Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 118: "Armistice"

[Mc Pov]

The bat-woman's ultrasonic attack hits the bucket head, but has no effect, and even the small fry bats that she is launching as a diversion are completely ignored.

It's amazing. Even though he was clawed, he didn't get a single scratch.

The bucket-head's attacks, on the other hand, don't seem to have hit the fluttering bat-woman.

I thought it might be some kind of shockwave, but it seems to be different.

I wonder what it is.

I was watching the situation at a leisurely pace while pretending to be stunned, but to be honest, I was getting tired of it and thought it was time to interrupt her.

I was surprised that even Gnosis had an apostle,......, but I had been fighting with Darzain for a long time, so it was natural to think that if I knew he existed, I would try to suppress him.

I'm observing the movement of both parties and looking for the right moment to interrupt.

Naturally, my target is the bat-woman.

I will not force myself to be hostile to the bucket head, but rather say something random and ask him to leave.

The bat-woman seems to be troublesome if I let her live.

Okay.

Next, let's interrupt when the bat-woman is in attack position.

I'll drop her head with a single blow.

If I interrupt, the bucket-heads will get annoyed and get involved, but I'm supposed to not understand Japanese, so I don't know what's going on with them.

Oh, watashi nihongo wakarimasen.

I slowly move my left arm to aim.

Bucket head, could you please slow down your attack? You're not coming down on me.

To be honest, I would have been happy if they had just gone toe-to-toe and both died, but this is not going to end.

The bat woman is flying up and down, never getting into a good position, and the bucket head is here and there, swinging his hammer and firing mysterious long-range attacks with a thud.

The bat-woman, perhaps frustrated at being left to take the brunt of the damage, began to show signs of wanting to fight back.

It's about time.

I was in range when I was thinking "come on, come on"....

"Hey! What's going on over there!?"

Vertex's voice echoes from the magic stone shoved into my ear, hitting my eardrums.

What is it? I'm busy right now...oh, the bat-woman is out of range.

I sigh inwardly and use magic to prevent the sound from leaking out before responding.

"I'm in the middle of a battle. If you want to talk about something boring, can we talk about it later?"

I'm actually watching the battle.

"It seems you're still alive. Enough of the apostles. Now get the hell out there."

What?

"What happened?"

"The top of this country has begun preparing to unleash a massive magic attack. Get out of there before you get caught in the middle of it."

He even went to the trouble of telling me to run away.

But still, why would they use such a flashy thing in this place? It's a favela, but it's still the neighborhood, right?

And with Gnosis and the knights of his own country, albeit at the bottom of the heap, also involved?

This is a very drastic thing to do.

Especially the sacred knights, it would be troublesome to get them involved... No, from the looks of it, I guess they've already laid the groundwork.

If that's the case, I have no use for this place.

Let's get the hell out of here.

Please pray that these guys in front of me will be put to death by some kind of large-scale magic.

With this in mind, I slowly get up.

I tried to leave quietly so as not to provoke them, but they seemed to be paying attention to me as they fought.

Their reaction was quick.

"Oh, dear. You finally woke up? You can't just run away."

"Who are you? From the look of you, I'd say you and Stephanie were enemies."

Yeah, I thought it was weird.

I thought both of them were acting strangely lazy, that's what I thought.

I was positive that they were on the offensive, but I guess not.

Both gazes pierce.

I'm at a loss. What should I do?

I thought for a minute and said...

"Don't worry about me. It looks like I'm in the way, so I'm going to disappear. Now, feel free to continue."

With that, I turned on my heel, but the bat-woman's ultrasonic waves pierced my feet.

I guess I can't do it.

"I'm not going to let you go, am I? Now, why don't you take off that disguise and show me your face?"

Of course I don't want to.

All right, then, let's change hands.

"I'm an adventurer, and from your armor, I'm guessing you're Cathedral knight. That talking monster is in cahoots with Darzain and wants to bring mischief to the capital! Let's work together to finish it off..."

"I'm sorry, but I'm curious about your identity too. I'm curious as to why you were fighting her, but I'm just too suspicious when you come out here and hide who you really are. Don't you realize that?"

...Ehh...

Why am I being forced to take off my mask?

"I'm sorry. I can't reveal myself for a reason. But I...

"I'm afraid you're one of us, aren't you?"

My flimsy excuse was easily crushed by the bat-woman.

The bucket head stiffened as if in alarm.

The bat-woman is smiling faintly, but she seems to be ready to move at any moment.

"If that's the case, then you understood what we were talking about earlier, but...?"

"..."

It's getting kind of tedious, isn't it?

There is no time, and if you think about it calmly, there is no need to force the bucket head to finish the job here.

Then, let's just ignore it, kill the bat-woman and run away.

"Hey... if you don't tell me, I won't know..."

All right. Let's kill her.

It's a little far, but it's within range.

"All right, I'll..."

I lift my left arm in a casual gesture as I say it.

She doesn't notice.

It's too good to kill, but I can't afford to, so I'm going to crush her head.

My attack catches the bat-woman in the head.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

--I was grabbed by the bucket head before I could -.

I was expecting to be hit by something, but I didn't expect to be grabbed by a bucket head.

From the outside, it didn't look like the bucket head was reaching out and grabbing something, but it had a firm grip on my left arm.

"Magic...or mimicry? Then how about this?"

The bucket head strikes the ground with the head part of the hammer and the ground explodes and dirt and sand rains down.

Ahhh...this is exposed.

It lands on something extending from my left arm, revealing its true identity.

"Ugh..."

"What is this?"

Thanks to the dirt covering me, I've revealed myself, albeit in spots.

The mask does not seem to work once it is away from my body.

The weapon in my left arm is a centipede that grows out of my arm.

It is called "Biofusion Manupilator the Human Centipede."

It is said that it was originally a monster created by the headman, but he modified it so that it can be implanted.

It is an ideal form of the weapon that the old man was researching, a bio-weapon that fuses the centipede with a part of the human body and uses it as a limb.

If it works, it is said to literally become one with the human body, but I am the only one who has succeeded in doing so.

That old man. He's crazy enough to recommend this kind of thing with a smile on his face.

Well, you could say I succeeded because it's me.

There is no way I could have failed because I absorbed and assimilated the fusion and all that shit.

Originally, it was simply a whip with a hundred legs, but after assimilating it, I made it about two times bigger, added an outer shell and camouflage ability to the digestive organs, and modified it into a very easy-to-handle weapon.

When not in use, it wraps around the arm and becomes an armor, but when in use, it turns invisible and becomes a weapon of a different shape that bites the opponent.

"It seems clear to me that you are one of us."

What? Oh, shoot.

It seems that he has judged me as one of his own kind by looking at this.

It's certainly not unreasonable to think so when you have something like this on your arm.

...ah. This is a problem.

"...so? Now that his true identity has been revealed, there's no need for him to hide his appearance, is there?"

"That's right! You're Japanese too, right? Then let's talk! Tell me what's going on!"

Now, what should I do?

Let's talk about it, expose ourselves and be friends?

Ha ha ha. What's there to discuss? It's repulsive.

In this world, carelessly revealing information can lead to death, so I won't be foolish enough to trust others.

In fact, Darzain's people are still pestering me with what little information they have.

Or is that it? Let's bring them into the fold and all look in the same direction, shall we?

Or do you want to return home like that old Fudo guy who went down the tubes a long time ago?

...And so they try to crush me with that kind of pressure to agree with them?

A feeling of discomfort.

Again.

Lately, when I'm triggered by traumatic events, I feel a flood of emotions that I can't control.

I know it in my head, but I can't help but have a strong rejection of this kind of intrusive person.

I was originally broken by this kind of peer pressure.

It's a convenient justification for bullying that even kids can use.

If we all bully one person, it's not bullying, it's sanctioning!

...haha. Excellent. A true microcosm of society.

I don't think I mind it, but it's deep-seated in me.

Thanks to you, I found myself kicking the bucket-head in the torso and blowing him away.

"Why did you...?"

It's as hard as it looks.

It didn't feel like any damage had been done.

The bucket-head sounds puzzled, but I don't care.

Well, what has happened can't be helped.

Let's just put them all together and kill them. Since I don't have to hide it, I open my left arm.

It was the same thickness as my arm, but with a sickening cracking sound, it enlarged several times, its legs grew longer, and it took on a vicious shape.

It's part of me now.

This level of mutation is a treat.

It was a bitter blow that my true identity was revealed as a result, but....

"Damn. Why!? At least talk to me..."

I don't need that kind of thing, just die.

While manipulating the hundred legs with my left hand, I wield the club monster with my right hand.

It's hard to do because one hand is occupied.

Well, it's not a problem to hit her, is it?

Turning my left arm against the bat-woman, I hit the bucket-head with the club monster.

The bucket head strikes back with a hammer.

From the response, it seems that the other side has the upper hand in terms of physical strength, even if one hand is used for this one.

"Hey, you know what? Why don't we have a truce now? He seems to be trying to kill us. Shouldn't we wait until he's quiet before we continue?"

"...... got it. We'll take him down first."

Oh no. It's now completely a two-for-one situation.

Well...i'll make it work.

I still have some cards in my hand, and it's easier to understand this way, so it's easier mentally.

I hold up my club monster with both hands and hit it into the bucket head as hard as I can.

"Damn!"

Buckethead, a little impatiently, continues to block my attack skillfully.

"I hope you're not ignoring me."

The bat-woman comes at me from above, but I don't react.

--Kill her.

The multiple monsters of Chiroptera, which had been lying on the ground, got up all at once and attacked the bat-woman.

"What!? You guys!?"

I took over when I ripped them off.

I kept them down thinking I could use them for a surprise attack, but I guess this is where I'll use them.

Well, I don't think they can win, but they'll at least buy me some time, so I'll concentrate on this.