Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 127: "Creed"

After thinking for a while, Adolfo's answer was.

"I will return to my sister Pascu's mansion."

--It was to believe in her sister.

I nodded.

Either way, we need to find out where Pasquale stands, and we need to talk about Grimm.

Let's go back to her mansion.

"What are your thoughts on this, Lady Heidi?"

On the way back to the villa, Adolfo suddenly asked me this.

"What about ......?"

"About who killed Brother Grimm. Maybe it was also Brother Ben who got his hands on him..."

"I don't know. If you believe Ms Pasquale, it was Mr Etore who did it and she's willing to do it... but from what I've heard, I'm just wondering how she procured the forces that could do that much to them."

Looking at the places Ettore had frequented, which she had been circling earlier, it did not appear that she had the funds or the ability to flex her armed forces.

As for the funds, I don't think she could have prepared them, given her wasteful spending habits.

"Yes, I think so too. Even if it was Sister Ettore who did it, how could she have done all that..."

"If you just look at the circumstances, it would still be more natural to say that Ms Pasquale did it."

"...... Yes, that's right. I hear that some of the country's knights specialise in such rough and dirty work. If Sister Pasquale was running those people, it would explain the devastation."

Adolfo adds, 'But.'

"I want to believe that my sister is telling the truth! So..."

I put my hand on her shoulder, interrupting her words.

"Yes, I know. It's going to be all right."

The mansion comes into view.

I approach to ask the holy knight guarding the gate...

...not there?

The gatekeeper who should have been there when I left is not there.

A bad premonition crawls up my spine.

I rush to the gate and go inside.

Then -...

A scream and a roar as if something is being crushed.

I rush into the house.

The reason I didn't notice anything unusual even though so much has happened is probably because magic is blocking out the sound.

Inside, the situation was similar to that of the Grimm's mansion.

The corpses of the Holy Knights and the destroyed furnishings.

And then there was a roar.

The Temple Knight - who had been waiting near Pasquale - came blasting through the wall.

He is alive, but his armour is destroyed and his arm is bent in a strange direction.

By all appearances, he is incapable of combat.

"What? What's that you?"

The wall shattered, revealing the one who could have caused this catastrophe.

...what?

The man who appeared? was covered in shadows all over his body, and although his identity was unknown, he was seen to be carrying what appeared to be a weapon on his shoulder.

"Hey! Why the hell is someone who has nothing to do with this coming in!?"

Yells behind himself.

"Excuse me, sir! I've put a wide range of 'silence' on..."

"I don't care about that! It's because you didn't clean up your mess quickly enough."

In response, about two similar shadow people appear.

"What? You've got no results and you're talking back to me?"

The one who apologised was short and the one who spoke back was a woman, judging from the way she spoke?

It is difficult to tell their gender because their voices sound distorted, let alone their appearance, as they are probably using some kind of magical tool to hide their true identity.

"Heidi-sama!"

Adolfo's voice comes from behind.

You've been following me.

"The girl is there, which means you're the adventurer who beat them back."

"Ah, that's the last of them, I think. It's convenient, let's get this over with and get out of here."

The two of them looked at Adolfo and started saying things like that.

From the way they spoke, it was clear that those three were....

"Are you guys going around killing candidates?"

"Oh? Can't you see that?"

"That's right. Though unwillingly."

A woman interjects.

"Hey. I told you it's a job, didn't I? Stop complaining!"

"Then can't they just pile on the rewards? If you're going to complain about people's work, can you please fulfil your obligations as an employer? Specifically, gold coins! Here! Load it up! Right in front of me, right now!"

"Tsk. I'll pay you when I'm done with this! I'm sure you won't complain then!"

...What's with these people...

Have they suddenly started to split up?

A man steps forward.

I draw my dagger and tell Adolfo to step back.

"Adolfo. You..."

The door closes noisily just as I'm about to tell her to go outside.

Adolfo jumps to open it, but the door doesn't move at all.

A small man holds out a staff-like object in his hand. The door was not moving at all.

...Did he close the door?

"Alright. Then I'll fight this sister, and you guys can take the kid..."

"No."

"No?"

"Our job is only to provide support, so it's not part of our pay to directly handle them. In addition, we don't want our true identity to be discovered and we don't want to be held accountable, so you'll have to do the dirty work yourself. Oh, and we'll keep you in check so you don't run away, so please do your best."

"You bitch. You can't just leave."

"Oh, can I go home? Thank you for your hard work. Shall we go then?"

The woman pulls the little man along and walks away to really go home.

The man destroys the wall with his weapon.

"I got it! Don't let the kid get away."

When they hear this, they stop, and the woman points something - a crossbow or something, from the feel of her stance? to Adolfo, while the smaller man holds up what appears to be a staff to stop her movement.

"Then I'm sorry, but will you please not move, miss? If you don't do anything, I won't do anything."

Adolfo sits there, forgetting to hold up the shortbow she was carrying.

I measure my timing, but keep my eyes on the man in front of me.

"Do you mind if I have one more question before we start?"

"Ah?"

"What have you done with Miss Pasquale?"

The man clicks his tongue.

"She's alive. Right there."

The woman points behind her with her hand.

When I looked over, I saw a fully wounded Temple knight and Ms Pasquale supporting him behind a broken wall.

She too is bleeding from all over her body and breathing heavily.

Not only is she unable to move, she can't even speak.

It is fortunate that she is still alive, but it is hard to count her as an asset.

"You came at a good time. If it had been a little later, they would be dead."

"...... Can I have another question......?"

I throw the question to the woman who seems relatively more open to talking to me.

"Go ahead."

"Are you sure you're mercenaries or something in Ms Etore's employ?"

"Me and the guy next to me are hired by someone there. I don't know who that is and I don't want to know."

....

How am I supposed to interpret this?

The two men behind us were prepared by the man in front of us.

In other words, it was the man in front of us who came directly after us.

Who he works for... but can we now be sure?

Now that Pasquale has been targeted, it's clear from the situation that someone is behind it.

The enemy is Etore.

For the time being, we know who is friend and foe.

All that remains is to deal with the situation in front of us.

The support of the Holy Knights is unlikely to be forthcoming, so I'll have to do it alone.

I breathe deeply and discard all unnecessary thoughts.

Concentration. Concentration.

Fortunately, the other party is alone.

...but he is the one who created this situation.

I will not let my guard down and give it my all.

With the mindset of breaking down the situation rather than overthrowing the opponent.

Come on, let's go.

"Hey! Don't say unnecessary things!"

Here.

I use my whole body to close the gap at once.

At the same time as throwing the dagger, I pull out my stiletto.

Aiming at the middle of the face, I stab it.

I fly small backwards without --.

I felt the wind on the tip of my nose.

The man seemed to be wielding a weapon before I knew it.

Sweat is flowing.

Dangerous.

If I had stepped forward carelessly, I would have had my head crushed.

"Ho. You managed to avoid it, didn't you?"

That wasn't a sword.

It's a club or something, considering the distance.

"It looks like it's going to do a bit, but there's no time to waste, so just die."

Swing down. The floor is shattered. The ground crumbles.

Throws a dagger at it while avoiding it. It hits the shoulder, but is repelled. Armour.

Side cleave kick, jumps backwards and avoids.

The man kicked through, and then uses the momentum of his half-turned body to attack with his weapon.

I drops back, but my back hits the wall. I bends down. The wall shatters.

I grabs a magic stone from the bag at my waist at the right moment and cracks it with force, scattering it.

A flash of light and smoke plays.

To get through the side -.

A kick flies by. It is quick to regain its footing.

Can't duck. Defence with a stiff arm. Direct hit, a nasty sound from the arm.

My feet float off the ground and I am blown off.

Rolling on the ground several times, I regain my position and stand up on the way.

"Ggh..."

The arm... still moves, but the bone is probably damaged.

The pain is terrible. This in one blow?

The hunter, who should have been worn out after a series of battles with the holy knight, moves like this.

Reaction is also fast.

From his tone of voice, I thought he would just push with force, but when it comes to combat, he moves with precision.

...Moreover, he is relentless.

He has already broken the pause and is in an attacking position.

"Oh, come on? Just running around?"

...This is tough.

I take distance while avoiding, but the opponent immediately steps in.

The man in front of me has a simple fighting style.

A series of blows that are based on physical strength and the destructive power of a single blow.

I literally have no time to breathe.

In addition to that, he is disguising his appearance... perhaps thanks to his magical tools, the details of his equipment are unknown.

If I could at least find out what kind of armour he was wearing, I would be able to find a way to cut him...

It's not possible to take such a long time to investigate against an opponent who is clearly superior.

Let's give up on defeating him. To put it bluntly, it's impossible.

If he were here, I might have been able to do something, but right now I'm not strong enough.

I look around me.

...the windows... are there.

OK. The location is .......

"Stop dawdling!"

Dodged a weapon thrown by a man at the edge of the room - and then.

Then the man in front of me takes his hand off his weapon and becomes empty-handed.

Why did he let go of his weapon?

--But then a fist was thrust into my side.

"Bu..."

My thoughts are shattered.

I was blown away, spitting things out of my mouth.

My body was blown up and out through the window - before I was thrown out, I threw the dagger.

"Hey! I just closed the door!?"

"Oh, crap. Watch out!"

I roll across the garden of the mansion and grab the bag at my waist.

"Gaha."

Blood spills from my mouth.

When I look up, the man has already gone out the window.

Damn it. Too fast.

I slam my fist into the bag, then throw it away and activate the magic.

The pain makes it hard to concentrate.

Please... Activate it.

[Fireball I]. Fire.

The magic hits the bag in mid-air and explodes all the magic stones inside.

Three types of magic exploded in large quantities with a tremendous roar, flash and smoke.