Thanks for the Invitation, I'm in Terra, and I'm a Parasyte

Drowning to death...

I'd been transported to another world, and I was going to drown before I'd even seen a white-haired, red-eyed beauty?

Seriously...

Just then, amid the lonely azure expanse that belonged to the sea, a streak of silver, the color of wind itself, brushed past Zuo Jian's side.

Zuo Jian's eyes widened.

That was... a girl?

And... she was alive?

For some reason, the instant he saw her, Zuo Jian could sense her vital signs.

At the same time, a bizarre urge spread from his chest through his entire body.

He suddenly desperately wanted to burrow beneath her skin and bite into the cranial structure known as the brain.

His body twisted as he rapidly approached the back of her left hand.

Sharp serrated teeth lined his ring-shaped mouth. Even skin far tougher than an ordinary person's could not stop him from drilling into it.

Squelch.

The insect's body instantly disappeared into the wound, leaving behind a tiny bubble that floated toward the surface.

Then Zuo Jian felt a warm sensation envelop him the instant he came into contact with blood.

It felt as though he were melting... no, it would be more accurate to say... he already was melting.

The moment he entered, his original body seemed to become a substance nearly indistinguishable from blood. It began spreading throughout this body, while the host's original cells were rapidly assimilated.

Was this... some kind of parasitic life-form?

Zuo Jian suddenly came to his senses and immediately understood his current situation.

He seemed to have seen something like this before.

The insect form resembled a certain famous anime, yet the assimilation process after entering a body was more like another famous, gory movie!

So that was it! It had the basic appearance of a Parasyte, but its assimilation process leaned more toward The Thing.

That completely avoided the issue from the former's original story, where it could not enter the brain after its arm was restrained. After all, it assimilated directly through cells and blood, like a virus—

Was this the ultimate life-form created by combining the two...?

Was the goddess a fan of gory movies and anime too...?

No, wait!!!!!

How could this be okay?!

At this rate, her brain would be assimilated—or rather, absorbed too!!!!

I didn't mind being reincarnated as someone else, but if that meant killing the original host first, forget it!!!!

Zuo Jian knew clearly that although this body's owner had weak vital signs, she was not dead yet.

If she had been a corpse, the instincts of parasitism and assimilation would probably have made him unable to restrain himself.

But she was alive!

His human will stopped the beast-like instinct before his body could assimilate her completely.

Damn it, it was way too fast. Only a few seconds had passed, and all that remained was the brain.

Come to think of it, the moment I saw someone beside me, I couldn't stop myself from rushing at them.

Was this a biological instinct?

What sick taste this was!

At that moment, Zuo Jian felt as if two voices were ringing inside his head—assuming he still possessed such a biological structure.

One of them constantly urged him to eat the host's brain and completely replace her.

This was the innate purpose of this body!

Eat it, merge with her, then kill, kill, kill!

Kill more, merge more, grow stronger, and evolve toward the ultimate life-form.

"I died trying to save someone."

Zuo Jian's own voice rang out.

"And now, after being reincarnated, I'm supposed to take someone else's life?"

"What kind of joke is this?! Follow my body's instincts? What do you take me for? A beast?"

Zuo Jian's will suddenly spread outward. More than twenty years of self-restraint forged as a human suppressed the instincts within his new body.

In the end, the cellular assimilation stopped at the outer edge of the girl's brain.

Had it stopped...?

Damn... but why... was I suddenly so tired?

So sleepy.

Damn... but this girl... should be all right now, shouldn't she?

Sorry... I couldn't control myself just now. I took over your body...

In the ocean, the unconscious girl was gradually carried toward shore by the waves.

I'm sorry... but now... I'm so sleepy. I need to sleep first...

Ah... so in the end, I'd been reincarnated as some kind of Parasyte?

...That seemed even worse than being reincarnated as an ordinary bug.

Huh, I'd been washed ashore... It sounded like someone was approaching too... Great... this girl should be saved...

Laurentina

A long sleep...

Was this a long sleep?

Zuo Jian groggily opened a single eye.

How long had he slept?

...It felt like a very long time had passed.

Right, come to think of it, I'd been reincarnated, hadn't I?

His thoughts gradually cleared, and the memories from before came flooding back all at once.

All right, so it hadn't been a dream.

Where was this, anyway?

Huh? I could talk now?

Zuo Jian looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings in surprise.

This was a boundless expanse of flawless white.

Pure... and empty.

He lowered his head but could not see his body.

Yet he could distinctly feel that he was standing here.

The disconnect between his vision and physical senses left him unaccustomed to it for a moment. After trying a few times, he began moving.

This place is huge... It's practically like falling into a void...

"Fuck, those Aegir profanity bastards, those Aegir profanity dog Aegir profanity things—"

Just then, a woman's voice carrying deep fury and resentment hurled a string of elegant curses from nearby.

Zuo Jian froze for a moment. What a smooth combo.

So there was someone else here.

Realizing this, he paused before walking toward the source of the voice.

It was strange. The surrounding white space was flat as a grassland, and as far as the eye could see, there was nothing there.

Yet after taking only a few steps, a person's figure really appeared in the distance.

Her face was filled with rage. She kept unleashing elegant verbal combos while swinging an enormous circular saw at the white plaster statue in front of her.

That was... the girl I had parasitized?

Why was she here... no, rather—

Bang!!!!

The circular saw suddenly smashed toward him, startling Zuo Jian.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?"

She stared at him with an incredibly intense killing intent.

Yet the next moment, she looked at Zuo Jian in confusion.

"Bones?"

Oh? So I had a physical appearance in other people's eyes?

"A talking skeleton without a skull? I don't remember having something this strange in my consciousness."

The girl swung the enormous saw down with a backhanded grip.

"Whatever you are, get out of here."

Bang!

"What..."

She stared in surprise at the headless skeleton that had taken her attack head-on without moving.

It was completely unharmed, not even budging an inch.

Uh, hello? My name is Zuo Jian. I mean no harm.

Realizing that fighting could not resolve the strange creature before her, the girl calmed down. She then put some distance between them and replied.

"Laurentina."

"Are you from the Church of the Deep?"

The Church of the Deep? It sounded familiar, but I've never believed in any religion... Well, I did believe a little, but definitely not in some church of the deep.

He had originally wanted to say that he did not believe in gods at all, but then he remembered that a god had thrown him here to be reincarnated... Though it had been very unpleasant... she was still a god, more or less.

"I see."

Laurentina put away her weapon, seeming somewhat disappointed.

Laurentina... ma'am? You believed me just like that?

Zuo Jian was rather surprised. Was she not worried he might be lying?

"Those idiots usually won't deny their faith. They don't lie about things like that. They only put on crazed expressions and admit it."

It seems you have... quite a problem with that church?

Zuo Jian asked cautiously.

"!"

Laurentina froze. Her scarlet eyes seemed capable of spilling tangible rage as she turned toward him.