Chapter 17: Severed Arm

The tremendous force pushed Cyrus back several steps, but fortunately, the next attack was blocked by Migi.

Their clash was so fast that their movements left afterimages in the air, accompanied by the relentless clanging of metal against metal. Cyrus, finally catching his breath, inspected the iron sword in his hand. The poor sword, which he had only just acquired, was now hopelessly bent and misshapen from the earlier battle.

Seeing that it couldn't immediately eliminate Cyrus, the parasitic creature A shifted its focus to Shinichi. If it could kill Shinichi, it would easily finish off the injured Cyrus afterward.

"Damn, this sword is absolute trash. Looks like I'll have to rely on myself," Cyrus muttered. As he spoke, his right arm transformed into a blade of intertwined flesh and metal. The silver blade reflected a cold, sharp glint in the sunlight.

Knowing he couldn't match the parasite in endurance, Cyrus realized this battle had to be finished quickly.

He bided his time, waiting patiently for the right moment. "Now!" he thought, and with a swift motion, he slashed toward the parasite's chest.

Unexpectedly, the parasite grew another tentacle, which lashed out at Cyrus as he approached.

Now, Cyrus faced a critical choice: either abandon this rare opportunity to strike or risk a mutual death with the parasite.

But Cyrus refused to choose either. Without hesitation, he sidestepped and blocked the incoming tentacle with his other arm, while simultaneously redirecting his blade to slice through the parasite's left arm.

In an instant, blood sprayed from both the parasite's severed limb and Cyrus's own wounded arm.

Cyrus quickly rolled to the ground, picked up his severed arm, and, gritting his teeth against the pain, pressed it back onto the stump.

"Cyrus!" Shinichi, eyes brimming with tears, summoned all his courage and plunged a steel pipe into the parasite's abdomen. Blood quickly flowed from the wound, weakening the parasite.

With the rapid loss of blood, the parasite became dangerously frail. If it stayed here any longer, death was inevitable.

"You fool, I can heal. Can you?" Cyrus, pale and drenched in sweat, struggled to his feet. Despite his dire condition, he couldn't help but laugh when he saw the parasite in an even worse state.

The parasite said nothing, only dragging its bleeding body toward Ryoko Tamiya's location.

"Shinichi, now's your chance to finish it!" Migi urged, not wanting to risk anything.

Shinichi hesitated, unable to strike. The parasite had already reverted to its human form. "No, I can't. This would be murder," he said, his voice trembling.

Seeing Shinichi's reluctance, Cyrus picked up the iron sword and chased after the parasite.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

With a firm grip on the sword, Cyrus swung it down in a single, decisive stroke. The parasite, too weak to resist, could only watch as its head was severed and rolled across the corridor, quickly decaying and shriveling.

"Killing you sure wasn't easy," Cyrus muttered as he slumped against the wall, his strength finally giving out.

"Shinichi, he's losing too much blood. He won't make it if you don't get him to a hospital fast," Migi urgently reminded him.

"Cyrus, hang in there! I'm taking you to the hospital right now," Shinichi said as he quickly hoisted Cyrus onto his back and rushed downstairs. As they descended, Cyrus's vision began to blur, and his head grew heavy. Just before he lost consciousness, he faintly heard the startled voices of people around him.

"Hurry, get this student into the police car and have it take him to the hospital."

"Isn't that the Sword Saint? What happened? Why did he pass out?"

…

Cyrus wasn't sure how much time had passed when he finally opened his eyes, his vision slowly focusing on a clean, white ceiling.

"Getting myself hospitalized just for killing a parasite... Ugh, and I've got a headache, too," he muttered. The sterile hospital environment made him uneasy, a feeling rooted in past experiences. Glancing at the IV drip next to his bed, he guessed it contained glucose.

With some effort, Cyrus pushed himself up into a sitting position and opened the system panel.

*[Metamorphosis Ability Integration in Progress: 69%]*

*[Time Remaining in This World: 142 Days]*

"I can't believe I lost two days just being unconscious," Cyrus remarked, looking at the countdown timer on the panel.

"Attention, nurse responsible for Bed 36. The patient in Bed 36 has regained consciousness. Please proceed to Room 36 immediately," announced the hospital's intercom system.

Soon, a nurse in uniform entered the room, walked over to Cyrus, and began checking his vital signs. "Are you feeling any discomfort?" she asked gently.

Cyrus shook his head. "I feel fine now. When can I leave?"

"Not just yet. Your blood levels are still low, so we need to observe you for another day. If your vitals remain stable, you can be discharged tomorrow," the nurse explained, retrieving a fresh IV bag of glucose and expertly hooking it up.

"Another day? I don't have the money to pay for a long hospital stay," Cyrus said, thinking about the limited amount of yen the system had given him.

To his surprise, the nurse smiled at him with a hint of admiration. "You're quite the celebrity now. The media's been all over your story—how you single-handedly took down the intruder at your school. Many people have donated to cover your expenses."

Cyrus was puzzled, not understanding what she meant. After borrowing a phone from the nurse, he quickly pieced together the situation.

It turned out that when the school questioned Shinichi about why Cyrus had passed out, he gave a rough account of the events but left out many details, like his knowledge of the parasite's true identity. Instead, he simply stated that Cyrus had been found next to the man's corpse.

As a result, news of the "Sword Saint of Nishitaka High" single-handedly defeating the intruder quickly went viral online.

Once again, Cyrus had become an overnight sensation, and this time across all of Tokyo.

"Well, I guess I'm stuck with the 'Sword Saint' title now," Cyrus sighed.

Before long, word of his recovery spread, and within the span of just one meal, his hospital room was swarmed by reporters from various media outlets.

"According to some rumors, the intruder who broke into the school wasn't human but rather some unknown creature. What do you make of this? Was the opponent you fought really not human?" one reporter from an entertainment network asked Cyrus directly.

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