"Wait… I sensed something." She paused mid-step. Her eyes swept across the room, then landed on the corpse.
'Calm down,' he told himself.
The footsteps stopped directly above him. Through the corpse's torn flesh, he caught a glimpse of black tactical boots.
'Don't breathe. Don't move.'
His vision started to blur. Oxygen deprivation was not a good experience.
"Never mind. Just a bunch of cats," she muttered, then turned away.
They moved immediately, sprinting full speed toward their target.
'Finally!'
Air never tasted so sweet as he took the smallest breath through his nose.
It was strange that he still needed oxygen despite being a parasite. Or maybe it was the rat body that needed it. Either way, his choice to stay in a smaller animal proved right.
Soon gunfire erupted from the distance. Full automatic. Heavy caliber by the sound of it.
The building shook again, plaster raining down as something massive hit the floor. The monster wasn't going quietly.
ROOOOOAR!
The beast's cry rattled the floorboards. Pure rage and pain mixed into a sound.
More gunfire. Shouting. The distinct whistle of something sharp cutting through air—probably those silver blades.
While they battled, he slipped down to the basement, thinking it was probably the safest place.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the sight of blood smeared across the floor caught his attention.
Following the trail, he found a dead woman he didn't recognize. A huge bump on her head made it clear she wasn't killed by a monster.
Francis didn't waste the opportunity.
[Human Liver 9/10]
Just as he burrowed out of the abdomen, he noticed another trail of blood.
At first, he thought it came from the dead woman while running, but his trained instincts suggested otherwise. He followed the trail deeper into the basement.
The dominatrix.
Her stomach was bleeding, though the wound didn't seem to be caused by the monster.
"Fuck that whore… I can't believe she actually stabbed me. It's not my fault her husband wanted my services," she groaned, too weak to lift herself off the ground.
So it was a failed crime of passion. If Francis's guess was right, the first woman tried to kill the dominatrix and saw the monster attack as a chance to cover her tracks.
Unfortunately for her, the skill gap was too wide. A housewife versus a professional who used whips and torture tools for a living? The winner was obvious in a direct confrontation.
'This place is secluded enough…'
There was no need for hesitation. She was already dying, so he was simply speeding up the inevitable.
He bit through her existing wound, tearing the flesh wider. Blood gushed out in thick streams, pooling beneath her trembling body.
"Stop!!!!"
Weak fingers clawed at him but he just ignored them.
The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as he began tunning to her stomach.
"Stop! Please stop. It hurts! It hurts!" she cried, every bite tearing her apart. She probably wished she died before having to endure this.
'There.'
He latched onto the organ, tearing it free from its moorings.
After devouring the final piece, a familiar sound echoed in his mind, pushing him to get out fast—and he did.
[Liver 10/10]
[Mission Complete]
[Evolving into Category 2]
Heat flooded his body. Not painful—more like sinking into a warm bath after days in the cold. His cells began to shift, restructuring at the molecular level.
He felt the rat's body convulsing beneath him, stretching like taffy, but the connection didn't break
Instead, he remained tethered to its head through a flexible cord of flesh
His shape flattened, spreading like a kite of rotten skin. Multiple eyes opened across its surface, each capable of independent movement and focus.
The transformation finished with a subtle pop.
[Evolution Complete]
[Host can now infest weak creatures up to 2 feet tall. Any infected creature will have its base stats increased by 200%, not counting any boosts the host gains from feeding.]
[Host now has improved control over infected bodies, allowing modifications—but doing so consumes more energy.]
"Status"
=====
Name: Francis Hall
Category: 2
Energy Levels: 6/10
Infestation – Level 2
Parasite eyes- Level 2
Parashift - Level 1
Integration- Level1
=====
The boost in energy was a welcome reward. He had been avoiding using his skills because they drained his reserves too quickly.
Francis tested his new abilities. The skin-like membrane stretched and contracted at will, flowing like liquid when needed but maintaining structural integrity.
Not just that. When he willed it, he could extend parts of his body, making the rat's tail longer, harder, and more whip-like.
His hands and claws could also change at will, though he was still limited by the rat's original size.
It wasn't possible for him to suddenly grow to five feet. No—the most he could do was double his original size, or concentrate on a single part to increase its expandability.
Then an idea struck him. If he could expand, maybe he could shrink too.
He focused, feeling his body compress and muscles tighten.
Bones and organs vibrated slowly, not painfully, until he was small enough to pass as an ordinary rat—not the massive sewer kind that could make a grown man recoil in disgust.
'Good. This will give me more options depending on the situation.'
[DING!]
[Mission: Devour 100 Human Livers]
[Reward: Category 3]
'It multiplied by ten. Don't tell me I have to kill a thousand humans to reach Category 4? If this keeps going, Category 10 would mean slaughtering over a billion humans.'
Although he said he would do anything for his daughter's resurrection, the sheer number still made him lose composure a little.
It was a massive amount—more than any war or pandemic could ever claim.
'No, I just need to focus on my mission,' he shook his head, reminding himself that his assumptions were running ahead.
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Authors Note:
Enjoying the story so far? Want more mass releases? If you have a little free time, please give this story plenty of Powerstones and leave a review. Your support is my fuel.