Chapter 278: Companions
The week flew by, and the weekend arrived again.
The second episode of Parasyte was also approaching, and as usual, Kenji Tanaka received his subscription to Akatsuki Comics from the postman.
And, of course, his father's newspaper.
After leaving his father's newspaper in the living room, he happily returned to his room with the magazine.
This was one of his few pleasures, as he was about to take the university entrance exam.
Kenji Tanaka could only read manga on weekends, after which he would study.
"This week's episode of The Gods has already reached the point where the protagonist trio is heading into the sea. Will we finally face the Dragon King?" said Kenji Tanaka, excited for this week's episode.
Compared to the newly released Parasyte, The Gods maintained its previous popularity, and its popularity soared.
In fact, without Chainsaw Man as a rival, The Gods has replaced Chainsaw Man and stands firm in third place in popularity.
During this period, the third season of The Gods has reached an "epilogue" similar to that of the two previous seasons.
With the mission of killing a dragon, Hiroki, Kaito, and Sasaki arrive at the Japanese branch of the Casal Academy.
There they meet Minamoto no Jisei and the Yamatanoorochi Clan, along with Minamoto no Jisei's adoptive father and the true leader of the Japanese branch, Tachibana Masamune.
They also begin to understand the situation of the hybrids in Japan.
The unstable lineages of the Yamatanoorochi Clan have given rise to corrupt hybrids known as "oni."
Furthermore, an extremely evil oni was born, Minamoto no Jisei.
Kenjiro, the manipulator behind Minamoto no Jisei, used this extremely evil oni to create a faction of "oni": the Fierce Oni Clan.
For years, Kenjiro has manipulated the Fierce Oni Clan in its constant struggle against the Yamatanoorochi Clan, with the ultimate goal of resurrecting the sea gods and achieving divinity.
After the trio from headquarters and Genji experienced everything at the Japanese branch, including resolving a small dispute as underworld enforcers, it was time to board a submarine and explore the seas to revive the gods.
Based on past events and the current plot, the next chapter would see the protagonist, Hiroki, burn another quarter of his life force to fight the gods in the ocean!
Kenji Tanaka immediately opened the The Gods episode and began to read. In this episode, they encountered several subspecies of gods in the sea, and finally saw... a vast underwater city.
And then the episode ended.
Kenji Tanaka was a little disappointed, but the episode also expanded the context of the world of the gods. For example, the powerful Phantom Fang Viper, feared even by sperm whales with divine blood, turned out to be the executioner of the world of the gods.
The novel and striking environment made him even more excited for what was to come.
"Now that I've finished The Gods, I'll watch..." "Parasyte," said Kenji Tanaka after finishing The Gods and opening the serialized part of Parasyte.
The second episode of this issue of Parasyte is titled "Companions."
Upon opening the manga, after Shinichi saved the little girl by blocking a car with his own body, he hurried home, ignoring the grateful parents and the crying girl.
Only Shinichi's mother was at home, but Shinichi didn't even greet her before entering the room.
Upon entering, he panted with a look of horror on his face.
The scene made him wonder if his right hand... had gained consciousness!
This right hand was no longer his! Shinichi threw his backpack aside and found a knife in his desk drawer...
He placed his right hand on the table, holding the knife from the left with its back, pointing it at his right hand.
"Is this my right hand?" said Shinichi with a firm gaze. "Let me... try!"
Then he stabbed with the knife in his left hand! "Don't dodge!"
If his right hand didn't dodge and was stabbed directly, it would prove that his right hand was still his, and that everything was just... an illusion? Shinichi now desperately hoped that even if his right hand was pierced, it wouldn't even dodge.
But before he could stab, his right hand transformed. Suddenly, an opening appeared between his index and middle fingers, and from it a mouth sprouted.
Then, two eyes sprouted from his middle and ring fingers, while his index and pinky fingers transformed into arms with pinkies at the tips.
Faced with this scene, not only Shinichi, but even Kenji Tanaka, who was reading the manga, felt a little horrified.
Truly... the old rogue Ren always performs unexpected and unheard-of feats.
The monster, transformed from Shinichi's right hand, even spoke in human language, saying, "What a shame..." (indistinct).
The dialogue bubble seemed to indicate that this self-aware right hand... still didn't speak fluently.
"Uh... it's my right hand... I failed..." said the monster, shaking its "body" with some hesitation.
"You failed... you failed?" asked Shinichi in a panic. "Where is my right hand?".
"I... ate it..." said the monster immediately.
"Ha..."
Shinichi heard the news and laughed bitterly, as if he couldn't accept it. "Hahahahaha...".
But instantly, he stabbed the monster with the knife in his hand.
However, the monster, which seemed a little foolish, was agile and directly grabbed the blade.
It demonstrated what it means to catch a knife with bare hands.
It even broke the blade and threw it back, grazing Shinichi's face and piercing the ceiling.
"I... can't... speak... well..." said the monster at that moment, "...teach me...".
"Shinichi..."
Shinichi finally came to his senses when the monster called his name.
He immediately drew the curtains in his room, determined that no one would see what was happening.
"What exactly are you?" Shinichi asked the monster.
However, the monster occupying his right hand seemed to weaken, and finally said, "I'm tired... I'm going to sleep...".
Then, surprisingly, it returned to its original form! "Wait... I still have a lot of questions for you!" said Shinichi, shaking his right hand. "Why is this happening?".
But the monster showed no signs of returning, and Shinichi regained control of his right hand.
Meanwhile, Shinichi's mother was worried about him.
Despite her concern, Shinichi remained silent about his right hand.
After all, if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, no one would believe him, right?
However, it seemed that the monster had further whetted Shinichi's appetite.
He then began to search for information and answers online about "right hands," trying to see if anyone else had experienced the same thing.
However, after searching through numerous news reports, he found nothing.
Just as Shinichi was despairing over his right hand, several murders and dismemberments were discovered throughout the city.
Many bodies were missing vital parts, and the manga fans, with their bird's-eye view, knew that this was related to the parasitic beasts that had devoured human heads.
At night, Shinichi looked at his right hand, not knowing what to do.
But upon waking from a nap, he discovered that his right hand had transformed back into the monster's form, splitting into clones. It had even started reading books and researching on the internet!
It could even transform into the shape of various animals from the books.
Shinichi, despite the monster's reappearance, seemed to have accepted its existence after so long. After all, the monster didn't seem to intend to harm him, as demonstrated by its help when he was about to be run over by a car and its refusal to throw the broken sword at him during their first confrontation.
"Hey... what are you doing?" Shinichi asked helplessly.
"As you can see, I'm studying," said the monster, who now seemed to be able to speak fluently.
"You can speak normally now..." asked Shinichi impatiently. "By the way, what exactly are you? Are you an alien?".
The two monsters merged and said, "Alien? What's that?".
"That snake-like monster is your true form, right?".
The monster approached the computer and typed skillfully, searching for what an alien was.
Then he said, "In fact, I have searched all living beings and there is no information about me."
"Are you really from outer space?" asked Shinichi immediately.
However...
"I don't know where I come from either," said the monster, approaching Shinichi. "My first memory is the regret I felt for not having been able to take over the brain."
"Take over a brain?!".
Shinichi suddenly became cautious. "Are you planning to take over my brain now?".
"If I could, I would have done it a long time ago," said the monster. "But I can't. I was already mature before devouring your brain... It's too late, what a shame..."
Shinichi finally breathed a sigh of relief, but he also felt curious and asked, "If you managed to take over my brain... what would happen?".
"Probably, your head would become something very similar to a human," said the monster, transforming its body as an example.
"How disgusting, so why did you choose me?"
The monster said, "Don't get me wrong, it's pure coincidence, I didn't choose you on purpose."
"It seems I have no choice but to go to the hospital," said Shinichi immediately.
"Why?" asked the monster instantly.
"To cut you off."
"That would be problematic."
The monster seemed to be very calm at that moment and said, "I now live thanks to the nutrients in Shinichi's blood. I will die after you cut me off, and you will also lose your right hand, Shinichi, which is not convenient for us."
For some reason, upon seeing this monster, Kenji Tanaka felt inexplicably... very cute?
A strange cuteness.
In the end, Shinichi and the monster reached an agreement, but the monster fell back into a deep sleep.
And then... this chapter ended.
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