I run away from the Takagi estate with the parasite's body clutched in my hand.
After all, I don't want Saya to find out that I saved her. Because if she sees me and recognizes me, she will come to the inevitable conclusion that I am not human.
Someone who moves so fast with that kind of superhuman strength can't be a normal ten-year-old boy.
She'll probably think I'm the same kind of being that ate her father's head. A monster that must be exterminated.
And I couldn't blame her for thinking that.
I squeeze the distorted face of the parasite in my hand and throw it forward with all my strength.
—Whooooosh!
The possessed body of Mr. Souichiro traces a perfect straight line in the air and crashes into the trees of the nearby forest.
Trunks break like chopsticks, and trees in its path fall, raising clouds of dust.
—Booom! Crack! Crashh!
Finally, the parasite's body comes to a stop as it violently hits the ground, leaving a small crater there.
I walk calmly toward it, my shoes crunching on the broken branches and fallen leaves. I look down at the parasite with a neutral expression.
The parasite had instinctively retracted all its tentacles when I hit it so hard.
That caused those disgusting pieces of flesh to settle into their respective places.
Now I can clearly see Souichiro Takagi's face.
He is a middle-aged man with strong, severe features. Short dark hair and a square jaw.
If it weren't for his crossed eyes looking in opposite directions, I would think that this is really Souichiro and not something trying to impersonate him.
With one eye looking down and the other looking up disturbingly, the possessed Souichiro slowly stands up.
His movements are stiff and remind me of zombies.
"Why... interfere... with my meal?"
The distorted voice comes out of his mouth.
"I won't let you eat my friend, you bastard."
I respond by spitting on the ground.
Mr. parasite tilts its head and its eyes roll independently in their sockets.
"Friend? Friend. Friend..."
It repeats those words.
"The bonds of the host... are irrelevant. Humans... are just food. Meat. Nothing more."
Those words make me think of the times I've thought of humans as food. My two friends Rei and Saya, who look delicious when I look at them, and the constant hunger I feel when I'm around them.
In the end, I'm not much different from the monsters.
Then I punch Mr. Parasite in the face, sending it to the ground.
—Cruuuak!
The parasite falls backward, kicking up dust.
It slowly gets up and tilts its head again. Hey, can you keep your eyes in place? They're scary when they keep spinning around in their sockets.
"Why...?"
It asks with confusion in its distorted voice.
"Because I want to hit you."
Mr. Parasite stands up completely. It brushes the dust off Souichiro's torn clothes.
"You... aren't human. I feel like... you're like us. Let's cooperate. Let's share the meat. There's enough for both of us."
I crack my fingers one by one as I smile.
"I'm not interested. Fufufu..."
I laugh in that sinister way I've developed lately.
"I'm more interested in beating you to a pulp."
Mr. parasite stands still for a moment, processing my words.
"No agreement has been reached. Then... you must be eliminated."
Cracks spread across Souichiro's face. They split apart violently, revealing sharp blades inside attached to writhing, fleshy tentacles.
"Fortunately, they're not wet or slimy tentacles..."
I murmur, observing the blades.
"I don't like those kinds of creatures in hentai. They're disgusting."
Mr. Parasite doesn't respond to my random comment. Instead, it kindly sends one of its blade tentacles over with the intention of caressing my body.
That caress would split me from head to crotch, leaving me in two symmetrical halves.
I take a step to the side.
—Whoooshh!
I feel the air hit my face as the tentacle passes inches from my nose.
At that speed, a normal human eye couldn't follow it. In fact, I myself couldn't follow it if it weren't for the fact that I ate two flavorless jelly-flavored worms.
That gave me superhuman strength, superhuman senses, and enhanced reflexes.
I grab the tentacle with my hand before it can retract.
—Gruuuiip!
I pull hard on it.
Mr. Parasite immediately loses its balance and begins to fall toward me.
I pivot on one heel using the momentum and kick Mr. Parasite just below the neck with all my strength.
—Cruaaak!
The creature is thrown backwards. But since my hand is still holding its tentacle, the blade detaches from its head with a disgusting sound.
The tentacle in my hand writhes violently. Soon after, it withers, turning gray and flaccid.
At the same time, the parasite's body leaves a long crater in the ground where it was dragged.
The parasite stops and slowly gets up as I walk closer.
The creature, whose head is split into many fleshy tentacles, speaks through the distorted mouth below where the pulsating flesh tentacles meet.
"Why... is your human body... so strong?"
Then all the tentacles twist from all directions at once. The blades at their tips try to tear me apart from every possible angle.
My fingers transform into blades.
And I deflect each attack one by one as sparks fly when metal hits metal.
—Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!
"Why am I strong?"
I smile broadly as I deflect another attack.
I propel myself forward, putting all the strength I can muster into my legs.
—Boom!
A crater forms where my feet were just a second ago.
I appear as a blur before Mr. parasite. I grab it under its neck with my right hand.
"Because I ate two worms like you."
I say with delight.
Then, with all my weight and the speed at which I moved, I push my hand down. My muscles bulge under my skin and Mr. parasite body hits the ground.
—Booooooom!
The ground shakes violently as if there were an earthquake. Mr. Parasite is buried deep in the ground. At the same time, cracks spread in all directions.
Mr. Parasite must die with all that force, right?
That said, I am in a moral dilemma about killing my friend's father.
Of course, this tentacle-headed bug is no longer Souichiro Takagi. It's the space worm that ate Souichiro's head and borrowed his body. Souichiro died the moment the parasite entered his brain.
But Saya will be angry if she finds out I killed him, right? She will hate me. She will think I am a murderer and a monster.
I wipe a tear from my eye.
"What a tragedy..."
At that moment, Souichiro's head moves in the crater.
It's moving!
It tries to get up slowly.
Seeing that, I quickly approach it and smile happily.
"Oh! Souichiro isn't dead! That's good!"
Mr. Parasite looks at me with squinty eyes. It opens its distorted mouth to speak.
—Creak!
But I kick it in its head before it can say anything.
Then I kick it again.
—Creak!
And again.
—Creak! Creak! Creak!
I kick it enthusiastically many times until all the tentacles are completely destroyed.
Shortly after, Souichiro's head stops moving. The tentacles wither, turning gray and lifeless.
It's dead.
Well, now I can be sad and continue with my moral dilemma, right?
I look at Souichiro Takagi's corpse.
And I realize that after the adrenaline rush of kicking it, I feel nothing for Souichiro's death.
No sadness, no guilt, no remorse.
There is only emptiness in my chest.
Does that make me a monster?
Well, I don't know. The only thing I know for sure is that I can't save everyone. Today, Saya's father died. And I couldn't save him because by the time I got there, he was already possessed.
I could only save Saya and her mother.
That will have to be enough.
As I walk back to the Takagi estate, I think out loud.
"At least it wasn't Saya who died. Thank God."
Or thank whoever listens to the prayers of a shitty zombie.
"I must be more vigilant so that the ghouls and parasites don't harm Rei and Saya."
That will be my job from now on. To help them from the shadows.
As I approach the Takagi estate, I see bright lights from police cars. There are officers patrolling the perimeter with flashlights and guns.
In front of the mansion, I see a familiar figure. It's Rei's father in his police uniform, talking seriously with Mrs. Yuriko.
She seems to be recounting what has happened in a trembling voice. She has bandages on her legs where she was cut by her parasitic husband.
Saya stands behind her mother, her eyes red from crying. She hugs her mother around the waist.
At that moment, Saya seems to sense that someone is watching her.
She turns her face directly toward where I am hiding among the trees in the darkness.
But she sees nothing.
Because I have already left the scene, silently jumping to another tree and then another. I head back to my abandoned house.
As I jump across the rooftops under the moonlight, I think about everything that happened tonight.
Worms falling from the sky, and those worms taking control of living beings.
Me eating two of those worms and gaining powers.
Saving Rei from being possessed.
Saving Saya and her mother.
Killing Saya's father, who was already possessed.
I think it's a horrible night for the most part, but my friends are alive, and that's all that matters to me.
I arrive at my abandoned building and climb in through the broken window. I throw myself onto the old mattress without even taking off my dirty clothes.
"Ah... It was pointless to take a shower."
I stare at the cracked ceiling as my heart beats weakly in my chest.
"I'm not much different from the monsters..."
But I am a little different from them. I have a conscience and I care about someone.
So even if I am a monster, I accept it.
That's better than being a useless zombie who can't do anything while his friends die.
I close my eyes and sleep.
Zzz~
×××
20 advanced chapters on Pá treon.
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