Osian looked down at Alpha quietly. The creature was bleeding from all over its body. Red blood gushed out through the gaps in its armor. Neither the skin covered with dragon scales, nor the ogre's strong muscles and bones, nor the mutant's supernatural abilities, nor the super-regeneration ability. They couldn't withstand the collision of forces swirling inside the body.
"What the hell is this...?"
Cromwell muttered in confusion. Even his genius brain hadn't anticipated such a situation. Since he was confident that he had created a masterpiece that surpassed the original knight, the shock of the scene he was witnessing was equally great.
"Is that all?"
Osian asked Alpha. The creature had also managed to mix two characteristics. It had taken some damage, but it was tolerable enough. But from three onwards, it was different. The creature tried to stand up while staggering but ended up sitting back down.
The speed of collapse was faster than the speed at which the body was being restored in real time. Alpha gritted its teeth and tried to somehow coordinate the three characteristics, but it wasn't an easy task.
'Rather, it's impressive that it's still alive after failing like this.'
The Sun-Moon-Star-God technique is a very dangerous power. The moment even the slightest error occurs in coordinating the three forces, the misaligned powers will rampage and tear the body apart from the inside. Its power is so great that even a sturdy knight's body cannot handle it. Though he hadn't seen it directly, it would probably decompose and disappear at the atomic level.
Just maintaining that form showed that Alpha's durability was truly transcendent. If the creature hadn't self-destructed, they might have had to fight much longer, exchanging attacks.
"Not bad. You're still holding on somehow."
Even while collapsed, Alpha didn't stop trying to get up. Even though the excruciating pain of being torn in ten thousand directions must have been flowing through it, the creature didn't give up.
Was it because the fight wasn't over yet, so it couldn't give up?
Osian liked that attitude of the creature. When he first saw it, its eyes were arrogant, making him wonder what kind of creature it was, but it turned out to have a proper mindset.
'But there are things that can't be done with willpower alone. The body is too severely damaged to continue fighting like this. Even that impressive super-regeneration can't repair it.'
As Osian expected, Alpha eventually couldn't get up and collapsed on the floor with a thud. The creature lay sprawled on the floor and looked up at Osian. Its eyes seemed full of resentment.
"I'll praise you for holding on well so far, but this is the end."
Osian slowly approached Alpha. The creature was going to die anyway. The power of Sun-Moon-Star-God doesn't disappear just because you try it and then cancel it.
The creature's body was being gnawed away in real time even now. Because of its too-powerful life force, it couldn't even die and was stuck like this. Others would have died without even a moment's pain, but Alpha had to continue feeling agony. The longer death was delayed, the greater the pain would become.
So before that, he intended to show at least some mercy.
That was the moment.
"I wanted to surpass you."
Osian paused. He hadn't expected Alpha to not only open its mouth but actually speak.
But thinking about it, it wasn't entirely impossible. Since it was an experimental subject that Cromwell had put his best effort into creating, it would naturally have some intelligence.
'Actually, during the fight, it tried to learn the opponent's movements and respond to them.'
Having the qualities that an intelligent being should show meant that linguistic communication wasn't impossible either. Rather, since it needed to learn and master things quickly, it was natural for it to have considerably high intelligence.
Still, to think it would address an enemy like this. As Osian stared quietly, Alpha continued speaking.
"That's a look of surprise. I knew I was a created being. I also knew that the scientist over there had high expectations for me. So I wanted to live up to them. That was the entirety of my worth. Cough! But in the end, I'm in this state."
Alpha coughed up blood while speaking. He was crumbling rapidly from the inside. Even so, Alpha didn't stop talking.
"What exactly was I lacking? I was superior to you in every aspect. There's no way I couldn't do what you can do."
"You're overconfident in yourself. You're nothing but a fake after all."
"Genius scientists gathered to create me. All their technological prowess is embedded in me. Was that, was that so insufficient? Were their efforts so futile?"
In Alpha's glistening gaze, there was a kind of respect for the scientists. This was more unexpected than anticipated. Since it was an arrogant creature, he thought it would look down on the scientists who created it too, but that wasn't the case. Following Cromwell's words wasn't because Cromwell had implanted something in the creature's brain, but because it followed of its own will.
"What's your reason for following that mad scientist to such an extent?"
"Although I was created, in the end, it was Cromwell who made and raised me. If a father exists, he would be my father. So how could I refuse?"
"Even if it's a father, you could refuse if he gives unjust orders or suggestions. But you willingly tried to follow. What's the reason?"
There wasn't even a trace of regret in the creature's eyes. It wasn't because it couldn't refuse. It stepped forward because it wanted to do it.
"This world is unstable. Dangers are still scattered everywhere. There are countless things that could cause humanity's extinction at any time, anywhere."
What Alpha brought up was unexpected.
"Uncontrolled dangers threaten the species' well-being. Scientists, including my father, tried to research and control them in order to survive. For humanity. Because destruction is approaching this world."
The moment Osian saw Alpha's eyes, he realized that this creature knew about the future threats coming to this world. And if Alpha knew, it meant Cromwell knew too.
"I acknowledge that you're strong. Perhaps this might be the most effective key to eliminating the future threats that are coming. But the only one capable of that is the original, you. Other knights can't do it."
Alpha struck at a painful spot sharply. Knights are strong, but they require a lot of time to train. The training methods are also harsh, so unless one is really determined, they can't even keep up with the training. The reason knights walked the path of decline after the birth of firearms was for that reason.
"Not everyone can become as strong as you. And you alone cannot resist the coming destruction. What's needed is forces that can be reinforced immediately. Not one perfect superhuman, but multiple super-soldiers."
Artificial knights could be said to be the best soldiers from that perspective. They receive information injected into their brains for skills, are granted abilities, and since they possess strong bodies from birth, no training is necessary.
They are rapidly completed and born in cultivation facilities.
"But that's over now too. I was defeated in the end."
He definitely thought he could win. Even though Osian had always shown miraculous moments in times of crisis, this time there was enough calculation that it was possible. However, as always, variables that weren't anticipated occurred in the world. No matter how much you think about and try to control countless variables, unexpected events happen somewhere.
No matter how smart a human is, they're not omnipotent. They just know a lot, but don't know everything. Therefore, the chaotic variables occurring in unknown territories create unintended futures. Whether that will help humanity is unknown. That's why humans fear the unknown and try to control it even more.
'I don't know if that's right, but their attempt is understandable.'
But he couldn't truly empathize. The experiments that the White House, led by Cromwell, committed for that purpose were terrible.
"My desire to defeat you was largely motivated by a sense of greater good. But secretly, part of me wanted to cross swords with someone as strong as you. I wanted to know if I was truly qualified for such a thing. Even though I knew it was an unnecessary emotion, I couldn't stand it. Maybe it's the influence of you, the original."
Osian acknowledged Alpha because he felt the same thing.
"You were strong. Rather, if you had shed other unnecessary abilities and focused more on technique, you might have been able to defeat me."
Alpha let out a bitter laugh.
"Meaningless flattery. Even if I had done that, you would have achieved victory through another method. Fighting you made me realize. Even though I was stronger in power, from the perspective of certain victory, you had the advantage. Although I was created, I truly feel respect as a knight."
It felt strange to receive respect from an artificial knight with the same appearance as himself. Osian drew his Starlight Sword and approached Alpha.
"Any last words?"
Alpha looked straight into Osian's eyes and said:
"You must win."
Osian nodded. Swoosh! The Starlight Sword pierced Alpha's heart. Alpha's body trembled, then closed its eyes with a peaceful expression.
Whoosh...
Starting from the heart, Alpha's body scattered into white glowing particles. In the light, the powers of Starlight, Moon Scar, and Sun Ring were mixed together.
That power was drawn to Osian, who had stronger gravitational force. Osian completely absorbed all the power that Knight Prime Alpha possessed.
Having finished collecting, Osian stared at Cromwell. He had stayed in place without running away until the situation was concluded. It might be because he knew running away would be useless.
"Stay still."
A chilling sensation touched Cromwell's neck. It was a long awl that would pierce his carotid artery with the slightest movement.
"Serendipity."
"Shut up. Don't call me by that name."
Seren brought the restraints she had prepared and tied Cromwell's arms behind his back. She pushed Cromwell's back forcefully and approached where Osian was.
"You're surprisingly not shocked."
Osian said while looking at Cromwell. For someone whose Alpha had been defeated after giving its all, he seemed very calm.
"Did you know you would lose?"
"How could that be? I just did my best and lost, so I'm accepting reality. I'm different from those brats who whine when things don't go as they think. To become a scientist, you have to taste countless failures."
Although Cromwell was called a genius of the century, he hadn't been without failures. The countless experiments and research results he achieved were completed by accumulating failures. Failure was familiar. The tears of indignation he might shed had already been swept away in the past.
"Cromwell. You're finished now."
"Yes. That might really be the case. I can't think of any suitable method."
Seren frowned at that sight. She kicked Cromwell behind the knee, forcing him to kneel. Seren grabbed Cromwell's hair and forcibly lifted his head.
Osian asked Cromwell:
"Did you know about the threats coming to this world?"
"Of course I know. How could I not know? The beings from other worlds crossing over from other dimensions. I also know how terrible they are. I'm a scientist. Think about how many experiments the White House conducted under the city government's guidance at one time. I also know that the pinnacle of civilization tore through the dimensional veil and those things came in from beyond."
"Have you been conducting experiments to prevent that?"
"I know my experiments can never be accepted from the world's perspective because it's something that stakes people's lives but I had to do it anyway. If I didn't do it that way, humanity couldn't respond."
A kind of madness and obsession could be felt in Cromwell's voice.
"I tried to compromise and do it in a way without friction. But in that case, the estimated time to reach the target values was more than 300 times longer. Law and ethics, morality and conscience. If humanity as a whole perishes while trying to uphold those, how ridiculous would that be? In the end, even such spiritual values can only be pursued after surviving."
"Why didn't you tell the city government? If you had told them the truth, they would have at least preserved your authority."
"People are foolish. Even if it's the truth, they reject and can't accept what they don't understand. No matter how much I tell the truth, they'll close their eyes and cover their ears, focusing only on the results I've created. It's a feast of fools."
"That doesn't justify conducting human experiments on people."
"I know."
"You know?"
"I knew and still did it because preventing destruction and bringing stability to the world comes first. As long as I can prevent destruction, I don't mind being pointed at however much. If I can obtain peace that way, I'll gladly die buried under the pile of stones thrown by those who condemn me in the world after peace."
Osian stared into Cromwell's pupils. His gaze showed not an inch of wavering.
"...You're sincere."
"Are you joking right now!"
Seren pointed the awl at Cromwell's neck. Her hand was trembling with anger.
"You knew and still did it? You'll die knowing? That's what you're going to say now, in front of the person you experimented on!"
"Didn't I say? I'll gladly bear the condemnation."
"Shut up! Doctor Cromwell, do you know why I haven't killed you here?"
"Of course I know. It's because of that ability of yours."
"If you know that, tell me right now. How can I get rid of this ability?"
"I don't know."
At Cromwell's confident words, Seren's expression froze coldly.