Bad Born Blood Chapter 353

353 I sat on the rock and stared at the horizon. The view was clear.

The rock I was sitting on was standing alone in the plain.

Phew.

The wind was blowing hard. It was a wind mixed with sand.

I pulled my thin scarf up to my nose to block the dust and sand from entering my respiratory tract.

‘It’s been about half a year.’

I closed my eyes loosely, waiting for the wind to die down. Memories came back to me one by one.

Half a year ago, Giselle, Barbara, and I left the Empire. But we didn’t go to Bellato City.

‘It’s not like I went to the Holy Land of Korra.’

To conclude, a peaceful retirement life has become a distant dream for us.

There wasn’t any particular incident or accident involved. To be honest, the problem was that it was safe.

Anyway, after leaving the empire, we wandered around. First, we went to the mobile school run by Ragnata Anima.

The Anima Mobile School was a nomad group that only drove ten large vehicles with residential trailers. It was said that they were unusually welfare-oriented among nomad groups and were respected by other nomads.

Ragnata and Gabriel were at Anima Mobile School.

Ragnata had become weaker and had completely given up on assassination, while Gabriel had recovered significantly, perhaps thanks to the convalescence.

And Gabriel… …was surprisingly teaching the children. Of course, his specialty was combat skills.

Gabriel also has extensive combat experience and has been trained to be the company’s security team leader, so he is well-equipped to teach children.

“Aren’t you going to ask about what happened? Or why Giselle is here?”

When I asked him that, Gabriel smiled, opening the beer cap with his front teeth.

“Can you tell me everything? Just mix the truth with lies. I don’t care. But I’m glad to see you and Giselle are okay.”

Gabriel seemed to have gained some sort of spiritual awakening, likely thanks to Ragnata’s influence.

“Well, I do owe you an apology. Especially Giselle… … .”

Gabriel reached into the ice chest before I could finish speaking. He threw a cold beer at me.

I took the beer with my mouth shut.

“The Master said, ‘Focus on what you can do in the future rather than on the past that you cannot change.’ Luca, that’s the secret to living a wonderful life. Focus on the present rather than the past.”

I never thought I would receive such advice from Gabriel. The world is a strange place.

Gabriel called Ragnata his master. I scratched my head and drank my beer.

The story of Mary, Gabriel’s biological mother, also came out.

It is said that Mary came to visit her eldest sons, Michael and Gabriel.

“I was offered to join by my mother, but I declined. I liked the mobile school life. It seemed to fit my personality. And… … it wasn’t long before the teacher left.”

Gabriel glanced at Ragnata, who was sitting in the rocking chair, and said.

“You used to want to find your family so badly, right?”

“You foolishly looked far away for something that was so close by. My family is here now, including you.”

You’re so good at saying embarrassing things. And I felt embarrassed.

I had secretly, no, openly looked down on Gabriel. Well, come to think of it, even though Gabriel’s behavior is correct now… … it’s not like he was normal in the past, so don’t be too embarrassed.

Giselle, who had just finished putting Barbara to sleep, walked towards us.

“Hey, Gabriel… … .”

Gabriel was about to say okay, but he closed his mouth when he saw Giselle’s tearful expression.

Giselle spoke of her own drama and disappearance.

Although Kinuan’s intervention led to the tragedy of Gabriel’s girlfriend and her daughter’s death, it was not without Giselle’s fault.

Gabriel listened quietly. At the end, the beer bottle he was holding broke.

“I’m angry after hearing everything. But Boss, you did that for Luca’s sake too.”

Gabriel called Giselle ‘Boss’. It seems he was comfortable with the title he used at work.

Just then, one of the kids playing nearby came up to Gabriel and grinned.

“Are you, Teacher’s friend? Unlike you, Teacher, you have proper eyes, nose, and mouth.”

The child spoke, looking back and forth between me and Gabriel.

“Hey, who wants to butt in when adults are talking?”

Gabriel grabbed the child by the scruff of the neck and threw him so high that if he landed wrong, his limbs would break.

“Aaah! Throwing people at the drop of a hat, you damn gorilla… … .”

The child who flew away fell on his butt and swore. They were children who grew up quite rough. There was a reason why Gabriel thought this place was a good fit for him.

“If I had the same temper as before, I would have knocked out all of that kid’s front teeth.”

Gabriel said, pulling out a new beer. He was smiling despite his grim words.

Whoosh.

Gabriel threw the beer he had just taken out at Giselle. Giselle caught the beer absentmindedly and looked at Gabriel.

“I forgive you, Boss. So Boss, next time someone does something wrong, please forgive them. Then the world will become a better place.”

Giselle covered her mouth with one hand and opened her eyes wide. Gabriel’s words seemed to have made an impression on her.

‘Rather, I’m going crazy because I’m embarrassed.’

Gabriel looked big. He had always been physically large, but now he seemed like a man with a big heart.

So, unless my eyes were crazy, Gabriel looked cool.

Gabriel and Giselle often brought up old stories that I didn’t even know about and chatted. It was still a little awkward, but the atmosphere wasn’t too bad.

Swish.

I stood up with my beer in my hand. I headed towards Ragnata’s residential trailer.

Squeak, squeak.

Ragnata was sitting in her rocking chair, her blanket draped over her lap. She looked at me and smiled, her wrinkles deepening.

“I didn’t know you’d come back alive, boy.”

“I’m at an age where I feel embarrassed to be called a boy. First of all, thank you for taking care of Gabriel, Ragnata.”

I bowed my head and expressed my gratitude.

Ragnata was looking at the spider on the horizon with a gentle smile.

“I took on the job because you asked me to, but it was fun because I also enjoyed teaching.”

“Well, that’s good. You’re using the money you earned from assassination for good things.”

I looked around Anima Mobile School. The children were running around happily. The adults who were both teachers and guards also had bright expressions.

“Do you think it’s hypocritical to do this with the money you received from killing people?”

Ragnata spoke to me, his gaze fixed on the horizon. I followed Ragnata’s gaze and looked into the distance.

“I think it’s hypocritical. But I’m also a hypocrite, so I’m not in a position to say anything.”

Remember, Ragnata is a woman who almost ignited a war for her own group. She is not a saint.

“Right and wrong are different depending on one’s position, and I always try my best. Even though I don’t deserve it, I want to seem like a good teacher and mentor to them.”

Certainly, the people of Anima Mobile School will remember Ragnata as a great person.

“I guess there won’t be much time left until you leave. Judging from the way you speak softly.”

“Haha, there will come a day when you will become weak-hearted. That is the way it is and the cycle.”

“I deal with the world differently than you. Maybe… … I’ll fight until I die. Whether it’s the world or something else.”

“That’s one way. A world where everyone lives the same way wouldn’t be fun either.”

Ragnata is like flowing water. Arguments and confrontations with her are meaningless. She quickly accepts the ways of others.

“When it’s time to die, tell Gabriel in advance. I’ll attend the funeral.”

“You may die before me. There is no order to where you go, young man.”

I laughed.

It seemed that Ragnata’s blade had not completely dulled yet. He would live at least a few more years.

… … After finishing my recollection, I opened my eyes. The sandstorm had stopped, but the air was still rough with dust floating around.

I was waiting here.

-Hoot!

The phone next to my ear tingled. I squinted.

“What is it, Japa?”

-I thought you might be bored while waiting, so I tried to contact you.

“Are you bored? Is this mission a joke?”

Right now I’m working with Jafar.

Jin Gao told me not to fight and to reduce the stimulation.

At first, I tried to do the same. But… … It’s still hard. Every night, memories of the battle would repeatedly stab my brain like broken images. It was like extreme withdrawal symptoms.

I was drenched in cold sweat and would often wake up screaming. After three or four months, sedatives no longer worked, and my cognitive and perceptual abilities had declined significantly. Since I wasn’t in an extreme situation, my high-functioning abilities that I didn’t use were quickly deteriorating.

It was a terrible thing. I could only remain sane in a limiting situation.

The balance of the brain, which is optimized for high-functioning thinking, was disrupted, causing a mental breakdown.

‘… … If you’re going to suffer that much, you might as well fight. I don’t think living long is more important than not being yourself.’

Giselle, who couldn’t stand to watch, brought me the box containing my weapons and combat gear and said so.

After much discussion, we came to a decision: we needed to find something that would stimulate us to a certain degree, but not to the point of melting our brains.

If I couldn’t completely suppress the violence anyway, I wanted to vent it in a better way. That’s why I started working with Jafar.

Finally, Japa’s boss started to fight human trafficking as a social welfare project. Japa’s family, Menoa, originally engaged in human trafficking. He planned to use this information and the distribution network to eradicate human trafficking.

Although it is a business to show off to the Bellato Federal Government, the result is still a good deed.

‘… … I know it’s hypocrisy.’

No matter what I do from now on, the evil deeds and murders of the past will not disappear. Those who have been harmed by me will still want to kill me. There is no way to reverse this.

Still, I wanted to hear from people around me that ‘Luca is a pretty good guy’. If I could live with that much self-justification, I could do it.

Our lives do not run smoothly like a well-made machine. Rather, most of the time, they creak as if they are broken.

My life is not perfect. It has been unstable and it will continue to be. I will make countless mistakes.

Even at this moment, I have not chosen the best life called ‘peace’.

Still, I hope things will be a little better than they were in the past.

I want to build a life that I am not ashamed of, even if it is just a little bit, even now. There is a reason why I think that way.

– Mr. Luca, can I really be your godmother? After all, I’m Tajirun.

Because Giselle is pregnant. We don’t know yet if it’s a boy or a girl.

As soon as I heard the news of my pregnancy, I couldn’t sleep properly for three days. When I closed my eyes, my heart was pounding and all I could think about was the baby. I never imagined that I would be like that.

“Giselle agreed. If anything happens to us, you will protect the child no matter what.”

I know the devotion Jafar showed to his adopted daughter, Anguise Regina.

Jafar is a person who gives endless, devoted love to those he has devoted his heart to. If such a Jafar were to become the godmother of my child, I would be happy and relieved.

Wheeeeeeing.

I squinted my eyes. I could see a convoy of vehicles across the horizon. At first glance, it looked like a group of mercenaries, but it was actually traffickers. In the middle of the convoy was a cargo vehicle carrying children.

Tsk tsk tsk.

The fuse in my brain is lit. My thoughts are in high gear, and my battle hormones are surging.

It is very difficult to overcome one’s innate nature. I am a human being who has been trained and modified to make my innate violence even stronger.

But embrace the violence within you, but don’t be defeated, Luca. Compliance is not defeat.

I hope I don’t get eaten by the beast inside me and go astray. No, I won’t go astray.

Because there are people who can catch me now.

-Hoyooooo! Mr. Luca!

The damn snake head was shaking. I sighed.

“The battle is coming soon. Let me focus.”

-This is important! You need to hear it now!

“What is it?”

Jafar did not answer. A commotion could be heard over the communication line.

-My daughter! My child is a princess, Luca!

I heard Giselle’s excited voice. I opened my eyes wide and let out a faint smile.

We’ve already decided on a male and female name. Since she’s a girl, we can erase the male name from our heads.

I moved my lips and tongue carefully and spat out the words as if declaring a blessing to the world.

“It’s ‘Hailey’.”

The moment I uttered those words, all my thoughts and will turned to Hailey. It felt like I was being sucked in.

What color will Hailey’s hair be? What will her eyes be like? Will she be lively? Shy? I hope she doesn’t like fighting. And if she resembles me, her life will be hard, so I hope she has a gentle personality. Like Gilda or Lapis. Oh, but you don’t have to feel pressured to live up to my expectations. Even if you are not the child I expected, I will gladly accept and protect you. I will always be on your side until the end of my life.

… … Hmm, I even forgot that there was a battle coming up. I feel sorry for the kidnapped children, but I didn’t care about the human trafficker in front of me. I really am such a loser.

Just knowing that she was my daughter made my heart swell. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like when Hailey was born. I couldn’t wait for that day.

I suddenly wanted to put my work aside and go back to Giselle. So, let’s finish this quickly.

Too- Woong!

I pulled the trigger, and the shock pistol Ruina roared blue.

The shot was aimed at the bottom of the vehicle. The explosion sent a pillar of sand shooting up.

Boom!

The vehicles overturned one after another in the ensuing gunfire.

“transplant……!”

The traffickers came running out armed with various weapons and equipment. Their swearing was heard in various ways, but I felt like I wanted to turn a deaf ear to it.

Cheeeeek!

The sizzling refrigerant shells clattered against the rocks.

Kiing!

I pulled out my crucian car and jumped down from the rock.

I sped across the plains with my engine revved up. As I advanced through the smoke and dust, I saw the human traffickers in disarray.

Creak, creak.

My eyes and gaze were directed at their arms and legs, not their heads and necks.

Congratulations, villains. No one will die today. It’s a very happy day. Celebrations are more enjoyable when shared.

I want to teach you a lot of things even before you were born. So that you can experience less trial and error. But if you are like me, you probably won’t listen to me. That’s a little worrying, but it’s okay.

Life isn’t all that good, but it’s not all that bad. Problems are bound to happen, and sometimes it’s so hard that you want to die.

But as we live, there are days as good as today, Hailey.

-Complete-