The ghost didn't speak.
There was nothing but darkness beneath its blue hood.
No mouth, no vocal cords to speak, and certainly no face to show emotion but Osian could tell that the ghost had responded to his words.
"I didn't recognize you at first. Your form, to say the least, is very different from what I remember."
The power of the sky knight.
The ghost before him embodied some of that power.
It was the 'third' possibility that Osian hadn't told Delan about.
The most unlikely answer was the right one.
Most of all, it was the presence of the ghost in front of him that piqued his curiosity.
It wasn't something inhabiting an object, or a person possessing it.It was literally a force of its own will, taking shape.
'At least if the shard of power I was supposed to possess was materialized, it would still take the form of a knight.’
A legless, flying reaper with a scythe, although, given how it freezes everything it slashes, that's kind of fitting.
"I'm a little surprised."
The starlight in the sword burned strongly.
The ghost was not deterred. The atmosphere froze around the bluish scythe, and a localized snowfall began.
"There's still plenty of time before Christmas begins."
No, there's no Christmas here in the first place.
Osian shrugged off the thought.
Now was the time to focus on the enemy in front of him.
At least, that's the 'power' he should have.
Letting his guard down could lead to fatal consequences.
-Zzzzzz.
The chill grew stronger.
The hallways of the mansion began to freeze, centered around the ghost.
The windows frosted over and sleet drifted down.
Even the carpet around the shoe froze, causing the should-be-fluffy thing to rustle.
-Ha.
Osian breathed out, and a white puff of breath escaped.
"Cold."
Before he could finish his rambling comment, the ghost lunged at him.
Perhaps it was holding onto the memory of his escape the day before.
Either that, or it realized that Osian's presence was its source.
The charging ghost was accompanied by a localized blizzard.
The scythe, wielded with great vigor, struck at Osian's collarbone.
The sharp blade was about to touch the hem of his coat but a pure white light suddenly intervened, blocking the blue blade.
Starlight danced as Osian quickly pulled his cloak down over his shoulders.
It was a cloak with feathers at the neck and long enough to reach the floor.
White on the outside, the cloak's lining was beautifully shaped to hold the Milky Way in the night sky.
Wrapped in nebula silk, Osian was impervious to the cold.
The cold that the ghost had scattered to slow down his opponent's movements only served to freeze the mansion itself.
-Boom!
The starlight collided with the frost, creating a beautiful flame.
Blue and white intertwined in the darkness.
It was like a white snake and a blue snake fighting to bite each other's throats.
Osian spun, and the nebula silk spun with him.
What should have been a mere cloak sharpened into a weapon, aiming for the ghost's side.
Not just a defensive skill, but a surprise strike that could be converted into an offense.
However the ghost was unfazed, soaring high into the air and clinging to the ceiling.
As if the world had been flipped 180 degrees, the ghost from the ceiling swung its scythe relentlessly, aiming for Osian's throat.
Osian calmly blocked the scythe with the Starlight Sword.
‘Oh no.’
Osian frowned.
He didn't care about the shock that echoed through his fingertips with each parry.
What mattered was the fine ice crystals that scattered along the scythe's trajectory.
It might seem like a cold effect, but it was a dangerous technique that could necrotize skin on contact.
Shards of crystal aimed for the face that Nebula's silk didn’t protect.
Breathe in the wrong way and your lungs would freeze, and if it got into your eyes, you'd go blind.
Given the viciousness of the disease, it was likely incurable even by the most renowned of priests.
The good news is that we now have prosthetic eyes that can replace missing eyeballs.
‘I don't think I'd want to replace a good eye with a machine.’
Osian shuffled backward.
The carpet squeaked as he stepped on it and by now, the floor was white and frozen solid.
The slightest loss of balance would increase the chance of slipping.
'He's skilled. He deliberately froze the ground, which is the axis of my swordsmanship.’
In order to perform swordsmanship, the stance is important.
Osian needs to use his legs to support the force of the blow but if the ghost froze the ground and made it difficult for him to balance, the power of his sword will be halved.
‘On the other hand, he is unaffected by the field he creates.’
Aside from floating through the air without legs, he deliberately accompanied his movements with sleet.
It blinds him and binds his legs.
Wielding the scythe wasn't all he had to offer.
Rather, it was a decoy.
‘Unlike the orthodox swordplay, where the opponent is stabbed in the face, this style of fighting uses all sorts of environmental factors to slow the opponent down.’
Yes.
That's the second trait a Sky Knight should possess.
It was the power of the moon.
"I don't know whether I should lament that I have to fight such a powerful foe, or admire my strength."
The ghost didn't answer.
It still struck, relentlessly, looking for an opening.
It seemed to say, "If you are truly my source, where is it?”
If you really are my source, prove it to me.
It didn't speak and didn't have eyes, but Osian felt that the ghost was strangely shouting.
"Yes, proof."
It was easier said than done and the ghost's combat style was quite difficult for Osian to deal with.
'Because when I PVP with other Knight players, they didn't use that method.’
There were a few status effects in the game: freezing and frostbite.
Knights with the Frozen talent were able to inflict these debuffs, and with their superior mobility, they would try to weave in and out of their opponents.
But at least they didn't freeze the field around them, or scatter crystal shards to apply pressure from all sides.
What was impossible in the game because of the system's limitations, is now possible in the real world because the constraints are gone.
For Osian, it was like fighting an enemy whose methods were completely new to him.
An unknown enemy with a new pattern of attacks he has never faced before.
In the game where he could die many times and respawn, he could try again, but in the real world, he only had one life.
Failure is death.
Standing on that precipice, Osian's mind was surprisingly calm.
"Yes."
There was even a smile on his lips.
"This is the fun part."
The ghostly scythe paused for a moment at the sight of that smile.
Osian hadn't noticed the ghost's reaction, as he was too caught up in the situation.
"Well then, shall we have a proper go at it?"
Osian, who had been playing defense, immediately changed his stance.
The nebula silk on his back split to the sides, forming wings.
Then, a white ring formed and stardust sprayed out. Osian's figure shot towards the ghost like a jet-powered fighter.
The ghost saw Osian approaching and swung its scythe.
Tiny blue crystals glittered along the scythe's trajectory, scattering like sand toward Osian’s face but just before the blue crystals touched his skin Osian's figure slumped to the ground and disappeared.
He had dodged the Nebula Silk's thrust by deflecting it vertically.
Osian stomped on the floor and slid toward the ghost.
The ghost brought its scythe upright and slammed it into the ground.
-Zzzzzzzz!
Sharp ice spikes shot out like hedgehogs from the frost on the ground.
If he tried to take a step, the sharp ice spikes would pierce the soles of his feet and come out through the instep.
Simply making the ground slippery wasn't the only thing the ghost could do but Osian didn't care.
He simply changed the direction of his momentum once more, and slammed into the wall.
......!
He could feel the ghost's surprise, as if it hadn't expected this.
All the while, Osian was stomping on the wall, stomping on the ceiling, and performing three-dimensional movements to get closer to the ghost.
"You're not the only one who uses unconventional methods."
Now that the system's constraints are gone Osian felt more free to unleash his abilities.
The Starlight Sword fell vertically.
The ghost raised its scythe to block. If he used enough force to knock Osian off, he would fall straight to the center of the sharp ice floor.
About to strike, the ghost saw Osian twist and kick in midair.
He didn’t use just a sword, but a melee combat technique.
This was also unexpected, but the ghost thought that it was fine.
Given the chill in the air, it was certain that Osian's legs would freeze.
The ghost's intentions changed, however, when it saw the starlight on Osian's legs.
Pure white gaiters wrapped from toe to knee.
Instead of covering his entire body, he had only spread out the starlight armor on his legs.
-Tsk.
The gaiters clamped down on the ghost's body.
The impact of the clean hit sent the ghost flying backwards.
It was a nimble and light creature, but that's what made each blow like this so deadly.
Osian didn't miss the chance.
-Thwack!
The gaiters he wore on only two legs shattered the awl on the ground.
He bent slightly, straining his thighs.
He fought along walls and ceilings, but in the end, his specialty was the orthodox way of fighting with his feet on the ground.
Osian stretched his flexed thighs, chasing after the bouncing ghost.
It tried to respond, somehow maneuvering itself into position in midair.
"Too late."
Once the attack was allowed, the battle was decided.
Osian's sword slammed into the ghost's scythe.
-Pow!
The ghost hadn't gotten into position, and the impact was too much for it to bear, and it lost its grip on the scythe.
The spinning scythe slammed into the ceiling.
Turning to the ghost on the floor, Osian stomped on its torso with his leg and pointed his sword at it.
"Sufficient proof."
*
With the fight over, Osian strolled slowly through the mansion.
When he reached the large central hall, the mansion's darkness was suddenly illuminated.
Osian didn't even frown at the sudden light.
Surrounding him were mages from the [Supreme] and Salaman schools and beyond them were David Goldiron and Marcy Goldiron.
"You didn't even show your nose while I was dealing with the ghost."
Osian smirked as he looked at the people who were turning on him.
"Was this the plan all along?"
"You were pretty useful for a fixer Delan hired, but you'd rather have been killed by a ghost."
David scoffed.
He didn't think Osian would be able to take down a ghost, but he didn't care.
"At least it's one less thing we have to deal with, so I guess that's a good thing."
Marcy smirked at David's comment.
"Still, it's a shame. You are looking pretty."
They made no attempt to hide their intentions.
"I see. You're going to finish stabilizing the house here, now that the lord is down. Is your goal to get rid of Delan?"
"If you knew, you should have run away."
Rachel glared at Osian.
"Unfortunately, I was on a mission."
"That's what brought all of us here, Fixer."
Riccario sneered at Osian and the Salaman mages around him laughed loudly.
It was a laugh filled with contempt.
"I single-handedly defeated a ghost that you could not defeat even with your combined efforts. Do you think you can defeat me?"
"Enough with the bluster. Defeating that ghost was unexpected, but it must have weakened you."
Riccario and the other members of his school unleashed their magic.
Osian shook his head in disbelief.
"You must be mistaken about something."
Starlight surrounded Osian's entire body.
From his pure white armor and cloak to the starlight sword in his hand.
"You should have fled."