Attack Of Parasites

"Wait! If you keep going that way, you'll hit a seawall!" Maki added.

But Izumi had already left. Maki stood there for a moment, then quickly followed after him, trying to correct his course.

"Wait..." Maki shouted at the top of her lungs, hoping he would hear her.

There was no use; Izumi's speed was extraordinary, something he had yet to realize. Along with his acute hearing, he could now outpace the fastest athlete in the world in short distances. It seemed the weakness Megi had mentioned had allowed Izumi to gain various abilities that helped him survive during Megi's absence.

"Wait...! He's incredibly fast!" Maki, unable to see him, slowed her pace.

"Izumi, do I need to confirm?" Megi said as Izumi ran through the dense trees.

"Confirm what?" Izumi asked.

"Is it okay if I kill her?" Megi asked, wanting to ensure he wouldn't find himself in the same situation as last time when Izumi had blocked his path and he couldn't do anything.

Breathing heavily, Izumi came to a stop at the seawall that Maki had mentioned.

A montage of memories with his mother flashed before his eyes: the love she had for him, her concern for his safety, her smile, her care during his childhood, the burns she suffered to save him, right up to their last meeting.

"Yes, just the thought of a monster controlling her and killing in her name and form makes my blood boil," Izumi said, tears streaming down his face.

After a while of waiting at the wall, Maki arrived, struggling to catch her breath. She wanted to speak but couldn't, collapsing to the ground, gasping for air.

"I asked you... to slow down... but you ran... without stopping," Maki said in a broken voice.

"To reach the beach, you need to take that path..." With a faint smile, Maki raised her right hand to indicate the direction Izumi should take.

Izumi's wait at the wall was not to wait for Maki or redirect him; that pause was purely to recall the moments he had shared with his mother.

The six-meter-high wall was no obstacle for Izumi; he jumped over it in a single leap without needing to climb or backtrack. From his spot, Izumi soared over the wall.

"Really!!! This is unbelievable!!!" Maki exclaimed in awe.

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks filled the air, and the beach was devoid of people. Izumi glanced to his right and spotted something near the rocks at the end of the shore; there was no doubt someone was there.

"It has to be her, at the end of the beach," Izumi said, launching himself forward with incredible speed, his right hand extended in front of him, Megi wielding his cinquedea at the ready.

"Izumi, there's something else you need to know," Megi said.

"You always have terrible timing when it comes to revealing something important," Izumi criticized Megi for the timing of his words.

"It's about you! I just confirmed it myself, but..." Megi started.

"Save it for later," Izumi said, preferring to focus on his target.

"I won't let you escape. I will kill you; you will pay for the murder of my mother, you monster." Izumi's thoughts echoed loudly in his mind as he approached the target he had seen vanish behind a large rock.

Izumi jumped over the massive boulder to find a motionless human figure sitting there.

"Don't even think about escaping," Izumi said loudly.

The person turned upon hearing Izumi's words. It was a chubby young man with childlike features, round marks on both cheeks. He looked somewhat nervous, and his appearance gave no indication that he was involved in the crimes occurring in the area.

"Did I make a mistake?" Izumi said, frustrated by what he found.

Izumi jumped over the obstacle rock that separated them to stand beside him on the same boulder. He approached with steady steps, exuding an impression of strength and courage. Stopping, Izumi addressed Megi.

"It wasn't her... but that's okay. Every time we make a mistake, we can still take down one of their monsters."

Megi produced a Boker smatchet knife, 9 centimeters long, from three of his limbs. The chubby young man panicked and raised both hands high in a gesture of surrender, stammering, "W-w-wait a moment!"

Pausing, Izumi stared at the young man, who showed no violent reaction. Even the parasite within him did not intervene to defend its host.

"What's the matter, Megi?" Izumi asked, noticing that Megi was taking a long time without doing anything.

Drops of sweat formed on the young man's forehead, his lips trembling in fear, still keeping his large hands raised in the air.

After a long silence, Megi spoke, "He still has his human mind!"

"What! Where?" Izumi asked, referring to the location of the parasite in the young man's body.

Moments later, the chubby young man began making strange noises, sounds indicating that something was about to happen. Indeed, his mouth began to stretch into an unusually large size, resembling a jug—a water jug. His mouth sagged, obscuring his neck and upper chest, with eight fangs in his upper jaw and the same in the lower jaw, with a short but thick tongue between each pair of fangs.

"This is a bit strange, just the hands?" the parasite's voice came through, giving the impression that it was peaceful, unlike all the others Izumi had encountered.

Izumi was startled by the transformation of the young man and stumbled back two unsteady steps, falling to the ground. The change had occurred in the upper part of the body (the face). He wondered aloud, "How can this be a human mind?!"

The young man placed both hands over his mouth in an attempt to return to his normal form so he could speak. He succeeded and said innocently, "No, it's the truth."

The parasite intervened again, appearing in its previously described form and said, "It is the truth, human, can't you see!" It then began to laugh hysterically while the young man tried to suppress it.

Expressions of disbelief marked Izumi's face. Megi intervened to clarify, addressing Izumi, "He's right; his brain is intact, from the lower part of his face to the front of his neck, and maybe extending to his chest..."

"That's true," the chubby young man interrupted Izumi.

The persistent parasite appeared once more, this time taking on a new shape, with a square face and eyes resembling Dobby's. It said, in a state of glee, "So we are in the same situation!" referring to the same condition as Megi—failing to control the brain.

The overweight young man sat on a rock and decided to tell his story. "Six months after my marriage, my wife ran away. She didn't tell me why, and to this day, I still don't know where she is. She probably left the country. I searched for her in many provinces and reached out to her family, but to no avail. The way her family spoke to me didn't suggest she was missing. I believe she grew tired of my calm, hesitant, innocent, kind, and compassionate personality. I won't say I'm weak, as she often considered me to be; being a calm, kind, and compassionate person doesn't mean you're weak.