Bad Born Blood Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Extended leave was a privilege.

Ilay was from a good family, had been exemplary throughout his cadet life, and had excellent training scores. That was why he was granted extended leave despite still being a cadet.

"Ilay? He didn’t seem like that kind of guy......."

"He was just hiding his ambition behind a smiling face. He’s no ordinary person."

I listened to my fellow cadets’ conversation. They were quick with information about noble society. Unlike , a noble in na only.

’Ilay must have done sothing.’

Today, Ilay was the talk of the academy. Now that he had returned, he was probably undergoing a series of tests—psychological evaluations included.

"What happened?"

It was hard to wait until I t Ilay. I approached the cadets chattering in the lounge.

"Luka, you don’t know? Ilay didn’t tell you before he left?"

"I wouldn’t be asking if I knew. Am I that guy’s wife or sothing? You think I’d know everything?"

I snapped in irritation. My fellow cadets were used to my attitude, so they only shrugged.

"Ilay rendered his own brother completely incapable of recovering...... basically, he left him half-crippled. Now, they say Ilay is the strongest candidate to be the next head of the Carthica family."

I couldn’t laugh along with the others.

’What the hell did he do?’

Ilay had never cared about the head position or rising through the ranks. And from what little I had heard, he wasn’t on bad terms with his brother.

But now, Ilay had nearly killed his own brother and was aiming for the position of the next head.

I had a vague idea. Lilian Lamones’ death had shaken Ilay to the core. Maybe even enough to change his entire life’s purpose.

I waited in front of Ilay’s room for him to return. But even though he should have finished his tests by now, he still hadn’t co back.

’There’s no way sothing went wrong with the psychological evaluation, right?’

The last ti I saw Ilay, his ntal state had been deeply unstable.

I sat on the stair railing and stared at the ceiling. The cold tiles glead without a single stain.

"Luka? Or should I start calling you Lukaus Custoria now?"

Ilay spoke as he climbed the stairs.

"Just Luka. Lukaus, my ass......."

"Give a sec. I’ll just toss my bag inside and co out. Waiting for like this on my return day—I’m touched."

Ilay made a aningless remark and entered his room. I waited outside the dormitory building for him to co back out.

We usually had our conversations outside the building. At tis, our words were less than appropriate. But it wasn’t just us who did this.

There were implicit spots all over the training center where cadets could talk in private. It was an unspoken rule to leave if soone else was already there.

"You killed your brother?"

I spoke as I watched Ilay approach.

"I didn’t kill him. I just... gave him a little beating."

"To beco the head of the Carthica family?"

"Well, I thought I’d give it a shot."

Ilay spoke as if he were deciding on a new hobby.

"Because of that woman?"

I didn’t say Lilian’s na outright. Ilay closed his eyes briefly, then opened them in a narrow gaze.

"Luka, I’m not running away anymore. If there’s a problem with my family, I’ll fix it as the head. If I have issues with the Empire, I’ll climb high enough to change it."

Depending on how one listened, his words could be problematic. But I liked Ilay’s ambition.

My friend wasn’t so idiot who just whined and never lifted a finger.

If Ilay had made up his mind, I had nothing to say. He had more than enough ability. Until now, he’d simply lacked a reason and a motive.

"You sure made your way to the heir position by beating up your brother. Was the Carthica family always this ssed up?"

"It was an official duel. My brother’s always been simple-minded—easy to provoke."

"How’d you provoke him?"

Under normal circumstances, duels between brothers weren’t allowed. Especially not to the point where one’s life was on the line.

"I slept with his lover. Guess I’m better-looking—she ca over pretty easily."

I was at a loss for words for a mont.

"......You’re a real piece of trash."

I scowled at the handso piece of trash in front of .

"I do feel bad for him. I told him I wasn’t interested in the head position, then stabbed him in the back."

Ilay’s brother—whoever he was—had failed to see his sibling’s true capabilities and had fallen for the provocation. He was never cut out to be a great head of the family to begin with.

‘The Carthica family is probably welcoming Ilay now that he’s revealed his ambitions. He’s the most capable of all their children.’

I could guess as much. Ilay had read the atmosphere of his family well enough to act boldly.

We exchanged stories about what had happened during our ti apart. I only shared what I could. Things like the truth behind the Barbara incident—I couldn’t even tell Ilay about that.

It wasn’t a joke—if the truth behind the Barbara incident got out, both Ilay and I would either be disposed of or receive a punishnt close to it. The operation had been years in the making by the Empire’s upper echelons.

"You... what kind of dangerous deal did you make? No noble family would take soone in as an adopted son under normal conditions."

Of course, I couldn’t tell him the details. Ilay didn’t expect to.

"My whole life has always been a tightrope walk. Nothing’s changed now."

"Even the best acrobat falls on his head at least once."

"That doesn’t an he stops performing, does it?"

I had no other options. From the start, I never had a choice. Unlike Ilay, this wasn’t a matter of making up my mind or not.

‘If I don’t do it, I die.’

And gaining entry into the Custoria family was a reward I could be satisfied with.

"Anyway... welco back, Ilay. If you want to be head of the family, you’ll have to work twice as hard as you are now."

"I ca back prepared to work four tis as hard, not just twice."

Ilay proved those words weren’t empty. The next day, he voluntarily took on a mission and ford a squad. Their task was to exterminate the native creatures of Planet Novus.

999

I finally visited the Empire’s workshop. A technician led to the weapon testing room.

The room was cluttered with various dummies and protective gear.

I picked up the high-compression heavy weapon I had ordered. It was in the form of a sword, which I preferred, but it was different from what I had used before. It was longer and had a single-edged blade.

I had been briefed beforehand, but it still took ti to adjust.

Clang.

The weighty blade dragged against the floor on its own. I increased the output of my prosthetic and lifted the sword.

‘Thrust.’

The mont the thought crossed my mind, my body moved.

Swish!

The sword wasn’t designed primarily for thrusting. But it wasn’t impossible—just slightly inefficient.

Whoom!

I raised the sword and brought it down in a slash. The sheer weight of the blade exaggerated my movents beyond usual, but its power increased accordingly.

Most protective gear wouldn’t withstand the destructive force of this weapon—it was too much. And at a glance, it didn’t even look like a heavy weapon, making it perfect for catching opponents off guard.

‘I’ll probably have to fight soone stronger than .’

Like Rick Kaiser. A straightforward approach wouldn’t work against him. That ant I would have to rely on irregular, adaptive combat using Akies battle techniques.

I only needed it to work once.

I didn’t expect it to work twice or three tis—just once would be enough.

"How is it?"

"Just holding it makes my prosthetic feel like it’s being stretched taut. If I lower the output even a little, I think I’ll drop it."

"That one’s na is Crucis."

The workshop technician squinted one eye as he spoke, as if telling to rember it properly.

I had heard that so technicians nad each weapon they created. Apparently, the one who made mine belonged to that sentintal type.

"I saw it. It was engraved in small letters under the blade. What does Crucis an?"

"It’s an old word. ans calamity, ruin... sothing like that. The gun’s na is Ruina. That one ans destruction. Both of them are girls, so treat them like lovers."

So, my first love would be a gun and a sword.

I chuckled and gripped one in each hand—Crucis in one, Ruina in the other. I had no idea which one would be the main wife.

Bzzzt.

I extended the hand holding the "shock pistol" and aid. I had just learned its na, but calling it Ruina felt a bit ridiculous. I wasn’t so kid playing pretend.

The shock pistol used both an energy cartridge and live rounds. The downside was that it took ti to bind the energy with the bullet. Since the substance was unstable, pre-binding it in advance would risk the gun exploding. Fortunately, once the magazine was loaded, it could fire continuously.

I held my aim and waited for the energy binding to complete.

Vrrrrr.

A faint vibration traveled sharply up my arm.

Thwoom!

The gun jerked upward as I pulled the trigger. The recoil was far stronger than I had expected. I would have to properly train with it.

The coolant casing ejected, still burning hot, distorting the air with its heat. For the record, bullets using coolant casings were absurdly expensive. My entire day’s wage had just evaporated into thin air.

But the power was satisfying.

Whistling, I observed the shattered dummy. Even though the shot had barely grazed it, the humanoid target clad in protective gear had been obliterated. Scorched fragnts crackled with electricity and smoke.

Damn. You’re sothing else, Ruina.

Before I knew it, I was repeating that embarrassing na in my head. I was already starting to fall for it.

"Pretty damn amazing, huh?"

The workshop technician grinned when he saw my expression. Realizing my face had heated up, I gave a sheepish smile.

If I had even a little more nerve, I might’ve called the man in front of Father-in-law.

"I’ll put them to good use."

"And make sure to kill plenty. These kids were born as weapons—they’ll crave blood."

I nodded at the grim words of encouragent.

Then, I left the Empire’s workshop. I wouldn’t be coming back here for a while.

Now, what should I do?

I had two choices. One was to tail Kinuan again. The other was to go down to the lower district alone.

The answer was obvious—I didn’t even need to think about it. Staying near Kinuan wouldn’t get any new information for now. Besides, I had secured a transit pass allowing to travel to the lower district alone. It was ti to put it to use.

I took the express lift down to the checkpoint. My pass was already registered, so the guards didn’t stop .

"Hmm."

I tilted my head as I inhaled the acrid air of the lower district.

Being here without Kinuan felt strange. I must have grown quite used to the upper district. Lately, all I had seen were luxurious buildings—whether it was the academy or the Custoria estate.

Now, crumbling concrete and rusted tal tiles ca into view. The wires, tangled like dozens of layers of spiderwebs, stretched in so many directions that I couldn’t tell where they began or ended.

As I moved further in, the crowds grew denser. The farther I got from the upper district, the fewer well-dressed people I saw, and the more beggars in tattered clothes appeared.

"Sp-Spare so change, m-mister?"

A beggar approached , trying to discreetly slip his hand into my pocket.

Crunch!

I grabbed his hand and twisted it. His wrist tore apart, wires and chanical components spilling out.

"G-Gahhh!"

The beggar scread and bolted into a dark alley.

Good. I was getting used to this again. This was how things worked in this part of town.

I pulled out my terminal and called Gabriel. It had been a while since I last contacted him. Maybe that was why he didn’t answer, even after several minutes.

I decided to check the address I had saved for him. I wasn’t sure if he still lived there, but if he was ignoring my call and lazing around, I was ready to break his nose.

Screeeech.

When I opened the door, I found Gabriel. But he hadn’t been ignoring my call while lounging at ho.

He simply wasn’t in a condition to answer.

"Are you dead?"

I nudged Gabriel’s body with my foot. The pool of blood around him was still fresh.

"Not... quite... yet..."

Gabriel barely managed to answer, coughing up blood. He had been shot.

"You don’t have money, do you? Want to cover your dical bill?"

When I asked, Gabriel’s already ugly face twisted even further.

"Fuck...."

Reluctantly, he nodded.

I pulled out my terminal and called for a private ergency dical unit.