Paradigm Parasite

"Huh, Lady Fatima..."

I called her name with a trembling voice.

Fatima walks towards me with a smile on her face, the same as during the day.

In one hand is a short staff. Her clothes are the same as in the daytime.

The monsters move to her side, except for one of the captains.

It seems that they are in a position to protect her.

That's how I guessed most of the situation.

She is not a victim or anything, she knows everything.

She understands and she accepts the monsters.

"Which, how!? No, why!?"

Why would someone like you have a monster with you?

You don't have to rely on such a monster, you can rely on Gnosis...

Fatima, who was staring at me, suddenly bursts out laughing. As if to say it's hilarious.

"Fufu. Why not? I'm the one who should be asking, aren't I? How could you be so stupid?"

I could not understand what she was saying.

She left my understanding behind and the conversation continued.

"Why did you go out of your way to do such a stupid thing when nothing would have happened if you had just gone home quietly? Was it driven by a sense of merit? Or was it because you had no choice because of instructions from your superiors? No, that is hard to imagine. The woman who was leading the group, Cristela, is not that kind of personality from what I can see. She would have the temperament to come from the front through muscle. That's why I expected that man called Ehrman, who had been standing aside, to come..."

She puts her hand to her cheek.

"I was really surprised that you, who doesn't seem to be the most suitable, would come."

"...M...unsuitable?"

I feel my voice tremble involuntarily.

What is she saying?

"Because you do, don't you? I've thought that from the first time I saw you, you're a thoughtless child who only sees the best in people, who only takes the conversation around you at face value, you're not perceptive. You are a green child."

She then added: 'How could you become a knight of the cathedral in such a condition?'

I can hear you, but I don't understand what you mean.

What is she? Is she really the same Fatima we met during the day?

Her expression and mannerisms are the same as during the day, but her mood is completely different.

There is a condescending colour in her gaze and contempt in her attitude.

Fatima tilts her head slightly and exhales a small breath of exasperation.

"Well... it looks like you're really alone. I was on the lookout for a diversion, but there is no sign of it. Were you a fool driven by a sense of merit?"

She shoots me a look of contempt that she doesn't even try to hide, and calls out to the monster.

"Riley, take him alive. If you can't, you can kill it. ...And you'll have to explain the loss of Mothman to me later, won't you?"

The captain's monster - the one called Riley - shudders in fear, then walks towards me with a large sword slouched in front of him.

Riley takes his first step and my spell is broken.

Shake my head inwardly and switch.

This is no time to be upset, she's the enemy. Divide and conquer.

It is possible that she is being manipulated in some way, but there is nothing you can do about it now.

First we have to deal with the situation at hand.

From the looks of it, no one is moving except Riley. Is it a one-on-one fight?

They are underestimating me. My thoughts were red-hot when I realised this, but I regulated my breathing and readied my weapon.

If there is no other opponent, I will not lose. I'll redeem my pride with your life.

Riley rushes in with a roar.

It is obvious that I cannot match him in simple strength, so it is a bad idea to take him head on, but as long as the wall is behind me, it is impossible for me to back away.

... I have no choice but to step forward!

The first shot is conceded. At the very least, I have to see how it comes out to deal with it.

Swinging down from above. It's fast because it's out of stone and out of people.

...but. Only fast.

The blade of the staff spear is down, and the slash is channeled with the hilt. Okay, I can go one-on-one.

In a passive movement, he swung the blade up and slashed at the thigh area.

Blood spurts out slightly, but it is shallow.

It's hard. With my arm strength, I'll have to make a few cuts to get it right.

Riley, perhaps offended by the wound, contorts his face in anger and attacks further.

It's uncommonly fast, but as long as you have one sword and one arm to release, it's no problem if you handle them one at a time.

He ducks a rather large swinging blow and slashes at the torso with a return blow.

The blade reaches the body through the armour, but hits something and does not pass through.

Is he wearing mail or something underneath?

But the bottom of the opponent's body was visible.

His physical ability is indeed tremendous, but his sword-handling skills, which are crucial, are not flattering.

There is no doubt that he is a strong opponent. But it is possible to conquer him. It is possible to win!

They mix in slashes with kicks and attacks with their free fists, but their attacks are too straightforward and easy to see through.

My eyes are getting used to it, so it's time to start counter-attacking.

In the gaps between attacks, return slashes and fire magic.

I dodge the fists that come straight at me and feed [Fire II] to the wounds on the legs.

The sound of burning flesh and Riley's moan of pain.

When his stance is broken, I slash at the opposite leg. I aim for the tendon, but it's too hard for the blade to pass through.

...Is it difficult to cut it off while ducking?

I think I can cut it off if I can stand firm, but it's impossible to do so while moving.

The rotation of the body accelerates even while thinking.

Look at the enemy, watch the enemy. Ducking an attack, returning an attack.

I feel my concentration rising.

I can see, I can see, I can see. The enemy's movements seem to be slowing down, as if they were being drawn out.

It always happens. I can't lose now that this has happened. You see? I am strong! I am strong!

I see Riley in front of me, his whole body covered in blood and his breathing ragged.

It's about time. I invite the next big swing and cut his head off.

I deliberately create a gap by unleashing a slash.

Riley doesn't miss the gap I created, and with anger in his eyes, he makes a big slash. It came.

With this -.

"...Ha, Riley. Chastisement later, okay?"

Fatima mutters this with a sigh in her ear.

Intense pain.

"...what?"

I don't understand what happened.

My arm has been severed from the shoulder opening and blood is gushing out. In the next instant, intense pain pierces my brain.

"Gah, ah..."

While I let out a cry of pain, a question swirls in my brain. Was I cut? When? How?

I turn around and before I know it, someone in armour is standing behind me.

Where did he appear from? How? How?

Countless more question marks filled my thoughts, but these disappeared the moment I recognised the attacker's figure.

A jet-black sword that seemed to condense the darkness into a slender full-body armour based on white.

White rain armour and a wet-feather sword.

It shouldn't be here.

The reason is that it is the missing Void cathedral knight's...

"Why ...... are you here! Why are you here!? Cathedral Knight Void..."

The question spills out of my mouth impulsively, but at the same time I feel a shock on the back of my head.

By the time I recognised that I had been hit, I was out of control.

My consciousness was cut off for the last time by the touch of the ground on my cheek.

Dylan's armour was the perfect way to induce an unrest against the Holy Knight.

Thanks to that, he was completely defenceless and we were able to capture him with ease.

Riley, who had knocked the Holy Knight into a stupor, is breathing on his shoulder, but his life is probably not in danger.

"...Fu."

When I confirmed that the stupid cathedral knight collapsed in front of me and completely lost consciousness, I - Fatima - let out a small breath.

I didn't neglect to be prepared, but when it comes to actually using it, it can be a hassle and unpleasant.

For the time being, it seems that there are no others, so the cathedral knight lying on the ground will be given minimal treatment after disarming and restraining him, and the subordinate holy knights who are probably outside the walls will be dealt with....

It is obvious that they are going to probe us, so we have no choice but to dispose of them before they make any strange movements.

The loss was four Mothmen.

It's not so bad when you consider the cost of taking out one Knight of the Cathedral, but it's not so interesting because we wouldn't have lost anything if Riley hadn't run ahead of us and let us surprise him.

Riley is a good warrior, but as a commander he is second-rate... no, third-rate, I would say.

When you see how easily he is turned back, he needs to be re-trained by the Trust.

I have inwardly greatly lowered my opinion of Riley.

I would say it will be another five or six days before Mr Rothfeldt returns?

It might be better to think of it as a delay of a few days, since he seems to be carrying extra baggage with him.

There are about 50 Holy Knights and Temple Knights who seem to be Marslan's men.

Let's take them by surprise and get rid of them quickly.

It is a situation we would have liked to avoid if possible, but it is to be expected.

A total of one hundred and fifty Shrigaras, Gevaudans and Monos would be sufficient for the force.

As long as they lack a commander, they should easily fall apart.

We also want to make up for our losses, so we will take as many of them alive as possible and recover all equipment and supplies.

The interrogation can wait until after Mr Rothfeldt returns.

I flew the instructions with [Communication], ordered the safe Shrigala and Dylan to treat Riley and carry Marslan out, and left the place.

...And even so...

Is it about the ruins?

I bite my teeth inwardly. I didn't expect the Zubel case to drag on so long.

Perhaps by terminating the request, information leaked from the Adventurers' Guild to Gnosis.

It is difficult to say whether the termination of the request was a failure.

Requests that do not report results for a certain period of time are investigated, so in any case, the information would have been exposed in one way or another.

Is it a blessing in disguise that Mr Rothfeld himself was not targeted?

... we need to get Marslan to tell us about that....

Once the guys outside have been disposed of, it will buy us some time, but there is a possibility that the other two will come back.

Cristela and Hermann.

From the looks of it, they're probably more prestigious than Marslan, and they don't seem to be driven by a sense of merit to act recklessly.

It's tricky.

...But...

"Fufu."

I let out a small smile.

There's no problem with killing them all, is there?

Fortunately, it seems that Mr Rothfeldt is preparing the culprits, and if they're coming, let's intercept them.

You filthy winged insects who target the Oratorium.

Let them pay with their lives for stepping on our land.