Commonly referred to as a shotgun, it is known as a weapon with weak penetrating power for each shot, but with tremendous stopping power.
Moreover, the shotgun shells used by paladins are specially manufactured slug rounds.
Such a dangerous weapon had been enhanced by holy magic, and even contained divine power.
Its pure destructive power was something that even a knight like Osian could not ignore.
[Nebula Silk]
The starlight flowing from Osian's shoulder eventually transformed into a cloak mimicking the night sky.
The cloak shining in brilliant colors wrapped around Osian's body like a cocoon and changed into a round sphere.
Puh-buh-buh-buk!
Slug rounds were embedded on the Nebula Silk.
Although the Nebula Silk had not sustained significant damage from any previous attacks, the shotguns fired simultaneously by four paladins were extraordinarily powerful.The attack that could tear through bulletproof vests with pure kinetic energy was enhanced by [Divine Brilliance].
To put it mildly, speaking of ethics, four people concentrated their fire on an individual.
The previously sturdy white sphere trembled after being hit by bullets, and soon part of it could not withstand the impact and was torn.
Before all defenses were fully disabled, Osian retrieved his cloak, pulled back, and equipped a shield from his bracelet with his left hand, creating a whirlwind.
He blocked the bullets with this, but even a moment's delay could have resulted in injury.
'The coat I'm currently wearing also has bullet-blocking effects, but with such powerful shotguns, I can't expect much.'
Osian clicked his tongue.
paladins using a shotgun of all things. Individually, they would have been easy to deal with, but combined, they were incredibly troublesome.
'That sturdy Nebula Silk's defense was torn. It will take time to restore.'
Once blocked, but from the second time onwards, it would be dangerous.
As Osian raised his vigilance towards the opponents, the paladins were also shocked by Osian's appearance.
"H-How is this possible? How can you remain unscathed after this attack?"
"Is he even human?"
The weapons they used possessed the highest human-stopping power, but even the paladins who used them sometimes questioned whether it was meant to be used against people.
Due to their extremely powerful destructive capability, there were cases where shooting a person would make them disappear without a trace.
However, Osian remained intact even after being hit by crossfire from four simultaneous shots.
Although he had retreated, unlike his previous stance of seemingly not stopping and charging forward, the paladins still found it hard to believe.
It was their first time their attack, which they confidently believed could completely neutralize anyone, had failed.
The senior knight shouted at them.
"What are you doing! Pull yourself together and continue the attack! He's just human after all! Keep shooting and we'll kill him!"
Seemingly different from other paladins with actual combat experience, he immediately chose a way they could win.
Click. Click.
The knights behind their shields grabbed the pump of their pump-action shotguns and performed a one-handed reload by swinging downwards.
But in that interval, Osian had already approached one of the paladins and was swinging his sword.
"Where!"
The senior knight once again blocked Osian's path with his shield.
Osian swung his starlight sword, but the paladin did not retreat.
He gritted his teeth and wrapped as much divine power as possible around his pure white shield.
The characteristic of his [Divine Brilliance] was [Holy Protection].
It was a characteristic specialized in protecting colleagues and safely guarding against enemy attacks.
Kwang!
With another explosion-like sound, the senior paladin was severely pushed back.
One corner of his shield could not withstand the sword strike and was cleanly sliced off.
Despite giving his all to block, he felt his internal organs shake.
However, the senior paladin once again threw himself to block Osian's attack.
What followed was the volley of fire from paladins who had finished reloading.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Osian was forced to retreat from the renewed slug round barrage.
However, he could not completely avoid the slug rounds. It was a gun that didn't fire single shots but covered an entire area with countless rounds.
Osian extended the Storm Shield with his left hand while simultaneously generating starlight across his entire body.
[Starlight Armor] FULL ARMOR.
A mysterious white armor shining with starlight covered Osian from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Some rounds that the shield failed to block collided with the Stellar Light Armor.
The shock energy was directly transferred to Osian.
However, Osian did not fall and the wounds were not life-threatening.
Due to the inherently low penetrative power of the rounds, they could not pierce through the coat inside the armor but this did not mean Osian was completely fine.
'The shock itself is more dangerous than the wounds.'
Wearing armor and a shield did not fully block the attack.
In fact, rather than direct wounds, the internal shock transfer was significantly impactful.
If Osian's body were that of an ordinary person, he would have been internally shaken and coughed up blood while the armor remained intact.
He was okay now, but it was uncertain how many more such attacks he could withstand.
As Osian took his stance again, the senior paladin blocked his path once more.
He voluntarily became a shield to protect his teammates reloading behind him.
'What a troublesome fellow. While blocking my sword, he must have sustained significant internal injuries, yet he's gritting his teeth and enduring.'
He had no choice.
His hidden disgrace had been exposed. Failing to kill Osian would not end with just his death.
In a broader sense, the entire order would be tarnished.
Therefore, the senior paladin believed he must stop Osian, even at the cost of his own life.
Osian found that resolute gaze irritating.
"Isn't this amusing? Those who make children die, how dare they wear the face of a virtuous person?"
"That's..."
The senior paladin's eyes wavered significantly, struck at his core.
Did he not know? His increasingly powerful divine power was testifying to what they were doing to innocent children.
"Using such enhanced power to silence those who know the truth by killing them."
Osian sneered inside his helmet and sharply retorted.
"Can you even call yourself a paladin after this? Even a dark magician would be more virtuous than you."
Osian had properly scratched their inner guilt.
If they had even a minimum of conscience, they would have either let Osian go or surrendered right then and there.
But most people rationalize when placed in an unfavorable situation.
This was true even for these paladins who had cultivated their mind and body for a long time.
Knowing their guilt but refusing to acknowledge it when pointed out, instead saying it was unavoidable.
This was an inherent human weakness that could never be discarded no matter how hard one tried.
But Osian's words were not without meaning.
His words had touched the paladins' sense of guilt, creating a proper crack in their mental state.
"N-No, I..."
"This...was unavoidable."
The trembling gun barrels pointed at Osian were evidence of this.
"Everyone, get a hold of yourselves! Don't be swayed by his words!"
The senior paladin shouted with a flushed face.
The four paladins, who had been shaken by Osian's words, widened their eyes at his command.
"We committed sins? Fine. So what? Are we going to return to our weak past? Will we live our entire lives exiled to this criminal city, receiving no reward despite our training and efforts!"
The senior paladin glared at Osian with bloodshot eyes.
"You wouldn't know. You, born with such strong power, cannot understand those who do not possess it. Do you know how we were at first? We believed in God because we wanted to help the world, wanting to uproot evil. But we were abandoned, in this city of criminals, full of corruption."
A branch of the Petra Order exists in Tirna.
However, the Petra Order fundamentally did not acknowledge Tirna, a city that recognizes ability even among heretics.
This was in direct opposition to the Petra Order, which absolutely sought to exclude heretics.
Therefore, beyond the order, the home country called Tirna a city of criminals.
Nevertheless, they needed believers, and despite it being a city of criminals, they had no choice but to establish an order branch there.
Under the pretext that not everyone is a criminal, and that criminals can repent.
The paladins and priests sent there were mostly those who had not stood out even in the Petra Papal Court.
Those who had retired from active service, had no connections, or lacked talent with no further potential for growth.
They came here with the mere facade of saving criminals.
Yes.
They were essentially abandoned.
For the believers of the Petra Order, Tirna was a difficult city to adapt to.
Here, people did not respect or look up to Petra Order members.
They only considered whether someone was useful to them or not.
And those spreading mere lip service were not treated well by Tirna's citizens.
Their only remaining path was to survive in the city of criminals by pushing themselves into suffering.
Because the senior paladin carried those terrible memories, he could become more venomous than anyone.
"With this power! We can return to our original order! And with better treatment, we can realize the justice we couldn't achieve due to our weakness!"
He shouted to his subordinates to Osian, and even to himself.
"Sinned? I'll admit it! But our sins are not simply to satisfy personal desires! This is for a greater cause! To realize more justice!"
With stronger power, they could defeat more heretics and monsters.
With stronger divine power, they could save more people.
In fact, priests could now treat people they wouldn't have dared to before with their enhanced divine power.
"Nothing can be gained without sacrifice! The children sacrificed for this. Their souls will go to the high heavens, and the Father in heaven will save them!"
A light returned to the paladins' eyes.
─The light of misguided blind faith.
"Sins can be washed away by greater merit! If not, I will bear all your sins! So at this moment, fight to eliminate the infidel before our eyes!"
Osian found the rising disgust hard to bear.
"Sacrificed children? You arbitrarily sacrificed them. And you want to cover sins with merit? No, that's impossible."
Osian's cold voice pierced the senior paladin's lungs.
"Sin is sin, and merit is merit. No matter how many good deeds you do in your remaining life, the dead children will not return. The pain they suffered until their death will not disappear. It's just that the pain remains as pain, and only the good deeds you take will be newly added."
Whoosh.
The starlight flames on Osian's sword grew stronger.
"And you will never be able to earn merit. Because your remaining life will cease to exist."
As Osian's momentum rose, the paladins became extremely tense.
A suffocating tension filled the air.
The paladins were prepared to burn their own lives. This was quite unpleasant for Osian.
If even one of them caused a commotion by throwing away their life, it would only become more disadvantageous for Osian.
They only needed to kill Osian, but Osian killing one of them would not end the matter.
"Shoot!"
As soon as the senior paladin's order fell, the gun barrels spewed fire.
As if to completely tear Osian apart this time, golden divine power-laden rounds covered the space.
Puh-buh-buh-buk!
Countless golden rounds swept over Osian's body like a storm, wearing the stellar light armor.
The paladins inwardly cheered seeing Osian's starlight armor collapse.
But the senior paladin's expression was not bright.
"Everyone, focus! Something's strange!"
The enemy who had seemed so insurmountable would not fall to just this attack.
His judgment was correct. Osian's body, swept by the golden bullets dissolved like a mirage.
"Gather!"
The senior paladin ordered, but the other paladins did not move.
"Gather, I said!"
When he turned back, he could only freeze.
The bodies of the paladins pointing their guns had turned to ice right where they stood.
At the center of the ice statues that were once colleagues, Osian was holding blue twin daggers, his eyes glowing blue.