Daver was dumbfounded by Osian's words.
What was this madman saying?
"Finish? Finish?"
Daver resented Osian's demeanor, as if he were looking down on him.
"Who the hell does this bug think he is to tell me whether I can finish or not!"
He turned up the power of his left arm's Tesla Arms.
A faint glow began to emanate from the metal arm with graceful curves that seemed to mimic a human arm.
Osian prepared to wrestle with the magnetic field that repelled the sword.
Ping-!
"......."At that moment, the flow of power in the air took on a subtle, yet different, air current.
Instead of spreading out in a vast expanse of power, it was concentrated into a single point.
The judgment was quick, and the movement was even quicker as Osian flung himself to the side.
-Pow!
Immediately afterward, a giant hole tore through the steel structure behind him.
David watched in disbelief.
‘He narrowed the range of the magnetic force as much as possible and increased its power to the extreme!’
The Tesla Arms were rumored to be the stuff of legend.
It was a conglomeration of science and technology, with the addition of etheric water to martial arts.
However, the actual performance of the Tesla Arms was underestimated by the world.
In addition to generating powerful electricity, it also manipulates magnetic fields, and its range and power can be adjusted.
For someone who normally uses guns and gunpowder, this would be a disaster.
But Osian is even more incredible than that.
This time, instead of using force to repel the magnetic field aimed at him, he responded with evasion.
The move was clearly the right one since the narrowed range had increased its power, and if he'd tried to fight it as before, he would have been pushed back.
‘How did he dodge?’
Every time Daver throws out his arms, Osian sees it coming and ducks like a ghost.
It wasn't that Daver was slow.
The speed with which he activated the Tesla Arms was such that even David, a longtime battlefield veteran, could barely keep up and yet Osian was dodging it all.
It was an unbelievable move.
-Kwagwagwang!
Explosions erupted everywhere, shattering metal structures and scattering shrapnel.
But none of Daver's attacks touched Osian, not even on the hairs on his back.
"So it turns out you're not a bug, but a minnow!"
With that taunt, Daver let out an irritated sigh.
He'd planned to send him flying with the first blow, then follow it up with a second to kill him but somehow Osian had managed to dodge the first blow.
He'd been pushing from the front all this time.
It wasn't just strength.
There was also intuition, or perhaps animal instinct.
‘And he's getting faster.’
Osian's movements had been easy to follow at first, but as time went on, he had become harder to follow.
‘He's not getting faster from fighting, he's slowly adjusting to his power.’
Daver had a temper of fire, but as a mage, he also possessed a cool intelligence.
He must change his methods.
As he continued to target Osian with his Tesla Arms, Daver energized his right arm.
-Boom!
The dark interior of the power plant instantly turned scarlet.
He swung his right arm, and a fan of flames shot toward Osian.
‘I wonder if I can dodge this!’
Osian ducked behind a massive steel structure.
Immediately, a huge tidal wave of flames engulfed the structure.
The metal burned bright red in the searing heat.
Unable to withstand the melting point, it melted around the edges.
It was fortunate that the attack was widespread and not concentrated, or the structure would have melted together.
With that judgment, Osian moved quickly from cover.
A giant hole had been blown through the center of the half-melted steel structure.
This was the target of Daver's magnetic pulse.
Osian didn't stop moving, gathering his thoughts.
‘It's not good to fight from the front.’
At first, he tested the power of his opponent's Tesla Arms in a power struggle.
He decided that pure physical strength could not overcome the power of the Tesla Arms.
If he applies a wide range of magnetic power, I will be able to push forward by giving strength to the sword, but if he narrows the range and increases the output, it will be difficult to withstand it.
Because the other party also knew this, they refrained from using their magnetic power indiscriminately and focused their efforts on this area.
How to deal with it then?
Luckily, Osian had a body with tremendous physical strength.
Despite being outgunned, this body's strength wasn't just strength.
‘It's a battle of speed.’
The odds were stacked against Osian.
All he had was a sword. He may be physically superior, but his opponent is far more vicious than that.
Tesla Arms, with its absolute dominance over metal, was Osian's natural enemy.
Daver even wields magic.
The currently observed magic deals with fire and gravity, and its power is such that even a 4-star magic can be easily used.
This puts him in the mid-range or higher of the bosses he fought in the past and to take him on with basic equipment, or even less than that.
The corners of Osian's mouth drew into an arc.
There was no such thing as a favorable fight in the game.
He was always at a disadvantage, and he had faced countless challenges.
Even when his heart was broken and he seemed to be on the verge of collapse, he somehow found a way.
That's how he defeated his enemies and won.
He's done this for a long time, for a very long time.
A few swipes with a sword against bullets in sight, and an easy push with more strength than others.
Can he really call what he's been doing lately a fight?
"This is what fighting is."
Hearing Osian's muttering, Daver's eyes narrowed in anger.
The red glow inside his gas mask exploded.
"A fight? Did you say fight?"
-Dddddd.
A surge of magic began to spread around him, fueled by his rage.
The mercenary, David, and the Steel Follower stepped back as they watched in horror.
With Daver distracted by Osian, this was their only chance to escape.
‘Osian.’
David turned to Osian as he retreated.
At that moment, their gazes met.
Osian flashed him a wry grin, and then he was gone again, a shimmering speck in the distance.
David saw the smile and shook his head.
‘Not going to make it.’
He steeled himself and focused on escaping the power plant.
*
The darkened interior of the power plant was illuminated.
It wasn't because someone had restored the missing power.
The power plant was bathed in bright light, caused by a single entity.
"The bugs are all fleeing."
Daver, a crimson flame on his right arm and a blue current on his left, glared at Osian.
His brown poncho cloak fluttered wildly as he struggled to keep up with the momentum of the magic.
"You don't have to chase them?"
"It's not too late to kill you first and chase after them later."
"That's an arrogant statement."
"And you think you can handle my wrath alone?"
The red glow inside his gas mask arched and curved but it wasn't purely for pleasure, I could tell by the explosion of life.
The sensation that made my skin tingle.
The searing heat and crackling, the burning currents of electricity from the scarification, the explosion of magic is almost painful to watch and the realism of rolling my character across the monitor.
All of it told me that the moment I held this sword was no dream.
"Die!"
Daver fired the power in his arms at Osian, and the colors of red and blue flew rapidly toward him.
Osian tried to dodge it, but a purple ring overhead made him change his mind.
‘Gravity magic.’
Daver cast a wide area of gravity around it in case he dodged.
It wouldn't kill Osian, but it would keep him from moving quickly.
Osian tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, ready to swing and Daver burst out laughing.
"You're crazy! What are you going to do with that?"
Whether Daver laughed or not, Osian was the first to see the incoming blue lightning bolt.
It was too late to dodge, but there was nothing he could do to stop it.
─Then I'll just have to take it.
-Chaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!
The moment the blue current met the swinging sword, a clear ringing sound spread out, like a giant bell ringing high in the blue sky.
It reverberated inside the power plant, resonating with the surrounding metals.
Osian didn't force his sword through the current.
Instead, he swung it sideways as effortlessly as water flows.
The current that had been aimed at him spun around his blade, sending intense sparks flying in all directions.
Osian didn't stop spinning.
One turn.
Two turns.
Then a third time.
Osian turned back to the oncoming flame and slammed his blade into the blue current.
The lightning, disoriented by the spin, followed Osian's lead and shot toward the flame.
With a huge explosion, the two forces collided and extinguished each other.
‘Success.’
Osian grinned in satisfaction at his accomplishment.
‘A vicious counterattack skill that can only be used in the game. I never thought it would actually work.’
As a Wandering Knight, your default defense is to use Parry with a shield.
However, there was a parry that could be used with a sword, assuming you didn't have a shield.
That was the [Bending].
It is much more difficult than a normal parry, but it is a technique that goes beyond parrying to deflecting an attack.
I thought, "Since I've turned back the lightning, I'll call this technique the Twisting Thunderclap.”
Even Osian, who had seen it countless times in the game, was performing it for the first time now that it was a reality.
‘But it's not perfect.’
Osian felt his hands tingle in his grip on the sword.
He had succeeded in reversing the lightning, but it was only a half success.
Some of the lightning's power hadn't been completely deflected, and it had whipped around in all directions, taking its toll on both of his arms.
The only good thing was that Daver didn't follow up with a strike.
Daver was almost frozen in disbelief at what he had seen.
"Deflecting lightning with a sword. You, what the hell......."
Such a feat was the stuff of ancient legends, long since lost.
Who the hell are you and where did you learn that skill?
Daver wasted no time in asking.
"......Yes. I suppose it makes no difference. I was serious about killing you before, but this time I'm going to do it right."
Daver clapped his Tesla Arms with all his might.
-Boom!!!
An enormous magnetic force erupted from Tesla Arms and enveloped the area.
Countless shards and pieces of metal shattered and fragmented rose up in unison and converged on Daver, centered on Tesla Arms.
It was like watching a school of sardines made of steel.
Osian smirked as he forced his hand to keep his sword from dragging.
This was a little too much.
"Come on. Dodge or block this one."
-Clang!
Tesla Arms turned toward Osian, and a tidal wave of metal rushed toward him.
Shards of steel filled his vision in a blur as Osian pushed himself up with both legs and leapt off the ground.
A swarm of steel piranhas grazed beneath his feet but the wreckage immediately swerved and aimed for him.
Osian leaped again, stepping on a steel pipe bent and jutting out from the battle.
The debris chased after him, tearing through the air.
-Kagagak!
The power plant's vents, outer walls, and pillars exploded in sparks.
Then a steel beam the size of a man's torso shot out, aimed at Osian's back.
Osian twisted in midair and swung his sword.
-Kaang!
The steel collided with the sword, knocking him back and slamming him into the ceiling.
The steel didn't stop pushing back, even as Osian's body broke through the ceiling.
Only after soaring through the roof of the power plant did he manage to slice the beam in half.
Chang──!!!
"......!"
The sword's blade snapped, unable to withstand the fierce fight.
Osian stayed in the air and looked around.
Night had fallen, and the surrounding area was pitch black.
Without the power of the power plant, the surrounding area was plunged into darkness.
Through the collapsed rooftops, Daver leapt and standing on the metal scaffolding, he sneered at Osian.
"Hahaha, your proud sword is broken!"
Osian poised to swing his sword at Daver but Daver smirked from behind his gas mask at the broken sword with only the hilt remaining.
"Don't you see, you fool? I can create lightning and breathe flame. I can manipulate metal and gravity, and you still want to fight me?"
The electricity from the Tesla Arms spread across the surrounding metal, forming into a thunderbolt, aimed at Osian.
Intense flames erupted from his right arm, a snake of fire twisting and turning.
"What the hell can you do with a broken sword!"
With Daver's shout, he was able to unleash all sorts of miraculous powers.
This was not an opponent that could be dealt with, with only a broken sword.
Osian chuckled to himself and looked up at the sky.
The smog-filled night sky was empty.
The once brilliant sky had long since lost its shine.
And yet.
Surely there are 'stars' out there.
"I see. You're right, it's hard to do anything with a broken sword."
At that moment, Osian realized what he was supposed to do and what he could do.
"But."
Osian lifted the broken sword and a pure white flame rose from the broken blade.
"It can hold starlight."