Chapter 180
Violence is a symbol of barbarism. In a civilized society, it is an evil that must be eradicated.
......Not many fools would agree with that statent.
Violence is not barbarism; it is coercion and deterrence. Without the fence of violence, societies and groups collapse.
The order of a civilized society is nothing more than a refined circumvention of the logic of power. Strip away the outer layers, and the truth is always the sa.
The only thing that can stop violence is greater violence.
Squelch.
Blood pooled on the floor. The blood of the young Crawler spread along the grooves of the surface.
Thud, thud.
People were pounding on the door from outside. The lock was engaged, preventing them from opening it.
“Grrk, ugh.”
Boryan groaned, subrged in the pool of blood.
Wiping the blood from my hands, I looked down at him. His body was shattered to the point where not a single part remained intact. Blood stread from his mouth and nose.
Because of my violence, Boryan had been driven to the brink of death. Without tily treatnt, he would die.
Bang!
The pounding on the door grew more intense.
I scanned the room. The once-tidy counseling office was now a wreck. Broken furniture and scattered items lay in disarray.
“What is going on? Open this door imdiately!”
“Hey, break this down!”
Outside, they were trying to force the door open.
Splat!
I grabbed Boryan’s head and smashed his face into the blood-covered floor. To make it look even more grueso, I had to spread the blood evenly.
His broken limbs twitched as he let out ragged breaths.
‘If I don’t go this far, it won’t an anything.’
I grabbed the scruff of his neck and dragged him along.
Screeeech!
The locked door groaned as it was being forcibly pried open. The lock trembled, on the verge of breaking apart.
“What on earth have you done?”
Through the slightly opened gap in the door, the teacher shouted. He had already caught a glimpse of the scene inside.
“Education.”
That was my answer as I walked toward the door, dragging Boryan behind .
Clang!
I snapped my fingers, shattering the lock. The door swung open with a start, revealing the people outside. They, in turn, saw and Boryan.
“Ugh... ugh.”
The weaker-stomached among them imdiately covered their mouths at the sight of Boryan’s condition. Even the bodyguards with combat experience furrowed their brows.
The students standing at the very back stared at and Boryan with horrified eyes. For those pampered brats, this must have been their first ti witnessing such a scene. Seeing a corpse riddled with bullet holes would probably have been less shocking.
Whoosh!
I threw Boryan in front of them. His body slid across the floor, sprawling out, leaving behind a long streak of blood.
"I’ve educated him so he won’t ever harm another student again. If Boryan causes trouble even once more, it won’t be expulsion—he’ll die by my hands, so you don’t have to worry."
"W-wait, this is..."
The teacher was at a loss for words. He seed unsure of what to say.
"This doesn’t change the fact that my son’s arm was broken..."
The blond guardian forced out his voice. It was clear his pride wouldn’t let him back down so easily.
Srrk.
I crouched down beside Boryan.
"Was your son’s broken arm the left one? Or the right?"
"R-right..."
The blond guardian trailed off, his eyes widening as he clamped his mouth shut.
I lifted Boryan’s mangled right arm and gave it a shake. It wobbled loosely, the bone completely broken.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I don’t agree with that. Revenge accrues interest. If breaking Boryan’s arm isn’t enough to satisfy you, then there’s only one option left."
Rolling up my sleeve, I pressed my foot down on Boryan’s right shoulder and grabbed his arm.
"W-wait!"
The teacher desperately grabbed at with his feeble strength, trying to stop . I didn’t budge.
"Your na is... Ergen Walter? Alright. If you want, I’ll rip this kid’s arm off right here. At this point, treatnt won’t help—he’ll need a prosthetic. Will this be enough for you to forgive Boryan? Or is it still not enough? Say the word. Just how much pain do you want this kid to suffer? I’ll do it myself."
"I... I..."
The blond guardian faltered, his earlier aggression fading. I pressed on, forcing him into a corner.
Crack!
I twisted Boryan’s shoulder half a turn. His muscles and tendons stretched, twisted, then snapped apart.
"Aaaaaaah—!"
Boryan, who I thought had passed out, lifted his head and let out a harrowing scream. It was a beastly wail, indescribable in its raw agony.
People grimaced, covering their ears.
‘Endure it, Boryan.’
My specialty is violence. But I can’t use it on these people. If I did, the only one satisfied would be . Boryan’s sacrifice would be for nothing, and Jafa would end up in a difficult position.
So I had to show them my ruthless violence—through Boryan.
‘What I’m seeking from them right now isn’t forgiveness...’
The blond guardian’s lips trembled. He clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, cold sweat trickling down his face.
‘...You’re threatening them. Telling them that if they cross you, they’ll end up like this too.’
If I could turn a ward under my care into this half-crippled state, how much more brutal would I be to soone I considered an enemy? Their minds must have been racing with all kinds of thoughts.
“Fine! Stop! That’s enough!”
The blond guardian shut his eyes tightly as he spoke.
“Boryan, thank Ergen Walter. He just saved your real arm.”
I let go of Boryan’s arm as I spoke.
He was too out of it to respond, only groaning in pain. Not even Regor, who often used him as a punching bag, had ever done this to him. Regor was just venting his frustrations on Boryan, but I had tortured him.
...In any case, I had prevented his expulsion.
* * *
“I’m... not sure if I should be grateful. You could’ve at least warned before beating up.”
Boryan spoke to . He was lying in the infirmary, his limbs tightly wrapped in bandages. Even with a Crawler’s resilient body and advanced dical technology, he would need at least a month to recover.
“If I told you beforehand, it wouldn’t have felt real. If you had ti to brace yourself, it would’ve shown.”
I said as I sat down in a chair next to his bed.
“What does that even...”
Boryan rolled his eyes toward but flinched. It must have been the lingering mory of the beating. Fear, once imprinted, doesn’t fade easily.
“Boryan, you’re a Crawler. No matter how much you try to control it, your aggression is naturally stronger than other species. So, whenever you get angry, think of . Being mocked a little is a hundred tis better than getting beaten by .”
Boryan barely managed to look at and nodded.
“I doubt anyone will ss with now. The rumor’s probably spread about how much of a bastard my guardian is.”
He grumbled.
“Good. That was my goal, after all.”
“...Co to think of it, there really wasn’t any other way to stop my expulsion. Money wouldn’t have worked on them, either. But... were you seriously planning to rip my arm off?”
“If they had pushed hard enough, I would’ve had to. Losing an arm doesn’t stop you from studying, does it?”
“Hmm...”
Boryan fell silent.
“Since the problem’s solved, just focus on recovering and going back to school.”
I stood up from my seat. There was nothing more to say.
I had fulfilled my role as a guardian. Whether I did it well, I wasn’t sure. But this was the best I could do.
"...Thank you. For coming. Both to the school and the hospital."
Boryan’s words hit my back. I simply raised a hand in acknowledgnt.
Since I was already out, I decided to stop by Gaya’s hospital as well. Gabriel was still receiving treatnt from Gaya even after his revenge was over.
When I rang the doorbell at the hospital entrance, Gaya opened the door shortly after.
"I told you to make sure it was done properly."
That was the first thing he said when he saw . He was talking about Gabriel’s revenge.
"Killing his enemy wasn’t enough?"
"Gabriel’s vengeance was left half-burned. And now, there’s no way to ignite it further."
"Gabriel was the one who killed him with his own hands."
"He was in a ntally unstable state and couldn’t make a proper judgnt. Gabriel didn’t inflict as much pain as he needed to feel satisfied. He killed the man simply because he couldn’t stand being in the sa space as him. He never got to savor the pleasure of true revenge."
"Yeah, yeah, it’s all my fault. Sure."
I scoffed as I walked inside.
Instead of leading to the patient rooms, Gaya took downstairs. At first, I wondered if he had so kind of underground prison, but that wasn’t the case.
On a side note, I was curious about the more sinister side of Gaya he kept hidden. He definitely had his own secrets.
As the basent door opened, sounds filled the space.
Bang! Crack!
Gabriel was bouncing lightly in place, striking a punching bag. Despite his massive fra, he was surprisingly fast. Even in the middle of rehabilitation, his movents were sharper than I rembered. If he fully recovered, he’d be a useful combat asset.
Kwa-ang!
A deafening noise rang through the space. Gabriel wiped his sweat and looked at and Gaya.
"Ah, Dr. Gaya... and Luka."
Gabriel looked better than before.
"How’s life?"
I asked as I approached him.
"Well... not bad. And, about what happened last ti, I—"
"Forget it. It was an unexpected situation."
"But I... I..."
Gabriel’s pupils trembled. The energy he had just monts ago vanished without a trace. Negative emotions lood over him like a dark shadow.
"Why... Why did I do that...? Why didn’t I ask him why? And more... more pain... That bastard didn’t even know why he was dying. He... He just died without understanding why..."
His complexion rapidly deteriorated.
“Calm your breathing, Gabriel. Your revenge isn’t over yet. There’s still the one who orchestrated everything—the one who led that bastard to your girlfriend.”
“The... the weird guy who got in your way?”
I signaled to Gaya to give us so space for a mont. He looked reluctant but headed up to the first floor.
“...If I keep looking for Giselle, that guy will definitely show up again. I’m certain of it. Giselle’s disappearance and your girlfriend’s death are connected. All of this happened according to soone’s plan.”
Gabriel’s violent trembling shifted into a faint, subtle shiver.
“My revenge... isn’t over yet? Really?”
“That’s why you need to focus and get through your rehabilitation. I need people. People who won’t be swayed by other interests—people who will move solely for .”
I was about to leave without pressing further about Giselle, but Gabriel grabbed my shoulder, stopping .
“Luka, you helped , so I need to help you too. That’s only fair. I don’t want to owe you a one-sided debt. There’s sothing you want to hear from , right? G-Giselle... I an, back then, I...”
Gabriel trailed off, struggling to pull out his buried mories. His speech slowed.
‘Of course, the mories won’t co back smoothly.’
The more they surfaced, the more intense his overwhelming anxiety must have beco. He was being forced to recall sothing he didn’t want to rember.
mories aren’t just records. They carry emotions with them. Gabriel was facing the sa negative emotions that had shattered him before.
His breathing quickened. His face flushed red. His entire body radiated distress and unease. He was on the verge of a panic attack.
I didn’t stop him. I simply waited calmly.
“M-my team... Security Team 4... we were assigned exclusively to Giselle. There were ten of us...”
Gabriel started circling around the subject, speaking in a roundabout way. I didn’t rush him. It wouldn’t be easy for him to get straight to the point.
“Sotis, when I followed Giselle to the Custoria estate, I’d see you there. I never liked visiting the estate. I could feel the way they looked down on —like I didn’t belong there. Like I was soone who shouldn’t have been there.”
The Custoria family had accepted , but only under special circumstances. Their disdain for those of lower status was no different from any other noble house.
"You were sitting by the window, completely unresponsive. Even when I spoke to you, you didn’t react at all. Even your unconscious combat reflexes were gone. They tried multiple treatnts, but nothing worked."
Right now, there were two main reasons why I had ended up in Border City.
‘First, the Empire’s biotechnology had no way to heal .’
If it had been possible, I would have recovered back when Crimson Francec took in.
‘Second, after Francec lost the power struggle... there was no one left in the Empire who could protect from Ivan.’
Ivan must have been trying to figure out how to use . More precisely, he wanted . His desire wasn’t just practical—it was pure, possessive greed, bordering on malice. My humanity and identity wouldn’t have mattered to him in the slightest.
Perhaps he had even intended to turn into so kind of shadowy war machine.
"Take your ti. Even the smallest details are fine—just say everything you rember."
Unlike the stillness of the room, my mind was burning. From this mont on, I wouldn’t let a single one of Gabriel’s words slip past .
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