How to Live as a Knight After the Ending-Chapter 494

Osian and Seren, who had defeated the artificial knight, entered deeper into the laboratory. After that, the fighting continued about 2 more times.

Slash.

Osian severed the neck of the last remaining artificial knight. The surroundings were devastatingly destroyed with traces of battle. Here and there, the corpses of artificial knights lay coldly cooling.

Osian extracted the power of Starlight, Moon Scar, and Sun Ring from the artificial knights. Rather than doing it intentionally, it was a process that occurred as naturally as breathing. Like osmotic pressure, the scattered powers were naturally absorbed by Osian, who had higher density.

Power filled his body. Osian had recovered a considerable amount of his characteristic abilities. However, his expression showed no sign of relaxing.

"It's an intentional arrangement."

Seren, understanding Osian's meaning, replied.

"Are they trying to deliberately stall for time? For inviting us, this seems like too cowardly a move. Don't tell me they're planning to do this and then run away?"

"It's not running away. That guy directly sent us an invitation to come. There was no lie in those words. He's that confident, so would he suddenly back down?"

"He's a human who committed such cruel experiments in Tirna for decades. Even if he smiles on the surface, you never know what he might do behind the scenes. Maybe even drawing us in like this was all a lie."

Seren didn't trust Cromwell. Thinking of what he had done, she didn't want to give him even a single positive evaluation.

"The reason Cromwell can continue to maintain his position in this city isn't simply because he's exceptionally talented. He has his own way of getting by, which is how he's come this far."

Tirna was a place where you'd be treated well if you had ability, but it wasn't a place where you could succeed with ability alone. Since it was a place where various types of people gathered, there were many people with outstanding abilities. Conversely, there were also people who dominated and kept such talented humans under their feet.

There were many people who showed off their talents only to disappear without anyone knowing. Those who truly look down on others don't last long.

Cromwell had his way of getting by. And he recruited scientists who shared his vision to form an organization. If the organization grew larger, people who coveted his talent and technical skills wouldn't be able to easily target him.

The reason he still remained even after the city government officially judged the White House as dangerous and ordered its dissolution was for such reasons.

"Don't trust him. He's the guy who took your genes and made these toys."

Osian saw flickering flames in Seren's eyes. Flames of hatred. If handled wrongly, they might even burn herself.

"If he runs away, we can chase him. However, I sense some ominous intent in his behavior."

"Ominous intent? Is there something else here?"

"The artificial knights we just defeated were stronger than the ones that first appeared. You know that too, right?"

Seren pondered for a moment, then nodded. The artificial knights they had just defeated were fewer in number but much stronger in force than the previous ones. Their physical strength, agility, and even the purity and size of the flames raised on their swords.

As they went deeper, the enemies were getting progressively stronger.

"He deliberately made this arrangement."

"He intentionally placed the strong ones at the back? Why on earth? If the purpose was to defeat us, he could have just bundled this force together and attacked us from the beginning."

"Exactly. Even if he's trying to stall for time, that method is somewhat crude. Apart from the knights, there are no traps or test subjects in the laboratory, are there?"

If Cromwell truly adhered to a method that didn't discriminate between means, something worse should have happened. But Cromwell only sent out knights. There was some unbreakable stubbornness felt in that.

"Probably, he's trying to check our power."

"He's testing us? For what purpose?"

"That would probably be for the guy waiting at the end inside there."

Osian felt as if this entire situation was like a banquet hall prepared for someone.

Looking at Cromwell's intent, it was definitely not for the two invited people. The two people were the meal. Moreover, they had been fattened through 3 battles. Osian realized that his thinking was probably close to the correct answer.

"Interesting. So he's trying to devour me?"

"What are you saying...? No, more importantly, if this place is so dangerous, are our colleagues who went through other passages okay?"

"Didn't I say they'd be fine?"

Osian spoke indifferently. At that sight, Seren looked like she wanted to say something but was holding it back.

"You seem to think I threw my subordinates away too carelessly. Don't forget. I sent them because I trust them."

Because he trusts his colleagues, he willingly pushes them into mortal danger. From Seren's perspective, those words wouldn't make sense. That was inevitable. This was a bond that only knights could have, between them.

That doesn't disappear due to simple threats to life. They are bound by the starlight of heaven. As long as the stars don't disappear, this bond is eternal and immortal.

Seren felt the trust toward colleagues dwelling in Osian's eyes. It was a look she had never seen before.

"I..."

"Rather than that, won't you tell me soon? What exactly is inside there?"

"......"

Seren closed her mouth. They had already fought three battles and Osian was already guessing what was inside there.

Even so, he was asking Seren. She must have seen what was inside there directly.

"From what I can see, what's inside is presumed to still be in an 'incomplete' state. But you spoke of its danger as if you had witnessed it with your own two eyes. I don't think your judgment is so wrong as to harbor fear toward something incomplete. There must be grounds to support that. For instance, seeing it directly yourself."

"That's..."

"You saw it directly. You also saw what would happen because of it. But it's strange. That thing is in the laboratory and hasn't shown itself yet."

Since he had already seen through this far, Seren could no longer hide it.

"You're right. It's as you said. I've already seen it."

Seren looked down at her palm. That hand became blurred as if melting into thin air, then returned to its original state. Osian's eyebrows twitched.

"That's..."

"Power rampage. My strength is getting stronger and stronger. And I can't control this."

When she concentrated, Seren's body returned to normal again. But she looked more tired than before. The cold sweat flowing down her forehead proved it.

"I'm living on borrowed time. Even if just to survive somehow, I had to meet Cromwell again. I was going to meet him and demand he provide a cure for this curse." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Seren had actively used her power for that purpose. Even knowing that the more she used it, the stronger it became, and that it might eventually cut her lifeline, she couldn't stop.

"You know what's truly scary? Not knowing when my life might suddenly end. If I could at least get a diagnosis from a doctor and have a set time for when I'd die, I could at least prepare myself. But I can't even do that. The moment I wake up from sleep, I might suddenly die. Maybe it'll be in 5 minutes."

In a situation where you don't know when death might come, could an ordinary person really maintain their sanity? It would be remarkable if they didn't suffer from nervous breakdown or mental illness.

"My power is related to space. My body itself crosses over to another dimension."

"So that's why you were sometimes invisible."

Since she completely crossed over to another dimension, it couldn't be confirmed even with the five senses. It was truly invincible stealth. It was amazing in a different sense from a thief's technique that transcends perception itself.

"But as this power grew stronger, I also fell into deeper dimensions. Recently, I experienced a new phenomenon."

"What was it?"

"My power can interfere with other times as well."

"...Other times?"

Seren nodded.

"Right. They say time and space are closely interrelated, don't they? Perhaps time is definitely an extended effect that arose as my power grew stronger."

"With that power, couldn't you go back to the past and return to before you gained that ability?"

"If I could do that, I would have done it long ago. But this power isn't something I can handle. The time axis is also arbitrary, and I don't know when I can go. It's like an endless corridor with irregular doors. Since there's nothing written on the door plates, I can't know where I'll go when I open a door."

"Then the future you saw..."

"Right. It was pure coincidence. What I saw was at least a month in the future."

Seren calmly stated what she had seen.

"There was a knight holding a sword there."

"A knight..."

"It wasn't an ordinary knight. If it had been you, I would have recognized it immediately. Yet I called it a knight because it was wearing armor and holding a sword. That thing was standing still in the center of ruined Tirna."

Seren's voice began to tremble. An irresistible fear was imprinted on her body.

"I saw Tirna where everything had disappeared. And the being standing at its center. Moreover, that thing was aware of my existence."

"It was aware?"

"It stared directly at me hiding in another dimension. It wasn't a simple mistake. We made eye contact. The moment I saw that, I felt death approaching. But fortunately, due to my ability running wild again, the time axis twisted and I was able to return to the original time period."

Even now, just recalling that moment was enough to break out in cold sweat.

Osian calmly waited until Seren calmed down.

"While I was following Cromwell's traces, I realized he was making something with your genes. Then the moment I saw the future, I was certain that this catastrophe was his doing."

"So that's why you came looking for me so urgently."

"I know you're strong. But in the future I saw, you weren't visible. That meant, perhaps even if it was just a remote possibility...I couldn't erase the anxiety that you might have suffered something."

Osian finally understood why Seren, who used to be so composed, had been showing particularly unstable behavior recently. No, she had been in an unstable state from the beginning. She had just been hiding her wounds while smiling on the surface. But even that had now reached its limit.

"The only chance I have left is now. I absolutely don't want to fail at this. So...!"

"Seren Gracia."

Seren stared at Osian, who was calling her name calmly. When their eyes met, she unconsciously closed her mouth. Why was it? The moment she saw his eyes, all this fear disappeared as if washed away by water.

"Thank you for telling me the story. It must have been a secret you wanted to hide from everyone, and it must have taken tremendous courage to speak of it."

"...I'm just struggling to survive."

"You say that, but you didn't ask for help from your other colleagues. If you were really struggling, you should have asked your Violet Fox colleagues too."

"...Those people aren't trustworthy."

"It's not that they're untrustworthy."

Osian knew Seren was lying.

"You were worried about them."

"......"

Seren was about to say something, then closed her mouth.

She was going to argue about what it meant that she had dragged him into this danger, but she realized it was meaningless. Cromwell had made artificial knights using Osian's genes. This wasn't solely Seren Gracia's problem. It was natural for the knight order, including Osian, to step forward.

"You said bonds and such weren't necessary, and that having relationships with people was meaningless... but in truth, you were thinking of your Violet Fox colleagues more than anyone else."

Osian understood Seren's heart well. She wasn't selfish. She simply hoped that the people she cared about wouldn't get involved in dangerous affairs because of her.

"I understand your anxiety too. Things in this world don't always flow in good directions. But you see, just once, I'd like you to believe."

Osian raised pure white flames on his palm. The warmth of starlight spread, and Seren's trembling subsided.

"That we are absolutely not weak. That we're stronger together."

"A fine speech."

Osian and Seren turned around. Someone was walking from the end of that passage.

Gray hair slicked back neatly. A cold, upright appearance with sideburns and chin beard grown as one. Wearing a pure white gown and rimless glasses, he was Cromwell, the person in charge of this place and the culprit behind everything.

"Surprisingly. I didn't expect you to reveal yourself so openly."

"The preparations just happened to be finished."

When Cromwell gestured, someone revealed themselves from beyond the passage he had walked through. It was an artificial knight wearing jet-black armor. However, it was qualitatively different from the knights they had seen so far. From the atmosphere it gave off, it felt like the space itself was being mercilessly stabbed with a blade.

"Let me introduce. My masterpiece. Knight Alpha Prime."