Lukai was unmistakable. His trademark red scarf was proof of that.
'Of course, there might be idiots who admire Lukai and imitate him.'
Osian himself had experienced the same thing. People who claimed to admire him started wielding swords. Those who wore armor were the cute ones. There were even those who called themselves knights despite never becoming one.
In that sense, simply wearing just a scarf could be looked upon favorably as fashion.
'Whatever the case, the Lukai before my eyes is real.'
Osian had seen him. In District 1, on the sky island Celestia, he had crossed blades with that bastard. That sensation when facing him directly. The knight's razor-sharp intuition recognized Lukai as the same enemy he had seen that day.
"You are..."
And surprisingly, it was the same for Lukai as well.
Though Osian wore a hood and covered his face, that distinctive atmosphere couldn't be hidden. Beyond that, Lukai's exceptional eye for recognizing people was outstanding.
Osian's sword changed trajectory as it moved. Like a living snake, its sinuous path attempted to bite at Lukai's vital spots.
Lukai hastily raised his weapon. It was the monkey wrench he had seen before. Clang! The red-painted wrench calmly blocked the area Osian was targeting.
'Indeed. I felt it then too, but his combat-related abilities are considerable.'
Lukai was known to specialize in shaking people's psychology and winning over public sentiment. It wasn't wrong. However, due to such rumors, his other strengths weren't revealed.
Lukai's movements blocking Osian's sword now were like that. Though they had clashed once in Celestia, he realized anew. That bastard was quite skilled in combat as well.
'Even so, he doesn't actively reveal his strengths. If he did, he'd only increase his opponent's wariness. If others looked down on him, he would gladly bow his head accordingly.'
That way he could induce his opponent's carelessness. Only when they let their guard down could he create an opportunity to stab a dagger into his opponent's nape.
It was a fighting style so obsessed with victory it was vicious. Perhaps this was the path Lukai had walked.
Fighting without honor. An extreme environment where only victory must be seized. For him, matches were always tightrope walks between the boundaries of life and death.
'But that ends now too.'
Osian never let his guard down. That meant starting with half of Lukai's advantages already killed. Osian pressed Lukai. His movements became more intense as if shifting gears. Even Lukai, who had been calmly blocking Osian somehow, could be felt panicking.
Lukai had recognized that Osian was stronger than him, but he was stronger than expected. What was even more surprising was that Osian hadn't yet shown his true power.
If he really had, Lukai would have disappeared into powder along with this entire area.
The pure reason he didn't was due to Osian's curiosity.
"You know too. From the moment you faced me at this close distance, your defeat was decided."
Lukai didn't answer. Precisely, he didn't have the luxury to.
The reason Osian didn't kill Lukai in one blow. It was because this commission wasn't to bring back Lukai's head.
He didn't harbor great ill feelings toward Lukai to kill him rashly. There was the fight in District 1 and it was true that he brought chaos to the city.
'Ironically, he's also someone who brings hope at the same time.'
The city's high-ups, the rulers, would consider Lukai's existence an impurity and want to remove him as quickly as possible. But in Osian's view, Lukai was in some sense a necessary evil for the city.
Light flashed in Lukai's eyes.
'Damn, his intuition is disgustingly sharp.'
That bastard had gained some kind of conviction that Osian wouldn't kill him. This is why he could cause a revolution great enough to overthrow a nation. His senses in this area were exceptionally superior to others.
Lukai's offensive changed. He who had been protecting his body moved a bit more aggressively.
'But that doesn't change anything.'
Just not killing him - there were plenty of other ways to subdue him.
"Tirna has a well-developed prosthetic industry. Cutting off one unused arm wouldn't be noticeable."
This wasn't just a verbal threat but sincere. If he cut off one of his arms, he would stop thrashing about like a freshly caught fish.
"I'm ambidextrous."
"You have more humor and sense than I thought. If you really hate it, one leg wouldn't be bad either."
Pure white flames began rising from Osian's sword. Lukai let out a sigh. It was closer to frustration at having to reluctantly reveal a hidden card rather than facing an opponent he couldn't handle.
"Did you come to capture me? If not, there's no reason for us to fight."
"That's not for you to decide."
Perhaps because his voice clearly indicated there would be no compromise. Eventually Lukai was about to reveal his hidden card.
That was the moment.
"Lukai!"
The limping man he had seen before appeared and swung a jet-black sword at Osian. It was a strike meant to somehow push Osian away from Lukai.
Osian sneered at such a guy.
"I showed mercy once before, and now you crawl up here without any sense."
Slash!
The clearly risen starlight sword cut the jet-black sword in half. That too wasn't ordinary material, but it wasn't enough to block Osian's sword that had reached the extreme of starlight.
Beyond the panicking limping man, bullets came flying.
Osian avoided them by turning his head left and right, then burrowed into the limping man's inside.
"Guk! Damn!"
A Liberation Army executive providing support fire from afar let out a groan. Being close to the limping man, he might accidentally hit his comrade.
But he soon made a firm decision and fired the gun attached to his prosthetic again.
Pook!
The bullet penetrated the limping man's thigh and aimed precisely at Osian's knee.
Seeing this, Osian frowned. Normally in such situations, one wouldn't even think of pointing the gun barrel, yet he pulled the trigger. Even though he shot avoiding vital spots, shooting at a comrade you've shared hardships with isn't easy.
'It's possible because of an unimaginable bond.'
Right. He honestly admits it. Osian had underestimated their bond.
'But you underestimated me too.'
Clang!
The bullet aimed at his knee bounced off. Osian's leg was already encased in pure white armor. That wasn't all. What seemed like a waterfall of light overflowed from his shoulders and flowed down like a cloak.
The cloak moved and struck down an executive who had fallen from above, collapsing the ceiling. It was the pierced woman he had seen before, who wielded dangerous weapons that looked like scissors.
"What a great catch."
For the executives of the most important force here to gather. There were even guys he hadn't seen on the sky island. Like the old man holding a giant hammer, for instance.
Had the city government known, they would have mobilized the military to pour massive firepower over the entire area.
"Grr! This bastard!"
Other executives gritted their teeth and tried to stop Osian. Their determination to protect Lukai somehow was evident. Osian never avoids fights that come to him. His sword pushed away the bonfire's light and swallowed the surrounding area.
He was now holding a blazing star in one hand. That brilliance instilled endless psychological intimidation in the enemies facing him.
However the Liberation Army never retreated.
'Eyes prepared for death.'
People with such eyes never yield or compromise. Osian didn't dislike such people. If he had to categorize, he belonged to the side that liked them. But they were now in an adversarial relationship.
This made him feel as if he had become a villain. Osian removed his hood with an expressionless face.
"Come."
Just as the executives exchanged glances and were about to rush simultaneously.
"Stop!"
Lukai intervened. The executives seemed flustered, not expecting their leader Lukai to step forward and stop them.
Lukai sent his gaze to those executives then turned to look at Osian.
Step.
"What are you trying to do now?"
The moment he turned around, Osian had already approached within arm's reach and pointed his starlight sword at his neck. If he moved even slightly, his neck would be cut off.
"Lukai!"
The executives shouted from behind, but Lukai waved his hand saying it was okay.
"To restrain your subordinates with an enemy right before you. Do you really want to die?"
"If you really wanted to kill me, you'd just cut my neck here and be done with it."
Lukai spoke in a detached voice.
"And let me tell you, they're not subordinates. They're comrades."
"..."
Osian frowned. For such words to come out even in this situation. However, Lukai's last words were certainly effective.
Not subordinates but comrades. Just looking at how the Liberation Army executives treated Lukai, one could see how tight their bond was.
If those guys weren't the Liberation Army but fixers, they might have become a second Violet Fox. Ironically, Osian saw Violet Fox's comrades overlapping in the city's impurities.
"And you have no intention of killing me. If you did, it would have been over long ago."
"You evaluate me quite highly."
"You're the hero who saved District 17. It might be underestimating instead. Though I pride myself on having an eye for people, you're so endless that I don't know where your skills reach."
"So, you're going to gild me to get out of this situation?"
"No. It's a kind of negotiation. You're called a hero, but from what I see, your ego is stronger in other ways. The fact that you're doing fixer work now is one of those reasons."
His eye for people was indeed excellent. Lukai grasped what kind of person Osian was in one go. Normally when pointed out like this, one would get upset and act contrarily.
'He must have spoken considering even that part.'
Right. Honestly speaking, he was curious. What exactly was he trusting to come out so boldly?
"A negotiation. What can you give me that makes you speak so confidently?"
"What you want. The fact that you came here as a fixer means you received a commission. That our Liberation Army would be plotting something in District 44."
"You know well. Actually..."
Osian only turned his gaze, glancing at the heretics still frozen in place.
"You are plotting something."
"There seems to be some misunderstanding. Those people aren't what you think they are."
"How do you know what I'm thinking?"
"The District 17 incident. Aren't you worried that something similar might happen?"
Osian let out a laugh. Since he'd come this far anyway, trying to hide it would be more of a novice move.
"You know well."
"They're not the kind of heretics you think. Rather, they're pitiful people who deserve sympathy."
"So the Liberation Army was helping them?"
"What's wrong with that? People want to live, so extending a helping hand is possible."
"..."
Osian looked at the people presumed to be heretics. They were frozen in place, terrified. He didn't feel the brutality of Eternal Church believers.
"They're just a minority religion that believes in gods that aren't mainstream. Though they look like that, it's just that we don't understand - it's merely their own religious culture."
After the District 17 incident, the view of religion within Tirna became considerably negative. The major religion, the Petra Order, was fine, but other religions weren't.
They fled to escape persecution and oppression. The place they flowed into was District 44.
"Is helping such people so wrong?"
Lukai gazed at Osian with unwavering eyes. It wasn't acting to get out of the situation. Osian could distinguish such things immediately.
'He's sincere.'
Lukai was someone with conviction. People like that had something in common. Once they set a goal, they never gave up, even if they died.
Osian slowly lowered the starlight sword he had pointed at Lukai's neck.
"I'll at least listen to your story."
Lukai glanced at Osian's holy light sword and nodded.
"Right. But we need to move locations first. Trackers are always watching us."
Osian's eyes narrowed. Trackers wouldn't just mean himself alone. His gaze turned toward the darkness where the bonfire's light didn't reach. He could feel presences secretly moving there creeping over his skin.
"...Greta."
Osian kicked off from his position and rushed out.