It was a strange turn of events.
The group had gathered because of Osian's misbehavior, but the realization of the unintended consequences left them scratching their heads.
It was the same for Osian.
‘I thought one of these three would be the culprit.’
They all said it wasn't them and that they didn't know. I couldn't believe them straight away. But then I remembered what Diolan had said.
-Did they really try to capture us?
Yes. They were caught because they tried to capture us.
If any of them were truly responsible for the magic surge, they would have tried to kill Osian and Diolan, the outsiders, one way or another.
Nothing is more certain than destroying evidence.
When the capture failed, they still tried to kill them, but the important thing is that they didn't do it in the first place.‘Judging by their reactions, they're guessing something.’
This is especially true of Sertus and Eriot.
They said that the drugs they dealt with were “leaked,” meaning that they had no hand in the outburst.
“You wanted to capture me alive, to see what was going on outside?”
“......Shit, yeah. I thought maybe you were one of them. Camilla brought in the guys involved in the leak, so I thought maybe she was a traitor.”
Sertus looked at Camilla and shook his head.
Quick-thinking men quickly untied her.
“From the looks of things, she's not.”
“......I'm glad we've cleared up the misunderstanding.”
Camilla rubbed her wrists, sore from being bound. She was horrified that she'd been treated like a traitor and nearly killed, but she didn't bother to show it.
Such things were not uncommon in these parts. She should be grateful to be alive and well.
“But even taking that into account, you crossed the line.”
Sertus' gaze shifted to Osian.
Eriot and Ospia nodded in agreement.
No matter how misunderstood, the damage Osian had done to the Central Market was immense.
The loss of power for the three organizations was no small matter, even if you counted those who had been seriously injured in their attempts to subdue him, and those who had died in the fray.
“You said there was a misunderstanding.”
“Yes. But when the misunderstanding is cleared up, do the people who were left behind come back to life, do the broken things get put back together again?”
“If I hadn't done this, you wouldn't be here.”
“Yes, but now that we're here, you're going to have to die. No, no, no, you better not think about dying easily, because we're going to have to squeeze your body to death.”
Eriot and Ospia agreed.
“We’ll use him as our drug guinea pig. He’s a strong dog, so he’ll be a good example.”
“Considering the damage done to us, it might be better to let the rich people run the night shift. Since he is in good health, there will be a lot of demand.”
Each of these threats was murderous.
Osian warned in a grim tone.
“If you want to go all the way, I won't stop you. But I'm assuming you're up for it, right?”
“Fuck you, asshole. Determination? Does anyone here live without determination? Did you think the 45th District was so funny?”
Sertus didn't like the arrogance in Osian's tone.
The way he talked down to outsiders, and the way he looked down on them instead of being intimidated by their numbers, it was as if those eyeballs had to be dug out or else they'd get annoyed.
Ossian felt their intense killing intent and thought to himself.
‘It looks like they’ve caught a fever.’
Well, I understand. I made all this mess to get us them, so it's only fair that I should have to deal with the wrath.
The only thing that bothered Osian was that after all this, he couldn’t find the real culprit.
‘Judging by the leak, they're probably the ones who had the drugs taken from them.’
But I wasn't going to stick my neck out for them if they wanted to kill me.
If they're going to fight, we're going to fight.
The real culprits haven't shown up yet, but Sertus and Eriot's reactions suggest that they're not far behind.
‘If only to find the real culprits.’
The only way to find out is to tear them apart.
The corners of Osian's mouth twitched upward beneath his helmet.
‘Easy.’
Diolan would have been horrified to hear that.
Diolan preferred to keep his head in the game, to stay on top of things and avoid unnecessary fights.
If a wall stood in his way, he'd figure it out and either go around it or find another way but Osian was different.
It's not that he doesn't use his head. But when he had to use his body, he always used it boldly.
If a wall is in his way, he identifies it─and breaks it down.
That was the way of Osian, and by extension, the knight.
A knight is one who fights even when the odds are stacked against him. They overcome adversity and hardship and finally break through.
He’s gotten this far by fighting his way through the Central Market, and the bosses in front of him have a clue.
If he has a clue, he’s on the right path.
This time was no different.
Just like before, it was a straight shot.
“Who’s going to attack first? You? Or the other one? You can decide the order. If not… … .”
Ossian waved the dual swords in his hand.
“Or all at once.”
......!
Those words were the catalyst.
The members of Emerald, Amethyst, and Topaz's gangs widened their eyes at the insult but no one stepped up.
There is an order to everything. It was their boss's job to get angry.
All eyes turned to their respective bosses.
Sertus felt his head begin to ache.
“I don't know if you've got a hard liver, or if you've deliberately set this whole situation up......outsider.”
The central market was smashed to pieces.
All it took was one person to throw the 45th District into chaos. Of course, their power is not tied to the central market.
Given the size of the 45th District, there were many other important areas.
But the symbolism of a public market being invaded by an individual was significant.
It was a huge slap in the face for all three organizations.
That's why the head of the organization himself came to visit.
‘Here again, you provoked me by touching my pride.’
Sertus' head spun.
Judging by the look on Eriot's face, and the glint in Ospia's eyes beneath her hood, they were thinking the same thing he was.
‘What if we step back and ask our subordinates to handle it?’
Then there would be those who would question their leadership.
No, they already have.
The traitorous bastards who smuggled the drugs out of the district right now, and the water was spilled when the central market went to shit.
‘Now that I’ve come this far, I have no choice but to prove my worth. You bastard. You’re acting like this, but you’ve got a good head on your shoulders.’
Sertus strode forward.
The other two bosses, thinking similar thoughts, moved at the same time.
From three different directions, they stood at a distance from Osian.
Osian smiled faintly behind his helmet at the sight of the bosses accepting his proposal.
At least they didn't order their subordinates around or run away, which made him feel a little better.
Blood rushed faster through his body, and the hand that gripped his sword screamed to be wielded.
In the center of the heavy silence, Osian spoke, his helmet glinting in the darkness.
“Come.”
The three moved at once.
The first to strike was Eriot, the leader of the Amethysts.
“Ooooooooo!”
He yelled, half in pain, half in pleasure.
All of the drugs from the cylinder embedded in his shoulder had been injected into his body.
What would have been a lethal dose for any other member of the organization, Eriot had endured without a care in the world.
His skin turned purple and his body grew even more grotesquely large. His muscles didn't just bulge, they expanded to his skeleton.
Eriot grunted and held out a hand that grew large enough to hold a child in one hand.
“Interesting.”
Osian studied Eriot's eyes, which looked as if they had been drugged and blinded to reason, but that was a lie to deceive the opponent.
His eyes flashed sharply, as if he were somehow trying to exploit Osian's vulnerability.
Perhaps he was waiting for the moment when he would be pushed back by his momentum, preparing for his next attack.
Instead, Osian took a step forward. He didn't even have a sword in his hand, just a shield.
The blue twin swords were gone, and his sword had returned to its usual long sword.
The sight of him struck a chord in Eriot's pride.
‘You dare to challenge me to a battle of strength!’
He'd rather have a head-to-head fight.
Eriot's large palm slammed into Osian's shield.
Zzzzzzzzzz!
A shockwave exploded, spreading an ear-splitting noise around.
Members of the organization at a distance had to cover their ears with their hands from the tinnitus.
“Oh, he didn’t get pushed?”
But those who stayed to watch were stunned.
Osian stood his ground and blocked Eriot's hand with his shield.
However, that wasn’t the end of it.
With a dull thud, Eriot's body was being pushed backwards.
“Ugh!”
Even though Eriot tried his best, it was the same. He was inwardly astonished. How could Osian overcome him with brute force after being injected with the maximum amount of drugs? What kind of monster was this?
“Move, Eriot. You're in the way.”
That's when Sertus stepped in.
He stomped on Eriot's shoulder, leaped up, and threw eight green vials between his fingers.
The drugs in the shattered vials reacted with the air, chemically combining to form a dangerous poison that enveloped Osian.
Eriot stepped away, and as Osian was about to step away, a whip flew out and caught him by the ankle.
In the direction of the whip was Ospia.
She grabbed Osian's ankle with her drug-soaked yellow whip and used her other hand to pull out a yellow powder, which she blew into her mouth.
She blew lightly, but the powder spread like a sandstorm and engulfed Osian.
In the midst of it, soldiers made of sand appeared and targeted Osian's body.
“Interesting.”
Nebula Silk moved. His cloak spun in a single, sweeping motion, blocking Sertus' poison, and through the gap, his long sword pierced the sand soldiers' hearts.
The soldiers fell instantly.
As Osian shrugged off the attack, Eriot stepped forward and raised his arms in a sweeping motion.
Osian naturally raised his left shield.
With both of his clenched hands, he slammed down on Osian with a thud, causing the ground he was standing on to crack.
Osian tilted his shield aside. As Eriot's two arms sank into the ground, unable to withstand the force, a leg clad in pure white gaiters aimed for his chin.
-Pfft!
Eriot felt his vision turn white.
In his current state, he was strong enough to take the brunt of an oncoming steam car but a single kick from Osian would shatter his jaw and blow his head off.
It's a power that doesn't make sense.
“Hmm.”
Osian, who was about to deliver the decisive blow to Eriot, had to step back as a dagger with green energy had landed in the place he was.
The ground that the dagger touched became black and corroded, emitting pure white smoke.
Sertus retrieved the dagger and assumed a stance. It was a knife fighting stance.
Sertus' gaze fell on Osian's silver blade and he wanted to use that corrosive poison to nullify it.
Osian saw through his plan, and wrapped starlight around his long sword.
As it swung, Sertus quickly crossed his dagger to block it but his dagger was easily sliced away.
“Holy shit.......”
Sertus threw down his dagger hilt, drew his pistol from his waistband, and fired at Ossian. The bullet was also a chemical bullet, laced with drugs.
With his non-gripped hand, Sertus pulled out a green mask and placed it over his mouth.
He breathed into the mask, and the drug seeped into his system through his respiratory system.
The tattoos on his body glowed, and his eyes flashed jade-colored.
His reaction time increased, his binocular vision increased, and his physical strength and speed of thought skyrocketed.
It was the power of the specially formulated drug that had brought him to this point but this power was useless against Osian's violence.
-Kwao!
Osian's shield sent Sertus flying like he'd been hit by a car.
Eriot recovered and tried to wrap his arms around Osian from behind, but his fingertips didn't even touch the hem of his cloak.
Osian, now perched on his shoulder, pressed his palm to the crown of his head and slammed his head into the ground.
-Kwaang!
The whip cracked with a whirring sound but Osian stowed his shield in his bracelet and caught the flying whip.
“......!”
Ospia gasped in surprise. Catching a whip that swung at nearly the speed of sound?
Moreover, this was no ordinary whip, but one that had been marinated in a hallucinogenic drug for a long time. Even she couldn't use that thing with her bare hands.......
Osian pulled hard with the hand holding the whip.
“Thwack!”
Ospia, who hadn't released her grip on the whip in time, was hit by Osian and had to fall to the ground.
A heavy silence fell over the central market.