How to Live as a Knight After the Ending

Chapter 108: Setting  Sun (1)

Terence was puzzled by the Guardian’s transformation.

It was a natural reaction, given that he’d gone from wearing black full plate armor to a red robe.

Of course, it wasn’t really a suit at all, but it did have gloves over the vital areas.

His head was covered by a red hood, and a red cloth mask was placed over his mouth.

His face was still hidden from view.

From within the shadows of the hood, a reddish glow once again emanated.

The figure of the Guardian had suddenly vanished.

Like a mirage in the desert, the Guardian vanished, and one after another appeared out of thin air.

Terence was dumbfounded by the splendor of their afterimages.

“Holy……!”

[There was no way that a brat who may possess great magical talent, but still lacks practical experience could deal with the contrasting power of [Lunar Eclipse]

Terence hastily deployed a defensive spell, but it was too late.

The chakram was right in front of him as a reddish-blood aura swirled around him.

‘Ah. I die…….’

Terence realized his own mortality in the slow passage of time.

Dying? So futile? There were still so many things he wanted to do.

As his thoughts swirled, starlight pushed through the red and flashed before his eyes.

-Boom!

Sparks flew, and the Guardian retrieved Chakram and stepped back.

Terrence realized in hindsight that he was alive, and looked up at his benefactor.

“You, you…….”

“Stay back.”

Osian said in a low voice.

Terence swallowed his pride the moment he heard those words, nodded, and slowly backed away.

One look at Osian’s expression and he knew he shouldn’t have intervened.

It was the same for Balud.

Sensing Osian’s unnerving momentum, he joined Terence.

“What do you think he’s going to do, single-handedly fight that monster?”

“I think so.”

“He’s crazy. He won’t last long.”

“Either that, or he’s that confident in your abilities. Or.”

Balud muttered, adjusting his glasses.

“Or he’s still got something left in the tank.”

Balud was right.

Clad in his starlight sword and nebula silk, Osian wrapped himself in starlight this time.

[Starlight Armor]-FULL ARMOR

Shining brightly against the darkness, he was a knight straight out of a fairy tale.

A being who slays dragons, saves nations, and ends evil with a sword of righteousness.

“Let’s see.”

Osian taunted the Guardian, one hand raised in defiance.

The Guardian, who was the opposite of him, but still possessed the power of a knight, would respond.

In a game, he would have followed his programming, but this was different.

As if to prove that the taunt had worked, the life force emanating from the Guardian grew stronger.

‘He has feelings.’

It wasn’t just a puppet that mimicked his appearance; with this much life, it could be considered a person.

‘The simplicity would be gone, but it would allow for psychological warfare.’

This was one of those instances where provocation worked.

The Guardian twirled the chakram in both hands and struck a stance.

At that moment, the Guardian’s form vanished.

It was as if darkness had suddenly engulfed him.

‘There you are. The power of [Lunar Eclipse], the reverse of [Moonlight].’

Osian remembered that as a player, he had once fought a mutant doppelganger.

The mutant doppelgangers rampaged with more power than the user’s attributes, and were ranked as vicious bosses.

Players were particularly disgusted by the maliciousness of the game’s creators.

‘That’s such a cool talent, but they never let us use it.’

Right now, both the Death Star Sword and the Lunar Eclipse Sword are like that.

The skills that were variations on the Wandering Knight’s talents were powerful and cool enough to be quite popular.

Players were saying we want that class too but the developers didn’t say a word.

Some of us puffed up our chests and hoped that maybe a new class would be added in the DLC. Some of us kept our fingers crossed.

But our hopes were quickly dashed. The developers never released the skills used by the mutant doppelgangers to players.

So what was the point of all those fancy effects and motions?

The amount of work that went into creating every class must have been much more than any other boss monster.

It was a lot more work than any other boss monster but the reason was plain and simple.

These evil game developers just wanted to see you suffer, and that’s why they did it.

That’s right.

That guardian in front of Osian’s eyes was a very special creature, the product of the malice and affection of the game’s creators.

Osian rolled his eyes behind his pure white helmet.

The Lunar Eclipse Sword, like the Moonlight Blade, had the advantage of dazzling the opponent and moving at high speed.

A stabbing sensation rang out from his shoulder.

-Kaang!

The chakram that leapt out of the darkness collided with Osian’s shoulder as he shielded it with his sword.

The attack broke his concealment and the guardian’s red eyes flickered in confusion.

Osian swung his Starlight Sword at the gap, but the Guardian had ducked out of sight.

The Lunar Eclipse Sword’s low defense made it difficult for him to go toe-to-toe with the Starlight Sword. It was the right decision.

Osian didn’t regret it since the beast would bar its fangs once more.

‘Just like now.’

The Guardian emerged from behind, swinging his chakrams at either side, aiming for Osian’s throat.

It was a move like an assassin trying to take off an opponent’s head but Osian, as if he knew it was coming, sprayed Nebula Silk’s stardust behind his back.

A spray of pure white glitter swept over the Guardian.

It wasn’t enough to strike the Guardian directly, but it was enough to startle it.

The Guardian tried to use Lunar Eclipse again, fearing Osian’s counterattack.

“It can’t be.”

Even in the darkness, the starlight clinging to his body glinted, blatantly revealing the Guardian’s location.

With the Guardian’s position confirmed, Osian moved.

The moment he took a step, his body shot forward like a cannonball.

The Guardian, surprised by his appearance, panicked.

‘But it’s too late.’

The Guardian swung his chakram. The chakram, glowing with a fiery aura, aimed for Osian’s throat, but he parried it with his sword.

He then used the armor on his shoulder to slam into the Guardian’s body.

-Kwah!

[The New Moon Armor], as its name suggests, is more like a normal garment than armor.

Its defense was poor and it was obvious what would happen if it collided with the heavy and strong Starlight Armor.

The Guardian was thrown backward, rolling several times across the floor.

It staggered a little from the impact, though it steadied itself as best it could by slamming its chakram into the floor.

Osian didn’t miss the opening.

He was in a groggy state, and Osian had to land another blow to keep the momentum going.

‘It was your mistake to use the Lunar Eclipse Sword here.’

To the uninitiated, the phantom sword would have left them helpless, but not Osian.

He knew everything about the doppelganger’s technique, including how to use it.

In a game, any attack here would only reduce his health, not kill him.

Now that it was real, it was different.

‘Straight to the throat.’

As long as I hit it straight on the head, I could kill it in one hit.

Now, when it was at its weakest, was my chance.

He gripped his sword with both hands and ran, his cloak flapping behind him, adding momentum to his charge.

In a flash of light, Osian’s blade shot like an arrow toward the Guardian’s throat.

The guardian, who had barely regained his footing, looked up.

The guardian, who had barely regained his posture, bent backwards.

It was a bold, fluid movement that wouldn’t normally exist.

With the flexibility of a gymnast, Osian’s sword sliced through the air, leaving no choice but to follow it.

‘What?’

The Guardian flipped backwards, bringing his leg up and kicking Osian in the jaw.

Osian blocked the kick with one hand, grabbed his ankle, and was about to swing his sword again when a chakram flew at his wrist.

-Bang! Bang!

Osian swung his sword and deflected the chakram.

The deflected chakram spun around and returned to its guardian.

‘I see.’

Osian looked at the Guardian, clenching and unclenching his hands.

‘Now that it has become real, it can attack and move outside of patterns.’

He’s not a game character, following patterns and algorithms.

He’s an intelligent being who thinks, makes decisions, and moves.

Based on his behavior, I had to admit it.

“But that doesn’t change anything.”

Osian charged again.

This time, leaving no room for evasion, he raised the power of his Starlight Sword to cut off all retreating paths.

The power of the starlight rushed in from all directions. If the guardian tried to block it, he would be crushed by the force.

In that moment, the Guardian’s form changed again.

The chakram’s form shifted and morphed into the obsidian sword I had first seen.

The obsidian blade erupted in a blast of crimson aura that collided with Ossian’s starlight.

His crimson robes shifted, transforming into black plate armor once more.

[Blood Demon Armor]-FULL ARMOR.

The power struggle between the two, which had slowly begun to slip away, was now equalized.

No, the destructive power of the [Killing Sword] was half a level higher, so Osian’s legs were pushed back a little.

The red glow in his black helmet flickered.

He was enjoying himself now. It was as if he was asking, “You’ve failed to kill me, what now?”

Osian answered from beyond his helm.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to keep going head-to-head.”

Osian didn’t back down, as if he really meant what he said, and his starlight burned strongly.

The Guardian’s eyes widened in surprise at this.

However, he realized that he had the advantage at this point, so he also intensified the burning of his sword.

Black and white flames mingled together, sending countless sparks flying around them.

The space they were standing in was scorching hot, unable to withstand the heat.

The walls and floors of the sparking ruins burned red and melted.

Even the armor of Osian and the Guardian was affected, but neither of them backed down.

It was as if the first to retreat conceded defeat.

But in this classic battle of strength, the one with the higher skill output was bound to win.

The black flames burned more intensely than the white flames.

The dark star was about to strike at Osian, as if it would consume the pure white starlight.

Osian’s sword moved at an angle, gently slicing through the flesh.

‘……!’

I could feel the guardian panic.

Just as he was about to apply the force, Osian deflected it to the side, throwing him off balance for a moment.

With superhuman reflexes, he managed to steady himself, but Osian attack didn’t stop.

Osian’s sword danced softly. It was a very different attack than the one he’d used to slash.

The Guardian tried to react to it, but he felt his sword being strangely drawn to Osian’s.

It was as if an invisible hand was grabbing it and guiding it.

“Strange, isn’t it?”

Osian asked.

The Guardian didn’t answer, but he felt as if the question itself had penetrated his mind.

“Why am I being pushed back when I’m stronger, why do I feel like I’m losing, when you’re clearly stronger than me?”

Meanwhile, Osian’s words continued.

It rippled through the Guardian’s mind, creating a crack within him.

“Do you know why? You lack experience.”

As a doppelganger, he may have mimicked the powers and abilities of your counterpart, but that doesn’t mean he’s aware of all of Osian’s experiences.

It may be retained as information in the form of memories.

But are these forcibly injected memories the same as the ones he’s experienced?

“What is the point of information if you can’t fill it with your own?”

The Guardian’s bloodlust grew stronger.

His anger had been pierced by Osian’s righteousness.

Osian chuckled to himself at the fact that he was swayed by such a small provocation.

-Pfft!

At the same moment that he was still slicing, Osian’s leg slammed into the guardian’s ankle.

The close quarters hand-to-hand combat caused the guardian to panic and fall.

The Guardian sensed something and wrapped the black ragged cloak around his shoulders like a cocoon.

Immediately afterward, a beam of Osian starlight struck the Guardian in the chest.

-Kaaaah!

The guardian flew backwards and slammed into the wall with a thud.

Amidst the falling debris, the Guardian’s cloak was burned and torn, and a large gash was left on his breastplate.

“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve had fun.”

As soon as Osian said that, the Guardian’s eyes flashed open.

The Guardian, who walked out, breaking through the wall as if it wasn’t over yet, lightly threw the sword he was holding into the air.

“More movement here?”

I’m surprised I’m not dead, but I’m sure he’s already mortally wounded.

However what happened next was even more amazing.

The sword spun in place, spinning once, drawing a perfect circle in the air.

The circle burned with an ominous blood color and Osian’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You can’t be serious, you’re using that?”

The Guardian began to use the Knight’s third trait.