The Blood Brotherhood is a terrorist group officially designated by Tirna.
They cause massive damage throughout the city, trying to plunge the city of order, Tirna, into chaos.
Their numbers are few, but their presence is by no means weak.
This is because each one consists of dangerous criminals with red or higher ratings.
Right away, Daver, the youngest of the brotherhood who fought with Osian, was a mage with very strong powers.
Of course, he was defeated by Osian, but it was obvious what would have happened if he, wearing the Tesla Arms, had rampaged through this city.
In other words, the Blood Brotherhood is a group made up of individual superhumans.
'So one of the brotherhood members suddenly came looking for me.'
It was too coincidental to have just run into each other; he clearly knew that Osian would come here and had been waiting.
The fact that he was blocking the path now proved this.'To begin with, that side and I weren't on particularly good terms.'
Osian cut off the arm of Daver, the youngest of the brotherhood.
Of course, it was because Daver had provoked him first, but it's not like the other side would accept that and let it slide.
Why does the Blood Brotherhood have "blood" in their name?
It's because they are connected by blood, and at the same time, if someone is harmed, they seek bloody revenge.
'There are quite a few groups consisting of individuals with outstanding skills. But among them, the Blood Brotherhood is classified as an extremely dangerous organization. That's because they're so vicious.'
Other organizations move by weighing principles or profits and losses, but the brotherhood doesn't.
What drives them is solely their tight blood bond.
If they are harmed, they will definitely repay it more than in kind.
They don't care about principles or losses, and they always follow through on this.
That's why they're dangerous, and that's why they're a nuisance.
In fact, regarding the incident with Daver, the eldest and leader of the brotherhood, Grace Seeker, personally came to find Osian.
However, for some reason, they just exchanged a few words and then she withdrew.
'It was certain that if things had gone slightly differently, we would have fought.'
After that, for whatever reason, they ended up meeting face to face and having decent conversations, but that doesn't mean their relationship improved.
For now, this conflict that had arisen was somehow patched up by Grace's personal authority.
'I thought the ones below her wouldn't be without complaints, but...'
To think it would lead to a meeting like this.
"We've met before, haven't we?"
There was no answer. From the moment Osian saw those tightly shut lips, he could tell that this was a very taciturn man.
Though they had never met directly, Osian knew who this person was.
Just recently, when he ran into Grace at a tavern, this guy had been guarding outside the door.
Of course, this was the first time they had actually faced each other like this.
'He truly looks like a person carved from a mountain.'
Judging by his muscles and huge build that couldn't be hidden even by his suit, he appeared to be a very violent man but he wasn't exhibiting any ferocious aura on the outside.
'He's refined and suppressed himself to the extreme. It must be possible due to both natural talent and effort that wore down his bones.'
The comparison to being carved from a mountain was not wrong at all.
Inside that huge body, an even more massive power like a great mountain was stirring.
It was something that could be sensed precisely because he wasn't revealing it and was suppressing it.
He might look dull and stupid, but that's only if you just look at the surface.
'There was a reason why the eldest, Grace Seeker, keeps him around. That guy is definitely the second-in-command of the brotherhood.'
That second-in-command came to meet him personally and alone, without Grace.
Considering the explosion nearby just a moment ago, it didn't seem like he had come with good intentions.
"So what business do you have with me?"
Osian glanced slightly in the direction where Deliphiros the mayor had gone.
"I thought your target wasn't me."
"The objective itself has already been accomplished. We didn't move thinking we could kill him in the first place."
He opened his mouth for the first time.
Surprisingly, his voice was clear and full of energy. It contrasted with his expressionless face.
"You seem pretty calm for someone who openly targeted the mayor."
"They know it too. This is nothing more than a warning."
A warning, is it? There must have been a significant fight, yet he calls it a warning?
'He says it's a warning, but if the opportunity had presented itself, he would have certainly tried to kill Deliphiros.'
Of course, Deliphiros would not give them that opportunity. Given his very thorough personality, he wouldn't die even if the entire Blood Brotherhood came at him.
The fact that this guy came forward like this was a kind of warning to Deliphiros, a warning that if he wanders around recklessly, they would kill him.
"Then that means you're targeting me now. Are you perhaps still holding a grudge related to the youngest brother?"
"Our brotherhood never forgets a grudge once it's carved into our hearts."
Just as Osian was thinking that he might really have come to fight, the man continued.
"But sister didn't touch you. Then I think there must be a reason for that."
"So that means you don't intend to fight me?"
"That's right. We never forget grudges, but that doesn't necessarily make us enemies. And even if we're not on good terms, there's no reason we can't at least talk."
"You're more rational than I expected. Ah, this isn't sarcasm, it's a compliment."
"I know. You seem to be the type who doesn't speak indirectly."
He seemed to have some level of empathy with Osian on that point.
The man took off the fedora on his head. Only then could Osian see his appearance more clearly.
"Are you a half?"
He wasn't human. From his build, Osian had thought he wasn't an ordinary person, but he hadn't expected mixed blood.
The slightly pointed ears and finger-joint-sized horns growing on his head confirmed it.
"Ogre lineage, isn't it?"
"Yes. Extremely diluted blood, though."
Diluted blood, huh? Osian recalled the monster known as an ogre.
A humanoid monster nearly 5m tall, a race born with a powerful physique and skeletal muscle mass, wielding tremendous strength.
Horns on the head, fierce appearance, even the ferocity of eating humans, though not many in number, each one was very dangerous.
Considering that, the man's description of "diluted" didn't seem wrong.
"Let me introduce myself first. I am Kudan, serving as the second of the Blood Brotherhood."
"I'm Osian. So what exactly is your purpose in finding me?"
"Deliphiros. You met that snake-like human."
"I did."
Since there was no need to hide it, Osian nodded.
"What did you talk about with him?"
"Are you that curious? Curious enough for a famous terrorist in the city to personally come find me?"
"Sister considers you very unusual. If such a person gets involved with a dangerous figure like Deliphiros, I should at least check it out."
Deliphiros wants to create a city for humans only.
In the humans he speaks of, Kudan is not included. After all, he's an ogre half-blood.
'That's probably the same for Grace, too.'
Grace Seeker, she's probably related to the vampire side.
Just seeing how she moves in the darkness confirms it's that category.
In other words, they could never coexist under the same sky as Deliphiros.
From Kudan's perspective, it was worth coming to check this out.
"Does the 'sister' you mentioned know about this?"
"This is simply an action based on my own will. It has nothing to do with sister."
"I see. So you want an answer from me?"
Osian threw out a slight provocation.
"What if I don't tell you?"
"....."
Kudan silently stared at Osian.
His aura changed. An invisible force constricted the space itself, trying to pressurize Osian.
It felt like invisible, transparent heat waves tearing at his skin.
Osian felt the hairs on his skin stand up. His blood boiled, and the taste of battle rose in his mouth.
As he suppressed the urge to draw his sword immediately, Kudan withdrew his aura.
"No, you haven't joined hands with Deliphiros."
Although Kudan had initially suspected Osian, after talking with him, he seemed to realize that wasn't the case.
"Why are you so certain? What if I had joined hands with him?"
"Then you wouldn't have stopped there, and in celebration of your deal with him, you would have tried to kill me."
"He said he would treat me as an equal business partner. You must know that I'm not trying to become a puppet who follows orders."
"Him? Don't be mistaken. He never treats anyone as an equal. Even if he says so on the surface, in the end, he puts everyone beneath him."
Kudan pinpointed the essence of Deliphiros as a person.
Osian couldn't deny it and tasted the bitterness of disappointment.
He had wanted to see the skills of the brotherhood's second-in-command, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.
"So, now that you've confirmed that, are you satisfied and ready to leave?"
"You're more belligerent than I expected. I just came to confirm."
Kudan put the hat back on his head.
"But my other sibling won't be the same."
As soon as those words were spoken, Osian's spine tingled.
It felt like an invisible needle sneaking up to stab the back of his head.
However, the special warning signal that should go off in dangerous situations didn't sound.
Normally, if danger approached, he would feel a strange sensation.
But now, there was clearly something there.
He didn't know what it was. Neither instinct nor intuition was activated, but Osian sensed some sort of discrepancy in Kudan's words.
So Osian drew his sword and swung it wide toward the back.
A silver trajectory drawing a semicircle should have been slicing through empty air with nothing there but,
-Clang!
Osian saw sparks fly from the empty air, and something pitch black bounced away.
'A shadow.'
In that brief moment the time of battle activated, and momentarily every scene flowed slowly.
In the slowly moving world, Osian saw the person who had ambushed him.
It was an enemy covered from head to toe in a black hood, with only the eyes visible.
The fact that their body was shrouded in shadows was similar to Grace Seeker, but the texture was somewhat different.
While what Grace handled was an inherent blood ability, this seemed closer to something learned after birth.
'I can see it with my eyes, but it's hard to recognize.'
Even though he saw it clearly for an instant, all he could tell was that it was a person shrouded in shadow.
Less than a second later, the figure became blurry.
It felt like looking at just that person through poor quality vision.
It was oddly assimilated with the surrounding scenery, making the boundary between the scenery and the figure vague.
Just as Osian was about to swing his sword again, the figure disappeared.
With even the blurry appearance gone, Osian could no longer sense the person's presence.
It was a strange feeling that couldn't be captured even by a knight's senses.
It was an absurd stealth ability, to the point where it felt like the figure had disappeared while being watched but Osian didn't think the figure had retreated.
Yes. Even if the first attack failed, he would attack again. It was certain that he would aim for Osian's vital points, wherever they might be.
"In that case."
Dazzling light burst forth as Starlight descended, pushing away the hazy fog.
The soft radiance flowing from the armor covering his entire body is the sacred power of stars that drives away malevolent things.
That power pushed away the fog and illuminated the darkness that had settled around.
Osian, holding the Starlight Sword, rolled his eyes inside his helmet and gazed in one direction.
"There you are."
He swung his sword and a cleanly drawn white trajectory split the space.
Through the split space, along with creeping shadows, Osian saw the figure jump out.
After doing several back flips, the figure landed on the ground and lay flat.
"This is surprising. I was trying to land a blow with that swing."
There wasn't a scratch on the figure's body. They had avoided the attack in that moment.
Their astonishingly nimble movement was something no human could possess.
"More than that, that ability. Where did you learn it?"
The blue light in Osian's helmet stared at the shadow assassin.
He hadn't realized during the first engagement, but after seeing how the figure moved just now, it started to make sense.
The shadow power this figure wielded was in Osian's memory because that power was wielded by the [Rogue] class, one of the playable characters.