How to Live as a Knight After the Ending

Chapter 131: A Rough Welcome (3)

At first he thought it was nothing serious when they said there was chaos at the central market.

Something like that happens every day in District 45.

Maybe they were on drugs, or maybe they got scammed, or maybe they just didn’t like the way the other person looked.

Fighting there is just for show, but they shoot guns and even explode bombs at the drop of a hat.

That’s fine.

The people in the market are used to that kind of violence, and they know what happens to the people who do it.

Violence can be quelled with more violence, or with fear.

The Central Market is controlled by the three [Emerald], [Topaz], and [Amethyst] organizations, or so it seems.

You’re saying there’s more than the usual amount of mayhem in such a place?

It was usually the work of outsiders. In fact, according to his subordinate’s report, it was an outsider.

But there was something he didn’t understand.

“A madman in armor?”

Who wears armor in this day and age? No, it’s more like armor. If you’re wearing a powered suit or a full metal ogre, that’s a different story.

But was it something that could get into the Central Market?

Unless it’s dropped in from a large airship, or perhaps a transport, it’s not going to make it through the labyrinthine, narrow streets of the 45th district.

Sertus frowned.

The tattoos on his face twisted together in time with his expression.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, reporting to me because you couldn’t subdue one of the rampaging bastards? I thought we were supposed to just do business as usual!”

“Well, we tried to subdue it according to the rules at first, but it’s too strong!”

“Then just kill it!”

“So we tried to kill him without leaving a corpse, but even that didn’t work. That crazy bastard it’s abnormally strong!”

Listening to the conversation from the side, Camilla instinctively realized.

The man currently rampaging in the central marketplace was the one Diolan had brought with him, Osian.

‘He’s lucky to be alive, but instead of fleeing, he’s going on a rampage? Why?’

Camilla couldn’t understand Osian’s behavior.

Sertus, for his part, was trying to get on with the important business at hand, but he couldn’t help but react to the reports that kept coming in.

“The central market area’s been compromised! There’s a maniac!”

“All the market patrols have been wiped out!”

“We sent in the chemical golems and they all fell!”

Even if he tried to ignore it, he couldn’t.

Sertus’ expression naturally turned serious.

“……call the boys.”

*

The plan Osian had told Diolan was simple and straightforward.

“If we can’t find their headquarters, we’ll just beat the crap out of them until their leader comes out.”

“Is that possible?”

“If I say it’s impossible, are you not going to do it?”

“That’s…….”

Were all the previous requests easy and straightforward?

Most of the time, yes, but only by overcoming seemingly impossible tasks did they achieve wealth and fame.

“……Now that I think about it, the idea is right.”

Osian’s idea wasn’t exactly wrong.

If a customer is not satisfied with the service or food in a restaurant, they have the right to file a claim.

What Osian was doing was no different from that behavior.

“Hmm. You’d better be careful though.”

“I will be careful.”

Osian chuckled to himself, remembering Diolan’s concern.

-Boom!

A chemical golem in white gaiters flew off into the distance.

It was over three meters tall and made of steel.

Its abdominal armor was shattered by a single kick, as the green drug circulated in its body instead of ether water, giving it a stronger power output.

All around him were chemical golems that had already been dismembered or disintegrated.

The blue glow from his helmet turned to the gang members watching from afar.

“Is your leader here? You’d better get out of here, unless you want to see everything around here irreparably shattered.”

It wasn’t just a verbal threat.

In fact, the destruction Osian had wrought in this central marketplace during their fight had proven that it was quite possible.

“Fucking outsiders!”

Emeralds in gas masks pointed grenade launchers at Osian.

The grenades flew with a thud and exploded around him, spraying poisonous gas.

Osian used the Storm Shield on his left arm to create a gust of wind, scattering the poisonous fumes in all directions.

Amethyst’s men charged through the gap, but Osian had already seen them coming.

He couldn’t control his power this far out. If he became complacent with a mild subduing action, they would only become more insatiable.

They are full of venom and tenacity. If he lets them get away with it, they’ll keep coming at him.

Therefore, Osian cut them off at the knees with his starlight sword.

Among the fallen, he could see the Emerald Gang trying something else.

“Spray!”

A long hose was opened and a green liquid sprayed toward Osian.

‘Lethal poison.’

The wind from the shield wouldn’t allow them to use smoke, so they’d decided to just cover him in poison.

There was nothing wrong with that, but the opponent was a bad matchup.

The blazing white sword turned a pale blue color.

The light, which had previously been in the form of a longsword, transformed into two swords, which were now clutched in Osian’s hands.

[Moonlight Two Swords]

A cold chill spread along the path of Osian’s sword, freezing the scattered poisonous liquid in an instant.

The faces of the gang members holding the hoses and aiming at Osian turned pale.

Who could remain rational when a sword with a sharp cutting power that could slice through anything was suddenly magically freezing its surroundings?

Osian, clad in white armor, rolled his feet. He landed on a vehicle filled with a poisonous liquid connected to a hose and stabbed two swords vertically into it.

-Zzzzzzzzzz!

The poison inside froze, and frost formed on the surface of the vehicle beyond.

“Is your boss here?”

-Heeeee!

The gang let out a new sound, fed up with Osian’s behavior.

“Looks like I’ll have to beat you up some more.”

In the past, I would have never thought of this idea.

For example, let’s say you enter a dungeon. In a game, the player would have to explore the dungeon to get to the room with the boss because that’s the rule and system of the game.

But in this world, there is no system.

The freedom to do whatever you want is sometimes a disadvantage, but it’s also a huge advantage.

To make an analogy, imagine that you’ve reached the final boss in a traditional hero game, the Demon Tower.

He’s waiting for you on the top floor. To reach him, you have to defeat one of his minions on each floor and climb up.

The system would force players to climb the tower.

But in the real world?

‘You don’t have to go.’

I could just stay on the first floor, knock down all the pillars and walls, and collapse the demon castle.

Why should I go?

You should come.

‘Because I have nothing to lose.’

You still won’t come?

Then I’ll break everything.

In a sense, it’s like the asshole who goes to a restaurant and flips the table over, demanding the boss come out.

What’s the point of that? You’re dealing with a criminal organization, a gang, and they’re trying to kill you.

They weren’t innocent, they deserved it, so there was no guilt.

A bell rang in the distance.

Osian’s gaze turned to the direction of the sound.

But there was nothing there, only the remains of a storefront shattered by the fight.

-Rattle. Rattle.

Meanwhile, the sound echoed in all directions and Osian’s eyes narrowed.

‘This, a hallucination?’

This is ridiculous. Osian snorted and stomped his foot.

The ground cracked like a spider’s web, centered around him, as his ankles were driven into the ground.

A huge gust of wind blew outward, blowing away the yellow smoke that had been faintly enveloping Osian’s surroundings.

And what emerged were men with pale yellow hoods on their heads, glowing from within.

‘They are the last of the [Topaz] organization.’

They were far different from the Emeralds, who used poisons and chemicals, and the Amethysts, who enhanced their bodies with drug infusions.

Topaz looked like a mysterious Eastern shamanic group. The clothes they were wearing were made of light yellow cloth, and the things they were holding in their hands were bells, incense burners, and scales.

They seemed puzzled that Osian hadn’t fallen prey to their illusions.

As Osian slowly approached, the leader of Topaz’s group lifted the lid of the incense burner in his hand.

A cloud of yellow smoke rose from the inside of the incense burner, and the figure of a giant transformed.

An illusion, or an actual summoning?

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter, because the giant fell instantly in front of Osian’s moonbeam.

The fallen giant turned to ice crystals and tumbled to the ground.

The shimmering blue crystals mingled with the tri-colors of yellow, green, and purple, creating a tangle of colors.

In the center of it all, Osian walked slowly toward them, his starry cloak fluttering as he held a pair of swords in each hand.

The members of the Topaz Organization, who had been exuding an aura of mystery, hesitated and stepped back.

The three gang members in charge of the Central Market threw everything they had at him, but Osian never fell.

“If I kill all of you, will the rest of you crawl out?”

The words were a question, but the meaning was a death threat.

The Topaz members exchanged glances and realized this wasn’t going to work.

Their silence was odd, as the others were shouting at the top of their lungs.

Osian’s gaze, including that of the Topaz, turned to one side.

There, they saw a large group of people approaching in a green stream of air.

The glow-in-the-dark tattoos that looked rather vivid in the dark.

The tattoos representing the members of the Emerald Organization looked eerie as they approached.

It was like watching a parade of ghosts at night.

The man at the head of the line had a very strong presence. His face was also covered in tattoos, but he didn’t have the usual glaring eyes.

Finally, the boss of the Emeralds appeared but he wasn’t the only one.

There was a shout from the other side of the street, and the dark street turned purple.

A group of Amethyst’s gang members, each with cylinders of the purple drug strapped to their shoulders, backs, or hands, were coming.

Leading the way was the Amethyst boss.

He was large and imposing, with funky hair and silver piercings in his lips and ears.

Topaz followed suit.

As Topaz’s men cleared a path to the left and right, a woman dressed in a heavenly yellow robe strode out. She looked like an astrologer.

I expected the Emeralds leader, but I didn’t expect everyone from all three organizations.

Osian’s gaze fell on the Emeralds’ organization, and on Camilla, who was being held captive.

“I was wondering who the hell was causing trouble here, and it turns out it’s some kind of fairy tale knight.”

Sertus, the boss of the Emeralds, scrunched up his face.

He was getting a little annoyed now.

“You, can you handle the aftermath of causing this mess here and now?”

“It’s not me who has to take care of the aftermath. It’s you.”

“What?”

Osian’s words caused Sertus’ men behind him to cringe.

“You have the audacity to try and kidnap a man while he’s sleeping. Is this the way things are in this district?”

“You, you’re one of those outsiders?”

“Yes.”

At that, the boss of Amethyst and Topaz stepped forward.

“Hey, Sertus. What the hell is going on here, an outsider? And by the looks of your reaction, you’re the one who touched him first.”

Eriot, the Amethyst boss, crossed his arms.

“That’s a tough one for me to take lightly, Sertus, what the hell is going on?”

Topaz’s boss, Ospia, chimed in.

Backed into a corner, Sertus frowned and turned to Elliot.

“Elliot. Don’t act like you don’t know. Have you forgotten why you and I collaborated in the first place?”

“Yeah. I know. We’re trying to catch those who used our drugs without permission and leaked them out.”

“That guy over there is connected to this case.”

Sertus pointed to Osian, who was still wearing his starlight armor.

Ospia asked in displeasure.

“Wait, you two are working together? You’re trying to unbalance the 45th District?”

“Ospia, aren’t you losing your head? I told you we were going to catch the guy who leaked our drugs.”

“That’s what happens when you’re incompetent.”

“Yeah? And you think you’re okay with that? I understand some of Topaz’s secrets were leaked as well.”

“What’s that…….?”

Ospia shut her mouth. She chose silence, knowing that showing any sign of weakness here would expose her.

“I heard that the outsider was connected to the guy who leaked our drugs, so I thought I’d bring him in to ask him about it.”

“The leaker?”

Osian, who had been listening, responded.

“You mean to tell me you didn’t poison the mages on purpose?”

“Why would we do such a crazy thing? There’s nothing good that can come from getting involved with mages.”

Judging by the reactions of the other organization bosses, they didn’t seem to have much to do with this either.

So who did it?

“Looks like there are others.”