Osian stared at Malina.
She was the first person he had encountered who had mastered the techniques of a rogue.
Moreover, she had used all three rogue characteristics.
That meant she had the potential to possess the qualities of a hero.
'But she belongs to the Blood Brotherhood that carries out terrorism in Tirna.'
That's not what's important here.
What caught Osian's attention was the question that Malina, defeated in battle, had asked.
"She?"
"Don't play dumb."
When Malina snapped sharply, Osian narrowed his eyes.It was a genuine reaction because he really didn't know, but Malina seemed to have interpreted it differently.
"Are you pretending not to know? You were able to see through all the techniques I used. Do you think it's possible to react like that when seeing them for the first time?"
"..."
Osian understood why Malina was reacting this way.
This was the first time she had demonstrated these abilities to him but except for barely blocking her first strike, Osian had consistently moved as if toying with Malina.
This was very shocking for Malina, and naturally, she couldn't help but suspect something.
She had come to the conclusion that Osian already knew about her abilities.
In fact, Osian had shown behavior that recognized the skills this side had acquired.
So where could he have seen them before?
At least in Malina's memory, there was only one possibility.
"You. What's your relationship with Sabrina? Where is she now?"
Osian belatedly understood why Malina was acting this way.
'I see. She thinks I've already met another rogue and that I'm connected to them.'
The reason Osian knew all of Malina's techniques was the knowledge gained from the game.
Osian had experienced, to the point of exhaustion, how rogue users in PVP used their skills and how they fought.
From their application to the way they engaged in battle, Malina's techniques were within the range of what Osian knew.
Saying he could counter them with his eyes closed was a bit of an exaggeration, but if he could see and confirm them, it was enough to avoid being caught off guard.
From Malina's perspective, it wasn't unreasonable to misunderstand this way.
No, rather, she couldn't help but think that way.
"Yes. The techniques I use must seem crude and clumsy compared to hers."
Though Malina spoke with gritted teeth, Osian thought differently to himself.
'That's not what I meant.'
He'd only said it because it reminded him of the days when he fought PVP with rogue-class users but Malina seemed to think he was comparing her to someone else she knew.
"Or do you intend to keep playing dumb until the end? There's no doubt that you already know her."
"...The reason I know these techniques is because I once had experience fighting those who walk the path of shadows."
"Right. That's Sabrina. She's the only one who knows these techniques in this world. Or more precisely, the organization she commands."
It seemed that in this era, rogues still existed…and in the form of an organization at that.
Osian remembered what Amenora had said.
That truly, only knights had fallen.
"Let me ask you instead. What's your relationship with them? Why are you, who uses those techniques, in the Blood Brotherhood?"
What Osian chose to break through this moment was to respond to a question with a question.
"What relationship? Why am I here? Of course, it's to kill all those bastards."
This choice seemed to be the right one.
Malina had an antagonistic relationship with this woman named Sabrina.
'So Sabrina is the master of a rogue guild commanding underling rogues?'
A rogue doesn't just assassinate targets with daggers.
They perform various tasks from gathering information to espionage, and even disrupting enemies.
They would skillfully accomplish what modern spies can do.
"I'm sorry, but all I can tell you is that I've fought a lot with those kinds of people."
"Fought a lot? But..."
Malina opened her eyes wide as if surprised.
She seemed to want to doubt those words, but since Osian had shown his abilities, she couldn't completely deny it.
Her mind must be in confusion.
It wasn't his intention, but Osian was making Malina confused.
"You. Have you fought against the Dead Dagger before?"
It was then that Kudan, who had been watching the situation quietly, intervened.
Osian was still restraining Malina with the cloak of light and turned to look at Kudan.
"Dead Dagger?"
"You fought them without knowing? That's the name of the organization you said you fought."
How could he have fought them? What Osian had fought, in this world's timeline, was in a very distant ancient era but even if he said that, no one would believe him.
Osian remained still, unable to decide what to say.
Maybe Kudan interpreted that silence as tacit agreement.
"You've been marked by some pretty troublesome ones too, it seems."
"..."
No, I haven't been marked by anyone specifically.
Osian was about to say that but decided against it. The situation was too complicated.
Unraveling such a misunderstanding that had already become too tangled would take too long. It was better to just leave it.
'It's not like these Dead Dagger or whatever will have anything to do with me anyway.'
What was important now was what to do with Malina, who had attacked him and been defeated.
Osian pointed his sword, without Starlight, at Malina's chin.
"You don't have the right to question me like that. There's only one thing you should worry about. The fact that you've been defeated by me right now."
"..."
Malina's expression turned heavy as she belatedly realized her situation.
Osian turned to Kudan and said:
"Surely you don't think I'm going to let your sister go like this?"
"..."
"It would be better not to move recklessly. That is, if you don't want to see this one's head roll."
Kudan glared at Osian for a moment before opening his mouth.
"What do you want? If you intended to kill her, you would've done so already."
"I've just become a bit interested. It's rare to find someone who can use all rogue skills."
And Osian immediately added:
"But don't be at ease. I can cut off this one's head anytime. I don't have much patience for someone who tried to kill me."
"...Brother. Forget about me and leave."
Malina spoke up with courage.
"I'm the one who disobeyed the eldest sister and acted on my own. So don't worry about me."
"Such touching sibling love."
Osian raised the sword that was resting against Malina's chin.
A small cut appeared on her snow-white skin, and a drop of red blood trickled down.
'Hmm. This makes me look like the villain of the century.'
Strictly speaking, he had only fought in self-defense after being ambushed.
The drop of blood that had gathered at the tip of her chin fell to the ground.
The moment the red drop spread on the ground, Osian felt something ominous.
-Swoosh!
‘Invisible projectiles cutting through the air.’
He thought it might be someone else's scheme to save Malina, but that wasn't it.
'The trajectory includes Malina too. They don't care if she gets caught up in it.'
No, perhaps they intend to kill her too.
Osian withdrew the blade that had been pointed at Malina and deflected all the incoming projectiles.
They were weapons similar to the shadow daggers Malina had thrown.
The form and shape were a bit cruder, but the energy they contained was clearly a [Tracking] type skill.
"What now?"
Osian scanned the direction from which the daggers had come.
Human-shaped shadows stood on top of the building and not just one, but several.
Their gaze looking down at him was like seeing a flock of crows eyeing a corpse.
"Who are you lot?"
They clearly weren't from the Blood Brotherhood. Nor were they from the city government coming to capture the brotherhood.
Of course not, because these guys reeked of blood and death.
They were even worse than modern dark mages.
"It's the Dead Dagger."
Kudan, who recognized them, clenched his fist and spoke for him.
Dead Dagger. The name of the rogue guild created by Sabrina that Malina had just mentioned.
'Why are they here now?'
No, more importantly, why did they appear at this particular time?
Before Osian could ponder such questions, the assassins shrouded in shadows all threw their projectiles at once.
All those weapons were aimed at vital points. Osian and Kudan were not exempt from that line of attack.
"What a nuisance."
Osian swung part of his cloak to deflect all the incoming daggers. Compared to what Malina had thrown, they were truly crude.
They might be thinking of overwhelming with quantity, but such numbers were useless against the Nebula Silk.
The ground near Osian and Malina turned black.
Dead Dagger assassins emerged from the rippling shadows.
"Danger...!"
Malina tried to warn but Osian's sword was faster.
A white flash cut through the air and not just one, but dozens spread out.
All the Dead Dagger assassins caught in it fell, splattering blood.
Malina, seeing this, couldn't close her gaping mouth.
She belatedly realized who she had been worried about.
Yes. Osian was a man who had seen through and blocked even her ambush.
How could such inferior assassins' attacks catch him off guard?
The assassins on the roof jumped down and threw the grenades they had.
-Boom!
Purple poisonous smoke spread widely with the explosion.
'This is an extremely dangerous poison. And it's also strangely clouding perception.'
Perception clouding was a skill basically used by rogue-class professions.
Beyond simply hiding what can be seen through concealment, it's the power of shadows that blurs even the existence of being in that place.
This was why Osian hadn't instinctively noticed Malina's ambush.
While Malina is an excellent rogue, the ability itself disrupts the realm of 'sensation'.
Osian had blocked Malina's attack not because of a knight's intuition, but because of rational judgment born from experience.
'When facing rogue-classes, it's funny, but you shouldn't trust your senses. Rather, you need to defend with rational and certain judgment about where and how they'll strike.'
Considering that the opposite was usually true in most cases, it was a testament to how tricky the rogues’ techniques were.
Osian could respond because he knew their fighting style, but those who couldn't would have their throats cut while their eyes were open.
'The power these guys handle is similar. Compared to this elf, it's very low-grade, but that's because I'm the opponent, so it doesn't work.'
Even average mercenaries would collapse helplessly if caught in this.
The problem is the Dead Dagger's ambush.
'It's clear they're targeting this side.'
To appear right after he had fought with Malina.
The timing was too coincidental. Talk about bad luck.
If he were to say they were unrelated now, they wouldn't believe him anyway.
'In any case, they tried to dispose of me without a word.'
Moreover, Osian had already cut down several of them.
He had already crossed a line that couldn't be undone.
The Dead Dagger assassins approaching through the mist came into view.
Osian calmly slit the throats of those approaching one by one.
Despite their use of perception-blurring and poison, Osian was completely fine in this poisonous smoke.
'But what about the others?'
Osian looked at Malina, who was bound to him.
She was tied up with the Nebula Silk and couldn't move.
There were no signs that she had been affected by the poison. As expected of a rogue-class, her resistance to poison seemed very high.
'As for Kudan...'
The moment he turned his gaze in that direction, there was a bang as air exploded in the purple poisonous smoke.
Simultaneously, a Dead Dagger assassin flew past Osian's face and crashed into the wall.
Red paint spread widely over the outer wall of the building.
'No need to worry about him.'
He was the second of the Blood Brotherhood. Excluding the eldest, Grace, his combat power was practically number one.
It was then that Malina shouted to Osian.
"Untie me!"
"Why should I untie you? Be grateful I'm not killing you right now."
"You're going to fight the Dead Dagger guys, right? Then I can help!"
"And then you'll try to kill me? You've done it once, what's stopping you from doing it twice?"
"You're strong enough that I can't kill you no matter what I do."
"..."
"If you're worried about that, I promise. I won't touch you. None of your acquaintances either."
Malina's unwavering gaze was filled only with hatred for the Dead Dagger.
Osian stared at Malina and Malina bit her lip for a moment, then added:
"And, I'll do whatever you want. Whatever it is."