Bad Born Blood Chapter 200

There are many people in the 200
Empire who have influenced my life. One of them is ‘Ilay Kartika’.

Illei was born into a military family and was gifted with exceptional talent. However, the boy who was born with perfect conditions looked at the empire and the royal family with a suspicious gaze. It is questionable whether this is still the case.

Profit.

Ilay took off his helmet. As the hydraulic pressure was released, his synthetic blond hair flowed down. His blue eyes, which closed and opened, were as clear as glass beads, and his eyelashes were unusually elastic. He didn’t sweat even though he was wearing a highly airtight combat suit.

… … You have a full body, Illei. As a noble and elite soldier of the Empire, that’s only natural.

I swallowed those words and stared at Ilay.

Dismissal, dismissal.

The man who died at Ilay’s hand was convulsing. Electricity was running intermittently from his pierced jaw and crown. Judging from the fact that he was with Ilay, he must have been at least an elite soldier of the Royal Guard.

“You’re alive, Luca. Of course you are. Where else in the world can you find someone as tenacious as you? I thought you’d be alive.”

Illai smiled faintly. It was still a bright and cheerful smile.

“I came to find Valek, and you?”

Rather than chatting and letting out our frustrations, we quickly conveyed our purpose and situation.

Judging by the fact that she killed her comrade immediately, it seems that Ilay has no intention of reporting my existence to the Empire.

“Balek? Oh, he’s here.”

Illai opened the iron box with a handle. Inside was Balek’s head, soaked in a thick preservative. Balek was dead, with only his eyes wide open. Blood, pressed down by the thick preservative, rippled like a mist.

‘If the brain isn’t damaged or rotten, there’s probably some way to extract the information.’

Anything is possible in an empire.

“Are you here to catch Balek too?”

“Luka, I want to tell you the story of what happened, but… … there isn’t much time. The other team members will be here soon. I can’t kill all of my subordinates.”

I kept holding the fireworks. The enthusiasm was softly illuminating the cave.

“Ilay. Frances is imprisoned, Giselle is missing, and you are on an important mission outside the Empire. You seem to be trusted by the Emperor. I entrusted you with Frances’s care. I naturally assumed you would protect Giselle. Did you sell Frances to Ivan?”

I didn’t beat around the bush. I just quietly observed Ilay. But there was no sign of agitation or emotion.

Ilay maintained a dry smile like a still image. Soon, he opened his lips and let out a sigh.

“Luka, it’s too complicated to talk about here. It’ll cause misunderstandings. You know the web of the Empire too well.”

“Then let me ask you one thing. Are you sure you did your best?”

For now, I have to let this go. I want to stick my sword in and bury it, but that’s not the best option here. And more than anything, I wasn’t even sure I could subdue Ilay.

Be wise and suppress your emotions. This is the best way to find Giselle. Ilay’s cooperation is important.

“You could have done better, but it was the best I could do. Have you and Valek ever met? Recently?”

“We had a great fight. If you pluck the memories out of his head, my face will remain vivid.”

Illai pressed his eyebrows together as if he had a headache.

“Damn, if the Empire finds out you’re still out there, they’ll come and get you. Ivan’s got a weird obsession with you. We don’t have much time, Luca. Let me explain the situation briefly.”

I waited for Ilay to speak.

“I received an imperial order to form a special task force to pursue Kinuan. I don’t know how you got here, but you must be pursuing Kinuan too. It can’t be a coincidence that we met here.”

It’s Kinuan again. I was so curious about what kind of crazy things he was doing that I thought I was going crazy.

“so?”

“I’ll hand over Valek’s head to you. Are you staying in Border City? There should be many ways to extract memories there. Let’s meet again in a month and share the progress and information. I’ll also research what you’re curious about.”

Illai closed the box of Balek’s head and threw it towards me. We quickly decided on a date and place.

Crunch.

After finishing speaking, Ilay raised his gun and tried to aim it at Ragnatha. I extended my fire-light sword forward and blocked the gun’s muzzle.

“Ilay, what are you doing? Put the gun down.”

I frowned.

“I am taking a huge risk by pretending not to see you. You and I are the only ones who know this. I don’t know what that old woman means to you, but she must be killed here and now.”

“He is under my control. He is not someone who should speak ill of the Empire.”

“Luka, you’re so affectionate that you often hesitate to make decisions. I like that about you, but… … that personality is what ruined you. One nightmare like that is enough.”

Ilay smiled bitterly. I grimaced even more viciously.

“I don’t want to say it twice. Take your finger off the trigger.”

“I killed my subordinate for you. I was a loyal man.”

I burst out laughing, one corner of my mouth twitching.

“Haha, I just remembered. Your specialty was killing your subordinates when you were angry, right?”

Ilay’s face distorted for the first time. His words also became filled with emotion.

“Isn’t it a wise decision to antagonize me now? There’s no way to know the internal situation of the Empire without me? I want to help you. So trust me like you used to. When you hear the whole story, you’ll be convinced.”

“I said no, Illei. You know how stubborn I am.”

“This is not a matter for compromise, Luca. It’s been twelve years, and you have no idea what I’ve been doing for twelve years. It could all go down the drain. You’re the only risk I can take. No one else is my concern.”

I stood in front of Ilay and blocked the line.

“Me too. I don’t care what you’ve been doing for the past twelve years. What matters is that there’s a fool in front of you who couldn’t protect Francesque or Giselle.”

“Don’t act like a brat. You’re just spoiling my excitement. Do you know how happy I was when I saw you?”

“Me too. It was nice meeting you, Ilay Kartika. But I need that woman for my purposes. It’s not something I can compromise on.”

Illai bit his lower lip as if flicking it, then scratched his head. He just sighed and put the gun away.

“I know it’s hard for you to just trust me. So I’ll give in to your stubbornness this time. This is a token of trust. So… … trust me next time. Trust your friend more than anyone else.”

Ilay extended his fist towards me.

“Well, I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”

I also put away my sword and extended my fist to clash with him.

“You still have that dirty temper. Anyway, like I said before, there’s no time. Get out before my team gets here. I’ll take care of the scene.”

I took the boxes of Ragnata and Balek’s heads. Ragnata looked back and forth between me and Ilay without saying a word.

“I believe you did your best, Ellie. I never doubt that. This situation was truly the best for you.”

I said, turning my back.

Whoosh!

Ilay threw something at me. I just stretched out my arm and caught it. It fit strangely in my palm.

I burst out laughing when I saw the thing Ilay threw.

‘Graken Boot.’

It was the white dagger that the guy gave me as a gift. It seems that he kept it as a talisman rather than using it for actual use. However, if you only consider performance, there are many things that are better than the Graken Boots.

“You’ve been carrying this around with you all this time? But wasn’t it one of my belongings?”

When I asked, Ilay shrugged.

“I took it out and kept it. If I had just left it, it would have belonged to the Custoria family. Since you’ve managed to come back from the underworld, take it back. By the way, Cruxis is being carried around by your stepbrother, uh, his name is, yes, Jupe.”

“Hmm, that feels a bit off.”

To Jupe… …Crucis is a woman who is too much for him. He won’t be able to handle her properly.

I left Ilay behind and went back through the underground cave. Ragnata, who had been silent for a while, blurted out a word.

“Boys always look so fresh and innocent.”

“Even if we roughly count, we’re thirty years old. Isn’t that too old to be called boys?”

“You’re only thirty, so you’re still a boy to me. Anyway, I didn’t know you’d save me by being prepared to fight with your friend. If I were ten years younger, you would have fallen for me.”

“10 years? Did I misspeak 30 years? And I didn’t really clash with him for your sake. I was just testing how much he would compromise for me. He’s been a sinister guy since the old days. It’s hard to trust him.”

I said indifferently.

“… … But that sinister friend would have done anything for you.”

I didn’t answer.

* * *

I left Balek’s head in Jafar’s hands. Jafar would be able to handle the job much faster than I would have to go around looking for biohackers. He must have some regulars, too.

Naturally, the encounter with Illei was a secret from everyone.

‘Ilay Kartika.’

I thought of a meeting place. We decided to meet at a quaint bar in Border City. That was a natural fit.

‘Before meeting Ilay, we must extract the memories and information from Valek’s head.’

In fact, a month was a very tight time to get things done. If I had done it myself, it would have been difficult to meet the deadline.

‘But if you can’t even handle this, you’re not qualified to chase after Kinuan.’

I think Illei also set the period of one month for that reason.

Kinuan is a monster that changes every moment. If you take your eyes off it for even a moment, it will be in a completely unexpected location.

Anyway, there’s a month left. Right now, rather than investigating Kinuan further, we need to think about how to respond to ‘Ilay’.

‘Assume the worst.’

I want to believe in Ilay, but reality does not reward our faith. The fools think that reality will not betray them.

We must also keep in mind Ilay’s betrayal. He will be the same. He will assume my impulsive actions.

‘Illei gained experience during my absence. As an elite soldier of the Empire, he must have completed countless dangerous missions.’

Ilay is a person who is commonly referred to as a ‘genius’. The 12 years he has accumulated through talent and effort are incredible.

Wheeing.

There was only a ventilation fan spinning in a windowless space.

Now I was in the training room set up in the office building. It was a private training room, but it was quite large and spacious. Above all, the facilities were excellent. Even if I moved at full power, the floor and walls would not break.

Kkieii.

I slowly extended my fist and swung my feet while increasing the output of my body. I moved slowly, taking several minutes for each movement. The force that was trying to move outward was trapped inside, knocking my body.

Knock, knock.

Sweat dripped down from the living body like rain.

“Does this work? You’re not a prosthetic user. You don’t have any understanding of cybernetic warfare.”

I grumbled.

“You were the one who asked me to help you train, boy.”

Ragnata was drinking tea in a wheelchair. I left her free, but I had no intention of giving her a prosthetic leg.

‘I can’t trust Ragnata yet. But he is something I need.’

It was my intuition that kept Ragnata by my side. I felt that I needed her presence for my future goals. It wasn’t for nothing that I saved her by opposing Ilay.

‘Ragnatha is right. I need someone who can control me.’

Okay, let’s just admit it and move on. I’m an unstable person and I need wise counsel. I remember back when I was a cadet.

Japha is a patron, not an advisor. The conditions of the advisor I need are simple but difficult.

He must be a strong man who surpasses me or at least has equal fighting power. And he must have experience that I don’t have. Lastly, he must have the mental strength to carry out his will and beliefs even in the face of death.

It is rare to find someone who has this condition. I am a twisted person, so I do not listen to the words of someone I do not recognize, even if they are right.

“Whether it’s a living body, a prosthesis, an exoskeleton… … whatever it is, there’s only one thing that never betrays a warrior. It’s the basics that are ingrained in you through daily repetition. On the contrary, at a certain level, you end up overlooking them. Just repeat the movements you use frequently, and forget the basics that you don’t use.”

“In other words, it’s optimization. It’s removing all the movements that fit your body best. If you try to make a movement that doesn’t fit your body at a split second where life or death is at stake, you’ll die.”

I argued. Ragnata looked at me leisurely.

“That makes sense. Especially in normal lower-level combat. But in higher-level combat at our level, creativity is important. You know this well since you’ve mastered Archie’s Victory. But creativity isn’t inspiration; it’s an extension of repeated mastery. You have to become a master of kicking before you can advance to slashing with your toes. In short, train yourself to be able to do anything. Turn your entire body into a weapon.”

Ragnata cut the string from the tea bag and put it in her mouth. After mumbling for a moment, she spat out the string, which was tied into a ribbon shape, into her palm.

“… … What does that mean?”

I said it slowly. It felt strangely awkward.

“In my prime, I killed many people with my tongue. If you can use your tongue like a finger, you can do many things.”

“That’s an assassin’s skill.”

“Are you in a position to be picky about hot and cold water? And this is just an example. The Akiess Victory is a technique for the weak. To put it nicely, it’s a trick and a shortcut, and to put it badly, it’s just a trick. You can’t become truly strong with just the Akiess Victory, kid.”

If someone else had said the same thing, I would have grabbed my tongue and twisted it, telling them to stop talking nonsense. But because it was Ragnata who said it, it was convincing.