How to Live as a Knight After the Ending
Chapter 330

The existence of giants has been imprinted as a terror to humanity since ancient times.

Having a human form and walking on two legs, yet with a body so massive it's like looking up at a mountain. Thunder rolls with each step, their breath is like a typhoon, and their glowing eyes are as intense as the sun.

With a single wave of their hand, forests are blown away. With one stomp of their foot, earthquakes occur. They were no different from walking natural disasters.

While bringing fear, they simultaneously commanded reverence with their overwhelming presence. That's what the existence of giants was like.

Now, it's believed that all giants have disappeared, but giants still remain. During the recent Mother Goose attack, the existence of a giant was observed again.

However, Battle Trench didn't create an automaton in the form of a giant because they were inspired by this. They had been aiming for supremacy in giant weaponry all along.

Probably most companies related to mechanical engineering are thinking similarly in that regard.

'And so, the Steam Suit company made something similar first.'

As the size of the machine increases, the response speed of the Steam Suit slows down. To adjust for this, they came up with the idea of transplanting a human brain into the machine.

That way, they were able to control massive suits over 5 meters tall. Although there were conditions attached, it was certainly a remarkable development.

'That's why the guys here went crazy trying to counter that.'

The result was right in front of his eyes now. It was a being at least twice as large as the Steam Suit he had fought before.

Just by visual estimation, it was at least 13 meters tall. It was nothing short of a giant robot weapon. While taking on a human form to impose intimidation, it wasn't completely human-like.

It walked on two legs but had a more massive upper body covered with layers of armor. Moreover, since it was made purely for combat, one arm wasn't a human hand but had a cannon attached. The three barrels appeared different, suggesting they were used for different purposes depending on the situation.

This was a war machine designed solely for destruction and slaughter.

Naturally, it was impossible for a person to pilot and control it. The response speed would be terribly sluggish. If a 5-meter suit barely managed with a human brain transplant, a 13-meter one would be impossible from the start.

Therefore, it had to exhibit autonomous behavior patterns, like an automaton, moving according to the given program.

But there are limitations to an automaton's actions. Since they only respond to given commands, their ability to deal with unexpected situations is significantly reduced.

It's useless even for those who mainly handle automatons to connect with mana threads. It would be like trying to move a tank with a tiny controller. In other words, it wouldn't even budge.

If such a massive entity just stands there blankly, it becomes nothing more than a large, sturdy target.

'That's exactly why they're desperate for artificial intelligence.'

Eventually, Battle Trench finally got their hands on artificial intelligence and started applying its functions through experiments.

The light flowing from Neo's core intensifies and permeates the body of the [Giant] through wires and external wavelengths.

The number of such giants is enough to form an entire unit.

'They said a large amount of supplies flowed into this place, so it was for making these.'

It's truly an insane act. How did they plan to handle the losses if they couldn't obtain artificial intelligence after making all this?

Even for a large corporation, producing a considerable quantity of such massive weapons would have resulted in enormous losses. That's why they must have been desperate to make this project succeed.

And now, only one step remains until the project's success. No, perhaps they've already achieved it.

"This is the final step! Increase the output!"

With the lab director's shout, the energy flowing to Neo intensifies. The current flowing through Neo's body, hung on a mid-air crane like a crucifix, was visible to the naked eye. Neo's body trembled. His yellow eyes, which kept turning on and off, turned toward where Don Quixote was.

"Ah."

In the midst of the noisy situation with electricity flowing and energy bursting like fireworks, Neo's words were remarkably clear.

"I'm glad you're safe."

Even in this moment when his life was in peril, Neo felt considerable relief that Don Quixote had arrived here unharmed.

Don Quixote was left speechless at the sight. That gaze looking at him. To others, it might just look like yellow lenses, but Don Quixote could feel the emotion embedded in that gaze.

"I'm okay. So please go back."

—It was an affection for his only family.

Crackle!

Neo's body trembled as if having a seizure. Then, with white steam rising from various parts and sparks flying, Neo's head drooped down.

The light in his yellow eyes went out. The brilliant light flowing from his core no longer emerged.

Instead, the light that had been emerging so far was absorbed through the wires toward the [Giant].

"Ah, aah."

Don Quixote fell to his knees.

After the wavelengths disappeared and the light faded, the hangar instantly darkened. A heavy silence that was hard to describe descended.

The first to make a sound in that silence was the Giant, which had been standing like it was dead.

Keeeing.

With the sound of mechanical gears turning, the Giant's eyes lit up and shone in the darkness. It was the same emerald color as the light that had flowed from Neo's core.

With the manifestation of both eyes, the Giant activated. The giant slowly stretched its body, which had been crouched.

Guuuung.

Because it was so massive, even such a movement felt grandiose. With hundreds of mechanical devices moving precisely within that movement, it was truly dizzying to the ears.

"Hahahahaha!"

The lab director burst into laughter at the sight. How could he not be happy? The successful creation of the giant bipedal weapon he had so desired was unfolding before his eyes.

He imagined the brilliant future he would experience. The same applied to Jerey standing with him. Since he had brought Neo and enabled the valuable experiment, his rank within Battle Trench would rise tremendously.

He might even become a director. That alone would put him on the highest path to success.

"But before that, we need to eliminate the witnesses."

Osian and Don Quixote were too deeply involved in this incident. As Neo said, they had considered not touching them. But for that, the two had too much influence.

"Well, even if they live like they're dead, we don't intend to leave them alone."

A promise with Neo? What does that matter? A promise made with a tin can that has outlived its usefulness can be broken a hundred or a thousand times.

Thinking that, Jerey realized that Osian, who had been with Don Quixote, was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh?"

Jerey noticed something strange. The director, who had been laughing like a madman just moments ago, was standing frozen, doing nothing.

'No.'

Belatedly, Jerey realized. It wasn't that the lab director seemed frozen; he was literally frozen. With frost settling on his entire body in the middle of his laughing pose, he had become a living ice statue.

Crack!

Soon, the director's body collapsed, scattering ice crystal powder in all directions. The spreading cold was enough to make the skin sting.

While Jerey was startled, sparks flew right in front of him. Beta One, who was right next to Jerey, had moved.

Beta One raised the shield he was holding to deflect a moonlight sword that suddenly appeared from the void. At the same time, Osian revealed himself from the void. Not as a white knight, but wearing a deep blue combat uniform.

With frost-breath exhaling from inside his helmet with a hood, he looked like the Grim Reaper coming to harvest lives. In that brief moment, he crossed over from there to here? And even killed the director?

As Jerey stood dumbfounded, Osian looked at him with a bluish gaze and said coldly:

"Originally, my purpose was to keep Don Quixote safe. I thought it would be enough to rescue Neo and escape."

Osian hadn't forgotten the favor Neo had asked. He had definitely kept that request in mind and acted accordingly. But. The moment he saw Neo die and Don Quixote fall into despair,

Osian felt something rising up in his chest.

"But I've changed my mind. I think I need to kill all of you here to honor his spirit."

Osian, readjusting his grip on the moonlight sword, exuded a terrifying killing intent. As if he couldn't bear it otherwise, he revealed his aura without reservation.

The security team retreated, staggering from the killing intent combined with the chill of the moon's trace, and even the timid researchers paled and sat down.

[Truly a terrifying presence.]

The only one resisting was Beta One. Of course, he was outwardly pretending to be calm, but inwardly, he was feeling considerable terror.

He had underestimated him as just a fixer, but had to reconsider after all the defense systems they had prepared were breached. The enemy before his eyes now was someone he couldn't predict whether he could defeat even if he gave it his all.

Yes. This guy was a monster wearing the disguise of a fixer. And that meant he was in the same league as Basilio.

[But we won't just sit back and take it either.]

If it were Beta One alone, he wouldn't have lasted even 10 seconds against Osian. How could one deal with someone who conceals their presence and wields a sword imbued with chilling cold? Moreover, that was not Osian's true power.

According to reports, Osian wore snow-white armor all over his body and wielded a sword that cut through steel like butter.

[It seems he possesses various powers.]

In other words, what they were seeing was just a part of Osian's power, one of many. He didn't know how such powers resided in a mere individual. But he had to do what he had to do.

[Everyone, deploy firepower.]

At Beta One's command, the internal security team moved promptly. They unleashed all the weapons they had toward Osian.

Osian created a frost path in mid-air, then gracefully stepped on it, showing an impossible maneuver. But there were too many bullets flying in.

The Moonlight combat uniform was useful for moving quickly and stealthily, but it could be fatal against dangerous high explosives even if hit once.

It's tricky to handle multiple well-armed and trained opponents like now. That's why Osian decided to change his approach.

Rationally, this approach might not be right, but beyond that, something was roaring roughly inside him to utilize this surging, boiling emotion.

After shaking off the pursuit of bullets, Osian distanced himself and took a stance.

Seeing this, Beta One shouted:

[Defense unit! Forward!]

The internal security team moved quickly. They advanced with the prepared giant shields, blocking Osian's view.

—!!!

Immediately after, an immense golden heat swept over their shields like a wave.

"Ughhh!"

"Kheuk!"

Some security personnel who couldn't withstand the force were thrown back. Even wearing suits and holding special riot shields, they couldn't fully block the impact.

Those who barely held on could see the golden knight flickering beyond the shields.

The previous slender combat uniform was gone, replaced by a knight wearing thick and massive armor, so thick it could be called plate armor. Behind the knight's back, a massive ring symbolizing the sun was rotating fiercely.

[Sun Ring FULL ARMOR]

Originally, Osian would maintain the ring's size as small as possible due to its immense heat, but now it was different. This emotion of anger pulsating in his heart flowed directly into the Sun Ring, and responding to it, the Sun Ring instantly grew in size.

The heat spread in an instant, driving away the chill from Moonlight. The frost melted and sublimated, and the temperature of the entire hangar rose by several degrees in an instant.

The knight, shining brilliantly like the sun in the darkness, reached behind his back and drew a sword from the fiercely rotating Sun Ring.

Sun Ring Sword.

Osian, holding the sword, threw it with all his might.

[Insane!]

Beta One instinctively threw his body to the side. It was the right decision.

—!!!

The security team members who tried to block it with their shields disappeared without a trace.

The place where the sword passed melted into a sticky liquid. Some of Beta One's subordinates who were standing there didn't even leave a corpse.

Seeing this, Beta One felt a chill run down his spine.

—What kind of insane power is this?

What was more frightening was that Osian was about to use the same attack once more. The intense heat came with a gust of wind that penetrated through the latest model suit and the suit's cooling function activated automatically.

Obviously, the researchers and Jerey, who had to face the heat without suits, felt the pain of being thrown alive into a steamer.

"Even time for repentance is wasted on you."

Just as Osian was about to throw the sword again, sensing something, he raised the sword vertically instead, taking a defensive stance.

Right after that.

KWANG!

The fist of a Giant crashed into where Osian had been.