The Paladin’s Orbs (Hiroshi)

Lokash, upon hearing Ryuu's words, rushed to attack him without hesitation. While Ryuu was engaged in combat with Lokash, the paladins turned their attention to us. They separated and began attacking us from different positions, each wielding powers I had never seen before.

I thought we could stand our ground if we advanced together, but the battle had escalated so quickly that we were involuntarily dispersed. After Wedan used excessive force, the paladins fought back. As a result, not only was the ground beneath us shattered, but part of the palace was also destroyed.

I wasn't sure if everyone was okay because I was suddenly attacked by a paladin before I could even register where I had landed. The impact of the attack sent me crashing down to the floor below. As I struggled to get back on my feet and fight back, the paladin who had attacked me was closing in on me.

Each paladin wore a different type of armor that appeared sturdy from the outside. Even their helmets seemed impervious to bullets. What caught my attention were the metal spheres hovering around the paladin in front of me. He had a total of five orbs and could somehow make them fly around him. Compared to before, this was the first time I had ever seen anything like this.

There was something peculiar about these paladins, but I didn't have time to dwell on it. I grabbed my gun and aimed at the approaching paladin.

I tried to stop the advancing paladin by firing my rifle at him, but he quickly pulled his metal spheres in front of him to form a barricade. The bullet was stopped mid-air. As I took aim to fire again, the paladin acted swiftly and hurled one of his orbs at me. It was faster and stronger than I had anticipated. I dodged the orb, but it hit the wall behind me and shattered it.

I attempted to attack from different angles by changing the direction of my bullets, but the spheres were always one step ahead and blocked my shots. The paladin guided the spheres with hand gestures, and this time they began to chase me. I tried to evade them by jumping, ducking, and running, but it was difficult.

I kept running while firing at the paladin with my light weapons. I thought maybe I could draw attention to him to get rid of the orbs, but the paladin used them as a shield rather quickly. The paladin approached me with incredible speed after my bullets, and this time he attacked himself.

I threw up my arms in an attempt to minimize the damage from the incoming punch. I couldn't avoid it entirely, and when it made contact, my back slammed into another wall. He was as strong and sturdy as his orbs.

I didn't know how to fight such a formidable opponent. He was unlike any enemy I'd ever seen.

The paladin grew faster and more powerful with each passing moment. I wanted to fight back, but he easily blocked my every move. Assuming the other paladins were just as strong, I didn't expect any help from my allies anytime soon. I had to fight alone, no matter how difficult it was.

I tried to buy myself some time, but the paladin wouldn't let me leave the room or escape his attacks. He relentlessly pursued me, cutting off my escape routes and shrinking the space around me.

I had never encountered such power before. The orbs that the paladin carried seemed more like an extension of himself than mere weapons. They acted with a will of their own, protecting their master and responding to any attack. Most importantly, they obeyed the paladin's commands.

I could see it in his hand gestures. So I came up with a plan. When I had put enough distance between us, I reached for my poison rifle. Maybe the poisoned bullets would have some effect.

But neither the bullets nor the poison had any impact on the orbs. After my failed attempts, the paladin once again directed his orbs at me from above and below.

I had to be more agile than ever to dodge the incoming attacks. I copied one of Ryuu's moves and hopped lightly on my feet, spinning around to block the orbs coming at me from above and below.

After landing, I fired a shot at the paladin's face without even looking. He blocked the bullet with a small hand gesture, raising one of his orbs. I continued to fire, but he kept attacking me by moving his orbs behind me.

It was difficult enough to dodge attacks in such a confined space, but the paladin had almost no openings. His pressure and strategy were innovative and relentless, as if he were playing a game with only one goal: to win.

Even if I tried to stop the orbs with my hands, they were too fast. When they made contact, they could shatter my arm in an instant.

The paladin could direct his spheres toward me however he pleased. Distance didn't seem to matter to him. The only way I could fight back was to increase my firepower. I aimed at his legs and arms, trying to catch him off guard. But like my other plans, this one didn't work very well either.

The spheres were getting faster and faster, and my energy was diminishing with it. By continuing to shoot, I kept the spheres from attacking me. They stayed with the paladin to block my bullets. They weren't attacking me for now, but when my ammunition ran out, I would be an open target.

It was becoming increasingly impossible for me to win this fight. I had to do something to get out of this situation.

I knew I had to keep him away for a while, at least until the others had succeeded. The Paladin was too powerful to be defeated by an ordinary human, and maybe we were really fighting a battle we couldn't win.