How to Live as a Knight After the Ending-Chapter 485

Osian gazed upon the world while enveloped in light. He took in the sight of District 44, where flames were rising everywhere.

This was a place where abandoned people lived. The city government had given up on the district and treated it half like a garbage dump. It would cost more money to clean it up, so they had no choice but to leave it alone.

The redevelopment union, construction companies, and the military and city government officials conspired together to erase this district. They planned to jointly seize the newly created empty land and make enormous profits.

They probably thought it was acceptable to do so because it was dirty land. A place that deserved to be purified.

To secure even their justification, they carried out various operations behind the scenes. The fact that the liberation army led by Lukai had hidden in District 44 was enough to accelerate their actions.

They incited protesters to spread violent demonstrations and caused chaos in the city. They used the media to create non-existent heretics and stimulate people's fears.

The result was right now.

Whoosh!

Buildings collapsed and streets burned. Throughout the area, the corpses of people who couldn't escape in time were burning, giving off an acrid smell.

They would call this cleaning. A process of clearing away the dirty district to make it clean.

'Is it really clean?'

Osian, enveloped in light, saw the world through different eyes than others. It wasn't a world composed of physical visible light. Rather, it was a vision that dug a little deeper into the essence. The world he saw was chaos mixed with all kinds of dark colors.

Especially in the areas destroyed by Ultima and the escort ships, thick and dirty filth like sewage was pooled, spreading a foul odor. The smell of death and chaos. What they called cleaning was, in Osian's view, an act that made the world even dirtier.

'That's why such a creature gained power and appeared again.'

Osian stared at the clown, which no longer retained its original form. The creature was being split by the Sky-Piercing Light Sword, its body turning to powder and collapsing.

The core element that constituted it had been completely annihilated. With the centripetal force that composed its body gone, its very existence was being erased from this world.

'But that's just an avatar body. Its main body is probably writhing in that dark place beyond dimensions and universe.'

This would deal some damage to the main body, but complete annihilation of its existence was impossible.

The creature was merely a vanguard. An outer god, and just one avatar body at that, had caused this much chaos. What would happen if its main body appeared? No, the main body wasn't the problem. Something much stronger and more massive than that.

'The Star Devourer.'

An outer god that rarely formed a union of outer gods, possessing more transcendent power than other outer gods. Even the main body of that clown creature had submitted and entered under its command. Even the prideful Cthulatlap remembered its name and recognized its existence. Though he had only heard descriptions, the creature's strength definitely came across.

'The fact that the vanguard is targeting this place means that creature will also come here someday.'

To the Star Devourer, this world would appear as an extremely attractive prey. He could understand why the last boss in the game had tried to suppress this world.

This world itself emitted beautiful light. It was no different from a jewel that made robbers' mouths water. A jewel has no power to protect itself. That's why they tried to fade its beauty by covering it with mud. That was what the last boss in the game had been doing.

But that creature was dead, and all the filth that had covered the world's beauty had been completely removed by Osian. Was the world that had changed in this way truly beautiful like a jewel?

'I'm not sure.'

If anything, there were far more ugly parts. However, that didn't mean there was no beauty. The world visible through his sight adorned with the sun, moon, and stars was fleetingly dark, but beautiful light occasionally visible here and there was revealing its existence.

'Greta.'

He could see Greta watching this way with her younger siblings. Fortunately, she was safe without any injuries. Not a single child among her siblings had died.

In Greta's chest as she watched this way, he could see a small flame of starlight writhing. It was a seed, but it looked like it could sprout at any time if conditions supported it.

'And Lukai.'

Osian's gaze moved to Lukai. The small ring floating above Lukai's head was definitely a sun ring.

'I never would have expected him to have talent for the sun ring.'

Lukai had suddenly awakened in an extreme situation. Rather, he should be praised for utilizing the sun ring even in such a situation.

'Even someone with the sun ring has appeared. The severed lineage of knights has been connected again.'

Starlight, Moon Scar and Sun Ring, the three great symbols of knights had been revived again. But as if testing this, greater trials were approaching the world.

For that purpose too, Osian had to prepare.

'Martinez and Balud have grown sufficiently. They've become stronger than I expected.'

Martinez and Balud, and in addition to them, Malina and Rose Melody. Each taking on the roles of [Paladin], [Barbarian Warrior], [Thief], and [Priest].

'Two professions still remain.'

[Mage] and [Dark Mage]. And Osian knew people who possessed the potential for these two professions.

'I'll need to have conversations with these two as well.'

Osian looked at the remaining two Ultima ships.

As if sensing his gaze, the two Ultima ships took a moment to contemplate, then turned their massive bodies and moved away from District 44.

The remaining escort ships also hurriedly followed the Ultima ships away from the scene. There was no longer any reason to fight, but the bigger reason was that they couldn't dare challenge the current Osian.

The retreating figures of the ships completely disappeared, hidden by the darkness of the night sky. The people remaining at the scene could exhale the breath they had been holding and relax their tension.

"We won."

Someone among the liberation army muttered quietly. That murmur soon burst forth with joy that surged from tail to head.

"We won!"

Could this be called victory when they were merely desperate to block the approaching attack? In the end, many people died in the baptism of fire that was partially carried out. Their comrades were the same.

But the military had retreated, and they had saved tens of thousands of people who should have all died originally. Someone would call it a victory full of wounds, others would call it insignificant joy.

But for people destined to be crushed at the bottom even this was a symbol of hope like welcome rain in a drought.

The nightmare-like night had ended as the sun rose from the east of Tirna, illuminating the world. Light descended equally on District 44.

People who had evacuated to the sewers and District 45 returned. They couldn't close their mouths seeing the devastation. Just looking at District 44, which had been reduced to ruins overnight, it was hard to easily imagine how fierce the battle had been.

Without even having time to rejoice at the fact that they had survived, they immediately proceeded with restoration work.

"Hey. Bring that in slowly!"

"We need more help over here!"

"There are still places with remaining flames! Let's clean up from here first!"

Though others pointed fingers at it as an abandoned place, there were people for whom this was home. They couldn't abandon their residential area and worked hard to rebuild it once again.

The liberation army helped from the side. They too had established themselves in District 44, so they felt responsible.

They joined forces with the residents and began reconstruction work.

Lukai quietly watched such a scene.

"Are you alright?"

Osian approached from the side and asked. Lukai nodded while lowering his red scarf.

"I have to be alright. Originally, it wouldn't have been strange if we all died. I should be grateful that it ended at this level. There's too much to do right now to purely grieve or rejoice. But being able to have this conversation is all..."

Lukai showed his palm. The air shimmered and a small flame rose with a heat haze.

"Thanks to you. Thank you. Thanks to you, many people were able to survive. This new power I've gained is the same."

"No. That power is something you awakened yourself. I didn't do anything. You were able to obtain it because you desperately wished for it. You can be proud of it."

"...Is that so? I did feel it vaguely. This flame wasn't something transmitted from someone else, but something that suddenly broke out of an egg from deep within me."

Lukai clenched his fist and extinguished the flame. He closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them.

"I had a wife and daughter."

Osian silently listened to Lukai's words.

"They were more beautiful than anything in the world, so precious that it would pain my mouth to say it twice. But those two are no longer in this world. Cruel reality took them away from me. For me, that was a terrifying experience I never want to go through again."

Lukai was originally an ordinary laborer. No, it was hard to call him ordinary. He had been an extraordinary person from times when others didn't pay attention to him.

But for his family's sake, he didn't particularly reveal that extraordinariness. He just hoped to work hard to earn money and live happily with his family.

But his wife and daughter died. In the country where Lukai lived, there was a prevalent game where nobles drove commoners into forests and hunted them like beasts. And the targets the nobles hunted didn't distinguish between men, women, young, or old. Though Lukai spoke calmly, in reality, the deaths of his wife and daughter would have been far more horrifically unspeakable.

Having lost such precious family, Lukai rose for revenge and organized the liberation army. He took the hands of people who sympathized with his cause and led them.

The country already had overflowing dissatisfaction. What was needed was just a small flame to ignite the dry tinder. And the anger Lukai harbored couldn't be dismissed as merely a flame.

Thus the liberation army rose, civil war broke out, and that country headed toward destruction.

"I settled everything, but my heart still didn't feel relieved. Even if the revolution succeeded, my dead wife and daughter wouldn't come back to life. Nevertheless, I continue living as part of the liberation army. The same goes for coming to Tirna. Even though there's no need to continue doing this, the reason I keep doing it is, perhaps..."

Osian seemed to understand why Lukai was acting this way.

"Because you have a new family. Because you want to protect them more than anyone else. That's why you can't easily end it here."

Where Lukai's gaze reached were his liberation army comrades. Among them, Lukai especially cherished the executives who had been with the liberation army for a long time.

They too would be people who had lost someone and suffered due to tyranny. Lukai gathered such people together, supporting each other's backs and shoulders and resisting this unreasonable world. And there were still many people suffering in this world.

"Right. Now I have a new goal. For my new family members to live well without suffering. And the same goes for those who will become family in the future. But the world still seems to want us to disappear."

"Not the entire world. This time we definitely protected them, didn't we?"

At Osian's comfort, Lukai let out a chuckle. Right. Last night he thought it wouldn't be strange if they all died. Even in such despair, wasn't he alive like this, watching today's sun rise?

[Lukai. Can you hear me?]

Then contact came from the liberation army who were dismantling barricades nearby due to the blockade.

[A guest has come from outside. They say they must meet Lukai. They say they need to meet and talk.]

Lukai looked back at Osian.

"Not everyone in this city wants the liberation army to disappear. Tirna is a very complex place. While there are people who wish for disappearance, there are also those who need the liberation army. How to take their hands is entirely the role of you as the leader."

Lukai thought for a moment, then sent a transmission.

"I'll come over there. Wait for me."

Lukai soon put the radio in his chest and said to Osian.

"I will never forget the debt I owe this time."

"Enough with the lip service. Go quickly. You're going to become quite a busy person from now on, so there's no reason to be detained in a place like this."

Lukai was about to say something but soon gave up and left. From now on, Lukai would have long negotiation sessions. Unlike those who tried to destroy District 44, people who wanted to protect the city would highly value Lukai's abilities.

He might become the leader of a human rights civil organization rather than the liberation army leader.

That said, they wouldn't unconditionally show goodwill and provide support. What he could obtain and salvage in those fierce negotiations would depend entirely on Lukai's own abilities. But at least, it wouldn't go to the worst situation - that was Osian's speculation. Because he trusted the skill he had shown so far.

Two people approached the remaining Osian. It was Martinez and Balud.

Both couldn't hide their considerably fatigued appearance. Martinez had soot marks all over his body, and Balud had several strands of hair hanging down below his forehead.

Though both had already entered the realm of superhumans physically, last night's battle was fierce enough to exhaust such people.

"Brother."

The first to speak was Martinez.

"That clown, it's been dealt with, right?"

"Yes. I handled that creature. As you saw, it was completely annihilated."

"I see..."

"But that doesn't mean it's the end. That clown creature was just a clone. The real one is still alive beyond those dimensions. And it's targeting our world."

Martinez's expression hardened.

"So we must continue preparing. Someday, more dangerous, more terrible enemies will invade than now."

"Actually, because of that, I've also made up my mind. I'm thinking of going back to the Petra Papal Court."

"The Papal Court. It seems you've also steeled your resolve."

Martinez had already undergone much growth. But that was ultimately growth as Martinez the individual Paladin. Martinez was now thinking of moving as the 13th Saint.

"I think the next time we meet again might be after a very long time has passed. That's why I came like this."

"I see. Balud, do you also have something separate to say?"

"Something to say. I have really many things I want to ask, but I want to confirm just this one thing."

Surprisingly, Balud readily responded to Osian's question.

"That power you showed yesterday. What was that? No, what it is isn't important. What I'm curious about is..."

Balud immediately got to the point.

"That same power as yours, how can I grasp it?"