Humans are creatures with great individuality.
Some are gifted physically, others have strong imaginations, and still others seem to be protected by luck. This one's race is no different, but the habit of using different names or genders was never formed.
So there are still things beyond understanding. Why is it the humans' language uses different pronouns based on viewpoint and gender?
“I”, “we”, “us”, “he”, “she”, “it”, “they”... The differences are known, but it still takes effort to use them correctly.
These people have dubbed the race “Visitors”.
The creatures invaded are always so eager to give names. Some have dubbed these ones “mimetic lifeforms”, others “The Hunger”. That name appears to have originated from the desires, which know no bounds.
In comparison, the name Visitors may not be so bad. So as long as this one is attacking humans, let's use the name “Visitor”.
It was a pleasant surprise to emerge from the rift to see such a lush world. ...The homeworld has already withered away, and the Visitors seemed doomed to starve.
Wandering the so-called Divine Land, the first thing eaten was a small creature. It was weak and dull and had no language. It tasted vile. That it was called “field mouse” could not be learned until this one attacked a human and tasted its blood.
The humans still have no way of knowing this, but... by drinking blood, a Visitor can steal the creature's memories and knowledge. This is an essential component of mimicry, developed over generations by the ancestors' evolutionary processes.
So when this one saw them struggling to determine whether what they saw was human or Visitor based on the memories possessed, laughter roiled up within. Good luck trying to find these ones, everyone.
Despite their fears, the humans are now eating breakfast.
Of course, this one is among them, but there is no appetite at all. To begin with, this one cannot absorb human food. It is neither poison nor nutrition. It must be held in the stomach until this one gets a chance to throw it up later.
The humans chattered away all throughout breakfast. They make such a racket.
The humans' voices are much lower than the register Visitors use in conversation, and the way they speak is so unrefined. It is possible to mimic human speech, but keeping up with such low-level conversation is exhausting.
Briefly, this one contemplated attempting to convince humans to become accomplices, but the idea was rejected quickly. Humans are nothing but a source of food. It is pointless to entrust such an important plan to food. In the end, this plan should only be carried out by Visitors.
Yesterday was a success.
It was a gamble, leading the humans to the Divine Land, and great danger was faced to do so. But the results were worth the effort. The humans still have not recovered from the shock of seeing casualties on the main island, which was falsely believed to be safe.
If things continue at this rate, it won't be difficult to accomplish the goal and escape the island, even creating new victims along the way.
...That conviction has not wavered.
However, it wasn't expected that the human called Ryuuzen would have such imagination.
To see through the attack on Unno and realize that it was the doing of the black cat. It was intended to claim more victims in the guise of the black cat, but this plan was completely ruined.
What's more, the human has begun to deduce the nature of the Visitors from such minor clues. What is truly frightening is how many of its deductions were correct:
Ryuuzen was accurate on all seven of these points.
However, it was wrong about other aspects. For example, intelligence. Speaking solely of oneself, the intelligence is much greater than any human's.
Another unfortunate thing is the presence of Mikumo Eiko's grandchild.
This one should have killed Mikumo Echika first... Thinking back 45 years, there was never any doubt that the Mikumo family are the greatest threat to these ones.
It was only after this one passed through the rift that this one learned that all the Visitors who'd arrived on the Divine Land before were slaughtered by the humans.
For whatever reason, it would seem that the Mikumo family have passed down the secrets of killing Visitors for generations. They lie in wait, anticipating the exact moment to strike. Mikumo Echika was no different. When the humans began to speak of the Thunder Festival, fear ran through the body.
...It is true that Visitors will die when drowned in the sea.
On the homeworld, water was a precious commodity, and almost all of it was stored in the bodies of living creatures. Sucking the bodily fluid from the creatures to survive was a joy.
A Visitor's body is perfectly adapted to an environment with almost no water, so it cannot stand being enveloped in large amounts of liquid. If it were to be submerged in liquid, including the sea, it would be unable to breathe and would quickly drown.
Now that the prey has learned this, it seems even greater caution will be necessary.