Bad Born Blood-Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Vision is the most important sense.

I was fighting the Shadow without it. There was no need to make additional sounds for echolocation.

Ka-ang!

A deafening roar swept through the space without pause.

I was processing auditory signals and information in my visual cortex. No matter how exceptional my brain function was, this wouldn’t have been possible without the hearing enhancement training I had undergone.

It was difficult to describe exactly how things appeared to me. It felt like white threads tangled together to form shapes in the darkness.

Every time I perceived a sound or vibration, the white threads scattered and reassembled, sketching out my surroundings in real-time.

Kiiiiiing!

Because of my enhanced brain function, sounds stretched out as if in slow motion.

At first, I was caught off guard. I had assumed losing my sight would put me at a severe disadvantage.

But in less than five seconds, I began to see through sound. The only thing missing was color—otherwise, the shapes were perfectly clear.

A real-time radar-like auditory vision.

This was thanks to Jin Gaw’s drug. Compared to the echolocation I had used before, my auditory vision was now incomparably sharper. I hardly even felt the inconvenience of losing my sight.

In some ways, my auditory vision was more three-dimensional than normal vision. I could perceive details I would have missed with my eyes—like the auxiliary arm stored on the Shadow’s back.

Kiririk!

The Shadow’s back opened, and an arm extended outward. The Shadow wielded three arms freely, using the auxiliary arm as skillfully as its natural limbs.

Thump!

The Shadow aimed at me with a pistol in its auxiliary hand.

Kiing!

I tilted Crucis diagonally, deflecting the bullet. The powerful, large-caliber round made my hand tingle with the impact.

‘This is as far as it goes.’

I had figured it out. The Shadow had pushed its abilities to the absolute limit. Even the auxiliary arm stored on its back had been one of its trump cards.

All that remained was my counterattack. Supporting the base of Crucis’s blade with my left hand, I prepared to strike.

Swish!

I didn’t swing Crucis in a large, sweeping motion. This was different from my usual technique. I held it short and aimed only for the gaps in my opponent’s defense.

Now that I had fully analyzed the enemy, there was no need for unnecessary movements. All I had to do was attack the precise spots. A series of short, accurate thrusts and slashes followed.

With every strike, fragments of the Shadow scattered. At first, only fingers and pieces of its outer shell fell away. Then, its arms were severed, and soon after, its legs were cut off below the knees.

Chiiik, kkiik.

The Shadow’s limbs were completely severed. Its auxiliary arm lay scattered in pieces.

Crunch.

I stepped on the Shadow’s torso and pressed Crucis against its forehead.

“You die here.”

I murmured. At the very least, my opponent was also an Imperial soldier—a former member of the Imperial Guard. I wanted to show a minimum level of respect.

The reason we fought was because we stood on different sides. There was no personal hatred involved.

“Y-you’re... right.”

The Shadow spoke in a worn-out voice.

“Your name and any last words?”

“M-my name?”

The light in the Shadow’s eyes was murky. He didn’t even remember his own name.

I bit my lower lip. It might have sounded ridiculous, but I felt pity for the man beneath my foot. How could the fate of a loyal Imperial Guard end up like this...?

Not only had he forgotten who he was, but he had lost his humanity, reduced to nothing more than a mechanical component.

I understood that the Empire and the Emperor had a grand cause. But beneath that cause, too many had been crushed.

Grit.

I clenched my teeth without realizing it.

“N-name... name... I... who... am I?”

The Shadow spoke quietly. I wanted him to remember who he was. But it didn’t seem likely.

And I didn’t have much time.

“Then farewell, nameless senior.”

I raised Crucis, prepared to bring it down on the Shadow’s head.

“S-senior?”

The Shadow reacted to the word senior. I could wait a little longer. That much leniency, I could afford.

“You were once an Imperial Guard. Technically, that makes you my senior.”

I hoped that even a fragment of his human self remained.

“Ah... I... yes... Ah... Ro... Rowzen.”

My eyes widened.

I finally understood why Agatha believed in fate and superstition. Sometimes, events happened that were too inevitable to be called coincidences.

The Irregular senior that Grace had been searching for was right here.

“I’ll pass on your regards to Grace.”

“...T-thank... you.”

With both hands, I pressed down on Crucis and drove it through the Shadow’s head.

Crunch!

The last organic part of him—his brain—was torn apart beneath my blade.

I had defeated a powerful opponent, yet I felt no joy. Only irritation.

It was a kill I had no desire to make.

And in a way, I had cheated.

999

Even after the battle ended, my vision did not return. It wasn’t a temporary loss—it seemed to be a permanent one.

That didn’t mean I needed to feel despair. As long as I survived, I could undergo reconstructive surgery.

Step, step.

I was climbing the stairs. Due to my heightened state of awareness, my perception of time had stretched dramatically.

A staircase that would normally feel short now felt like an eternal punishment. Honestly, it felt as if days had passed since I injected the drug into my brain.

Yet despite experiencing what felt like several days of wakefulness, I wasn’t tired at all.

I needed to meet with Hemillas before the effects of the drug wore off.

‘And then what? Noel’s memories? Information exchange?’

That had been the original goal. But considering how things had escalated, I wasn’t sure if that even mattered anymore.

With the Shadow making an appearance, the Emperor likely already had a broad understanding of the situation. The faction I had painstakingly built around Francec could collapse just as easily.

...The Emperor was still the most powerful force. From the start, the other factions had little chance of victory. If my priority was survival, then aligning with the Emperor was the logical choice.

‘Could it be that all of this... was within the Emperor’s grasp?’

A conclusion I didn’t even want to imagine.

Hemillas’s tribute, Ivan’s sudden actions, Francec’s uprising... even my own desperate struggles—were all of them foreseen by the Emperor?

If that were true, I would be in despair. If everything was just another piece in someone’s elaborate scheme, then where did that leave my free will? What meaning did my suffering even have?

The 21-story building I was in was an administrative office in a sealed district. The place had been ransacked by rioters and was now a complete mess. But at the top of this building, Hemillas and the military officers should be waiting.

Step.

I reached the top of the stairs and looked at the entrance to the conference room.

Creak.

I reached out and pushed the door open. Through the reflection of sound, I could perceive the number of people inside.

‘Twenty-four.’

Counting silently in my head, I stepped inside.

“You’re here, Luka.”

Hemillas greeted me casually from the office. He was seated at the center of the conference room.

“I’m a bit tired.”

“Take a seat. There’s water—go ahead and have a drink.”

I deliberately made my footsteps louder as I took a seat across from Hemillas.

The conference room was silent, but it wasn’t empty.

The so-called great military generals, high-ranking officers, and even some members of the Imperial Guard were seated in chairs—bound. Their mouths were gagged, and their cybernetic limbs hung limp, as if they had been paralyzed.

They had all fallen into Hemillas’s scheme.

Bzzzz.

Without turning my head, I used sound to perceive my surroundings.

Eight of the Emperor’s Shadows were lined up along the walls of the conference room. They were likely the same type as Rowzen, the one I had killed earlier—beings who had lost their sense of self, leaving only combat capability and unwavering loyalty behind.

The Emperor must have sent the Shadows after accepting Hemillas’s tribute. That meant the deal between the Emperor and Hemillas was nearly finalized.

“...It’s a miserable sight, Ivan.”

Though I couldn’t see, I turned my head toward Ivan as I spoke. Seated at the head of the conference table, Ivan sat with his limbs broken.

Ivan’s shoulders trembled as he let out a dry chuckle.

“I know, right? I thought I could take my father lightly, but he’s not so easy after all. More than that, my biggest mistake was underestimating just how complicated Hemillas really is. Oh, and...”

Ivan trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. The Shadow standing behind him forced a gag into his mouth.

Having allied himself with Hemillas, Ivan was now cornered. Despite being of royal blood, he could still be killed. More importantly, Ivan wasn’t a publicly known member of the imperial family. He was even easier to dispose of than Francec.

In contrast, Francec had a much higher chance of surviving this ordeal in some way or another. If Francec were to suddenly disappear from public view, the backlash against the imperial family would be severe.

I lifted my head and directed my attention toward Hemillas.

“The water tastes good.”

I took a sip as I spoke.

“I made sure to prepare it carefully. I figured your day must have been quite exhausting.”

“No matter how difficult my day was, it couldn’t have been as tough as yours, Commander.”

“Don’t mind me. I’m planning to take a vacation soon.”

A vacation from which he would likely never return.

“I brought you a gift. Technically, this should have been yours from the beginning.”

I took out the chip containing Noel’s memories and slid it across the table.

“You came all this way just to hand this over? Even after defying my orders multiple times?”

There was a faint irritation in Hemillas’s tone. His gaze was likely filled with quiet reproach.

“It’s common for children to disobey their parents.”

At my words, Hemillas laughed.

“Well, that’s true. So, I assume your presence here means that Paigon and Iskan are no longer among the living?”

It seemed Hemillas had cut off communication with Paigon and Iskan to maintain operational secrecy. He had likely issued his final orders and proceeded with his last move.

“With all due respect, that’s how things turned out.”

“I underestimated your abilities.”

“If I hadn’t seen this, I wouldn’t have made it this far. It helped me fill in the gaps in my experience.”

I tapped the table lightly, gesturing toward the chip. It was a subtle way to emphasize its importance.

“Luka, I don’t know what you saw in this. And I’ve already learned about your identity through Ivan. There were many things I lacked, but above all, the biggest problem was the absence of information.”

That made sense. And that was why it was astonishing.

Hemillas had come this far with only fragments of information. He didn’t know about the connection between Noel and Agatha. He had no idea that Kinuan and I were the Emperor’s Overseers. He had pieced together the royal family’s intentions on his own and acted accordingly.

In complete darkness, he had reached out blindly, relying only on suspicions and conjectures. When it came to intelligence gathering, he had been in the most disadvantaged position.

‘From Hemillas’s perspective, everything must have been mere speculation.’

Yet, he never once showed fear. He acted as if he knew everything. When in reality, he had even less information than I did.

“I don’t blame you for deceiving me and keeping secrets. We were using each other, after all. I can’t even begin to imagine how desperately you had to fight to survive as an Irregular. Someone like me, who grew up in a much better environment, could never truly understand. But because of that... I respect you.”

I flinched.

Respect.

I had never expected Hemillas to view me with such an emotion. For the first time, it felt like he was speaking honestly.

Perhaps the reason I had come this far... wasn’t for some grand reason. I slowly looked within myself.

“Before everything ends, I wanted to talk with you.”

Hemillas pulled out a small flask from his coat. He flipped over a water glass, tapped it dry, and poured in the liquor before sliding it toward me.

“Have a drink, son.”

Hearing him call me son made me feel a little guilty. Before we continued our conversation, there was something I needed to say.

“Just in case... I hope you won’t get too angry after hearing this.”

“Even if you were about to stab me in the back right now, I wouldn’t get angry. I’d probably find it amusing. Not that you seem to have a trick like that up your sleeve.”

I parted my lips slightly. It was an awkward thing to say in many ways. But it had to be said.

“I like Giselle. Not as siblings, but as a man and a woman.” frёewebnoѵēl.com

The hand Hemillas had been using to pour his drink suddenly froze.

“...That’s a bit of a problem. Keep it to yourself.”

I braced myself for a hit and continued speaking.

“We already slept together.”

Hemillas tilted his head slightly, staring at me in silence. His gaze was sharp and unyielding.

Crunch.

The flask in his hand crumpled. Liquor trickled through his fingers.

...Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.