No matter how much Trench Coat tried to struggle, he was already no different from a mouse caught by a cat.
Perhaps knowing this, Trench Coat didn't resist from the start.
Throughout the battle, he left everything to the automaton. Just looking at that, it was safe to assume he had no combat-related abilities whatsoever.
Still, just in case, the giant cat extended its sharp claws to imprison his body like a cage.
These were claws that even a special grade automaton couldn't withstand and was torn apart by. The moment he tries to escape, they would slice his entire body to pieces.
"I wish you were a bit more reasonable."
Despite the subtle threat, Trench Coat silently stared at Osian through his mask without answering.
At that peculiar gaze, Osian asked.
"Do you have something to say to me?"
"Fanut is dead. Though his temperament was nasty, his skills must have been real. How did you do it?""You seem to have many questions. It seems you don't understand your situation."
When Osian gave a signal to the cat, the cat's claws pierced through his coat into his body.
Though it should have been quite painful, Trench Coat didn't make even a single groan.
Rather, as if he sensed something in Osian's voice, after a moment of contemplation, he opened his mouth.
"A voice I remember. You, you're that fixer who wiped out the Black Snake Gang back then."
‘To remember by voice alone.’
Though Osian showed a surprised look, he answered.
"You remember well. But so what? This time you don't have an automaton to protect you."
Osian pointed his sword at Trench Coat. It was the Starlight Sword with blazing white flames.
Looking at the Starlight Sword, Trench Coat seemed to understand something and nodded.
"I see. So you were the one who ruined the experiment in District 45. Though I don't know what method you used, with this power, it wouldn't be entirely impossible."
Even in a hostage situation where his life could be taken at any moment, Trench Coat's tone and voice remained very calm.
Osian frowned inside his helmet. He felt an unsettling feeling about such a relaxed response.
"No way."
Osian immediately thrust his sword into his forearm.
It was a pain that even the red-haired man called Fanut couldn't endure without screaming but Trench Coat showed no reaction when Osian's sword pierced his forearm.
Osian could quickly understand why.
"A machine? Don't tell me you're a modified human?"
Trench Coat arm wasn't human but a machine.
It wasn't just the arm. Osian belatedly realized that he showed no signs of normal human life activity.
The first thing that came to mind was modified humans who replace their entire body with machinery. Like the Steel Devotees, those who try to shed their weak human bodies through harsh training.
"It's a bit unpleasant to be treated the same as those madmen wearing the mask of asceticism."
But Trench Coat denied Osian's words.
With a voice full of conviction that he had never modified his body, Osian recalled the second hypothesis he had set aside.
"...So you were controlling it remotely."
"Smarter than you look. When I saw you before, you seemed like someone who tried to solve everything with strength, but perhaps that's not entirely true."
Osian thought of David, the one who was once a fixer and now training to become a knight.
David controlled automatons with threads of magic power in battle and was known by the aliases of puppeteer and commander.
But could it be said that there was no one more skilled than David in this city?
The result was right in front of his eyes.
A human who controls automatons like his own body from a distance.
-Grrrr.
The giant cat holding down Trench Coat let out an angry growl and sharpened its claws even more.
The massive claws easily penetrated Trench Coat body.
With that impact, the mask he was wearing fell off, revealing the bare face underneath.
Unlike the mechanical body, the face looked very similar to a real person.
So similar that one couldn't tell the difference without careful observation.
"Why don't you stop? This may not look like much, but it's a very expensive body."
Though the opponent spoke playfully like that, neither Osian nor the beast bothered to respond.
"Hmm, I guess it can't be helped. Even if you take out your anger by destroying this, there's nothing I can do. However..."
Crack!
The beast's leg crushed the body of the one who was about to say something like a press.
It was a very violent action, as if it wasn't even worth listening to anymore. Osian didn't bother pointing that out either.
The [White House] guys, was it? As felt before, they were quite a cunning and unpleasant organization.
Just when you think you've found a trace, they disappear like an illusion as if mocking you. A lizard that at least leaves its tail behind would be better.
They're truly vicious ones. And organizations of similar level to these guys, while not many, clearly existed more in this Tirna.
Osian was about to check Loraine's condition while ignoring the disabled automaton.
That was until the automaton opened its mouth.
"Interesting."
The automaton that should have been half-destroyed and stopped was working again. Moreover, this time its tone and voice had clearly changed.
As if someone else was conveying their intentions instead.
"This is a very interesting situation. A knight using mysterious power, and a beast of mystery that's not even a beast-person. For me, research is no longer a desire or curiosity, but merely a task to be done. But it seems my heart is racing for the first time in a while."
"Who are you? Answer, or I'll kill you here."
Osian spoke in a cold voice. Though most people would have trembled at that chilling voice, he did not.
Since he was watching and speaking from afar using the half-destroyed automaton's body, even Osian's sword wasn't a threat to him.
"We both have many questions, yet you would destroy me just like that?"
"You seem more curious about us than we are about you."
"Oh my. You've hit the nail on the head. I'll admit this round is my loss."
The automaton that easily admitted its disadvantage continued speaking.
"I am Doctor Cromwell. I'm a scientist belonging to the [White House] you're looking for. If I had to specify, you could say I'm part of the leadership."
Cromwell, borrowing the automaton's body, honestly revealed his identity without hiding anything.
"..."
It was a situation where they unexpectedly encountered someone who could be called the core of those guys.
Osian calmly asked.
"To think you'd appear so boldly after hiding all this time. What's your intention?"
"Let me point something out first. I wasn't being bold. I only came out like this because I'm borrowing this automaton's body remotely. Though it's operating on emergency power, it probably won't last even 5 minutes."
"Aren't you someone who should stay hidden? I'm not sure if it's okay to reveal yourself like this, even indirectly."
"I stay hidden because I don't feel the need to appear. But in such an interesting situation, I have no choice but to step forward myself. Especially regarding you all."
"Interesting, you say. Are you thinking of capturing us?"
"To be honest, yes."
Just as he didn't hide his identity, Cromwell didn't hide his desires either.
"I can't figure out where you got such power. But I think I have a vague idea. A power unknown to me. The mysterious energy known to have been lost in the distant past. It must be close to that."
"You seem to have better eyes than I thought."
"When you research that kind of thing a lot, you naturally develop an eye for it. Well, let's end the talk here. The reason I came out directly like this is one thing. Would you become my test subject?"
"..."
Hearing those words, Osian momentarily thought his ears were mistaken.
What? Become a test subject?
Though the tone was respectful like recruiting a valuable person, the content was downright brutal.
The giant cat also seemed quite dumbfounded.
Regardless, Cromwell continued speaking without concern.
"You would make an excellent test subject. If I analyze and understand the source of that power, it wouldn't be difficult to mass-produce similar powers. That way, human science would advance dramatically, and overall military power could increase as well."
"Are you mad?"
"How could one do such noble work without being mad? Of course, I intend to treat you properly. What do you say?"
Though Cromwell's voice was calm and peaceful, Osian glimpsed the terrible madness hidden beneath.
He doesn't distinguish whether his actions are right or wrong.
It was like seeing a machine that acts without any emotion, desire, or belief, as if this was simply its given mission.
"You said you're Doctor Cromwell. I have a condition."
"What is it? I'm willing to accommodate as much as possible."
"Your neck."
At that scathing response, Cromwell let out a sigh.
"Hmm. Negotiations failed, I see. That's unfortunate. I thought you could understand for the sake of humanity's advancement."
Cromwell really seemed to think he had made a good proposal.
Osian knew very well how to deal with this type. Don't listen to their words and cut them down in one stroke.
"If you didn't catch my eye, I wouldn't have bothered, but since I've become interested...Though you might not agree, I really want to experiment."
"..."
Osian didn't even bother responding anymore. He had neither the energy nor saw any value in it.
Regardless, Cromwell just said what he wanted to say.
"It would be appreciated if you came to find me. Let's meet when the opportunity arises."
Cromwell's voice gradually grew fainter. The automaton operating on emergency power had reached its limit.
Osian silently swung his sword and vertically split the automaton's head.
The faint smile was the last expression the automaton made before being split by Osian's sword.
Osian looked down at the destroyed automaton and muttered quietly.
"I've gotten tangled up with something truly filthy and sticky."
Whatever it was, the incident was settled for now. Osian looked at the black beast, the giant cat.
Though Osian wasn't short himself, the eye level was higher than expected, so he had to look up slightly.
Swoosh!
Before Osian could say anything, the black cat crouched down and then sprang up like a spring, leaping away beyond the sky.
No footsteps despite that size. It was truly a beast that transcended the laws of physics. Didn't Cromwell also call it a mysterious being?
After watching the departed black beast, Osian turned and approached Loraine.
Even during that fight, Loraine was still guarding Fade's corpse.
"Loraine."
What must it feel like to kill a former colleague who had hated and despised you with your own hands?
Osian couldn't even imagine that pain. However, Loraine's face somehow looked relieved.
Though Fade had lived only in pain, he found peace at the end.
The peaceful smile on his face was proof of that.
Though Loraine had killed her former colleague, it was also salvation.
She could carry his burden herself. That's how she had lived until now, and that's how she would continue to live.
"Are you alright?"
"No. It seems I can't walk right now."
"I see."
Osian reached out his hand to her, who hadn't yet recovered from her injuries. Seeing this, Loraine took Osian's hand.
"Let's go back, senior."
"...Yes."
Osian deactivated his armor and carried Loraine on his back.
The rain that had been pouring during the fight had weakened considerably. Seeing it drizzling, it didn't seem necessary to use an umbrella.
At that moment, Ralph and Vinur Jaycee's direct subordinates came and bowed their heads to Osian.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to keep our lives."
"Our goals just happened to align and we fought together, I didn't intend to help."
"Still, we owe you our lives. But the other ghost..."
Ralph looked at Loraine on Osian's back and Fade's corpse beyond her, then figured out how things had unfolded.
"That one's body..."
"We will dispose of it. You can do whatever you want with the other ghost guys, but not him."
"But..."
Ralph showed hesitation. Osian seemed to understand why Ralph had come here.
He probably wanted to take the body of Fade, who was no different from the mastermind of this incident.
The order must have come from their superior, Vinur.
"We will compensate you sufficiently. So..."
"Stop. Don't say anymore. I've already expressed my intention. If you want to go beyond that."
White light flashed in Osian's eyes.
As it was a dark night, Ralph and his subordinates clearly witnessed that dazzling light.
"There will be no mercy."
Even at that warning, Ralph didn't know what to do.
Osian was about to draw his sword again to clear away the hesitation, but just then an expensive steam car approached from afar.
When the vehicle stopped, Ralph hurriedly went to open the back seat door.
From inside, an old man with fierce eyes holding a cane stepped out.