skills: [Basic Body Knowledge] [Basic Plant Knowledge] [Basic Medicine Knowledge] [Basic Stamina Enhancement] [Basic Movement Enhancement] [Basic Reflex Enhancement.] [Basic Sponge Mind] [Perfect Stomach] [Hive Mind]

Affinities: [Basic Farming Affinity] [Basic War Affinity] [Basic Pestilence Affinity][ Basic Fire Affinity.] [Basic Life Affinity] [Basic Death Affinity]

Titles: [The One Who Saw A Thousand Worlds] [Knowledge Driven] [Chosen by Flies] [Medicine Pioneer] [Hive Master]

]