Bad Born Blood Chapter 316

316
– This is a metamorphic metal that uses Arcane engineering technology. When it receives an external shock, the atoms are rearranged to change the properties of the metal into a suitable resistive material in real time. Strictly speaking, high-pressure heavy weapons also come from the same type of technology.

Lapis explained, writing on a holographic screen.

I just lay there and looked at the letters.

-The cost of manufacturing that armor must have been incredibly expensive, so it would be a shame to just disassemble it.

Lapis moved her fingers to manipulate the holographic interface. She was programming the nanomachine liquid that had been sprayed onto my neck armor.

– Predatory nanomachines were originally created to destroy the locks of arcane relics or artifacts with minimal damage. The process is extremely complex, so production volumes are small, and only a very small amount of them are exported to the civilian market… … Your friend managed to obtain these.

I flinched.

Lapis looked at me hurriedly and gestured with her hand telling me not to move.

-The nanomachines might eat away at Luca’s flesh. Don’t leave the designated area.

I had to lie down for two days without moving.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

In two days, a lot can happen in our world. Even Ilay has already moved on.

-Anyway, it’s nice to see you, Luca. I thought I’d never see you again.

I thought so too. I thought I would run straight to the end of the book called Kinuan.

‘I never thought I’d get caught by Ilay here.’

There was so much time to think that it was annoying.

The effects of the medicine that had been dulling my mind were slowly fading away.

‘Illai is interested in the Arcane civilization and ruins. He is also the one who deals with the corruption and darkness of the empire, and is also the head of the Kartika family.’

As soon as we arrived at Border City, Ilay and I took separate actions. We each planned to track down Kinuan in our own way and drive him out.

‘Illai wasn’t tracking Kinuan, he was looking for a way to remove my neckguard.’

For Ilay, this pursuit was an excuse to get out, but the guy had another purpose.

‘Kinuan was quite wary of Illei, who had been chasing him for a long time. Because of Illei, his actions had been restricted.’

This time, Illei was of no help in finding Kinuan. This would make sense if he had been turning Border City upside down for a completely different purpose.

Predatory nanomachines are a Tarpa race item. As Lapis said, they aren’t something you can easily obtain just anywhere.

‘There must have been someone in the Tarpa community in Border City who saw Ilay. Ilay must have found a way to remove my collar, whether by force or whatever.’

I had a feeling there would have been a terrible murder along the way. Ilay had no time or leisure… … and no mercy.

‘and…….’

A family that I hate to think about comes to mind.

If the speculations running through my head right now are true, I won’t be able to bear it without beating Ilay to death.

‘At the last minute, Ilay and Kinuan made some kind of deal.’

Then Kinuan’s preparations and strategies fit together smoothly. Kinuan responded to my movements as if he knew everything and set traps.

Kinuan is not an omnipotent being. He knows because he has seen and heard from someone.

‘Kinuan caught Lars at the perfect moment and dragged me into a trap.’

If the person who colluded with Kinuan was Ile, then the flow is perfect.

‘Since when?’

Kinuan and Ilay’s collusion will not last long. Ilay is a person who would hand Kinuan over to the Empire if necessary.

‘It must have been quite a gamble for Kinuando to deal with Illei. If he showed up carelessly, he could be caught in an instant.’

I bit my lower lip.

There was only one instance where Kinuan approached Ilay with confidence.

‘I became the weakness of Ilay, who was like an emotionless machine.’

Ilay wanted to get me out of all this chaos. For my sake, she didn’t hesitate to do things that conflicted with her own goals.

Thanks to that, Kinuan was able to approach Illei stably using ‘Luka’s freedom’ as collateral.

‘… … My departure is very natural.’

I was attacked by Kinuan, but with the help of my Border City acquaintances, I made a dramatic recovery. It was a situation that even Ivan would not have suspected.

‘And Ivan would have sent the shadows out of the empire to prevent me from being transported to the Holy Land.’

There is no unofficial combatant in the Empire who can escape me except Shadow.

A series of flows are visible.

‘Ilay Kartika is… … .’

The guy is not currently tracking Kinuan.

‘… … headed towards the island of Akbaran.’

Illei will be on her way to the Empire. It won’t be long before she detonates a huge bomb she’s prepared somewhere I don’t know about.

‘It’s probably going to fail, Ellie.’

Whatever Elley prepares, the chances of success are extremely low. Elley himself must know this.

The imperial family is not easy. Since the founding of the country, outstanding heroes have appeared in every era and raised rebellions, but they all failed.

‘My armor hasn’t broken down yet.’

There is also a way to contact Ivan Krachia directly.

‘We can report Illei’s suspicious movements to Ivan and block them in advance.’

If we do that, we might be able to save Ilay’s life.

‘but…….’

Illei is aware of all the risks and is moving forward with the intention of taking them.

‘He’s the guy who would deceive me any time to save me. He seems to believe that’s friendship.’

But my way is different.

‘Choice is our privilege, even if the outcome is destruction.’

Ilay made up his mind by his own will, not by brainwashing or coercion. He has a life trajectory built up through his own experiences and choices. The parts that overlap with mine are mere dots.

Even if the end is death, if you twist and drag down Illei’s trajectory, you are denying his life.

‘I’m different from Ilay.’

I’ve learned to respect my friends’ choices, from the trajectory of my life.

… … I readily accepted the release of the armor.

Ivan will feel greatly betrayed by me. He will be very angry.

But to me, Ilay comes before Ivan. To Ivan, I am at best a cherished toy and a pet. He does not consider me as an equal.

‘Who dares to be equal to the Emperor Ivan Kratia of the Empire?’

A feeble sigh escaped from the corner of my lips.

A day passed. Lapis was also tired from working, so even the hologram conversation stopped. Whenever she had time, she just slept like the dead.

I could hear Lapis’s rustling breathing.

I wanted to cover her with a blanket as she sleeps, leaning against the chair, but I was in no position to move.

Warm, warm.

It’s the sound of high-heeled footsteps. There’s a brisk beat, and the body is light.

Chiik.

As soon as the door opened, a sweet scent filled the air. I felt uneasy for no reason. A woman I didn’t want to see came in.

‘Anguish Regina.’

Anguis Regina scanned the room and approached Lapis, who was sleeping on the chair.

Swish.

Anguise Regina took off her cloak and placed it on Lapis’ body. Lapis was still sleeping soundly despite Anguise Regina’s presence.

“Luka, I’m glad I can repay your kindness in this way. I guess there’s no more debt between us now, right?”

“It wasn’t there originally.”

He answered in a low voice.

“Things are going smoothly for us. I think I will take over the management of Son Soo-gongup. I bought the stocks I inherited and the scattered stocks from Son Seok-jae’s investors, so the stake is now larger than that of Son Seok-jae’s family.”

“You did a great job in a short period of time.”

“Because they were the kind of authors who would fall for a drink right away. They were shallow men.”

“Drinking party? Didn’t you misspell the word sleeping?”

“Do I look like that kind of woman to you?”

“Enough, and more.”

I spat out rude and cold words.

Anguish Regina frowned at first, then smiled sadly.

“You’re saying mean things on purpose. If I think about it another way, I guess you feel attracted to me, so you want to keep your distance.”

That’s why I didn’t want to meet Anguise Regina. She knew pretty well what kind of person I was.

I remained silent, and Anguise Regina’s smile deepened.

“… … I’m saying this just in case you’re curious, so listen if you want to. I tried to transfer the MAU technology of handicrafts to Deputy Minister Ismael Ra, but there was a lot of resistance.”

“Inside the handicraft industry?”

“No. Rather, it is among government officials. They argue that we should maintain the current contracting system that allows private companies to compete. They say that if the Strategic Weapons Research Division directly develops MAU, the business will become inefficient and corrupt. It is a good argument.”

“That is true to some extent.”

“Anyway, I’m in trouble. My influence over the handicraft industry won’t last long, because I don’t know anything about this business. Eventually, I’ll hand over the company to the practitioners, and by then, I won’t be able to extract the MAU technology with my own abilities.”

As I listened to the story, my mind also started spinning quickly.

“Or, the insider who opposes you will hand over Sonsoo Industry’s exclusive technology to a competitor. Anyway, if time passes like this, Sonsoo Industry’s technological advantage will disappear. Since the engineer Seokjae Son is dead, we will fall behind. Hmm, well, I don’t need to say anything.”

Come to think of it, I had nothing to say.

Ismael and Jafar are at Anguis Regina’s side. They are experts in political and business advice.

‘It’s their job from here on out. They’ll do well.’

Political intrigue, assassination, capitalism, whatever. They will use whatever they can to gain the upper hand. With the resourceful Ishmael and Jafar, there will be no problem.

‘If public opinion within Border City is needed, Anguise Regina’s influence is also strong.’

No matter how much I think about it, their future is smooth sailing. It’s nothing for me to worry about.

“Luca.”

Anguish Regina hesitated and then called my name.

“say.”

“Maybe… I think I’ll get married to someone soon.”

I answered quickly. If you leave a delay, an emotional gap will be created.

“With Ishmael?”

“That’s good, but if that happens, Deputy Minister Ismail will have to step down from his position as Deputy Minister of Strategic Arms Research and the development of MAU. His spouse cannot be a major shareholder of the company that won the project.”

I also asked a stupid question. Of course, Ismael is not Anguise Regina’s marriage partner.

“I would choose a suitable spouse from a political family that can change the landscape. It would be a kind of political marriage. It would be good to be connected to a powerful family that could become a solid background in the future.”

“You’ll be successful. Congratulations in advance.”

I spoke briefly.

Anguish Regina giggled, arching her back slightly. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Come and congratulate me later, not now. I will definitely send the invitation to Luca, no matter where he is.”

“If I’m still alive by then, I’ll attend.”

“You must come. I plan to stand there looking so pretty that Luca will hit the ground and regret it. That day will prove who is the luckiest person in the universe.”

A faint smile came out.

I liked the confident look of Anguish Regina. She honed her charm and used it as a weapon to fight the world, just as I had used violence as a weapon to endure.

Profit.

The door opened. Angus Regina went back the way she came.

Time passed again calmly, changing from day to night.

Lapis’s appearance became as dirty as that of an all-night worker, and my armor was melting away in proportion.

The wooden armor had lost its function and only a pale band shape remained.

“I’m going to do some finishing touches, so if your skin feels tingly or sore, let me know so I can do an emergency stop.”

Lapis said, absorbed in controlling the nanomachines.

Beep.

I saw a holographic screen appear before my eyes. It was Jafar’s face.

– Mr. Luca, you have a visitor. Your guest.

I furrowed my brow.

“My guest?”

-They say they are Mr. Luca’s family.

When I hear the word family, my expression only becomes more distorted.

‘What is this… … .’