Blood Flame Prince is one of the boss monsters that appear in the game.
A magician who was immersed in ancient power opened some dimensional door, and became corrupted after inheriting power from a being that originated from there.
The overall background story was that other magicians gathered their powers to seal him deep underground.
Magic that was corrupted by ancient power.
The reason why the mana used by the magician was dyed blood-red and its properties became like flames was because of that.
Osian still remembers him. In fact, there wasn't a monster that Osian couldn't remember.
Blood Flame Prince was a humanoid monster who fought with red bandages wrapped around his entire body except for his mouth, with red mana surging around him, and was quite tricky to deal with.
The fight is divided into 2 phases, and in phase 2, he unwraps all the bandages, making them surge like wings, and scatters the energy of blood in all directions.
'Since it wasn't a boss that needed to be cleared necessarily, it was one of those that most users avoided because they found it bothersome.'
It was closer to avoiding it because it was dirty rather than difficult. In fact, being dirty was the same as being difficult, but still.Blood Flame Prince made tricky attacks from phase 2.
It was the same as what the red-haired man that Osian just defeated used.
The Blood Flame Prince hits attacks by jumping through space with just a hand gesture, regardless of how far away they are from the player.
The pattern intervals are short and activation speed is fast, and once you get hit by blood flame, it sticks to your body and gives periodic damage. It even gave slight stiffness which greatly interfered with movement.
If the player's class is priest or wizard, they experience absolute hell. Because they just get hit indiscriminately without even having time to cast their spells.
Moreover, it was also very difficult to distinguish his patterns.
All preliminary movements were moving hands, but the range and method of attacks changed depending on how he swung or stretched his hands. The shape of the fingers was just as important.
You had to react by watching the precursor phenomenon, but since it changed according to the subtle hand movements of the humanoid monster, it was quite tricky and infuriating from the perspective of dealing with it.
'Of course, I caught him though.'
It was a somewhat distant memory, but he was still confident he could catch him easily if told to.
Blood flame is blood-colored flame, but at the same time, it's also like a curse and bacteria.
The reason why the being from beyond lent power to the Blood Flame Prince was also a scheme to expand its influence in this world.
Naturally, that scheme is thwarted by the player in the story.
The problem was that in the 99th run, Osian had passed by without catching the Blood Flame Prince.
'Even if I didn't kill him, the Blood Flame Prince wouldn't come out and rampage outside. According to the setting, he was sealed in the underground prison. Unless someone deliberately visits there, there's no way for him to come out to the outside world.'
But now the red-haired man was using the power of blood flame.
The way he used it was exactly the same as how the Blood Flame Prince handled it. On top of that, he even modified it to wrap around his body and replace his severed arms and legs.
There was no way there wasn't a connection.
"Where did that power come from? Did you learn it directly from him? If so, is he still alive?"
"Kuh! W-What are you talking about?"
"Did you think I wouldn't recognize that power you're wielding?"
The red-haired man rolled his remaining eye while blood flowed from his mouth.
He noticed that Osian had figured out where his power originated from.
'This guy, what exactly is his identity?'
His head couldn't keep up because too many impossible situations were happening.
Even though he himself who wielded this power didn't know much about its origin, from the way he spoke, it seemed Osian knew something.
Towards the man who was flustered, Osian spoke coldly.
"You're thinking. Your tongue needs to become looser."
Osian slowly brought his Starlight Sword to the man's thigh.
Shiiik!
The high-temperature sword melted his skin and slowly cut through muscle and bone.
"Aaaagh! Stop! Stooop!"
Even for the man who had strong resistance to considerable pain, it was terrible pain that could burn his brain.
He spilled everything he knew.
"Th-This is a bestowed power!"
"If it was bestowed, who gave it to you? Answer truthfully."
"The Doctor! The Doctor gave it to me! I don't know anything about this Blood Flame Prince or whatever!"
Looking at his desperate appearance, it seemed he wasn't lying.
Osian slightly pulled out the sword he had stabbed in. Just with that, the man breathed roughly as if he might live.
"The Doctor. I don't know what kind of person that is, but I think I know where you belong to. You're from the 「White House」, aren't you?"
"How did you..."
The red-haired man was about to ask how he knew that but closed his mouth.
After thinking, he suddenly recalled the conversation he had with Trench Coat.
-What brings you here?
-It's not like I wanted to come here. The higher-ups ordered me to join because there was something to confirm.
-For you, who secretly infiltrated as a corporate secretary, to come out this far, it must be something important?
-The experiment in District 45 has completely evaporated.
-What? What nonsense is that?
-Not only the test subjects that were there but even the experimental results have disappeared. Even when we tried to check belatedly, we couldn't because the organization dominating the area was watching like hawks.
-Ha. You said you were experimenting with some strange liquid, but in the end it got exposed?
He remembered the experiment in District 45.
Of course he would, wasn't it through a similar experiment that he came to wield this blood flame power?
He had been somewhat wary because it was said to be a power of cold opposite to his own, and he had been secretly relieved when he heard the news that the experiment had completely evaporated.
"No way..."
The man's eyes were dyed with disbelief.
No. That couldn't be. How could such an incredible coincidence exist?
But different from denying it, his head drew the conclusion that the being Trench Coat was looking for was Osian who was in front of him, connecting District 45's experiment.
"You're from District 45..."
"Yes. So it was you people after all."
Osian also became certain his guess was right the moment he saw the red-haired man.
The Blood Flame Prince power he wielded was exactly the same as those who were experimenting with [Moonlight]'s power in District 45.
‘Then rather than learning directly from Blood Flame Prince, it's closer to them extracting power from him and implanting it.’
The real Blood Flame Prince probably either died or became a test subject supplying power.
Osian recalled the test subjects he fought in District 45.
The output they could manifest varied depending on the level of the test subject.
Most test subjects' bodies couldn't withstand it and collapsed, and among those who endured, the magician test subjects were much stronger.
This red-haired man was probably the same.
"I was thinking of dealing with you people who were arbitrarily handling my power anyway, but to think you'd reveal yourself right in front of me."
At least in Osian's view, this red-haired man seemed to hold quite a high position within the 「White House」.
They probably invested considerable time and effort to make him able to handle blood flame power.
At the very least, he wasn't a card they would easily discard after using.
"Where is your base?"
"C-Can't tell."
"Right. You wouldn't answer right away. I thought you wouldn't answer easily."
When Osian raised his starlight sword again, the man's eyes bulged.
"Damn it! It's not that I don't want to, I really can't!"
His voice was urgent because he knew how terrible the pain from Osian's starlight sword was.
Although he could endure considerable pain while handling blood flame power, Osian's power was so opposite that it erased his blood flame.
The pain that followed just from touching his body was so terrible that it would be better to die without knowing anything.
Of course, all the desperate words he was shouting now were completely sincere.
"The Doctor isn't such a careless person! No, he's such a cold-blooded monster that I wonder if he's even human! Do you think someone like that wouldn't have done anything?"
There was something that struck Osian about the man's words.
"Did he put some device in your head or body to keep secrets?"
"Yes. That's why I can't tell even if I want to. The moment I try, I'll be disposed of."
"He put restrictions even on someone of your level?"
"N-No, that's exactly why he put them on. Because I'm one of the few successful cases of handling this power. He thinks it's better to eliminate it than let it fall into others' hands."
Blood Flame Prince power is a very excellent ability.
It was only bad because the opponent was Osian, but at the very least it was enough to gain absolute advantage against other people.
No matter how important confidentiality is, to ruthlessly dispose of such an excellent result without hesitation?
'Does his decisiveness exceed his attachment to the results of long experiments?'
While there would be reasons why this Doctor person has extremely rational and cold-blooded aspects, that wouldn't be everything.
After a moment's thought, Osian reached a more expanded conclusion.
For example.
“The 「White House」 doesn't seem to mind disposing of you because they'll have other alternatives. Just from what you said earlier about being one of the few successful cases, you're not the only one either.”
The man showed a noticeably intense reaction to the words that hit the mark.
Seeing the man's reaction, Osian's guess became even more certain.
While Blood Flame Prince’s power was certainly amazing, looking at the overall project being carried out by the White House, it wasn't enough to call it the core.
The fact that they could discard it so boldly was likely because there were several projects of similar level to Blood Flame Prince.
Or there might be other test subjects handling Blood Flame Prince's power.
For now, they just gave him important roles because the red-haired man handled it best and followed orders well.
It's not like future plans would be hindered even if he was gone.
"I'm losing interest."
He thought he had caught a big fish, but there was no substance.
'Then the one worth expecting is.'
Osian's gaze turned to where the black beast was fighting the special grade automaton.
The red-haired man became desperate.
Though he thought dying would be better than being tortured, that didn't mean he really wanted to die.
'Damn it. Damn it!'
As soon as Osian heard that he couldn't answer because of restrictions, his eyes changed. Rather than asking what he was curious about, he was thinking of killing him right here, with the thought that he could get information from that Trench Coat person anyway.
'This bastard dares to treat me like a toy?'
More than trying to kill him, being treated like an object in his palm that could be killed whenever he wanted made him angrier.
How much effort had he put in to climb up here? He was someone who dominated and killed others, not a bug to be crushed while lying underneath like this.
'I'll kill you right now while you're letting your guard down!'
The red-haired man gathered all his power while Osian was distracted.
Without showing it externally, the blood flame power swirled inside his body and gathered in his heart.
His heart beat frantically because he had never concentrated this much power in one place.
Meanwhile, Osian was still distracted by another fight.
The man looked at Osian and smiled slyly.
"Die!"
The moment he tried to manifest the energy gathered in his heart outside his skin, he felt his vision spinning.
Huh?
He tried to voice his question about why the world was spinning but no voice came out.
Of course no voice could come out since his throat was cut off with his vocal cords.
Rolling on the ground, he saw his headless body.
The gathered power scattered helplessly. Osian was already in a sword-swinging stance stepping on it while still fixing his gaze on another fight.
'How, without even looking...'
The man closed his eyes without any particular words.
The blood flame power that lost its master melted away and disappeared.
Osian ignored the corpse and watched the fight between the automaton and the beast.
The cutting-edge machine and the huge beast created with mysterious power.
Surprisingly, in the fight between these two opposite beings, the beast was gaining the upper hand.
'The automaton seems to have been upgraded more. It's stronger and has higher output than when I fought it. Looks like many new functions have been equipped too.'
When the automaton stretched its hand, bullets poured from holes in its fingers.
It had enough power to turn anything it touched into rags, but that only works if it hits.
The huge black cat avoided all the bullets by jumping around here and there.
The way it changed shape up and down like its body was liquid while deflecting bullets felt like watching some surrealist animation.
There's a saying that cats are liquid. A cat's body is very flexible so it can easily enter narrow holes smaller than its size.
That black beast was the same.
Not only did it move through the rain of bullets, it even penetrated through the mana barrier spread by the automaton as if being sucked through gaps.
Eventually the beast's sharp fangs and claws destroyed the two automatons.
Only Trench Coat remained.
"Oh no."
The huge cat's front paw pressed down on the body of the flustered Trench Coat.