Bad Born Blood

Chapter 217

I could now say that I had worked with Jafa for quite a long time. Naturally, I had come to understand how Jafa’s Equessian mercenary corps operated.  

I didn’t know if other Equessian mercenary groups followed the same structure. At the very least, the one Jafa had hired was divided into a Mercenary Captain and a Great Warrior.  

The Mercenary Captain handled negotiations with employers and commanded in battle. Mercenary work was, after all, a business. What mattered most for a Mercenary Captain was keen judgment and cold intelligence.  

However, no matter how much a mercenary group functioned like a business, it was still a warrior collective at its core. Individual combat prowess remained crucial and carried symbolic significance.  

If a Mercenary Captain was weaker than their subordinates, maintaining hierarchy would be difficult.  

The Great Warrior symbolized force on behalf of the Mercenary Captain. Order was established in a way where the strongest warrior acknowledged and respected the captain.  

In essence, these two leaders balanced the mercenary corps.  

'Even among similar warrior species, Equessians and Crawlers are different. Equessians understand the importance of political skills and negotiation.'  

And now, En—the one who embodied that force—stood before me.  

Crack.  

En stood blocking the entrance to the study. When he gripped the doorframe, his handprint was left behind in a deep mark.  

I smirked and looked at En.  

"You react quickly. As expected."  

I spoke while standing in the center of the study.  

-This is Jafa’s private space. You don’t belong here.  

"It’s not trespassing. Strictly speaking, doesn’t this house belong to Anguis Regina? I came in with permission from her side."  

-Does someone with permission break a window to get in?  

I had no excuse for that. I rubbed the back of my neck.  

"To find Kinuan, I need to understand his fundamental objective. I can’t overlook even the smallest clue."  

-There’s nothing here. Just do what you always do—hunt your prey.  

"Whether there’s a clue or not is for me to judge."  

Right now, I needed to contact Jafa and mediate the situation. There was no reason to escalate this into a fight. However, I also wanted to take this opportunity to assess En’s capabilities.  

'If I ever come into conflict with Jafa, I will inevitably have to fight En.'  

The eye glow from En’s battle helmet shone bright yellow. He was also bigger than me. If it were an ordinary human standing before him, they would have been overwhelmed by sheer intimidation.  

'The only reason I can face an Equessian like this is because I’m an enhanced human.'  

In terms of natural combat prowess, Equessians completely outclassed humans.  

-You’re acting like you’ve been waiting for this. I’ve always felt your seditious gaze.

"I want to see if your skills match your sharp tongue."  

-Quit lying. You just want to test me in preparation for a possible conflict with Jafa. I refuse.  

En placed a terminal on the table. I frowned. The heat I had carefully built up drained from my body all at once.  

Bzzzt.  

A real-time hologram of Jafa appeared in the air. The resolution was too low to make out Jafa’s expression clearly.  

-Hoyot, hoyot, hoyot... This is quite troubling, Luka. Did Anguis Regina tell you about this location? So, that child has chosen you.  

"If you want to find Kinuan, be open with me. Hiding things one by one will only make this messier."  

-To me, finding Kinuan is just as important as ensuring Anguis Regina’s well-being.  

"…So Anguis Regina really did commit patricide."  

-It’s an undeniable fact. At first, I wanted to kill that child myself. Losing my second lover in such a meaningless way… But once I realized that she was the only bloodline left of the one I loved, I found myself willing to cover even such a horrifying crime.  

"A Tajirun feeling maternal love for a human girl?"  

-If you start nitpicking like that, there’s no end to it. By that logic, me loving a human man is just as abnormal. Strictly speaking, it’s not maternal love. My feelings for Paolo must have transferred to her.  

Jafa continued speaking.  

-My reason for seeking Kinuan is not just revenge. To truly free that child, I need to find Kinuan. Right now, he exists in her mind as an untouchable, perfect illusion. I plan to drag Kinuan into reality and kill him right in front of her. Only then will she be able to let go of her obsession and live her own life.  

It made sense. If things continued as they were, Anguis Regina would be doomed.  

Jafa seemed to care for Anguis Regina more than I had expected.  

"Well, I’ve already uncovered Anguis Regina’s past and her real name. Now that I’ve dug up the truth you wanted to keep hidden, what will you do?"  

-…There’s always the option of killing you here. No matter how skilled you are, you can’t take on an entire mercenary corps. The Equessian mercenaries have already surrounded the area.  

I had to make a decision. If Jafa truly intended to eliminate me, I needed to act immediately.  

Once the Equessian mercenaries fully secured their perimeter, even I would have trouble escaping.  

'Equessian mercenaries are willing to sacrifice themselves for the collective’s goals.'

Even in the military, only the most elite units would possess such unity. But I knew. The fact that I had reached this point was also within Jafa's expectations.  

'Jafa is a prodigy, even among the notoriously cunning Tajirunese. Though she had Kinuan's help, she still managed to swallow the family that had exiled her whole.'  

Jafa was also aware of Anguis Regina's emotional instability and her obsession with Kinuan.  

'This situation was inevitable.'  

As long as Anguis Regina was fixated on Kinuan and the user of Akies Victima, it was only natural that I would end up here.  

"Jafa, I got here on my own. If you're planning to test me further, don't bother. Come to think of it, you once showed me pictures of my predecessors who were killed while pursuing Kinuan, didn't you?"  

My predecessors had died in gruesome states.  

- Well then...  

Jafa tried to steer the conversation away.  

"I'm not finished talking. It wasn't Kinuan who killed my predecessors, was it? You had the Equessians do it. The reason they were killed was that they had slept with Anguis Regina."  

- That's an amusing theory, Luka. Killing them just because they slept with that child? If that were the case, I would have killed everyone who had been with Anguis Regina. You've seen the previous managers who are still alive, haven't you?  

I laughed.  

"Those managers were nothing more than Anguis Regina's masturbatory tools, so they're not even worth mentioning. But an incompetent Akies Victima user would only fuel her illusions about Kinuan. Since she's an attractive woman, those who had a taste of her would keep chasing after her. The more they did, the deeper her obsession with Kinuan would grow inside her."  

Jafa turned in the opposite direction. Her gaze landed on En.  

- En, you may leave Luka alone and return. He has sufficiently proven his capabilities.  

Jafa neither denied nor confirmed that she was the one who had killed my predecessors.  

- Congratulations, human. You've survived another day.  

En muttered as he withdrew.  

Once En's presence disappeared, Jafa continued speaking through a private communication channel.  

- I did, in fact, want to keep my relationship with Anguis Regina a secret until the very end. It was never my intention to test you recklessly. My desire for that child's happiness is genuine, without a single falsehood. I simply wanted to find Kinuan while minimizing the exposure of our existence. Just as you have things you're hiding from me.

"I'll hear the rest of the story when I get there. For now, I’d like to investigate this place in peace. Paolo wasn’t just a simple chef, was he?"  

Jafa hesitated before answering.  

- What a nostalgic name… Paolo, Paolo… Paolo was the chef who developed the original recipe for Jafa Burger. But his real profession wasn’t cooking.  

I glanced over the documents pressed under the desk weight and the mess of books spread across the room. Patterns and illustrations in a familiar style caught my eye.  

- Paolo Kwan was a poor archaeologist, particularly fascinated by Arcane Civilization. For him, the restaurant business was merely a means to fund his archaeological research.  

*         *         *  

Even Jafa's hologram vanished. I let out a quiet breath and began my investigation.  

Paolo’s study was packed with records on Arcane Civilization.  

‘I won’t understand much just by looking at this right now.’  

The important thing was that Paolo had been deeply engrossed in Arcane Civilization. The diplomas and certificates hanging on the walls showed that he had received a high level of education.  

Srrrk.  

I narrowed my eyes as I flipped open Paolo’s notebook.  

‘…What was it called again? Graphology?’  

I searched my memory.  

Graphology was the study of handwriting, based on the theory that a person’s personality and emotions were reflected in their writing. It wasn’t exactly a reliable science.  

But even without expertise in graphology, one emotion was unmistakable in Paolo’s notes.  

‘An obsession with Arcane Civilization.’  

Even in books written by other scholars, he had densely scribbled his own annotations.  

‘And jealousy. Inferiority.’  

There were scrawled curses and insults aimed at other researchers, outright dismissing their work. Notes filled with resentment and frustration, lamenting that he could have done better.  

‘Paolo was an archaeologist who never received proper recognition or support.’  

I applied rational deduction to the situation.  

‘Kinuan must have contacted Paolo because of his knowledge of Arcane Civilization. And the moment he got what he wanted, he killed him.’  

But there was no guarantee that this rational deduction was the truth. For Kinuan, that was too predictable.  

If it was Kinuan, he would have… Damn it.  

‘When you really think about it, I’m no different from Anguis Regina. I keep inflating the image of Kinuan into something monstrous inside my head. I just assume he’ll always act beyond my expectations.’  

I was frustrated with myself. I had already lost to Kinuan, over and over again, without him even being here.

As I examined the study, I noticed that a significant portion of the handwritten notebooks was completely empty. The middle section of the bookshelf was oddly vacant.  

‘Did Kinuan take them? Or was it Jafa…?’  

Either way, there was no chance that any crucial records were still here.  

That was enough investigation for now. I could press Jafa for the rest of the answers.  

A dull ache throbbed along the bridge of my nose. I wiped the blood trickling from one nostril onto the back of my hand and closed my eyes.  

I had been active for longer than expected. On top of that, only major incidents had kept unfolding, one after another.  

‘As soon as I get back to the office, I need to confront Jafa. It’s better to push her before she has time to sort out her thoughts.’  

Still, before heading back, I wanted a brief moment of rest.  

I stepped out of Paolo’s house. Walking past the food stalls, I soon reached a busy main road where vehicles passed.  

I hailed a taxi, taking a deep breath as I sank into the back seat.  

The taxi’s front and back were separated by a metallic partition. Through the palm-sized glass window, I could see the driver.  

"Drive for an hour without stopping. Avoid circling the same route."  

The driver glanced at me. My disheveled state and suspicious request made him uneasy. His index finger hovered over the emergency button on the steering wheel.  

"…I’ll pay in advance."  

I pulled a credit chip from my inner pocket and inserted it into the slot to settle the fare. It was a credit chip unrelated to Jafa Corporation.  

"Thank you, sir! I’ll make sure to drive with the utmost care and comfort!"  

Only then did the driver flash a grin and take his hand off the emergency button. I was mildly curious about what would’ve happened if he had pressed it.  

‘Finally, I can get some rest.’  

I let my eyes drift shut. Just one hour of rest before I confronted Jafa. That should be enough to recover at least ninety percent.  

‘I’ll ask Jafa for the detailed information on Paolo…’  

Then, I’d resume my investigation into Valek. I also needed to contact Ilay to exchange information about Mushir al-Kashura.  

‘Mushir al-Kashura.’  

A dangerous figure, known as a legendary mercenary.  

Still, Ilay would know how to keep himself alive while making contact. He had spent twelve years navigating the Empire in my absence—his ability to sense danger must be exceptional, even without Akies Victima.  

…Enough thinking. This is where I should stop. A sharp pain throbbed at both of my temples. My thoughts were sluggish, lacking fluidity. My brain felt like it had turned to gelatin.  

Today, I’ll stop here…  

As if hypnotizing myself, I muttered under my breath.  

I was just about to fall asleep.  

Screeeech!

The taxi came to an abrupt stop. I frowned and opened my eyes. Being yanked back into consciousness right before falling asleep left me in a foul mood.  

"S-Sir… I think there's been some kind of accident up ahead."  

The taxi driver craned his neck forward as he spoke.  

The road was completely jammed, but people were getting out of their cars and running in this direction.  

Whoosh! Boom!  

Vehicles up ahead were suddenly being lifted into the air. Massive, multi-ton cars were flung off the road like they were mere toys.  

"Aaaaaahhh!"  

People screamed as they dashed past the taxi. They were too busy fleeing to look back.  

Something big was happening. I pressed down on my heavy eyelids and tried to calculate the situation.  

…It had been forty hours since I last slept, and I had been through one incident after another. My senses were dull, and I could feel my cognitive function slowing down.  

Even now, I couldn't immediately assess the situation.  

Thud!  

One of the airborne vehicles crashed down near us, slamming onto the taxi’s hood with full force. The impact damaged the engine, causing sparks and smoke to burst out instantly.  

"Hiiiik!"  

The taxi driver frantically jabbed at the emergency button.  

Thunk!  

The taxi’s roof suddenly ejected upward, launching the driver’s seat high into the air. It seemed to be an emergency escape mechanism. Well, if you wanted to make a living as a driver in Border City, this was probably a necessity…  

- This vehicle will explode in five seconds. If this was an accident, please state the cancellation code. 5…  

A robotic voice announced the countdown. The driver must have been robbed before or something because he had gone ahead and installed a self-destruct system as a service feature.  

"Ha… damn it…"  

I recalled that it hadn’t even been five minutes since this driver had proudly declared he would provide a safe and comfortable ride.  

- …4.  

I stretched out my leg and kicked the locked door, breaking it off.  

Yeah, I knew. Things never went the way I wanted them to. I understood that very well. But sometimes, it still pissed me off.  

Clunk.  

As soon as I stepped out, I kicked the taxi, shoving it further off the road.  

Boom!  

The taxi exploded like a giant firecracker.  

I brushed the embers off my hair and shoulders, adjusting my coat.  

Sometimes, you don’t get any sleep and just roll into the next day. It happens.  

Well then, another shitty day had begun.