116
Kuung!
The assassin and I fell from the building. My eyes flashed for a moment. I regained consciousness for a moment, but then disappeared.
It’s not just the empire that’s big. The world, no, the universe, is big.
I now realized that fact painfully. Archie’s Victory is not an invincible fighting technique. I knew it in my head, but it was here that I truly realized it.
Scratch, scratch.
My two legs were on the verge of breaking. When I put my palms on my knees, a strong electric current shot out.
I fell from a tall building, but I survived by absorbing the impact with both legs. Of course, my body and legs were not intact.
Blood flowed from the joints of the living and the machine. Because my whole body was in pain, I couldn’t even tell where the fracture was.
‘Anyway, I’m still alive.’
I blinked as I sat down, the bloody breath rising up my throat like a nausea.
“Kaaa, thump!”
I stood up, spitting out the liquid that had collected in my mouth. I felt like I was going to die, but I wasn’t dead yet. And my enemy was still alive out there.
Creak, creak.
My state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs were still able to move even when they were half destroyed. They were incredibly durable. Long live the Empire.
‘His left arm was cut off, his legs were barely able to move, and his right index finger was broken.’
I raised my head and checked my physical condition.
My gaze turned to the assassin, who was about twenty paces away. She too was just recovering from the shock.
And her condition was much better than mine. It was unbelievable.
‘Are you a monster?’
The assassin reduced the impact by scraping the building’s exterior wall with his sword just before falling. He then spun around and fell, significantly reducing the impact.
However, one of his swords was broken because of it, and he lost an eye when he was hit by a Graken boot swung with his foot.
Dalgrak.
I picked up the Graken boot that had fallen to the floor and took up my stance. The eyeball that had been hanging from the end of the Graken boot fell to the floor. It was that woman’s left eye.
‘I went on the offensive without sparing my body until the very moment of my fall, while the assassin neglected the fight to prepare for the impact of the fall.’
This is where the difference between a living being and a machine came into play. The assassin would not have been able to take the impact of the fall with his legs.
Thanks to that, I was able to take that woman’s eyes away with the Graken boots I had between my toes.
Kaang! Boom!
The drone fell to the ground with a loud crash. The only reason I could take a moment to rest was because the patrolling drone had rushed at the assassin.
The assassin threw a projectile weapon to shoot down an approaching drone. It looked like a finger-length needle, but it had a single-molecule coating, so it pierced the drone with one blow.
Phew!
A needle flew at me too.
Kang!
I flicked the needle aside with my Graken boot. The assassin who had dealt with the drone stared at me.
“You’re surprisingly skilled in combat for your age, kid. You somehow managed to turn the battlefield in your favor.”
As the assassin spoke, he grabbed the last remaining sword in his hand. Unlike before, he did not jump lightly.
‘That woman also suffered a leg injury.’
I looked closely at the assassin’s legs and thought. She was pretending to be calm, but if you looked closely, you could see that her left leg was limping slightly.
“You’re pretty good too. You can be proud of yourself for being strong.”
It was a remark made to buy time. But it was also sincere. I kept changing the battlefield and creating variables. That’s why I was able to fight that woman on equal footing.
‘But I can’t create any more variables.’
This was the walkway under the building. The only weapon was the Graken Boots. There was no time to reload Ruina. Crucis must be somewhere far away.
‘How many more seconds can I hold out if that assassin pounces?’
My injuries were much more serious. I lost my left arm, and my legs were damaged to the point where I couldn’t even run. It was difficult to continue fighting.
“Kid, I can kill you and leave this place right now. I still have time.”
The assassin attempted to engage in conversation instead of combat. Her words were calm.
“Don’t just talk about it. Why don’t you try it yourself?”
I frowned and taunted.
“As you probably already know… … I failed this mission. Professionals don’t commit unnecessary killings. Don’t throw away your life because of your petty pride. Life is all about possibility.”
The assassin lowered her arms, as if she were not going to fight. She stared up at him with her one eye for a moment. Francek was on the seventy-second floor.
‘That woman is right.’
I just lost my temper and almost put myself in danger. If I die, everything is over. House Custoria and Giselle.
… … My death is not my own death.
I nodded slightly, but didn’t let my guard down. The opponent is good at deception and trickery. You never know when he’ll hit you in the back of the head.
“If you give me back my left eye, I’ll let it go like this. It’ll be easier to regenerate it if I have the original.”
The assassin spoke with his empty eye sockets wide open. The dark red void was eerie. The spilled blood was spread across his face like scars.
Whoosh!
I grabbed the eyeball that had fallen to the floor and threw it. The assassin snatched his own eyeball and put it in the storage compartment on the waist of his combat uniform.
… … The assassin turned his back to me and disappeared between the buildings. Martial law will soon be declared in Akbaran. The military will search the outskirts of the city for the assassin of the crown prince.
But that assassin will escape Akbaran safely. There is no particular logical reason for it. I had a feeling.
No, I think it’s just an emotional reason.
The strong man who brought me here cannot be so easily defeated.
* * *
Two days have passed since the assassin’s attack.
I was fortunate enough to be receiving treatment at the Imperial Medical Center.
The doctors held a strange red-light-emitting device to my injured area and injected some unknown drug into my body.
At first, I wondered what was going on. But the broken bone had healed in just a day, and the wound was already pink and healing.
My doctor bragged about how it accelerated cell division and such. As a side effect, it dramatically increased the chance of cancer cells developing in the regenerating area. It didn’t matter since I was going to have a full body replacement anyway.
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‘This hospital room is so dirty.’
I lay there, staring at the empty space of the hospital room. There was only one medical bed in a space larger than an average training room. If I spoke, the sound would echo back to me.
Squeak.
The door to the sickroom opened. The first one to enter was Francek. I barely managed to raise my upper body and greeted Francek.
“Lukaus Custoria! You saved me. I apologize for the delay in visiting you.”
Francesque hugged me with an exaggerated gesture, then motioned for the people following her and the doctors to leave.
“I was just doing my job.”
I said politely. The people left, leaving only me and Francesque in the sickroom.
“I swear, I didn’t hire that guy.”
Francis whispered to me. There was a look of genuine apology on his face.
“Did you catch him?”
“No, I’m trying to track down Akbaran, but it doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to catch him. What’s more, he’s a person with no trace in the Empire’s database. Perhaps… … .”
Francesque hesitated. It was not something he could easily talk about.
“… … It must have been someone from Bellato or Cora. It didn’t have the air of an imperial citizen.”
“We’re investigating where things started going wrong. Ren Itanori… is also being questioned. I don’t think she’s involved in this kind of intrigue, but you never know.”
Francesque is also a ruler and a member of the royal family. He is not afraid of petty immorality and sacrifices for his own ends. Ren Itanori may even be tortured.
‘I am an assassin hired by your trusted brother, Ivan.’
The words came out of my throat.
“One thing that’s fortunate is that my plan worked in the grand scheme of things. I was attacked, and you protected me. Now you’re a hero of the lower sector! It may not feel real yet, though.”
It really didn’t feel real. And it wasn’t a very pleasant experience. I calmly brought up a different topic.
“If His Majesty’s goal of weakening the nobility is to be achieved, the assassin’s identity must not be revealed as Bellatoin or Korain.”
“Haha, don’t worry about that. I’ve already placed people in every bar in the lower districts. Rumors are spreading that one of the nobles tried to kill me. But for the time being, I’ll have to worry about my own security. There’s no way to know who the real culprit is who tried to kill me.”
Francesque and I’s secret conversation ended quickly.
… … The next person to come to see me was Heilas. He spoke with Frances, whom he met at the door.
“You have a good son, Captain. He is a man of great promise.”
“He’s a capable guy. But I hope you don’t take him too far away and bully him too much. I still want to keep him under my wing.”
“I have never bullied you. And a child must leave his father’s embrace one day. I personally intend to reward Luca. For saving my life.”
Heilas stood by the door as if to see her off politely. Francek nodded and left the room.
Heilas sat down next to my bed without saying a word. He looked me over, then quirked one side of his lips.
“There probably aren’t many people in Akbaran who could do something like that to you… … I really wonder who it is.”
“I’m curious too. I didn’t know that a mere assassin could have this level of ability.”
I said, showing off the temporary prosthetic arm on my left side. I was due to receive a new limb soon.
“An Irregular from the lower classes who prevented the assassination of the Crown Prince… … This is very symbolic. Do you know what this means?”
“The value and political utility of my existence have increased. The chances of being disposed of have decreased.”
At my words, Heilas laughed out loud. He laughed for a while, then leaned to one side, resting his hand on his knee.
“I remember when you first became a cadet. I gave you some advice.”
I remember it clearly too.
‘It’s okay to be better than others. But you shouldn’t be different from others. That is, if you want to live long.’
I blurted out those words as I recalled my memories.
“They say that if you want to live long, you shouldn’t be different from other people.”
“But you are different from others now. You are taking a different path from the other cadets, and even from the guards.”
“If what you say is true, Captain, then I don’t think I’ll be able to live long.”
“Well, if you’re just average, you shouldn’t be different from others. But… … it’s okay if you’re so overwhelmingly excellent that you’re completely irreplaceable. Haven’t you seen a few people like that?”
There were two people who immediately came to mind.
‘Kinuan and Jingaou.’
They were different from others, but they were overwhelmingly superior. That’s why they survived for so long.
Heilas looked around the hospital room as if catching her breath. It was a single room that was so spacious that it felt empty. It was enough to run around and kick a ball.
“Lukaus Custoria, you are different from others. The only way for you to survive is to become stronger. Use everything you can, and don’t give up what you have.”
“It already is.”
“… … The storm season will come soon. We must prepare for it, so as soon as your treatment is over, return to your hometown. I will meet you at the Silver Moon Hall. Jupe and Giselle also asked me to send their regards to you. Oh, and Eva too.”
Heilas stood up from his seat. He hesitated as he was about to leave.
Ssuk.
Heilas reached out her large hand to me and stroked my hair, ruffling it slightly.
“Well done anyway. You never disappoint me.”
With that, Haylas left the sickroom. I kept my eyes on his back until the door closed.
There was a lot of ambiguity in Heilas’s speech. Ambiguous guessing was one of his specialties. So it was always hard to gauge how much he knew.
‘Eunwolgwan.’
Perhaps I will have to make some decisions there. My anxious premonitions are usually correct.
I slowly closed my eyes. My chest felt tight.
