"Damn it, I wasted three hours waiting for you," Silvain muttered impatiently under the streetlamp.
His footsteps echoed, accompanied by a figure trailing not far behind.
"Damn it, I wasted three hours waiting for you," the figure repeated stiffly, as if mimicking him word for word.
Silvain turned to look at the stalker who had been tailing him. The middle-aged man appeared ordinary, but his white shirt was stained with a large patch of blood. Under the moonlight, his face looked especially pale, his eyes completely lifeless.
The moment he realized he had been discovered, the man abandoned all pretense and lunged at Silvain like a wild beast.
As he attacked, several cracks appeared across his face. Then, his facial skin split apart into several fleshy strips, peeling outward to reveal dense, razor-sharp teeth embedded within. It looked like a grotesque and repulsive flower of blood and flesh.
"How disgusting."
Silvain swiftly drew his sword and slashed at the attacking tentacles. The black cloth wrapped around the iron sword instantly shredded on contact. The force transmitted through the blade to Silvain's hand was far beyond what a human could withstand.
With no choice, Silvain retreated several steps to avoid being torn apart by the following tentacles.
After that brief clash, Silvain realized that the parasitic beast in front of him was a tough opponent.
Whoosh, whoosh! Tentacles, transformed from flesh and blood into blade-like whips, lashed through the air toward him. The speed was incredible. Silvain could barely keep up, parrying just in time. Worse, after a few exchanges, his iron sword was already covered in cracks, some deep, some shallow.
"This guy must've eaten a lot of people. I can't waste time or stamina. I need to end this quickly."
Clang!
Silvain struck another tentacle. The collision sent a shock up his arm, and tiny cracks appeared between his thumb and index finger, quickly staining the sword's hilt with blood.
The beast seemed to catch the scent of Silvain's blood, becoming even more frenzied as it launched reckless attacks.
Tentacles extended from its head, swinging even faster and more violently.
By now, the surrounding street was shredded with various-sized gashes and ruts caused by the beast's wild attacks.
Huff… A tentacle narrowly grazed Silvain's face. The pressure of looming death left him gasping. Then, he felt something drip from his chin. He wiped it with his hand, and the sight of vivid red blood stung his eyes.
"Shit… I actually got hit. It's fast." Silvain stared at the blood in his hand, but his heart became even calmer.
He understood that if things continued like this, he would definitely die. To kill this parasitic beast, he had to take a risk.
Luckily, the creature had only recently transformed. Its attacks were rigid, and its tentacle movements followed predictable directions. Its brain couldn't yet process the control of so many limbs at once.
Seeing his chance, Silvain moved forward instead of retreating. He dashed through the slashing tentacles and arrived behind the parasitic beast.
Under the moonlight, he gripped his long sword with both hands, eyes locked on the middle-aged man in front of him.
The beast wasn't about to let him go. It turned its head and rushed at Silvain again.
Suddenly, its upper body tilted forward, and the tentacles on its head flailed wildly. It had tripped on one of the gashes it had created, causing it to lose its balance and nearly fall.
"If you haven't evolved human intelligence, you're still just a beast."
Seeing that his plan had worked, Silvain smashed a bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid at the creature's head without hesitation.
Bang! The glass shattered. The acid splashed across the beast's entire head.
The agonizing pain made all its previously extended tentacles retract at once. A sizzling burn filled the air as white smoke rose from the grotesque mass of flesh.
"Die!"
Puchi! Silvain drove his sword into the beast's heart.
Just to be sure, he twisted the blade, completely destroying the organ.
The beast, which had been thrashing in agony, suddenly froze as if its life had been cut off by some unseen force. Its knees buckled. It dropped before Silvain, and all signs of life faded from its body.
"Looks like Jesus is still looking out for me," Silvain muttered, then sliced off the fleshy ball on its head with his sword.
Everything fell silent.
Silvain dragged a motorcycle from the roadside. It was impossible to tell whose unlucky ride it had been. He unscrewed the gas tank cap, pushed the bike onto the parasitic corpse, then took out a lighter and lit the gasoline pooling at his feet.
Boom! Flames roared up, swallowing the body whole.
Silvain's figure, lit by the rising fire, gradually faded into the night.
…
In a barbecue restaurant in Tokyo's Ginza district, Silvain, with bandages on his face, sat comfortably enjoying grilled meat. As he bit into a thick slice of beef, its rich fat and aroma exploded in his mouth, nearly making him faint with happiness.
What could be better than a late-night snack?
And this meal had been hard-won. After all, it was so late, and most restaurants had already closed.
"Not bad." Silvain patted his stomach, satisfied.
At that moment, he opened the system panel.
[Talent Ability: Transformation]
[Analysis Condition: Kill a parasitic beast]
[Analysis condition unlocked. Fuse the talent ability: Transformation?]
"Fuse."
[Transformation talent is merging. Current progress: 2%]
Silvain could clearly feel that some kind of strange change was happening within his body. It felt like a genetic shift, a deep-rooted transformation. A tingling sensation spread across his skin, but soon, it faded away.
"To fuse the transformation talent faster, I probably need to observe or fight more parasitic beasts." Based on his previous experience with fusing swordsmanship talent, Silvain now had a general idea of how to accelerate the process.
Moreover, a new thought emerged. Perhaps new talents would awaken as the parasitic beast evolved.
Shinichi Izumi, Reiko Tamura, or even Gotou—the final boss in the original series—were perfect observation targets.
After paying the bill, Silvain left the restaurant.
The panel had already arranged housing for him. Upon returning to his one-bedroom apartment, Silvain immediately began testing the newly merged transformation ability.
He recalled the bladed tentacles the parasitic beast had unleashed.
While visualizing it, he focused on controlling his right hand. After some effort, his hand gradually started to change. It melted like rubber, slowly forming into a curved blade shape… and then, nothing more.
With his current fusion progress and physical strength, this was all he could manage for now.
"Damn… can this thing even kill anything?" Silvain poked the table with his floppy right hand.
(To be continued.)