Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 120: "Meteor"

[Other Pov]

A little back in time, a certain order arrived to the Cathedral Knights Gregor, who were engaged in a three-way battle in the center of the favela. The order was to abandon the scene and retreat to the outside of the favela.

The reason is that the kingdom has decided to use magic on a large scale in the name of cleaning up the monsters.

He shouted at them to stop screwing around, but they were already getting ready, and he realized that yelling at them would not help, so he began to retreat.

He tried to explain the situation to the opposing knights, but for some reason they would not listen to him, and when they saw that he was relenting, they took advantage of the opportunity to intensify their offensive.

As a result, they were unable to get out of the favela in time, as they had to retreat while continuing to fight.

A girl named Elisa managed to reach a hidden passageway built into the outer wall, but what had happened was that the entrance disguised as a house had been completely destroyed, making it impossible to enter.

This fact made her blank, and she became less alert to her surroundings.

The cathedral knight, who identified himself as Todo, sensed a danger to himself from the thinly glowing sky and strange silence, and considered leaving the scene, but he could not leave what he happened to see behind and ran.

A girl named Jelchi hurried her companions behind her, looking at the sky that was growing brighter as they moved away from the outer wall.

The woman who called herself Stephanie shivered at the sound of the bells, which echoed more than the glow of the sky, and she let go of everything and kept flying until she could no longer hear the sound.

And the magic was complete.

The magic name is [Shooting Star]

Despite its name, its destructive power is one of the best in the world.

A large number of huge rocks burnt within the area of effect are rained down at high speed, and the moment they hit the ground, they explode.

The magic, which demonstrated all its destructive power, literally blew away the favela and the outer walls of the city without leaving any trace, crushing everyone present equally.

The residents of the city looked on in dismay at the sight, the king was satisfied with its power, and those around him shuddered in fear and worry about the cost of repairing the outer walls, the confusion of the residents, and other troublesome cleanup.

The next day, the royal family gave a formal explanation of the disturbance.

The contents revealed that an organization called Darzain, which has recently been disturbing public order not only in the royal capital but also in the entire country, has taken up residence in the favelas of the royal capital.

The group decided to cooperate with Gnosis to form a strike team and jointly defeat the organization.

The operation itself went smoothly, but when Darzain attempted to call out a horde of monsters to cause chaos in the capital in order to buy time for their escape, the king, in a bitter decision, decided to destroy the monsters using a new weapon that he had recently succeeded in developing.

Thus, the crisis that had gripped the capital at the expense of the favelas was over.

The residents were shocked, but when they learned that their lives would not be affected, they were easily convinced.

Most of them just said, "Well, that's scary," or "I guess there are fewer bad guys now". They were happy to hear that, and went back to their daily lives.

I, Vertex, left the place behind and returned to the old man's workshop.

"Oh, you're back. So? Did you find brother?"

I shake my head.

"I looked for him, but I couldn't find him. I should assume that he couldn't escape, seeing as he didn't respond to the magic stone I gave him."

"I see.... It's too bad... I could have found someone who could use that thing..."

This time there were too many unforeseen circumstances.

Gnosis intervention and a swarm of monsters.

It is said that the upper management had already had an agreement, albeit a simple one, but a cathedral knight who happened to be there acted on his own initiative.

There are idiots who do unnecessary things everywhere.

Thanks to this, the result was not so good, as the leader was not killed, the life and death of the apostle was unknown, and there were no tangible results despite all the efforts.

But still, that king was insane to unleash such ridiculous magic on his own knees with a smug look on his face.

If I hadn't had any help, I would have been there, looking like a fool.

It had been a day full of disappointments and no fun at all.

But I did get some cleaning done. I guess I at least bought time for my arms and eyes to adjust.

It's a shame that I lost Roe, but it can't be helped.

Let's be glad I didn't have to pay the rest of the reward up front.

The old man is pretty depressed, although it's hard to tell because of the way he looks.

It's not every day you find a freak who wants to use that ghetto with glee, so in that sense, we've lost a regrettable man.

He was an impeccable asset, but he was also very talented, never said or did anything unnecessary, never complained about rewards, and just by being there, he made the old man's mood better....

He laughs through his nose.

What? I guess I liked him a lot, too.

The deadline for the request still remains, but in case he survives, I'll at least give him the rest of the reward.

"Ugh..."

What in the world...?

My whole body ached dully.

Remembering why I had lost consciousness, I - Elisa - regained consciousness.

The last thing I remember is the collapsed hidden passageway, the brightened sky, and...I'm not sure what, something behind me...

"Did you come to your senses?"

I turned around in surprise as I heard a voice from behind me.

There, the cathedral knight I saw earlier was sitting on a large rock.

His helmet was intact, but his armor was shattered here and there, and a black...armor? A black, armor-like object was peeking out from inside.

"Damn it. I thought I told you to leave this place."

His tone contained not anger but dismay.

"I'm sorry that you had to help me, but I have to get back to my place, so... what the hell happened?"

"Look around you."

When he told me that, I took another look around... and I was stunned.

Everything was gone, and all that remained was a pile of rubble that looked like it could have been a house and holes of various sizes here and there in the ground.

The largest of the holes was too large to see its entire size.

"To tell the truth, I don't really know what happened either. All I saw was a bunch of meteorites falling from the sky."

"Meteorites?"

I don't remember hearing that word.

"Uh... uh... er... rocks falling from the sky... sort of?"

The cathedral knight clears his throat.

"Anyway, I found you just before it fell and I managed to get through it with you in my arms."

You made it through? Through all that destruction?

The cathedral knight, perhaps sensing what I was trying to say from the way I looked at him, showed me his weapon.

The long-handled war hammer had been shattered in half and had become nothing more than a stick.

"This guy did this for me. ...I pushed him too hard, and here we are."

The cathedral knight stands up.

"What about you? If you come with me, I can guarantee your safety."

"As I said before, I have a place to go back to, so I can't go if I'm not forced to."

I look straight at the cathedral knight and say so.

The cathedral knight let out a deep sigh and sat down on the rock again.

"All right. I'm sure we can get there now without being seen because no one has arrived yet. Conveniently, the outer wall is also blown down."

He chuckled as he said it.

"Are you sure?"

I asked him.

"I've been through so much in such a short period of time, I don't know what to say. I don't think I have the words to hold you back right now."

He laughed at himself.

"I'm not saying I'm giving up on you, but I'll recommend that you get protection again once I've put my own thoughts together."

"I understand. I'll be happy to go. I'm grateful for all the help you've given me."

With that, I gave a small wave and ran out of town.

The cathedral knight also responded by raising his hand lightly.

I ran out of the town and ran outside.

I had to meet up with my sisters as soon as possible. I was sure they mentioned something about Nordia, so if I headed in that direction, I might be able to catch up with them....

I hurried ahead, thinking about the route in my mind.

As the sun was high in the sky, I stopped and looked back.

The surviving girls stopped, out of breath.

"We'll be okay this far out...let's take a break!"

After walking all night, everyone sat down, as if they had lost their tension.

There were eight of us. Only eight people...that's all that was left after all that time....

I bit my teeth at that fact.

"Jelchi-chan, what are we going to do now?"

Helga asked me as she regained her breath, so I calmed down and turned around.

"We'll head toward Nordia and meet up with Guardio and the others as planned. After that, I'll think about it after ......."

Now that we've been damaged so much, it will be impossible to operate in the Royal Capital for some time to come.

All we had to do was to recover the parts stolen from Vertex, but when we opened the door, we found that the items we were supposed to take were in that man's body and that he had identified our base of operations and attacked us.

At first, all I could think of was retaliation against them, but my heart has been completely overwhelmed by repeated fatigue and heartache.

Frankly speaking, I have lost all desire to do anything against Vertex.

If it were possible, I would leave the rest to Gardio and the others and do nothing for a while.

However, Argulini's character is such that I will surely be sent back to him again.

In the meantime, let Helga and her team rebuild the organization.

This case is full of miscalculations.

I thought that Vertex, being alone, would get exhausted and show an opening somewhere if I took the time to attack him, but he somehow procured a strange collaborator and attacked us.

That man, Roe.

What the hell was he? A blue adventurer? It's no laughing matter for a joke.

Unknown means of attack, inhuman physical abilities, and viciousness without restraint.

There were only a few people in the past who were that hard to fight and that heartbreaking.

It is unbelievable that someone like that has remained buried and out of the public eye until now.

The subordinates that Vertex had secured?

Why is it that he's never shown any signs of such a person before?

Or did he just find out recently? How?

Where did that monster come from? Where did it come from?

There are so many things we don't know.

I am not sure if it's because I'm too tired to think straight, but I can't stop being frustrated.

There is also the matter of Helga and the others who are looking at me anxiously.

I shook off my unnecessary thoughts and sat down on the spot.