The Mastermind Behind the Scenes, Starting from *The Fruit of Grisaia*

Their original plan was to use Sudo Ken as bait to scout the path, lure out the hidden Parasite, and then immobilize it with the Capture Gun, which had no firing delay.

As long as it was netted, the initiative would remain in their hands, whether they chose to focus fire on it slowly or teleport it away immediately.

Yet, they hadn't expected this Parasite to be so patient!

It had waited until everyone's nerves were frayed before launching a surprise attack, precisely neutralizing the control weapon that posed the greatest threat to it.

Standing in the shadows, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka witnessed this unexpected turn of events.

Is it because Su Wei handed the Capture Gun to Shiranami Chihiro just now, allowing it to confirm the usage restrictions of the Black Sphere weapons?

If that were the case.

The intelligence of this Parasite is unexpectedly high.

At this moment.

Accompanied by the "clack, clack" of leather shoes.

All the tentacles retracted like a receding tide, finally converging upon the man standing at the boundary between light and shadow.

He wore a well-fitted suit, his hair combed back meticulously, his expression cold and unreadable.

Ichinose Honami raised the X-GUN to aim, only to find that the locking frame on the stock's screen remained a grey "OUT OF RANGE."

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

Meanwhile, Ayanokoji's assessment of this Parasite rose once again.

This kind of precise distance control... is not inferior to mine.

Just as everyone was on high alert.

The man named Gotou suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He adjusted his cuffs slightly, then let his hands hang naturally at his sides, signaling no hostility.

"Nice to meet you."

"Although it is a bit abrupt, let me briefly introduce myself."

"My name is Gotou."

He pointed to the twitching severed tentacles on the ground:

"As you can see, I am a creature known as a Parasite. It seems I am a product of another world, different from yours."

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

"In other words..."

Gotou's gaze swept across the group:

"Between you and me, there should not yet be any conflict that necessitates a fight to the death."

"Before we figure out why we were brought to this world... perhaps we could cooperate?"

"Cooperate?"

Ryuen Kakeru acted as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world:

"Are you kidding me! You crippled most of our weapons the moment you attacked, and now you're telling me we should mind our own business?"

"Do you think this is child's play? Monster!"

Facing the mockery, Gotou's expression remained unchanged; he simply stated calmly:

"Communication between people can only occur when there is an equal relationship."

"I have already witnessed the power of those weapons. If I hadn't first demonstrated my strength to achieve 'equality,' would you have been willing to listen to me?"

"..."

The group was speechless.

At this moment, Ichinose Honami stepped forward.

"Then, Mr. Gotou."

"Since you say there is no conflict, could you explain the process by which you Parasites take on this human form?"

"Is the owner of this body... still alive?"

"And can you guarantee that you will not feed on humans in the future?"

Gotou's eyes narrowed slightly, and he retreated half a step without a trace.

"According to your meaning..."

"Then there is nothing to talk about, is there?"

"Click."

The response to him was the soft sound of a trigger being pulled.

Sakayanagi Arisu released the Capture Gun in her hand with a beaming smile:

"It's not that there's nothing to talk about, but rather that you never intended to talk from the very beginning, right?"

"What you call communication is nothing more than you stalling for time to observe us, because you cannot guarantee a total wipeout in one go and are worried we might still have some trump cards you can't handle."

"Am I right? You cowardly... Mr. Gotou."

Having his intentions laid bare, Gotou did not offer a rebuttal.

He glanced at the Ape-Man Omeros ahead, who was already enveloped in a beam of light and beginning to teleport, a flash of wariness crossing his eyes.

This technology, capable of erasing or relocating living beings without a sound, truly exceeded his scope of understanding.

Sakayanagi Arisu was right.

Even as the masterpiece capable of coordinating four Parasites, and even knowing he possessed physical strength that could crush all of humanity.

Yet, facing the sudden transformation of the world and this group of humans wielding unknown technology.

As a living creature, the instinctive fear of the unknown still forced Gotou to set aside the arrogance of a predator and pick up the caution of a survivor.

"As expected..."

Gotou shook his head, his figure beginning to slowly retreat.

"I cannot understand the creature that is humanity... Hirokawa was right."

As his voice fell, the remaining flickering neon lights were all destroyed, and he merged completely into the shadows.

"He ran?!"

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 prompt decision, waving her hand to signal the now unarmed Kamuro Masumi and the others to retreat with the Intruder to a safe zone.

Su Wei turned his head to look at Sudo Ken, who had just climbed up from the ground, the sharpness in his eyes already extinguished.

"Can you still move?"

Sudo Ken clutched his bleeding calf and remained silent; presumably, the pain was not yet overwhelming.

"Then follow Sakayanagi and the others to hide in the back," Su Wei said in a flat tone. "The upcoming battle is not something you can interfere with."

Sudo Ken gritted his teeth.

He glanced at the katana in Su Wei's hand—originally his own—and then at Ryuen and Katsuragi, who were already standing in defensive formation.

In the end, as the dopamine faded, the surging pain proved to be the stronger force.

He let out a pained groan and, without a word, lowered his head and retreated silently.

Having arranged for the liabilities, Su Wei gripped his blade and retreated with backsteps, gradually closing in on the defensive formation set by Ryuen Kakeru and Katsuragi Kohei.

"The situation is bad."

Katsuragi Kohei stared at the screen:

"Sakayanagi's surviving Capture Gun will be in position soon, but he is too cunning; he keeps hovering at the edge of our effective range, making it impossible to lock on!"

Su Wei sighed, throwing out information at the right moment:

"That's normal. The Parasites we encountered before could only mutate their heads and arms into tentacles, which limited their mobility."

"But this Gotou is a composite of five Parasites, which effectively covers his weaknesses."

"Are you telling us to charge in?"

Ryuen Kakeru frowned and spat: "As expected of a boss worth twenty points, he's not so easy to take down... If we didn't have these Reinforcement Suits, we'd probably be kited to death by him."

Before he could finish.

"Su Wei-kun."

Ichinose Honami suddenly moved closer to Su Wei, her eyes resolute.

"Let's push up together!"

"Here... only we are wearing Reinforcement Suits and can withstand his attacks!"

Su Wei glanced at her: "Fine."

At the same time.

Hidden in the darkness, having deduced the limits of the Black Sphere weapon's range through Su Wei and the others' conversation and his own practical experimentation, Gotou finally had it all figured out.

The muscles in his hind legs bulged violently.

The five spread-out tentacles slowly unfurled like the claws of a demon.

--End of Chapter--

Note 1: Hirokawa: Hirokawa Takeshi. An extreme environmentalist from the original Parasyte series who believed humans were the planet's toxin and needed an antidote to detoxify the Earth, with Parasites being that antidote. He famously said, "Littering is a more serious crime than murder." He was eventually shot and killed by troops who identified him as a Parasite, only for it to be discovered after his death that he was human. Let's just say, good riddance.

Chapter 42: You Know the Rules, Come and Take It Yourself

With the "Invisibility Spray" providing cover, the "Spectator" that he was able to equip openly fed the footage of the next few seconds faithfully to Su Wei.

He naturally knew that Gotou intended to feign an attack, while in reality, he was splitting off Miki to target the backline.

Or more accurately, to target the Capture Gun in the hands of her and Shiranami Chihiro that had not yet been destroyed.

"A wise choice."

"Of all the weapons, the Capture Gun is truly the most insidious. How is one supposed to defend against a zero-frame transmission?"

Su Wei inwardly praised the move.

Yet, he did not rush to offer a reminder.

As a teaching tool, Gotou had already worked hard enough; he deserved at least that much respect.

To intervene now would seem a bit heartless, wouldn't it?

And so, Su Wei held his tongue.

It was not until Ichinose Honami had set her defensive stance that he acted as if he had just realized something.

"As a five-in-one Parasite, it is bound to be even more extraordinary."

"It possesses not only movement speed and the ability to hide for sneak attacks, but also intelligence. It knows to prioritize the elimination of targets that pose a threat to it."

Su Wei's gaze turned sharp:

"Then... in its eyes right now, what is the greatest threat?"

"You?"

Ichinose instinctively replied.

But she immediately realized her mistake—Su Wei and she were both protected by Reinforcement Suits, making them the toughest nuts for Gotou to crack.

Then, that left...

"Oh no! It's Sakayanagi—"

Before the words could leave her lips.

"Zzzzt—!"