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

The man watched Laurentina struggle inside the cultivation tank, a smile curling across his lips.

"Increase the dosage."

"Bang!!"

A violent commotion suddenly erupted from within the cultivation tank.

Laurentina slammed her entire body against the inner wall of the tank, glaring venomously at the man standing some distance away.

"Bang!!!!"

Another impact.

Yet the man in question showed no sign of panic whatsoever.

"Heh. The material for this cultivation tank came from your homeland, Aegir. Feel what it's like to be trapped by the technology you were so proud of, Hunter."

Meanwhile, on Zuo Jian's side.

[Zuo Jian! Zuo Jian! What's wrong? Answer me.]

"Ahhhhhh! Kill those bastards, crush them, chop them into pieces!!!"

Pain caused "instinct" to overwhelm his will directly. An incomparably manic, primal urge to kill seemed ready to devour everything.

[Damn it.]

This couldn't continue.

Laurentina realized that if this went on, Zuo Jian wouldn't be able to endure it at all.

This guy had been forcing himself.

Without hesitation, her will overwhelmed Zuo Jian's, and control of the body returned to her.

She opened her crimson eyes and stared at the lead surgeon in the distance, her gaze filled with killing intent.

Crack.

Sharp claws covered the fingertips of her left hand, dark-blue muscle fibers tearing through flesh. (Think Parasyte.)

"What's this..."

The man widened his eyes, staring fixedly at Laurentina's mutation.

But she clearly had no intention of letting him keep watching.

She reached out and grabbed the injection device embedded in her spine.

Then she exerted force abruptly, crushing and tearing off the tightly secured apparatus.

Afterward, she pulled out the needle, making a throwing motion.

"How could it possibly break? This is—"

"Crash!!!"

The next moment, the broken half of the needle shot toward the suited "man" like a cannonball!

He barely had time to react before the oversized injector nailed him directly to the wall behind him.

Tap.

Tap.

High heels struck the ground with crisp clicks.

At the same time, there was a low scraping sound of metal dragging across the floor.

The "man" struggled to raise his head. Laurentina was walking toward him in a hunter's long dress, carrying an enormous weapon with an exaggerated design—both saw and cleaver.

"Any last words?"

Laurentina stepped forward.

Zuo Jian no longer responded to her. It was as if he'd fallen unconscious.

Tch.

What an idiot, forcing himself when he clearly couldn't take it.

"I..."

The man struggled to open his mouth, but in the next instant, his vision suddenly widened before turning blurry.

"Last words over. Next."

Shaking the blood clinging to the Meat Saw away, Laurentina strode past the corpse that had been chopped in half, unable to suppress the killing intent radiating from her.

The Climax

The gentle wind swept past her ears, carrying the rustle of fallen leaves.

Tired eyes slowly opened, and brilliant gold reflected in pupils like lakes.

Zuo Jian felt every part of his body. For the first time in a long while, the sensations throughout his body felt utterly real.

He got up and discovered that he was beneath a ginkgo tree blanketed in fallen leaves.

Tap, tap.

The sound of footsteps crushing leaves tore through the wind.

"Laurentina?"

He turned his head and looked at the figure behind him.

"No... not her."

Zuo Jian frowned at the strange humanoid creature behind him.

Flesh churned, while bones rose and fell like a small boat drifting across a sea of blood.

Its head resembled an ordinary male face, but its rotten, melted features made it impossible to distinguish any precise characteristics.

"This is... the depths of consciousness. Who are you?"

He took half a step back, warily watching it.

The creature stopped moving where it stood. However, the clots of flesh on its face seemed to be stimulated by something, continuously breaking apart and re-forming.

[Evolve.]

A low, hoarse growl suddenly echoed in his mind.

"What?"

Zuo Jian froze, failing to react for a moment.

[Evo—lve!!!!]

In the brief instant he stood stunned, the mass of flesh stopped re-forming. Its entire body took on Laurentina's shape, though it still radiated a crimson hue.

She lunged at Zuo Jian. He didn't even have time to resist before she pinned him to the ground.

"Damn it!"

Zuo Jian tried to struggle, but the next instant, her head split into four petals, turning into a bloody maw that bit directly into his shoulder.

"Fuck! Again?"

The pain this time was even more intense than before, nearly making Zuo Jian pass out.

In a daze, he fell onto his back and looked at the golden ginkgo tree overhead.

At some point, the golden tree that had grown in his memories had been reduced to only half its original size.

Its other half had turned into a bizarre form of crimson flesh and bones.

Within that flesh, countless dense, lightless black crystals could vaguely be seen.

Looking closer, dark-blue blood vessels could be found buried beneath it.

Damn it... This hurts even more than last time...

Wait, last time?

Last time was... getting shot? No, not that. Further back...

Laurentina?

Laurentina...

Damn it! Did I pass out?

Then what's happening in reality right now?

If she takes control, the pain will return to her side—

Splat!

The bloody humanoid creature froze. The eyes split open along its neck stared in shock at Zuo Jian's hand, which had somehow erupted with strength beyond all common sense.

His five fingers dug into its flesh like nails.

"I said I'd save that girl—"

"And now I'm trapped here because of pain?"

"Are you kidding me?!"

His eyes blazed like those of an enraged lion, his teeth clenched tightly as though he meant to bite the pain itself to pieces and swallow it.

"Don't... get in my way here. I promised her!!"

Will overwhelmed sensation, and thought buried instinct.

The half-remaining ginkgo tree cast down its dazzling afterglow, declaring that human thought and will had gained the upper hand over control.

"Damn it! Haven't I fully recovered yet?"

Laurentina braced herself against the wall, panting heavily.

The Meat Saw in her hand also lost its connection to her, falling to the floor before quickly dispersing into crimson ash.

Her body was stronger than before, but the weakness remained.

Her stamina was draining rapidly, to the point that even the wounds on her body had no time to heal.

No, this shouldn't be happening.

She could sense that even greater power was hidden within this body.

But she couldn't draw on it.

"She's almost out of stamina!! Get her! Capture her!!"

Splat!

The Deep Sea Cultists pouring in from the exit raised their crossbows and fired at Laurentina!

"Damn it..."

Had this body now enhanced even her sense of pain? Or had Zuo Jian's care made her too comfortable?

Several bolts lodged themselves in Laurentina's shoulders and thighs.

The stimulation from pain she hadn't felt in so long even affected her movements.

Hah... Looks like this escape plan has failed...

"Tch..."

Laurentina clicked her tongue in irritation as she watched the weapon-wielding cultists draw closer.

If she'd escaped like this before, then even if she couldn't get away, she would've found a way to leave these bastards with scars they would never forget.

From the moment she became an Abyssal Hunter, she understood that battle would follow her until death.

But now...

Laurentina sensed the symbiote sleeping within her body.

Damn it, if I act recklessly, Zuo Jian will die along with me...