Paradigm Parasite - Chapter 161: "Brother-in-law"

TL note: Can you guys help me reach 10 contracts this month? You can read up to 40 chapters ahead of the schedule with 2 chapters per update if you in Contract(Membership)

“I’ve been looking for you for quite a while. Where have you been?”

I try my best to remain calm and continue the conversation so that they do not realise how upset I am.

Roe was wearing only light armour and a black cloak, and had no particular weapons.

His body, which was supposed to be missing, had somehow been restored.

There is a human and a ground dragon by his side, for some reason? One man, a human, is standing threateningly to me.

“I was making friends with the goblins. They’re not like some long-eared people, they wouldn’t give me up to someone they don’t understand.”

I reply with a sarcastic shrug.

I knew we were looking in the wrong place.

“Well, it’s a shame about the result, but we thought we had done our bit. It’s not like we’re taking their lives, they could have helped us rather than be friends with them.”

He doesn’t answer, but laughs snidely.

In a way, it’s a natural reaction.

He’s not stupid. He probably knew what would happen to him if he went to Grigori.

“…By the way, tell me, where did you bring those monsters from? I’ve never seen them before, at least not in these woods?”

What are these unidentified monsters in the first place?

Where did they come from?

I ask the questions in a casual tone, without revealing my inner impatience.

“I gave birth. I had a tummy ache.’

What came back was such a boring joke.

…You don’t want to give me a straight answer?

“I have a question for you, too. I know that you High Elves have been tampered with by Grigori in some way. Is it the same for you?”

Roe asked the question as if it was his turn, but the content was puzzling.

Tampered ? What are you talking about?

To be honest, I don’t remember anything at all.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, do you?”

“If you really don’t know, try me. Tell me about the Grigori connection – yes. Tell me about their abilities and the magic they’ve been given. You probably won’t be able to tell me.”

I wondered at his words, and tried to say something casual…

“…… is ……”

…and then I couldn’t speak.

I see, so they don’t want their secrets to be leaked to the outside world in any way.

The first time I saw him, he was staring at me, but when he saw that I had choked up, the quality of his gaze changed.

From interest to disappointment.

“…so it’s all of them? Then they really aren’t worth keeping alive.”

I quickly set up the short cane at my waist.

“The same is true for me. I was told to capture you alive, but you’re too dangerous. You’ll die here!”

We have a lot of work to do, we can’t spend a lot of time here.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got someone else for you.”

“…?”

“There’s someone who’d love to play with you. Abdullah. You can do whatever you want.”

“What!?”

Leaving my agitation behind, a small cry was made by the earth dragon next to me, and the space next to Roe shimmered and something appeared to ooze out.

“Long time no see. Rikhard.”

“Brother-in-law… is it?”

Elves and goblins have different lifespans.

Naturally, the speed of ageing is similar.

I was born about 60 years ago.

My brother-in-law was not that much older than me.

I don’t know much about the lifespan of goblins, but I am sure that they don’t live as long as elves do, and my brother-in-law in front of me has long since passed his prime and reached old age.

But is that really my brother-in-law in front of me… or is he a goblin?

Originally, his body colour, which was close to green, became even deeper, and his skin became hardened like a monster’s.

His physique was one of the better goblins, but he has grown even more massive, and his height, which was only 60-70% of my height, is now two times greater than mine.

His muscle mass has doubled since we last saw each other, and it would be more plausible to call him an orc or a troll.

Let’s be clear. He looks like a different person… no, he looks like a different race.

“And my brother-in-law… what in the world is that figure…”

I can feel my voice trembling.

“It is the power given to me by the Lord to destroy you.”

As he says this, he pulls out the thick curved sword Kopisch from his waist and slowly readies it.

The movements were those of my brother-in-law, whom I had grown accustomed to seeing over the years.

There is no doubt. It is him. I have to admit it.

But why! Why do you hate us so much?

“Why? Why do you go that far…!”

I can’t help but speak.

“Because you betrayed Hironori-sama.”

My brother-in-law’s words were the same as the last thing I heard, and his tone was as if to say that was all.

“I didn’t betray you because I liked it either! I had no choice!”

At the time, our lives were on the edge.

We were not allowed to be lax in this forest, and being weak was directly linked to death.

There was no end to the monsters that were after us, and we had been threatened for a long time.

If that had been the only reason, I would not have taken up that temptation.

But I have a …… family now.

My wife and my child…

I had to protect my family.

Just like my own parents did for me.

I had to protect them. To do that, I needed strength.

A great power to repel anything.

That is why I took Grigori’s hand.

I knew as soon as I told him that he was the same kind of avenger for my father-in-law.

It was …… then, and it still is, but it had nothing to do with me.

What matters is whether they can get power or not.

They will honour their commitments.

That’s the contract.

That’s why we gave… no, sold our souls.

Thanks to them, my family was protected and my life and safety for the next thousand years was guaranteed… but…

It’s ironic that the only thing that threatens that is the thing I left behind.

I knew I should have killed him then.

At that time, I invited my brother-in-law. I knew he would refuse, but I couldn’t give up the thought that if possible we could understand and agree and join hands together.

If he refuses, it’s his character. He would not forgive us.

That is why I had to say no to my worries.

I thought so, but at the last minute, family sentiment prevented me from doing so.

I betrayed my family to protect them, but they threaten me now.

There really is a lot of irony in this world.

…I have to do it.

I began to put magic into my wand to finish off the enemy in front of me.

Goatsucker.

This is the name I gave to the Abdullah when I modified it.

The origin of the name is probably more famous as Chupacabra, an unidentified blood-sucking creature that has been seen in South America in large numbers.

I had an idea for mass production, but it took a lot of time and effort to make, so I decided to mass produce Monos, which is relatively simple, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to try it out.

This time, I didn’t touch Abdullah’s brain.

…but there are several spare brains inside his body for magic activation.

They serve both as a combat aid and as a safety device to take control of his body in case he betrays us.

If he hesitates to kill Rikkhard by showing family affection, I have ordered him to kill him without mercy by taking control of his body.

As long as he does not lose this, there will be no problem.

As Rikkhard has been given the status of king, it is possible that he has been given something by Grigori.

As for victory or defeat, I can’t say at the moment.

Frankly, I’d love to see it, but I’m busy.

Do it together, brother to brother.

I head for the temple with Savage and Trust by my side, feeling the battle starting behind me.

It seems that all the bodies used by Grigori are gathered in the temple, and if we destroy that place, the game is decided.

In the sky above, I see a High Elf possessed by Grigori fighting against the trump card I have prepared.

Aquiel.

The demon that appeared in Oldia before.

The amount of materials required for its creation was not half as large as I had expected, so I compromised without reproducing it completely.

As a result, it became a degraded product, but it has a certain level of capability.

When I fought it, it almost looked like a zombie, but when I looked at the finished product like this, it has a wolf-like head and goat-like horns.

Its feet are hoofed and its entire body is covered in black fur, similar in design to a shrigarra.

…more like a variant of a guy called Baphomet?

That was a goat with a complete head… or was it a sheep? I can’t remember. Oh well.

The size is a compromise, about two-thirds of the original size, and the ability to reproduce 40-60% of the original?

For the time being, it seems to be able to use the black cloud that covers the surroundings and the dead that it used before, but there is no sign of the High Elf corpses that have flown away or died from exhaustion coming back to life. Similarly, the forces on our side remained dead except for the goblins.

As for the latter, I have some idea, but seeing that the High Elves are not getting up, are they being drained of their souls?

On the other hand, as long as the elves are getting up, it seems they are not being tampered with.

They have lost their source of light, the stars and moon in the sky, and the darkness around them is further deepened by Aquiel’s mist.

The elves seem to be using magic to compensate for their vision, but can they afford to devote resources to such a thing?

In case you’re wondering, no one here has night vision that doesn’t work.

The more they can move without hindrance without doing anything, the more things will work.

On the battlefield, the Mothmen, who had just been hiding, were seen attacking the elves from above.

At the same time, the following Shrigaras charge.

The men are also prioritising torches and other potential sources of light as well as surprise attacks, so they are forced to protect their light sources in poor visibility and move while taking care not to engage each other.

When I looked back from the battlefield to the temple, I saw Aquiel struggling against several Grigori, and he had already killed several of them… or maybe they were self-destructive.

Unlike us, they have a time limit.

In addition to that, this black cloud seems to have the effect of sucking out their power, weakening them and boosting their own power.

It’s not me, it’s them.

They seem to be able to control this area by themselves, and they are also returning the power they have taken from the enemy to their allies, contributing to the support of their allies.

…What can I say, he’s a useful guy just by being around.

In fact, some of them are flowing towards me, and I’m feeling a bit better.

But since there are so many of them, it’s not good to leave them to their own devices.

If they do, it will tilt the tide in one fell swoop.

That’s why I’m going to hold back the temple while I still can.

The High Elf falls from the edge of sight, splattering blood spectacularly from all over her body.

Aquiel is alive and well but damaged all over his body, and some of the wounds are deep.

Newly possessed High Elves fly out of the temple and join the frontline.

They are not deployed all at once, but in succession.

If used, they will almost certainly die and the High Elves are few in number.

We’ve had to be conservative.

We’ve taken as much trouble as possible and so far so good, but let’s not let our guard down.

It wasn’t much of a distance, so I arrived at the temple quickly.

I kicked the door open, bracing myself.