Seijū exited the elevator. To his surprise, the lights were lit on this floor. He stepped outside and crept towards a nearby door. He pressed his ears on the door and heard voices. This is them...They're on the other side of this door...!
"...Why do we even need to do this?" a voice asked.
"I agree. It seems pointless. I, for one, deem releasing the spores unnecessary," another voice agreed.
"It amazes me that you fail to understand my reasoning," a familiar voice said. That voice...! It...Isn't that Ayumu?! Seijū took a deep breath to calm himself.
"It's interesting, is it not? We are beings of pure logic, and yet we can disagree so strongly on such a simple topic," Ayumu continued.
"Does that matter?" a third voice chimed in. "All that means is that different chains of logic, each one as valid as the others, all exist simultaneously, and each one being thought about becomes more likely the more beings there are to think about it."
"Regardless, as living beings, we need some form of guarantee that our kind will not go extinct. That is a basic law of life," Ayumu explained.
"We are the guarantee, Saisho. We do not need more of us; we are immortal. In the case that our host body begins to die, we can simply switch hosts," yet another voice argued. Saisho? But that's Ayumu...Wait! What if...Saisho's host...is Ayumu...! Seijū took another deep breath.
"Not necessarily," another parasyte replied. "You say we are immortal, and yet, several of us have already been killed. Ergo, we're not immortal. What if more of us were to be killed? We need a true guarantee, and Saisho's proposal is perfect. The eggs—or 'spores', as Saisho refers to them—will reside in the atmosphere for several years before coming down. By the time they come down, we will have already produced more spores to launch. If we were to die before they arrive, they can simply restart."
"Well said," Saisho complimented. "Perhaps the human listening to us will understand our motivations now." Shit, they know I'm here! Seijū's heart jumped, and he could no longer hide his breathing. Something tore the door off its hinges. ACK! Seijū stood there trembling.
"Hello, Seijū Niyani. That is your name, is it not?" Saisho greeted. He knows my—!
"How do you—"
"Parasytes retain the memories of their human hosts, and I distinctly seem to recall my host being introduced to you by Kussaku Niyani before going on his final excavation. Kussaku Niyani is your brother, is he not?" Saisho explained. Kussaku...You dare mention his name?!
Without hesitation, Seijū lifted his flamethrower and pulled the trigger. However, only a tiny flame emerged, and it withered away instantly. Shit! I forgot to replace the canister!
"A flamethrower? Not bad," Saisho remarked. "I don't need you alive; you'll be a hindrance. Kill him."
Instinctively, Seijū swung around out of the doorway. He turned around; numerous blades had slashed where he had been standing moments before. Damn it! Seijū frantically tried to replace the canister using a new one from his belt of canisters. Just as he inserted it, several parasytes stepped out of the room. Their faces were contorted beyond recognition, and their blades pointed in Seijū's direction.
...Alright, it's ready! Seijū fired the flamethrower. Flames spewed out, burning the parasytes. They almost instantly collapsed to the ground. Seijū burned them a little longer. They melted into a pool of red goo, which quickly turned gray. Got you!
Seijū stepped into the conference room, shooting flames all around him. He killed maybe ten parasytes before the flamethrower ran out of fuel again. Damn it, not again! Suddenly, a blade knocked the flamethrower to the ground. Seijū looked up; the blade came from Saisho's arm. What the—! But he took over Ayumu's brain, didn't he?! So why can he do that with his arm?! Ack! Seijū dove out of the way of another blade slash, crashing to the ground. He noticed the blade had cut his hand.
"Goodbye, Seijū Niyani." It's over! Saisho lashed out at Seijū. Suddenly, a figure leapt down in front of Seijū, deflecting the attack. He turned his head towards Seijū. Y...Yūjin...! You saved me!
"Don't run off without me again!" Yūjin scolded.
"Interesting. A rebel parasyte," Saisho remarked. "And a unique one at that. This will be interesting." Saisho and Yūjin engaged in combat immediately. Damn it, he can't fight Saisho and defend me from the other ones! ...Oh! I forgot about that!
Seijū reached into his bag as the other parasytes approached him. Take this! He pulled out a bottle and threw it at them just as they attacked him. The attack destroyed the bottle, soaking them in alcohol! It splashed everywhere; they began to writhe in agony. It worked! Alright, here goes nothing! Seijū pulled out his knife and ran in a circle, slicing through each one of them. Take some more! He threw another bottle at the roof; more alcohol sprinkled on some others. Alright, now's my chance! He used the distraction to run over to his flamethrower and reload it. He stood up just as the parasytes began to reorient their thoughts. He pulled the trigger; the flames spewed out furiously, igniting the alcohol. A massive blaze erupted in the room around the windows; nearly every parasyte in its vicinity seemed to react to it.
Seijū turned around; at that moment, Saisho smashed into Yūjin, knocking him into Seijū.
WAAAAH! Seijū's body crashed through the fire into a window, breaking right through it! The windowsill! Seijū reached for the windowsill, but he had gone too far; his hand brushed it, but failed to get a grip. Shit!
"YŪJIIIN!" Seijū screamed as he plummeted down. AAAAAUGH! ...Oh, shit! Seijū suddenly became aware that he was on fire. Shit, the propane'll—! Seijū threw off the propane belt, hurling it away. He did the same with his bag, full of alcohol bottles. He pulled off his burning jacket and threw it away from him. He turned his head; the ground was rapidly approaching. There's...no surviving this...!
Suddenly, something grabbed him and pulled him into a window. He crashed into the ground, rolling for several meters before slowing to a stop. What the hell? Seijū quickly clambered to his feet. Yūjin stood next to him, grinning despite the numerous bleeding cuts on his body.
"How'd you—"
"I leapt down and caught you. I swung into the window, using my body as a shield to protect you from any glass," Yūjin explained.
"...Thanks," Seijū sighed.
"Don't thank me! You were stupid! You could have died!"
"But I didn't!" Seijū objected. He took a deep breath. "On the contrary, now we know what we're up against, Yūjin." Yūjin's face suddenly grew more serious.
"About that..." Yūjin mumbled.
"What?" Seijū asked.
"Saisho...I believe he's the one who organized the parasytes," Yūjin began. "But he's not like the others. He's...more like me." More like you? But...He took over Ayumu's body. He can't be like you.
"What do you mean?" Seijū inquired.
"Saisho seems to have multiple parasytes inhabiting his body, although I can't say how many," Yūjin revealed. Multiple parasytes in one body...? Is that even possible? How does he control them all? "He essentially has all the same capabilities as me, although he can always transfer to another host if something goes wrong."
"But...you can beat him, can't you?" Seijū wondered.
"Yes, theoretically. But...You saw how our fight went. He...I don't know how, but he's faster than me, he's stronger than me, he can predict my every move...My attacks didn't even do anything. It's almost like he's invincible..." Yūjin explained.
"But...No parasyte's invincible! Surely, you can kill him, right?" Seijū argued. "...Right?!"
"I...I don't know..." Yūjin admitted. Suddenly, a parasyte swung in through the broken window. Whoa!
"Watch out!" Yūjin exclaimed, lashing out at the parasyte. He cut right through it. "It's dangerous to stay here, Sei! We need to go!"
"Yeah," Seijū said absentmindedly. Yūjin put Seijū on his shoulders and leapt out the window, falling three stories to the ground. He sprinted over to the car, getting in the driver's seat himself. He tossed Seijū into the passenger seat and slammed the accelerator. The car sped down the road. Seijū glanced in the mirror; not one parasyte could be seen.