Thanks for the Invite, I'm in Terra, and I'm a Parasite Chapter 21

"I can't accept this."

"Was it negligence, or did I go easy on her?"

"Is this related to that Deep Sea bishop named Amaya whom we let go?"

"If I'd worked more efficiently with Laurentina back then..."

"Wouldn't I have had to watch something that was clearly a part of me... and also a part of Laurentina, turn into a monster that devoured human lives?"

"Drip."

Zuo Jian took control of the body. Hardened carapace began extending from the base of its tailbone.

"Church of the Deep..."

"ROAR!!!"

As if sensing the threat, the twisted humanoid before him let out a strange howl at Zuo Jian.

Then, its limbs imitated Zuo Jian's, hardening into blade-like structures!

It assumed an attacking stance, trying to strike before he could.

However.

Zuo Jian raised his head. His single eye watched the clawing "monster" before him in silent, merciless stillness.

"Wake up, a part of me."

Splat!

Splat!!

!!!

The "monster" froze. More slender arms suddenly sprouted from its body.

Yet those arms bent around, wrapping themselves around the joints that were trying to attack.

One arm from its shoulder blade even tore open the mass of flesh covering its face and eyes.

"ROAR!!!!!"

"So I can only hinder its movements temporarily... Heh..."

Zuo Jian lowered his head and seemed to shake it bitterly.

Clang!

The tip of his newly formed tail gleamed with a chilling light, like the edge of a long blade.

A claw gripped his blade-like tail, and the friction between hard objects even threw off a few sparks!

"Rest in peace... And..."

"I'll make sure those scum from the Church of the Deep..."

"Don't leave a single one alive."

Transformation

Screech—

His hard claws tightly gripped his extended tail, assuming a stance like an iaijutsu draw.

Zuo Jian knew no martial arts, nor did he have any real combat experience.

But at this moment, he possessed the ability to freely alter every structure of his body.

If that was the case, then he would alter his structure and optimize away every function that wasn't needed right now.

At once, his arms began to deform, and the muscle structure extended toward their ends.

In that instant, all flexibility in his limbs was abandoned.

Every joint warped, retaining only a range of motion along a fixed trajectory.

Yes, like a type of infantry-like creature that emerged among certain insect species.

Their entire bodies were covered in carapace, with no digestive or feeding organs inside.

Because they had been created to kill, and for nothing but killing.

The moment they opened their eyes, their lives were already counting down. Yet until death, they would never stop their scything claws.

Crack.

The final bone was adjusted into the position it needed.

The body Zuo Jian controlled gave a faint sound.

Curved blades also emerged from the middles of its two arms.

His arms and tail—three blades—now concentrated all their power at a single point.

For that, he had adjusted his body's structure into a form made solely to unleash the next strike.

"AAAAAAH—"

As if instinctively sensing the threat, the bloody humanoid restrained by the arms extending from its own body began howling. At the same time, the skin across its entire body began to harden.

The hardened skin spread in from all sides. For the first time, it felt the instinct called fear. Its desire to survive drove it to constantly reinforce its defenses, layering hardening upon hardening!

At the same time, several emerging faces began frantically spewing Originium crystals toward the figure still gathering power before them.

Whoosh.

Black crystals collided with scarlet carapace, producing a crisp metallic ring and spraying sparks everywhere.

Its body could clearly regenerate endlessly.

But why?

Why was its body's instinct constantly sounding alarms at the sight of that posture made only for slashing?!

Keep hardening!

Fear drove it to madly compress its flesh, turning even deeper layers into hardened carapace.

At the same time, a bluish-white bony layer surfaced across its skin. The Seaborn part of it had also reacted to the threat.

However, just as it frantically altered itself to survive.

In an instant, the killing intent that had filled the air vanished out of nowhere.

Several pupils in its head widened. Then, a strand of silver-white hair swept through the corner of its vision.

"It's over. Give control back to her."

She spoke, and then the carapace dispersed, returning her to the beautiful form a young girl should have.

Boom!

The bloody humanoid's pupils widened as its body slowly fell to the ground in three sections.

The eyeballs that dropped onto the floor even saw three bottomless blade marks appear on the wall behind them.

Its several eyes hadn't even had the slightest chance to react?!

"...Hm? It's over?"

Laurentina blinked, then looked at the squirming chunks of flesh on the ground.

"But this thing looks like it's still alive."

[The moment we broke through the hardened layer and touched its flesh, it was already over.]

[The part that belonged to me was awakened again.]

As if to confirm Zuo Jian's words.

The chunks of flesh on the ground suddenly began convulsing violently. Then, blue blood was continuously forced out as scarlet limbs constantly changed shape. Finally, the three chunks became three dog-like creatures standing on all fours.

[There are a lot of... nutrients inside them. But their source makes me feel a little sick.]

Laurentina's skirt drifted toward the charred massive lump of flesh nearby.

Her opened pupils stared at the densely packed, vicious human faces on it, her expression filled with extreme disgust.

"...Is that so? Then what do you plan to do?"

Laurentina crouched down and looked at the three masses of flesh now completely under control.

[The reason these masses of flesh are difficult to control directly is because they're mixed with the consciousnesses of quite a few other people.]

[Some were assimilated, while others were directly absorbed. The latter became fuel, while the former had their consciousnesses imprisoned within this body, becoming part of its chaotic thoughts.]

[I've reclaimed control, but these dead souls need an answer.]

As Zuo Jian spoke, the chunks of flesh on the ground shifted toward more tangible forms.

Tails extended, barbs appeared, sharp heads grew fangs, and they became four-legged monsters resembling canines.

After the three flesh-constructed monsters each underwent different transformations, they suddenly contracted again.

The outer flesh and bone spines withdrew, while fur turned back out across their surfaces.

In just a few seconds, they changed from three hideous flesh monsters into ordinary-looking household dogs.

Or rather, Perros.

Laurentina raised her left hand. Her thumb turned into a sharp blade and sliced her index finger. Fresh blood seeped from the cut, then dripped onto the ground.

The three harmless-looking dogs gathered around and sniffed her blood.

After letting out a few low growls, they raced swiftly down the basement passage.

[Let's go. Let's see how that Inquisitor is doing.]

"Mm, okay."

Laurentina turned and looked toward where the three hounds had disappeared.

Zuo Jian... had adapted so quickly?

A strange feeling suddenly arose within her.

[What's wrong?]

The tentacle floating beside her opened its single eye and looked at her.

"I—"

[Are you feeling unwell? No, should I say your head feels unwell?]

[Did changing the structure of your body just now hurt you? Does anything feel wrong?]

The tentacle transformed and hovered around her as Zuo Jian's worried voice rang out.

[Laurentina, tell me if you feel uncomfortable anywhere. The parts that belong to you can't be repaired casually. Wait, has it already been twenty-four hours since you last ate properly?]

[Damn it, how did I overlook that? The brain needs things like glucose to keep functioning. Do you feel like you're about to pass out like before...]

"You... you're actually the nagging type?"

[Huh? Nagging? Who do you think I'm worried about?!]

Was it an illusion?

Laurentina looked at the pupil beside her, its gaze flustered and exasperated, while Zuo Jian continued chattering away in her ear.

"Yes, yes, yes... I know, I know. Protect myself properly. I'm only a fragile Abyssal Hunter, a pitiful shark, while you're the powerful perfect organism~"

Sick, So a Smaller Update

"Zuo Jian, do you have a way to save this Inquisitor?"

Laurentina came to Dario's side and crouched down, looking at the large red lump of flesh attached to his chest.

This was a part Zuo Jian had left behind. Almost none of this Inquisitor's internal organs were still functioning normally. Without that lump of flesh temporarily mimicking external organs, he likely would've stopped breathing by now.

[His heart can't function normally either, and his left lung was completely ruined by shattered ribs.]

[...Wait?]

Just as Zuo Jian was finding this difficult, a peculiar change occurring inside Dario's body caught his attention.

[Hm? Wait, Originium crystals are starting to gather inside him?]