Attack Of Parasites

"What's wrong with him? He looks like he escaped from hell," one student said.

"He looks uglier than the killer," another added, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

"All students must return home once you ensure that all your classmates are accounted for. Please form groups to check on your fellow students," said an official through a megaphone.

"What about our school supplies?"

"You will retrieve them tomorrow," one of the supervisors replied.

"Vice Principal, there are still three classrooms left with students!" one of the supervisors responsible for counting the students said.

"What?!" The Vice Principal was surprised by the remaining number inside the building and the potential danger.

"Hasn't the police arrived yet? They are late!" the Vice Principal added.

A conversation took place near where Izumi was, and he listened intently. He climbed a tree to confirm the presence of Morano's class outside.

"Migi, we have to go back!" Izumi said after ensuring that Mandorano was among the students trapped in the building.

"Is he nearby? (referring to Shimada)" Izumi asked, raising his right hand to eye level.

"Should we fight him then?" Migi replied, his eyes wide like Dobby's, pointing with his thumb.

"I'm really worried about Morano and the others right now!" Izumi said, running down the corridor.

"Izumi," Migi said, sensing that Shimada had killed others.

There was a commotion and a stampede among the students in the other corridor, which Izumi could see, but Morano was not among that group, even though those students were her classmates.

"Where is she? I can't see her! It can't be that this conversation is the last one! I won't accept that!" Izumi said, confused, thinking aloud.

"Shimada is on the third floor," Migi interjected.

When Migi reached the third floor, the corridor was dimly lit, with some lights broken. The corridor resembled a market for selling body parts—blood everywhere, walls painted red, severed body parts scattered on the floor, gouged eyes, severed tongues, some heads whole while others were not, feet, legs, fingers, hands, arms...

Shimada unleashed his fury on the students, evident in the carnage he had wrought. He could not accept that a single person had caused him such grave harm.

Izumi screamed loudly after witnessing the large number of victims that Shimada had brutally killed and mutilated. The scream startled Migi, who stretched out and tried to block what Izumi had seen.

"Calm down, Izumi," Migi said, visibly anxious.

Izumi fell to his knees, placing his left hand on his chest, in pain, sweating, and pale-faced.

"Izumi, control your breathing, relax... don't fight it," Migi urged, trying to soothe him.

"What has he done? How have I managed to escape all this time?! I'm shattered," Izumi lamented, blaming himself for leaving the building and allowing Shimada to kill everyone in his path.

"It feels like someone is squeezing my heart; it's shattered, ready to split..." Kneeling with his face on the ground, Izumi spoke, deeply affected.

"Calm down, don't worry. Just don't resist and breathe," Migi reassured him.

"Enduring this longer means nothing; it's futile..." Izumi thought aloud, struggling to speak.

"I don't recognize you anymore," said his mother.

"Izumi, you've changed. You're not the Izumi I knew," Morano said.

"Is it possible that you... are made of steel?" his father remarked.

A montage of loved ones flashed through Izumi's mind, all focused on a single point. Strangely, he felt a relief in his chest after recalling those words spoken to him, as if he had accepted the truth that he was different from others, especially after being brought back to life by Migi.

Is this what Migi meant when he said not to resist?!

Izumi pulled his left hand from his chest and stood up.

"Are you feeling better?" Migi asked, checking on him.

"Yes!" Izumi replied, staring down the corridor.

"I need to kill him for what he's done," Izumi thought aloud.

With no other path available, Izumi began to make his way to the other side of the corridor, stepping over the bodies. He came across the corpse of a girl, her face hidden by her hair. For a moment, he thought it was Morano, but upon checking the girl's identity, he realized it wasn't her.

"Migi, how far is Shimada from us?" Izumi asked.

"About 45 meters away, on this floor," Migi replied.

Izumi closed his eyes, concentrating fully and using his hearing to gauge the number of people on the floor. Moments later, he spoke, "Two are far away, three near us, and one monster."

He continued moving forward.

"Your hearing is truly amazing; you've become a formidable opponent," Migi acknowledged, impressed by Izumi's enhanced auditory abilities, which allowed him to detect both humans and parasites.

Izumi reached the end of the corridor, where to his right he noticed a passage marked by bloodstains on the ground. About 20 meters away, three students sat submissively on the floor, their faces turned toward the wall.

As he walked toward them, Izumi spotted Morano among them. The sound of his footsteps made Morano lift her head from the wall and recognize who was approaching.

"Are you okay?" Izumi asked, trying to keep his excitement in check, then knelt down beside her.

"Are you hurt?" he added.

She didn't resist or hide her intense fear; Morano threw herself into Izumi's embrace, sobbing. The other two students stood in shock, merely watching the scene unfold.

"Morano, it's okay now! It's okay," Izumi reassured her, standing up and trying to help her rise, but she couldn't manage it. Every time she attempted to stand, she fell again.

"Wh-where did you come from?!" one of the students asked, addressing Izumi.

"You can't," Izumi said to Morano.

"Alright, let's go together," he told her, leaving Morano kneeling and addressing the two students.

"Where to?!" one of them stammered.

"I came from that direction on the left," Izumi pointed to the path he had taken to reach them.

"Let's go back through there," he added.

The moment he pointed to the corridor he had just come from, a look of terror overtook the two students. They began staring at the lower part of his body, where his pants were soaked in blood as if he had dipped half of himself in a bucket of blood. His shoes had remnants of human remains, a result of his hurried steps over the corpses to reach them.

"What?!" one of them exclaimed loudly.

"How did you—? Everyone was killed there!!!" the other said.

The two students began to make sounds of wailing and crying in terror at what Izumi had said.

"It's safe now; he's not there..." Izumi tried to reassure them.

"Impossible! You said you came from that direction, right? How? Are you even human?!" one of them said, tears streaming down his face.

The terrifying look Izumi gave at the question "Are you human?" prompted both students to quickly get up and flee in the opposite direction of where Izumi wanted to go.

Izumi tried to stop them and convince them to return, but it was futile.

A few seconds after the two students had entered the corridor, their voices suddenly stopped. Morano managed to stand on her feet and took refuge behind Izumi.

"He's right there! (referring to Shimada)" Izumi thought aloud.

Knowing he couldn't reveal his true nature or fight, he lifted Morano onto his back and ran quickly to escape the area. A human with abilities that surpass ordinary humans still couldn't match the strength of a parasite, especially not Shimada. Therefore, Izumi had to take the shortcut, which might raise more doubts for Morano, but there was no other choice.