Bad Born Blood Chapter 255

255
Here, let’s talk about the past for a moment.

When I concentrated, the faded memories regained their original colors as if they had never been there before.

My past is a crimson memory, like frozen rotting blood.

I thought back to my days as a cadet.

Dry ceilings and walls without any decoration, furniture with sharp angles that feel like they would pierce your skin if you bumped into it, and iron chairs that make your butt and thighs go numb when you sit on them.

Wherever you go in the training center building, the only colors you see are purple, blue, black, red, and silver-gray. It’s a color combination that would drive even a sane person into terminal depression.

At the training camp, there were boys of the same type as me coming and going.

A group of murderous geniuses selected through screening.

They have high aggression towards others and a low aversion to killing. Despite their low morality, they have a high tolerance for vertical hierarchy and can withstand neurochemical processing… …etc.

Only those who meet the criteria for becoming the killing machine desired by the Empire become cadets of the Royal Guard.

The Guard does not say that killing is wrong. It does not teach that violence should be tolerated. On the contrary, it has exacerbated our innate aggressiveness with chemical drugs and mental education.

The hyperactive aggression was on the verge of overflowing, and the guards taught them how to release that aggression effectively.

Cadets like me channeled their hypertrophied aggression and expressed it outwardly.

‘I don’t know if what works for me will work for Boyan the Crawler.’

But I only know the way I learned and practiced. I don’t know any other way.

‘Just as muscles develop the more you use them, the more you release and use them, the more control you have.’

Just enduring doesn’t increase control. Through the process of filling and emptying, we can learn how to control.

‘Come, Boyan.’

Boyan rushed at me in a half-crazy state, throwing his fist at me with a large movement.

Ter- Huh!

Boyan’s fist collided with my forearm. The force was incredible. A normal human body would not be able to withstand the impact.

‘No matter how excellent your innate body and reactivity are… … .’

Boyan has little fighting experience and is untrained. It was simple and easy to read.

I saw countless actions that could have killed Boyan instantly. Dozens of afterimages of myself killing Boyan flashed through my mind.

‘Lack of ability to gauge the capabilities of the opponent.’

He just rushes in with emotional excitement. If he meets an opponent stronger than him, he will die.

‘Boyan is drunk on his own violence. He is subconsciously aware that he is strong. He is even deceiving himself with a feeble defense mechanism to prove that he is different from other crawlers.’

My instructors and superiors during my cadet days proved to me that their abilities were overwhelmingly superior. That’s why I had no choice but to respect, admire, and follow them.

‘You don’t just have to suppress them, you have to take all their power at your disposal.’

Boyan can’t sustain his overwhelming aggression forever. His nervous system will become exhausted from the overload, and his physical damage will increase.

Phew!

I parried Boyan’s flurry of blows to the side. I could have just punched him in the stomach, but I held back.

For a living creature, an attack stance is ‘abnormal’. An attack stance is an act of emitting energy at a level that cannot be maintained. Maintaining it for a long time is also part of training.

‘It’s slowing down. It’s losing momentum.’

The ensuing killing intent was vague. The attacks were lifeless and mechanical.

The fighting spirit that Boyan had been exuding was fading away.

Whirl!

I grabbed Boyan’s arm and kicked his thigh.

“Kaaaak!”

I heard a popping sound. I’ll probably limp for a few days.

‘I have to study, so I’ll leave my right arm behind.’

I grabbed Boyan’s left arm and hit him with my knee. No matter how strong the crawler is, it is weaker than a lump of iron.

Snap!

There was a clean snapping sound. The young crawler would catch on quickly.

Boom!

I hit Boyan’s chin with the bottom of my palm. Boyan staggered around, unable to come to his senses due to my repeated attacks.

‘As expected, it’s sturdy. As expected of a child of Legor.’

I was just thinking of taking Boyan down with one blow. Boyan was holding on bravely.

But this blow ends it all.

I curled my outstretched palm and held it with my other palm. Then I swung my elbow briefly and struck Boyan in the temple.

Snap!

Boyan staggered as if he had been shot and fell down.

“Not bad for a warm-up, Boyan.”

I stepped back. Boyan, who had passed out, was just gasping for breath.

dump.

I sat on the bench installed along the wall and drank water.

‘Boyan must undergo combat training. Even if he does not want to be a warrior, his innate instinct cannot be helped.’

The same goes for humans. Ancient humans were persistent hunters. They walked and ran all day long, chasing their prey. That’s why even now, if humans don’t run and walk consistently, their physical functions decline.

‘The intense fighting will help Boyan’s mental health. If you deny your desires and keep them in, they will manifest in a terrible way.’

I know the nobles of the empire. The nobles of the full-body body denied their human emotions and buried them inside themselves. The emotions that were not released in time rotted away, and later leaked out stickily, giving off a terrible stench.

‘I’m no different when you look at it broadly. If I don’t properly vent my aggression, my mind starts to become distorted.’

When I had about halfway through emptying the water jug, Boyan started to stir. I poured the remaining water on his head.

“Boyan, no matter what anyone says, you are drawn to fighting and struggle. Instinct is not to reject, but to control. If you understand, then come to me for training.”

I said that and tried to leave the training room, whether Boyan heard me or not.

A groan-like sound came from Boyan, who had fallen as if dead.

“Thank you, Mr. Luca.”

* * *

Two more days had passed since I had beaten Boyan to a pulp. My terminal rang with good news for the first time in a while.

Beep.

Lapis Lazuli regains consciousness. She was caught in the explosion, lost her left arm and left leg, and came close to death before returning to the present world.

‘There are a lot of people coming to visit me.’

I sat on the bench and waited for my turn, looking at Lapis’ hospital room from afar.

The employees and executives of Japa Company came first to visit him. There were many acquaintances who had no connection to Japa Company, and there were people of various races, including Tarpa, who were of the same race. This was a part that gave us a glimpse into Lapis’s behavior and popularity.

Beep.

The elevator in the hallway opened. I could tell who got out by the pungent smell.

‘Son Seok-jae.’

Son Seok-jae came to visit Lapis after hearing of her recovery. The young male secretary next to him was holding a bouquet of flowers, perhaps as a gift for visiting her.

“Oh, Mr. Luca was here too. I was embarrassed to go in alone, so this is a good thing.”

Son Seok-jae sat in front of me calmly.

“I don’t think Lapis would welcome your visit?”

“Whether you like it or not, I have to do my duty. It was my subordinate who did it.”

I snorted and leaned the back of my head against the wall.

“You are such a natural villain. Admirable.”

Son Seok-jae didn’t even blink an eye at my criticism.

“The stigma is familiar.”

I waited for my turn without exchanging words with Son Seok-jae. Soon, all the visitors who had arrived before me left.

Squeak.

I went into the sickroom first, and Son Seok-jae followed me.

“roo…….”

Lapis greeted me, then frowned at Son Seok-jae.

“Should I beat him up and chase him out?”

When I said that, Lapis shook her head.

“No, it’s okay.”

Son Seok-jae and I, sitting next to Lapis, talked about the culprit of the explosion. It was about Manager Oh.

“Oh, we took care of it on our side. The witness is Mr. Luca here.”

Lapis stared out the window with a bitter smile at the words, “Vengeance.”

“A tree that contains great evil grows bigger day by day, so what’s the point of cutting off only its branches?”

“It’s a misunderstanding, Miss Lapis.”

Lapis glared at Son Seok-jae.

“You’re thinking of covering up your ugly past and passing the blame for the sins you couldn’t cover up onto your subordinates, while you try to climb up the ladder. People won’t tolerate your shamelessness.”

Son Seok-jae gestured to his secretary. The secretary placed a fragrant bouquet of flowers on the table.

“We may not have the wealth and power of Company Jafar, but we will help with Lapis’ rehabilitation and treatment to the best of our ability. If you need anything, please contact us at any time.”

Son Seok-jae stood up, inserting a paper business card into a bouquet of flowers. He said goodbye to me and Lapis like a gentleman and disappeared.

Kkugit.

As soon as Son Seok-jae disappeared, I crumpled up the business card and threw it in the trash can.

“Should I throw away the flowers too?”

“Please just leave it alone. There’s nothing wrong with the flowers. I’ve heard the gist of what’s happened. And you too, Japa… .”

“Just as you woke up, Jafar will recover soon. He still wakes up occasionally to set company policies.”

Lapis stared at where her left arm and left leg should have been. The cut surfaces were just wrapped tightly in bandages.

“I’m thinking of getting a prosthetic arm and leg while I’m at it. I think I can make better things if I use them myself. I’ll also be able to do more precise work if I have a prosthetic arm.”

“In today’s world, being missing one or two limbs isn’t a blemish.”

Lapis put her hand to her lips and giggled. We talked about this and that.

Lapis gave me some advice before I left.

“Luka, be careful. Among my Tarpa friends who came to visit today, there’s a guy with big horns. He said that he’s been having a bad feeling lately. He said that there are signs of disaster all over Border City. He suggested that I leave Border City for a while. I declined that offer.”

I searched my memory.

The Tarpa race has several physical characteristics: a youthful appearance with pronounced stellar maturity, black eyes with no white sclera, blue skin, and a pair of blunt horns.

‘The large-horned Tarpa are respected by their own kind. Horns have great significance to the Tarpa tribe.’

There was also a Tarpa with big horns in Noel Mulizka’s memories.

“The bigger the horn of a Tarpa, the more developed its intuition becomes, almost like foresight. It’s a mysterious sixth sense.”

Lapis tapped her horn as she spoke. She was quick to notice my curiosity.

“Remember that. And I’ll keep the line open to you, so call me right away if anything happens.”

After finishing my visit, I left the hospital building. The street was dark.

I wandered around the street lined with street vendors for a while, as if I was going to do yoga or something.

‘Who is it?’

I felt someone’s gaze from the moment I left the hospital. There was someone chasing me through the crowd.

I stood in front of a street vendor selling skewers. I could see people moving through the vendor’s old mirror.

‘The one that smells the most.’

I picked the skewer that smelled the most.

Beep.

After paying with my credit card, I walked into the alley holding a skewer with an unidentifiable chunk of meat on it.

Boom, boom.

I pulled the skewered piece of meat out and threw it inside, rolling around. The warm smell was fading away.

If you had followed the strong smell, you would have thought I was going far away.

‘One, two, three… … .’

I counted in my head with my back against the wall. Then, I tried to grab the person coming into the alley by the collar in one fell swoop.

Whirl!

My opponent also grabbed my wrists with both hands and quickly tried to twist them.

I pretended to pull my arm away and aimed for my opponent’s knee. My opponent pulled back his targeted leg.

‘That guy’s response is quick.’

I was surprised too. It was quite a feat.

‘Shall I draw my weapon?’

My plan to subdue him with my bare hands and interrogate him failed.

“… …Lukaus Custoria. I have no intention of fighting you.”

The man spoke as he stepped back. He pulled back his hood and looked at me.

I squinted my eyes. The man looked strangely familiar.

The artificial skin, which had not been replaced in time, was rough and cracked in places, and there were wrinkles around the mouth and eyes.

“Are you, uh, a former guard? The one who was by the captain’s side?”

My memory and intuition vaguely overlapped. It felt similar to one of the aides who had been by Heilas’ side.

“It really is you.”