Bad Born Blood

Chapter 218

The road where the accident had occurred was a complete mess. With no space to reverse or detour, people were abandoning their cars and fleeing.

Several vehicles had exploded, including the taxi I had been in. Crackling flames and smoke spread across the road like signal fires. The fire kept spreading, igniting other vehicles in turn.

Thick, acrid smoke billowed into the air, making visibility difficult.

Wee-woo! Wee-woo!

I lifted my head at the sound of sirens.

Uncommon in Border City, aerial vehicles were approaching the ground-level road. They belonged to various private security firms.

The aerial vehicles flew low, and private security personnel in combat suits bearing their respective company insignias leaped down one after another.

"Over here. Identity confirmation, Rover Lantus."

"What about the other VIPs?"

"Dead."

"How many minutes did it take us to deploy? Are we getting a penalty fee?"

The heavily armed private security teams were securing their contracted clients. The lucky ones were quickly rescued and reboarded their aerial vehicles.

"Goddamn it, our client is further inside?"

"What the hell showed up?"

The unlucky ones had to advance into the ominous scene. The thick smoke obscured the far end of the road, making it impossible to tell what was happening there.

"We’re moving in anyway. Keep the cameras rolling. I’ve got a bad feeling about this."

Five security personnel moved forward, rifles raised, searching for their client.

‘I don’t need to get involved in this mess.’

I planned to slip away, blending into the fleeing crowd.

Gunfire rang out—perhaps the security teams had pulled their triggers after entering the smoke and flames. Soon after, the unmistakable booming sounds of high-powered weaponry erupted in quick succession.

"M-Mushir al-Kashura! Kashura has appeared!"

The desperate cry caught my attention.

A security guard, his full-body combat suit tattered, stumbled out of the smoke, screaming.

At the mention of Kashura, the security teams grew restless, hastily contacting their higher-ups.

"Should we retreat?"

"Forget the remaining VIPs. It’s beyond our control. A disaster-class entity has appeared—we have no choice."

Even the private security firms began abandoning their clients and pulling back.

Phew—shwoom!

A beam of energy cut through the smoke, piercing straight through an aerial vehicle. It must have hit the fuel tank dead-on, because an explosion erupted mid-air.

KWA-BOOM!

The passengers inside never got the chance to escape—they were wiped out instantly. The wreckage of the aerial vehicle, engulfed in flames, crashed to the ground.

'Mushir al-Kashura? That thing showed up here?'

I took cover behind an abandoned vehicle, pressing my back against it.

'Kinuan told me that if I wanted to find out his whereabouts, I should look for Mushir al-Kashura.'

But I had entrusted Ilay with tracking down Mushir al-Kashura.

'Since I didn’t seek him out, did he come looking for me instead?'

Mushir al-Kashura wouldn’t have appeared here for no reason. His purpose could very well be me. At the very least, it was highly likely that it had something to do with me.

'This is troublesome.'

Right now, I needed rest.

'I don’t even know how Mushir al-Kashura fights. Avoiding direct confrontation is the best option.'

Just because I liked fighting didn’t mean I was reckless enough to throw myself into battle without thinking. The fundamental rule was to fight only when the situation was in my favor.

Crack!

I reached into the vehicle and tore off the rearview mirror.

Adjusting the mirror’s angle, I checked the ‘legendary mercenary’ emerging from the smoke.

'A dark-colored full-body exoskeletal combat suit.'

Mushir al-Kashura belonged to the human race. However, unlike the nobles of the Empire, he had an inhuman form in a completely different way.

'He looks even bulkier than in the reference photos.'

His exoskeletal combat suit was covered with an array of unknown mechanical devices, looking almost cumbersome. Because of the suit’s massive size, his frame appeared even larger than that of a fully grown Crawler.

Screech, screech.

Kashura was pushing aside and hurling vehicles as he advanced.

From his appearance and movements alone, he didn’t seem particularly fast. He was slow and heavy, like a tank.

'Is that box on his back controlling the exoskeleton suit?'

I closely observed Kashura’s combat suit. He was carrying a metal box nearly the size of his own body on his back, which caused his upper body to hunch forward.

Chiing, chiing.

Every time Kashura shifted his gaze, two pairs of lenses glowed in different colors. A bundle of cables and tubes extended from the back of his helmet, all connected to the metal box.

'That box on his back is definitely the key control unit.'

At first glance, the cables and tubes at the back of his head almost resembled hair. Their surfaces flickered with circuits, and liquid sloshed visibly inside the tubes, as if something was constantly being transmitted.

'This is an enemy I’ve never encountered before.'

Mushir al-Kashura was beyond my experience and knowledge.

Kashura was wild and brutal. He crushed and flung aside everything in his path as he made his way toward me.

'There are still private security personnel and civilians on the road. If I mix in with them, I can slip away—'

I blinked. Cutting through the thick smoke, combat drones were soaring in.

Weeeeeeeng!

They were black, the same color as Kashura’s exoskeletal combat suit.

Ten drones flew toward me in formation. The machine guns mounted beneath them made tiny adjustments, as if locking onto their targets.

‘Is he out of his mind?’

I realized what Kashura was about to do.

I wasn’t the type to place much value on human life. But I did have a certain restraint against unnecessary killing.

Tudududududu—!

Gunfire erupted. Innocent civilians who had been fleeing began dropping dead. Adults, children—it didn’t matter what species they were.

‘A massacre.’

A senseless slaughter unfolded before me.

The drones’ machine guns weren’t particularly powerful. Security personnel in full-body combat suits trusted their ballistic protection and returned fire.

Weeeeng!

The ten drones suddenly scattered, weaving through the air in complex flight patterns to evade the security team's bullets.

Weeeeeng!

Spreading out, the drones ignored the well-armored security guards and instead targeted the defenseless civilians.

Kiing.

I pulled out my auto-tracking pistol. The reticle linked to my retinal display moved, tracking the ten drones.

…I had no desire to play the righteous hero. But I wasn’t so desensitized that I could stand by and watch meaningless slaughter. Even if I didn’t feel compelled, this was the right thing to do.

With minimal movement, I swiftly shifted my aim and pulled the trigger repeatedly.

Tracking bullets curved precisely through the air, heading straight for the drones’ propeller shafts.

Kang!

A single bullet wasn’t enough to destroy a drone, but with their axes thrown off balance, the drones wobbled and spiraled downward.

Within moments, all ten drones fell silent. Kashura’s gaze turned toward me.

There was no hiding anymore.

I aimed my pistol at Kashura while placing my other hand on my sword’s hilt.

Giing, giing.

Kashura’s twin pairs of lenses focused on me. Seizing the moment, other security personnel and civilians scrambled to their feet and fled.

Weeeeng.

Kashura briefly watched the fleeing people, then dismissed them. It was hard to believe he was the same man who had just been committing mass murder.

If he were some bloodthirsty killer who enjoyed slaughter, he would’ve continued attacking.

Instead, Kashura placed a hand over his chest and greeted me with a polite bow.

"You must be Luka."

His voice was calm and refined.

Kashura wasn’t a sadistic killer. There was a reason behind his massacre.

Of course, it wasn’t a justification I could ever accept.

"Were you testing how I’d react to the slaughter of civilians?"

"I was curious about what kind of person you are. Considering your upbringing, you have quite a righteous nature."

I scoffed.

"Never thought I'd live to hear someone call me righteous."

"I'd love to have a pleasant conversation and get to know you better, but you'd only be willing to talk after I've removed all your limbs, wouldn’t you?"

Kashura dragged his heavy body toward me.

I drew my Firelight Saber. It was time to put Lapis’s special flint to the test.

The Firelight Saber’s preheating device, F.A.I—Fire and Ice.

I grasped F.A.I with my left hand and focused.

With my right, I inserted the Firelight Saber’s blade into the preheating slot and withdrew it in a single fluid motion.

Chiiiiit! Chit!

The process of insertion and extraction lasted only an instant. The preheating was complete in a single motion.

A plasma glow erupted from the single-edged blade.

Woooooong!

Swallowing the essence of pure heat, the Firelight Saber hummed as it scorched the air.

"Where is Kinuan?" I asked, extending my blade in a straight line.

"Questions are the right of the victor, and answers the duty of the defeated. What do you say, Lukaus Custoria?"

Hmm, honestly, it was an offer I liked. But since I had no interest in friendly banter with him, I responded with silence.

"Your silence is like that of a proud woman. Then let’s dance instead."

Kashura reached for a weapon stored at his waist. At first, I thought my eyes were deceiving me.

'Firelight Twinblades… from Valek?'

The Firelight Twinblades that Valek once wielded were now in Kashura’s hands. They looked more like daggers than swords in his massive grip.

Holding one in each hand, Kashura swung them outward with force.

Ching!

The hilts of the Firelight Twinblades extended, transforming into a pair of short spears.

"They were too short for my size, so I modified them into spears. Hmm, since they’re no longer swords, should we call them Firelight Twin Spears now?"

Like Valek, Kashura clashed the two weapons together to preheat them.

Woooooong!

Plasma energy flared from his twin spears.

'Does this mean Valek was killed by Kashura?'

The Firelight Twinblades originally belonged to Valek. Kashura likely knew something about Valek’s fate.

More than that, he probably had information about Kinuan as well.

'Kashura holds all the answers I’ve been looking for.'

I abandoned my earlier thoughts of fleeing. Now, I had a real reason to stake my life on this fight.

'If I take down Kashura here… I can get that much closer to Kinuan.'

The shortcut to Kinuan had rolled right up to my feet.

I have no intention of keeping my mouth shut and refusing when the opportunity is being spoon-fed to me like this. Even if it’s poisoned, this time, I have to swallow it.  

Swrrk, thud.  

I took off my coat and tossed it aside along with my pistol. I wanted to make my body as light as possible, and I needed to eliminate anything that could be grabbed. A coat was the worst thing to wear in a fight.  

Click.  

I undid two buttons on my shirt and loosened the front.  

An almost prophetic instinct was warning me.  

‘Mushir al-Kashura is a being superior to me.’  

Even if I assumed I was in peak condition, I would still be a notch below Kashura.  

A mercenary shrouded in mystery yet hailed as a legend, combat records so absurd they could only be explained by Legion-tier prowess. And given the circumstances, even Kinuan would likely hesitate to interfere with him.  

……I searched my memory.  

Since waking up in Lazarus, had I ever encountered someone stronger than me?  

In my mind, I conjured up an imaginary hand and counted.  

I had never fought En properly, so he was out. The washed-up Ragnata had been a disappointment. The Menoan Guard Commander and Valek had been worthy opponents, but even they had been a step below me.  

Mushir al-Kashura himself was an intense stimulus to me. Faces of past formidable foes I had encountered resurfaced one by one—those who had looked down on me.  

Ssssss.  

My nerves, dulled by fatigue, flared to life. It felt as if even the hairs on my body had become sensory organs, and the colors in my vision sharpened. The ambient noise, which had blurred together into static, separated into distinct sounds, each clear and precise.  

‘Not bad.’  

Thanks to the cognitive expansion of Akies Victima, the number of cars littering the road was naturally being processed in my mind.  

My brain latched onto my perception of time and refused to let go. The sluggish smoke clouds now seemed even slower than before.  

I hadn’t expected to have this level of focus and energy left in me.  

My heart pounded violently, sending a surge of blood to my brain.  

Drip.  

A nosebleed trickled down.  

“Hah….”  

I let out a laugh, dumbfounded. Kashura tilted his head slightly at my reaction.  

Not long ago, I had been considering running away. I had judged that leaving this place was the best option.  

But the moment I resolved to fight, my body reacted as if it had been waiting for this.  

“Hoo….”  

I exhaled. My body was flooding with combat hormones. My brain was soaking in natural stimulants.  

I was exhilarated by a battle with low odds of victory. Since waking up in Border City, my mind had never felt this clear.  

Every combat technique I had ever learned clung tightly to my skin, as if they were an inseparable part of me. Any difficult movement, any intricate skill—I felt like I could execute them effortlessly.  

Well, the body never lies…