Intense electric shocks scatter around. Like a living creature, the electricity that fills the field of vision with its writhing movements reaches out temptingly to grab Osian.

The power is such that if caught, one would not only burn alive but be reduced to ashes at the cellular level. Even the protective coat worn under the poncho probably wouldn't withstand that.

There are more complications. If it were just lightning, it might be manageable, but this guy was also proficient with ice and water at an expert level.

'What a troublesome fellow.'

Osian judged that he needed to subdue the guy in one go. So he tried to catch up by increasing his warhorse's speed. But they were professionals in this area too. They read his intentions and stepped on the SUV’s accelerator to increase their speed.

Still, it wasn't faster than the warhorse. Naturally, the distance was closing. It was just a matter of time. However, they had a magician and veterans who assisted him.

-Clank.

Capsules dropped from the back of the jeep and rolled toward him. They activated at the exact timing of Osian's approach.

-Whoosh!

The ground vibrated finely as a massive sand quagmire appeared. It looked like a giant earthworm from underground had opened its mouth wide. A large-scale magic that could swallow even a moving vehicle whole.

But the Stigma Warhorse showed off an elegant change of direction, avoiding the quagmire.

[Damn it. What kind of reaction speed is that!]

[Don't let your guard down. Keep interfering. We can't let him get close!]

Meanwhile, the captain's magic was prepared again. He thinly spread water over the sand and then froze it to create an ice sheet.

That wasn't all. Purple lightning spears appeared in midair and fell like rain. The Alpha Team members in the back seat even fired rifles at Osian.

Magic and bullets were raining down.

In the midst of it all, Osian, racing alone, found it difficult to close the distance easily. Dodging, blocking with his shield, and striking with his sword. Just when he thought he was closing in, fierce interference would come. This wasn't good in a situation where he had to keep running without rest.

'Moreover, that magician hasn't yet revealed everything he possesses.'

Typical magicians have high pride. They think of themselves as blessed beings. It's a natural reaction since everyone in society looks up to magicians.

As a result, they sometimes make wrong choices, intoxicated by their own arrogance.

'That's an excessive faith in magic.'

Magic is a great power, but it doesn't always create absolute results. Magic has its limits. As the level increases, the wall of limitations in front of you collapses, but beyond that, there's always a bigger wall.

'Magic isn't omnipotent. If it were, science wouldn't have developed so much in this age.'

That was precisely the weakness of magicians. If you break through their excessive faith in magic, their cold reason easily crumbles.

They're people who have spent half their lives locked up in workshops, scribbling magical formulas. They might excel in theory, but their lack of experience made them easier to deal with.

'But that guy isn't like that.'

A magician, at least 4-star level, yet there wasn't a trace of arrogance to be found. Well, that's probably why he's handling matters secretly in this unit.

A magician who has thrown away his pride as a magician was the most difficult opponent to deal with.

'He doesn't just rely on magic. He commands his team, and doesn't discriminate between weapons and tools. He prioritizes mission success over his pride as a magician.'

Well, it was somewhat surprising, but not to the point of astonishment. After all, not all magicians are the same.

Even in Osian's memory, there was someone with exceptional talent, somewhat lacking but different from other magicians.

It's about personal inclination as a person before being a magician. And the captain of the Alpha Team who was hindering him now was of the most difficult type among them.

"But that doesn't mean I can back down."

It's none other than someone who has cast aside a magician's honor. It might be more rational and reasonable. But if the result is losing one's pride, there's no way this side will lose.

"A smart person who can't be a fool will look to the future but trip over their feet in the present."

The problem was how to handle the stalemate caused by this persistent interference.

Though called a stalemate, the other side was projecting firepower to somehow shake off Osian. Osian was also maintaining distance while blocking or avoiding their attacks without overdoing it.

'To overcome the situation, I need an opening. Even a slight one will do. Something needs to happen to divert their attention elsewhere.'

This is a battlefield. It doesn't flow according to rules, and it's a pit of chaos where you never know what might happen when and where.

Naturally, the characteristic of chaos is that it always creates new cracks.

[T-this is bad!]

A radio message came from the truck bed carrying Neo. The report should have been directed to Alpha One, but of course, Alpha One couldn't answer as he was currently detached from the situation.

In such cases, the next in command, the vice-captain, should take over. And right now, that vice-captain was continuously casting magic at Osian.

The vice-captain responded to the communication while not relaxing his vigilance against Osian.

[What's going on?]

[W-well, this automaton...]

The captain's voice turned irritated at the hesitant communication.

[I don't like long explanations.]

[S-sorry! The automaton's functions have stopped.]

[Stopped? What nonsense is that?]

The vice-captain thought he had misheard at that moment. He took his eyes off Osian for an instant, which he had to keep checking.

This artificial intelligence automaton that they had found after coming all this way. If its functions had stopped during the kidnapping and transportation process, there couldn't be anything more serious.

This momentary relaxation of magic and firepower became an opportunity for Osian and Osian used what he had prepared.

-Whoosh.

A chillingly blue moon rose above Osian's head. When the blue droplet forming under the moon fell on Osian's head, an amazing transformation occurred.

Blue waves enveloped Osian's entire body.

Moonlight Battle Garb. Everyone was surprised by the appearance of the knight made of chillingly blue moonlight. In this bright yellow wasteland, the coloring that seemed detached from a different world was impressive.

There was a slight change in the design of the Full Moon Battle Garb. The design of the Moonlight Battle Garb also changed a bit to match the cowboy attire Osian was wearing.

He still wore a cowboy hat on his head, and the red scarf around his neck turned frost-white and fluttered in the air.

The changes didn't stop there.

-Neeeigh!

The power of the Moonlight enveloped not only Osian but also the Stigma Warhorse. The mane that scattered star sparks turned blue, and behind it, it sprinkled translucent ice crystal powder.

The constellations embedded within the translucent body disappeared, and what replaced them was a curtain-like aurora made of moonlight shining down from the sky. Its build became smaller than before, but its appearance became more sleek and refined.

The horse, now a Moon Shadow Warhorse, emitted blue light from its eyes.

Even its footsteps, which used to kick up a lot of sand, became as stealthy as if walking on air.

[Stop him!]

The vice-captain, sensing something ominous, gave the order. One of the Alpha Team members took out an RPG and fired it at Osian.

-BOOM!

With the explosion, bright red flames erupted. There was nothing left in the place where the smoke settled. Could he have disappeared without a trace from that one attack? No, that couldn't be.

[Where is he!]

Just as the vice-captain was panicking, a sharp blade broke through the passenger side window and pushed in. The blade penetrated the temple of the Alpha Team member sitting in the passenger seat.

The vice-captain reacted quickly. Purple electricity shot from his hand, sweeping the right side of the vehicle. But there was nothing caught in it.

Osian had already quickly hit and run from that spot.

[Damn it! Everyone, be careful! He's concealing his appearance!]

Following the vice-captain's command, the team members didn't panic but moved calmly. They took out capsules they had prepared in advance and threw them into the air.

With a "pung" sound, the activated capsules emitted periodic vibrations around them. At the same time, the view from their helmets changed to vibration-detecting sensors.

Their vision turned black and white. It wasn't easy to distinguish between friend and foe amidst the countless vibrations in the battlefield, but finding Osian was more important.

[Found him! On the left!]

Beyond their sensors, they saw the figure of a knight on horseback approaching. The vice-captain moved. His hand pointed at Osian, and the magic he had prepared in advance activated.

This time, it was an attack that condensed as much mana as possible for more powerful firepower. Intense purple lightning writhed and spread out in a fan shape.

It was an attack that devoured the area as if not allowing any evasion and the image of Osian, caught in it, shattering into pieces, was captured by the sensor.

Just as he was inwardly shouting "got him," something surprising happened.

[R-rear! He's in the rear!]

[Right side! He's appeared on the right side too!]

[What?]

It wasn't a hallucination. Even the vice-captain's sensor was picking up Osian one after another. There were as many as three of them. This was excluding the one he had just destroyed.

[What's going on?]

What was destroyed by magic just now was nothing more than a decoy made using crystal. And the ones appearing now are the same.

Among the three Osians rushing from three directions, which one is real? The sound wave sensor couldn't distinguish.

[Switch the sensor!]

He shouted like that, but it was already too late.

-Slash.

A blue solid line cut through the back of the car. The necks of the two Alpha Team members who were providing covering fire from behind were cleanly severed. There was no blood from the wound. Frost had settled on the cross-section, making it chillingly cold.

[Damn it! Soldiers! Request backup! Hurry and shoot that bastard dead!]

The soldiers remaining in the truck responded to that order. The soldier's sensor detected Osian's figure and immediately, the gun barrels rotated and a rain of bullets poured towards Osian.

-Rattattatta!

That wasn't all. The soldier's shoulder blades opened, and micro-grenades were fired consecutively. It was a full firepower consecutive dump according to the vice-captain's order.

-KABOOM!

A flower made of flames blooms. The power was so strong that it affected even the vehicle the vice-captain was in.

The vice-captain converted all his magic power to defensive magic. Despite that, the aftermath of the explosion pounded the mana barrier and gave shock to the inside.

Surely, with this, that damn cowboy must be dead too. That's what he thought at that moment.

The continuous firepower suddenly stopped.

'It stopped?'

What was seen through the window shattered by the shock was a half-destroyed soldier. A half-obliquely cut lance was stuck in the torso of one unit.

Another was cut by a shield, with the upper and lower body dismembered, and the remaining one had its two legs moving erratically before falling out of the truck.

[What is this...?]

Looking back, there was Don Quixote riding Rocinante and David driving a muscle car.

[Where's the leader?]

The fact that those two returned unharmed meant that the leader, Alpha One, had been taken down instead. The vice-captain judged that this wouldn't do and took out a rescue signal. At this rate, they would be annihilated. The plan had gone awry, but it would be better than having the company's important talents annihilated here.

However, the vice-captain couldn't activate the signal as intended. It was because his arm holding the signal was frozen.

[Ah.]

As he uttered a sound, steam came out of his mouth. The captain's head faced downward. A blade was sticking out through his abdomen.

Even though it was a special suit effective for cold protection, it was useless against the Moonlight Blade. His entire body quickly froze and the nameless vice-captain's head fell lifelessly.

-Crack.

His shattered body scattered into countless crystals. After taking care of the vice-captain, Osian also eliminated the driver of the last remaining jeep and mounted the Moon Shadow Warhorse.

"No! What is that appearance! How can it be even more stylish than before! It's infuriating!"

"Oh my goodness. Could it change like that?"

The two people who joined him showed reactions full of admiration and shock at Osian's new appearance.

"There's not enough time to explain now."

Their goal was to rescue Neo. Just when Osian was approaching the trailer of the truck, thinking there would be no more interference.

[What do we do about this?]

The door of the trailer clanked open, and two watchers appeared, carrying the broken-down Neo. One was holding Neo's head, and the other was holding the limp body.

They had released Neo's restraints and come out due to the anxiety of not hearing from the outside.

[Huh?]

But what the two saw were 3 knights who had already approached the trailer. Huh? Where did the captain go? The Alpha Team members? Why are the soldiers who should be providing supporting fire quiet?

When such questions were endless. Neo's separated head blinked.

"Playing dead worked perfectly!"

[Huh? The one that stopped working...]

He couldn't finish his sentence properly. It was because Neo's limp body moved on its own and threw the watcher.

[Aaaaahh!]

The two watchers, entangled with each other, fell out of the trailer.

Neo picked up his fallen head and put it back in the empty space. Then, with his hands on his thin waist, he said:

"Nice to see you again, friends."