The scene Osian witnessed was familiar. It was exactly the same sight as when he trained the Starlight Knights.

-Huaaaa! Uryaaaaaaap!

Sounds that were indistinguishable between screams and roars echoed. The cries that tore at throats were filled with pain and struggle.

Inside the training ground frozen pure white, over a hundred people were fighting.

They were all organization members belonging to the North Blinders. They had stripped off their upper garments, revealing their muscular builds. Their bodies bore tattoos characteristic of the North.

The only difference from the Starlight Knights was that the space itself was so cold it reminded one of a giant freezer.

The Nordics who were enthusiastically training hadn't noticed Osian and Balud's arrival.

"This is..."

"Were you surprised?"

At Balud's question, Osian honestly nodded his head.

"I never dreamed such a scene would unfold."

"It's not like we've been idly playing around since that day either. Beyond expanding our business, we needed to strengthen the organization's power."

Balud proudly adjusted his glasses.

"That day, I accepted my origins. Though I despised them more than anyone, I realized I actually wanted recognition. And I understood. One must never deny their origins. While you can criticize what's wrong, you cannot completely exclude it."

That day, the day when rain fell endlessly, Balud cried out at the top of his lungs. It was the signal of liberation for a barbarian warrior who had been trying to wear the mask of a civilized person.

"At the same time, I realized how we Nordics could survive in this city."

"Is this it? The Nordic way."

A considerable number of North Blinders' organization members are from the northern Nordics. These are people commonly mocked as barbarians.

Balud had forced them to wear suits and made restraint a virtue. He tried not to give others a chance to look down on them or find fault. But now he had completely changed that approach.

'He made them freer, wilder.'

The Nordics training earnestly were proof of that.

'Moreover, a considerable number are learning and using the power of barbarian warriors.'

The space itself being filled with chilling cold was largely due to the influence of frost wolves. Nordics had grown up in frigid environments. They fought their best to survive, and thus surpassed their limits.

'An environment of endless tempering.'

It was because of that fierce process that they could be reborn as northern champions.

As civilization advanced, they gradually withered away, but Balud had fanned those embers.

This frigid space was created for that purpose. While Balud might have come up with the idea, the one who supported it was probably Isela Burbank, who could now be called his lover.

"The idea itself came from watching you bring in wandering fixers and train them. While doing so, I kept observing the trends. You've become quite famous now. People from rock bottom can rise to high levels."

"I didn't intend to teach that."

"Whether you intended it or not, hope remains the same. Results prove it."

Balud stared intently at Osian as he spoke.

"You gave them hope, and they gave new hope. That scene was quite impressive to me as well."

"So you're trying to give hope too? To your countrymen?"

"Me? I can't do such embarrassing things. We're just the opposite. Survival."

If a knight is one who pushes forward while upholding their beliefs, a barbarian warrior is one who survives in extreme environments.

They always fought to survive. After surviving and proving themselves, they threw themselves back into battle for survival again.

The act of moving toward death in order to live was contradictory.

But life blooms at the end of death. Only those who overcome can truly seize life. Nordics pushed through with their ancestors' will, madness, and hearty barbarism.

In those simple and clear actions lay their own circumstances and beliefs.

"We came to Tirna to survive. But the city was still cold. Perhaps even colder than the northern continent. In it, we had to struggle for survival once again."

"Is this the result?"

This had to be acknowledged. Balud already had sufficient preparations for the future.

"Huh?"

As they opened the door and continued their conversation, the training Nordics also began to notice their presence one by one.

"Boss! You've come!"

"No, more than that, the person next to you is..."

"Isn't that Boss Osian!"

The Nordics visibly rejoiced upon seeing Osian who had come with Balud but Osian reflected on the title they called him.

"Boss?"

"Aren't you Boss Balud's friend! Then you're our boss too!"

"When North Blinders was in danger, didn't you take the lead and fight for us!"

"I saw that scene, though from far away. It was truly moving, stirring a real man's heart!"

They all seemed to remember that day's scene. Even the newly joined organization members, perhaps having heard the legendary story until it was drilled into their ears. The light of admiration flickered like aurora in their eyes too.

'This is quite burdensome.'

While he was happy to be spoken of well, the sight of hairy muscle masses shouting like that with their shirts off was quite overwhelming. Some weren't even wearing pants, and he couldn't understand why they had stripped down to their underwear.

Was it because the colder it got, the more it helped with training? Considering the power barbarian warriors wielded, it didn't seem wrong, but Osian didn't particularly want to know.

"Hahaha! Who do we have here!"

Then, with hearty laughter, a man who was a head taller than the other Nordics walked out. Even among the Starlight Knights, except for Jonathan, no one seemed to match him in weight class.

"Legor."

Osian remembered that man's name. How could he forget? He was the man who came looking for Osian covered in blood, begging him to save his boss.

"It's been a while."

"Yes. You seem to have been doing well. How's your rehabilitation going?"

"Can you see? It's going so well I could fly. I've become incomparably stronger than before."

Osian nodded. Legor had become strong. Beyond simply improving physically, he too had become able to use the power of a barbarian warrior.

The tattoo carved on his body was proof of that.

The form of a bear standing tall as if to tear the world apart was beautifully carved in black. A raging bear. It was a characteristic that suited Legor's size and appearance.

"How are my subordinates?"

Balud asked. Even trying to suppress his emotions, his pride was clearly felt.

"Well, not bad. Even so, they can't compare to our Starlight Knights."

"We'll have to see about that."

Crackle. Osian and Balud's competitive gazes collided in the air. Seeing this scene, Legor burst into laughter with a "Puhah!"

"Kahahaha! Men should have this kind of flavor! It's no fun just talking like scholars!"

At those words, both Balud and Osian chuckled and shrugged their shoulders. There were more important things than this playful power struggle.

"This should be more than enough."

Balud had built his division of organization members who could wield the power of barbarian warriors. With this, ruling as a regional boss would be no problem at all.

This was recognition from Osian, who was stingy with praise, especially in this area. The North Blinders organization members were moved to tears of joy.

"You bastards! Have you finished today's training before acting like this! If you have energy to jump around like girls, swing your axes one more time!"

Legor sternly shouted and pushed the Nordics back into the ice rink. He had tactfully cleared the area before things became bothersome on this side.

Thud. The door closed. The cold air flowing from inside was cut off as if severed. Balud and Osian left the training ground and strolled through the wide garden. It was a good place for quiet conversation.

"Let's return to the original topic. Are there more of those outside monsters now?"

"Yes. They seem to have sneaked in through the crack created during the District 17 incident. What I've confirmed immediately is one, but..."

"Hmm. There might be several more that have snuck in."

"The probability is low. But it can't be ruled out. They're that dangerous."

Osian gave a rough explanation about the Outer Gods.

"Monsters from another world with transcendent existence, no, gods."

"This one is particularly strange. It's presumed to be an Outer God, but its behavior pattern is completely different."

"Simply put, it's cowardly, or differently put, it's cunning. I don't know what such a creature is doing while hiding in the city."

Red Eternity also operated in secret, but that was done by the Eternal God Church, which were presumed followers, not the main body. If it were Red Eternity, even sending an avatar would have moved boldly while causing erosion.

But this one didn't do that. If nothing else, no news was coming at all.

"Information is needed. The Broker Union's intelligence network alone isn't enough."

"You want to borrow North Blinders' eyes."

North Blinders. Just hearing the name, one might think of blind people. But that name only originated from making the eyes of those who fought them go blind.

Having already established a food ingredient distribution system throughout the city, they had built an excellent information network in a different sense from the Broker Union.

"Understood. I'll personally go out and check."

"That's fortunate."

"More than that, I'm curious about something. It seems there are others who wield similar power besides me. Have you met them?"

Balud was curious about what kind of people those who wielded special power that Osian mentioned were. It wouldn't hurt to build connections with them in preparation for the future.

"Not all of them, but I have met some. I'll introduce you when there's a chance later."

"I'm curious. Do they all possess monster-like power like you?"

This was exactly what Balud was curious about. Monster-like power.

Balud had been striving to become stronger since the Day of Purge. Even now, while he lived neatly in a clean suit, he devoted all his other time to training.

His efforts bore fruit, and he became strong at a rapid pace. Having been born with the qualifications of an Ascendant or hero, that speed was abnormal.

Despite becoming strong, when Balud saw Osian, he keenly felt that he was still lacking.

'More than I've become strong, this man has become even stronger.'

Osian's appearance hadn't changed. But having become stronger, he could feel more than before.

'With my current level, how far can I reach compared to this man?'

No, was it even acceptable to dare think of matching him? Balud clenched his fist. It was a mix of thinking he was still lacking and excitement about still having further to go.

And what he was most curious about was how the others compared to himself. While Osian's words might not be precise, this man would surely have grasped each person's level.

"Just in terms of skill, they would be stronger than you."

As expected. While it wasn't what he hoped to hear, he didn't feel bad about it. Osian wasn't trying to get on his nerves, but simply telling him the facts as they were.

Balud's mind wasn't narrow enough to get angry over such things.

"I see. I'll have to work harder."

"As you grow, they'll grow too. But the moment you overcome a certain wall, you'll also enter their ranks."

"That's comforting. Anyway, I'll proceed quickly with what you've asked. I don't want such monsters roaming nearby either."

Osian left North Blinders with Balud's escort. His next destination was District 41.

[We inform you that today's trains have been suspended due to protests. Citizens should each...]

"Damn."

Osian let out a hollow laugh. He had heard and seen that the protests had intensified. But having it affect such everyday matters was a different story.

If trains heading to District 41 had stopped running, the surrounding situation must be more than ordinarily severe.

'Then I'll have no choice but to walk directly.'

While Osian had his Sacred Steed, riding a horse made of starlight in broad daylight would draw people's attention. Moreover, the Sacred Steed didn't particularly like being summoned except for battle, so moving directly on two legs was better.

He didn't need to walk the roads anyway. He could quickly jump across building tops.

'The protests are still in full swing below.'

From near the train station throughout several blocks of nearby streets, citizens were spread out everywhere. Looking down from the building tops, that crowd felt even more overwhelming.

Citizens were still holding pickets and protesting. Naturally, he could see some people deifying Osian. He wanted to tell them to stop even now, but if he appeared at that scene, the situation would be swept up in even more madness.

Just as he was about to ignore it and go, Osian's gaze caught sight of a group of people.

"Move aside, you bastards! Do you know who this person is!"

In the place where citizens were protesting, several guards were swinging clubs and forcibly making way. Moving under the guards' escort was a pair of obviously wealthy-looking men and women.

'What? Are they suicide hopefuls?'