On the live drone feed, the sudden appearance of that black-haired boy left everyone dumbfounded.
Especially the mbers of the Armorless Union, who had been lounging around in the hospital, calmly watching their boss put on a show. At this point, none of them could make sense of what was going on.
Wasn't that knight supposed to be their boss? He had literally transford right in front of them earlier! By all logic, there was no way he could also appear like this, at the sa ti, in his normal form… right?
And judging from the knight's earlier performance, there was no mistaking it—he really was their boss. But then how were they supposed to explain the black-haired boy who suddenly appeared, supporting Margaret?
"Oi, Platinum. You're the one closest to the boss. How the hell did he pull this off? Can you explain it to us?"
Pointing at the screen with a face full of disbelief, Roy turned toward Centaurea—who was equally stunned.
Since she knew the boss better than anyone else, if even she couldn't explain it, then that just ant the man's secrets were even deeper than they thought.
But all Centaurea could do was give a helpless smile and shrug her shoulders under the curious stares of her comrades.
She had no idea how Steven managed it either. The only thing she was absolutely sure of was that the knight was indeed him. As for why he could be in two places at once… well, that was his little secret. Maybe so kind of special Arts? A spell, perhaps? Either way, she definitely couldn't explain it.
If they wanted answers, they'd just have to ask the man himself.
Among those just as shocked was Sophia, who had been so sure she had everything figured out. She hadn't even been worried about the whole Grand Knight Territory incident from the start. She'd even tried to stop Młynar, telling her it didn't matter whether they went or not—because in the end, Steven was never going to go overboard anyway.
But now? How was she supposed to explain this sudden second Steven?
It didn't make any sense!
And of course, the only one who truly knew the truth behind it all… was Steven himself.
Yes—the masked rider Evol who had planned to wipe out the entire Grand Knight Territory was him. And the boy who is now supporting Margaret… was also him.
Only, this ti, he was playing under yet another identity.
In other words, this was the price of getting carried away. Originally, it would have been fine to hold back, let Margaret's side claim victory, and call it a day. But his damned competitive streak just wouldn't let go. And so now… he had no choice but to send in another "self" to clean up the ss.
Not that it was really a problem. For the mont, at least, the script was still unfolding exactly as he had written it.
Steven smiled faintly as he gently laid the unconscious Margaret aside, then raised his head to greet the imposing knight standing before him.
How to put it… seeing his own armored form from this perspective, he had to admit—the sheer pressure it exuded was terrifying.
That's right. The reason he could appear simultaneously in both forms was actually quite simple. Back when Margaret unleashed that blinding flash that forced everyone to shut their eyes, he had already undone his transformation. At the sa ti, he had created a controllable entity, and had it equip the Evol Driver instead.
If soone were to remove the knight's helt right now, they'd probably see the blocky, square face of a textbook-perfect Steve.
Which ant, in the end, the so-called "boss" on screen was nothing more than a puppet.
And how this little play would proceed… that was all up to his own performance.
Controlling that puppet to make a few simple gestures wasn't too hard. But making it fight? That was another story altogether. Steven had never learned any "left-hand-right-circle" kind of trick, and expecting him to pilot two avatars to brawl with each other… yeah, that was pushing it a bit too far.
Luckily, he had no intention of staging a " vs. " showdown anyway.
"Another foolish challenger?"
His armored self—the one clad in Evol's gear—spoke in its usual contemptuous tone. From the boss's perspective, Steven crossed his arms and stood tall, gazing down at the black-haired boy before him.
"But judging by your appearance, you're no knight. And yet… you still choose to stand against ?"
The cara of perspective shifted again. This ti, it was "human Steven" who stepped forward with a bright smile.
"No, I didn't co here to challenge you. These fights are aningless. What I ca here for… is to strike a deal with you."
Frankly, he enjoyed this far more than an actual fight. Talking with himself, playing both hero and villain—it was pure indulgence in his love of performance. The boss was him, the one confronting the boss was him, even the one who would ultimately resolve the whole ss was him. Just saying it out loud was enough to make him feel giddy.
"Oh? A deal?"
The armored boss let out a mocking chuckle.
"Do you know what I hate most in this world? rchants. And yet it was the very K.G.C.C you represent that paved the way for everything I've done."
At that, Steven couldn't help but laugh at his own lines. Honestly, he had never intended for things to escalate into this whole grand spectacle. At the beginning, he had only co to Kazimierz to watch the knight tournants he'd been looking forward to.
It was like being a basketball fan arriving in the city hosting the World Cup—of course you'd go watch the gas live. Only, imagine showing up and finding out every single match was rigged, every victory and defeat pre-arranged by the organizers. Who wouldn't want to shout the classic line: "Refund my damn ticket!"
But Steven wasn't just so powerless fan. He had the ans to do sothing about it. And if soone disgusted him? He would disgust them right back.
One thing led to another, and before long, it had snowballed into the grand ss they had now.
And with his armored self dropping the na of the K.G.C.C, everyone watching the broadcast finally pieced things together. So that was it—of course no one would just wreak havoc for no reason. In the end, it was simply that soone had provoked the wrong person.
"I understand your anger. But at this point, the mbers of the K.G.C.C won't suffer in the slightest because of it. In fact, for those who've never felt any real attachnt to this land, the mont you began all this chaos, they'd already cashed out every piece of property they could sell and run."
As his human self, Steven calmly revealed the truth he'd learned earlier: most of the K.G.C.C had already packed up and slipped away. By the ti news of Margaret's defeat spread, chances were the entire Grand Knight Territory would already be sold off piece by piece.
The mont those words left his mouth, it wasn't "Evol" who reacted the strongest—it was the countless people watching the broadcast. For the first ti, they realized that their own superiors might have already sold them out.
And as more and more tried to reach higher-ups only to find no response, true panic began to spread across the Grand Knight Territory.
If the Black Hole Knight swallowing the entire Grand Knight Territory with a black hole had felt like so distant, inevitable tragedy—sothing beyond their control—then hearing that their bosses had simply grabbed their buckets and run… now that hit ho.
Because that ant no more jobs.
No more wages.
And who was going to pay them now?
anwhile, the very man who had dropped this bombshell only smiled even wider as he added, almost cheerfully:
"Which is why—as the inheritor of the shares that the K.G.C.C dumped, I, Steve of the Block Consortium, am more than qualified to make a deal with you, don't you think?"
By declaring his "identity," Steven wasn't just addressing his armored self on the other side—he was speaking directly to the audience watching the live broadcast. A clear title gave his words greater weight. And besides, slipping in a little advertisent for his own corporation while he was at it? Why not?
"Hmph. And what of it? You rchants are all the sa vermin. What difference is there between you and the K.G.C.C? Tell —what makes you think you can offer anything worth considering?"
Having grown more comfortable switching between his two personas, Steven carried on with his little self-dialogue. It wasn't like anyone else present had the strength to interrupt him anyway. He'd flattened them all. And so, his words carried absolute weight.
"No, no, no," his "human" self wagged a finger, smiling. "As a re rchant, of course I have nothing that could move you. But if it's Kazimierz itself—that's another story. At best, I'm only here to act as a middleman, a guide to help bring it about."
Finally, Steven revealed his true goal. He hadn't donned this "businessman" persona just to make a aningless deal with himself. No—if he was going to play big, then Kazimierz itself had to be dragged into the ss.
After all, so what if the Kazimierz Major collapsed? So what if the K.G.C.C went bankrupt? Even if he destroyed the entire Grand Knight Territory in one gulp, that alone wouldn't be enough to make the people of Kazimierz truly wake up.
So instead, why not step in personally and steer things a little? If he could pull all of Kazimierz into a pact with him, then perhaps they could avoid having such disgusting farces repeat themselves.
And even if they did… at the very least, it wouldn't be the sa blatant, reeking corruption that the K.G.C.C had flaunted—tainting the Grand Knight Territory with the stench of money so strong it suffocated.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
sdrive.google/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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