How to Live as a Knight After the Ending

Chapter 194: Reflection Unit (1)

The golden sword of punishment sliced through the body of a corrupted clergyman.

Jechiel’s divine power, which had been gushing out like a storm, vanished helplessly like a mirage.

A dark cloud fell upon the faces of the priests who were about to activate sacred law, without doubting Jechiel’s victory.

“Lord Jechiel…”

An incomprehensible event had occurred.

How could Jechiel, the bishop with the support of the choir’s power and massive divine power, be defeated?

No matter how skilled Martinez, one of the 13th Judges and an extraordinarily talented individual, this was impossible.

On the contrary, because Martinez was inexperienced and lacked maturity, Jechiel believed he had the advantage.

But the result was exactly the opposite. Reality had beautifully denied the ideal they had imagined.

“That guy.”

Osian chuckled inside his helmet while looking at Martinez, who held a sword rippling with golden divine power.

How could he not know? The last thing Martinez showed was, even if momentary, something he had imitated.

It wasn’t just a superficial imitation.

The sword technique he wielded definitely contained some kind of knight’s conviction.

He had seen Martinez catching up behind him for a moment.

A boy who had only seen someone’s back had now gone beyond that and seized a world only he could see.

‘I knew he was very talented, but I never thought he would be exceptional in areas other than being a paladin.’

Martinez had the potential to become an excellent knight.

Although he felt a subtle regret that someone with such talent had become a paladin, Osian decided to think of it positively.

“Ho, how…”

From Osian’s front, a voice filled with despair came from inside the half-destroyed steam suit.

Osian turned his head and stared at the paladin inside the steam suit.

“This can’t be, this can’t be happening.”

“Looks like you can’t believe your defeat.”

Of the three steam suits that had blocked Osian, two were so completely destroyed they were rolling on the ground.

The paladins inside were also following the fate of their machines.

“This is a machine enhanced with sacred law.”

Not just a steam suit, but one directly infused with divine power.

A new entity created by applying cutting-edge magical engineering and sacred law, the Paladin Suit.

It could be considered the original work of the 29th district.

However, even such a Paladin Suit could not stand against Osian.

“If you wanted to face me, you should have pressured me with more manpower.”

Instead of increasing strength by reducing numbers, it was like offering one’s neck to a knight who would exert tremendous power in close combat.

“Th, this…”

The paladin’s face became blank.

At that moment, he caught sight of Jechiel also falling to Martinez.

With even Jechiel, the bishop, being defeated, he felt fear creeping into a corner of his heart.

It was hard to accept the reality that their disgrace was exposed and they would ultimately be punished as evildoers.

As he usually would, the paladin tried to fold his hands in prayer.

He thought that if he earnestly prayed to the Father in heaven, his painful heart might be somewhat relieved.

But Osian did not let this happen.

-Swish.

With a flash of light, the paladin’s hands, which were about to be clasped in prayer, were cut off.

Osian pointed a sword without even starlight at the paladin’s stunned face.

“Don’t tell me you were about to pray to God? To turn away from this cruel reality, trying to wear the false mask of faith?”

Staring intently into the paladin’s trembling eyes, Osian spoke.

“No, absolutely not. You do not qualify for that.”

“I, I…”

“The children kidnapped by you. The children who died after being abandoned even by you. When those children desperately prayed and begged, did you help them? No, no one helped.”

The light inside the helmet flickered with a subtle anger.

The children died without receiving anyone’s help. It was a catastrophe committed by those who claimed to believe in God.

Having committed such a terrible act, and now wanting to pray to escape this crisis?

“You should be shameless only to a certain extent.”

Osian blocked the paladin’s prayer. He cut off his hands and denied his faith.

“You cannot pray. The same goes for the others. Your sins will not be forgiven, and your evil deeds will be thoroughly exposed and talked about by everyone.”

This was more terrible than simply dying.

The fact that the cruel acts secretly committed for the greater cause would spread throughout the world.

Dying not as a faithful believer but as a disgraced traitor was the most feared punishment for them.

“You will not even be buried in a grave. You will just disappear, turning into ashes.”

Like those children you killed.

The paladin’s face crumbled tragically as he realized what Osian was saying.

He wanted to beg, to sincerely apologize and repent of his wrongs.

But what had been done could not be undone.

After all, good and evil were separate things.

No matter how much good they had done, their sins would never disappear.

They simply did not know or they knew but deliberately ignored the fact but now they had to pay the price.

“Argh!”

Unable to accept reality, the paladin charged at Osian like a demon. Divine power surged through his body.

It seemed like an attempt to land a blow, but Osian immediately saw the essence of his action.

“Now you want to die fighting bravely in your last moment?”

Osian blocked the paladin’s rush with the storm shield. The paladin, with both wrists cut off, tried to crush Osian with his massive body, but what he couldn’t do with a Paladin Suit, he certainly couldn’t do barehanded.

“Keep your eyes open. It’ll be over soon.”

Osian struck the paladin’s temple with the sword’s handle.

The paladin’s eyes went blank, and his body collapsed to the floor.

After finishing the cleanup, Osian looked at Martinez.

Martinez was quietly staring at the golden sword he had created. It was a kind of awakened state that came from being completely immersed in the battle.

What broke that silence was the cry of priests preparing the sacred law.

“The sacred law formation is complete! Activate it quickly!”

At the priest’s cry, light returned to Martínez’s eyes.

He had momentarily forgotten in the excitement of battle but he still had many more to judge.

Just as Martinez was about to move, a hand grabbed his ankle.

“Ga, hik.”

It was Bishop Jechiel, who had been cut in half by Martinez.

His attack had enough power to instantly kill even a robust person. However, Jechiel currently possessed vast divine power.

No blood flowed from the severed wound, and divine power squirmed, trying to quickly regenerate the cell tissue.

While the severed body would not reconnect, it kept him alive for the moment.

It was truly a miracle-like vitality.

Jechiel had committed such terrible acts to secure this.

Jechiel’s hand grabbing Martínez’s ankle was that of a withered old man, but Martinez could not easily shake it off.

The vast divine power stubbornly held his ankle and would not let go.

“You cannot go. The sacred law formation is almost complete.”

Martínez’s gaze turned to Osian.

Recognizing that look, Osian immediately kicked off the ground and rushed towards the priests trying to manifest the sacred law formation.

His speed was unprecedented, but the problem was that he was already too late.

Jechiel knew this too, and laughed with his remaining upper body.

“When the sacred law formation activates, all of you will be finished!”

The divine law is implemented through the massive divine power created by the choir’s strength.

The inexperienced priests might not be able to use complex and high-dimensional sacred laws, but what did that matter?

With this much divine power, even a simple sacred law would be more than enough, overflowing with power.

He could feel the massive divine power gathering at the center of the sacred law formation.

Osian could feel that power on his skin.

‘This is dangerous.’

If this were magic or black magic, he would have been less annoyed.

Handling this level of power meant that its aftermath would sweep away even his allies.

If he were to use magic of equal power, it would not only obliterate this underground facility but also completely dismantle the church and surrounding buildings above ground.

But divine power was different.

While other powers might not distinguish between friend and foe, this power is incredibly distinguished between them.

This vast divine power would kill the enemies and heal the allies. That was the power of divine power.

He understood why Jechiel was shouting like that. When this activated, Osian and Martinez would disappear without a trace, and Jechiel would experience the miracle of his severed body reconnecting.

The final blow that would overturn the entire battle in an instant.

Jechiel’s expression was filled with joy.

Divine power gathered in the air and soon formed a sphere.

At that moment, an unexpected intruder jumped in.

The newly appeared person, wearing a pure white robe, leaped high and rushed towards the divine power sphere like an artificial sun.

Jechiel, Martinez, and Osian all witnessed this scene.

“Seal vessel opening.”

Between the fluttering robe, what the hand was holding was a metal probe about 1m long.

Made of gold, it looked like an enlarged needle with a handle that resembled a key in its bizarre shape.

The probe was stuck into the divine power sphere.

Despite the high-density divine power that should have strong repulsive force, the probe penetrated as easily as a needle piercing a balloon.

The divine power that seemed about to explode had been momentarily halted.

The activation of the sacred law formation was being delayed.

‘But not yet. The divine power is still reacting intensely.’

It seemed difficult to suppress the divine power with just one probe.

At that moment, the robed man spoke in a low voice.

“Sacred relics. Using 1 through 6.”

As soon as those words ended, five golden probes shot out from beneath the robe.

-Puk! Puk! Puk!

Each probe moved as if possessing its own will, automatically embedding itself into the divine power sphere.

Light emerged from the handle of the probes, and then golden threads connected the handles of each probe.

As the threads connected, an octahedral solid was completed, and the divine power trapped inside gradually stabilized.

That was it. The revival sacred law formation ultimately failed to activate and disappeared.

More precisely, it would be correct to say it was absorbed and vanished into those probes.

“Ho, how…”

Jechiel’s face became stunned as the sacred law formation was invalidated before his eyes.

The sense of loss he felt was immeasurable, especially since it happened right before activation.

He had even let go of Martínez’s ankle, which he had been gripping tenaciously.

Even Martinez, who had regained the freedom of his legs, was equally captivated by the scene unfolding before him.

“Something that absorbs divine power. Could it be…”

At the moment Martínez’s eyes widened, people in pure white robes rushed in en masse.

“Everyone stop.”

“Any further action will be considered heresy.”

They instantly subdued the priests who were unable to collect themselves after the sacred law formation collapsed.

Their movements were swift and coordinated, as if they had been doing this for a long time.

Osian gripped his sword and stared at the newly intrusive individuals.

They paid no attention to Osian, focusing solely on suppressing the priests of the 29th district.

-Thud.

The probes that had absorbed divine power from midair fell weakly to the ground.

Though the divine power connecting the probes had disappeared, the probes themselves were filled with massive divine power, radiating heat as if they had been heated.

“Hmm. Even though I used six, thinking it might not be enough, it’s only this much. I won’t be able to use them for a month.”

The man who muttered this waved his hand at Martinez, who was staring blankly at him.

“You’ve become a good-looking man. More manly than when I saw you before.”

“Why are you…”

“Well, I’d like to exchange a joyful reunion here, but given the circumstances, that’s impossible. And you still have things to do, don’t you?”

The man was one of the 13th Judges, an inspector monitoring internal deviations within the order, the one who has been active longer than anyone else, and a role model for all paladins, Hermut Bummer.

He had appeared, leading his subordinate Reflection Unit.

Martinez did not ask the reason. Instead, he recalled the more important, immediate task that needed to be handled.

As Martinez left, Hermut turned to Osian with a smiling face.

The moment Osian met his clear and upright eyes, which seemed to be in his 50s, he realized this was no ordinary person.

“So, who are you, who has been guiding this not yet fully matured child?”