Paradigm Parasite

218 "Open War"

There are gates on all four sides of the Muslim spiritual mountain for access.

The gates have been closed since the evening and are only surrounded by a few holy knights guarding the gates.

Each gate is manned by four Holy Knights and one Knight of the Holy Temple.

They were going about their accustomed daily business and believed that the morning would come without incident, as it always does.

On the day in question, two people are napping around the gate and two others are taking a nap in a nearby filling station.

It was night. The moon is at its zenith, though it is obscured by clouds, and morning is far away.

One of the gatekeepers was tired of the rain that had started a little while ago, and was thinking vaguely about whether he would be replaced soon.

Several clattering, armour-specific footprints approach.

The two men slowly put their hands on their weapons in disbelief.

"Who are you!?"

They shout out who or what at those approaching.

The Knights of the Holy Temple appear from the darkness.

There were six of them. All of them looked somewhat tired.

"From which unit are you from?"

"...We are here on behalf of the Knights of the Holy Temple of Marslan! We have something urgent to report! Please pass it on to your superiors! "

"What's going on?"

The knight of the Temple of the Holy Spirit said so as if he was shouting as he approached, and the gatekeeper turned his head slightly to the side as if he was being swallowed by the force of his words.

"It's--"

The next moment, the knight of the Holy Temple had cut the gatekeeper's throat with a dagger.

The gatekeeper, unable to comprehend what had happened to him, opens his eyes in astonishment.

Next, a gurgling sound leaked from his throat, and he collapsed to the ground, his strength drained.

The remaining gatekeepers are also sunk with their throats slit before they are ready for battle.

The knights of the Holy Temple nodded to each other and headed for the chokepoint with their weapons at the ready without caution.

Afterwards, the Holy Temple knights, who had taken a nap in the jam-post, were never awakened from their slumber.

A similar situation occurs at the other gates, where the gatekeepers disappear unnoticed.

After the blood and traces that have been spilled are washed away by the rain, and those that are not are magically disposed of, the Knights of the Holy Temple clear away the corpses and replace the gatekeepers with unsuspecting faces.

The purpose is to welcome those who will come after them.

After a while, a group in black dressing gowns appears without a sound.

When they see them, the Knights of the Holy Temple open the gate and invite them to pass through.

The black-robed men pass through the gate one after another with a slight hint of bewilderment.

As the sound of footsteps ascending the mountain fades away, another group comes towards the gate.

They welcome them to the gate as well, and when they have passed all those who are due to pass through, they close the gate and activate the large magic tool they have brought with them.

As if in cahoots, the same thing is activated in the other three places, and the air around the mountain shimmers.

At the same time, the sounds coming from the mountains disappear. Even the sound of rain.

The Knights of the Holy Temple close the gate and stand guard over the place.

However, they are not protecting it from the outside, but from the inside.

They wait silently. Those who would come fleeing this way.

The black dressing gowns quickly perform their task as they pass through the gate to the top of the mountain.

When they reached the top - the Gnosis facility - they attacked the patrolling Holy Knights for a start.

A surprise attack from behind. The attacked Holy Knights probably did not even understand what had happened to them.

Next, several people jointly invoked magic.

[Explosion III]. This is a powerful magic released in pairs of three, releasing heat and shock with directional properties in any direction and location.

They set the point of origin within the facility.

They synchronise their timing with the others and activate all at once.

Explosions were heard from all over the facility with a roar, followed by countless screams.

Confusion arose, but the Holy Knights, but those above the rank of Knight of the Temple of the Holy Spirit, were skilled soldiers who had gone through the rigours of the Holy Office.

Realising that they were under attack, they immediately equipped themselves and rushed outside.

When the Knights of the Holy Temple spotted the black dressing gowns, they immediately recognised them.

They shouted to make their presence known.

"Enemy attack! It's DARZAIN! Intercept!"

Thus began the offensive on the Muslim spiritual mountain.

Black dressing gowns - the instructions given to Dhazain and his men were a diversion.

They were to go on a showy rampage and claw their way around.

However, they were also instructed to make sure that their true identity was known.

The instructions were questionable, but they performed them perfectly.

The Holy Knights recognised the situation completely as an attack by Dasein.

Their task was now complete.

All that remained was to run around until they were ordered to retreat.

At any rate, the diversion that had been ordered must have gone well.

I - Gerch - thought as smoke rose from all over the place and kept a watchful eye on the surroundings.

The diversion and making the other party aware that they had been attacked by DARZAIN were completed as instructed.

At least this gives me at least a modicum of respectability.

I'm a little south of the compound.

Jennette and I split up and climbed the mountain from all sides.

I was south and east, Jennette was west and north.

Helga took the east and I came up from the south...

...What's going on?

When we entered the mountain, we were guided by a Knight of the Holy Temple who seemed to be on the inside.

I was told beforehand that I would be guided, but what does it mean?

At first I thought he was going to guide me to a loophole, but in fact we went straight through from the front.

What are those people?

The fact that there are people on the inside is not particularly surprising.

It is impossible to make an organisation completely monolithic. It's only natural in a way that there will be traitors...

It's too convenient.

So many people have risen up all at once without ever having a tail between their legs.

It's just too unnatural.

And... the atmosphere of the Knights of the Holy Temple that I passed when I went through the gate felt strange...

I can't describe it well, but I remember the atmosphere.

It's as if they are one living thing.

It's not right. I shake my head inwardly and drive out unnecessary thoughts.

I have to concentrate on what's in front of me now.

The first thing that comes to my mind is the fact that the knights of the Holy Temple are also running out of the building one after the other.

The advantage we created by surprise is about to be lost.

Gnosis is regaining its position. They are quick as stones.

I grit my teeth.

...Reinforcements haven't arrived yet!

I've had enough of this scratching and tugging.

We don't specialise in fighting. If we fight them properly, we'll lose.

I don't know who you are, but come quickly!

You leap out and slash at the nearest Holy Knight with your 'claws' extended.

Either way, escape is not permitted. We have to persist somehow -.

Suddenly, a roar hits your ears, followed by an impact that shakes the air.

From the sound, it seems that something big has fallen...

Was it the roof of the small cathedral that fell?

I looked up at the sky and saw several huge objects flying in the sky.

... monsters?

Its huge wings and elongated body are flying as if swimming in the sky.

Because the moon is hidden by clouds, the shapes are recognisable, but the detailed forms are hidden by the darkness and cannot be seen clearly.

Something was seen falling in pieces from the backs of these monsters.

The falling objects landed one after another, leaking something like light from their surfaces.

Are those the reinforcements?

I was surprised at the flying demons, but the Holy Knights are not so naive as to win just by dropping something.

When the monsters finish dropping everything, they fly away and disappear as if their figures dissolve in the middle of the flight.

I thought they were leaving, but they immediately deny that they are not.

They've done their job.

-Their real mission is something they dropped.

At first I thought it was a stone or something, but it wasn't.

It slowly rises with a sound of creaking metal.

From the sound and shape, I thought it was a knight in full armour, but it wasn't.

In the moonlight, they were too horrifying to be knights.

If you only look at the shape, they are indeed knights in full armour.

The design of their armour is not uniform, and the question of whether they are a group of hodgepodge knights may even cross your mind.

However, the strangeness of the armour negates all that.

There were cracks running all over their bodies, and a murky-coloured light was faintly leaking from the cracks.

That must be the identity of the light that was visible when it fell.

And the most unusual thing is - the armour is pulsating like a heartbeat.

The light leaking from the cracks flickered in time with the beating of the heart.

As a Dasein resident, I've been in constant contact with these strange creatures called demons.

That's why I understand something.

They are not armour.

I was almost certain of it. Incredibly, they are creatures in that form.

At the sight, not only Durzain, but also the Holy Knights stop moving.

Ignoring the turmoil around them, one of the armoured men raised a spear-like object he was holding and let out a voice as if whispering.

The volume of the voice should not have been that great, but it came through surprisingly well.

"It's the first battle of the new us. Fight a battle that will live up to it. --Kill."

At the same moment, the armours attacked the Holy Knights at hand with such agility that their slow movements when getting up were a lie.

The first victim, the holy knight, was unable to even react as his head parted with his torso, spinning and flying through the air.

Blood gushes out belatedly.

Then the Holy Knights come to their senses.

"Don't be frightened! I don't know what they are, but they are still the enemy! We will strike them all down and make them pay for their folly in stepping on our soil!"

One of the Knights of the Holy Temple shouts as if to inspire the others, and the others follow suit, shouting loudly and blowing off their own agitation.

"Yes! I don't know what you are, but you are blessed with spiritual wisdom, and you are no match for us!"

"You know not what you are! I will strike down every last one of you and send you to the frontier!"

The Holy Knights rallied to challenge the mysterious armour, but the strange armour was also strange in battle.

Some spit mysterious poisonous fluid from their mouths, others opened their chests and fired needle-like objects, and none of them fought in the same way.

What is it with these people...?

No, but this is an opportunity.

Lower your men down while you still can...

The armor that seems to be the captain who raised his voice a while ago is thrusting something like a spear at me.

A green flame-like substance leaks from the cracks of her whole body in time with her heartbeat, if she is different from the others.

It was clear that they were not of a different standard to the others.

"...... what are you doing? We're supposed to be friends, after all..."

"That's right. But only as long as we stand shoulder to shoulder. There are no cowards among our people. Do you understand what this means? "

"Does it mean that you will not allow me to run away?"

The armour nods a little.

Shit! I can't make out his expression through the armour, but I can tell by his tone of voice.

He is polite in his speech, but it is clear that he looks down on us and sees no value in us.

In other words, what he's trying to say is that as long as we're fighting and contributing to the war effort, we'll recognise them as allies, but if not, we'll regard them as enemies and deal with them together.

...So we don't have a choice.

If we go against them, it will be seen as a betrayal and we may fall foul of the DARZAIN pledge.

If that happens, not only me, but Helga and the others may also become collateral damage.

I clicked my tongue loudly and plunged into the midst of the enemy.

I heard a voice behind me muttering 'no thanks' but I ignored it.

In the end, all I can do is kill as many enemies as possible and end the battle quickly.

A small tremor runs through my voice as I wonder if we are going to be exploited again.

Why does this always happen...

There was no one, at least not here, who seemed to be able to answer that question.