The White House is a group formed by great scientists who transcended eras. They once had enough reputation and fame to wield considerable influence in Tirna.
However, due to their acts that abandoned law and morality, they were suppressed and expelled by the city government. Considering that Tirna is a city that turns a blind eye to most illegal activities if there's money involved, one could imagine how inhumane the experiments they conducted were.
'Indeed, the experiments those bastards conducted were so serious that human experimentation was just the baseline.'
The White House hid in the deep, dark places of the city to escape persecution. And they continued to carry on their secret experiments in the darkness.
'The White House is officially a disappeared group, but it's still alive and breathing in this city. Their technology is too outstanding to completely abandon.'
In fact, when the White House was eliminated, several companies at the time benefited from their leaked technology. And as a result, those companies saw their status rise dramatically in an instant. Considering that the conditions for corporate growth in Tirna are extremely harsh, this showed just how remarkable the White House's technology was.
'That's why they survived. From Tirna's perspective, it would have been troublesome to completely eliminate all of their technology.'
Even if they could seize the technology, utilizing that technology ultimately comes down to people. Naturally, those who can most effectively utilize technology are the scientists who invented that technology.
'Tirna officially drove out the White House, but in reality, there might have been some sort of deal. If they had set their minds to it, could the White House really have continued their experiments in secret?'
'I can only think there's a financier backing them from behind.'
Rather, because they weren't in an openly exposed environment, they would have had no qualms about continuing their experiments. Like fish in water, they would have more joyfully committed the experiments they had conceived in their minds but couldn't perform due to public scrutiny.
Seren Gracia brought news about such a White House. This was something that surprised even Osian. Judging by her reaction, it was presumed to be related to the White House. Since Seren never spoke to anyone about her past or activities, there was no way to know.
"What are those bastards up to?"
Osian was particularly convinced that there was some reason why Seren had come looking for him.
"Let's move locations first."
Seren looked around anxiously like someone uneasy.
Crackle.
For just a moment, Osian felt the illusion that Seren's body became blurry before returning to normal. It was as if her very existence had briefly experienced noise.
However, since it passed so quickly, Osian couldn't bring himself to ask about it. The fact that it was also connected to her abilities was one of the reasons he couldn't make hasty judgments.
The place Seren led him to was a quiet restaurant.
Perhaps it was a place she visited frequently, as Seren entered without the owner's permission. The burly owner, whose long-grown eyebrows made his eyes barely visible, simply wiped plates without saying anything.
The restaurant's third floor was structured with rooms for special guests. The two entered one of the rooms and sat facing each other.
"First, I apologize for suddenly bringing you here. But it was such an important and urgent matter."
"Setting aside suddenly appearing when you usually don't show yourself, the fact that you called me here like this means the White House you mentioned earlier is somehow related to me too."
"In a way, you'll have the closest connection to it."
"I thought so."
Osian vaguely thought this would be the case. In fact, he had several points of contact with the White House. And those were not good memories at all.
From the White House's perspective, Osian was both an enemy who had interfered with their experiments and a test subject they'd want to dissect.
'That's inevitable. The White House's technology, though they're enemies, is outstanding enough that I have to acknowledge it. They knew how to utilize not just simple magical engineering and mechanical engineering, but even ancient powers.'
Of course, their proud successful creation became a cold corpse under Osian's blade. But it was enough to attract their attention. Especially since at that time, Doctor Cromwell, who seemed to be the White House's leader, had directly spoken to him.
Osian also knew this fact, so he was wary of the White House, but they hadn't shown any notable activity recently.
'But they hadn't lost interest in me. Even now, there's still a strange presence lurking around Violet Fox.'
Since they were also moving as carefully as possible, he could only vaguely sense their observation but couldn't directly find and catch them. Actually, it was more due to the influence of them initially trying to cross the line, only to be completely dealt with by Asmer, Loraine, and Lupona.
'But it seems they've finally done something.'
Seren Gracia now held the key to that.
"Let me hear the story."
"First, let me tell you this. You probably know about my ability."
Osian nodded. Seren Gracia possessed abilities related to stealth. But to call this simple stealth would be an insult to Seren.
'More precisely, the ability to cross between dimensional rifts.'
Beyond hiding her appearance, she becomes unobservable by sound, smell, or any other means because she literally crossed dimensional rifts. In her eyes, there would be countless veils and curtains in this world. Seren peels back those curtains and moves beyond them.
'That's why she's not bound by location and is quite useful for secretly sneaking into places to gather information.'
Seeing how busy she'd been recently, it seemed she'd been actively utilizing this ability to track the White House's traces.
"This power crosses dimensional boundaries. However, I can't cross very far. Among countless layers, I can only peel back the outer layer or two and enter inside. Most importantly, this power isn't something I obtained by choice."
"Did you awaken it later like a mutant?"
Seren shook her head at Osian's question.
"It's more terrible than that. I was forcibly injected with this power by others."
"......"
Osian's mouth closed at the heavier topic than expected. Seren let out a bitter laugh.
"I know. I haven't told others about this. How could I tell them that I was actually a test subject of the White House?"
"......I see."
"Now I use it usefully, but this power isn't that great. It's actually dangerous too. As you know, if you cross dimensional veils, you might get swept up in them if you're not careful. Unlike the world we see now, if you peel back just one layer and cross over, different laws and forces operate. The moment you cross over, you have to be prepared to get swept up in them."
It seemed that unlike this reality's material plane, different forces existed in other realms. Even in the material plane, walking on land is different from entering water, so if the dimension is different, it goes without saying.
"I've been working as a fixer while somehow controlling this ability. And in my spare time, I've been tracking the White House's traces. You know what? Actually, when you first came here, I thought you were a White House test subject."
"Me?"
"It couldn't be helped. You weren't a mutant, enhanced human, or modified human, yet you showed physical abilities that ordinary humans couldn't display. And later you even spewed pure white flames from your sword. So I wondered if you might be the Doctor's new successful creation. Of course, that was my mistake."
"Do you want to find the White House that made you like this to cure your condition?"
"That's part of it, and revenge too. It's complicated in many ways. But this is certain: those bastards are beings that shouldn't exist in this world. And those bastards are now trying to do something serious involving you."
Osian straightened his posture. This was getting to the main point.
"Now I know who you are too. I obtained various information while following the White House's trail. They're very interested in you. They know more than others. For instance, about the legendary being that existed in the distant past, the [Knight of Heaven]."
"So they've found out that much after all."
The information gathering was impressive, but even more remarkable was their obsession. The power that knights wield is very unscientific to them. An unprecedented force that logic doesn't apply to. Regarding such mysteries, they somehow managed to compile information even by digging through ancient documents.
"I've really gotten involved with tenacious bastards."
"Yes. They're tenacious. And those tenacious bastards have started handling the powers of lost ancient beings, conducting experiments with them. And they've finally obtained a rare sample."
Seren said this while gazing at Osian.
"That's you."
"I've never provided them with anything."
"You yourself might think so. But you've been through many things recently, haven't you? They've been searching through every site where you've been active, collecting samples, like hair containing your genes."
Osian is human. Naturally, he has to eat and sleep. He has normal physiological functions, and naturally, a few strands of hair might fall during intense battles. The White House persistently tracked Osian's traces and collected numerous hair samples.
"Since they don't have the courage to directly touch you, they're trying to obtain at least fragments of clues containing those genes."
"But with the White House's technology, that alone would be sufficient."
"Right. They are now trying to create a new being by combining your genes with the powers of ancient beings and their own technology......"
Seren explained what she had seen that day. In the White House's secret laboratory where light doesn't reach, giant glass tubes filled with green liquid were full of curled-up human forms.
And above such glass tubes, these words were written:
"[Artificial Knight]."
Scientists who had lost morality and conscience had finally reached the point of creating new life.
"Artificial knights. Created by combining my genes, their test subjects."
"Yes. And they were growing at a really fast pace. Perhaps even now, as we're having this conversation, it's still progressing. I've seen many materials while reaching that point. And this is really dangerous. They're planning to use the artificial knights they've created to kill or capture you."
"Me? That's really interesting."
This wasn't sarcasm but genuine interest. They were saying they'd kill him using fake life forms created with his own genes.
Well, it wasn't actually impossible. Even with minimal imitation, the strength of artificial knights would be tremendous. On top of that, they've mixed in elements of other scientific achievements they've accumulated.
What would happen if they created legion-level beings that could slice through high-grade mutants with a single stroke?
"Since the city has become a mess, all sorts of bastards are starting to run wild."
No, rather, because the city was in such chaos, they were able to move more actively.
"I've heard the story well. As you said, I'm certainly not unrelated to this matter. Rather, since my life is being threatened, I have no choice but to step forward even more."
"That's why I need your help. The White House has always moved in secret. Officially, they haven't revealed themselves to the outside. But this time is different. They're moving unusually aggressively."
"If they move like that, the veil of secrecy they've maintained will be lifted."
"That's right. And that moment is the only opportunity to destroy their brains and hearts."
They probably aren't unaware of that danger. They consider this matter important enough to accept that risk. Or they might be that confident.
As soon as that thought ended Osian's gaze turned toward the store's outer wall. There wasn't even a glass window to protect privacy, but that wasn't particularly important.
His senses reached their peak. The world was unfolding before his eyes began to flow slowly. In the slowly flowing time, he could see the wall collapsing. And he could even see dull bronze-colored metal bursting through the collapsing wall.
It was a fist. A fist made of bronze. He wondered if it was a suit, but it wasn't.
"This is quite artistic for something trying to provoke me."
CRASH! What appeared by breaking through the wall was a knight wearing bronze armor. Yes. Not a person wearing a suit, but a knight. That armor obviously imitated the design of the armor Osian wore.
It was an artificial knight.
They had made the first move.