'Although I said it was interesting, the statement itself is not a lie.'
Osian examined the other brotherhood members one by one.
Daver is the youngest, and this lizardman is the seventh. And Malina said she was the sixth.
Since the eldest sister and second brother are separate, the three sitting separately over there watching this side must be the third to fifth.
'Each one looks quite unique.'
First catching his eye was a black-furred werewolf leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Yes, a werewolf. Not a beast-man race, but literally with the head of a beast.
'Beast-men are a type of subspecies. Even when they transform, their form is close to human. But werewolves are closer to monsters born from curses.'
Werewolf refers to a person cursed by a wolf transforming into a half-human, half-beast. Most who transform gain powerful physical abilities and regenerative powers, but in return, they lose their rationality.
They seem similar to beast-men but are different. While beast-men are still recognized as a subspecies, these creatures are closer to monsters. The reason is their cruelty—pursuing only blood and slaughter without rationality.
'And such a werewolf is quietly observing this situation.'Black fur with amber eyes. Rather than seeming wild, he gives off the impression of being neat like a gentleman. In fact, the clothes he wore were a well-pressed suit. Moreover, perhaps to reduce the sense of threat, he wore a brass mask over his muzzle. Since the mask was fitted to a wolf's oral cavity, it also looked like a muzzle.
'The other one is remarkably white.'
Crouched in her seat was a small girl covered in snow-white fur. Chubby cheeks and round eyes. Her small and cute appearance was like a doll crafted with all the artisan's heart and soul.
She had a peculiar feature: her skin and hair color were as white as snow. In contrast, her eyes were blood-red, as if blood was flowing out.
She bore all the characteristics of an albino, and Osian could feel an eerie chill emanating from her. In his memory, there was one race with similar characteristics.
'Snow tribe.'
The Snow tribe is a monster living in the northern regions. They are the white-furred hominids commonly called Yeti.
The Snow tribe is classified as a monster due to their excessive ferocity and barbarism. Although they have their own culture, their numbers are extremely few, and they are excessively exclusive to other races, killing intruders in their territory regardless of reason.
But they had their most significant characteristic.
'A race that is born naturally strong.'
The Snow tribe resembles humans in appearance, but their essence is distinctly different.
They are a head taller than the naturally robust northern Nordic people. They even have two hearts, and their bones are stronger, thicker, and more numerous than humans'. Their muscles also have stronger and denser muscle fibers, allowing them to exert more strength than a bull from childhood. Adult Snow tribe members are not inferior in strength even when compared to ogres that are twice their size.
'However, this is the first time I've seen such a small Snow tribe member.'
Usually, even female Snow tribe members are much larger and sturdier than average adult men. But this child appeared to be no more than early teens to anyone who looked.
Considering that Snow tribe members reach physical growth comparable to adults by age 5, to have such an appearance, she must be under 3 years old.
But there's no way such a young child could occupy a middle position in the Blood Brotherhood.
'She's probably not actually young. Some kind of mutation, I suppose.'
Above all, the chill felt from her gaze. The Snow tribe inherently possesses methods to wield cold air, but Osian had never heard of cases where just being looked at could make one feel cold.
'And the last one is also strange. His form isn't properly defined.'
The one sitting on the sofa staring at this side looked like a person molded from darkness. Within the rippling darkness, only two eyes that seemed human were directed this way.
He was dressed in clothes suitable for active movement, but there was a sense of awkwardness somewhere. From what Osian had sensed so far, the Blood Brotherhood was mainly composed of hybrids of subspecies or monsters.
Grace Siker is an ancient vampire race. The second, Kudan, is a quarter ogre. Malina is a half-elf.
'Like that Snow tribe and the lizardman, they're probably ones who aren't accepted within their own races. That's why they've gathered together like this.'
That meant that shadow was also likely a hybrid of a subspecies or monster. Or perhaps something that had been experimented on with such monsters.
Did he read Osian's gaze? The shadow seemed to smile before standing up.
Wondering if he was going to provoke him, Osian watched his movements, and the shadow's appearance changed into a man in a white suit with a suspicious smile.
"Ronan?"
Ronan Roland. Osian unconsciously uttered the name at the sight of the broker standing before him. It was unmistakably Ronan's appearance. The outfit he usually wore was the same, as was his mask-like smile.
Then, the one who had transformed into Ronan changed into another form. He transformed into Grace in an instant, and then into Malina, who had guided Osian.
Then he returned to his original rippling darkness form.
"A doppelganger."
The doppelganger Osian knew was a slimy, oozing form. And usually, doppelgangers take on the form of the person they've seen and fix that form. Lupona was a typical example.
But the one before his eyes did not have a fixed form. He could even transform into various appearances. He was a doppelganger, but not one with the racial characteristic of fixing on a single form—a shapeshifter who could freely transform into whatever he wanted. That meant he was also a kind of variant.
'A variant doppelganger in a different sense from Lupona.'
And this place, where all these peculiar beings had gathered, was the Blood Brotherhood. Osian now understood why they were registered as a red terrorist organization.
Each one is truly powerful. Not just Malina and Kudan, but the rest of them were no ordinary beings. To raid this place aiming for their bounties? That would be nothing short of suicide.
Of course, Osian had been invited as a guest, so he had no such thoughts. At least, he had no intention of drawing his sword unless Daver, who was still emanating killing intent, attacked him.
"Are you going to keep standing there?"
Osian asked Daver. At the question, Daver flinched and then gritted his teeth behind his gas mask, as if he couldn't back down. Perhaps it hurt his pride to be looked down upon. Some firm belief was felt that made it impossible for him to back down.
"If you're going to continue like that, then come at me. I warned you before, but this time it won't end with just an arm."
As Osian spoke, the starlight flared up in his eyes. Though it was just a moment, that flash of stellar fire made Daver swallow hard.
His legs, which had been trying to stand firm, trembled. How could he forget that heavenly light which cut through his magic and ultimately severed his arm?
For Daver, the starlight was an extreme trauma. Just facing that light made him recall the terrifying memory of fighting Osian.
"Ugh, ungh."
As Daver retreated in fear, the lizardman Krollakia stepped forward.
"Come on, Daver. Calm down. The things you're worried about won't happen."
Krollakia patted Daver's shoulder with his sharp, rugged hands, with an imperceptible gentleness. His tail also moved cunningly like a snake, held Daver's waist, and pulled him back.
Daver's trembling stopped, but he did not dare to meet Osian's eyes. Seeing Daver's broken spirit, Osian withdrew his hostility.
"Indeed, you are a strong person."
The werewolf leaning against the wall spoke up. It was a very young and graceful voice. Unexpectedly for the wild image of a wolf, the pronunciation was even crisp. Like a gentleman from somewhere.
Not just that, but everyone was feeling it. The power contained in Osian's starlight that had flashed momentarily.
If anyone dared to face it, none present would remain unscathed.
"Whew. To think that even with this body, I'm breaking out in cold sweat."
The doppelganger variant said, waving his hand.
"I'm the fourth, Eren. As you might have guessed, I'm a doppelganger hybrid."
"Hybrid?"
"Well, my father was a doppelganger. An odd being who loved a human. But that's all in the past."
Eren shook his head as if to say that story was over. There must be some difficult past that he couldn't talk about. But aside from that, he seemed to have a more talkative disposition than expected and introduced the other siblings.
"This snow-white child here is the fifth, Senaka. She's a Snow tribe albino. Of course, despite her appearance, she's quite old, so don't treat her too much like a child."
The girl called Senaka nodded slightly.
"And the werewolf posing over there is the third brother, Delford. He's literally a werewolf, but despite his appearance, he's the only bloodline of an ancient beast species."
"A bloodline created by desire, I suppose."
Delford corrected him, perhaps finding something disagreeable.
"The lizardman you met earlier is Krollakia. Well, you'd already met the second brother and Malina, so you should know them."
"I'm Osian. A knight, but working as a fixer in this city."
Since the introductions were over, Osian went straight to the point.
"I heard Grace Siker had a problem."
"Ah, right. That's why I had Malina call you."
Eren shrugged.
"Big sister is in that room inside. Go in."
Indeed, a unique presence had been felt from inside that room. Osian walked with confident steps to the door of the room where Grace was waiting and knocked lightly.
The door opened with a thud, and Kudan, whose large figure filled the doorway, appeared.
"The lady is waiting."
Kudan let Osian inside and then went out to the living room, leaving the two alone in the room.
Osian stared at the closed door.
Although he had vacated the spot, it was felt that Kudan was waiting right outside the door. Kudan didn't try to hide it either.
'A strong declaration of intent to respond if I make even the slightest wrong move.'
Osian carefully examined the room. He had noticed it from the outside, but it was a shabby building with just the basic necessities. Of course, the interior was equally shabby and furnished with only the minimal furniture necessary for living.
Naturally, Osian's gaze was drawn to Grace sitting on the bed.
Not only was there nothing else to look at, but her characteristic long black hair caught his eye in a strange way.
"Oh my, you came?"
Osian felt something was wrong when he saw her smiling at him.
"I heard there was a big problem, but it seems that was a complete lie."
He had thought Malina was panicked because Grace had suffered a fatal injury, but that wasn't the case. There were no visible external injuries. Grace Siker was much more robust than he had thought.
"Did Malina say that? That child worries too much."
Although she was making excuses, saying that Malina had misunderstood. Would someone as skilled in killing as Malina be stupid enough to mistake her big sister for being injured when she was fine?
"It seems you were actually badly injured. The wound itself healed quickly and you're fine now, but you pretended to be serious."
"Well, I've been found out."
It was a predictable story since Grace was a vampire. Perhaps the whole process was groundwork for inviting him here.
"What's the reason for putting on this show to call me here? And to a place like this where all your siblings are gathered."
"Do you remember what I told you through Malina?"
"You said you knew about my power. And that you wanted to confirm it. If you called me here under false pretenses."
Osian showed the sword hanging at his waist.
"Then you'll have to pay the price for making me come all this way. Not just you, but all your siblings."
Grace silently smiled. It was a seductive smile that enchanted the opposite sex. But beneath that smile, Grace had to steel herself.
She realized through his clear voice that Osian's words were not a bluff. And he had the power to carry out exactly what he said.
'His power has grown even stronger than before.'
When she first met him, she thought she could catch him at the cost of one of her eyes if he was unarmed. But now it's the opposite. She wasn't even sure if she could take one of Osian's eyes.
"I have no desire to be hostile to you. Perhaps in the past, but especially not now. And the reason I called you is absolutely not a lie. I found the track of that power you are presumed to possess."