Paradigm Parasite

aight road for a while after I entered.

　There were no traps of any kind.
There might have been a trap, but it might have been disarmed by someone who had gone before me.

　Just to be sure, I proceeded on foot with caution, but nothing in particular happened.

 

　I came prepared to at least be attacked by a swarm of Death Worms, but no such thing.

　Just when I was getting tired of the unchanging path, I saw a staircase.

　Thanks to my night vision, I didn't need the light.

 

I went down the stairs.

　Nothing special happened there either.

After descending and walking for a while, I came out into a wide space.

 

　…Here.

 

　Blood was splattered on the floor.

　Considering the amount, several people must have died here.

　Moreover, the pool of blood is relatively new.
That's a definite sign.

 

　The idiot must have been killed here by the Death Worm.

 

…That's strange.

 

　I don't see any kind of mechanism.

I imagined that they might have accidentally opened a treasure chest or something like that, or that they might have pressed a strange switch or pulled a lever, but there's no such thing.

 

　…What happened here?

 

　Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me.

　Is it him?

　I slowly turned around.

 

　There it was, a small Death Worm.

　Even though it was small, it was more than one meter long, large enough to attack a person.

The Death Worm did not move as if it was staring at me.

 

…?

 

　As I was thinking that this was strange, the Death Worm slowly opened its mouth.

 

　”—“

 

　I – Heidi – was running through the forest, out of breath.

 

　He was gone.

　I had noticed this only a short time before.

　I was explaining the situation to the villagers, who had no idea what was going on.

 

　If I didn't clear up the misunderstanding as soon as possible, he might get a bad reputation…
If things went badly, some people might say it was his fault.

　To prevent this from happening, we needed to explain the situation as soon as possible.

　Fortunately, the villagers did not seem to have a bad impression of him or me.

 

　They thanked us for helping them.

To be honest, I had been a little prepared for them to say something more selfish, but their words made me feel a little better.

 

　When I was about to tell him that, he was gone.

　I looked around the village but could not find him.

　Perhaps he went to the ruins alone.

 

　I hurriedly followed him into the forest.

He had told me the general location of it before we came here, so I had no problem finding my way there.

　Why did he go to the forest alone?

 

　Was he disappointed in me?

　If so, wouldn't he be annoyed if I chased after him?

　I am not faking my desire to help him.

 

　But I can't bear the thought of him becoming a person who has no regard for others.

　He and I have become completely different people.

　But I was originally him.

 

　I don't want to see the person I used to be go astray.

　This would be selfish of me.

　It is wrong to impose it on him.

 

　I know that.

　But I can't help it.

　If he can truly become a lord…if he can transcend my mistakes….

 

　That's when I will….

 

　Suddenly something passes near me.

　I cut myself off from my thoughts and became alert.

　This is a place where people don't set foot very often.

 

　Anything could have come out.

There is a possibility that the monster from earlier may still be out there.

 

　It is true that something passed near me…or rather above me, just now.

 

　It was too big to be a bird.

　It was only for a moment, but it was about the size of a human being.

　A different kind of demon?　Considering the direction, it could have been headed for the village.

 

　Should I go back and deal with it, or should I go forward and help him?

　I was unsure, but shook my head and shook it off.

　I'm worried about the village, but I'm also worried about him who was ahead of me.

 

If he really is ahead of me, there is even a possibility that he is fighting that monster all by himself.

　Either way, I had to cut off the source.

　I quickened my pace.

 

I thought I rushed quite a bit, but in the end I could not catch up with him.

　In front of me, the ruins were quietly but surely opening their mouths with a sense of presence.

　I examined the surroundings just to be sure, and found one place where the soil had been heaped up significantly.

 

　It looked as if something had come out of the ground rather than being dug up.

　Considering its size, there was no doubt that this was where the monster had come out.

　From the looks of it, it seemed that he had entered the ruins without taking a break.

 

　I followed him into the ruins.

　I did not bring any lighting with me, so I used a fireball as a light as I walked through the ruins.

　It was surprisingly quiet inside the ruins.

 

　Did he really come here?

 

The question raised in my mind, but it was replaced by impatience due to my imagination that he might be immobilized.

　I hurry through the single track.
The sound of my footsteps echoed through the ruins.

　I found a staircase and ran down it at once, and when I ran further, I found myself in a large space.

 

　…What is this place?

 

　I look around, but there is nothing…no, this place is….

　I pour magic power into the  and make it bigger.

　I can now see the whole room clearly.

 

　Looking closely at the floor, I see a puddle of dried blood.

　For a moment, I thought it might be his, but I guess not.

　Too much time has passed.

 

　…He is not here.

 

　He's probably gone to the back.

　I can't just sit here and wait for him to leave.

　I was about to head for the passageway to the back when I noticed something.

 

　Something was there.
From the looks of it, it must have come out of the back passage.

At first glance, I recognized it as a monster.

　It looked the same as the one that attacked the village, but it was smaller.

 

I slowly put my hand on the kukri.

The monster looks at me and slowly opens its mouth.

 

　”—“

 

　It spoke.

The monster spoke.

　The language was unfamiliar, but it certainly sounded like a string of meaningful words.

 

　From the impression I got, it sounded like it was doing something.

　What should I do?

I let go of my hand from Kukuri, a little lost.

 

　「――。――」

 

　The monster keeps saying something, but I can't understand it.

　Should I try talking to it?　Maybe it will understand me.

　I was about to open my mouth…

 

　”Wait!”

 

　I heard his voice from behind me.

　I turn around as if I've been shot.

　Why is he coming up behind me?

 

　Did I pass him without knowing it?

　For some reason he is carrying something like a tub and a bouquet of flowers.

　A bouquet of flowers?　Why does he have that?

 

Ignoring my question, he walks up to the monster.

 

　”Hey…”

 

Without reacting to me, he stands in front of the monster, bends down, whispers something to the monster, and holds out the bouquet of flowers.

The monster gives a small nod and walks into the back aisle.
He followed.

　I tried to follow him, but he turned around and simply said, “It's okay, you can wait outside,” and went into the back aisle.

 

　I stood there for a while, my mind filled with questions.