I Become a Secret Police Officer of The Imperial Academy

Chapter 50

As we left the bustling main streets and entered a quiet residential area, a sense of calm returned, albeit tenuously.

Smoke rose from various places, and demons moved through the shadows, but the area seemed navigable if we avoided trouble.

My vision blurred slightly, and my steps wavered.

Alicia, following close behind, stopped me and tore a strip of fabric from the hem of her skirt with her teeth.

“…What are you doing?”

My words didn’t come out as clearly as I intended.

“I have to stop the bleeding, of course.

And don’t say things like you’ll die if I do.”

She wrapped the makeshift bandage tightly around my neck and tied it with a firm tug.

It probably wouldn’t help much, but since Alicia had gone to the trouble, I’d keep it on.

My precious little sister, trembling and holding back tears, forced a hopeful tone into her words.

“Once the sun comes up, everything will be fine!

So, after this is over, you’ll wake up early in the morning and keep going to the academy, right?

You’ll get along with that cool-looking senior, and make more friends, like the one you just made!

And someday, I’ll join the academy too!

When we meet in the halls, we’ll smile and greet each other warmly… like a family!”

A single tear fell from my right eye.

Despite the dirt on my hands, I reached up to wipe it away. Her skin felt warm against my touch.

Then we ran again.

If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve shoved a few dozen candies in my mouth earlier when we stopped to buy them.

“Burn those cowardly turtles hiding in their houses!”

“They lived in luxury while our families starved to death!”

The voices, so familiar now, filled the air again, and I deliberately turned my head away.

“It’s the demons’ fault!”

“I always knew those bastards would cause trouble one day!”

The demons flooding in from the main streets had collided with the local thugs.

The thugs dragged demons living in the residential area out of their homes, beating them to death with clubs. Meanwhile, the demons retaliated, reversing the roles.

The moonlit night illuminated the chaos.

I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a nearby window.

I looked filthy, utterly disheveled.

How had things come to this?

Wasn’t this world supposed to be like a game?

A place where hope prevailed, and the protagonist defeated evil to make everything right?

Things like this weren’t supposed to happen.

Still, I ran.

I didn’t want to die.

I wanted to protect Alicia, yes, but I also wanted to live by her side.

After all, isn’t the desire to live universal?

No one truly wants to die. No one wants to kill either.

And yet, I think I loved those wretched parents of mine.

I must have, or this hollow feeling in my chest wouldn’t exist.

They were people who deserved death, and they had died pathetically.

When my father extended his charred arm, what had he been reaching for?

Salvation? Or just anyone’s help?

As my adrenaline faded, the pain in my shoulder flared, but I didn’t show it.

If Alicia saw, she’d worry.

I simply clenched my partially torn lips tighter, ignoring the searing pain.

“Are you hurt, Sister?”

“I’m fine.”

Ten more minutes, and we’d reach the estate.

I glanced at the watch on my wrist—it had taken two hours of running to get here.

Once we were back, I’d arm myself with as many weapons as possible and barricade us inside a room. No matter what came, we could hold out.

“Huh?”

Alicia’s startled voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I turned around.

Her arm—no, just her hand—was on the ground.

A thug with a large blade had severed her arm in one swing.

Alicia collapsed, staring blankly at the stump where her arm had been. I didn’t even have time to call her name.

She wouldn’t die from this. A prosthetic arm, enchanted with magic, could replace it.

Without hesitation, I grabbed her severed arm and swung it at the thug’s face, striking him hard.

He didn’t fall, so I threw it at him before tackling him head-on.

Pain shot through my tattered shoulder as I used my legs to choke him, targeting his carotid artery.

“Ack… grgh… gahk…!”

He panicked, stabbing backward with his blade, but my already mangled arm took the hits.

Blood poured from the wounds, pooling around us.

“Alicia, run!”

There was no time for her to sit there dumbfounded, staring at her severed arm.

These thugs never traveled alone.

“You’re not going to die just because you lost an arm, so get up and run to the estate NOW!!”

Sometimes, the world feels like it’s moving in slow motion.

When struck by a massive blow to the abdomen, a hammer to the head, or when faced with a shocking sight, time seemed to slow.

Alicia struggled to her feet, clutching her severed arm. Beside her, a black cat lay lazily, seemingly unfazed by the chaos.

The cat sensed something approaching and leapt out of harm’s way. Alicia, however, wasn’t as fortunate.

A demon with large horns and piercing blue eyes lunged at her, gripping her by the throat with one hand and dragging her toward me.

Blood stained her dress, the vibrant red spreading from her left side—her ribs, likely torn open.

I couldn’t lose my composure.

Revealing emotions here would be idiotic.

“Hey, lady,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “That’s my childhood friend you’ve got there. We grew up together. Why not let her go? Let’s call it even—I’ll let you and your buddy go free too.”

Like hell they’d believe that.

Any fool would ask if I was serious and get stabbed in the back for their trouble.

I tightened my hold on the thug’s neck. One twist, and I could snap it.

“…Kill me, and I won’t let you go easily.”

The blade was still in the demon’s companion’s hand.

The two exchanged glances—unsurprising, given their gutter-born origins.

The thug holding Alicia hurled her aside and charged at me as the other swung his knife.

I twisted my legs, breaking the neck of the one I held, and wrenched the knife from his grip to slash at the approaching demon.

My movements were sluggish, my strength failing me.

“…Shit.”

Was the demon mourning his dead friend?

These bastards weren’t human.

They were filthy beasts—unlearned, vile creatures that reveled in eating, burning, and tormenting people for pleasure.

“Filthy gutter trash should rot where it belongs. Why the hell do you crawl into places where people live and act like you own the place?

You know what? By sunrise, you’ll all be dead. I’ll see to it myself.”

“…Fuck you.”

The knife in my hand felt unwieldy, my grip weak.

Feigning a charge, I hurled the blade instead.

By sheer luck, it sank deep into his abdomen.

Even with the knife lodged in his gut, he wouldn’t be able to overpower me, especially not with one of my arms mangled.

I lunged forward, sinking my teeth into his neck.

A vile taste filled my mouth—filth, rot, and then the metallic tang of blood.

“…St-stop! You bastard…!”

As I bit into his throat, his fists pummeled my face. My right eye was bathed in red, and my left vision blurred.

When his blows slowed, I shoved him away and stumbled toward Alicia.

Her side was a mess of exposed intestines, spilling from her torn-open abdomen. Blood poured relentlessly from her severed arm.

If we could just get to the estate, the priests could save her.

Ignoring the weight, I lifted her in both arms.

How her shattered body still moved was a miracle in itself.

If we could just make it to the estate…

Pain faded from my awareness, replaced by a surreal surge of strength.

Maybe God was blessing me. If so, I’d praise Him to the ends of the earth—so long as Alicia survived.

“Alicia, don’t talk.”

“…I, I thought you… didn’t cry…”

“I’m not crying. Something just got in my eye.”

“…It… hurts.”

“Remember what we said? You’re going to wake up early, make new friends, and go to the academy with me.

I’ll quit drinking, stop smoking—anything you want.

I’ll introduce you to Theo, that handsome senior, and Ethel, my beautiful friend.

You’ll love them, so just hang in there, okay?”

She had to survive.

“…Promise?”

“Yes, I promise! Everything will be fine!”

The estate came into view. Relief flooded me as I saw it.

Soon, we’d both be saved, healed, and safe.

“A-ah, Lady Ellen!?”

Marco aimed his rifle at me before realizing who I was. His stunned expression turned to worry as he approached.

“Take Alicia, now,” I ordered, passing her to Marco’s steady arms as I limped behind him.

Marco’s expression shifted oddly, but I ignored it.

Nothing was wrong.

Nothing could be wrong.

But then, why the hell was the priest lying dead, a gaping wound in his chest?

“…You son of a bitch! Get up! Heal my sister!”

I screamed, shaking the corpse in a futile rage.

That damned priest, who’d only healed me after making me suffer—why wasn’t he alive to save Alicia now?!

I turned to Alicia, lying motionless on the ground.

Her breaths were faint, her gaze weak. Slowly, she raised a trembling hand to touch my cheek.

Then she pulled me closer, whispering clearly:

“I love you. But if you die because of me, I’ll hate you, even in death.”

Her eyes glazed over, and her pupils dilated into lifeless pools.

I smiled.

Instead of crying, I smiled.