Bad Born Blood

Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: Greedy
========================
< Chapter 26 >

I must now fight Ilay.

If I think about it rationally, I have the upper hand. As long as I don’t make any mistakes, I’ll win. However, reality rarely unfolds as planned.

*Click, click.*

My right mechanical eye moved on its own, tracking the Ramoness family.

I reminded myself of my purpose. Amid countless inferences and thoughts, I constantly reassessed what the optimal decision would be.

For now, I was grateful for the cognitive expansion granted by Arkies Combat Method.

‘There’s no need to engage Ilay head-on.’

Ilay is trying to protect the Ramoness family—more precisely, Lilian Ramoness.

‘I need to kill Lilian. Even if it creates animosity for the future, I can save Ilay for now.’

Even if it meant becoming mortal enemies with Ilay and severing ties, it didn’t matter. At least this way, I wouldn’t have to kill him with my own hands.

‘Eliminate the Ramoness family and all witnesses, and erase Ilay’s rampage as if it never happened.’

Even if there are suspicious circumstances, as a member of the Carthica family, it would be brushed under the rug.

Having made my decision, I felt a pang of self-loathing. My resolve to judge Ilay had long since been pushed aside. My mind was solely focused on concocting a scheme to save him.

……I must be some kind of pathetic idiot.

“Luka, you’re planning to ignore me and attack Lilian, aren’t you?”

Ilay spoke sharply. As expected of someone so capable.

Feigning a scratch at my head, I pretended to answer—then suddenly sprinted forward.

*Bang!*

Ilay pulled the trigger to stop me. Gunshots followed in rapid succession.

For those like us, who rely on ballistic trajectory prediction as standard, single shots won’t work. It was merely suppressive fire meant to slow me down. In the past, I would have flinched to dodge the bullets.

But before heading to the battlefield, I had pushed the speed and bandwidth of my cybernetic signals to their limits. With the upgrade complete, I could move faster and more precisely than Ilay’s predictions.

I advanced without reducing my speed. I could sense Ilay’s growing frustration from his increasingly erratic shots. The last bullet missed so widely I didn’t even need to consciously evade it.

‘With this, I’ve taken the lead.’

Ilay belatedly charged forward to block my path.

‘Avoid direct confrontation with Ilay.’

It’s nearly impossible to subdue him quickly. Meanwhile, the Ramoness family would escape.

“Hoo….”

Exhaling a sharp breath, I pushed my leg’s energy output to its maximum. There wasn’t a significant difference in the performance of our prosthetics. However, with my superior reaction speed, my acceleration outmatched his.

*Boom!*

I accelerated in a straight line between the Ramoness family and myself, breaking through Ilay’s defensive line. From now on, he would have to chase me from behind.

There was nothing else. My gaze was locked on the Ramoness family. In two seconds, we would collide.

I could feel Ilay’s presence behind me. But I ignored it. Everything would be over before he caught up.

The two sons of the Ramoness family raised their guns to confront me. They were trained soldiers, though not members of the Imperial Guard.

“Don’t resist!”

Ilay shouted. At the same moment, I reached the two sons.

With my sword and pistol drawn, I lunged at them. Their eyes widened as they tried to pull the trigger.

Too slow. Incredibly slow. Pathetically late.

They were so slow it made me sigh. Fools who couldn’t even grasp the gap in our capabilities. They were men who wouldn’t have passed the Imperial Guard’s selection process. From the looks of it, the Ramoness family must have pinned all their hopes on Claude.

I pulled the trigger, leaving a gaping hole in the first son’s forehead. Then, with my sword, I split the second son’s head vertically. A glimpse of his brain’s cross-section briefly caught my eye.

*Thud!*

I landed between the two sons. They staggered before collapsing to the ground.

That left three: Hugo Ramoness, his wife, and Lilian.

Hugo Ramoness had witnessed the deaths of his two sons right before his eyes. He tried to shout something at me.

*Squelch!*

I drove my blood stained sword, still wet with the second son’s blood, into Hugo’s chin, piercing all the way to the top of his skull. The sensation of soft brain tissue being pierced was vivid.

*Creak!*

I twisted the blade to ensure Hugo’s brain was thoroughly destroyed. His body convulsed with residual signals, his eyes rolling back.

Hurry, Luka. Ilay will soon be at your back.

There was no time to pull the sword from Hugo’s impaled skull. Deciding quickly, I raised the edge of my hand and struck Hugo’s wife’s temple.

*Crack-crunch!*

Her head shattered horizontally, splitting from cheek to cheek along the line of my strike. The remains of her head, now reduced to a disfigured lower jaw, were grotesque.

Her body, now without the brain’s control, flailed like a broken toy. From a distance, it might have resembled the erratic movements of a drunken dancer.

Four deaths in the blink of an eye. All that remained was Lilian.

“Ah…”

At last, Lilian’s lips moved. Unlike Ilay and me, she lacked the ability for high-speed reasoning. It had taken her this long to grasp the reality unfolding before her.

Her family had been slaughtered right in front of her eyes. The trauma would scar her for life. But she wouldn’t have to endure it for long—she was next.

Soon, Lilian would let out a horrific scream.

Spinning my body around, I aimed my gun at Lilian’s head. Even without looking, I could blow her head off.

But I didn’t pull the trigger right away.

Lilian was a victim of chaos. I knew that well. And in the past, she had approached me with kindness.

I thought it was only right to see her final expression—whether it was hatred or despair. Either way, I would never forget her for the rest of my life. At least, not until whatever conscience I had left completely evaporated.

…When something unexpected happens, our brains momentarily blank out. That’s exactly what happened to me now.

‘She’s… smiling?’

I couldn’t pull the trigger after seeing Lilian’s expression. Her tear-filled eyes were weeping, but the corners of her eyes and lips twitched as if she were smiling.

The emotion on Lilian’s face was joy. The tears spilling from her eyes shimmered with ecstasy.

‘Why is she smiling?’

Her reaction was bizarre. And because of that, I hesitated. It was enough time for Ilay to catch up.

“Lukaaaaaa—!!”

Ilay swung his sword, forcing himself between me and Lilian. It was the first time I had ever seen him this enraged. Pale blue light gleamed from his eyes like flames.

I tried to pull the trigger, albeit belatedly, to shoot Lilian in the head.

*Ping!*

But the bullet was effortlessly deflected by Ilay’s sword.

Stay calm. This isn’t going as planned, but the situation isn’t unfavorable to me.

After all, the entire Ramoness family, except for Lilian, had been dealt with. I could subdue Ilay here and kill Lilian afterward.

The one who has lost their composure is Ilay. I need to treat him like a wounded beast. If I sever all his limbs, he won’t be able to do anything.

…It was a bit odd, but I found myself grinning with anticipation and excitement. A worthy opponent who could withstand my full strength was standing right before me.

I knew this wasn’t a situation to be smiling about. But I didn’t deny the innate violence within me. I didn’t want to dismiss the instincts that had brought me this far as something bad. To put it positively, I simply possessed the aggression necessary for a soldier.

Dark crimson emotions were welling up inside me. But I couldn’t let them consume me. If I did, I might end up killing Ilay right here.

“Don’t smile, Luka.”

Ilay said, standing protectively in front of Lilian like a knight guarding his princess.

I had just made a mistake. Seeing my sinister smile, Ilay had regained his composure. At this rate, it wouldn’t end easily.

“Ilay, did you see that woman’s expression just now? Her family is dead, yet she’s happy. Isn’t that strange?”

I stepped back, speaking mockingly. Ilay must have seen Lilian’s bizarre expression too. If my words could unsettle him, it would work to my advantage.

“…It’s not strange. She’s finally free.”

Ilay spoke as if he understood why Lilian was smiling. There was no hesitation in his eyes.

I narrowed my gaze. The atmosphere between Lilian and Ilay felt peculiar. It didn’t seem like it was just unrequited love on Ilay’s part.

“Lilian means more to you than just a first love.”

Ilay didn’t answer. I was likely right.

I wiped the blood off my sword by rubbing it against my pants. Ilay waited silently for my next move.

*Keeng!*

Extending my arm, I pointed the now-cleaned blade at Ilay.

“Well, fine. Whatever. It doesn’t matter. Let’s begin.”

—

We, as cadets of the Imperial Guard, are different from ordinary people. Throughout our training, our nervous systems were enhanced through chemotherapy and synthetic drugs.

High-performance combat prosthetics cannot be handled by a natural brain. The prosthetics move faster than human reaction limits and exchange high-intensity signals strong enough to rupture the muscles of a biological body.

That’s why ordinary people can’t even respond to our movements.

Ilay and I clashed in high-speed combat. Lilian, standing behind us, couldn’t even begin to comprehend how we were moving.

*Keeng!*

I swung my arm, slashing with my sword. The blade’s trajectory was so fast it seemed to bend like a whip.

*Clang!*

Ilay extended his sword to block my attack. My fingers gripping the sword felt like they were about to break. Ilay must have felt the same.

Our blades clashed again and again, so quickly it seemed as if there were multiple blades. As identical metals collided repeatedly, the edges of our swords began to chip.

At a glance, the fight might have seemed even. But both Ilay and I knew the truth.

‘I’m the one who’s going to win.’

In the past, we were equals, but Ilay lacked the desire to grow stronger. While I honed myself to a razor’s edge, he had been consumed by strange ideologies and distractions.

‘No matter how desperate he is now, he can’t summon strength that isn’t there.’

Ilay was fighting desperately. He knew he would lose, yet he was scraping the bottom of his reserves, drawing out every ounce of strength he had.

‘Is Lilian Ramoness really worth all this?’

That’s what I wanted to ask. Ilay was throwing everything he had to protect Lilian, even though the odds were abysmally low.

“Hoo.”

I exhaled briefly. For me, this much was enough. However, Ilay’s shoulders were rising and falling, as if he were out of breath.

“It was fun, Ilay.”

I spoke as I widened the distance between us.

“Don’t talk like it’s over.”

Ilay replied, his trembling hand betraying him. He gave a bitter smile, as if aware of how unconvincing his words sounded, even to himself.

“You’re smart. Don’t act so foolishly. It’s not too late. This isn’t worth it over just one woman, is it?”

My breathing had already calmed. In contrast, Ilay’s breaths were still ragged. If I attacked now, I could overpower him easily.

“Luka, you don’t understand anything.”

Ilay didn’t seem inclined to respond to my persuasion.

“Haha, and I don’t want to. I don’t care about the thoughts of someone who killed their own subordinates.”

Ilay fell silent at my mockery. Even he must feel some guilt about that.

“Families like the Ramoness, labeled as traitors, never raised a rebellion. The Empire just slapped on a justification, but in reality, this is a purge.”

“You’re just spouting nonsense. Buying time won’t change anything.”

“It’s true I want to catch my breath, but I’m not making this up. If they had really prepared for a rebellion, their counterattack wouldn’t have been this sloppy. At best, all they had were their household troops. If they were serious about rebelling against the Empire, they would’ve sought help from Corite or Bellato! At the very least, they could’ve hired alien mercenaries. Families like theirs had the resources for it.”

I couldn’t immediately retort. Even though I didn’t want to think about it, my mind worked on its own.

‘What he’s saying is true. For an alliance of three families, the scale of the rebellion is far too small. And there’s no external support.’

Only the entry into the Arcane Fortress was challenging. Once inside, everything was over in an instant.

The Holy Corite Alliance and the Bellato Federation had long been waiting for an opportunity to fracture the Empire. If prominent imperial families had truly rebelled, the world was full of powers willing to support them.

The answer to my doubts came from behind Ilay.

“It’s because of this that the Empire targeted our family.”

Lilian spoke as she rummaged through her father’s corpse. She pulled out a cube—a softly glowing cube.

I felt that knowledge I shouldn’t know was about to spill from Lilian’s lips. I couldn’t let her speak any further.

I had to subdue Ilay immediately and cut down Lilian. The instincts of a soldier engraved deep within me crept up to the nape of my neck. Yet an equally powerful curiosity suppressed the dark intent rising inside me.

I ended up continuing to listen to Lilian.

“This is an Arcane Artifact. It’s thanks to this that we were able to activate the fortress, which had slumbered for untold ages.”

Lilian released the Arcane Cube. It hovered slightly above her palm, spinning gently. Its appearance resembled other Arcane Artifacts I had seen before.

“No, your family is nothing but traitors. You must have stolen the Arcane Artifact and studied it without authorization.”

I spoke as coldly as I could.

“Luka, the Ramoness family was tasked by His Majesty the Emperor to investigate and study Arcane Artifacts. They’re innocent…”

Ilay tried to argue passionately, but Lilian shook her head. She cut him off, intercepting his words.

“No, saying our family is innocent is incorrect. My father was indeed preparing for rebellion. As soon as he discovered how to activate the fortress using the Arcane Artifact, he hid it instead of reporting it. He believed it might even grant him power surpassing the Emperor.”

“Lilian! Now is not the time…”

Ilay shouted at Lilian, his voice filled with desperation.

To be honest, I could have subdued both of them at any moment. But my interest in Lilian was piqued.

Despite witnessing her family’s slaughter right before her eyes, Lilian was responding calmly to the situation. She wasn’t pretending to be a victim either. I never imagined she would be this kind of woman. I had assumed she was just another self-indulgent noble daughter.

“Luka, you care deeply about Ilay, don’t you? Ilay can’t live the life he desires within the Empire. But now, he has a chance to escape. With me.”

I hesitated. Memories of the past surfaced. Ilay had once tried to flee the Empire but stayed behind because of the injuries I had inflicted on him.

My aggression subsided somewhat. Ilay and Lilian must have sensed it as well.

“…But there’s nowhere to run. The Imperial Army has the entire fortress surrounded. You’re probably counting on some secret passage, but they’ve already uncovered everything.”

I spoke as though offering a compromise. Even if Ilay and I miraculously joined forces, escaping with Lilian was impossible.

“There’s a spatial transport device beneath the fortress. According to the materials my father deciphered, it can transfer living beings as well. It must have been a last-resort escape mechanism in case the fortress fell.”

I tilted my head slightly.

“A spatial transport device?”

“Luka, if you want to kill me, go ahead. I’m no fool. Ilay’s skills are inferior to yours. If I die, it all ends here, and I don’t want to ruin his life. But if this Arcane Artifact activates the spatial transport device… Ilay and I can escape the Empire. You could just say you never saw us.”

It was tempting. Whether Lilian lived or died wasn’t my concern.

‘Ilay could leave the Empire. This is a battlefield, so it’d be easy to disguise it as him going missing or being killed.’

This was what piqued my interest.

Let’s say I dealt with Lilian and somehow saved Ilay. He wouldn’t survive for long. Eventually, he’d find himself in a situation where even his family’s influence couldn’t save his life.

*Keeng!*

I spun my sword in a circle before sliding it back into its sheath. Ilay’s expression brightened at my gesture.

“Lu—”

“Shut it, Ilay. Promise me one thing. If the spatial transport device Lilian mentioned doesn’t exist or doesn’t work… don’t stop me anymore. You heard her, didn’t you? Lilian doesn’t want to see you end up in trouble.”

Ilay bit his lower lip and turned to Lilian. She nodded willingly.

For the first time, I found myself liking Lilian. If I’d known she was this kind of woman, I might have even considered a romantic relationship with her.

“I promise, Luka.”

Reluctant words spilled from Ilay’s lips.