The immense force sent Silvain staggering back several steps, but fortunately, Migi blocked the follow-up attack.
Their tentacles clashed in a blur of afterimages, sharp clangs ringing out continuously. Catching a moment to breathe, Silvain looked at the iron sword in his hand. Unfortunately, after the previous impact, the newly acquired weapon was already bent out of shape.
Seeing that it couldn't eliminate Silvain immediately, Mr. A turned his attention toward Shinichi. As long as it killed Shinichi, the injured Silvain would be easy to finish off.
"This iron sword is garbage. Looks like I still have to rely on myself." As he spoke, Silvain's right arm transformed into a blade woven from flesh and blood. Its silver-white edge shimmered with a cold metallic light under the sun.
His stamina couldn't match that of the parasite. This battle had to end quickly.
Silvain remained patient, knowing that opportunities would only appear for a split second. "Now!" He swung his transformed arm, aiming straight for Mr. A's chest.
Unexpectedly, Mr. A sprouted another tentacle, slashing diagonally as Silvain closed in.
Silvain was now faced with two choices—abandon the perfect strike, or die with his opponent.
Silvain chose neither.
Without hesitation, he leaned to the side, blocked the incoming tentacle with his other arm, and simultaneously redirected his blade, slashing across Mr. A's left arm.
In an instant, two streams of blood spurted out—one from Mr. A's severed arm and the other from Silvain's own.
Silvain immediately rolled to the side, grabbed his severed arm, and pressed it against his wound while enduring the searing pain.
"Silvain-kun!" Tears welled up in Shinichi's eyes as he mustered all his courage and thrust the hollow steel chair leg into Mr. A's abdomen. Parasite blood gushed out along the pipe.
The massive blood loss left Mr. A extremely weak.
If it stayed here any longer, death was inevitable.
"Fool, I can heal. Can you?" Silvain staggered to his feet, his face pale, his forehead dripping with large beads of sweat. Still, when he saw Mr. A in worse condition, he couldn't help but laugh.
Mr. A didn't respond. It just dragged its bleeding body in the direction where Tamiya Ryoko was.
"Shinichi, finish it now!"
Migi didn't want to risk anything, so he urged Shinichi to act.
Shinichi looked at the fading enemy but couldn't bring himself to strike. Mr. A had reverted to a human appearance. "No, I can't do it. If I kill it like this, it'll be murder."
Seeing Shinichi hesitate, Silvain had no choice. He picked up the bent iron sword from the ground and ran after Mr. A.
"Fine, then I'll do it."
Silvain gripped the sword tightly and swung it down. Mr. A, unable to resist in its weakened state, took the blow from behind. With a poof, its head rolled across the corridor, rapidly withering and decaying.
"Killing you really took everything I had." Confirming the kill, Silvain collapsed against the wall, his body sliding down as if his spine had been pulled out.
"Shinichi, he's losing too much blood. He's going to die. Get him to a hospital now."
Migi's reminder came just in time.
"Silvain-kun, hang on. I'm taking you to the hospital." Shinichi quickly carried Silvain on his back and rushed downstairs. Along the way, Silvain's vision blurred, and his head spun. Just before blacking out, he vaguely heard voices shouting.
"Get this student into the police car, quick! Use it to take him to the hospital!"
"Isn't that the Silvain? What happened? Why did he collapse?"
…
After an unknown amount of time, Silvain slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a clean white ceiling.
"Killing a parasite landed me in a hospital. Ugh… why does my head still hurt?" Silvain was clearly uncomfortable in the sterile hospital environment. Glancing at the IV drip beside his bed, he guessed it was glucose.
He used both arms to sit up and opened his panel.
[Transformation Talent is fusing. Current Progress: 69%]
[Player's Stay Duration Countdown: 142 Days]
"So I wasted two days unconscious." Silvain muttered, looking at the countdown.
"The nurse in charge of bed 36, please note that the patient in bed 36 has woken up. Please go to Room 36 immediately."
A system prompt echoed through the ward.
Soon, a nurse in uniform entered the room, walked to Silvain's side, and began checking his vitals. "Are you feeling any discomfort?"
She asked softly.
Silvain shook his head on the bed. "I feel fine. When can I leave?"
"Not yet. Your blood sugar is still a bit low. We'll need to observe you for another day. If everything stabilizes, then you can be discharged." The nurse took out a fresh bottle of glucose, skillfully hooked it to the IV stand, and began the drip.
"Another day of observation? I don't have the money to pay for this."
The yen granted by the panel wasn't enough to cover a long hospital stay.
Unexpectedly, the nurse smiled and replied with a hint of admiration, "You're a media sensation now. You took down the gangsters who attacked the school single-handedly. A lot of people in the community are donating to support you."
Silvain was baffled by her words, unsure what had happened.
After borrowing a phone from the nurse, he finally understood the situation.
It turned out that when Shinichi was questioned by the school about what happened, he gave a general version of the events. He left out key details, such as the true identity of Mr. A, and only mentioned that Silvain had been found beside the man's body.
As a result, news that he had taken down the school intruders alone spread like wildfire across the internet.
Silvain became famous once again—this time across all of Tokyo.
Soon after, news of his awakening reached both the media and the school. In just the time it took to finish a meal, Silvain's hospital room was flooded with reporters from various outlets.
"There are currently rumors that the gangsters who attacked the school weren't human, but some unknown creatures. What's your take on that? Was the one you fought really not human?" a reporter from an entertainment news agency asked Silvain.
(To be continued.)