Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 114: "Ambush"

[Elisa Pov]

"I'm sorry I'm late. It took me a while to call for reinforcements."

I couldn't understand why the Cathedral knight in front of me was here.

"Why...are you...here?"

I whipped my aching body and squeezed out my voice.

The cathedral knight bent down to hug me.

"I was curious about your behavior earlier. I felt bad, but I had to follow you. ...... But then again, what the hell is this all about? Why are the country's knights attacking people? Do you know anything about this?"

I know, but I can't say.

As soon as I said it, this good-natured cathedral knight's attitude suddenly changed and he became an enemy.

If that happened, I would be finished this time.

"...Then let me tell you something. This favela is a nest of Darzain! The woman you're protecting is one of them! If you are a Gnostic, you know exactly what to do with Darzain!"

"Darzain? This girl?"

The knight from earlier grunts in agony and yells out so.

The knight's armor had caved in at his chest, as if he had been hit.

The cathedral knight ruminates in a quizzical tone and then turns his head toward me.

I can't see his face through his helmet, but I can sense that he is puzzled.

"What we're doing is hunting Darzain! We're exterminating vermin that harm the country! If you understand, give her to me!"

The cathedral knight gently lays me down and slowly rises to his feet, turning back to the knight.

"I refuse. I don't care if they're Darzain or not, I won't forgive you for hurting someone who can't resist. I'll let you off the hook if you'll just go away."

The knight rushes forward with his sword drawn, so angry that even through his armor i can see it.

The cathedral knight did not move, but drew his sword and then struck the knight with his slash.

At the same time as the knight's sword hits the armor and breaks, the cathedral knight's fist slams into the knight's chest, and the knight is blown away, his armor shattered, and he bounces on the ground several times before he stops moving.

"I'm not going to ask you anything right now. I just want to hear what you have to say when all this is over."

The cathedral knight picked me up in his arms.

"When you calm down, you can visit the church of the Gnosis here. I promise I won't make things worse!

I tried to tell him to put me down, but the pain was too much for me to speak.

"In the meantime, I will take you to a safe place. After that, you are free to go, but I want you to leave this place if you can."

The cathedral knight said that and started to run while holding me in his arms.

[Other Pov]

It had not been long since the fires first broke out in the favelas, but the damage was accelerating at a tremendous rate.

The knights were the first to seize, kill, and overrun the inhabitants.

They surrounded the poor town, which was not so large, and continued to suppress it as if they were painting it from edge to edge.

The gathered inhabitants were tied up and rolled into a bundle a short distance away from the favela.

All the knights were gathered here by a "good-faith report" from a reliable source.

Normally, permission would have been required to conduct an operation this far inside the capital, but strangely enough, that permission was granted unnaturally quickly.

It was as if someone had led them to it.

The person who gave the permission thought that the residents of the poor town, who did not pay taxes as far as they were concerned, were an obstacle to the operation, so they decided to take advantage of the opportunity to reorganize the area, even though they were aware of someone's intentions.

...However, the government was not so stupid as to send only the "expendables" with bad behavior that they could afford to lose in case something happened to them, and they kept their important forces away from this matter.

As a result, only knights who lacked the moral sense to harm innocent residents participated in the raid, and as a result, the suppression of the favela was progressing efficiently.

At this rate, the conquest of this section of the city should be completed in no time at all.

But....

Some of the knights who had attacked the people were blown away with a shock.

"You bastards! What are you doing!!"

With that, a shout of rage echoed through the air.

The owner of the voice appeared there, leading a group of knights in white armor.

He is a man. He wears gray armor with the weight of a rock.

In his hand is a huge long-handled axe spear halberd.

On his shoulder was carved the emblem of the Gnosis, indicating his status.

"I am Gregor Domingo Grondin, Cathedral Knight! I warn you. Cease your violence against the people and release your captives now! Or I will cut you down!"

The man - the Holy Knights and the Temple Knights behind Gregor - point their swords and spears at the knights who are attacking the people.

"What are you talking about? This is a part of maintaining security in Royal Capital! We're on a mission to take down Darzain and this favela they've made their stronghold in! If you interfere with us, you'll be making an enemy of Urs Laguna! If you understand, then get out of here!"

The other knights started shouting "Yes, that's right!

Gregor, hearing this, said.

"SIILLEENNCEE!!!!"

-- He silenced them with a single shout.

"Darzain is indeed an evil that must be destroyed! It may be good enough for your cause, but how dare you harm the innocent people who clearly know otherwise! Is your idea of maintaining security just a way to hurt the people! If so, shame on you!"

Gregor's angry voice silenced the knights, as they were unable to speak back.

The knights may be knights, but they are all thieves and other uneducated criminals, and none of them had the eloquence to speak back.

Therefore, the knights were unable to move, although they were furious in their hearts.

In contrast, their will to fight is waning.

The reason is that the people who are pointing their weapons at them in front of them are superior to them in terms of strength.

They are happy to hurt those who look weaker than they are, but they shy away from those who look stronger.

If this continues, they will leave in frustration, because they are willing to bet their lives on it.

Because they are not standing here risking their lives.

--Thus ends the tragedy.

--It was supposed to be.

"What!?"

One of the knights slashed the holy knight with a battle-axe.

Blood gushes out from the slain knight, and he collapses.

"...Hey..."

Someone lets out an agitated shout.

The knight who slayed shouts in a loud voice.

"These men are enemies who are interfering with our mission! Kill them!"

At the same time, some of the knights shouted a war cry and attacked the holy knights.

The rest of the knights followed suit.

"You bastards! I don't care! Fight back!"

With Gregor's angry voice, the holy knights also ready their weapons to attack.

The tragedy that has struck the favelas has intensified,...... and it is not over yet.

A clash between knights and sacred knights.

I don't understand why this is happening, but this is an opportunity.

I, Jelchi, took advantage of the commotion and decided to evacuate with the others who had gathered.

Our destination was a hidden passageway in the castle walls.

Normally, it is disguised as an old building, but inside there is a passageway made by hollowing out the outer wall, and if we can get through it, we can get out of Royal Capital.

Once outside, it is not difficult to escape.

There are still some girls who haven't returned, but we can't wait for ...... them.

When I looked at Helga next to me, she gave a small nod.

...Let's go.

We walk out of the hiding place, dispersing so as not to attract attention, and head for the ramparts.

The sound of battle is a little far away, this way we can go.

The knights and sacred knights were too absorbed in the battle to notice us.

Convinced that we could make it, we hurried to the hidden passageway.

But just as we were about to go, we were interrupted.

"Wh!?"

I extend my "claws" and receive an attack from a knight who slashes at me from a blind spot.

Where did these guys appear from?

The knights appeared one after another as if they were waiting for us.

I thought they were fighting the sacred knights!

Did they sneak out and target us?

Strange. Why are they so determined?

Besides, something is wrong with these guys.

First of all, their equipment.

All of them have some kind of damage to their equipment.

The worst of them have half of their armor broken. But strangely enough, they themselves were not injured.

It is as if they were injured and then returned to normal.

The rest move unnaturally well...or rather, they work well together.

...too well.

The two men slashed at me with swords from both sides, and as I tried to back away from them, spears flew at me.

I avoided the spear aimed at the middle of my face by tilting my head, and at the same time, I blew a paralyzing poison breath at him.

The knight who was hit by the spear came at me without care.

...Doesn't it work?

No, it does.

Obviously, the knight's movement is getting worse...but he doesn't stop.

It is as if something is forcing his body to move.

I decided that it was impossible to stop the knight's movement, so I gave up trying to incapacitate him and changed my plan to killing him.

I used my legs to accelerate instantly.

I entered into his pocket and gouged out his throat with my claws. The knight, who had been gouged out, exhaled a bloody breath...but he didn't stop.

...Why!?

The knight tries to swing his sword, but before he can do so, my claws slash.

It leaps off his neck.

This time the knight collapses.

Looking around, everyone else is fighting with the knight.

They appeared as if they were waiting for us....

No matter how you look at it, the only way it could have appeared is that it was an ambush.

Was this place leaked? If so, then why the rush approach?

If they knew about this place, they should have come here in the first place, so why take such a troublesome approach?

There are many questions, but right now we have to get through this.

While I'm thinking about it, I kill two more by chopping off their heads with my claws.

The knights are not perturbed by the fact that one of their own has been killed.

These knights are equipped with all the proper gear, and are at the bottom of their class.

It is strange that they can work together, but it is even stranger that they are silent the whole time.

Knights who are thieves or sinners are always shouting and screaming.

They are silent despite their mortal wounds.

It was beyond unnatural and eerie, reminiscent of the zombies of the moving corpses I had fought once before in "Hell on the Edge".

After cutting down three of them with my claws, I was about to go to join the others when I heard a roar from the house where I was using as cover.

The fake house suddenly collapsed with a roar.

And then .......

"Yo!"

The man came down from the ramparts.

This time he was not equipped with any tools to hide his identity, so his face was clearly visible.

Vertex.

He was the last person I wanted to see at the moment.