There are many guards patrolling throughout the Takagi mansion.
That makes killing the parasite without being detected extremely difficult.
I walk through the mansion's corridors following the mental trail of the shit worm. My sensor tells me it's nearby.
But I have to be careful.
Parasites are somewhat intelligent, even when they first obtain a host.
If no problem arises, they always remain hidden. They act like the original host. They walk like them. They talk like them. They do everything they can to go unnoticed.
The reason Souichiro parasite was discovered is because the worm probably entered him in the middle of dinner. In front of Yuriko and Saya.
I can more or less imagine what happened. Souichiro's body convulsing as the parasite took control. The grotesque transformation occurring before the horrified eyes of his wife and daughter.
And the first thing the parasite did after taking control was to attack them. To try to silence them.
It makes sense from the worm's perspective. Eliminate the witnesses and continue to pretend to be human.
But it failed, obviously.
That's why Souichiro is dead.
So, if this parasite is intelligent, and it hasn't been discovered yet, that means it's away from the guards. Somewhere where no one will bother it.
That makes my job easier.
I follow the signal through the garden. I pass some guards who barely look at me. I'm just a kid, and besides, I'm friends with the late boss's daughter.
I'm not a threat.
Hehe. Idiots.
The signal gets stronger as I approach a garage away from the main garden.
It's a small, old building. Probably where they keep tools or vehicles they don't use much.
So...
—Grumble. Grumble.
My stomach growls with anticipation because at that moment I smell fresh blood.
The metallic, sweet smell fills my nostrils and makes my mouth water.
"Shit. Control yourself."
I slap my cheeks to clear my mind.
Then I carefully peek through the half-open garage door.
"Um?"
What I see makes my eyes widen a little.
Inside, there is a dead man lying on the floor.
His stomach is completely empty. His intestines have been eaten, leaving only a bloody hole in his abdomen.
His shirt is stained with motor oil, and his hands are dirty too. It's possible that before he died, he was working on fixing the car inside the garage.
Poor bastard.
A little above the corpse is a German Shepherd with black fur.
Its eyes are crossed and its mouth is open and cracked in many places. Well, it's not as if some maniac had cut its snout with a knife several times. It's because it's not a normal dog.
—Grush!
With that wet sound, the dog puts the dead man's head in its open mouth.
—Fruuuuah!
And rips it off his neck.
Blood splatters everywhere as the dog chews on his head.
"Disgusting... ah, it looks delicious too."
But the image is repulsive anyway.
Damn it! I feel conflicted.
I had to ignore the smell of blood and focus on the smell of engine grease so I wouldn't be tempted to join the feast.
The dog chews the head with satisfaction while its tail wags from side to side.
It seems that the dog doesn't notice my presence.
I realize that.
It's too busy eating to pay attention to me. No, it's not simply because of that.
Then it's possible that only I can sense the presence of the parasites, while they can't sense me.
That conclusion would make sense.
After all, I gained this ability by consuming two worms, and they haven't taken control of me. In other words, I'm not a parasite like them.
'Nice. That's an advantage.'
I look around to see if there are any security cameras.
Seeing nothing, my fingers begin to transform.
The flesh twists and the bones crack as my ten fingers turn into sharp blades.
Since Mr. Dog doesn't notice me, I can take advantage of that and kill it without any problems. With that thought, I take a step forward, preparing to attack.
But then I stop before taking the second step.
Wait... killing this dog could reveal my identity.
Saya is already beginning to suspect me. I noticed it in the way she looked at me before leaving the room.
If I act now and kill the parasite here in her own home, it could make things worse.
She could connect various pieces of evidence that lead her suspicions directly to me.
Besides, there's a dead man here.
If I act and kill the dog right now, the typical misunderstanding may occur that the blame falls on me even though I'm not the one who killed the man.
"Tsk..."
I click my tongue in frustration.
But then an idea comes to my mind, and at the same time, a smile appears on my face.
I sigh and open my eyes wide before putting strength into my legs.
—Swooosh!
I run into the garage at full speed, and in a second I'm behind the dog.
I wave my arms quickly.
—Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
The blades cut through the air.
And they also cut the dog's tendons. Behind its hind and front legs without it noticing due to the speed of the movement.
The dog finally notices my presence. I mean, it would be stupid if it didn't notice me after cutting it.
It turns its head towards me and its face transforms.
Its skin tears and several tentacles explode from its head. Tips of the tentacles are shaped like sharp blades.
"Gruuaaaah!"
The dog growls and tries to approach me.
But its legs don't respond. It collapses pathetically on the ground because I cut all its tendons.
I smile broadly.
I kick its head with a horizontal hit from above.
—Bam!
His head hits the ground hard.
"Fufufu..."
I laugh as I kick it a few more times.
—Bam! Bam! Bam!
"What's the matter, Mr. Dog? Can't you move anymore?"
I taunt the parasite.
Its tentacles writhe, trying to reach me, but they can't because they're immobilized on the floor.
"It's a shame I can't kill you here. But don't worry..."
I crouch down and whisper in the dog's ear.
"...you'll die anyway."
I get up and run out of the garage and transform my fingers back to normal as I run.
Then I put a look of panic on my face. Eyes wide, mouth trembling, and a fearful expression.
"Help! Help!"
I scream as I run toward where I saw a guard patrolling a few minutes ago.
"There's a monster! A monster in the garage!"
I desperately point toward the garage building.
The guard, a large man in a black uniform with a gun on his belt, immediately runs toward me.
"Kid! What's going on? Calm down and explain!"
He questions me as he grabs my shoulders.
"T-There... there's a monster in the garage..."
I reply, trembling with fear.
"I... I just wanted to pee and then... then I saw a dead man and a dog... but the dog wasn't normal! It had things coming out of its head!"
"Eh... Really? Mr. Souichiro too..."
His eyes open in shock.
At that moment, the dog is seen limping out of the garage.
It drags its body pathetically because its legs don't work.
There are several tentacles moving from its head like angry snakes.
"Shit!"
Mr. guard turns pale and curses as he pulls a radio from his belt.
He presses a button and shouts into the device.
"Code red! Code red! There's a monster in the south garage! I repeat, there's a monster in the south garage! All guards report immediately!"
A siren begins to sound throughout the estate as it has been activated to alert everyone to the threat.
Within seconds, dozens of guards arrive running from different directions.
They are all carrying weapons, whether pistols, rifles, or shotguns.
And behind them, I see Mrs. Yuriko walking quickly toward us.
Saya and Rei are behind her.
Yuriko has a firearm in her hands that looks like a P90. Despite being wounded in the thigh, she moves with determination and eyes full of hatred.
Wow, she must want revenge. No wonder. One of these parasites killed her husband, and because of that, she is now a widow.
"Arata-kun! Come here behind me!"
I nod at Yuriko's shout and run towards Saya and Rei.
Rei is scared, as she has tears in her eyes. As soon as I reach her, she jumps towards me and hugs me tightly.
"Arata! Are you okay? You scared me!"
"I'm fine, Rei. Don't worry."
I gently stroke her hair to calm her down.
Saya looks at me from the side. She narrows her eyes suspiciously before looking at the dog limping towards us.
There is a great distance between us and the dog. Fifty meters, perhaps.
And it can't move fast because I cut its tendons specifically for this purpose.
So even normal guards can kill it if they shoot it enough bullets.
I think this strategy is the best.
Killing the parasite with my own hands might be satisfying, but at the same time, it's reckless. Letting the parasite live is stupid from the start.
So in this case, I would be an accidental hero, Yuriko and the guards would be the willing executioners, and the parasite problem would be solved without me getting my hands dirty.
Yuriko raises her P90 and aims at the parasite dog.
"Fire!"
She orders in a cold, authoritative voice.
—Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of gunfire fills the air as I see dozens of bullets flying toward the dog from all directions.
—Splat! Splat! Splat!
Blood splatters as the bullets penetrate the animal's body. The tentacles writhe in an attempt to defend itself, but it's useless.
There are too many bullets.
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
More and more shots.
The dog's body shakes violently with each impact.
Finally, after about 30 seconds of continuous firing, Mr. dog collapses.
Its tentacles stop moving and its head wilts.
That means it's dead.
Everyone stares at the monster's corpse with expressions of shock and horror.
Yuriko slowly lowers her P90.
"Check the area. Make sure there aren't any more of those things."
She orders the guards.
"Yes, ma'am!"
All guards scatter to search for other possible parasites.
Yuriko turns around and walks towards us.
"Arata-kun, are you hurt?"
She asks as she crouches down and examines me from head to toe.
Uh-huh! Ma'am, I can see your two mountains. They make me want to bite them, so can you move away a little?
"No, Ms. Takagi. I'm fine. I just... I just got scared."
I keep my scared-child expression.
She sighs with relief and puts a hand on my shoulder.
"You were very brave to come and get help. Thanks to you, we were able to eliminate that creature before it hurt anyone else."
"There was... there was a dead man in the garage..."
I say in a trembling voice.
Yuriko's expression darkens.
"I see. Perhaps he was one of our mechanics. May he rest in peace."
She pauses, then continues.
"This confirms that there are more of those creatures infiltrating the estate. We will have to increase security immediately."
Huh? More?
Rei is still hugging me tightly, and I can feel her face buried in my chest.
Saya, however, says nothing and stares at me with her orange eyes that were half-open.
Damn. She definitely suspects something.
But she can't prove anything. Because from her perspective, I'm just a scared kid who found a monster by accident and ran for help.
There's no evidence that I did anything else.
"Let's go back to the house. It's not safe to be out here."
Yuriko says as she leads us back to the mansion.
As we walk, I look back at the dog's corpse.
A small smile appears on my lips for a fraction of a second before disappearing.
'Goodbye, Mr. Dog.'
×××
20 advanced chapters on Pá treon.
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