You Know the Rules. If You Want It, Come Take It Yourself

Their original plan had been to use Ken Sudō as bait to scout ahead and draw out the hidden Parasite, then pin it down with a Capture Gun that had no firing delay.

Once it was caught in the net, they would have the upper hand, whether they slowly concentrated their fire on it or simply teleported it away.

But they hadn't expected the Parasite to be so patient!

It had waited until everyone was on edge before launching its surprise attack, precisely disabling the weapon that posed the greatest threat to it: their control weapon!

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, standing in the shadows, watched in surprise.

Was it because Su Wei had just handed the Capture Gun to Shiranami Chihiro, letting it figure out the Black Sphere Weapon's limitations?

If that was the case...

This Parasite is far more intelligent than I expected.

At that moment,

accompanied by the click-clack of dress shoes,

all the tentacles withdrew like the receding tide, finally converging on the man standing at the boundary between light and shadow.

He wore a well-tailored suit, his hair slicked back without a strand out of place. His expression was stern, impossible to read.

Ichinose Honami raised her X-GUN and aimed, only to find that the lock-on indicator on the stock's screen remained gray, displaying "OUT OF RANGE."

She bit her lip, a sense of helplessness rising in her heart.

Ayanokoji's estimation of the Parasite climbed even higher.

Its control over distance is so precise... It's every bit as good as mine.

While everyone remained on guard,

the man named Gotou suddenly stopped.

He straightened his cuffs slightly, then let both hands hang naturally at his sides, signaling that he meant no harm.

"Nice to meet you."

"Though this is rather abrupt, allow me to briefly introduce myself."

"My name is Gotou."

He pointed to the severed tentacle still twitching on the ground.

"As you can see, I'm a creature known as a Parasite. It seems I'm an otherworldly being from a world different from yours."

"To be honest, although we need to parasitize humans to survive, I haven't killed a single person in this world since I arrived."

"In other words..."

Gotou's gaze swept over the group.

"You and I have no reason to fight to the death. Not yet, anyway."

"Until we figure out why we were brought to this world... perhaps we can work together?"

"Work together?"

Ryuen Kakeru sounded as if he'd just heard the biggest joke of his life.

"Are you kidding me? You crippled most of our weapons as soon as you showed up, and now you're telling me we should just leave each other alone?"

"Do you think this is child's play, monster?"

In the face of the taunt, Gotou's expression didn't change. He simply stated calmly,

"People can only communicate when they're on equal footing."

"I've already seen what those weapons can do. If I didn't demonstrate my strength first to put us on 'equal footing,' would you even be willing to hear me out?"

"..."

The group fell silent.

At that moment, Ichinose Honami stepped forward.

"Then, Mr. Gotou."

"Since you say we have no reason to fight, could you explain how you Parasites came to look like humans?"

"The owner of your current body... Is he still alive?"

"And can you guarantee that you won't feed on humans in the future?"

Gotou narrowed his eyes slightly and discreetly took half a step back.

"So, in your view..."

"there's nothing left to discuss?"

"Click."

The reply was the faint sound of a trigger being pulled.

Sakayanagi Arisu released the Capture Gun with a bright smile.

"It's not that there's nothing left to discuss. You never intended to talk in the first place, did you?"

"All this talk of communication is just because you can't guarantee you'll wipe us all out in one go. You're worried we have another trump card you can't deal with, so you're stalling for time and watching us."

"Am I right, Mr. Cowardly Gotou?"

Caught out, Gotou made no attempt to deny it.

His gaze flicked toward Ape-Man Omeros, already enveloped in a beam and beginning to teleport away. A look of wariness flashed through his eyes.

This technology, which could erase or transport a living creature without a sound, was indeed beyond his understanding.

Sakayanagi Arisu was right.

Even as the greatest masterpiece, capable of coordinating four Parasites; even knowing that his physical strength dwarfed that of any human alive—

Faced with the sudden transformation of the world and this group of humans wielding unknown technology,

the instinctive fear of the unknown still made Gotou set aside a predator's arrogance and take up the caution of a creature fighting to survive.

"Just as I thought..."

Gotou shook his head and slowly backed away.

"I can't understand humans... Hirokawa was right."

As his words faded, the neon lights that were still flickering were destroyed one by one, and he disappeared completely into the shadows.

"Did he run?!"

Katsuragi Kohei stared at the rapidly moving red dot on the screen, his expression grim.

"No. He's looking for an opening!"

Ichinose Honami made a snap decision and waved to signal Kamuro Masumi and the other unarmed students to retreat with the Intruder to a safe area.

Su Wei turned to look at Ken Sudō, who had just gotten up from the ground. The edge had gone from his eyes.

"Can you still move?"

Ken Sudō clutched his bleeding lower leg and said nothing. He probably wasn't in pain.

"Then go hide in the back with Sakayanagi and the others," Su Wei said flatly. "You can't take part in the fight ahead."

Ken Sudō gritted his teeth.

He glanced at the Tachi in Su Wei's hand, the weapon that had originally belonged to him, then at Ryuen and Katsuragi, who were already braced for battle.

In the end, the dopamine wore off, and the pain that had gradually surged back proved too much.

He let out a cry of pain, then silently lowered his head and limped away.

Having dealt with the burden, Su Wei gripped the sword and retreated step by step, falling back until he was beside Ryuen Kakeru and Katsuragi Kohei, who had taken up a defensive formation.

"Things don't look good."

Katsuragi Kohei watched the screen.

"Sakayanagi's remaining Capture Gun is almost in position, but it's too cunning. It keeps circling at the very edge of our range. We can't lock on at all!"

Su Wei sighed and offered up the information at the right moment.

"That makes sense. The Parasites we've encountered before could only turn their heads and arms into tentacles, which limited their movement."

"But Gotou is the combined form of five Parasites. That makes up for their weaknesses."

"So we have to charge in?" Ryuen Kakeru frowned and spat. "No wonder it's a twenty-point boss. It's not going to be easy to take down... Without the Reinforcement Suits, we'd be kited to death."

Before he'd finished speaking,

"Su Wei."

Ichinose Honami suddenly moved closer to him, her gaze resolute.

"Let's push forward together!"

"We're the only ones here wearing Reinforcement Suits. We can withstand its attacks!"

Su Wei glanced at her. "All right."

Meanwhile,

hidden in the darkness, Gotou listened to Su Wei and the others talking and learned through experience. At last, he had figured out the exact range limit of the Black Sphere Weapon.

The muscles in his hind legs bulged with a roar.

His five tentacles spread out slowly, like the claws of a demon.

Note ①—Hirokawa: Hirokawa Takeshi. In the original Parasyte, he was an extreme environmentalist who believed that humans were a toxin poisoning the Earth and needed an antidote to cleanse it. He thought the Parasites were that antidote, and once said, "Littering is a more serious crime than murder." In the end, the military mistook him for a parasite and shot him dead. Only after his death did they discover he was human. All I can say is: serves him right.

Chapter 42: You Know the Rules. If You Want It, Come Take It Yourself

The Spectator, equipped openly thanks to the cover of the Invisibility Spray, faithfully relayed the images of the next few seconds to Su Wei.

Naturally, he knew Gotou planned to launch a feint while sending Miki after the rear line.

Or, more accurately, after the remaining Capture Guns in her and Shiranami Chihiro's hands.

A wise choice.

Out of all the weapons, the Capture Gun really is the most devious. How are you supposed to defend against an instant teleport?

Su Wei silently praised him.

But he didn't rush to warn them.

As a teaching tool, Gotou had already tried hard. He ought to show him at least a little respect.

It would be a bit heartless to warn them again, wouldn't it?

So Su Wei kept quiet.

Only after Ichinose Honami had taken up her defensive stance did he act as if he'd only just realized what was going on.

"As a five-in-one Parasite, it's bound to be more unusual."

"It's not just its speed and its ability to hide and ambush. It's intelligent, and knows to eliminate the targets that pose the greatest threat to it first."

Su Wei's gaze sharpened.

"So... right now, what does it see as its biggest threat?"

"You?" Ichinose replied instinctively.

But she immediately understood. Su Wei and she were protected by Reinforcement Suits, making them the hardest targets for Gotou to deal with.

That left...

"Look out! It's Sakayanagi—"

Before she could finish,

"Zzzt—!"