Chapter 54

Pacification (制圧, Seiatsu) is the 54th chapter of the Parasyte manga series, written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki.

Overview
''When one of the parasites are killed in front of the civilians, mass panic ensues, causing Yamagishi to step in and force everyone to the ground. During the hysteria, Mayor Hirokawa makes his way back into the building. As the parasites start to fight back, many human lives are sacrificed in order to kill them. Shinichi sits and watches, while he thinks back on Reiko's words.''

Summary
Uragami mutters something under his breath while being escorted into the building. He then screams in horror, seeing three parasites in the line of evacuated civilians. Unable to tell the difference, the soldiers end up shooting a human. A bystander watches, shaking in horror until he is told to move back. He freezes and stares at the soldier, and the policeman minding Uragami asks if he is one. Uragami simply yells to shoot him now.

Bewildered, the soldier in front of him doesn't fight back as he is decapitated by the parasite. The soldiers around them immediately shoot, causing the parasite to be thrown through the window of City Hall. The crowd inside immediately panics.

Though the soldiers attempt to return order, another parasite begins throwing humans into the soldiers, and they retaliate, accidentally hitting a civilian with stray fire in the process. In the confusion, Hirokawa's group walk out, but the soldiers allow them to leave to focus on the remaining people in the room.

Yamagishi walks in and shoots above everyone's heads as a warning shot, demanding they get down and put their hands on their heads or be shot. A man stands, attempting to oppose him, and is summarily shot. Yamagishi shows no guilt for killing a human, and tells the rest of the crowd that as long as they obey they'll get to go home quickly. He then places another soldier in charge of the evacuation and prepares to go through the rest of the building with Uragami, calling him a killer. Uragami simply smiles at the hypocrisy, while the policeman with him attempts to rationalize the murders.

As the evacuation continues, a parasite picks up a man to use as a human shield, but both end up shot and killed. Another parasite manages to cut off the legs of one soldier, but is then likewise shot to death. In panic, a human stands and tries to flee, and is shot as well.

In the building, Hirokawa passes Gotou overlooking the soldiers. Gotou asks him why he hasn't escaped, as he could leave easily, and he returns the question. Gotou states he wants to watch them fight, while Hirokawa says he sees no point in running. The two then part ways.

Yamagishi splits his band of soldiers into two, with one getting Uragami and him leading the other. The first group comes across an underdressed couple, and Uragami is quick to label them human, mentioning that if he weren't there they'd probably be shot. Yamagishi's group comes across a lone man asking them to get him out, but Yamagishi immediately tells the soldiers to shoot him. They balk, and he does it himself. The dying man is revealed to be a parasite. When asked how he knew, Yamagishi simply tells the soldiers to shoot anyone they see.

The ending narration states that the plan was not to protect humans, but to destroy parasites, and that the soldiers succeeded in doing so. Alone, Shinichi simply thinks on Tamura's request to "try to be nice", while Gotou watches and chuckles within the building.