Chapter 323

–…Multiple injuries due to mechanical malfunction. Requesting emergency evacuation and medical assistance. I’ll send the passenger list—please confirm.

The synthesized voice transmission was directed to the orbital hospital.

Since Honey Space’s space liner was carrying upper-class passengers, they wouldn’t dare refuse.

Beep.

The orbital hospital immediately granted docking clearance for the space liner.

A green guidance beam extended long from the docking bay, passing alongside both flanks of the ship.

Pulled by the beam, the space liner decelerated and slid into the inner bay.

Ssshhk.

Wearing a vest-type combat suit, I ran a hand over the nape of my neck. The foldable combat helmet rose from the back of my neck and covered my face.

–Among the orbital hospital’s guards, there are some heavily armed veterans. You're not going to insist on a no-kill policy here, are you?

“You can stop with the sarcasm.”

–Hmm, I’m just genuinely curious.

“Kill them if necessary.”

–We’re going to be glorious criminals, huh? Slaughtering innocent people who are just doing their jobs.

“You don’t need to remind me I’m the bad guy. I’m not a damn kid.”

–Then let’s stick to the plan, honey.

I took a deep breath, enduring the dreadful nickname.

Vrrrmmmm!

The space liner, docked rear-first, began to open the hatch of the cargo hold where I was located.

Thunk-thunk!

The door finished lowering. Medical staff and guards stood by, ready for any emergency.

“You…!”

I saw the muzzle of a gun aimed at me.

Pong.

I leapt lightly. There was no awkwardness in my movement.

The orbital hospital used centripetal force in a circular structure to simulate artificial gravity. Lucky for me. I wasn’t confident in zero-gravity combat either.

Tap!

I crouched and kicked off the floor. The metal plating beneath my feet dented under the pressure.

I charged forward, using the body of a startled medic as cover.

“Shit! Get down and out of the way!”

The guards shouted. Their guns belatedly tracked me, but they couldn’t pull the trigger with the medics in the way.

Screech.

Instead of my shock pistol, I drew an ordinary live-ammo handgun, pointing the barrel between the medic’s armpit.

High-powered weapons were a no-go inside space structures or spacecraft. No matter how reinforced they were, every structure had its weak points.

Misuse of high-powered firearms meant mutual death. That’s why Ruina couldn’t be used recklessly here.

The same limitation applied to the guards.

Bang!

The gunshot rang out from my hand.

Shooting wasn’t exactly my specialty. But that didn’t mean my marksmanship was second-rate—far from it. It just wasn’t my specialty. By regular standards, I was more than good enough to be considered first-rate.

Crack!

My steady shots struck the guards’ heads and faces. But their full-body combat suits had excellent defense. The bullets only cracked their helmets or shattered faceplates at best.

Clack.

I swapped out the magazine and aimed for their hands.

Bang!

Each time I pulled the trigger, the guards groaned, clutching their hands. Even without penetrating wounds, the impact of the rounds made some of them drop their weapons.

Thud!

I shoved the medic I had been using as cover forward and darted to the side. The output of my prosthetic leg surged instantly.

I moved faster than their gun barrels could track me—executing rapid maneuvers at high speed.

“Huff.”

Just one breath. Before long, I had closed the distance to the guards. It was time to use a close-combat weapon.

Clang!

A heavy weight filled my grip.

Shraaaak!

Crucis carved a lethal arc through the air. The combat suits and helmets that even bullets couldn’t pierce, shattered and tore apart.

Thud-thud-thud!

Blood spurted upward in a crimson rain.

The blood and flesh of the innocent splattered against my body. It wasn’t that I felt no guilt—but during battle, I could forget it. Emotions could be temporarily shut off. Damn it all…

Each time Crucis lashed out, human heads and limbs flew through the air.

“You bastard!”

“Die!”

Bullets flew alongside their hatred. They had every right to hate me. Even if one of them came back someday to kill me, I’d have no right to complain.

The life of a warrior, no matter how you dressed it up, was built on hatred and malice. No matter how noble we pretended to be, we were killers. There was no such thing as pure, spotless justice.

Real combat and war were filthy chaos—tangled and impure. One day you stood on the side of good, and the next, on the side of evil. Most days, you lived on the blurred boundary between the two.

But today, I stood firmly on the pitch-black side of evil.

…Shut your emotions down, Luka.

If guilt or moral conflict lingered during combat, the body dulled—so did the edge of your blade and the aim of your gun.

“...The docking bay’s secured. Only non-combatants remain.”

I checked the life signs of the fallen guards and spoke over comms.

–Good. I’ll start moving too. Keep their attention while I breach the internal network.

Barbara exited the space liner. Lightly armed, she surveyed her surroundings.

---

I sprinted down the circular corridor of the station. The path I had come from was drenched in blood.

‘How many…’

No—don’t count how many you killed.

Right now, what’s needed is the old Luka. The boy who killed with a frozen heart.

Back then, the Empire had been my absolute justice and virtue. So long as I wore the honor of an Imperial soldier, I could kill anyone.

‘But now… there’s no such thing as absolute justice or virtue for me.’

A vast gray zone stretched before me—stained with unclear smudges, some darker, some lighter, all only subtly different shades of gray.

When I left judgment to the Empire’s order, I had felt at ease. I didn’t have to think for myself. I didn’t have to feel guilt. I was merely a murder instrument, and that will belonged to the Empire.

‘The innocent killings now were all my will.’

It wasn’t easy to erase the guilt.

Could I be glad as I reunited with Giselle while I was stained with blood like this?

I felt dirty.

-If you go left, you can get to the central structure. It’s a zero-gravity area, so be careful.

Barbara’s comm came through.

Ssshhk!

Every door I passed opened with a dull creak. The signs that read “Authorized Personnel Only” felt ridiculous.

Clank, keeeeng.

At the end of the left corridor, I saw a structure separated from the rotating cylinder.

“How am I supposed to pass? There’s no corridor.”

-Stay where you are. The corridor will separate and attach to the central structure.

Just as Barbara had said, a barricade descended where I had been standing, moving away from the rotating cylinder and then attaching to the central structure.

Ssshhk.

The door to the passage connected to the central structure opened. This area was outside the cylinder’s rotation, so artificial gravity wasn’t active.

Vrrrrr.

I floated forward. Without gravity my movements were sluggish and my stomach spun with nausea.

‘Zero-gravity sterile treatment room.’

Following Barbara’s directions, I grabbed a wall handle and stopped.

-What are you doing? Keep moving.

Her urging felt like an ice needle through my spine.

“There are people inside this room, right? If I go in…”

To the sterile treatment room, I was like a plague.

-You were just out there killing people. Is now the time to fuss about cold or hot water? We don’t have much time.

“All those I killed until now were combatants. There were no non-combatants. Guide me another way.”

-Seconds matter…!

“Then find an alternate route!”

I shouted and flinched. A chilling thread latched onto my mind. Barbara’s laugh seemed like an auditory hallucination.

Barbara wasn’t an idiot. She might not empathize with my tendencies, but she understood them intellectually.

She knew—couldn’t not know—that guiding me down this route would create a conflict of opinion. There was no way she didn’t understand.

“…You chose this route on purpose, didn’t you, Barbara. You planned to press me psychologically, to force me to leave Giselle’s side.”

Barbara’s silence was brief.

-You’re clever, Luka. Heh, heh, heh.

A chilling witch’s voice spread in my ear. She continued speaking calmly.

-But honey, it’s true we’re short on time. If you don’t go through here, this operation ends now. Choosing another route at this point won’t get you there in time.

I had to pass through a path of ruin to reach Giselle.

…Akies Victima, the art of combat for the weak.

A technique for those who threw themselves into faint odds, in a world full of absurdity and unfairness, to impose their will upon reality.

There was no need to panic, Luka.

Expand your cognition calmly. Absorb the information. Choose the best move—not mere rationality, but the path that would let me uphold my will.

The cost of Akies Victima was always the erosion of myself.

Without wasting a second, the optimal decision emerged in my mind.

I quietly began preheating Ruina, my shock pistol.

“Barbara, I’m breaking through the outer wall and entering from outside. Prepare to open the door on the opposite route.”

I pressed the back of my combat suit’s neck, sealing the helmet interior.

Ssshhk.

I could sense Barbara’s agitation even through the comms.

–Outside is open spa—

Ignoring that damn bitch’s words, I aimed and fired.

Toooom!

A blue explosion burst forth. The corridor’s outer wall shattered, exposing the cold emptiness of space.

Grabbing the broken edge, I flung myself out into the void. In the direction I was heading, I saw the door to the rotating corridor.

–What the hell are you doing?!

I didn’t answer. No—I couldn’t. It felt like my lungs had frozen. My blood refused to flow.

The void proved its emptiness and chill. My body was slowly freezing in place. I had no idea what side effects would strike me next.

Vrrrrrm.

A dull ringing filled my ears. I felt unpleasant bleeding from my nose and mouth.

I floated through open space. The distance—one that would’ve been nothing on solid ground—felt endlessly long.

Then, I turned my head.

I saw the window of the zero-gravity sterile treatment room. Inside, medical staff wrapped head-to-toe in sterile suits—and children, pale-skinned, were there. They looked out, alarmed by the booming sound.

The medics were horrified to see me outside, while the children, clueless to the situation, giggled among themselves.

‘Ha… ha…’

A clumsy laugh bubbled up from inside me.

Like a fool, I raised my hand and waved. I only hoped the blood on me was hidden by the black of my suit.

Thunk!

Still drifting, I slammed against the door leading into the rotating corridor.

It hadn’t opened yet. Damn it—no, I was going to die out here.

‘Barbara, you’re going to leave me to die here, aren’t you?’

That was the limit. I had no idea how many seconds had passed. My thoughts were fading to black.

Ssshhk!

The door opened. Barely conscious, I grasped the edge and pulled myself in.

Barbara closed the door swiftly behind me.

Thud!

The moment it shut, I collapsed forward. Gravity returned, and my knees hit the floor hard.

"Ugh, uck, ghuh."

I panted and released the helmet seal. A little space opened at the nape of my neck.

I didn’t even know what condition my body was in. Space environments weren’t my specialty. Anyway—being alive for now was enough.

Kard-klik!

An unpleasant noise came from the far end of the opposite corridor. The guards had manually forced open the door that Barbara had shut.

-Get up! You idiot! Giselle is right ahead!

Barbara shouted.

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

A lot of footsteps followed.

The guards saw me slumped and approached like they were encircling me, only pointing muzzles.

‘…I’m catching my breath.’

I tried to murmur with my head down, but my voice wouldn’t come. Blood ran under my eyes and my cheek by my nose felt warm and sticky.

“Take him alive! Find out his purpose—”

The guard who looked like the leader barked.

I held Crucis almost like a finger ring. The output of my prosthetic surged to its peak in an instant. For a normal nervous system, the rise was an unbearably rapid increase.

I sprang up as if vanishing from the ground and swung my arm.

The guards couldn’t even react to my blade speed.

Kwad-dreuk!

The blade of destruction passed, and torsos and legs separated.

“Ha.”

A short breath escaped me. At least I could still move. I owed my thanks to the Empire that had remodeled me into a living weapon.

Step, step.

I followed Barbara’s faint guidance and walked.

We must be almost there. I hoped we were.

…Honestly, I was running out of strength.