Bad Born Blood-Chapter 145

Chapter 145

I intended to introduce a new flow through Francec, forcing it to collide with the existing one. This would create even greater chaos, and an opportunity would arise for me.

...However, there was someone here even more formidable than me. A monstrous human who repeatedly surpassed my predictions and expectations. I had thought I had finally reached the same level, but that was nothing more than my own delusion.

Akies Domini, Kinuan.

Kinuan occasionally revealed himself between the protesters and the crowd. Others might not have noticed, but I could see him.

’Why?’

The question surfaced in my mind. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand Kinuan’s actions.

’You’re on the emperor’s side!’

I wanted to scream and ask him.

The emperor desired chaos—but only within a controllable range. Francec’s unpredictable actions wouldn’t be welcomed.

My gaze darted rapidly through the crowd. A masked figure suddenly collapsed to the ground with a thud. Behind them, Kinuan stood once again.

’Kinuan is eliminating assassins targeting Francec and me.’

Kinuan disappeared back into the crowd. Each time he appeared, suspicious individuals dropped dead.

He was eliminating threats for us. He had likely been protecting both Francec and me even before I noticed. No wonder there had been such a strange lack of interference.

’Kinuan is making it easier for me to move.’

It was hard to believe, but the fact was undeniable. Whether he was following the emperor’s orders or acting independently, I had no way of knowing.

Kinuan had inserted himself into the flow I had created, adding another layer of chaos. I couldn’t even begin to fathom how far ahead he was thinking.

With tens of thousands gathered, a few deaths went unnoticed. Some were crushed in the crowd, and nobody cared even if bodies were trampled.

With no external interference, the flow continued naturally.

Kinuan and I were maneuvering within a realm of high-level reasoning, each attempting to gain the upper hand over the other. Ordinary people would never comprehend our plans or actions.

’In our battle, the side that gets understood loses.’

The clearer one’s purpose and principles of action, the easier it became to predict their next move. And Kinuan knew my purpose.

’Even the decision I made after much deliberation—was it all within Kinuan’s expectations?’

I reached up to adjust the collar around my neck and put on my helmet.

Puhak!

The moment I wore the helmet, blood burst from my nose and eyes. The impact nearly made my legs give out. I struggled desperately to endure it, pretending to be unaffected.

’My eyes are damaged.’

My biological eyes couldn’t withstand the excessive signals from my brain. My vision was so red that I could barely see. Before long, I would likely have to remove them and replace them with cybernetic implants.

‘I can’t keep up with Kinuan’s thinking.’

To catch up with Kinuan, I needed to think even more. But I had reached my physical limit. I lacked information, and my brain was breaking down. If I kept trying to chase after Kinuan, I would die first.

‘Ignore Kinuan’s intentions. For now, focus on what I need to do. Even if I end up playing into his hands, I have no choice.’

Once again, I spotted Kinuan emerging from the crowd. Our eyes met. He must have realized I was watching him.

Kinuan gave a relaxed smile and raised his index finger to his lips.

‘Shh.’

After making his intention clear, Kinuan disappeared back into the sea of people.

"Luka, I want to go see my brother now."

Francec, who had gathered a hastily formed faction, whispered to me. He had no idea about the battle that had just taken place between Kinuan and me.

Among the key figures in this flow, Francec was the weakest. I couldn’t be sure if he would withstand the collision.

‘If Francec is about to fall, I’ll have to support him.’

Stay focused, Luka.

* * *

I had no idea where Hemillas and the high-ranking military officers had gathered. They had cut off communication and gone into hiding to prepare for the coup in earnest. Only a select few would still be in contact with them.

A coup had to be swift and decisive. If it dragged on, it would be the end.

The rebels likely had no doubt that their revolution would succeed. They had been able to proceed with their plans smoothly, without any interference so far.

The emperor’s goal was to weaken the military’s power and purge the influential nobility.

The military sought to stage a coup and install Ivan as their leader.

Hemillas planned to offer up the coup forces to the emperor in order to preserve his family and the Imperial Guard.

And Francec, to survive the imperial conspiracy, was hurriedly assembling a revolutionary faction. To be honest, as an independent force, it was almost insignificant. Right now, it looked larger because it was bolstered by the protesters and the masses, but when examined closely, it was nothing more than a fragile skeleton.

"Your Highness, my sword is yours."

"The Weber-Ratry family will follow Your Highness’s cause."

Some nobles approached Francec and swore allegiance. Most were aristocrats who had deep personal ties with him, while the unfamiliar faces belonged to weaker houses in precarious positions. They were siding with Francec, prepared to go into exile if they failed.

The rainstorm still raged on. People’s coats were soaked and gloomy, yet their fervor remained fierce.

As if to soothe the public, Francec gave orders to protect the people. A fair number of capable soldiers had joined him, and a chain of command was beginning to take shape.

"Does His Majesty know of this? You will regret today’s actions!"

"Haha, has the crown prince finally gone mad? Opposing us and still hoping to rule the Empire...?"

Several nobles, bound and captured, shouted furiously. The commoners jeered at them as they were dragged away to an unknown fate.

Francec aggressively seized noble-owned buildings one after another and turned them into shelters for the lower classes. It had all happened within half a day.

The district under Francec’s control quickly stabilized. Even the rioters of Nemesis struggled to incite further violence, as they lacked justification.

’The Imperial Family, the nobility, and the rebels.’

They were all the same. Power only existed with the people’s support. Rule through sheer force alone had its limits.

This was why the Imperial Family devised incomprehensibly intricate schemes. Their immoral acts could never be exposed to the public.

"...I will make sure to repay your trust."

Francec desperately played the role of an ideal revolutionary monarch.

The Crimson Crown Prince.

Francec exuded charisma, embodying a ruler straight out of a painting. He had a remarkable ability to captivate people—not just from his elite education but also from his natural disposition.

’But Francec was not chosen by the current emperor. That means there was a reason for it.’

I could see it clearly because I was right by Francec’s side. Doubt and anxiety constantly seeped through him. Compared to the emperor or Ivan, his mental fortitude was weak.

"Ilay has sent word, Luka."

Francec extended his arm forward. A drone, unlike any I had ever seen before, landed on his forearm. No—it was not a drone.

’A Machine Beast.’

The mechanical hawk tilted its head inquisitively. Even the feathers that fluttered down with each beat of its wings were thin sheets of metal.

A letter was tied to the hawk’s ankle. Francec checked its contents first before handing it to me.

"...No wonder it was so difficult to find Hemillas and Ivan."

I muttered under my breath.

Hemillas and the military were in the first district to be locked down—the very place where the riots had begun.

’The news said the rioters’ resistance was too strong, making entry into that district nearly impossible. The Imperial Guard must be among them. That’s why breaking through wasn’t easy.’

Hemillas and the military used the chaos as a smokescreen to hide beneath it. This was their only chance. During a storm period, the Empire’s surveillance and control systems failed to function properly, rendering satellite vision and aerial military assets useless.

We moved on foot, relaying messages mouth to mouth and sending couriers for communication. It felt like we had regressed two thousand years.

Clatter, clatter.

Francec’s fingertips trembled. I quickly stepped in front of him to shield his hands from view. The nobles and soldiers around us could not be allowed to see the Crown Prince waver.

Francec’s only weapon was his charisma. If he lost that, he would be no better than a naked man.

If his followers sensed that the mastermind was faltering, they would abandon him.

"Thank you, Luka. That was disgraceful of me."

Francec spoke, hiding his hands beneath his cloak.

"I don’t think it was disgraceful."

"I still can’t believe this reality. No... I want to believe in my father and my brother. Until I see it with my own eyes and hear it with my own ears..."

But Francec was too intelligent to ignore the evidence I had presented to him. He had already heard the full story from Ilay. He knew better than anyone that such a narrative could not be fabricated.

"That is why I chose to stand by Your Highness. People like Ivan, Kinuan, and Hemillas never trust someone once the slightest doubt creeps in. But even if doubt lingers, you still try to believe. Some might call that weakness, but I do not."

"And why is that?"

Francec looked at me. The glimmer in his pupils steadied, and even the fluttering hem of his clothes stilled.

For the first time, the sacred bloodline of the nation’s founding looked just like an ordinary human to me.

"Because I am the same as you, Your Highness."

* * *

My final plan was simple.

We had to reach Hemillas before he could offer his ’tribute.’ Then, we would eliminate Ivan Accretia and seize the military forces that Hemillas had gathered.

The ultimate goal was to have Francec, backed by both the military and the people, pressure the emperor into securing the succession.

In the worst case, even if full succession was out of reach, negotiation would still be possible. If the emperor truly acted for the greater good, he would seek to avoid an unnecessary civil war by compromising.

But many obstacles stood in the way before we could reach the emperor. Right now, we were already clashing against one of them.

Bang—!

A gunshot rang out. This time, there would be no peaceful way through. The violent rioters in the locked-down district showed no regard for the Crown Prince’s presence.

Francec led his hastily assembled forces into a standoff against the rioters.

The rioters blocking the entrance had fortified their position like well-trained soldiers, stacking cover and forming a defensive line. There were also skilled snipers among them—sticking one’s head out for even a moment would mean catching a bullet.

"Powered armor? Damn it, they just keep pulling tricks out of their asses!"

The officers and nobles under Francec scowled. Scattered among the rioters stood outdated powered armor units of unknown origin.

"What about our armored units?"

"We’re in the process of gathering all available resources."

Francec’s forces hadn’t come meticulously prepared. They were scraping together personnel and supplies on the fly. Deploying armored forces like powered armor onto the battlefield would take time.

‘Time is slipping away.’

I had already wasted too much of it.

Hemillas would have caught wind of Francec’s approach by now and would be hastening the tribute plan. If that happened, everything would be for nothing.

"Your Highness, Francec."

I addressed him. He understood what I was about to say without further explanation.

"Luka, you must capture that child alive."

By "that child," he meant Ivan Accretia. I nodded.

I broke away from the front lines and took a detour. While a full unit couldn’t breach the locked-down district, going in alone was a different story.

‘I’ve done everything I could. The rest is beyond my control. All I can do now is hope for luck and do my best.’

The storm season in Akbaran was dark. I moved through the shadows between buildings, keeping myself concealed. The rioters’ focus was entirely on Francec’s forces, making infiltration easier.

I followed the guidance and map displayed on my cybernetic retina. There was a shortcut through an art museum.

The moment I stepped inside, a quiet, chilling sensation washed over me.

Click, clack.

The sound of my footsteps echoed crisply against the marble floor.

The museum’s glass ceiling had shattered, allowing the outside wind to seep in. Beneath it, an elegant corridor stretched toward the center.

Lining both sides of the corridor were artworks—statues and paintings glorifying the Imperial Family and past emperors. But the rioters had passed through, leaving them shattered and torn in disarray.

I didn’t hurry. I had seen something stirring in the darkness at the far end.

...At the corridor’s end stood a man cloaked in black from head to toe. His heavy coat, trailing to his feet, looked suffocatingly thick just from sight alone.

I stopped walking. The man, who had been tilting his head slightly downward, raised his gaze toward me. Beneath his hood, a pair of red eyes glowed.

Whirr.

The way he scanned me sent chills down my spine.

I recognized this feeling. Even though I had never seen him before, I knew immediately—he belonged to the Imperial Family.

’So, I finally meet one.’

The memory of my first audience with the emperor resurfaced.

That imposing figure was the shadow of the Imperial Family—the force I had long been wary of. The emperor’s dark enforcers.

Yes, it was time to give them a proper name.

’Shadow Imperial Guard. Or just Shadows. Maybe the Emperor’s Shadows. I’ve never been great at naming things.’

This was the true direct unit of the Imperial Family, operating beneath the surface rather than in the open.

"Lu... Lu... Lukaus... Kus... Kus... to... ria."

The Shadow’s speech was unnatural, as if his language function had deteriorated.

"His... His Majesty... has ac... accepted... Hei... Heillas’s... tri... tribute. Do... not... in... interfere... with the cer... ceremony. Your... role... will... be... re... assigned... la... later."

Even as I listened to his stuttering, I couldn’t bring myself to laugh. Instead, a cold sensation crept down my spine.

"Tur... turn... a... round. Go... back... the... way... you... came."

The Shadow extended his index finger toward me.

"Well, that’s some good news..."

I forced my lips into a twisted smile.

That bastard had just given away critical information. It seemed he wasn’t particularly skilled in intrigue or deception.

"...That means I still have time to intercept Heillas’s tribute."

Heillas hadn’t offered it yet.