Paradigm Parasite

Rick stands up in front of me.

"Instructor...Gervas...thank you..."

I watched Rick muttering something to himself, unimpressed.

He's saying something. What? Have you made an invisible friend?

Rick looked straight at me through his helmet.

"Roe. Let's fight! If I win, I get a reprieve!"

... and so on.

What are you talking about? Don't make me laugh. How do you expect me to go through with that?

Either way, you're going to end up here.

Without saying a word, I turned my gaze to Rick and pointed my sword at him.

Rick, perhaps deciding that I had complied, lunged at me with his bare hands, but he fell as if crushed to the ground.

"But... ah... this is my..."

The one I got when I healed you.

Who do you think I gave you a brief lecture on how to use it via the "root"?

If I apply it, I can do something like this, okay?

Hook my foot on Rick's body and lift him up, and he floats up with a light touch.

In that state, kick him upward and then release him.

A few seconds later, Rick was blown sky high and fell headfirst.

Rick, who had been knocked to the ground, grunted and tried to stand up, but he was not doing so well, perhaps because he was not strong enough.

I really want to hurt him a little, but I still have things to do, so let's get rid of him quickly.

"Wait...wait...I'm not ready..."

"Just die already."

Rick was about to say something, but I ignored him and took his head off.

Then, I gave instructions to Rick's heart, which was implanted, and manipulated his body.

After making him strip off his armor, I ate the rest of his body.

For the time being, I put on the armor.

Now I can manage to be almost completely naked...mmm, it's a bit tight.

I adjust my physique to fit.

Now that I'm looking good, it's time to clean up the mess.

Let's take care of the survivors in this space and go home.

The thick cloud in the sky seems to be a kind of ward that Aquiel put up to recover his body.

The effect is that it absorbs the magic and life force of the creature inside, and it seems he needed it to reconstruct his own body. I learned a lot of other interesting things from eating him, but that's enough for now.

Well, it seems that now that the magician is gone, the magic power absorbed is being used to maintain the wards and...that thing....

I catch a glimpse of the human-shaped shadow-like figures hovering at the edge of my vision.

Incidentally, they are still being sucked in, but now that Aquiel is away, there is no absorption effect to that extent.

Well, now that all the troublesome things have been taken care of, let's go clean up the mess.

I decided to move in to take care of the survivors.

A huge black cloud-like object was swirling in front of me, covering the city.

I, Heidi, was staring at it with impatience.

Currently, I am spending time with people who have evacuated to a simple base prepared by the surviving Holy Knights.

After that, I joined Savage and we tried to go out of the city, but we were blocked by a mysterious barrier that prevented us from going out. We decided that it would be difficult to use brute force, so we moved along the barrier and suddenly it disappeared, allowing us to leave the city.

After leaving the town, we created a simple base in an open area near the town.

We had no food or other supplies, and some people were too injured or fatigued to move, so food was essential.

Some of the relatively uninjured holy knights decided to head immediately to a neighboring village to call for help, and I tried to cooperate, but they turned me down softly.

Then I asked Savage to help me, but he didn't move and fell asleep in the corner of the base.

...I guess I can't expect any cooperation.

In the end, all I could do was look at the city, which had been covered by black clouds before I knew it, or go around the base as a distraction to see if there was any danger.

I suppose leaving this place is an option, but...without him, I don't think I can do that.

After making the base, we were joined several times by people who had fled the city, but he was not among them.

Is he safe? I tried several times to find him, but every time I did, for some reason Savage would appear and take me back to the base.

In the end, I could do nothing but wait.

...What in the world is going on in the city?

I was exposed to Darzain's madness at the ruins, but what is going on in the city is unknown to me.

As long as they are connected to Gnosis behind the scenes, there must have been some kind of deal.

And yet, this fuss. No matter how you look at it, this town is useless.

If it was Darzain's decision on their own, I don't know why they did something that would destroy the relationship they had just established.

And if Gnosis has already agreed to it, why go to such great lengths?

I don't know. There are so many things I don't understand.

How close did he get to the heart of the matter?

Or is he still getting there?

Am I that unreliable?

It makes me want to cry a little.

We have a delicate relationship, but I see us as friends and family, you know?

I've never really had a friend because of my position, so I'm not sure what the right distance is, but I'd like to be closer to him and share more things with him.

...But he didn't depend on me.

Either he was being considerate, or he decided I wasn't worth it....

Considering his personality, it was probably the latter.

Considering the fact that Savage went to the trouble of coming to me, I'd say that my credibility is probably less than Savage's.

I'm sorry to say it, but considering that I'm trusted no more than a monster, maybe I'm a hindrance....

I shake my head and empty my thoughts.

That's not true...it can't be.

Either way, it's probably true that he doesn't rely on me much.

To quickly win his trust, I need to ...... first of all be good at what I do....

It is necessary to somehow develop the ability to match him.

If it's simply a matter of improving my fighting ability, I can expect a certain level of enhancement by simply putting on high-quality equipment.

Other than that, should I join some organization and learn some skills?

Or use external methods like Darzain?

Various ideas came and went.

...In some cases, I may have to leave him for a while....

To be honest, I am resistant to the idea, but I should probably think seriously about it considering what will happen in the future.

Halfway lost in contemplation and escaping from reality, I realized that it had been more than a whole day since I had left the city.

I kept waiting for him through the night, but he never came.

...I'm at my limit.

When the sun rises, I will force my way into town whether Savage stops me or not.

It's hard enough just to wait.

As I'm thinking in my head about how to enter the city...I see a figure in the distance.

As I stare intently at it, I see Savage pass by me at a brisk pace.

I start running after him. I jump onto Savage's back before he can really accelerate.

Acceleration. The outline of the figure comes into view. More acceleration. It is already in front of me.

Arrival. I get off Savage's back.

He approaches me with his usual expression, wearing clothes that don't fit him for some reason...

"What is it? You came to pick me up?"

He said in his usual tone of voice without a trace of emotion.

Hearing that, I feel a bit weak all at once.

I smile back at him.

"Glad you're okay."

I thought he might say something, but he just silently shrugged his shoulders.

Mc Pov

--That's what happened.

--Well, that was tough.

The place had changed, and here we were in a corner of the simple base that the Holy Knights had built.

I was pretending to be tired and sleeping while I was telling Fatima what had happened.

--But still, slaughtering such a huge demon, it's just marvelous, Mr. Rothfeldt. That's a wonderful power.

I don't need such boring flattery.

--By the way, there's something that's been bothering me since you told me about it.

--What is it?

--The reason why this rude ingrate called Rick stood up at the end.

...Oh, about that.

I know what that means, because I examined his memory when I absorbed him.

--Before he met me, he seems to have taken in the souls of friend and acquaintance. I heard that he managed to generate enough magical power to move by consuming them.

In fact, I heard that the people who were taken in gave themselves up, but it's a story that I find hard to understand.

Risking your life to save others. It is certainly a cool thing to do if you only look at it in words.

If it were fiction, you might say, "That's the way it has to be," but what about when you actually face it?

It's impossible. At least not for me.

If my relatives were dying and I was told that I could save them if I risked my life, I would choose to abandon them in no time and pray for their souls. Yeah, I'd definitely make the same choice even before this happened.

...And don't make excuses like "I was scared" with tears in your eyes.

Then what did the two who burned their souls for Rick think were doing that?

I don't know anymore, as long as I can't see their memories because they were consumed and nothing was left of them....

That's what bothered me a little.

-Well, how living dirty. How stubborn like an insect.

...Anyway, he gets up with the help of his friends when he is in a desperate situation.

Looking back on it, it was a typical plot in a sense.

It would have been perfect if he had won the fight in reverse, but the reality was merciless.

--It's true that he was stubborn, but that story is over now.

--Yes, that's right. Let's forget about them and talk about the future! Specifically, the future of Oratorium...

--Next, I'm finally heading to the royal capital.

I interrupt Fatima's delusions. I can't listen to every word she says. It's annoying.

--It's a long way, but with Savage here, I'm sure it won't be a problem. So I have a little favor to ask.

--Road silver. From what I hear, you have lost all your equipment. If you tell Patrick, I'm sure he can get it to you on the way to Royal Capital.

.......

--Oh, no? Am I wrong?

--No, you're right.

Why is this fellow so perceptive?

I feel like she's reading my mind and it gives me the chills.

I picked up some in town, but since I need to get new equipment, I'm a bit concerned.

--Also, I gave the two guys I put under my command this time some of the equipment I mentioned. I'll send them over there for you to use as you wish.

I left Iqbal and Mixon with a set of Void equipment and sent them off to the Oratorium.

I would have used it myself if I could have, but circumstances are what they are. If someone from Gnosis saw them, they would be suspicious.

I should leave these troublesome things with Garbage Bar...no, I should leave them with Fatima.

--Is it the exclusive equipment of Cathedral Knight? I'd be very grateful if you could give it to me, but... wouldn't it be better if you just used the sword yourself?

--I'm sure it's fine, but it's such a large weapon. It could be traced.

--If that's the case, I would be very grateful if I could use it. Then, if you let me know where to contact you at a later date, I will arrange for someone to be sent immediately.

--All right. Then, please take care of it.

--Now that the hard talk is over, Mr. Rothfeldt! With me...

I cut off the [communication].

It's probably not much of a story anyway, so it's not worth listening to.

Then I remembered.

Should I have asked her how the territory was doing?

I'm a little concerned about it, but...oh well.

But still, I was really tired this time. Mainly mentally.

In times like this, it would be best to fall asleep, but as long as I couldn't sleep, there was nothing I could do.

For the first time, I felt resentful of my body's inability to sleep.