Red Eternity hastily withdrew his hand from Basilio. For the first time, emotion dwelt in his large eyes. It was anger.
—How dare you pull such a pathetic trick before me.
Red Eternity's hand looked down at the burned hand. The wound scorched by starlight would not heal easily. That bastard again. That knight who interfered with him at every turn.
"This is..."
Basilio was equally surprised. The pure white flames blazing across the surface of his mask were unmistakably the flames of starlight.
"How on earth?"
How could he receive power from Osian in this world of imagery? Basilio recalled a scene that flashed through his mind.
'Could it be from that time?'
When his mask was removed for the first time and Osian picked it up, he had handed it over directly. He hadn't realized it then, but looking back, that was the only thing that made sense.
Osian had infused the mask with starlight energy in that brief moment. Thanks to that, he had dealt a blow to Red Eternity, which was grateful, but also worrying.
'Is this... alright?'
Basilio was ultimately a lich. Moreover, he was an outer lich, a subspecies among liches born from receiving Red Eternity's life force.
Because of what he was, Osian's starlight power could only be incompatible. He had certainly thought so, but what on earth was this?
'It's surprisingly fine. I even feel warmth.'
That was an even more unusual sensation. Since becoming a lich, Basilio had lost almost all the five senses he had possessed as a human.
Without a tongue, there was no sense of taste, and without skin, there was no sense of touch. He saw the world with his two eyes, but it was different from simply seeing the world through eyeballs and optic nerves. His sense of smell had become sensitive in a different way and his hearing was decent, but it was undeniably something an ordinary person would find hard to endure.
Naturally, he had never felt warmth since becoming a lich. He had forgotten warmth. Sometimes he couldn't even remember when he had been human.
The only thing that allowed him to endure this was his desire for revenge against the Eternal Church. But that wasn't entirely all there was to it.
He still had a reason to survive, a purpose to endure in this harsh world.
'Yes. Even if just once more, if only I could see her smiling face.'
Whoosh!
Flames blazed in Basilio's chest. It was pure white light burning brilliantly in this blood-red world. Though it burned alone and lonely, it was more dazzling than anything, so Red Eternity dared not approach.
Basilio felt as if his heart was beating. The pulse he could no longer feel made his chest burn hot.
"So this is what it felt like."
In this moment, Basilio felt alive again. Not as the lich Basilio, but as the living human Julius.
Whoosh! The pure white flames extending from his heart spread throughout his entire body, expanding from the entire mask in all directions.
—How dare you.
Red Eternity was enraged at the sight of Basilio.
—To brandish that detestable power before me. You cannot refuse the predetermined future of destruction. Only I can save you from it.
Red Eternity extended his arm toward Basilio. As if telling him not to be bound by such trivial power and to take his hand.
The voice that had felt oppressive until then changed to something melodious enough to be pleasant to hear for the first time. Red Eternity whispered.
Eternal life. Endless glory. He could grant all of that if only he would take his hand.
—The woman you love, I can take her in as well.
Red Eternity even mentioned Plimene, Basilio's greatest weakness.
—She is a weak human. Even if she lives long, she won't last another 50 years. Even when she leaves, you will have to continue living like that. But child, I am different. I can make everyone in the world forget death. A world of perfect transcendence where even fear has disappeared.
There was one reason believers followed Red Eternity: immortality through powerful life force.
They wanted to continue this life by forgetting the fear of death.
Death comes equally to everyone. No one doesn't fear it. What truly made death frightening was that it came not only to oneself but also to the beloved ones they cherished.
Parents, spouses, children, friends, comrades who shared their souls. Where would there be a person who wouldn't grieve at the fact that they would die?
No matter how much the roots were pulled out, the reason the Eternal Church never disappeared was this: overcoming fear.
Furthermore, a world of pure land where no one lost precious people, where there was no sadness.
—Open your eyes and face reality. Only I can give you what you desire. Cast aside your fears and submit to me. Through this, you shall obtain salvation.
"Salvation? What a nice word."
Basilio did not avoid Red Eternity's gaze.
"I too once wanted salvation. No, it's the same even now. I pretend to be fine, but I still desire salvation. I wish this tiresome life would end, that the happiness of the past would return once more."
Whoosh!
The starlight flames burning throughout Basilio's body blazed strongly as if oil had been poured on them.
"But that's not something you can obtain by begging someone else. Salvation obtained by kneeling, praying, and submitting is nothing more than an empty shell."
The flames grew stronger, swirling around like a storm. Though Osian had provided the spark, it was Basilio's will that fanned the flames strongly.
Basilio realized why his junior Osian had given him such power.
"Only I myself can save me."
-Whoooosh!
Brilliant radiance painful to look at devoured the world of imagery that Red Eternity had created.
-Bang!
What happened in the world of imagery affected reality as well. The starlight flames bursting from Basilio's body sent Red Eternity's body flying far away.
Red Eternity, who had rolled on the ground once, sprang up from his position. His eyes, distorted with anger, writhed in the angel's chest.
Crack! With an eerie sound, the red angel underwent transformation.
Sharp wings made of bone and thorns grew from his back. His muscles swelled, making him larger, and his limbs grew grotesquely.
He had truly transformed like an angel, as his name suggested. A very terrible angel. Countless eyes grew on the part where the red angel's face was located.
Though he had been driven out of the world of imagery, it didn't matter. He could just use his power to crush them as they were. It was then that Red Eternity approached Basilio.
-Whoosh!
Hot heat spread and engulfed Red Eternity's entire body. Red Eternity unknowingly went down on one knee and collapsed with a thud.
Countless eyes trembled as if wandering. Red Eternity couldn't understand what was happening.
Belatedly, he realized this heat wasn't Basilio's doing. Red Eternity's gaze turned in one direction. It was where the heart he had squeezed through a gap was located.
"Aren't you ignoring me too much?"
The voice was heard. It was the knight in brilliant sun armor who was watching this way, facing the heart.
"You should have at least not let your guard down."
—This damned bastard!
Explicit words burst from Red Eternity. Regardless, Osian intensified the sun's energy even more.
Knowing that Red Eternity was targeting Basilio, he intended to interfere with it somehow.
The area around Osian, where he had planted his flag, was purified land that did not permit external beings.
From beyond, corrupted beings tried to cross the boundary several times, but each time they were scattered as ash in the heat of the sun.
The eyes of Red Eternity, existing beyond space, became distorted. Hissssss.
The density that had eroded the atmosphere became thicker. The thick smell of blood that seemed to choke one's breath pressed against Osian from all sides.
The space of purification that Osian had spread began to be slowly pushed back. The corrupted beings, influenced by Red Eternity's energy, became more ferocious and gigantic.
They confirmed that Osian's domain was narrowing and gradually tightened their encirclement.
Osian examined the flag. The banner of the sun was trying hard to resist, but it looked quite overwhelmed to block Red Eternity's interference.
'He is strong. In a pure power-versus-power contest, I'm bound to be at a disadvantage.'
Unfavorable conditions had been attached to Red Eternity, but the same was true for this side. He had fought countless battles to get here, and had consumed considerable stamina and mental strength in the fight with Cardinal Zaxilos.
But there wasn't completely no way.
'Time is not infinite for him. He exercises his influence on this space, but that too has a time limit.'
In other words, this was a fight where this side would win just by holding out. But it didn't seem like he could restrain the bastard by simply going on the defensive.
Right now, Red Eternity was trying to expand his influence by somehow using his power.
The reason he was trying to use Basilio as a vessel was also for this reason. The moment a proper gateway was created, he would project incomparable power compared to before.
He had protected Basilio for now, but that was just getting over one wave.
'To stop the several waves that will come, I must step forward.'
The power of the sun that he had reclaimed from Zaxilos had certainly been a great help to him. But it wasn't enough. With this power alone, he couldn't respond perfectly to that bastard.
'The sun is strong. But that's power to protect only myself. I can't completely cover this entire surrounding area.'
That could be seen as a disadvantage of knights specialized only in personal combat. In this situation, mages or priests would be most efficient as alternatives, but unfortunately, there were no such people here.
Osian had to overcome this crisis with his own power alone, without anyone's help. Then what should he do?
'There is a way.'
One method flashed through Osian's mind. According to his calculations, it would be more than sufficient. The only problem was that he had never attempted it even once.
'If I make a mistake, I could be in danger. This is a kind of gamble. I have no choice but to rely on low probability.'
If it were a situation where he could fight one-on-one cleanly, it might be different, but this was about stopping the opponent from expanding their influence and crossing into this world.
He had to think of it not as a regular boss battle, but as a gimmick-type boss battle. Of course, there was the minor problem that he had to seize the gimmick to stop it with his own hands.
'Still, isn't it better than having no way out and biting my nails?'
At the same time, if not now, there would be no opportunity to attempt such a thing.
-Screech!
The corrupted beings approached closer and closer. Red Eternity extended more tentacles like his roots from the space beyond.
The entire heart became a grotesque sight, covered in red vines but at that moment, Red Eternity involuntarily flinched because Osian's aura had changed considerably.
—You bastard. What are you planning to do?
Red Eternity sent a psychic wave to Osian. It was an attack that would make an ordinary human's head explode or brain melt just by hearing it. But Osian didn't budge as if he wasn't affected. As if he couldn't hear Red Eternity's words, he didn't even respond.
—How dare you.
It was the moment when Red Eternity was about to express anger at that behavior and give orders to the corrupted beings.
Hissssss.
A change occurred in Osian.
The ring of the sun that had risen behind him hummed and gradually stabilized. The rotation of the ring that had been spinning like a wheel stopped.
-Slide.
A new ring appeared above Osian's right shoulder. Unlike the sun, it was beautifully pure white in color. Unlike the ring of the sun that symbolized the sun, it was shaped somewhat more pointed and sharp, resembling a star.
-Whoooosh.
A new ring also appeared on Osian's left shoulder. Unlike the sun, this one drew a perfect circle with smooth edges, and within that circle, blue energy rippled like flowing waves. It was like looking at a full moon rising proudly in the sky.
Sun. Star. Moon.
The three energies formed a triangular formation, each burning in their own colors without encroaching on each other.
Powers that should normally be operated individually and could never be mixed were manifested simultaneously.
At that strange resonance, Red Eternity was involuntarily captivated.
The three energies maintained balance under Osian's guidance, creating intense waveforms.
"Triple Combination Technique. Sun, Moon, and Stars."
-Flash!
Osian's right eye shone with blue light, and his left eye shone with golden light.
Finally, a true knight of the heavens had descended to this place.