Bad Born Blood-Chapter 195

Chapter 195

The Menoa family’s incident was complicated.

Lies and truths were intertwined, and unrelated events and phenomena obscured the view. The truth lay submerged at the very bottom.

For those who enjoyed schemes and intrigues, the current situation of the Menoa family would be immensely captivating.

‘The people of the Menoa family do not trust each other.’

That was why even simple incidents grew unresolved. From a step back, it was an easy matter—truly, it was.

‘But the Tajirun of the Menoa family suspect everyone except themselves.’

With too many suspects, the case only became more labyrinthine. A group without trust could easily collapse over the smallest incident.

‘Ozmer did not kill his father.’

This was close to certainty. If Ozmer were the culprit, the situation wouldn’t be this convoluted and tangled.

‘On the contrary, Ozmer was convinced that one of his siblings had killed their father.’

That was what complicated matters. The inheritance issues must be causing further confusion as well.

‘If they fail to find the real culprit even after a full investigation, the inheritance will remain frozen. Perhaps, due to some other toxic clause, it might even be donated.’

From my perspective, no one seemed more troubled by this than Ozmer. He had suddenly become the head of the family, and Jafa, who had once been exiled, had returned as a threatening presence, pressing down on him.

Ozmer’s power base wasn’t solid, so everyone around him must have seemed suspicious. The fact that he believed one of his siblings had killed their father only made trust even more difficult.

Furthermore, within the Menoa family, there were likely other plots and schemes unfolding that I had yet to perceive.

I finished my thoughts and slowly opened my eyes. Not that I could see anything anyway.

‘A sudden blackout.’ ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

The power aboard the Menoa mothership had been cut. For a mothership of this scale to lose power all at once was unheard of. There had to be an abundance of emergency power and backup energy sources.

‘Someone well-versed in the ship’s internal workings deliberately shut down the power.’

I listened closely. A heated metallic clatter echoed from the galley.

Click, clack.

Someone in the galley was arming themselves and preparing for battle.

I sharpened my auditory perception and observed the situation. As I expected, everyone in the galley was well-trained soldiers.

‘They’ve drawn their firearms and taken cover in strategic positions. Using the galley as a defensive stronghold...’

I furrowed my brow. A bad premonition flashed through my mind.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, stretching through the air.

“Gah!”

The bullet pierced through a trainee of the Menoan Guard. The young human trainee clutched the wound, not even understanding what had just happened.

Bang! Ratatatat!

Sparks flew, intermittently illuminating the galley and the dining hall. The soldiers in the galley were indiscriminately firing at the trainees in the dining hall.

Screeeeech!

I wrenched a steel table from the floor and used it as a shield. Bullets rained down in all directions, reckless and unrestrained.

‘...Ozmer has made a bold decision.’

In my mind, the pieces of deduction quickly snapped together.

‘Ozmer intends to fabricate this as a slave rebellion and uprising.’

He would claim that a slave revolt had damaged the mothership and, in the chaos, the former patriarch’s corpse had been desecrated. A plausible excuse.

- What in the hell are you—guh, urgh!

Resistance against the attack from the galley arose. Surprisingly, the one resisting was the Equessian Guard Commander. He was fighting back against the other guards with only a pistol and a dagger.

It seemed he hadn’t been informed of this plan at all. He was being attacked by his own subordinates.

‘So even the Guard Commander is to be sacrificed. That would make the story more convincing.’

The justification Ozmer would use became vividly clear in my mind. ‘The Guard Commander, along with a few seditious guards, trainees, and slaves, attempted a rebellion.’ If that were the case, no one would question why the former patriarch’s body had been desecrated.

Since the former patriarch had died so recently, it would be easy to frame it as a ‘corruption of loyalty.’

‘These people are not the Imperial Guard...’

I was foolish to have thought they were the same.

I steadied my breathing. I couldn’t let myself get worked up. No, there was no reason to be. These weren’t people; they were slaves. Was there any point in getting angry at livestock?

If an Imperial Guard was ordered to massacre cadets... how many would actually obey that command?

Even though the Imperial Guard was bound by rigid loyalty, they were not without honor. A dishonorable order required a justification that could be accepted.

- You bastards! Who—urk, cough, put you up to—guh!

The Equessian Guard Commander was fighting with nothing but makeshift light armor. Worse yet, he was protecting the trainees, making it impossible for him to properly avoid gunfire.

‘...It wasn’t anyone’s orders. It was Ozmer’s, the current patriarch’s own command.’

From the looks of it, Ozmer had no intention of allowing the former patriarch’s body to be examined by the legal office.

‘Ozmer must think the lawyers are suspicious too. He can’t be certain the legal office will be fair. Even if he didn’t kill his father, he’s still the prime suspect, meaning he could be framed for the crime. If the lawyers are part of a scheme orchestrated by one of his siblings, he’d be powerless to stop it.’

I recalled my time in the Empire. The Menoa family, unable to trust one another, couldn’t find the truth even when it was right in front of them. Hm, how bitter.

‘Should I just watch for now?’

I held my breath and observed. There was no need to move until the situation settled.

Bang!

A gunshot whizzed past me. A trainee, shot through the head, collapsed limply.

Ignore it, Luka. They are slaves. They’re not my friends, not even acquaintances. Would they even bat an eye if I died? Not at all. They’d walk past me as if I were just trash on the roadside.

So I should do the same—look at them like garbage and ignore them. Slaves or not, they were still soldiers trained for combat. They took up the profession of killing, which meant they should accept death as part of their reality.

- Ah... ah... it hurts...

I turned toward the distorted voice. Each gunshot sent sparks flying, briefly illuminating the surroundings.

“Krrrk... krrrgh...”

A young Crawler lay on the floor, foaming blood at the mouth, his fingers scraping weakly against the ground. The gunshot wound must have been fatal—his stomach, pressed against the floor, was already drenched in blood.

Clatter.

His feeble struggling knocked over a dish, spilling vegetables across the floor.

‘...He’s young.’

The Crawler before me couldn’t have been older than ten.

I didn’t believe that being young meant one should be protected by adults. Whether child or adult, the universe treated them the same. The world crushed both equally with the same merciless weight.

If weakness alone was justification for protection, then weak adults should receive the same treatment. There was no inherent reason why a child deserved special protection.

‘There isn’t.’

And yet—I was human.

And humans, tragically, feel sorrow and anger when they see a child dying needlessly. They hesitate to kill children. Even if that child isn’t one of their own.

A memory surfaced. The first Force user I had ever met—he chose not to kill me. Even as he lay dying by my hands, he refused to rob me of my future.

‘The reason we protect children, even in the same circumstances where we wouldn’t spare an adult...’

It wasn’t because of some grand philosophy or noble conviction.

It was just a feeble instinct. A flicker of pity.

Alright, Luka. That’s enough of this pathetic self-justification.

Click.

I pulled out my auto-tracking pistol from inside my coat. Keeping only the barrel above the table, I aimed.

Beep, beep, beep-beep!

My retinal display flickered as it rapidly locked onto targets. They were armed, but lightly—none of them even had helmets.

Screech, click.

I pulled the trigger in rapid succession. The gunfire echoed, and soldiers in the galley collapsed one after another. Even under sudden attack from an unknown assailant, they didn’t panic. Instead, they ducked deeper into cover.

“You’re tough. Don’t die on me.”

I grabbed the young Crawler by the scruff of the neck and dragged him toward me. Flipping him over, I saw the gunshot wound in his stomach. It was bad. The bullet must have severed a blood vessel—blood was gushing out violently.

“Krgh... hrgh...”

The young Crawler let out shallow breaths, looking up at me with teary eyes. His lips trembled as if he were trying to beg for his life.

Ssshhk.

I pulled out a liquid bandage, jammed it into his abdomen, and sprayed it over the wound. That was the best I could do. The rest was up to the resilience of his kind.

“Kid, you’re a Crawler. This isn’t enough to kill you. Stay awake. Keep your damn eyes open.”

As I said that, I fired my auto-tracking pistol again in rapid succession. This time, the enemy had taken proper cover, and the smart rounds ricocheted uselessly off walls and steel plating.

‘The focused attack on the Equessian Guard Commander has stopped.’

Because of me, their firepower was now divided. The Equessian Guard Commander barely managed to pull himself back into cover, gasping for breath. He was severely wounded, but if he was on par with the Guard Commander I had faced before, he could still fight.

“Equessian! If you can hear me, respond. I’ll attack from the left. You cover my advance from the right. I’ll be the one to push forward.”

I didn’t care whether the enemy overheard me.

The Equessian Guard Commander finally looked my way and gave a hand signal.

It wasn’t exactly the same as the Imperial Army’s sign language, but I could roughly understand its meaning. I nodded, preparing to move.

Bang!

The Equessian Guard Commander lifted his head and fired. The enemy soldiers had already been aiming in his direction, but his speed outmatched them.

‘You don’t get to be a Guard Commander for nothing.’

His entire body was drenched in blood. Despite suffering injuries that were nearly fatal, his shots remained precise and unwavering.

The enemy’s guns and attention snapped toward him.

I crouched low, then pushed off the ground and sprinted forward.

I had already mapped out my movement path in my head. The galley and dining hall had plenty of cover to take advantage of.

Thunk!

Only innocent tableware, tables, and chairs were struck by bullets, clattering and shattering under the gunfire. Their shots couldn’t keep up with my rapid movements.

Kwadadada!

I stretched my body forward and dove into the galley. Cooking utensils scattered and shattered as I crashed through them.

Screeeech!

I dragged my fingers against the floor to slow myself down. The metal tiles tore apart beneath my fingertips.

‘Eight.’

That was the number of soldiers in the galley. I could already see their threat rankings and the optimal elimination order. Even without additional assistance, the analysis was complete.

Vrrrrrr!

I drew my Firelight Saber. Its blade, still preheating, glowed faintly. But even at this level, it was more than enough to cut down lightly armored enemies.

I swung.

Ssssshhh!

With a faint afterglow of heat, the soldier next to me was cleaved clean in half, top to bottom. Smoothly twisting my blade, I followed through, cutting down the soldier beside him as well.

Schlaaash!

The blade sliced diagonally from shoulder to waist, exposing the soldier’s entrails to open air. The intense heat of the Firelight Saber caused his blood to evaporate instantly, filling the room with a sharp, metallic scent.

Vrrrr!

Friction intensified the weapon’s heat.

Boom!

I kicked over the central cooking station, blocking their line of sight. Their bullets thudded into the overturned counter.

Thunk!

My blade pierced through the metal counter, skewering a soldier’s face. The tip of the sword exited cleanly through the back of his skull.

Bang!

The drawn-out echo of the gunshot rang annoyingly in my ears—too slow.

Clang!

I had already raised my left arm to shield the side of my face. The bullet struck my prosthetic hand and ricocheted into the ceiling.

I saw the shock on the soldier’s face.

Yeah, now you understand. The moment you let me get this close, you were already dead.

Splat!

I curled my fingers and drove them into the neck of the closest soldier. Then, forcing my fingers apart, I ripped through his throat, leaving his head dangling by a shred of flesh.

Swish!

I grabbed his barely attached head and yanked it off with a sickening tear. Then, without hesitation, I hurled it at another soldier.

Flinch.

Fear flickered in their eyes as they recoiled from my sheer brutality. If they hesitated, even for a fraction of a second, I could kill another one.

At the very least, their emotions weren’t entirely dead. Yet despite that, they were still willing to kill their own comrades. Their conditioning and training must have bordered on brainwashing.

‘But... rigid thinking due to brainwashing only leads to diminished capability.’

The Empire didn’t avoid brainwashing because they lacked the technology. It was because rigid minds didn’t belong in elite soldiers. That’s why they emphasized obsessive loyalty and honor instead.

A brainwashed soldier follows orders well—but that’s all. That’s why even in the Menoa family, they didn’t brainwash those at the Guard Commander level. A commander’s mind always needed to remain flexible.

With my thoughts wandering, the remaining fight was almost effortless. Before I knew it, the soldiers in the galley had gone from warm, living bodies to hot, lifeless corpses scattered across the floor.

Whirr.

I spun my Firelight Saber in a wide arc, its searing energy and shimmering heat haze distorting the air.

"Hey, instead of pointing that gun at me, why don’t you focus on treating yourself first?"

I turned my gaze toward the galley’s entrance.

The Equessian Guard Commander was standing there, aiming his pistol at me while gasping for breath. With each ragged inhalation, blood dribbled from his lips.

- What’s your objective? Are you behind the power outage on the mothership?

It was natural that he didn’t trust me. He was struggling to comprehend the situation.

‘He must be confused.’

Even so, he kept his gun raised, waiting for my answer.

"Your master, Ozmer... was planning to use you as a scapegoat to fabricate a slave rebellion. If you think about it for just a moment, you’ll realize it. The only reason your own men would attack you is if they were following your master’s orders. Are you prepared to turn your weapon against the one who cast you aside?"

My words were transmitted a beat later through the translator.

The Equessian Guard Commander’s expression grew conflicted.

Then, I saw his finger twitch.

Even after being betrayed, he was about to attack me—for the sake of his master.

Bang!

I moved first.

My auto-tracking pistol fired in an instant. The Equessian Guard Commander, already gravely injured, couldn’t even attempt to dodge.

Thud.

His head, pierced clean through, caused his body to collapse. He fell to his knees before toppling forward onto the ground.

‘You were just another slave in the end.’

I scowled as I watched his body crumple.

"Hah..."

I sheathed my Firelight Saber and perched myself on the least damaged counter, catching my breath.

Corpses lay strewn everywhere.

From all around, the weak groans of wounded trainees could be heard.

Crunch.

I grabbed a carrot from beside me and bit into it. I wasn’t even hungry—I just needed to chew on something to ease my frustration.

Click.

The lights flickered back to life as the power outage ended.

Ssshhhk.

At the same time, the dining hall doors slid open.

"...Oh?"

Jafa was the first to step in, letting out a small amused sound. A faint, knowing smile played on her lips.

Behind her were five armed Equessian mercenaries.

The sight of Jafa solidified my suspicions into certainty.

It didn’t make sense for Patriarch Ozmer or any other Tajirun to be the culprit. The benefits were unstable, and for a Tajirun, the planning and execution were too sloppy. I lacked enough information to fully grasp the internal situation, but one thing was certain.

‘Jafa orchestrated and manipulated all of this. The Tajirun of the Menoa family acted according to her intent.’

The blackout happening precisely while I was in the dining hall wasn’t a coincidence either.

"Jafa, I told you I’d help you. I never said you could use me."

I lifted my disheveled hair and spoke.

"Luka, I think there’s a misunderstanding between us. We’re not friends. The one who gets used is the one at fault. When you used me for your personal matters, did I ever complain or blame you? The only thing I told you was to spend less money."

Jafa clicked her long nails together as she spoke.

I chuckled.

...Once again, the fool who was too soft was me.

Jafa and the Equessian mercenaries brushed past me, heading straight for the refrigeration room at the back of the galley. She had to have known from the start that her father’s corpse was in there.

Clank.

The Equessian mercenaries stepped inside. Under Jafa’s orders, they would handle the body.

Thud.

Jafa sat down beside me. It seemed we had some time before the other Tajirun arrived.

"Luka, you must have already sensed the unnaturalness and artificiality of Menoa’s internal situation. If you lacked that level of insight, you wouldn’t have been able to catch Kinuan. This plan has been in preparation for a long time. Back then, I planned it with Kinuan himself. Before he left, he told me how I could take revenge on the Menoa family."

"Is all of this revenge for the exile order?"

"No. I hold no resentment over that. I was never someone who fit into the Menoa family anyway. This is about another, more personal revenge."

Jafa pulled out a photograph from her coat. The person in it looked familiar.

"...The human Guard Commander?"

He resembled the Guard Commander I had killed at the Jafa Corporation’s headquarters. But this one looked much younger.

"He was the twin brother of the Guard Commander you killed. And he was also my lover. I was exiled because I broke a taboo. I... formed a bond with a slave. I’m attracted to human men."

...Without a word, I lifted my hips slightly, putting an extra hand’s width of distance between us.

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