Parasite Score

There was no explosive gunshot as they had expected. Instead, a humming sound came from the muzzle as some kind of energy charged up.

The blue strips of light on either side of the barrel flickered rapidly, like quickened breaths.

"Damn it, there's a delay!"

Even the usually composed Sakayanagi couldn't help but lose her composure.

Her pupils contracted, and she shouted:

"Everyone! Predict its movements! This thing doesn't take effect instantly!"

Before her words had even finished, the muzzle flashed with dazzling light.

But thanks to that damn delay, the Parasite had already shifted its body.

The fatal shot, which had been aimed at its head, only hit its shoulder.

"Smack!"

It was as if an invisible giant hammer had slammed into it.

A tentacle on the Parasite's left shoulder and half of its uniform exploded instantly, flesh and blood bursting like fireworks.

"...?"

The convenience store clerk froze for half a second.

It tilted its head and glanced at its severed shoulder, which was still twitching. Surprise crept into its voice.

"This isn't America... Since when have Japanese high schoolers been allowed to play with such dangerous things?"

"Can't be helped."

"I'll just have to get serious."

Two tentacles tipped with sharp blades turned into blurs, one stabbing toward Sakayanagi Arisu, who was sitting on the ground, and the other toward Su Wei, who was standing beside Kushida!

They moved faster than the human eye could follow.

"You bastard! Quit talking to yourself like that!"

A furious roar rang out.

Ryuen Kakeru had finally recovered from his near-death experience.

Perhaps his delinquent pride had been trampled, or perhaps fear had flooded his body with adrenaline. Either way, rage had overwhelmed his reason. His face twisted with fury.

"If you can bleed, then you can die!"

"I've got three lives left anyway. Let's see which of us dies first!"

Ryuen gripped his katana and charged forward instead of retreating, like a raging lion rushing toward the exposed gap in the Parasite's abdomen!

If only his blade could land...

Even if they died together, he'd make sure to take a chunk out of the monster!

But courage alone couldn't bridge the gulf in their strength.

"You're such a nuisance."

The Parasite spoke.

The tentacle that had been thrusting toward Su Wei suddenly curled back in midair in an incredibly bizarre motion. Like a nimble viper, it instantly coiled around the arm Ryuen was swinging his sword with.

Then its bone blade swept across.

Ryuen Kakeru's charge came to an abrupt halt.

There was no flashy clash. The fight was decided in an instant.

"Shhk—"

His upper body flew forward, still in the posture of charging, while his lower body collapsed to its knees. The blade in his hand remained firmly caught against the curved blade at the tip of the tentacle.

"R-Ryuen?"

Ichinose Honami wanted to scream, but it was as if her throat had been blocked. All she could manage was a hoarse gasp.

Was he dead?

The all-powerful Tyrant of Class C had just... died like a fly casually swatted out of the air?

"Quiet."

The Parasite flung away the black sword caught in its tentacle. Its other tentacle didn't stop, instead following through and thrusting toward Sakayanagi Arisu.

Sakayanagi gritted her teeth and tried to roll away, but a sudden pain in her heart left her weak body unable to keep up with her thoughts.

Am I going to die here... when I haven't even had a chance to begin yet...?

This helplessness reminded her of the days when she could only lie in a hospital bed and stare out the window.

Ichinose Honami wanted to help.

But fear made her hands tremble, and she missed her chance. On top of that, the capture cord fired from the Y-GUN had a trajectory delay of its own.

All she could do was watch the sharp bone blade approach Sakayanagi's throat.

Was it really... all over?

Just as everyone thought the outcome had been decided—

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three quick, muffled shots abruptly cut through the battlefield.

They were the sound of the X-GUN firing in rapid succession.

As Sakayanagi raised her gun, Su Wei stood in the shadow of a streetlight, his eyes narrowed slightly.

An invisible web of psychic power spread out, instantly locking onto the Parasite's brain at its core.

That was right—psychic power.

Psychokinesis honed with the help of Doraemon's Superpower Training Box.

He wasn't strong enough yet to tear monsters apart with his bare hands like Tornado, but correcting trajectories and assisting with aim was a piece of cake. It was more precise than any fire-control radar!

Come on.

If he didn't have at least that much insurance, why would he really send these rookies to their deaths?

And how else could Ryuen have dodged the Parasite's sudden attack?

But Ryuen had already done his part. Now...

"Right on time."

Su Wei murmured softly.

One second.

Two seconds.

Amid the suffocating countdown of the delay, the curved blade had already severed some of Sakayanagi's silver hair and touched her neck.

"Die."

The Parasite declared victory.

But in the next instant—

Three invisible gravitational waves formed a triangular pattern, sealing off every escape route from the Parasite's core.

There was no suspense.

The Parasite, which had been planning to seize a new body and change its base, dipped its head.

"Psh—!!!"

It didn't even have time to scream.

It exploded from the inside out, instantly turning into a shower of blood.

The tentacle, which had been only three inches from Sakayanagi Arisu's nose, lost all strength at once. Like a dead snake, it fell between her legs with a smack, still twitching spasmodically.

[Target eliminated.]

[Mission complete.]

The cold notification echoed through the street, accompanied by Ichinose's crumbling, retching sobs.

Kushida Kikyo and Sakayanagi Arisu turned toward Su Wei at the same time.

The former was overwhelmed with relief at having survived; the latter searched his unruffled expression for a trace of something familiar.

For that moment, she forgot to breathe.

Only when Su Wei lowered his gun did his body seem to sway faintly from exhaustion. He gasped for breath.

"Hah... hah... Is it finally dead?"

"Su Wei!"

Without a second thought, Kushida threw herself at him. Like a drowning person clutching a floating log, she clung tightly to his arm, tears instantly soaking his sleeve.

"We're still alive!"

"Thank goodness... Sob... Thank goodness..."

Beside the touching scene of survivors embracing, Sakayanagi Arisu felt strangely detached.

Ignoring the cut on her neck, she let a thin trickle of scarlet blood slide along her collarbone and down into her cleavage.

Her eyes remained fixed on the hand of Su Wei's that Kushida was holding.

At a distance where a deviation of even a millimeter would have severed my throat, he fired three shots in a row...

If that was luck, then he was God's illegitimate son.

If it wasn't...

"Su Wei."

Sakayanagi extended her tongue and gently licked the blood from the corner of her mouth, revealing a captivating, unsettling smile.

"Your acting is pretty good..."

"But your hand didn't tremble at all from nerves."

Note ①—Superpower Training Box: A gadget from Doraemon, mainly used to train its user to master three superpowers: psychokinesis, X-ray vision, and instant transmission. It takes three hours of practice every day for three years to master them completely without any startup time.

Chapter 5: Parasite Score

"...Let me guess."

Before they could recover from what had happened, the group had barely returned to the Black Sphere Room when they heard Ryuen Kakeru's distinctive voice.

He sat leaning against the wall. Though cold sweat still clung to his forehead, there was no relief in his eyes at having survived.

"Judging by how half-dead you all look, did you get wiped out, or did you just barely complete the mission?"

"Heh."

Sakayanagi Arisu, who was also slumped on the floor, let out a soft laugh.

But she didn't bother responding further to Ryuen Kakeru's provocation. She simply raised a hand and gently brushed her fingers over her smooth, unmarked neck.

No wound. No blood.

Even the tightness in her chest and shortness of breath caused by her racing heart in the face of danger had vanished.

External injuries healed. Confirmed.

Then...

A flicker passed through Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes. She braced her hands against the floor and tried to stand.

Unfortunately, her legs remained heavy. The familiar weakness hadn't changed in the slightest, despite her injuries being healed.

It can even regenerate severed limbs, but it can't fix a congenital genetic defect... Or does that require spending points?