It was generally believed that monsters were active in the darkness of night. Vampires especially fit that image. Parasites, however, weren’t averse to sunlight and typically followed the same habits as humans. As long as they didn’t have a reason to do otherwise, they woke up in the morning and slept at night.
They also didn’t experience jet lag. Regulus found this particularly interesting. But since he wasn’t a researcher, he would probably never find out why. He decided to abandon his curiosity and climb into bed.
Just as he lay down, there was a knock at the door. He immediately knew who it was. When he opened the door, he was not surprised to see Raymond standing there alone.
“Can I come in?” the teenager asked.
“Sure,” Regulus said.
In all honesty, it was not the best time. But from the moment he opened the door, Regulus figured this late-night visit meant Raymond had something important to discuss.
“What’s up?” Regulus asked.
“I wanted to talk to you about Minoru,” Raymond began.
“What about him? He seems normal to me.”
“Really?” Raymond asked incredulously. “I think he’s strange.”
“What do you mean?”
Raymond remained silent for a moment, not out of hesitation but to consider his words carefully.
“…You know how our telepathy doesn’t work across national borders for some reason?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, once telepathy is established, we share the same consciousness. That should apply to parasites no matter where they’re from.”
Raymond and Regulus had both become parasites after the micro black hole experiment earlier that month. Minoru’s parasite, on the other hand, came from a different experiment conducted in November 2095. It had essentially come back to life and changed hosts. Despite these differences in origin, every parasite was fundamentally the same kind of being. Both Minoru and Raymond intuitively—or rather, instinctively—knew this.
Technically speaking, Minoru’s parasite could trace its roots back to the same experimental facility in Dallas, USNA. This meant that Raymond’s claim about their different origins wasn’t entirely accurate.
“What are you trying to say, Raymond?” Regulus pressed.
“Why isn’t Minoru on the same page as us?”
“About Tatsuya Shiba, you mean?”
“Exactly.” Raymond nodded. “We should all want to eliminate him. So why didn’t Minoru agree with our plan?”
“He wasn’t exactly against getting rid of Tatsuya.” Regulus shrugged. “He just has other priorities.”
“But it doesn’t make sense. We already made defeating Tatsuya our ultimate priority.”
“We made that decision back in the States,” Regulus pointed out. “You just said our telepathy can’t cross national borders.”
Realizing his contradiction, Raymond fell silent.
“Parasites are drawn to humans with pure intentions and strong desires,” Regulus explained. “In essence, they are attracted by strong will.”
Regulus’s words highlighted the duality of parasites. A parasite’s perspective before merging with a human, and a human’s before being consumed by a parasite coexisted within the single transformed creature.
“It seems Minoru’s strongest desire is his wish to save the woman he loves. I’m not surprised that would take priority for him,” Regulus continued.
That morning, Minoru had intimately explained to Regulus and Raymond why he wanted to turn Minami into a parasite. Yet he continually omitted Minami’s name.
“But it’s not right!” Raymond insisted. “Tatsuya has to be our priority target!”
“I understand how you feel…” Regulus trailed off.
Raymond’s insistence had made him feel the need to eliminate Tatsuya, too. However, his reasoning was driven by the duty to neutralize a strategic-class magician who posed a threat to his country.
Raymond’s original plan was not to eliminate Tatsuya but to bring him to his knees. The shift toward elimination was influenced by the collective will of the Stars parasites, who saw Material Burst as a threat.
This was a perfect example of the parasites reaching a consensus. While the individual with the strongest desire often took priority in the parasites’ collective consciousness, this didn’t mean that one person’s will completely dominated the others.
For example, even when Minoru became the leader, the wills of Regulus and Raymond were not completely overwritten. Each of their thoughts still contributed to their collective decision-making.
“…That’s it,” Raymond said. “I’m going to talk with Minoru tonight.”
“If that’s what it takes to make you feel better,” Regulus replied.
He had confirmed the previous night that it was possible to communicate with Minoru telepathically. Since Regulus, Raymond, and Minoru were connected, Regulus would hear Raymond and Minoru’s telepathic talk.
Someone always ended up taking the initiative in parasite groups. Regulus had no reason to stop Raymond from doing just that.