Yori held the man's gaze with a chilling, motionless stare. The man didn't look away, but the longer the silence lasted, the more his pulse began to hammer in his chest. It wasn't just the depth of the boy's eyes, it was the sudden, suffocating feeling of killing intent radiating from him like a physical weight.
Suddenly, a guttural, bone-shaking growl erupted from across the road.
Sophia spun around, her eyes widening as a massive swarm of parasitic zombies emerged from the shadows. "Yori! Parasites!" she shouted, alerting him to the approaching horde.
Yori finally broke his gaze, turning his back on the man as if he were no longer a threat. The man watched him for one last heartbeat before scrambling back into the convenience store to resume his looting.
As they walked toward the mass of rotting flesh, Yori's voice was low and commanding. "Stay behind me, Sophia."
Then, his arm began to shift. The skin rippled and tore as bone and muscle reshaped themselves, hardening into a dark, monstrous parasitic limb. Long, obsidian claws sprouted from his fingertips, sharp enough to slice through steel.
Yori lunged. He became a blur of motion, tearing through the massive group of zombies with his clawed arm, each strike silent and lethal.
Suddenly, a giant parasitic zombie broke from the pack. It let out a roar and charged, raising its massive fist to smash him into the pavement. Yori didn't flinch; he swerved in a swift, fluid dodge. With a single, powerful leap, he launched himself onto the creature's head, his parasitic claws flashing as they buried deep into its skull.
Suddenly, a man in a suit leaned against a tree, clapping his hands. He adjusted his glasses with a slow, methodical finger.
"Nice arms you got there," he said, his voice smooth. "I must say, I'm impressed with how you managed to control your parasites. Mine is a little bit annoying—it moves a lot and doesn't stop once it starts something."
Without warning, the man launched himself at Yori. Yori reacted instantly, shoving Sophia out of the way. The man faked an attack toward Yori, but mid-air, he pivoted. His real target was Sophia. His own parasitic arm erupted, claws ready to tear through her, but Yori lunged across, blocking the strike with his own transformed hand just in time.
"Sophia, run now!" Yori shouted over the screech of clashing claws. "Find Lexus Ruth!"
Sophia didn't hesitate; she turned and bolted into the distance.
The two remained locked in a struggle. Between strikes, Yori gritted his teeth. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because I can," the man replied, letting out a dark laugh. "And because it's fun."
As the fight continued, it became clear that Yori was outmatched. The man was too strong, his movements too fast. Yori's vision began to blur; his body felt heavy, and his eyes were about to give up. But then, he thought of Sophia. If he died here, she would die too.
He stood his ground. In a sudden surge of will, the parasite shifted position on Yori's body, sliding down from his arm to his feet. Before the man could react, Yori lashed out, stabbing his newly formed foot-claws deep into the man's feet.
Then the man said "don't you remember me, brother!?"