Bad Born Blood Chapter 341

341
I am standing among the disorderly buildings of the lower district.

Fragments of the upper floors were visible through the tangled concrete and steel plates.

The buildings on the upper floors were neat and tidy. The sparsely visible spires were sharp as if measured with a ruler.

“Phew.”

I took a breath.

‘I have to face Ivan Kratia.’

Ivan is by no means an easy opponent, especially since he has the consciousness of the previous emperor in his head.

‘If we want to end this civil war with minimal casualties, we have no choice but to strike Ivan.’

Actually, there is another way. I can subdue or kill Ilay. In fact, it would be an easier way.

But Ilay is my friend no matter what anyone says. He’s a fu*king bastard who’s fooled me countless times… …but he risked everything for me.

‘If your dream is a republic… … .’

I wanted to help Ilay achieve his dream, whether he failed or succeeded.

If I hear the news of Ilay’s failure from the comfort of my bed in Bellato City, I will live the rest of my life regretting it.

‘Ilay Kartika, you too are truly a being of love and hate.’

Ilay crossed the universe for me, risking not only her own life but also the revolution she was carrying, putting my life first.

How could I truly hate and detest Ilay?

Just as Giselle is a part of me, a part of me comes from Ilay. Her influence caused me to derail from being a soldier of the Empire.

‘We are all a part of someone.’

Lillian Ramones was also part of Ilay.

If it weren’t for Lillian, Illei would have lived a narrow life like other imperial nobles.

We feel angry, sad, and frustrated when we lose a part of ourselves. Usually, it’s our family, friends, or lovers.

The color of ‘I’ is created by mixing the colors of the outside and the inside. There is no color of the self that is formed solely from the inside. It is colored by others and also colors others.

Tsk tsk tsk.

Just thinking about this makes me feel a chill down my spine. It makes my hair stand on end.

‘Kinuan.’

Kinuan is also a part of me.

What makes me up is not just the positive aspects. The negative aspects are also a part of me.

Ssuk.

I looked back.

I somehow had a feeling that Kinuan was about to appear. He always showed up unexpectedly. At a moment like this.

‘does not exist.’

I looked around, but there was no trace of Kinuan or the tailing.

‘Tsk, you’re delusional, Luca.’

I’m still on guard against Kinuan.

I was stressed out from not knowing where he might appear, and I was trying to fit Kinuan into the surrounding circumstances and all the situations.

‘This must also be paranoia caused by Acase Victory.’

Anxiety was driving me crazy. If only Kinuan could appear before my eyes, this torture would end.

The delusion was growing and proliferating.

‘Focus on reality! Now is the time to face Ivan. Don’t waste your thoughts on the illusion of something that isn’t here.’

I closed my eyes tightly and regained consciousness. If I go any further, Kinuan will appear as a hallucination. That would be the worst case scenario.

match!

I slapped my cheek with the palm of my hand. My cheek was numb because of the prosthetic hand, and the pain of my mouth bursting pulled me back to reality.

Okay, that’s a refreshing change of pace.

I headed straight to the upper area.

* * *

I waited in line at the checkpoint in the upper area. It would be my turn soon.

As expected from an upper-class area, nobles and officers were passing through the checkpoint. Even high-ranking officials who would have used an air vehicle to get over the wall in the past had to pass through the checkpoint now.

“When will this fu*king civil war end? I don’t care who wins… … .”

“Shh, shh. Be quiet. Do you want to get caught uttering profanity?”

“Anyway, both sides are descendants of the founding blood of the nation.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

The faces of the privileged nobles were filled with discontent. Even waiting in line at the checkpoint was a shameful hardship for them.

Beep.

I looked ahead. The light on top of the checkpoint was glowing. If it glowed green, I could pass.

“Ugh, it’s strangely unpleasant. It makes my stomach churn.”

The nobleman who passed the security check muttered while covering his head. The group that had passed first and were waiting crossed their arms and grumbled.

“It has been scientifically proven that low-frequency vision has no effect on the brain. It’s all a placebo.”

“Am I overreacting? This really shakes me up.”

“Okay. Let’s go have a drink.”

It is difficult to confirm the identity of the imperial nobles, who are full-body, based on their appearance alone.

Normally, it would be sufficient to check the terminal information or the appearance of the registered body, but now even biometric authentication information was being viewed at the checkpoint.

Finally, it was my turn.

Chiik.

I took off my helmet and stood at the checkpoint. One of the soldiers near the checkpoint looked at me and tilted his head for a moment.

Wheeing.

Grid lasers shot out from all directions, sweeping me through.

I closed my eyes and waited for the results.

Beep!

An unpleasant warning sound rang out, and the metal plates at the bottom of the checkpoint rose rapidly from four directions.

Boom! Bam!

The raised metal plate instantly confined me, and the checkpoint became a detention cell.

The soundproofing was so good that I couldn’t hear any noise from outside.

I opened my eyes.

Red indirect lighting was visible. The tightly closed interior of the checkpoint was soaked in red light.

Wheein.

A holographic screen appeared in front of me. The waveform of a faceless voice continued in a straight line, then began to ripple.

-There are many ways to commit suicide, Luca.

Ivan’s voice was heard.

“Here, I brought Ilay’s supplies. You must have checked Ilay and my biometric information with the low-resolution view.”

I said, taking the head of the Ilay body out of the bag.

-You already betrayed me once. You freed me from my bonds without permission.

“Wasn’t the value of Aki’s Domini meaningful in that it could act on its own without being tied to a leash? If it moved with the same perspective and thoughts as you, there would be no need for Aki’s Domini to exist separately. Even just a shadow without a will would be enough to assist you.”

To be honest, this is nonsense. If Ivan had been the kind of person to nod to such nonsense, he would have become a puppet emperor long ago.

-Haha, you speak well. Tell me in five seconds, no, three seconds, why I shouldn’t kill you here.

I blurted out before Ivan could even count.

“The mission is complete. I retrieved the mind-transfer device and figured out how to use it.”

– Excellent, Luca. You have done well in your final mission as Archie Domini. I will take your gift as my legacy.

“If you fail to manipulate the mind, you will not get a second chance. Whether you believe it or not.”

I said it calmly.

There was silence over the line. The wave pattern of the voice rose and fell.

I opened my mouth again.

“Three seconds have passed.”

The waveform was long and undulating.

-Welcome back to the Empire, Lucius Custoria.

“It is such a blessing. Thank you, Ivan.”

I bowed lightly, my neck, waist, and knees in that order.

* * *

I was taken somewhere while being held at a checkpoint.

Kwung, thump.

The entire checkpoint was moved from outside, so it would occasionally rattle or lose its balance.

I leaned against the wall and sat lost in thought.

‘So far, everything is according to plan.’

I will confront Ivan under the pretext of using a mind teleporter.

‘Now my life is in Ilay’s hands.’

Illei’s spies have infiltrated the upper areas and even the palace.

Ilay planned to quietly pull out the espionage resources he had been steadily building up for ten years.

‘If I subdue and secure Ivan, Illei will provide an escape route and help.’

As I was organizing my plans, I kept imagining a situation where Kinuan would intervene.

‘Kinuan will create maximum chaos with minimum force. As always, he is waiting for the point where the flow becomes entangled.’

While I was thinking about it, the movement of the checkpoint stopped.

Cheeeeek.

As the lock was released, the metal plates that had been acting as walls began to fall down, one by one.

First, second.

The first thing I saw was the ‘Emperor’s Shadows’ surrounding me. There were four of them.

The four shadows were wearing black cloaks and overcoats, covering their entire bodies, and even had hoods pulled down on them. Underneath the hoods, the facial features of androids could be faintly seen.

I just moved my pupils and observed my surroundings.

The large room, which could easily accommodate two hundred people, was empty without a single piece of furniture.

The borders of the ceiling and walls were golden, and red curtains with the symbol of Accresia hung down at regular intervals.

‘This is probably somewhere in the palace.’

There weren’t even any windows, so it was hard to tell where I was. I hope Ilay’s spies find me.

Warm, warm.

The sound of footsteps on marble could be heard behind the shadows.

“Actually, if I ever saw you again, I would kill you right away. I would become weak-hearted if I saw you in person. I’m only human, so there’s nothing I can do.”

Ivan’s sweet voice resonated here and there.

‘The Emperor’s Shadows are four. It is impossible to break through them by force.’

The Shadows are weapons with fighting powers greater than that of the Royal Guard. No matter how much I fly and crawl, it’s impossible to deal with the Four.

“Sit down, Luca. I’d like to hear your suggestion.”

Ivan snapped his fingers.

OMG.

The floor behind me opened up and a chair rose up.

Clank, clank.

Four shadows also moved. Two stood behind me, and the other two stood behind Ivan.

‘The distance is quite far.’

There was a gap of about thirty meters between Ivan and me.

Ivan’s appearance was finally revealed to me. He was not using the external youth body, but a gender-neutral transformable body. Judging from the curves of his body, he still seemed to be male. However, his appearance was so beautiful that the distinction between male and female was meaningless.

Woohoo.

Behind Ivan, the floor opened and an antique chair rose up.

Ivan and I sat in our respective chairs.

The chair was soft. It was comfortable even though I couldn’t lean back because of my bag.

“It’s quite a lot. I didn’t know that they would hand me poison with such a fragrant aroma that I would be captivated by it. Even though I knew it was poison, I couldn’t help but drink it.”

I exhaled slightly and spoke in a mechanical tone.

“I want freedom in exchange for the mind teleportation device and the knowledge of how to use it. You promised me that. Retrieving the artifact is my final mission.”

“You are the one who broke your promise. If you were still under my control, you would have believed me.”

“It’s an unfortunate incident that happened during a mission. Not everything goes according to plan.”

Ivan chuckled. His colorful eyes swirled and sparkled.

“You know my goodwill very well. You came here believing in it. But, Luca, you are making fun of me. It is my weak attitude that has made you arrogant.”

Ivan said with a gentle frown.

The same goes for Francis and Ivan, whose royal attire makes even the expression of negative emotions feel pious and sacred.

Ivan let out a long, sweet sigh. He raised his head slightly, opened his eyes half-closed, and stared down at me.

Thump.

Ivan tapped his fingers on the armrest of the chair.

Kiiing, ging, clank.

The mechanical noise grew louder. The floor to our left opened wide and a complex mechanical device rose up.

In the middle of the machine there was a space just big enough to fit a psychic device.

‘A mechanical device designed to use a mind transfer device without a storage facility.’

It was a forced use of the mind transfer device, like hacking. Because of that imperfect use, Ivan’s mind was mixed with that of the previous emperor.

“Do you think the Imperial scientists have been playing around with it? It’s been upgraded since my father used it. All you need is a mind warfare. There’s no need for any other methods of use.”

I stared at the machine silently. There was nothing to laugh about or frown at.

My mind was surprisingly calm. The situation was urgent, but everything was going according to plan. There was nothing to be agitated about.

“Then you can just cut off my head now. There’s nothing more to say.”

I said absentmindedly.

The only emotion I have now is for Giselle. If I were to die here, I would only feel sorry for her.

… … It’s quiet.

There was not even a single sound, as the shadow did not move. Ivan, sitting there, was looking at me like a machine, without even blinking an eye.

The only thing moving in this place is my heart, and the only thing flowing is my blood.